The Queen has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Elizabeth (Libby) Jane Holden Lane, MA (Oxon), Suffragan Bishop of Stockport, for election as Bishop of Derby in succession to The Right Reverend Alastair Llewellyn John Redfern, MA, PhD, following his resignation on the 31st August 2018.
Published 18 December 2018
The extra money, announced by the Chancellor in this year’s Budget, will ensure more than 170 wide-ranging improvement works can be undertaken across a number of sites before the end of the financial year.
A number of priorities in courts across England and Wales – from increased security measures to fixing boilers and repairing lifts – have been identified in conjunction with the senior judiciary.
Justice Minister, Lucy Frazer said:
We want to provide the best experience possible for the victims, witnesses, staff and legal professionals who use our courts every day.
That is why this extra funding is so welcome – and why we’ve worked with the judiciary to make sure we spend it where it is needed most.
Some £4 million will be spent advancing the preparation of capital maintenance projects including replacing the roofs at Snaresbrook Crown Court – the first phase of a longer-term refurbishment programme at the court – and Winchester Crown Court. Other improvements will include new boilers at Newton Abbot, Peterlee and Plymouth Magistrates’ Courts, new windows at Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court and replacement lifts at Swansea Civil Justice Centre and Thames Magistrates’ Court.
An additional £3m will be spent on security related work including installing improved locks and panic alarms, vision panels in doors and improving CCTV in waiting areas where necessary.
The remaining £8m will be spent on facilities management works with a particular focus on improving heating and cooling in court buildings.
This extra funding follows a number of other recent improvements made to the court estate, including:
This is alongside the government’s ambitious £1bn court reform programme that is bringing new technology and modern ways of working to the justice system. This includes a new fully accessible online civil money claims service giving the public the ability to make a small claim online – with more than 37,000 claims made since its launch in March and user satisfaction at 90% and a new system for applying for divorce online, which has cut errors in application forms from 40% to less than 1%.
The Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) led by Sir John Kingman has today (Tuesday 18 December 2018) published its report to government. The review recommends that the FRC be replaced with an independent statutory regulator, accountable to Parliament, with a new mandate, new clarity of mission, new leadership and new powers. The new regulator would be called the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority.
Sir John was asked by Secretary of State, Greg Clark, in April to lead a root-and-branch review of the FRC as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy commitment to strengthening the UK’s world-leading business environment. The report sets out 83 recommendations.
Alongside the review report, Sir John Kingman has published his letter to the Secretary of State in response to the request put to him to consider whether there is any case for change in the way in which audits are currently procured, and audit fees and scope are set, particularly for major companies of public interest.
The FRC regulates auditors, accountants and actuaries in the UK, sharing this responsibility with the professional membership bodies.
Business Secretary Greg Clark said:
I wish to thank Sir John Kingman for his excellent independent review which proposes extensive and fundamental reform for one of our key regulators in respect of audit, corporate reporting and corporate governance. I requested a root and branch review of the FRC and Sir John has duly delivered.
The UK has a world leading business environment making us one of the most attractive places to invest, start and grow a business but it is right we continuously keep our corporate governance regime under review to maintain that high competitive standard. The government will take forward the recommendations set out in the Review to replace the FRC with a new independent statutory regulator with stronger powers. This body will build on our status as a great place to do business and form an essential part of the government’s continued efforts to grow trust and public confidence in business and the regulations that govern them.
Thousands of vulnerable people will be able to get the specialist support they need to recover from life on the streets through the creation of new rough sleeping centres, announced today by Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP.
As part of the government’s £100 million Rough Sleeping Strategy – 11 Somewhere Safe to Stay centres will be set up across the country. These will help provide immediate shelter and rapid assessment for those sleeping rough or at risk of doing so as well as specialist support to address those with complex needs such as mental health problems and substance misuse.
This builds on the first year of the Rough Sleeping Initiative, launched in March, which is providing £64 million to over 80 councils over the next 2 years to support rough sleepers in their area.
