• Business Secretary launches flagship Industrial Strategy for the UK today with a plan to boost the economy, build on the country’s strengths and embrace the opportunities of technological change
• Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will invest £725 million in new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programmes to capture the value of innovation
• launch of the Industrial Strategy comes as government announces it has secured a major strategic investment into UK by world leading life sciences company MSD
• first ‘Sector Deals’ – construction, artificial intelligence (AI), automotive and life sciences – to help sectors grow and equip businesses for future opportunities
• 4 ‘Grand Challenges’ which will take advantage of global trends to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future

Business Secretary Greg Clark has today (27 November 2017) launched the government’s ambitious Industrial Strategy, setting out a long-term vision for how Britain can build on its economic strengths, address its productivity performance, embrace technological change and boost the earning power of people across the UK.

With the aim of making the UK the world’s most innovative nation by 2030, the government has committed to investing a further £725 million over the next 3 years in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) to respond to some of the greatest global challenges and the opportunities faced by the UK. This will include £170 million to transform our construction sector and help create affordable places to live and work that are safer, healthier and use less energy, and up to £210 million to improve early diagnosis of illnesses and develop precision medicine for patients across the UK.

The government has previously committed £1 billion to the first wave of Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund projects, including investing £246 million in next generation battery technology and £86 million in robotics hubs across the UK.

Last week the Prime Minister announced an ambition to increase the level of investment in research and development (R&D), rising from 1.7% to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. This could mean around £80 billion of additional investment in advanced technology in the next decade, helping to transform whole sectors, create new industries, and support innovation across the country.

The white paper also confirms government will be pressing ahead with a series of Sector Deals, with construction, life sciences, automotive and AI the first to benefit from these new strategic and long-term partnerships with government, backed by private sector co-investment. Work will continue with other sectors on transformative sector deals.

Ahead of the signing of the Life Sciences Sector Deal, due in the next few weeks, the government has confirmed today that world-leading life sciences company MSD is set to make a major investment into the UK economy with the opening of a new state-of-the-art UK hub, helping ensure innovative research into future treatments for patients and pioneering medicines are completed in Britain.

The investment announced by MSD today will support a new world-leading life sciences discovery research facility in the UK, supporting 950 jobs.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Our modern Industrial Strategy will shape a stronger and fairer economy for decades to come. It will help create the conditions where successful businesses can emerge and grow, and support these businesses in seizing the big opportunities of our time, such as artificial intelligence and big data, whilst also making sure our young people have the skills to take on the high-paid, high-skilled jobs this creates.

As we leave the European Union and forge a new path for ourselves, we need to focus on building a better future for our country and all the people who live in it. With the Budget last week, and our Industrial Strategy in the years ahead, we will build a Britain fit for the future.

In the strategy, the government has identified 4 Grand Challenges; global trends that will shape our rapidly changing future and which the UK must embrace to ensure we harness all the opportunities they bring. The 4 are:

• artificial intelligence – we will put the UK at the forefront of the artificial intelligence and data revolution
• clean growth – we will maximise the advantages for UK industry from the global shift to clean growth
• ageing society – we will harness the power of innovation to help meet the needs of an ageing society
• future of mobility – we will become a world leader in the way people, goods and services move

Each Grand Challenge represents an open invitation to business, academia and civil society to work and engage with the government to innovate, develop new technologies and ensure the UK seizes these global opportunities.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

The way we earn and live our lives as workers, citizens and consumers is being transformed by new technologies. The UK is well-placed to benefit from this new industrial revolution and we start from a position of significant strength. We have a thriving research and science base and are home to a wide range of innovative sectors, from advanced manufacturing and life sciences, to fintech and creative industries.

The Industrial Strategy is an unashamedly ambitious vision for the future of our country, laying out how we tackle our productivity challenge, earn our way in the future, and improve living standards across the country.

The white paper follows extensive engagement by government with industry, academia and business bodies who submitted almost 2,000 responses to the green paper consultation earlier in 2017.

The strategy unveiled today reflects this engagement, with a new and unique partnership between government, academia and industry, supported by policies that are committed to making the UK economy more productive and giving it a competitive edge in the future and abroad.

The white paper focuses on the 5 foundations of productivity – ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places – with a clear and complementary vision for each.

