• £37.65 million of urgent UK humanitarian funding will deliver life-saving assistance across Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria and Niger.

• 20 million are projected to be in need of urgent aid across the region by the end of 2022.

• The money will help fund two projects for the next year focused on the most vulnerable, including malnourished women and children.

The UK will support around 1 million of the most vulnerable people across the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin with food, water and sanitation.

Growing instability and violent extremism across the region and the war on Ukraine have exacerbated existing issues with food insecurity and malnutrition. As things stand, there will be close to 20 million people across the region in need of humanitarian aid by the end of the year.

And the Sahel faces further vulnerabilities due to climate change and extreme weather shocks, putting unimaginable stress on communities, meaning urgent intervention by the international community is now a necessity.

The UK is providing £37.65 million in urgent humanitarian assistance, focused on these areas where conflict, climate change and extreme hunger is causing the most suffering.

Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford said:

Millions of people across the Sahel and West Africa are unimaginably suffering with hunger and malnutrition.

That’s why the UK will step up with an urgent £38 million of humanitarian funding, reaching those most vulnerable and saving lives across the region.

The number of people facing starvation are at their worst for a decade. Whilst this UK funding is a necessity, it has to be part of a bigger international effort. We’re calling on international partners to enhance our collective support and scale-up intervention to halt this humanitarian catastrophe.

£19.9 million will support The Sahel Humanitarian Assistance and Protection Programme (SHAPP), a programme which has been responding to the most acute needs, including those of displaced and malnourished women and children, and enables safer access for humanitarian aid workers to reach them.

The funding ensures delivery partners including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the INGO-run Sahel Regional Fund can continue their heroic, life-saving work in the region. The funding also supports the work of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO).

Their work between 2019-2022 under the Sahel Humanitarian Emergency Response Programme (SHERP) supported 2.7 million people with food assistance, provided treatment to nearly 900,000 severely malnourished children and ensured over 1.5 million mothers could detect malnutrition among their children, enabling early intervention.

In addition, £15 million of emergency humanitarian funding has been made available for North-East Nigeria over the next few months, when food is most scarce and humanitarian needs are highest. Violence, displacement, poverty and climate shocks are just some of the many reasons why 8.4 million people need life-saving humanitarian assistance there. This emergency funding supports the UK’s work alongside the Nigerian government to build security in the face of growing instability in the north of the country.

In North-East Nigeria, the UK is proud to be supporting the work of our delivery partners – the World Food Programme and UNICEF – whose aid workers put themselves at great risk in order to reach those suffering most.

This food assistance funding is part of the UK’s wider commitment to prioritise life-saving humanitarian aid to communities around the world who are most vulnerable due to the ongoing combination of crises.

Background

• The funding will be used to provide emergency shelter, food assistance, nutrition, water and sanitation for the most vulnerable in geographic hotspots of need
• The humanitarian assistance will be delivered through implementing partners such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International NGO Safety Organisation
• £19.9 million is for 2022 SHAPP activity alone with an additional £1.8 million for multi-year SHAPP activity.

• £150 disability Cost of Living payments to be made from 20 September 2022
• 6 million people who are paid certain disability benefits will benefit
• Automatic support part of wider package of help with the rising Cost of Living, including other cost of living payments totalling £650

Those being paid a qualifying disability benefit will be paid automatically from 20 September, with the vast majority of those eligible expected to receive their one-off payment within a couple of weeks by the beginning of October.

The payment will help disabled people with the rising Cost of Living acknowledging the higher disability-related costs they often face, such as care and mobility needs.

For those disabled people on low-incomes, this payment comes on top of other Cost of Living payments totalling £650, £400 for all households to help with energy bills, and an extra £150 for properties in Council Tax bands A-D in England.

Over eight million eligible households in receipt of a means-tested benefit received the first of two automatic Cost of Living payments of £326 from 14 July. The second means-tested payment of £324 will be issued later this year.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith said:

We know disabled people can face additional costs, which is why we are acting to help reduce the financial pressures on the most vulnerable.

This £150 disability payment is on top of the £1,200 most low income benefit claimants will also receive and alongside wider support targeted at disabled people, including help with transport and prescription costs.

We know it’s a worrying time for some people and I’d urge them to check they are getting all the support on offer by searching Help for Households.

The Cost of Living payments from the government are part of a £37 billion package of support, which will see millions of households receive at least £1,200 this year to help cover rising costs.

The government has also expanded support for the Household Support Fund in England – which helps people with food and energy bills – with an extra £421 million – for October 2022 to March 2023, and topped up funding by £79 million for devolved nations; the total value of this support now stands at £1.5 billion.

