Sir Christopher oversees the governance and independence of the OBR with Bronwyn Curtis OBE. Together, they will support the Budget Responsibility Committee in taking forward the strategic aims of the OBR.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:

I am pleased to reappoint Sir Christopher Kelly as a non-executive member of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Sir Christopher has brought invaluable expertise and experience to the role and has helped to maintain the strength, independence and credibility of the UK’s fiscal framework and the OBR as an institution.

The Chair of the OBR, Robert Chote, said:

I am delighted that Chris has agreed to serve another term as a non-executive member of the OBR and that the Chancellor has approved this. Chris has been an invaluable source of wise counsel and his reappointment will ensure continuity as my successor takes over.

Sir Christopher Kelly said:

I am delighted to be re-appointed as the Chair of the Oversight Board of the Office for Budget Responsibility. The role of the OBR is as important as ever at a time of increased uncertainty. It is a privilege to be part of its continued development.

Sir Christopher’s second term will be for 3 years, running from June 2020.

Further information

• Sir Christopher Kelly has served as a non-executive member of the Office for Budget Responsibility since he was appointed in 2017. Before joining the OBR he had a distinguished career in the civil service, serving in various roles in HM Treasury and the Department of Social Security, ending his civil service career as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health between 1997 and 2000.

• Following his time in the civil service he has led on a number of reviews and chaired a wide range of committees and organisations including the NSPCC, the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Kings Fund and the Committee on Standards in Public Life. He is currently the senior independent non-executive director on the board of the Co-op Group and a trustee of the Canal and River Trust.

The Association of International Accountants (AIA) has surrendered its status as an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation. AIA has been an inactive awarding organisation for the past few years. AIA notified us in March that it intended to withdraw its existing Ofqual regulated qualifications and would cease to be an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation.

The surrender took effect from 5 June 2020. From this date, no qualifications offered by AIA are regulated by Ofqual.

When awarding organisations are considering surrendering their recognition, we will work with them to discuss the options for proceeding whilst ensuring learners are protected.

A full list of currently recognised awarding organisations and regulated qualifications can be found on the Register of Regulated Qualifications.

All large raised reservoirs in England could be legally required to have emergency contingency plans in place under measures being consulted on by the government from today (Tuesday 16 June).

Also known as on-site flood plans, these are needed to ensure that those responsible for the reservoir are ready to manage potential risks from an uncontrolled release of water from a reservoir that may cause flooding to the surrounding area and communities.

England already has some of the toughest safety reservoir regulations in the world with a strong safety track record. However, a survey of reservoir owners in the wake of the 2019 Toddbrook Reservoir incident revealed that while a large proportion of large raised reservoirs do already have on-site plans, those who do not cite the lack of legal requirement as their reason. The survey also identified different practices in how often flood plans are reviewed and updated.

While incidents like the spillway failure at Toddbrook Reservoir are rare, swift action when the incident occurred was aided by the fact that both an on-site flood plan and a local flood evacuation plan were available and quickly activated.

The government believes that on-site plans should be an essential part of maintaining public safety, and set out its intention to consult on making them a legal requirement in its response to Professor David Balmforth’s independent review report on the Toddbrook Reservoir spillway failure.

The government recognises that there are different types of reservoir, and that emergency plans will be unique to each reservoir and how it is operated.

The eight week online consultation seeks views on:

• managing and maintaining a flood plan
• how frequently a flood plan should be tested
• updating guidance about preparing a flood plan
• training that may be needed to support emergency planning and incident response

The consultation will run until 10 August.

On 9 June 2020, the government also published the Terms of Reference for Part B of the independent Reservoir Review. Part B will examine how the current legislation is applied and ensure it is robust in order to continue to maintain our safety record. It is expected to report to Government by February 2021.

The British Consulate in Jerusalem is working closely with the Palestinian authority, International Humanitarian organisations and civil society on the response to the COVID-19 challenge in the OPTs, including support to meet the humanitarian and healthcare needs of the most vulnerable Palestinians as well as support to boost the PA’s economic resilience.

We are keen to ensure that our support continues to reach those who are most vulnerable to the multifaceted impacts of COVID-19. To that end, the British Consulate in Jerusalem has a small amount of programme funding to support an NGO in providing assistance to vulnerable elderly people in the OPTs.

Although all age groups are at risk of contracting COVID-19, older persons run a significantly higher risk of mortality and severe disease following infection, with those over 80 years old dying at five times the average rate.

Proposals should focus on providing targeted support for the most vulnerable elderly people in the Palestinian society. This may include strengthening support systems in elderly care, providing psycho-social support to older persons who have experienced loss or giving assistance to promote and safeguard elderly caregivers, volunteers or community leaders.

NGOs should send their full and detailed proposals for projects worth up to 320,000 ILS to be implemented between August and March 2021. Please complete the Project Proposal Form (MS Word Document, 85KB) and Activity Based Budget (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 25.6KB) template and submit by no later than 6 July 2020, to Lucy.Raii@fco.gov.uk, with “Enabling Fund Proposal” in the subject line.