I welcome the appointment of Martin Griffiths to the role of UN Special Envoy for Yemen. Mr Griffiths brings a wealth of experience from several high profile UN positions in the region, and is a leading expert on international mediation and conflict resolution.

I would like to thank Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed for his dedication in the role of UN Special Envoy since April 2015, working to facilitate a credible peace process in Yemen.

The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to help bring to Yemen the peace, stability and security that all Yemenis deserve. This can only be reached through an inclusive political settlement. Mr Griffiths and his team will be central to achieving progress and I call upon all parties to engage with the UN process in good faith.

Notes to editors:

The UK strongly supports the work of the UN in Yemen. We support the efforts to reboot a UN peace process as a matter of urgency. By the end of the financial year 2017/18, we will have provided £1.68 million to the UN Special Envoy’s office to bolster the UN’s capacity to facilitate the peace process.

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The MMO granted a marine licence to Exmouth Marina in August 2017 for maintenance dredging of Exmouth Marina and disposal of materials at the Sprey Point disposal site. The dredging is due to take place in February 2018.

Information about the marine activities and licence documents are available online via the MMO’s public register (case reference MLA/2016/00372). The MMO is in the process of updating this with additional information requested by local residents.

Consultation on licence application

A public consultation on the application was held in November 2016. As part of this process views were also sought from the local planning and harbour authority which covers the marina, and the MMO’s primary advisors including Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Crown Estate and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. Trinity House were also consulted on navigational issues.

We resolved issues raised as part of the consultation process.

The public consultation process for marine licence applications is explained in further detail on the MMO’s blog.

Managing adverse impact on the marine area

The MMO is aware of the local concern about the potential impact on the marine environment after a pollution incident occurred following previous disposal activity in 2012, although there is no evidence which directly links the two events. Following full consideration of all information, including the responses from our primary and scientific advisors, we have applied additional licence conditions, in particular regarding tide working and seasonality to mitigate the risk of any material being washed ashore and impacting on bathing water quality.

Potential contamination arising as a result of the disposal activity was also addressed as part of the application process. The assessment, which was carried out in line with the OSPAR Guidelines, has shown that the material is suitable for disposal at sea.

The MMO’s coastal office will monitor and inspect the activity as appropriate to ensure that the licence conditions are adhered to and will work with other relevant agencies to look at any further concerns.

Disposal sites

It is up to applicants to nominate the disposal site as part of their marine licence application. The MMO then makes a decision based on the suitability of the material.

Where a marine licensable process involves any waste management activity then the provisions of the Waste Hierarchy of the Waste Framework Directive (WaFD) (Directive 2008/98/EC) directive have to be considered. Applicants are required to submit evidence that they have considered alternatives to disposal under all aspects of the Waster Hierarchy (Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Recovery, and Disposal). However the MMO accepts that in some cases disposal at sea is appropriate.

The Prime Minister said:

My warm congratulations to President Ramaphosa on his election by Parliament today.

The United Kingdom greatly values its dynamic and forward-looking partnership with South Africa, underpinned by the strong people-to-people and business ties between our countries. I look forward to working closely with President Ramaphosa to help build a healthier, more secure and prosperous future for both our countries.

I very much hope to see the President at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in April.

When you tell DVLA that you’ve sold your car, you’re eligible for a refund of vehicle tax for any unused months.

While the quickest and simplest way to tell DVLA that a vehicle has been sold is online, the latest figures from DVLA show that more than 60% do not use the service. This means they will be waiting longer for their refund.

The online service only takes a few minutes to complete, the seller will get confirmation instantly that they are no longer the vehicle keeper and the refund will arrive within 3 to 5 working days. Further information is available in the following video.

Tell DVLA about a sale of a vehicle online.

DVLA Vehicles Service Manager Rohan Gye said:

While some of our digital services have over 90% take-up there are still millions of motorists who tell us they’ve sold their vehicle by post. This means that they will have to wait longer for their automatic refund of any unused tax. My advice is the next time you sell your car – tell us online.

Motorists can also go online to put a personalised registration on a vehicle or to take one off – this service is proving popular with the majority (more than 85%) choosing the online route rather than posting paperwork to DVLA.