This is all in addition to changes to the Universal Credit taper rate and work allowances worth £1,000 a year on average for 1.7 million working claimants, a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour, and a tax cut for around 30 million workers through a rise in National Insurance contribution thresholds.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi said:

We know that rising prices faced by many countries around the world are a significant worry for many people here in the UK, especially those most vulnerable to additional costs.

Today’s announcement that disabled people will begin to receive an additional £150 payment from the end of September reinforces our commitment to help UK households through the challenging times ahead.

This payment is in addition to further help households can expect over the coming months – including a second cost of living payment of £324 for households on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners this winter and £400 discount on energy bills for every household. This is all part of our significant £37 billion support package.

Additional information

• Those who receive the following disability benefits may be eligible for the one-off payment of £150 in September: Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Scottish Disability Benefits (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment), Armed Forces Independence Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance and War Pension Mobility Supplement.
• Those who had confirmed payment of their disability benefit for 25 May are expected to be paid shortly after the payment window opens. For those awaiting confirmation of their disability benefits on 25 May, or who are waiting to be assessed for eligibility to receive disability benefits, the process may take longer but payments will still be automatic.
• You must have received a payment (or later receive a payment) of one of these qualifying benefits for 25 May 2022 to get the payment.
• You can read more about the government’s Cost of Living support on the Help with the cost of living page.

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Thank you, Mr President.

I thank the Secretary-General and Ambassador Zlauvinen for their important briefings today.

Mr President, dialogue and cooperation are essential components for settling disputes and building peace and security. In this Council, we have seen some significant positive examples in recent months.

In Yemen sustained efforts, including Council members and regional actors,  have brought us to a fragile truce.

On Somalia, cooperation within the Council and the African Union have led to the establishment of a new mission, establishing the AU Transition Mission in Somalia.

But dialogue can only ensure our collective security if it is matched and underpinned by states upholding the international system that keeps us all safe. This must start with the Charter as the guarantor of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

Today, there is no contest for the gravest threat to the system of common security that is enshrined in the United Nations. Russia, a permanent member of this Council, has torn up the Charter and trampled on the rules that underpin international peace and security. This undermines the entire system we are all here to uphold.

To ensure all of our security – and the system we all rely on – we must hold to account states that transgress universally accepted norms, such as sovereignty and territorial integrity. If we accept that a big country can simply invade its smaller neighbour, we return to dark days of human suffering as well as wider international instability and conflict.

This is why we call – again – for the Russian Federation to stop its illegal invasion of Ukraine and withdraw its forces.

Mr President,

With the global system under challenge, we must do everything we can to avoid nuclear escalation. The NPT remains a cornerstone of the global security architecture in this era. And the only route to our shared goal of complete nuclear disarmament.

The joint statement on this subject in January from P5 leaders was an important signal of the willingness to work together to reduce risks and build confidence.

And in this context, we thank Mr Zlauvinen for his tireless work as President of the NPT Review Conference. The UK remains unwaveringly committed to its aims, and to working with other states to ensure implementation of the NPT and other treaties.

So we echo the concern of the Secretary General about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in southern Ukraine. He has our support in efforts to deescalate the situation. We also underline the importance of a mission of IAEA experts to address nuclear safety, security and safeguarding concerns, in a manner that respects full Ukrainian sovereignty over its territory and infrastructure.

Mr President,

The UN Charter and the international security architecture that we collectively built are crucial for all of our countries. Let us defend that, together, to ensure a world in which all sovereign states can ensure the safety of their people and the integrity of their territory.

Thank you.

Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) play an important role in the UK’s science, research, development and innovation landscape. Principally, they support government by providing science advice to policymakers, by acting as a strategic capability in policy delivery and by delivering critical science services for government business and society. The Science Capability Review 2019 recognised that PSREs represent a significant public asset that is currently under-utilised and not well understood across government.

The Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) Sir Patrick Vallance visited 2 key PSREs in July – Fera Science (Fera) and the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

The GCSA recently visited Cefas in Weymouth, along with the Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency, Robin May. Cefas provides world-class science for the marine and freshwater environment. During their visit, the GCSA and CSA gave a talk, and engaged in a Q&A with Cefas scientists on the importance of PSREs, science capability in government, and ensuring policy is evidenced by science.

The visit was predominantly focused on the work of the Animal and Human Health Science Theme at Cefas, and how Cefas is aligning its deep specialisms in hazard identification and control around a broader concept of One Health Surveillance. For example, Cefas is taking the lead on a new Defra international programme aimed at bringing together methods for assessing specific risks throughout the aquatic food supply chain and targeting controls at points within that chain where they can have most impact. This approach enhances both safe and sustainable food supply, and can also positively impact biodiversity and climate-efficiency of whole food systems.

