Northern passengers are now eligible for extended compensation on journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more, Rail Minister Andrew Jones has announced today (17 December 2018).

The Delay Repay 15 scheme – known as DR15 – improves the compensation available to passengers, ensuring they can claim quickly and easily regardless of the cause of delays or cancellation.

DR15 is an extension of the current compensation package that already exists for journeys delayed by 30 minutes or more. It means passengers delayed by between 15 and 29 minutes can claim back compensation worth 25% of the single fare.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said:

Extending ‘Delay Repay’ to cover 15 minute delays is the right thing to do for northern passengers. Our absolute priority is delivering the reliable services passengers deserve, but when things go wrong people must be compensated fairly and quickly.

We are also investing £15 million on enhancements for passengers across the north, ensuring we deliver improvements that passengers want alongside more comfortable and punctual services.

Richard Allan, Deputy Managing Director at Northern, said:

We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused by the disruption to rail services earlier this year and have paid special compensation to more than 11,000 season ticket and non-season holders since the summer.

Now, with the launch of Delay Relay 15, those customers who experience day-to-day delays will be able to claim the compensation they want and deserve. Our team works hard to deliver a consistent, punctual service but delays do happen and extending the scheme is the right thing to do for our customers.

David Hoggarth, Strategic Rail Director at Transport for the North, said:

The major disruption passengers across the north have endured this year has been unacceptable, it’s only right that they’re compensated when things go wrong. This a welcome move that will mean more people can claim now and in the future. Focus must now be getting services back on track.

Transport for the North is committed to ensuring that passenger interests are put first, and we will continue to press the operators to deliver a reliable and more resilient rail service that people can depend on.

The extension to DR15 comes on top of the special compensation package announced for Northern and TransPennine Express passengers who experienced unacceptable disruption following the timetable changes earlier in the year. More than 12,000 claims from northern ticket holders have already been submitted and more than £1 million paid out in compensation.

The Department for Transport and Transport for the North are working with the industry to deliver significant improvements in the performance of rail services in the north. This includes appointing industry expert Richard George to identify key underlining issues within the network and make recommendations that deliver improvements.

The department has also worked with industry to introduce a new rail ombudsman, which provides a free, easily accessible dispute resolution scheme in cases where passengers are not happy with a train operator’s response to their complaint.

The government will today set out the biggest package of workplace reforms for over twenty years (Monday 17 December), with ambitious reforms to ensure the UK leads the world in meeting the challenges of the changing world of work.

Building on our commitment to promote high quality work, the package of new legislation and measures, set to be unveiled by the Business Secretary Greg Clark, will ensure workers can access fair and decent work. They will provide and give businesses greater clarity on their obligations and ensure the enforcement system is fair and fit for purpose.

Today’s announcement takes forward 51 of the 53 recommendations made by Matthew Taylor in his review, some of which we have gone further than review, of Modern Working Practices. Our reforms will cement the UK’s status as a world leader in workers’ rights now and well into the future and will be the first country in the world to address the opportunities and challenges of the gig economy and the changing world of work, and its impact on a modern economy.

They form a key part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, a long-term plan to build a Britain fit for the future by helping businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK.

The new legislation introduced today will:

• closing a loophole by repealing the Swedish derogation – which currently allows agency workers to be employed on cheaper rates than permanent counterparts
• extend the right to a day one written statement of rights to workers, going further to include detail on rights such as eligibility for sick leave and pay and details of other types of paid leave, such as maternity and paternity leave
• quadruple maximum employment tribunal fines for employers who are demonstrated to have shown malice, spite or gross oversight from £5,000 to £20,000
• extend the holiday pay reference period from 12 to 52 weeks, ensuring those in seasonal or atypical roles get the paid time off they are entitled to
• lower the threshold required for a request to set up Information and Consultation arrangements from 10% to 2%

The government is also committing to legislate to improve the clarity of the employment status tests to reflect the reality of the modern working relationships.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

The UK has a labour market of which we can be proud. We have the highest employment rate on record, increased participation amongst historically under-represent groups and wages growing at their fastest pace in almost a decade.

