Rail Minister joins with rail industry to tackle suicide prevention

News story

Chris Heaton-Harris attended a special virtual industry event aimed at tackling suicides on the rail network.

key rail industry experts join together to find innovative approach to tackle suicide on rail network
Rail Minister pledges to do whatever he can to help tackle the tragedy of rail suicides
work bringing together rail industry and suicide prevention experts follows 2,233 lifesaving interventions made on the railways in 2019 to 2020

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has pledged to lead the ongoing battle to tackle suicide on Britain’s railways, during a special virtual event with key industry experts today (Wednesday 25 November 2020) aimed at tackling deaths on the network.

Mr Heaton-Harris thanked members of the rail industry, transport sector and suicide prevention experts – including from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), British Transport Police (BTP), and Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) – for their work and dedication in keeping people safe, ahead of a discussion to examine best practice in how industry can help prevent more deaths on rail.

As a result of the work being done by the sector, with Network Rail leading the way, 2,233 lifesaving interventions on the railways were made between 2019 and 2020, meaning that 6 people were saved for every one that took their life.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said:

For the majority of us, it is almost impossible to comprehend the mental anguish that leads people to attempt to take their own lives.

We all have a part to play, and I am personally committed to doing whatever I can to ensure the railway does more to help those in crisis. Days like today – bringing together the industry to consider new and innovative approaches – are crucial to help reach our joint target of achieving a reduction in suicides nationally.

I am incredibly proud of the exceptional work that has already been done to prevent suicides on the transport network, helping result in thousands of life-saving interventions made every year. Now, we’re challenging ourselves to do more.

Samaritans has so far trained more than 20,000 railway employees in prevention techniques, while hundreds of rail industry employees have donated their time to the Million Hour Challenge to support the charity, whose Small Talk Saves Lives campaign has been running successfully since 2017.

Published 25 November 2020

Spending review for ‘whole UK’ will deliver for Scotland

Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a Spending Review for the whole of the UK as he laid out plans to help every corner of Scotland to build back better and fight coronavirus.

The Chancellor announced that Scotland will receive £2.4bn of new funding from the UK Government in 2021/22 through the Barnett formula for devolved areas such as health and social care, education and housing.

This is double the £1.2bn new funding provided for 2020/21 at the 2019 Spending Round.

It is also in addition to the £8.2bn guaranteed to the Scottish Government in 2020/21, above the funding allocated at the Spring Budget earlier this year, in the face of the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.

Scotland will also receive a significant boost from more than £100bn of capital investment across the UK in 2021/22, improving connectivity and productivity.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

This Spending Review will help people in every corner of Scotland.

It will provide billions of pounds to fight coronavirus, deliver the peoples’ priorities and drive the UK’s recovery.

The Treasury is, has been, and will always be the Treasury for the whole of the United Kingdom. And this is a Spending Review for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Speaking after the Chancellor delivered the UK Government’s Spending Review, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

The UK Government’s Spending Review delivers for all parts of the UK at this challenging time. Never before has the strength of the Union, and the role of the UK Treasury, been more important.

The UK Government pledged to bring funding decisions back from Brussels, and our plans for a new UK Shared Prosperity Fund will deliver on this promise. Communities across the UK have been hit hard by Covid, so I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement today of £220 million in additional funding in the coming financial year. This will be delivered by the UK Government across the UK, working in partnership with local authorities and communities.

We made a commitment to maintain funding for our vital rural and coastal communities and are fulfilling that through £570 million to support farmers and our rural economy, and £14 million to support Scottish fisheries. Additional funding for broadband will help boost the economies of some of Scotland’s most remote communities.

Accelerating the Tay, Moray, Borderlands and Islands growth deals is great news. It will help support jobs and drive economic recovery across swathes of Scotland.

The new UK Infrastructure Bank will help support our post-covid economic recovery. A billion pounds for our net zero climate change target will ensure the UK remains a world leader in climate action, ahead of us bringing the world to Glasgow for COP26 next year. And the new counter-terrorism operations centre will help keep people in all parts of the UK safe from global threats.