Each foundation is supported by a range of policies designed to provide businesses with certainty and reassurance that the UK will continue to have a competitive edge, including:

• raise total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027
• increase the rate of R&D tax credit to 12%
• invest £725 million in new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programmes to capture the value of innovation

People

• establish a technical education system that rivals the best in the world to stand alongside our world-class higher education system
• invest an additional £406 million in maths, digital and technical education, helping to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills
• create a new National Retraining Scheme that supports people to re-skill, beginning with a £64 million investment for digital and construction training

Infrastructure

• increase the National Productivity Investment Fund to £31 billion, supporting investments in transport, housing and digital infrastructure
• support electric vehicles through £400 million charging infrastructure investment and an extra £100 million to extend the plug-in car grant

• boost our digital infrastructure with over £1 billion of public investment, including £176 million for 5G and £200 million for local areas to encourage roll out of full-fibre networks . ###Business environment

• launch and roll-out Sector Deals – partnerships between government and industry aiming to increase sector productivity; the first Sector Deals are in life sciences, construction, artificial intelligence and the automotive sector
• drive over £20 billion of investment in innovative and high potential businesses, including through establishing a new £2.5 billion Investment Fund, incubated in the British Business Bank
• launch a review of the actions that could be most effective in improving productivity and growth of small and medium-sized businesses, including how to address what has been called the ‘long tail’ of lower productivity firms

Places

• agree local industrial strategies that build on local strengths and deliver on economic opportunities
• create a new transforming cities fund that will provide £1.7 billion for intra-city transport; this will fund projects that drive productivity by improving connections within city regions
• provide £42 million to pilot a Teacher Development Premium; this will test the impact of a £1,000 budget for high-quality professional development for teachers working in areas that have fallen behind

To ensure that the government is held to account on its progress in meeting the ambitions set out in the strategy, an Independent Industrial Strategy Council will be launched in 2018 to make recommendations to government on how it measures success.

Juergen Maier, CEO Siemens UK, said:

By working in strong partnership with national and local government, we have created a very positive example of Industrial Strategy in action for the off-shore wind industry in the Humber which is creating a new and vibrant local economy.

Through today’s Industrial Strategy announcement we are optimistic that through greater investment in R&D, and especially through the application of advanced industrial digital technologies like AI and robotics, we can support many more new and existing manufacturing industries – raising productivity and creating thousands of new highly skilled and well paid jobs.

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

FSB has been delighted to work with the Business Secretary Greg Clark as he delivers this government’s first Industrial Strategy. The UK’s 5.5 million small businesses have a huge role to play, if we are to increase productivity across the economy, and in every sector. This is the only way to achieve sustained wage growth and higher living standards.

We particularly welcome the focus on improving technical skills, new physical and digital infrastructure and increased research and development. Local industrial strategies and local investment such as the new Strength in Places Fund are also very welcome steps.

Stephen Martin, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:

The Industrial Strategy identifies the key challenges that the UK economy will need to overcome if businesses are to remain competitive in an increasingly global race. It also takes some important steps in starting the flow of public investment to overcome these hurdles. We hope it will become the cornerstone of a long-term vision of post-Brexit Britain, one that promotes innovation and the free flow of ideas.

It is particularly welcome to see how the government has acknowledged the calls from industry to take a more broad-based approach to addressing questions around skills, infrastructure and research to support our future economy. We hope this will continue as these plans are taken forward.

Terry Scuoler, EEF Chief Executive, said:

The introduction of a new Industrial Strategy is key to supporting efforts to improve productivity and invest in not just current industries, but those of the future which are set to radically change the ways in which people live and work.

The white paper acts as a good foundation for a new partnership with industry where government and business can ensure consistency in policy thinking and implementation to ensure the UK is world leader in these new technologies.

And by introducing independent scrutiny of the progress of these plans, the government is signalling that there will be a strong focus on measuring delivery which boardrooms will recognise and welcome.

Adam Marshall, BCC Director General, said:

Chambers of Commerce have been working actively with government to develop the Industrial Strategy, and we are pleased that the concerns and ideas of business communities across the country have been listened to.

Businesses will welcome the sense of mission that infuses the Industrial Strategy, as well as its assessment of the challenges and opportunities that the UK faces, particularly as both businesses and government look to forge a new path beyond the European Union.

We have been clear that harnessing the potential of our cities, towns and counties is crucial to make our country more competitive and prosperous, and so chamber business communities will cheer the focus on places to boost productivity in local economies.

