A new UK aid package is to help the Government of Iraq to reinvigorate its economy and rebuild hospitals, schools and other vital infrastructure, allowing Iraqis displaced by conflict to return home and restart their lives, UK Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt announced during a four-day visit to Iraq.

The UK is the first donor to the newly formed Iraq Reform and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), following close cooperation between the Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of Iraq, the World Bank, Germany and other international partners to develop the fund.

The fund will:

• encourage innovative approaches and provide technical assistance to the Government of Iraq as it reconstructs areas affected by conflict, including the rebuilding of houses, schools, hospitals, factories and roads.
• provide opportunities to utilise UK and international expertise to help the Government of Iraq to carry out vital reforms that will make the country more business friendly.
• help unlock Iraq’s economic potential, generate jobs, boost potential for enhanced future trade with the UK and other international partners and lay the ground-work for long-term peace and stability following the conflict with Daesh.

In addition to tackling Iraq’s long-term recovery and reconstruction, Mr. Burt also announced further support to help meet the immediate humanitarian needs of the 1.8 million people still displaced from their homes within Iraq, and a boost for stabilisation efforts to ensure vital services such as healthcare and electricity are reinstated quickly in places such as Mosul.

During the visit in which Iraq and the UK agreed to a joint communique to further strengthen bilateral relations, Mr Burt held wide ranging discussions on UK-Iraqi cooperation, trade, development and regional security issues with the Iraqi President Barham Salih, the Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mehdi, Foreign Minister, Deputy Foreign Minister and the Trade and Planning ministers.

He also met Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, and the Prime-Minister designate, Masrour Barzani. Whilst in the Kurdistan Region, the minister also met Minister for the Interior, and for Peshmerga Affairs Karim Sinjari, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.

In support of the Foreign Secretary’s commitment to tackle the persecution of Christians across the globe, the minister also engaged with the Archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda and grassroots faith organisations to gain their perspectives on freedom of religion and beliefs in the region.

Speaking from Baghdad the Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said:

The UK is a strong partner and friend of Iraq. We share a range of mutual and growing priorities which include security, development, foreign policy and trade.

There is much to be celebrated about Iraq’s progress since the territorial defeat of Daesh in 2017. But there is more to be done to help Iraq develop the strong, stable future, decided on by all Iraqis, that its people deserve. The UK remains committed to supporting Iraq to develop along non-sectarian lines, and we are particularly concerned about the rights and freedoms afforded to Christians and other minority faith groups.

I am proud that we will be the first donor to the Iraq Reform and Reconstruction Fund. UK aid will provide vital support to the people of Iraq as they rebuild their lives, their businesses and their economic independence.

UK aid announced today for the humanitarian response will support vulnerable people displaced by conflict, providing clean water, medicine and shelter. Since 2014, UK aid in Iraq has provided 4.1 million people with life-saving healthcare, 2 million people with safe water and sanitation, 836,500 people with shelter and more than 408,000 people with food.

• £16 million will be allocated to the Iraq Reform and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), run by the World Bank, from DFID’s budget. The IRRF will support Government of Iraq-led reconstruction efforts following the destruction caused by the conflict with Daesh, and support the implementation of longer term economic reform.
• £6.9 million will be allocated to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilisation in Iraq from the UK Government’s Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF). It will directly support the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure in areas of Iraq liberated from Daesh. This will include hospitals, school, power plants and roads destroyed in the fighting.
• £10 million will be allocated to UN OCHA’s Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund from DFID’s budget. It will support the ongoing humanitarian response, providing for the immediate needs of vulnerable people in Iraq displaced by conflict. It will help deliver clean water, medicine, shelter and a wide range of additional services to people living within temporary camps. Since 2014, UK aid in Iraq has provided 4.1 million people with life-saving healthcare, 2 million people with safe water and sanitation, 836,500 people with shelter and more than 408,000 people with food.
• UK aid has provided £252.5 million in humanitarian support and over £110 million in stabilisation funding to the people of Iraq since 2014.
• In 2018, the Foreign Secretary announced a review into the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, led by the Bishop of Truro.
• Globally, around 215 million Christians face persecution, and the population of Christians in the Middle East has declined from 20% to 5% over the last century.
• Exports of goods and services from the UK to Iraq are increasing and reached £0.5bn in 2017, which was a 10% increase on the year before.

ENDS

Travellers who intend to use their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) must check what the arrangement is with the specific country they are visiting as the card may not be valid. This advice also applies to students studying in the EU.

In addition, UK nationals should follow current advice from the government which recommends travellers take out separate travel insurance to cover any healthcare requirements needed in any country within the EU or outside. This is particularly advisable for travellers with a pre-existing or long-term health condition.

There is also further guidance for UK nationals living or working in the EU.

The new advice encourages citizens to register for access to healthcare in the EU/EEA country they live in, as some residents may need to be a long-term resident or pay social security contributions to access free or discounted healthcare.

If a resident is in the process of applying for residency the advice suggests individuals take out separate health insurance.

For residents who use the S1 certificate, this may no longer be valid after 29 March 2019. The advice is to check what the latest healthcare arrangements are between the UK and the country British nationals currently live in.

Until further agreements are reached between the UK and individual EU member states, the government advises UK citizens to follow this latest guidance to ensure they are fully prepared for any unexpected healthcare requirements overseas.