The Scottish Government will receive an additional £2.4 billion in Barnett Consequentials. This is over and above the £8.2 billion they have already been allocated since March this year. This additional funding will help support jobs and public services in Scotland while we fight the pandemic.

The UK Government will continue to do all it can to support people in all parts of the United Kingdom.

The Chancellor used the Spending Review to reaffirm his commitment to growth across Scotland – announcing an £11m acceleration of City and Growth Deal funding over each year remaining in four Scotland Deals.

Tay Cities, Borderlands (Scotland), Moray and the Scottish Islands will be funded over 10 years, rather than 15 years, releasing funding more quickly to enable projects to come online sooner.

By bringing forward the investment, Tay Cities will receive an additional £6.3m each year, Borderlands (Scotland) an extra £2.1m, Moray an extra £1.1m and the Scottish Islands an additional £1.7m.

Projects announced today include the Gigabit and Shared Rural Network programmes for better mobile coverage.

The Gigabit programme subsidises the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband in the most difficult to reach 20% of the UK, while the Shared Rural Network programme is a partnership with industry that will deliver high-quality 4G mobile coverage across 95% of the UK by 2025.

Investment in new green industries will support green growth clusters, offshore wind capacity, port infrastructure, Carbon Capture and Storage and low carbon hydrogen.

The global underwater hub, funded by £1.3m announced at today’s Spending Review, will eventually comprise of physical presences in the existing underwater engineering cluster in North East Scotland.

Separately, institutions and companies in Scotland will also be able to access a £14.6bn UK-wide research and development fund.

The Government today confirmed funding for the next stage of the Plan for Jobs – including £1.6bn for the landmark Kickstart scheme in 2021/22, which will see the creation of up to 250,000 government-subsidised jobs for young people.

The apprenticeship hiring incentive that launched in August will also be extended to 31 March 2021, offering employers up to £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire.

Investment from EU Structural Funds is increasing in each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 21-22 compared to this financial year.

The Spending Review provides additional UK funding to help local areas prepare over 2021-22 for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Further details will be published in the New Year.

The UK Government has delivered on its manifesto commitment to maintain funding by providing £570m to support farmers, land managers and the rural economy, and £14m to support fisheries in Scotland.

The Government committed to boost local economies by establishing at least one Freeport in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with locations to be jointly decided by the UK Government and the devolved administrations.

And on the cultural front the Government announced £29.1m for Festival UK with projects expected across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UK Government’s recent announcement of record spending on defence will also directly benefit Scotland as it finances the UK’s order of 8 Type 26 and 5 Type 31 frigates, which are currently being constructed on the Clyde, creating thousands of jobs.

At this Spending Review Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from UK-wide coronavirus support in health, including £15bn for Test and Trace with Barnett funding provided for England-only elements of the programme.

Chancellor’s Spending Review will deliver Jobs and Infrastructure for Northern Ireland

Rishi Sunak set out how the UK Government will provide billions of pounds to fight coronavirus, deliver the peoples’ priorities and drive the UK’s recovery. Northern Ireland will also benefit from more than £100bn of capital investment across the UK in 2021/22 – creating jobs and growing the economy.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a Spending Review for the whole of the UK as he laid out plans to help Northern Ireland fight coronavirus and build back better.

The Chancellor announced that Northern Ireland will receive £900m of funding from the UK Government in 2021/22 through the Barnett formula for devolved areas such as health and social care, education and housing. This is more than double the £400m new funding provided for 2020/21 at the 2019 Spending Round.

It is in addition to the £2.8bn additional funding guaranteed to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2020/21, above the funding allocated at the Spring Budget earlier this year, in the face of the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.

Northern Ireland will also receive a significant boost from more than £100bn of capital investment across the UK in 2021/22, improving connectivity and productivity for the whole of the UK.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

The commitments we have made at this Spending Review will help people across Northern Ireland to bounce back from the economic impact of coronavirus.