Over the coming months, it is crucial that the government listens to the full range of business voices when developing local and sector-based deals, so that firms of all sizes and sectors can buy into the Strategy for years to come.

Lord Adonis, Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, said:

A key part of securing long-term economic growth and increased productivity will be to invest in our infrastructure network – so I welcome that today’s Industrial Strategy has this at its heart.

It is significant that the strategy has a clear focus on developing new low-carbon technologies, but also that the first sector deals are in construction as we deliver major projects like HS2, and artificial intelligence technology which could transform how we operate and maintain our infrastructure.

These will be key considerations as we work to deliver the country’s first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment to tackle the 3 Cs of congestion, capacity and carbon for the country’s long-term economic benefit.

Mike Thompson, Chief Executive of the ABPI, said:

The government’s Industrial Strategy is significantly important in providing a long-term strategic roadmap for UK business. As we navigate the challenges of leaving the European Union, it is important we continue to make the domestic landscape as attractive as possible.

We now look forward to further detail on the sector deals between the pharmaceutical industry and government on the back of Sir John Bell’s impressive Life Sciences Industrial Strategy. These deals are just the first steps but will be instrumental in securing the future strength of the UK life sciences industry, helping the UK economy prosper and allowing NHS patients to get better and faster access to world-class medicines discovered and developed here in Britain.

Ministers for the UK Government in Wales will today mark the publication of the Industrial Strategy White Paper on visits to businesses in South, North and Mid Wales (27 November).

• Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will visit the Airbus Campus in Newport – home to highly skilled engineering and research personnel, which provides Highly Secure Communications Solutions to a world leading Cyber Security portfolio.

• Guto Bebb will visit Brenig Construction in Colwyn Bay which delivers project management and construction services for civil engineering and building contracts throughout the whole of North Wales and beyond

• Lord Bourne will visit the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth – an education centre demonstrating practical solutions for sustainability and all aspects of green living.

The Industrial Strategy sets out how the UK Government is building a Britain fit for the future – how it will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs across the country with investment in the skills, industries and infrastructure of the future.

Ministers will visit businesses across Wales to outline how business and academic sectors and civic society can reap the rewards of a strategy that will play to the nation’s strengths.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will launch the Industrial Strategy White Paper in Wales at Airbus’ Newport Campus.

Here he will see first-hand the critical work the company does in the field of cyber security and how the company can benefit from one of the Grand Challenges laid down by the strategy today.

Alun Cairns said:

The Industrial Strategy sets out a compelling vision for the future of the UK economy and a new approach to preparing for the opportunities and challenges of the coming decades.

One of the Grand Challenges put forward in this strategy is to put the UK at the forefront of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data revolution.

To support rapid adoption of AI technologies at scale, the UK Government wants to work with priority business sectors, including cyber security – an area where the Airbus Campus in Newport excels in. I am grateful to them for the opportunity to see this in action today and to see how they can rise to the challenge of the Industrial Strategy.

Guto Bebb will meet with senior executives at construction company, Brenig in Colwyn Bay where he will underline the UK Government’s commitments to supporting the growth of the North Wales economy through the strategy.

UK Government Minister Guto Bebb said:

The Industrial Strategy recognises that no two places in the UK are the same with each place having its own unique identity and strengths.

Between Deeside, Wrexham, Manchester and Merseyside we have one of the strongest manufacturing channels in the UK. North Wales also has an energy sector making a huge contribution to a low carbon future, and an aerospace sector which is admired the world over.

Our backing for growth deals and cross border working in this strategy will provide further opportunity to make the most of the region’s connections to the Northern Powerhouse.

Lord Bourne will be visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth to highlight how Wales can make a real contribution to the UK Government’s clean growth plan of the strategy.

UK Government Minister Lord Bourne said;

The move to cleaner economic growth– through low carbon technologies and the efficient use of resources – is one of the greatest industrial opportunities of our time.

The Centre for Alternative Technology’s work in highlighting environmental issues and solutions over the past 43 years has inspired thousands of people to care more about and to do more to help the natural world, I look forward to seeing how the work they do can play key role in researching the technologies and innovations we need to create a clean growth future.

The Business Secretary has confirmed today (27 November) that world-leading life sciences company MSD is set to make a major investment into the UK economy with the opening of a new state-of-the-art UK hub, helping ensure innovative research into future treatments for patients and pioneering medicines are completed in Britain.

