Tag Archives: HM Government
Press release: Dr Liam Fox attends digital trade seminar in Geneva
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox will travel to Geneva today (Thursday 16 November), home of the World Trade Organization (WTO), for a digital trade seminar.
The digital economy is playing an increasingly prominent role in global trade, and yet many of the relevant WTO rules have not been updated for 2 decades. The UK, as part of the EU, is already a leader in this area. The digital sector accounted for more than £32 billion of exports in services in 2015, a growth of almost 40% since 2010.
The seminar will explore the growing influence of digital trade on the global economy, and how best to shape and modernise global trading rules and standards to allow for the development of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data. It will also address barriers and challenges to advancing this agenda for the benefit of all WTO members.
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:
The principal WTO rules for the digital economy have not been significantly updated for over 2 decades, and yet the impact of digital technology during this period has been unprecedented.
The future of global trade will be largely shaped by the digital economy, which will unlock the vast potential of trade in the services sector. As an international economic department we can help lead modernisation reforms from within the WTO, and ensure British businesses can access a wider range of markets than ever before.
The seminar will also explore how to allow more Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to access e-commerce solutions and interact with a wider network of consumers in the global market in both developed and developing countries.
Ambassadors from a broad group of WTO trading nations will attend the session, which will also consider how best to promote and protect the open, free and secure nature of the internet.
The digital economy, in particular e-commerce, is an important driver for wider economic growth and helping to ensure all countries can access the benefits will enable contribution to a truly inclusive global trading system.
Dr Fox will meet with a number of ambassadors to the WTO as he continues to promote further liberalisation of global trade, with the visit signalling a continued interest and commitment to ensuring a substantive positive outcome on digital trade at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires scheduled for December.
Notes to editors
World Trade Organization
The WTO was established in 1994 as an international body to regulate trade and encourage nations to agree to adhere to the principle of ever-greater trading freedom.
As a founding member, on leaving the EU the UK will need to update the terms of WTO membership where, at present, all of the country’s commitments are applied through the EU as a whole. The process will mean ‘technical rectification’, by simply replicating current obligations, is the most simple and straightforward solution, and will cause the minimum disruption to trade.
Statistics
Information on Digital Sector exports taken from DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2017: Employment and Trade
Further information
Contact the DIT Media and Digital Team on 0207 215 2000
Follow us: @tradegovuk, gov.uk/dit
read morePress release: Government to set out proposals to reform care and support
The First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Damian Green, has announced today that the government will publish a green paper on care and support for older people by summer 2018. The paper will set out plans for how government proposes to improve care and support for older people and tackle the challenge of an ageing population.
As people are living longer and the population ages, the government recognises the need to reach a long-term, sustainable solution to providing the care older people need. As part of this work the government has begun a process of engagement in advance of the green paper to ensure it reflects a wide range of views and requirements. Government will work with independent experts, stakeholders and users to shape the long-term reforms that will be proposed in the green paper.
These proposals will build on the additional £2 billion over the next 3 years that the government has already provided to meet social care needs, reduce pressures on NHS services and stabilise the social care provider market in the short term.
First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Damian Green, said:
“An ageing population needs a long-term solution for care, but building a sustainable support system will require some big decisions. In developing the green paper, it is right that we take the time needed to debate the many complex issues and listen to the perspectives of experts and care users, to build consensus around reforms which can succeed.”
Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt said:
“We are committed to reforming social care to ensure we can guarantee everyone dignity and security in old age. It is important we consider a wide variety of views on the future of the social care system – as our ageing population continues to grow it is absolutely vital that we get this right.”
Once the green paper is published in summer 2018, it will be subject to a full public consultation.
read moreNews story: Court news: voice your ideas on £1 billion court modernisation
Roadshow events seeking views on modernisation of courts and tribunals will be launched by HM Courts & Tribunals Service in November 2017.
Providers are being invited with other members of the legal profession to register for a series of roadshow events which start on 27 November 2017.
The idea is for HM Courts & Tribunals Service to collect views and ideas on the £1 billion modernisation programme.
This is due to be completed in 2022 and will affect everyone who uses and works within our courts and tribunals.
Where will the events be held?
The roadshow events will be run over several months and will each last 90 minutes. These are the first dates and venues to be confirmed:
- 27 November, 5.30pm to 7pm – Newcastle Combined Court
- 29 November, 5pm to 6.30pm – Manchester Civil Justice Centre
- 11 December, 5.30pm to 7pm – London Royal Courts of Justice
More events will be scheduled later in the year.
How will the events work?
There will be a general introduction to the reform programme and a round-table discussion.
Issues will include:
- scheduling and listing
- virtual hearings
- flexible operating hours
How do I register?
HMCTS Reform Roadshows – to register your interest
News story: 2018 will be the Year of Engineering
This is part of a year-long campaign to tackle the engineering skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession.
Today, Thursday 16 November, the government announced that 2018 will be the Year of Engineering, a national campaign to increase awareness and understanding of what engineers do among young people aged 7-16, their parents and their teachers.
The UK Space Agency will be supporting the campaign by funding a series of education and outreach projects designed to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The seven new projects will receive £210,000 of funding. They include Monitoring the Environment, Learning for Tomorrow (MELT) which will allow students to understand and analyse key earth observation data relating to the North and South Pole.
Another project will see the Agency working with the Design and Technology Association to develop a series of curriculum-based resources which will use the design and technology curriculum as a platform to motivate more young people to consider careers in the space industry.
These projects build on the success of the education programme supported by the Agency which was linked to Tim Peake’s Principia mission to the International Space Station. Over 1.6 million young people in nearly 10,000 schools across the UK took part in one or more of the projects, which covered a range of topics from food science to plant biology and from exercise to programming computers in space.
The Agency is also funding a programme of interactive activities in science and discovery centres across the UK, designed to introduce young children and their families to the work of engineers and scientists engaged on some of Britain’s most exciting space missions including the James Webb Space Telescope (the successor to Hubble) and the ExoMars mission that will carry a UK-built rover to Mars in 2019.
You can support the Year of Engineering by highlighting some of the many different ways that individuals and organisations can #inspireanengineer on social media – follow the hashtag on Twitter to find out more.
The Year of Engineering launches in January 2018. To find out more, visit the Year of Engineering partner website or follow the Year of Engineering campaign on Twitter.
Front cover of SpaceUK issue 48.To kick off the year of engineering, we have published issue 48 of our SpaceUK magazine.
The latest edition is packed with interesting content, including features on the UK’s role in the space emergency service, a mission to remove space debris, and a celebration of the Cassini Huygens mission.
Download and subscribe to our digital magazine.
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