Tag Archives: HM Government

In a move that acknowledges the way the Department’s remit has evolved, the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary Karen Bradley have agreed a departmental name change. The Department will continue to be referred to as DCMS in all communications, but is now the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley said:

DCMS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and it is fitting now to include Digital in the name. The department has taken on significant new responsibilities in recent years, so that half of its policy and delivery work now covers the digital sectors – telecommunications, data protection, internet safety, cyber skills and parts of media and the creative industries.

The traditional core of DCMS remains as important as ever, covering Arts, Culture, the Creative Industries, Sport, Tourism, Heritage, Gambling, boosted by responsibility for civil society, charities, volunteering and innovative financing to create an inclusive economy. This work makes an essential contribution to driving growth and enriching lives.

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Like many people, I was with my family over the Eid weekend. We got together at my parents’ house in the South East of the UK. My sister lives in Burma and my brother in the far South-West of the UK, so we don’t all meet up very often. We had a great weekend, eating, talking, walking and playing games.

On the Sunday, I went with my parents to their church, which is part of a theological study centre. We first went to that church more than 30 years ago – it has become our spiritual home and during those 30 years, it has also been the home to hundreds of students from Africa and Asia and the place where thousands of people have come over the years to pray. But the study centre is closing and last Sunday was the final service at the church. Amongst the congregation there was a real sense of loss and bereavement. People who had prayed together every Sunday for more than 30 years stood around, after the service talking and reminiscing They had lost an important focal point in their lives: where could they go next Sunday to pray together? It was not so much the loss of the physical building, but the sense that people had lost something much more important – that their community had been taken way from them. I could feel a real sense of loss of community and that somehow part of their identity had also been lost.

That got me thinking about communities. The UK has been through some very difficult moments over the past few months – a succession of horrific terrorist attacks (including most recently, on innocent Muslim worshippers outside a Mosque in London), followed by the tragedy of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire (a tragedy in which a number of Moroccans sadly lost their lives). Each of these awful events has been followed by humbling examples of the way communities support each other in adversity. Londoners opening their homes to people with nowhere to sleep; Muslim taxi drivers in Manchester driving people long distances to their homes for free; hospital workers, off-shift after long hours, turning round and running back to work to help their colleagues treat the injured; the Grenfell residents applauding the fire-fighters as they left the blackened scene.

But the concept of community extends beyond the way local communities react in adversity. It can be a tremendous force for good when it reaches out beyond national boundaries and brings people together in a common cause – the European Community was set up in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War and over its lifetime has created economic and political stability and converted dictatorship to democracy across the continent. The United Nations is the best example of the internationalisation of community – the Millennium Development Goals have improved educational and health standards across the world, lifting millions out of poverty in the process.

‘Community’ is absolutely central to the human experience – whether that is my church community in the UK; the strength of local communities helping each other through difficult days in the UK; or the realisation that we are all part of the international community. It defines us, it shapes our identity. It should unite us, but it often divides us.

As I flew back to Morocco yesterday, the aeroplane crossed the Straits of Gibraltar. I took a photo of the surprisingly narrow stretch of water that separates Africa from Europe and I thought how it was a perfect metaphor for international relations: there is so little that divides us and so much that can unite us. We sometimes forget that.

The role of a Diplomat is to find ways to unite international communities. And so, during my time in Morocco, I will strive to emphasise those things that unite us (our trade, cultural, tourist and educational links) so that our two countries can learn to understand each other even better and we can build a community of equals between us.

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We will write to an applicant if an ‘address for service’ they supply does not match our address data.

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The official Ministry of Defence Police Twitter account was launched today (Monday 3 July 2017). The new MDP Twitter account can be found on the handle @MODPolice. This will supplement our existing Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) pages on the GOV.UK… read more

• government starts process of improving protection for holidaymakers irrespective of where they buy their package
• bill will also make it easier for law to keep pace with changing technology

Holidaymakers who book trips on the internet will get new protections so they are not left stranded abroad or lose money if their travel firm goes bust.

In a sign of the government’s commitment to helping consumers and ensuring people get the same protections online as on the High Street, the first Bill to be debated in the Commons since the Queen’s Speech will give more holidaymakers coverage under the ATOL protection scheme.

The new legislation will ensure ATOL protection extends to passengers who book flights, hotels or car hire that are not sold as package holidays. The move will cover a gap in the growing internet travel market by bringing up standards to those expected on the High Street.

From 2018, when holidaymakers book a flight and are then directed by the airline to a separate company to book accommodation within 24 hours, the holiday will be covered by a government protection scheme.

ATOL was set up to protect consumers against travel companies going bust. By law, all companies selling package holidays which include a flight must pay into a pot that can refund people who lose their holidays or, if needs be, bring them home if they are abroad when a company folds.

The ABTA Holiday Habits Report 2016 found more than three quarters of UK consumers booked their holidays online.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

This government is committed to making our country fairer by ensuring consumers have the protections they deserve both online and offline.

Technology has transformed the way people book holidays, and this Bill will mean the ATOL scheme can keep pace both now and in the future.

Whether you book a well-earned getaway on the internet or the High Street should not make a difference to knowing you won’t be stranded or left out-of-pocket if something goes wrong.

Transport Minister John Hayes said:

ATOL was set up for good reason – we go on holiday to relax, not worry about ‘what ifs’.

But people who buy their flights and hotels separately sometimes miss out on the protection, and peace of mind, that comes with this protection.

This change will make the law fit for the modern age – and better able to adapt to any future advances in the technology that people use to book their getaway.

The ATOL Bill is getting its second reading in Parliament today (Monday 3 July) and is the first step in delivering a programme of improvements to the ATOL scheme.

The measures in the Bill ensure that government has the ability to set up appropriate protection that is flexible enough to handle the modern travel industry, by allowing the government to set up separate funds for different types of holiday product and booking method.

The changes recognise that today there are many different ways in which people book travel and holidays, and we want to ensure that the right support is there for them if things go wrong.

It will also make it easier for UK businesses to sell air holidays across the EU, as they could offer consumers in Europe the same protection and peace of mind they offer in the UK.

The Air Travel Organisers’ Licence (ATOL) is a consumer protection scheme for package holidays that include a flight. It protects over 20 million holidaymakers each year, with a promise to provide a refund or a flight home if their travel provider goes bust. This is funded by a £2.50 contribution from travel companies for each protected passenger.

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