The news comes as the government is set to unveil its flagship Industrial Strategy later this morning, with a long-term plan for how Britain can build on its economic strengths, address its productivity challenge, positively embrace technological change, and support businesses and its workers.

The Sector Deal agreement comes as a major endorsement of the government’s Industrial Strategy vision and has been secured through the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Deal, one of 4 such deals that government is set to confirm later today and announce in the weeks ahead.

Alongside the Life Sciences Sector Deal, government will confirm it has agreed deals with construction, artificial intelligence and automotive. Each deal represents a new strategic and long-term partnership with government, backed by private sector co-investment.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

We are at one of the most important, exciting and challenging times there has ever been in the history of the world’s commerce and industry.

Powered by new technology, new industries are being created, existing ones changing and the way we live our lives – as workers, citizens and consumers – transformed.

We are an open, flexible economy, built on trade and engagement with the world. We have a competitive business environment with a deserved reputation for being a dependable and confident place to do business, thanks to our high standards, respected institutions and a reliable rule of law.

We are renowned for innovation and discovery, with some of the best universities and research institutions in the world producing some of the most inventive people on earth.

We have commercial and industrial sectors – from advanced manufacturing to financial services; from life sciences to the creative industries – which are competitive with the best in the world.

In this Industrial Strategy we set out how we will maintain and enhance these and other strengths and deploy them to our advantage.

But any serious strategy should address the weaknesses that stop us achieving our potential, as well as our strengths, and this Industrial Strategy does that.

Britain’s productivity performance has not been good enough, and is holding back our earning power as a country.

So this Industrial Strategy deliberately strengthens the 5 foundations of productivity: ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places.

By acting together as a nation, and in a sustained way, to improve the underperforming conditions for productivity we can drive up our earning power.

MSD UK hub

The investment announced by MSD, known as Merck and co. in North America, will support a new world-leading life sciences discovery research facility in the UK, supporting a total of 950 jobs in high-skilled and high-value research roles.

Investments by a number of pharmaceutical companies into the UK will form a key part of the Sector Deal, a central Industrial Strategy measure, set to be signed in the coming weeks by the life sciences sector and government.

Announcing the investment, Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

Our life sciences sector is one of the UK’s fastest developing industries, with a turnover in excess of £64 billion, employing 233,000 across the UK.

MSD’s commitment today, and the wider Sector Deal investment we have secured, proves the process outlined in the Industrial Strategy can give companies the confidence and direction they need to invest in the UK. It will ensure Britain continues to be at the forefront of innovation and represents a huge vote of confidence in our Industrial Strategy.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

I want patients to continue to be at the front of the queue for the best treatments available. The NHS has a proud history of spearheading medical innovation and today’s investment in our strong and growing life sciences sector will see patients in the UK continue to benefit from world-leading research and pioneering medicines.

MSD’s Research Laboratories president Dr. Roger M. Perlmutter said of the investment:

Strong discovery capabilities and the pursuit of scientific excellence are foundational to MSD’s mission to save and improve lives around the world.

A new UK location will enable us to build on our proud legacy of invention and be an important contributor to the vibrant and rapidly growing UK life sciences community, while providing access for more collaborations within the European life science ecosystem.

MSD Managing Director in the UK and Ireland, Louise Houson said:

We believe the UK to be a unique bioscience centre of excellence and this investment presents a major opportunity for us to work in collaboration with the UK government to build on the forward thinking and ambitious Industrial Strategy white paper being published by the government today.

Chair of the Life Science Industrial Strategy Advisory Board, Sir John Bell said:

Today’s investment provides strong evidence that a coherent industrial strategy can have a real, tangible impact on economic activity in sectors that we need to strengthen and grow. It will drive this sector forward and simultaneously attract other investments into the UK.

Investments by world-renowned companies like MSD and QIAGEN demonstrate that the UK’s science base is truly world-leading and an exceptional national strength.

It is clear that the UK can, through a collaborative partnership between government, industry, academia, charities and the NHS, deliver the next wave of innovation that will benefit patients, transform the health care system, and generate economic growth and improved productivity.

The Sector Deal, confirmed in the white paper later today, will drive investment in the UK’s world-leading research infrastructure and boost productivity in the sector. It will be formally announced in the coming weeks, including a brand new partnership between leading diagnostics company, QIAGEN, and Health Innovation Manchester, that has the intention to develop a genomics and diagnostics campus in the city.

