• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
• If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

Thank you very much, Mr President and thank you to both of our briefers this morning.

I’d like to begin by thanking the High Representative and his team for this thorough report. While we would all prefer to see local actors taking responsibility to deliver a secure, peaceful and sustainable future for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Office of the High Representative continues to play an essential role. It has the United Kingdom’s full support, including for the use of executive powers should the situation require it.

As the High Representative makes clear, Bosnia and Herzegovina, like nearly every other country, is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been impressed with the discipline and solidarity shown by the authorities in undertaking this immense and ongoing task, and welcome the political and institutional leaders’ sense of unity in tackling this common problem. We stand ready to support Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office of the High Representative in this joint challenge.

Mr President, over the past six months we’ve been pleased to see the problems of blockages in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be overcome. Firstly, with the long awaited agreement in December last year to form a stable government, one which will continue Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cooperation with NATO. Secondly, with the ground-breaking agreement on socio-economic reforms that will directly benefit all of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s assistance.

The Joint Presidency’s agreement on 28 April on a process that leads to Bosnia and Herzegovina implementing the EU Opinion’s, recommendations on human rights, democratic values and the rule of law was a further demonstration that Bosnia and Herzegovina can work towards a positive future.

Mr President, all of these moves are important for advancing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s prospects for Euro-Atlantic future. We urge politicians to engage constructively in this process, which will achieve far more for the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina than the unconstructive threats of a political blockade, which we have recently seen in relation to foreign judges sitting on the Constitutional Court, a core Dayton institution. It is good to see that despite these threats, the court continues to function. These threats merely make the ending of international supervision even harder. The UK underlines the importance of the Court and welcomes the arrival of the new judge, Angelika Nussberger to bring significant expertise.

Mr President, we also urge leaders to use this moment of unity to complete the formation of the Council of Ministers and to convene the authorities at all other levels following the October 2018 elections.

Later this year, local elections were scheduled to take place. While we must see what is possible given the COVID-19 situation, let us not lose sight of the shame that elections for the city of Mostar have not taken place since 2008 – as the High Representative has highlighted today – violating citizens’ basic rights, as the European Court of Human Rights has said. As set out in the 28 April agreements, it is imperative that Bosnia and Herzegovina urgently takes all necessary steps to ensure that the elections are held in Mostar this year.

By implementing the recommendations in the EU’s opinion, Bosnia and Herzegovina has said that it would address all outstanding European Court of Human Rights judgments, most notably the Sejdic-Finci ruling, and ensure that all of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s citizens can exercise their fundamental democratic rights and participate equally in their country’s future.

Rule of law reform is at the heart of this agreement, too. As Judge Priebe’s report flags, it is essential the problems are tackled and the fight against corruption continues. It is vital that politicians address this without further delay.

I would like to congratulate the Office of the High Representative for its work in Brčko District. Through its coordinated work with the international community, it has promoted good governance, infrastructure developments and private sector growth. This is a good model for reform.

Mr President, this year marks 25 years since the General Framework Agreement for Peace was signed, bringing an end to hostilities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate the UK’s unwavering support for the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important that Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international community find ways to appropriately mark this anniversary and promote a safe and secure environment and a positive and prosperous future for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Also, for Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is important to find ways to revitalise and increase efforts to make the 5+2 agenda.

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. We need to come together to remember the genocide and all victims of the horrific conflicts that occurred in the Balkans in the 1990s. We must ensure that nothing like it ever happens again. It is deeply concerning that the glorification of war criminals continues on all sides, which makes the prospect of lasting reconciliation even more elusive. It is unacceptable that individuals and sections of society, including politicians, continue to deny the genocide in Srebrenica, despite its qualification as genocide by two international tribunals as well as domestic judicial bodies.

Mr President, I’d just like to briefly address the point raised by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation regarding UK archives. As the Permanent Representative mentioned, the UK National Archives recently released papers relating to Bosnia and Herzegovina dating back 25 years as part of the UK’s ongoing commitment to transparency. The UK’s committed position the genocide was committed in Srebrenica is unequivocal. The authoritative judgment on what happened in Srebrenica and elsewhere, the place to look is the rulings of the international courts. The ICTY had thousands of witnesses and the transcript extends to millions of pages.

