Tag Archives: HM Government

As part of her four day visit to the UK for the 2017 UK-China People to People Dialogue (P2P), Chinese Vice Premier Madame Liu arrived in London on Tuesday 5th December. Mme Liu arrived in London from Edinburgh, where she met First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and received an honorary degree from Edinburgh University.

Madame Liu participated in a variety of events in London, including a meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a drop-in meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May and an Audience with HRH The Princess Royal.

The P2P promotes UK-China collaboration on issues that are important to people in both our countries, including health, education and culture. The high level engagement between Mme Liu and UK figures will further deepen Britain’s relationship with China and lay the ground for future collaboration.

On Tuesday 5th December, Mme Liu Yandong met Prime Minister Theresa May. Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt hosted the meeting in Downing Street. The Prime Minister and Vice Premier Liu discussed various topics including the UK-China relationship, women’s empowerment and education. On the morning of Wednesday 6th December, HRH The Princess Royal hosted Chinese Vice-Premier Mme Liu Yandong for an Audience at Buckingham Palace. The pair established a firm friendship in July when HRH The Princess Royal visited Beijing on her tour of China. On Wednesday 6th December, Mme Liu visited Oxford where she delivered a speech to Oxford University students at the Sheldonian Theatre. In her speech, Mme Liu discussed the Golden Era of UK-China relations. On Thursday 7th December, Mme Liu Co-Chaired the 5th Plenary Session of the UK-China People to People Dialogue with Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt. During the plenary session, Mme Liu and SoS Hunt celebrated our achievements throughout the 5 years of P2P, including advancements in women’s equality and educational exchange. On Thursday 7th December, Mme Liu met the Foreign Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. During the meeting, the pair discussed their vision for the UK-China relationship, the Middle East peace process and tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade. read more

Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan visited Russia to discuss international security issues ahead of the Foreign Secretary’s visit later this month.

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The online passport renewal service, which takes an average of 10 minutes to complete, has previously only been available to people over the age of 26. An HMPO survey found that 63 percent of people would prefer to renew their passport online. Over 30… read more

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry today (Friday 8 December) called on communities to support local cultural institutions over the festive break as he visited the Rovers Return set of Britain’s best-loved soap.

Jake Berry walked the famous cobbled street and met the cast and crew of Coronation Street in Manchester to mark Northern Powerhouse Culture Week, and celebrate over 57 years of the household show being broadcast to the nation.

During the trip he threw the spotlight on how government investment is supporting cultural institutions across the North of England, and urged people to get out and celebrate their local highlights.

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry said:

I can’t think of a more perfect way of marking Culture Week than visiting the set of one of the world’s most iconic TV shows – made right here in the Northern Powerhouse.

As well as being an economic powerhouse, the North of England is also a cultural powerhouse, with hundreds of the country’s best museums, art galleries and other cultural organisations on people’s doorsteps.

Over the festive period, I’d encourage people to try something they haven’t before. From Liverpool’s Albert Docks to Newcastle’s Discovery Museum, let’s enjoy some of the most iconic, well-known and well-loved places the Northern Powerhouse has to offer.

Cultural funding

As part of its commitment to ensuring that the Northern Powerhouse continues to blaze trails in arts and culture industries in the UK, the government has invested:

• £13 million to the Hull City of Culture 2017
• £20 million for the Great Exhibition of the North and for a Northern Cultural Regeneration fund to pave way for future cultural investment in the Northern Powerhouse
• £78 million for the Factory Manchester – Manchester’s new theatre and exhibition space
• and from April 2018, an additional £170 million, or 75% of the Arts Council’s lottery funding, will be invested outside of London, which means an additional 31 cultural institutions and organisations in the North will receive regular government investment

During the visit, the minister also visited the Manchester Museum, which has benefitted from £5 million of government funding, to hear about exciting plans for a new South Asia gallery. This will draw on some of the best of the national collections from the British Museum to engage with the city-region’s diverse communities and tourists.