We will provide billions of pounds in the fight against coronavirus, deliver the peoples’ priorities and drive the UK’s recovery.

The Treasury is, has been, and will always be the Treasury for the whole of the United Kingdom. And this is a Spending Review for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Commenting on the Chancellor’s statement earlier today, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis said:

Today’s announcement by the Chancellor of over £900m additional funding for Northern Ireland is brilliant news. This is in addition to the £2.8bn guaranteed by the UK Government in 2020/21, and above the £216m allocated at the Spring Budget.

This additional funding can be used to support devolved areas such as health and social care, education and housing.

Northern Ireland will also benefit from a share of more than £100bn capital investment across the UK. This investment will help improve connectivity and productivity across the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland.

As we continue to battle the economic upheaval of the COVID pandemic on our society, today’s announcement has once again shown that this Government’s number one priority is to ensure that health, jobs and livelihoods are protected. Everyone deserves to have a secure financial future, and provide their families with hope and stability as we move forward into 2021.

Projects announced today include the Gigabit and Shared Rural Network programmes for better mobile coverage.

Investment in new green industries will support green growth clusters, offshore wind capacity, port infrastructure, Carbon Capture and Storage and low carbon hydrogen.

Separately, institutions and companies in Northern Ireland will be able to access a £14.6bn UK-wide research and development fund.

Investment from EU Structural Funds is increasing in each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 21-22 compared to this financial year.

The Spending Review provides additional UK funding to help local areas prepare over 2021-22 for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Further details will be published in the New Year.

The UK Government has also delivered on its manifesto commitment to maintain funding by providing £315m to support farmers, land managers and the rural economy, and £3.1m to support fisheries in Northern Ireland.

The Government committed to boosting local economies through at least one freeport in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with locations to be decided in consultation with the devolved administrations.

And on the cultural front, the Government announced £29.1m for Festival UK with projects expected across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Joint statement on the UK-Brazil JETCO

The 11th meeting of the United Kingdom – Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was held on 11 November 2020 by videoconference. The meeting was co-chaired by Roberto Fendt, Brazil’s Special Secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs, and the Rt Honourable Elizabeth Truss, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Trade.

At this first meeting between the current Brazilian and British governments, the two parties recognised the changing backdrop to the JETCO, both politically with the United Kingdom having left the EU, and due to Covid-19. The moment presented both an opportunity and a sense of urgency in pressing for a closer and deeper relationship between the United Kingdom and Brazil. Both sides reiterated their commitment to strengthening bilateral commercial ties and to cooperating to promote bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries.

Brazil and the United Kingdom have agreed to put their best efforts towards building a long-term vision for improving their trade relationship, in order to maximise the potential opportunities. To that end they agreed to continue work on market access and to intensify preparations for a future Free Trade Agreement, on which they will reconvene to check progress in six months’ time.

The two countries acknowledged that an Agreement to avoid Double Taxation would facilitate a substantial increase in trade and investment flows between Brazil and the United Kingdom. This has been one of the top investment promotion mechanisms raised by companies in both countries. They committed to further develop discussions to address technical issues, and to report on progress made at the next Economic and Financial Dialogue between the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and Brazil’s Minister of Economy

Brazil and the United Kingdom noted the opportunities brought by an intensified exchange of views on market access, services, intellectual property, trade facilitation and business environment for increasing bilateral cooperation, trade and investments flows. The United Kingdom firmly welcomed Brazil’s recent modernisation of regulations that were affecting around £140 million of British exports in a range of sectors including Agriculture, Financial Services and Energy.

The UK welcomed the news that Brazil had amended its national Geographical Indication law, allowing gentilics to be registered, and Brazil committed to considering the Scotch Whisky Association’s application for recognition of scotch whisky. The UK said it would welcome any future applications for Brazilian GIs, including Cachaça, from the 1st January when the UK Government will launch its new GI scheme. Ministers asked for an update within four months.

