The Troika welcomes the formation of the Executive of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity, with all ministerial portfolios now allocated between the parties to the agreement. We welcome the appointment of women as key Cabinet ministers while encouraging the government to take all necessary measures to allocate at least 35 percent of positions in the Executive to women as outlined in the peace agreement. Expectations from the people of South Sudan are high, and the way forward fraught with challenges.

To succeed, the unity government and other stakeholders can work together to ensure their deeds and words inspire collaboration and trust. Leadership working together, genuinely united, can put their country firmly on the path towards peace and prosperity. They face an early and unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic, which will require a quick and decisive response, in coordination with international partners.

The Troika looks forward to working in close partnership with a genuinely united government as it establishes its priorities and starts to develop plans to deliver the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan in full. This will require a sustained focus on building unified security forces, ensuring transparency and ending corruption, establishing political space and democratic institutions, respecting human rights, and implementing transitional justice mechanisms. To this end, we welcome the renewal of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); it will have a key role to play in this critical phase. The people of South Sudan have waited a long time for peace to come and to have a government that puts their needs first; the country’s political leaders owe it to them to ensure that their wait has not been in vain.

ENDS

Further information

The Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator today urged people to ‘give safely’ as people continue to respond with generosity in the current crisis.

At this time of national emergency charities are coming together to support people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is vital at this unprecedented time of need that donations reach their intended cause. Charities will form a core part of our collective response to the pandemic, so we encourage people to give to existing registered charities. By giving to a registered, regulated charity, the public can have assurance that their funds will be accounted for in line with the charity law framework.

The regulators encourage people to support registered charities, including the National Emergencies Trust (NET) national coronavirus fundraising appeal, launched yesterday to raise funds for local charities responding to the pandemic. The Commission helped to establish the NET following other devastating disasters, and it is well equipped to coordinate the charity sector’s contribution to emergency response.

Thousands of other registered charities are also dealing with the pandemic or continuing to do important work throughout the country to support vulnerable people and communities.

Advice for the public on giving safely to registered charities is:

• check the charity’s name and registration number at gov.uk/checkcharity most charities with an annual income of £5,000 or more must be registered
• make sure the charity is genuine before giving any financial information
• be careful when responding to emails or clicking on links within them
• contact or find out more online about the charity that you’re seeking to donate to or work with to find out more about their spending

Baroness Tina Stowell, Chair of the Charity Commission said:

British people have a proud tradition of charitable giving and generosity, and this pandemic is already giving rise to that spirit of charity and community that brings people together. We want to ensure that people do so safely and in the most effective way possible so that people in need get help. We especially encourage everyone wanting to donate money to follow our simple steps to check that they are donating to a registered charity. And we particularly urge people to consider a donation to the National Emergencies Trust campaign which is able to rapidly direct funds to frontline charities dealing with people’s urgent needs during this crisis.

Lord Toby Harris, Chair of the Fundraising Regulator, said:

Charities are a lifeline to many local communities and play a vital role in supporting people across the UK, particularly at a time of national crisis. In what is the most significant public health emergency in generations, we encourage the public to continue to give generously to charity throughout these difficult times. Unfortunately we have heard of some individuals who have used the uncertainty that surrounds the Coronavirus outbreak as a means of defrauding the public. A small number of people have posed as fundraisers who are carrying out door-to-door collections and street fundraising on behalf of fake charities, some are even offering to sell dubious Covid-19 testing kits. Please do not give to these individuals.

We urge the public to think carefully before they donate to charity, and only do so if they can be sure their funds will go to a legitimate organisation. For more helpful advice on giving to charity safely, please read the Fundraising Regulator’s guidance.

Ends.

Notes to editors:

1. Further tips on giving safely to registered charities is available on GOV.UK

The Chancellor of the Exchequer this afternoon hosted a roundtable with representatives of business groups and the unions. In attendance were: Frances O’Grady (TUC), Carolyn Fairbairn (CBI), Adam Marshall (BCC) and Mike Cherry (FSB).

As outlined in the Chancellor’s statement of 17 March, urgent work is underway to announce further measures to support individuals facing financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 situation. Today’s meeting follows extensive discussions over the past two days.

The Government has already announced expansions in eligibility for welfare support and a hardship fund to support the most vulnerable, as well as support to businesses to help with cashflow and paying wage bills.

All participants agreed on the need to go further and to do so quickly, and on the need for all social partners and the Government to work together to find a workable and sustainable set of solutions that protect people’s jobs.

The TUC and business groups shared their assessment of the pressures facing workers, businesses and the self-employed, and their views on possible solutions, and the Chancellor outlined the Government’s approach.

Further details will be confirmed in the coming days.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

We are working round the clock to deliver further support to individuals and families whose jobs and incomes will be affected by COVID-19 – and to do so urgently. We are in this together, and will all have to play our part which is why today’s meeting was so important.