This new campus will generate new skilled jobs and attract companies from across the world to the north west, while the company has confirmed it is going to expand its current operations in Manchester, with the potential to create 800 skilled jobs.

CEO of QIAGEN, Peer M. Schatz said:

We are very excited about this partnership with Health Innovation Manchester, and the essential engagement of the University of Manchester, the NHS Trust and the UK government. Our success together can advance science and improve the lives of patients in the local region as well as worldwide.

Innovation at the heart of Industrial Strategy

Today’s investment builds on the announcement made by the Prime Minister last week that the government ambition is to deliver a step change in the level of investment in research and development (R&D), rising from 1.7% to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. This could mean around £80 billion of additional investment in advanced technology in the next decade, helping to transform whole sectors, create new industries, and support innovation across the country.

The uplift will help transform the UK economy and drive a long-term change in the use of R&D by industry, ensuring that the next generation of innovative technologies that create high-skilled jobs, revolutionise productivity and improve living standards, are produced in Britain. Government will be working with industry and academia to deliver this goal.

Grand Challenges

The white paper follows extensive engagement by government with industry, academia and business bodies who submitted almost 2,000 responses to the green paper consultation earlier in 2017.

In the strategy, the government identifies 4 Grand Challenges; global trends that will shape our rapidly changing future and which the UK must embrace and lead to ensure we harness all the economic and social opportunities they bring. The first 4 are:

• artificial intelligence (AI): the rise of AI is changing the world we live in, the UK has to be at the forefront of this data-driven revolution and grasp the opportunities it presents through the AI Sector Deal
• clean growth: the global shift to clean growth presents huge opportunities for innovation that government and industry must take advantage of by backing the development, manufacture and use of low carbon technologies
• ageing society: to effectively meet the needs of an ageing population, the UK must harness innovations in medical care, technology and services
• future mobility: from driverless cars to drone-delivered goods, the way we move people, goods and services is evolving rapidly and the UK needs to be a world leader in shaping what the future of mobility looks like

Each Grand Challenge represents an open invitation to business, academia and civil society to work and engage with the government to innovate, develop new technologies and develop strategies to seize these global opportunities.

On a visit to Cox’s Bazar, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced further UK aid for the Rohingya crisis, as she warns that global funding will start to dry up in 100 days.

Ms Mordaunt pledged that the UK will continue to stand by the Rohingya people and Bangladesh, now and in the future. She met some of the 620,000 innocent men, women and children who have been tragically driven from their homes in Burma and forced to make the treacherous journey to Bangladesh, relying on aid to survive.

Today’s announcement of £12 million for the Rohingya crisis is providing urgently needed food now and ensuring more lives are not put at risk when international funding starts to run out in February 2018. This brings the UK’s total support to £59 million since 25 August 2017.

She praised the Government of Bangladesh and the local communities for their continued generosity in helping the Rohingya people and also urged other countries to follow the UK’s lead by promising longer-term support to avert disaster.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

The persistent persecution of the Rohingya people must stop. It is horrifying that hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children have had their homes burnt to the ground, and parents have been forced to helplessly watch as their children die from hunger.

This looks like ethnic cleansing. The Burmese military must end this inhumane violence and guarantee unrestricted humanitarian access so aid can reach those in need in Burma. Any return of families to their homes must be safe, voluntary and dignified.

Global funding to support the Rohingya people will only meet urgent needs for the next 100 days – we cannot turn our backs on those trapped in crisis.

Other countries must follow our lead and do even more to help children overcome the trauma of war, reunite them with their families and give a future to the next generation.

To mark the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women and the 16 days of activism, the International Development Secretary is shining a spotlight on the horrifying prevalence of sexual and gender based violence that Rohingya women and girls have suffered.

During her visit to Bangladesh, Ms Mordaunt heard harrowing stories of brutal abuse and met UK experts delivering life-saving treatment including medical, counselling and psychosocial support to female survivors.

She pledged to help increase protection for Rohingya women and girls against sexual violence and exploitation and announced a separate package of UK aid support (£12 million for multiple countries) that is expected to help around 750,000 women and girls globally over the next three years. Bangladesh could stand to benefit from this.

This will increase access to services such as legal assistance, healthcare for survivors of sexual and gender based violence and help protect women and girls by tackling the root causes of these crimes.