This funding is already being put to good use by creating 1,750 new bed spaces, as well as an additional 500 outreach workers, many of whom are already working tirelessly to support people off the streets and into recovery.
The new hubs – backed by up to £4.8 million government funding – will be up and running by spring 2019, with a further 4 centres to follow next year.
Today’s announcement follows the publication of the government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy delivery plan earlier this month which set out targets and deadlines for 61 strategy commitments.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:
No one should ever have to face a night on the streets, and as a government we are taking steps to ensure people are never faced with this as their only option.
These are vulnerable people, who may be dealing with complex mental health problems or addictions and require specialist help to tackle these issues and turn their lives around.
That’s why these vital new hubs will ensure those on the streets have access to professional help and guidance to start their recovery.
The first Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs will be launched in the following areas:
Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said:
St Mungo’s is very pleased to be involved in the Somewhere Safe to Stay pilots. These will offer much needed emergency shelter where people in crisis can have their needs assessed urgently away from the extreme dangers of sleeping on the streets.
Crucially, these services will be targeted at those at immediate risk of sleeping rough. We will be encouraging a thorough evaluation of these pilots and want to see the learning used to roll out an approach to every area of the country that means no one who is homeless has to sleep rough before they receive the support they need.
The hub will be the only rapid assessment centre in the city centre and will have capacity for female or more vulnerable users.
As a 24-hour service, it will allow for day programmes to be offered to those seeking support during the day.
It will also be an integral part of the Bristol Shelter Programme, which includes a number of other charities and groups operating locally.
The hub will be located in Shepherd’s Bush, run in partnership with the charity St Mungo’s.
It will complement and add to the existing No Second Night Out shelter by allowing referrals from a wider range of agencies and helping people receive support from services faster.
It will provide separate spaces for women and the option of rooms for particularly vulnerable individuals.
Each centre will help those sleeping rough to be quickly assessed by specialist outreach workers, so they get the support they need to take the first steps towards recovery.
The hubs will play a vital role in identifying the issues that led to an individual sleeping on the streets in the first place and provide support to help them through things like a relationship breakdown, addiction or financial difficulties.
An estimated 6,000 people are expected to receive support through all 15 hubs by 2020.
The model was recommended by experts on the government’s Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel and is based on the London-based No Second Night Out Programme which consistently helps the capital’s rough sleepers away from the streets.
The hubs are part of government’s Rapid Rehousing Pathway. Further information on the delivery of the pathway will follow in due course.
No Second Night Out is a programme working across all London boroughs. The service prevented 800 people from sleeping rough on the streets again between April 2017 and March 2018.
The Better Broadband Scheme offers a subsidised basic broadband connection to anyone unable to get download speeds of at least 2 mbps, and who will not benefit from the superfast broadband roll out within the next 12 months.
Since its launch in December 2015, the scheme has so far boosted the broadband speeds of more than 20,000 homes and businesses in some of the hardest to reach areas of the UK.
Households and businesses that are eligible to take advantage of the scheme have the installation and hardware costs of their connection subsidised to ensure their first year costs are no more than £400.
The subsidy is used to fund a variety of technology solutions including – satellite, 4G and fixed wireless.
The closing date for applications has now been extended until 31 December 2019.
Margot James, Minister for Digital, said:
Improving broadband services for people struggling with poor connections is a top priority for the government – we want everyone to benefit from the digital revolution.
While we’ve helped make superfast speeds a reality for 19 out of 20 UK premises and are reaching thousands more each week, this scheme offers immediate assistance to those most in need.
The Government’s superfast broadband rollout continues as part of its Industrial Strategy to ensure all homes and businesses in Britain have access to high speed broadband by 2020.
And it has also introduced the Universal Service Obligation which will give everyone the legal right to request a connection to high speed broadband. Eligible consumers will be able to request a connection under the Universal Service Obligation by the end of 2019.