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said:

The TUC and unions stand ready to work with government and employers to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK. As well as providing emergency support to business, it is essential that money goes into workers’ pockets now. We must do whatever it takes to stop businesses going to the wall and workers being plunged into poverty.

Carolyn Fairbairn, Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry, said:

Firms will do all they can to help employees through these unprecedented times. But the exponential growth of the economic impact requires an urgent, bold new approach to protect pay and livelihoods. The Chancellor’s commitment to go further, at speed is right – together we must deliver it within days, not weeks.

Adam Marshall, Director-General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

Businesses are facing urgent and difficult decisions as they meet the challenges posed by Coronavirus. With insight from business communities across the UK, we are advising government on the immediate financial support firms on the ground need to continue their operations and protect people’s livelihoods.

Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said:

It’s vital that money is available on the front-line now. We have seen an escalation in the health response; now it is right for there to be an escalation in the economic response and FSB is working constructively with the government to secure as much support as possible for the UK’s 5.8 million small businesses and the self-employed. We need to save people’s livelihoods, to protect jobs, communities and the economy.

Further information

• Pictures can be found on our Flickr.

• The Chancellor’s statement on COVID-19 of 17 March is available here.

The funding comes from the £5 billion COVID-19 fund announced by the Chancellor in last week’s budget. 

£1.6 billion will go to local authorities to help them respond to other coronavirus (COVID-19) pressures across all the services they deliver. This includes increasing support for the adult social care workforce and for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people. 

£1.3 billion will be used to enhance the NHS discharge process so patients who no longer need urgent treatment can return home safely and quickly. 

The funding will cover the follow-on care costs for adults in social care, or people who need additional support, when they are out of hospital and back in their homes, community settings, or care settings. 

Enhancing the NHS discharge process will help free up 15,000 hospital beds across England and ensure more staff have capacity to treat people needing urgent care, including those being cared for with coronavirus.

This funding is part of the government’s commitment to ensure NHS and social care system, and other public services, have all the resources they need during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government will continue to monitor pressures in the NHS and local government and will keep reviewing future funding.  

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: 

Our NHS and social care colleagues are at the heart of protecting the most vulnerable during the coronavirus outbreak, and the whole country is tremendously grateful for their commitment during this challenging time.

This funding will help the NHS and social care services in our communities to rise to this once in a generation challenge by allowing the NHS to do what it needs to, and help move people out of hospital as soon as possible to get them back home with the right support.

We are clear that we will do whatever it takes to protect lives and protect our NHS.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: 

I’ve been clear that the NHS and other vital public services will receive whatever they need to protect people from coronavirus. 

Our £5 billion budget response fund is now being used to free up more beds in hospitals and ensure some of our most vulnerable people are getting the care they need. The government will continue to lay out comprehensive and coordinated responses to get this country through this situation.

Helen Jones, Eileen Munro and Rohan Sivanandan have been appointed as members of the Children and Family Court Support Service (Cacfass) for 4 years from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2024.

Helen Jones is an experienced risk, compliance and regulatory policy practitioner, with both public and commercial cross sectoral experience in financial services and non-executive experience in social housing, services for children and young people and occupational pensions. Helen worked in various senior risk roles for the Bank of England and for the Financial Services Authority, before working for Lloyds Banking Group. She was a board member of the then YMCA London South West (now St Paul’s Group) for over 20 years, latterly as Chair of the board and has chaired the Board of the YMCA pension scheme for the last 12 years. Helen is a magistrate and member of the Greater London Family Panel. She takes over as the Lead Magistrate for the Central Family Court on 1 April. She is also a member of the Private Law Working Group established by the President of the Family Division.

Eileen Munro is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics. Professor Munro has written extensively on how to improve reasoning in child protection work, covering how best to combine intuitive and analytic reasoning and also on the importance of understanding how the organisational system influences workers’ actions. In 2011, she completed the Munro Review of the English Child Protection System. She has since been working with the Signs of Safety organisation on whole system re-design to support Signs of Safety practice with families, thereby testing the feasibility of implementing her Review recommendations. Returning to her roots in philosophy, Eileen is also working in a 5-year philosophy of social technology project that is exploring the implications of complex causality for using research findings in a new location and how this challenges traditional evidence-based practice.

Rohan Sivanandan worked as an economist and senior executive in the private sector before moving into the education field. He worked across all phases of education, latterly as an education chief officer. Subsequently, Rohan set up his own consultancy specialising in organisational development, training and leadership coaching. He has been a school governor, trustee/director of a children’s charity, an arts charity trustee, a BAME mentor and sports coach.

Currently, he is a magistrate in criminal and family court; chairs panels on the Lord Chancellor’s Magistrates’ Advisory Committee for London; is an independent member of the Greater London Authority on Mayoral appointments; chairs Mental Health hearings and is an awards assessor for the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence.

Cafcass was created under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. The body safeguards and promotes the welfare of children involved in family court proceedings.

These appointments have been conducted in accordance with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.

None of the appointees has declared any political activity.