Mr President, the UK continues to support reconciliation efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans more widely, including through our projects and our role in the Berlin process.

In conclusion, Mr President, the continued pursuit of narrow political interests by those in power and their reluctance to compromise has cost Bosnia and Herzegovina dearly. We hope the recent developments can be a catalyst for a new approach.

The COVID-19 crisis is affecting us all. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s responses are helping to mitigate the problems. Political leaders are now taking this opportunity to move forward on reforms so that Bosnia and Herzegovina comes out of the crisis stronger with the support of its partners. We call on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s politicians to demonstrate their commitment to progress, to look forwards and not backwards, and to act in order to provide the positive future that their citizens so very much deserve.

Thank you, Mr President.

English aquaculture businesses producing seafood for the food supply chain may now apply for grants up to a maximum of £10,000 per farm from the government’s £10 million Fisheries Response Fund.

The £10 million fund for England’s fishing and aquaculture sectors, first announced by Defra and HM Treasury on 17 April, supports fishing and aquaculture businesses that have been adversely impacted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around £1 million of the Fisheries Response Fund (FRF) has been allocated to payments towards aquaculture businesses operating costs. The grants of up to £10,000 will directly contribute to ongoing production costs.

Fisheries Minister, Victoria Prentis, said:

“Aquaculture businesses are a significant part of England’s seafood industry – supporting local jobs as well as quality produce for consumption at home and export around the world.

“These grants from our £10 million Fisheries Response Fund will make a real difference to these businesses, ensuring that they can continue to operate and support both our export trade and the economy of many local communities.”

The fund is being administered by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of Defra.

Tom McCormack, Chief Executive of the Marine Management Organisation, said:

“MMO has mobilised quickly to deliver three financial support schemes.

“In the last two weeks, we’ve actioned all Fisheries Respond Fund applications received from the catch sector (so far, making payments directly to over 1,100 fishing vessel owners with a value of nearly £4m); launched the new £1m Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme to support projects that support the sales and consumption of locally caught fish; and are now about to start administering payments to qualifying aquaculture businesses.

“Our key focus is to ensure this significant financial support gets to fisheries and aquaculture businesses as quickly and smoothly as possible.”

This final part of the FRF scheme is focussed on supporting aquaculture business that are active shellfish or trout farms in England, holding a business and a farm Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorisation number, and who produce shellfish and trout for direct human consumption.

From Thursday, 7 May 2020, eligible businesses will be contacted directly by MMO with further details on how to apply.

For further information on the fund criteria and eligibility, please see the guidance.

• Care workers get access to guidance, learning resources, discounts and other support all in one place
• Support will be offered on mental health and wellbeing through toolkits and resources
• The Care Workforce app will unite 1.5 million care workers across more than 18,000 care providers

A new dedicated app for the adult social care workforce in England has been launched to support staff on-the-go through the coronavirus pandemic.

The social care workforce is spread across 18,000 providers and it can often be difficult to communicate with all staff in one clear way. The Care Workforce app, developed with NHSX and the NHS Business Services Authority, will be introduced under the new CARE brand and will act as a single digital hub for social care workers to access relevant updates, guidance, support and discounts from their phone.

The CARE branded app comes in response to calls from the sector for a more unified and connecting brand, and can be downloaded on Apple and Android supported smartphones or accessed by browsers on any device.

New mental wellbeing guidance will soon be published to further support the care sector with bespoke advice for care workers. This guidance will be signposted on the Care Workforce app when available. The tool will be the first of its kind provided for the care workforce, and will:

• act as a single one-stop-shop providing the sector with all the latest guidance, wellbeing support and advice they need to protect themselves from COVID-19 and keep themselves well
• provide access to learning resources on crucial areas such as infection control as well as practical advice and support for mental wellbeing
• show how care workers can take advantage of offers available to NHS and social care staff, including free car parking and discounts through organisations and initiatives like Discounts for Carers and the Blue Light Card
• signpost free access to apps like Silvercloud, Daylight and Sleepio, which can help boost users’ mental wellbeing through programmes covering sleep, stress and resilience

New mental wellbeing guidance will soon be published to further support the care sector with bespoke advice for care workers. This guidance will be signposted on the Care Workforce app when available.