This success has been underpinned by policies and employment law which strikes an effective balance between flexibility and worker protections but the world of work is changing, bringing new opportunities for innovative businesses and new business models to flourish, creating jobs across the country and boosting our economy. With new opportunity also comes new challenges and that is why the government asked Matthew Taylor to carry out this first of a kind review, to ensure the UK continues to lead the world, through our modern Industrial Strategy, in supporting innovative businesses whilst ensuring workers have the rights they deserve.

Today’s largest upgrade in workers’ rights in over a generation is a key part of building a labour market that continues to reward people for hard work, that celebrates good employers and is boosting productivity and earning potential across the UK.

I would like to thank Matthew Taylor and Sir David Metcalf for their leadership. Today’s reforms build on our pledge to build an economy that works for everyone.

As part of our major reforms to upgrade workers right and improve the quality of work the Government is also today responding to the Labour Market Strategy set out by Sir David Metcalf, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, with detailed plans to tackle exploitation of low paid workers, including:

• bringing forward proposals in early 2019 for a single enforcement body to ensure vulnerable workers are better protected
• more resource for the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate
• creating new powers to impose penalties for employers who breach employment agency legislation like non-payment of wages
• consulting on Salaried Hours Work and Salary Sacrifice Schemes to ensure National Minimum Wage rules do not inadvertently penalise employers
• bringing forward legislation to enforce holiday pay for vulnerable workers
• consulting on the recommendations on non-compliance in supply chains

Sir David Metcalf, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, said:

I welcome the government’s response to my UK Labour Market Enforcement Strategy for 2018 to 2019. I am extremely grateful to the 3 enforcement bodies for their engagement and help during the development of the Strategy and for the constructive approach they have taken throughout with a view to strengthening Labour Market Enforcement across the UK.

I am pleased that the vast majority of my 37 recommendations have been accepted, including my recommendations regarding a shift to more proactive enforcement and improving joint working between the 3 enforcement bodies under my remit and wider organisations within labour market enforcement.

The plans set out today in the Good Work Plan, the government’s response to the independent Matthew Taylor review of the impact of modern working practices, and the response to the Director of Labour Market Enforcement’s Strategy, build on the government’s record of action to build a fairer economy for everyone, including:

• ensuring tips left for workers go to them in full
• ensuring workers are paid fairly by providing agency workers with a Key Facts Page when they start work, including a clear breakdown of who pays them, and any costs or charges deducted from their wages
• enforcing vulnerable workers’ holiday pay for the first time
• introducing a list of day-one rights including holiday and sick pay entitlements and a new right to a payslip for all workers, including casual and zero-hour workers
• introducing a right for all workers, not just zero-hour and agency, to request a more predictable and stable contract, providing more financial security for those on flexible contracts
• Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy taking a new responsibility to the ensure the “quality of work”
• revising the GLAA licensing standards to ensure that they reflect current worker rights and employer obligations
• introducing a new naming scheme for employers who fail to pay employment tribunal awards
• taking further action to ensure unpaid interns are not doing the job of a worker

The government is also committing to legislate to improve the clarity of the employment status tests to reflect the reality of the modern working relationships. In addition, the government has published the Low Pay Commission’s letter on potential options to address the issue of ‘one-sided flexibility’, which the Taylor Review described as the issue where some businesses have transferred too much business risk to the individual.

The reforms announced today reflect the views expressed by Matthew Taylor in his review into Modern Working Practice that:

• banning zero hours contracts in their totality would negatively impact more people than it helped
• that the flexibility of ‘gig working’ is not incompatible with ensuring atypical workers have access to employment and social security protections
• platform based working offers welcome opportunities for genuine two way flexibility and can provide opportunities for those who may not be able to work in more conventional ways

Measures outlined in the package form part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, published last year, which sets out how the whole of the UK can build on its strengths, extend them into the future, and capitalise on new opportunities.

The Good Work Plan comes as the latest response to the independent Taylor Review of impact modern working practices (2017). The review found that the strength of the UK’s labour market is built on flexibility but that a clearer focus was needed on quality of work as well as the quantity of jobs.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are set to benefit from an extra £350 million funding to provide specialist support and tailored facilities, helping those with complex needs to succeed.

The Education Secretary Damian Hinds has today (Sunday 16 December) announced that councils will receive an additional £250 million over the next two years on top of the £6 billion already provided for the high needs budget this year, to provide much needed support for children and young people with complex SEND.