During the laboratory tour the GCSA and CSA heard about Cefas’ national and international programme work, spanning aquatic animal pathology, accredited diagnostics, all gene profiling, bioinformatics, natural biotoxins, chemicals, food-borne pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Cefas’ work at its laboratory in Weymouth includes looking at the risks of AMR and assessing the potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment, responsibility for delivering the official controls that help ensure that shellfish across the UK is safe to eat for consumers and control of outbreaks of fish and shellfish diseases in England and Wales. This helps to maintain high standards of biosecurity and animal welfare. All these capabilities help to inform policy and the operational responses both nationally and internationally.

Recent internal investments in cutting edge-technologies for chemical, microbial, and genomic profiling were also discussed during the visit, in relation to emerging opportunities for their application – including in the development of wastewater-based surveillance. This surveillance allowed the Defra group to help support the government’s COVID-19 response by testing wastewater samples. This supported effective decision making for NHS Test and Trace to identify how the virus was moving across communities, including new and emerging variants, before being picked up in clinical test data.

The GCSA and CSA also had a series of talks with bacteriologists, toxicologists, shellfish-hygiene experts amongst others to understand how pathogens and toxins are identified and reduce risk for humans, shellfish and molluscs. They were also told about the work of Cefas in other countries to support capacity to identify bacteria and do toxicology on shellfish and molluscs. These activities help support a more sustainable and reliable food source and Ghana and Bangladesh are just 2 of the countries where this work is taking place.

The GCSA said:

It was really great to discuss the importance of science capability in government, and ensure policy is evidenced by science, with the students and early career scientists I met at Cefas.

Fera Science

Fera are experts in safety, biosecurity and sustainability across the agri-food-environment chain. The GCSA visited the York site recently and was informed about Fera’s ongoing R&D activities in support of its Science Strategy and its future growth plans.

Fera is a unique member of the UK PSRE network, in that it operates as a public-private sector partnership under a joint venture business model established by Defra in 2015. This hybrid status has enabled Fera to continue to serve public-sector needs at a much lower cost by being more freely able (and incentivised) to deliver expert scientific services to industry customers and partners on a fully commercial basis. This has enabled Fera to fully finance several of the new infrastructure assets and expert services expansion which were presented on the GCSA’s tour of the Fera site.

Just one such example is Fera’s work on land use and natural capital assessments which the GCSA was introduced to on the tour. Fera’s work in this area supports new environmental land management schemes which aim to deliver national net zero carbon goals, and improve biodiversity and its measurement.

The Fera team also gave a presentation on Fera’s work to assess, improve and certify the proficiency of government and commercial-sector labs internationally. This work, for example, enables the UK to have confidence that the data produced by trading partner countries in support of their food and commodity exports are to a UK-equivalent standard.

This was followed by a brief talk on Fera’s food safety work at the main Thomson Laboratory location on site which houses over £30m of leading-edge analytical instrumentation which operates 24/7 to provide the analytical results supporting a wide range of Fera’s work; examples include statutory testing of maximum pesticide-residue levels in foods, assessing the safety for food contact of packaging materials, through to determining the origin and authenticity of food products which are at high risk of fraud and substitution.

The GCSA also saw the research and testing being conducted for public-sector bodies and commercial agro-chemical and veterinary-medicine companies to evaluate the safety of such chemicals in the natural environment, and their environmental fate. This featured a tour of Fera’s new state-of-the-art aquatic toxicology laboratories and the unique e-Flows Mesocosm which was built with the support of the Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) agri-tech centre and Innovate UK. This is a ‘world first’ large-scale outdoor field-test laboratory with 66 precisely metricated flowing-water channels which can accurately simulate the impact of chemical and biological interventions in the environment (such as pesticide application) upon the health of aquatic and invertebrate species.

Other experts in the Fera team moved on to talk the GCSA through their work on R&D for assays, molecular detection and genomic sequencing to assess whether plants have been genetically altered, and the measurement and regulatory challenges ahead in detecting the quality and safety of gene-editing processes.

In another example of some of Fera’s ‘breakthrough’ or pioneering work, the GCSA viewed its insect research facilities. Fera’s insect research has recently been expanded under a £1m investment made by Fera for a new pilot-scale production facility to support research programmes to evaluate and optimise the application of insect bioconversion at scale. Insect bioconversion is the process of feeding insects organic biomass waste to create additional materials, such as protein (for livestock feed) or bio-fertiliser. The technology can reduce waste, provide alternative (sustainable) sources of protein for animal feed and reduces the environmental impact of sourcing protein from already depleted areas (such as fishmeal and soy).

Reflecting on the visit, the GCSA said:

PSREs such as Fera are really important to help the UK increase its science and technology capability. It was fantastic to visit Fera and learn more about their leading work in agri-food-environmental science.