Both Ministers emphasised the role of free and open trade on delivering economic growth and prosperity for the Brazilian and British economies and societies, especially to recover from Covid-19 economic shocks. They agreed that this recovery must be based on building more sustainable, resilient economies and reaffirmed their commitment to promote low carbon growth and green jobs. They also agreed to pursue their trade relationship in a way that contributes to sustainable development and builds on their multilateral commitments, and reaffirmed their commitment to further support the transition to more sustainable sources of energy and supply chains, noting the crucial importance of combating illegal deforestation. The UK also emphasised the importance of dialogue with other major consumer and producer countries, to promote sustainable growth in the run up to COP26.

Brazil and the United Kingdom acknowledge the importance of strengthening economic ties through sustainable, clean growth. They have accelerated discussions and intend to sign, before the end of 2020, a Memorandum of Understanding that strengthens mutual collaboration in clean growth, while supporting an efficient and competitive energy market and incentivising more trade and investment.

The two Ministers also recognised the importance of the services sector and supported greater cooperation between UK and Brazilian regulators as a way to exchange best practices on regulatory issues on services in order to provide more efficient business environment in both jurisdictions and boost bilateral services trade and investments.

Turning to the ongoing challenges presented by Covid-19, the United Kingdom and Brazil remain committed to keeping supply chains open and functional. The United Kingdom acknowledges Brazil’s critical role as a major food exporter and its efforts to keep exports afloat despite the logistical obstacles brought by the pandemic. The two countries agree to build on the commitments made by G20 Trade Ministers on 14 May 2020 to keep trade in medical goods flowing in light of the use of trade restrictions during the pandemic. Brazil and the United Kingdom agree to work together towards permanent actions that ensure greater liberalisation of such goods, while preventing new export restrictions and strengthening their healthcare systems, guaranteeing essential supplies to both countries.

Brazil and the United Kingdom agreed that strong international cooperation, including through the G20 and multilateral economic fora, is needed to promote a sustainable global economic recovery. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the rules based multilateral trading system, and agreed on the need for comprehensive World Trade Organization reform to improve transparency. It was agreed that these are essential for promoting investment, increasing productivity and integrating economies into global supply chains. Brazil looks forward to working with the United Kingdom in the WTO as an independent member. Brazil also stressed that, as part of the current momentum of bilateral relations, its market access conditions should not be undermined by the UK’s departure from the European Union.

Brazil’s request to join the Government Procurement Agreement was recognised as an important step towards trade and investment liberalisation. The United Kingdom also reiterated its firm and active support for Brazil’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was pleased to announce the allocation of an additional £600,000 to the Prosperity Fund which will help accelerate this process by speeding up work on transfer pricing in Brazil.

Ministers were pleased that business representatives from both countries were able to meet, prior to the Plenary meeting, at a business roundtable, where they had the opportunity to highlight and discuss opportunities and challenges faced by their companies in relation to bilateral trade and investment. Their discussions were reported to the Plenary and both sides agreed to further develop joint initiatives based on those discussions.

The Ministers celebrated the holding of the 5th meeting of the Brazil – United Kingdom High-level Strategic Dialogue on 7 October, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil and Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. They also shared the expectation that the 4th meeting of the Brazil – United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) would take place before the end of the year, led by Brazil’s Minister of the Economy and United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Brazil and the United Kingdom aim to continue to work together in the context of JETCO in order to establish a productive dialogue for strengthening the bilateral commercial and investment relationship.

Marine Accident Statistics report 2019 published

News story

Today, we have issued our Marine Accident Statistics report for 2019.

This report includes:

a statement from the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents
an overview of marine casualty reports to the MAIB in 2019
detailed statistics for:
- UK vessels: accidents involving loss of life
- UK merchant vessels 100gt and over
- UK merchant vessels under 100gt
- UK Fishing vessels
- Non-UK commercial vessels

This document has been added to our Annual Report 2019 page.

Published 25 November 2020