Ms Mordaunt said:

The countless stories of sexual violence I have heard from Rohingya women and girls are truly shocking and the high rates of this crime across the world are a global scandal.

The UK is absolutely determined to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and we are increasing protection for Rohingya women and girls against sexual violence and exploitation.

We are stepping up our leadership – working closely with women leaders and grassroots charities – to help more survivors in some of the world’s poorest countries overcome the traumas of violence.

UK aid is helping to provide:

• Emergency food to 174,000 people
• Lifesaving nutritional support to more than 60,000 children under-five and over 21,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women
• Safe drinking water, emergency latrines and hygiene kits for more than 138,000 people
• Essential items including soap, cooking utensils and water cans for over 131,000 people
• Emergency shelter for over 130,000 people and support to make shelters more resilient to rain and heavy winds for 450,000 people as the cyclone season approaches
• Access to female bathing cubicles and sanitary items for more than 35,000 girls and women
• Counselling and psychological support for over 10,000 women suffering from the trauma of war and over 2,000 survivors of sexual violence
• Medical help for over 50,000 pregnant women to give birth safely.

UK leadership also helped to secure another $300 million of international support at the landmark Geneva pledging conference on 23 October 2017. This reaches over half of the total funding required to meet urgent humanitarian needs as set out in the UN appeal. However, the UN appeal only covers the months up to February 2018, and more international pledges are required to meet ongoing desperate need.

Notes to Editors:

1. Today’s announcement of UK aid support for the Rohingya crisis includes £8 million of new funding for the Rohingya crisis from DFID’s crisis reserve which will help ensure assistance – including helping improve security for women and girls – is sustained after the months covered by the UN appeal, and £4 million for the World Food Programme that has been allocated from DFID Bangladesh’s existing budget and is already being used to provide food.
2. DFID will also provide up to £12 million over three years (December 2017 – December 2020) to the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UNTF), as announced on Saturday 25 November 2017. This will support local, national, regional and cross-border efforts to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against women and girls in all contexts, including sexual violence in conflict areas. In 2016 around 250,000 women and girls benefitted directly from the Trust Fund’s work.
3. The UK is also leading the charge to reform the humanitarian system, to ensure the international community responds efficiently and effectively to crises, pooling resources together rather than competing and working in isolation.
4. The events in Rakhine look like ethnic cleansing. The Burmese authorities need to stop the violence and ensure immediate access into northern Rakhine so that UK aid can provide a lifeline to those still suffering in Rakhine State. Unacceptable intimidation and restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers must be ended. Burma must work with international partners to put in place the conditions that will allow people to return to their homes safely, with dignity and hope for the future.
5. Recognising the unprecedented scale of the crisis in Bangladesh and Burma, the UK has been a leader in responding – in speed and size – providing an additional £59 million since August 2017 to help meet the urgent humanitarian needs of innocent men, women and children who have been forced to flee the relentless violence and atrocities in Burma, and make the treacherous journey to Bangladesh to seek refuge.
6. This includes the UK Government matching pound for pound £5 million raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal for people fleeing the violence and destruction in Burma, doubling the impact of the public’s own donations and ensuring that charities working on the ground can reach even more people in need.

Some women have been subjected to harassment and intimidating behaviour from protesters when visiting family planning clinics to seek information, advice and services from medical professionals.

The review will gather evidence from police forces, healthcare providers and local authorities to understand the scale and nature of these protests, before considering what further action the government can take to protect those using or working in abortion clinics. This could include bolstering existing or creating new police and civil powers.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:

While everyone has a right to peaceful protest, it is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated simply for exercising their legal right to healthcare advice and treatment. The decision to have an abortion is already an incredibly personal one, without women being further pressured by aggressive protesters.

Let me be clear, this review is about ensuring the police, healthcare providers and local authorities have the right powers to protect women making these tough decisions. But this isn’t to kick the issue into the long grass. The review will collect the detailed evidence and firm recommendations that allow us to take the right action to tackle this problem.

The law already provides protection against harassment and intimidation, and the police have a range of powers to manage protests. Like all members of the public, protesters are subject to the law and all suspected criminal offences will be robustly investigated and dealt with by the police.

But the review will see what more needs to be done and the Policing Minister Nick Hurd has written to the National Policing Lead for Protest, Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Swann to begin this work.

The review, to be conducted by Home Office officials, will also consider international comparisons, as similar protests have taken place in Australia, France and the United States.