Culture Week (4-8 December) showcased the amazing talent and industry throughout the North from sports and the arts, to the media and music and film industries. The themes for week included:

• sporting culture – Monday
• arts culture – Tuesday
• exhibiting culture – Wednesday
• media culture (TV, film, gaming) – Thursday
• music culture – Friday

Visit @NPHinfo on Twitter for more information or search #CulturedNorth.

The week coincided with the announcement of 11 bidders for the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund – a £15 million government investment to help build a lasting regional legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North.

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• Government has identified £1.7 million in back pay for 16,000 workers – more workers than in any previous naming round.
• 260 employers named and fined a total of £1.3 million for underpaying the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates. *Retail, hospitality and hairdressing were the most prolific sectors named in this round.
• In Wales, nine employers were named , amounting to £11,000 in arrears, £9000 in penalties, affecting 14 workers.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) today (8 December) named 260 employers for failing to pay 16,000 workers at least minimum wage rates.

Government investigators identified £1.7 million in back pay for some of the UK’s lowest paid workers and fined employers £1.3 million for underpayment.

Retail, hairdressing and hospitality businesses were among the most prolific offenders in this round. Common reasons for errors made include: failing to pay workers travelling between jobs, deducting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

It is unacceptable for employers not to pay their staff the wages they should receive.

Today’s announcement shows how the UK Government is clamping down on the nine employers in Wales who have failed to pay their staff the National Minimum Wage.

I encourage employees who think they are being underpaid to seek Government advice to ensure they receive what they’re entitled to.

The UK Government is working hard to create the right conditions for economic growth and job creation in Wales, but without compromising employee rights.

Business Minister Margot James said:

There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they’re entitled to and the government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules.

That’s why today we are naming hundreds of employers who have been short changing their workers; and to ensure there are consequences for their wallets as well as their reputation, we’ve levied millions in back pay and fines.

Bryan Sanderson, Chairman of the Low Pay Commission, said:

The Low Pay Commission’s conversations with employers suggest that the risk of being named is encouraging businesses to focus on compliance.

Further, it is good to see that HMRC continues to target large employers who have underpaid a large number of workers, as well as cases involving only a few workers, where workers are at risk of the most serious exploitation. It is imperative that the government keeps up the pressure on all employers who commit breaches of minimum wage law.

If workers are concerned they are not being paid the correct rates then they can seek advice from workplace experts Acas.

Since 2013, the scheme has identified £8 million in back pay for 58,000 workers, with 1,500 employers fined a total of £5 million. This year the government will spend a record £25.3 million on minimum wage enforcement.

Rates will rise again in April 2018, giving young workers in particular the biggest pay boost in a decade.

For more information about your pay, or if you think you might be being underpaid, visit the dedicated National Minimum and Living Wage website

The Welsh firms identified were:

• Mr Martin Brindley Station Cars, Wrexham LL11, failed to pay £5,303.74 to 1 worker.
• Total Site Maintenance Limited, Neath Port Talbot SA12, failed to pay £3,176.62 to 127 workers.
• Brynamman One Stop Limited, Neath Port Talbot SA18, failed to pay £1,252.76 to 1 worker.
• Ron Skinner & Sons Ltd, Blaenau Gwent NP22, failed to pay £863.5 to 2 workers.
• Rothwell & Robertson Limited trading as Ye Olde Bull’s Head Inn, Isle of Anglesey LL58, failed to pay £627.53 to 1 worker.
• Men At Work (Wales) Limited, Conwy LL31, failed to pay £310.8 to 1 worker.
• Mr Stephen Gomes trading as Moksh, Cardiff CF10, failed to pay £263.22 to 2 workers.
• Vale Holiday Parks Limited, Ceredigion SY23, failed to pay £213.38 to 2 workers.
• Schoolhouse Daycare Limited trading as Swansea DVLA Schoolhouse Daycare, Swansea SA6, failed to pay £125.37 to 1 worker

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