New projects have launched to improve the education and training of young people leaving care, helping them make the transition into independent life.

Care leavers will benefit from a £5 million investment in programmes that deliver specialist, bespoke support through personal advisers and transition coaches. The pilot schemes are designed to develop care leavers’ confidence, communications and skills needed to enter sustained education, employment and training.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

Leaving care can be a daunting time for many young people, who often face the challenges of growing up without the support network others might take for granted.

We all share a responsibility to act and these new projects are focussed on improving the lives of those young adults who have had difficult starts in life.

That is why these pilots in Bristol, Lewisham and Sheffield are so vital in helping ease the transition from care to independence, so they are not facing these milestones alone. Where you start out in life should not determine your destination, so I hope that through this work care leavers get the tools they need to get into training, education or employment.

The £5 million is being used to fund the first ever Social Impact Bonds aimed at preventing care leavers being out of work and training – which have previously been used to tackle problems including homelessness and long-term health issues.

The news comes as the latest data on care leavers aged 19-21 show that 39 per cent of care leavers are NEET, compared to 13 per cent of 19-21 year olds in the general population.

Sheffield City Council Councillor Jackie Drayton, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families said:

We want to ensure that our Care Leavers get every help and support they can to access education, training or employment. I’m pleased that Project Apollo will enable the Council’s Leaving Care Service to work with Sheffield Futures to give our care leavers every opportunity to achieve their full potential and progress successfully in the future.

Lewisham Councillor Chris Barnham, Cabinet Member for School Performance and Children’s Services, said:

In Lewisham, we give a high priority to helping our care leavers into sustained work, training and education. We are pleased to be able to work with Depaul UK on the i-Aspire programme, which offers a creative and long-term approach, with the opportunity for care leavers to receive support for up to four years. This will ensure that young people are able to build trusting and supportive relationships with staff, with time and space to be able to explore and overcome any barriers to their employment, training and education aspirations.

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said:

Young people leaving care face a number of challenges that threaten their future and can hold them back from fulfilling their potential. One of the most important roles every council plays is providing that support, we call it being a corporate parent, but through this programme we’re demonstrating that it’s not just the council’s role, it’s one for the entire city.

By working together with our partners in 1625 Independent People and engaging with businesses across sectors we’ve developed opportunities that have benefitted over 200 care leavers. The continuing success of Reboot West helps to ensure diversity in the local talent pool and demonstrates that when we work together as a city we have the ability to ease the challenges young people face when leaving care.

The Social Impact Bonds bring together the public, private and voluntary sectors to solve these challenges, with care leavers in the three regions being offered:

• Sheffield: Specialist support will be provided through transition coaches working alongside Personal Advisers. The support package will involve support with speech, language and communication needs.

• Bristol: The programme to help 200 care leavers will test a new approach using Acceptance & Commitment Theory (ACT) to develop care leavers’ values, aspirations and motivation to succeed. A new team of EET workers will build relationships with care leavers, employers and training providers.

• Lewisham: The project will produce a local employment toolkit, develop the Young Minds resilience framework and deliver financial resilience training through The Money House and resolution training.

Social Impact Bonds work through funding from social investors who pay for the delivery of the services throughout the project, and are then paid a return based upon the results. Those investing in these programmes will be paid depending on the number of care leavers that achieve employment, education or training outcomes over a four year period.

18 March, 2019

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Published 28 January 2019

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has today (28 January 2019) set out provisions for EU citizens coming to the UK after EU exit in the event of a no deal.

If Britain leaves the EU without agreeing a deal, the government will seek to end free movement as soon as possible and has introduced an Immigration Bill to achieve this. For a transitional period only, EEA citizens and their family members, including Swiss citizens, will still be able to come to the UK for visits, work or study and they will be able to enter the UK as they do now.

However, to stay longer than 3 months they will need to apply for permission and receive European Temporary Leave to Remain, which is valid for a further 3 years.

EU citizens wishing to stay for longer than 3 years will need to make a further application under the new skills-based future immigration system, which will begin from 2021.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:

If we leave the EU without a deal we will continue to deliver on the referendum result and end free movement once and for all – giving us full control of our borders for the first time in decades.

However, we need to take a practical approach and minimise disruption to ensure the UK stays open for business. That is why we will introduce time-limited transitional arrangements and grant EU citizens coming after March 29 temporary leave.

Let me be clear. This policy does not apply to those here before exit day, whose rights to live and work will be protected by the EU Settlement Scheme. We want them to stay and value them hugely.

The information set out today also confirms that if there is no deal:

• EU citizens arriving in the UK who wish to stay longer than 3 months and apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain will be subject to identity, criminality and security checks before being granted permission to stay for three years
• non-EU family members who wish to accompany an EU citizen under these arrangements will need to apply in advance for a family permit
• EU citizens will be able to enter and leave the UK as they do now, using e-gates when travelling on a biometric passport
• the initial 3 months’ leave to enter for EU citizens will be free of charge but applications for European Temporary Leave to Remain will be paid for. Fees will be set out at a later date
• Irish citizens will not need to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain and will continue to have the right to enter and live in the UK under the Common Travel Area

The Home Secretary has set out plans for a new single skills-based immigration system which will operate from 2021. It will enable employers to attract the skills they need from around the world, while ensuring net migration is reduced to sustainable levels.