It builds on a cash injection of £1.6 billion for local authorities, as well as the recently launched social care action plan, which set out a series of measures including ramping up testing and access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

“Our incredible social care workforce are on the frontline day and night providing quality care to the most vulnerable in our society during the most unprecedented time in our history. The whole country is incredibly grateful of the work they continue to do for our loved ones.

“As part of our continued work to back the care sector, we have launched a new app specifically for care workers to make sure they have the most up-to-date guidance to keep them safe, connected with their colleagues across the country, which also allows them to access discounts like their NHS counterparts.

“It’s available to download right now, and I would urge everyone in social care to do so.”

Helen Whately, Minister of State for Care, commented:

“The care sector is a vital part of our health and care frontline and this pandemic has shone a light on the skills, commitment and dedication of our care workers.

“The Care Workforce app is there to help those frontline care workers ‒ from providing the latest news and guidance, to sharing stories to draw inspiration from in challenging times, and as a way of connecting colleagues from Cornwall to Carlisle. I hope it will help unite people working in care across the country.

“The care workforce have long asked for a single, unifying brand to connect them to each other and I am delighted that we are able today to launch this important new tool under the CARE umbrella.”

In the future, the app will act as a networking platform to bring the social care workforce together in one place to share learnings, best practice and inspiring stories from across the sector

A version of the app is also under consideration for NHS workers.

This follows the launch of the social care action plan, which set out a range of measures to protect staff and residents living in care homes.

The workforce will be expanded by 20,000 through a new recruitment campaign, while NHS nurses and student nurses are being deployed to support social care sector where appropriate.

Care homes are being supported with new ways to order PPE, with millions of items delivered so far. Care staff, alongside residents, are now eligible for testing, whether or not they have symptoms, and since this was announced on 28 April we have delivered over 30,000 tests.

An extra £1.6 billion has also been made available to local authorities to address the additional pressures from COVID-19, with a further £1.3 billion available to provide enhanced support for patients being discharged.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive, Care England, said:

“This new app will help to keep the social care workforce fully informed of all the issues in social care, and it will provide an easily accessible and portable resource for every care worker”

Kathryn Smith, Chief Executive at the Social Care Institute for Excellence, said:

“It’s more than welcome to see an app like this that’s specifically designed with the adult social care workforce in mind.

“That workforce has many challenges at the moment, including how to keep services running during the COVID-19 situation; but also how to ensure that issues such as safeguarding, mental capacity and rights under the Care Act are not lost. We’ve all been using technology a lot more in the last few weeks and I’m sure that this will be a really useful addition to help the workforce to provide the best care and support that they can during the current crisis.”

Vic Rayner, Executive Director, National Care Forum, said:

“Care Workforce is a welcome addition to the frontline. It brings together all the important guidance and information for staff into one place – making sure the workforce have at their fingertips the information they need to deliver great care.”

Alex Fox, OBE FRSA, Chief Executive, Shared Lives Plus, said:

“It has never been more important for everyone working in social care to be connected with each other and well informed about the latest changes in policy. The app will help all of us with this. Shared Lives Plus is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care through the pandemic and we encourage everyone working in Shared Lives to sign up.”

Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth said:

“Technology has proved to be incredibly valuable in keeping our workforce informed during this crisis and this new app specifically aimed at the social care workforce will help workers get easy access to the information they need, when they need it.”

“Hard-pressed care workers now have an app that offers them access to useful resources on the move. They can get details on offers they can take up from companies recognising the great work that they are doing and information on how they can support their wellbeing during these very challenging times.”

1. The app will be available to download from on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, as well as being accessible online at https://workforce.adultsocialcare.uk.
2. It is available for anyone working in social care in England.
3. This follows the launch of the social care action plan which set out a range of measures to protect staff and residents living in care homes.
4. The workforce will be expanded by 20,000 through a new recruitment campaign, while NHS nurses and student nurses are being deployed to support social care sector where appropriate. Care homes are being supported with new ways to order PPE, with millions of items delivered so far. Care staff, alongside residents, are now eligible for testing, whether or not they have symptoms, and since this was announced on April 28 we have delivered more than 30,000 tests.
5. An extra £3.2 billion has also been made available to local authorities to address the additional pressures from COVID-19, with a further £1.3 billion available to provide enhanced support for patients being discharged.