Notes to editors

The online service is available on GOV.UK seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.

Since it was launched the service has been used over 12 million times.

The 14th and 15th February will see the launch of Horticulture Connect, a ‘first of its kind’ conference promoting horticultural market links between the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Rwanda, held at Kigali Convention Center. This conference provides a strong opportunity to introduce British and Dutch investors and buyers of horticultural produce to Rwandan producers and exporters, and the event will be a starting point in creating firm trade and investment opportunities.

The British High Commission, working with Lord Dolar Amarshi Popat, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda, have been at the forefront of establishing an air link between the United Kingdom and Rwanda. In addition, Lord Popat has visited the country to advocate on behalf of British business interest as well as to encourage increased trade and investment between the two countries. On his most recent visit, he discussed with the Rwanda Development Board the possibility of hosting a horticulture market conference that would enable increased Rwandan exports of flowers as well as fruits and vegetables to the UK using the newly established air link.

A trusted airlink between Kigali and Amsterdam was already established in 2010 with 5 flights per week, and since April 2013, KLM serves Kigali by a daily flight, connecting Rwandan products to the European market. The Netherlands actively supports the horticulture sector in Rwanda, and through its global auctioning system in flowers provides an enabling infrastructure for potential future exports to the UK and other European destinations. The recently developed HortInvest Program, which is financed by the Netherlands, aims to develop the horticulture value chains in Rwanda. For this event, 2 Dutch importers of horticultural produce (Van Oers United and Del Monte Foods) will visit Rwanda and meet with their potential business partners.

Establishing these types of connections is critical to growing Rwanda’s exports and opening up opportunities for investors. A recent visit by the private sector players with NAEB and RwandAir to the UK New Covent Garden Market has indicated the need to further explore opportunities for developing more robust trade relations in exports of fresh produce. Rwandan horticultural exporters currently face significant market access constraints mainly due to the lack of effective connections to European markets. On this last point, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Netherlands embassy in Rwanda see strong prospects for the horticulture sector’s role in driving economic development. Sarah Metcalf, Head of DFID Rwanda said: “Horticulture Connect presents an exciting opportunity to engage with local and international businesses on the themes of inclusive economic growth and rural livelihoods. We also look forward to showcasing DFID programmes and partners contributing to Rwanda’s growing horticulture sector, such as TMEA (Trade Mark East Africa), AFR (Access to Finance Rwanda), and FONERWA (Rwanda’s national Climate Change fund)”.

Hon. Gerardine Mukeshimana, the Minister of Agricultural and Animal Resources said, “The conference seeks to move beyond the conversations held before and create a business platform that provides delegates with tangible opportunities to establish relationships and engage with our local producers. It is one of the key factors in the growth of investment in agri-export sector.”

Rwanda is known for offering investment opportunities and is among the region’s fastest growing economies. Rwanda has been frequently on top rankings for the best place to do business and to invest in Africa, with an average GDP growth of 8% for the last decade.

End.

Notes to Editors:  DFID Rwanda has a range of programmes supporting the agricultural sector, including a major £43m Programme of Support to Agriculture (POSA), a £23.5m Improving Market Systems for Agriculture in Rwanda (IMSAR) programme, and others important to the sector such as TMEA (Trade Mark East Africa), AFR (Access to Finance Rwanda) and FONERWA (Rwanda’s national Climate Change fund)).  Further information about DFID’s activity in Rwanda is available at http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/countries/RW/ and https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/dfid-rwanda.  The Kingdom of the Netherlands also has a range of programmes supporting the agricultural sector in Rwanda, including a $22M donation to the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Feeder Roads, an Integrated Water Resources Program of $44M that will run until 2020, a Landscape Restoration Program of $19 M that will start this year and will run for 4 years and a Horticulture Value Chain Development Program (HortInvest) of $20M that started recently and will run for 4 years.  The export of horticulture products from Rwanda to the Netherlands in 2016 was worth $625.000 (mainly cut flowers, vegetables and plant extracts), while the import was worth $390.000 (mainly seeds).