Families will also benefit from more choice for their child’s education through an extra £100 million investment to create more specialist places in mainstream schools, colleges and special schools, giving more children and young people access to a good school or college place that meets their individual needs. This could include more state-of-the-art facilities, such as sensory rooms and specialist equipment.

On top of this, more special free schools will get the green light, as the Education Secretary confirms he will approve all high quality bids in the current round of special and alternative provision free schools applications, creating even more choice for parents.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

Being a parent, we all want the very best for our children. We want them to attend a school that supports them to thrive, go on to higher or further education or training, find a job that’s right for them, and to live happy and fulfilled lives.

For children with special educational needs this is no different. It is important that they have the right support in place at school – whether that is in a mainstream setting, with additional support, or in a special school.

We recognise that the high needs budget faces significant pressures and this additional investment will help local councils to manage those pressures, whilst being able to invest to provide more support.

Every school or college should be one for a young person with special educational needs; every teacher should be equipped to teach them, and families need to feel supported.

The Government has also confirmed an expansion of the funding to train more educational psychologists, who are responsible for assessing children’s needs and providing tailored support as part of the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process. Educational psychologists also provide outreach to teachers and families, providing new support strategies when the complex needs of a child are not being met. From September 2020 there will be a further three training rounds and an increase in the number of trainees from 160 to at least 206, to help keep up with demand for this specialist advice.

Ofsted’s HMCI Amanda Spielman said:

I welcome today’s announcement from the Department for Education, which is good news for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families.

Our inspections show that we still have a long way to go before children and young people with SEND are getting all the support they deserve. In too many local areas, the implementation of the 2014 SEND reforms is not living up to expectations.

We are halfway through our inspections of local areas and have just started to re-visit areas where inspectors have identified significant concerns. We will continue to give real weight to the experience of children and young people with SEND in our inspections of schools.

It is vital that this additional investment makes a much-needed difference to the quality of provision and outcomes achieved by this group of children and young people.

Classroom teachers and those in training will also have a greater focus on supporting children with SEND, as the upcoming Teaching Recruitment and Retention Strategy will make sure all teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of all pupils.

Local authority education services will be encouraged to work more closely with health and social care to commission local services that meet the needs of the families and children in their area, as a new advisory SEND System Leadership Board is to be set up. This new expert board will include representatives of local health, social care, and education services, and will work closely with charities, school and families.

To better understand the financial incentives that influence how schools, colleges and councils support children and young people with special educational needs, the Department for Education will be gathering more evidence in the New Year. This will include looking at the first £6,000 schools pay for SEND support costs before accessing additional funding from local high needs budgets.

Graham Olway, Head of School Organisation & Capital Planning, West Sussex County Council and National Chairman of the Education Building Development Officers Group (EBDOG) said:

The introduction of additional SEN capital grant is very much welcomed and will enable the completion of much needed SEN improvements across the country. The growth in SEN is now recognised and this investment will help local authorities continue the work to ensure they can better meet the needs in their community for some of the most vulnerable children in society.

New protections to prevent some of the nation’s greatest treasures from being lost to overseas buyers have been outlined by the Government today.

The proposals, set out in a new public consultation, would introduce a formal, legally binding agreement with private sellers, instead of the current ‘gentleman’s agreement’, and give museums and buyers in the UK first refusal on acquisitions.

It would mark the first significant change to the system in over 65 years, and reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the protection of our national treasures, owners’ rights, world-class museums, and the UK’s reputation as a successful international art market.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said:

Over the past 65 years our export bar system has saved hundreds of our most valuable cultural objects for the benefit of the nation. However with many exceptional items increasing dramatically in value in recent years, it is right that we strengthen this process.

These plans would protect museums that fundraise in good faith and help to keep national treasures in the UK where they can be seen and enjoyed by the public.

The export deferral process introduces a pause in the export of national treasures overseas to give UK museums and buyers the chance to raise funds and keep them in the country.

Items saved for the nation through the current system includes a gold ring owned by Jane Austen, which was acquired by Jane Austen’s House Museum and a steel dagger and scabbard owned by TE Lawrence that shaped the story of Lawrence of Arabia, which was acquired by The National Army Museum. Also saved was a sapphire and diamond coronet designed by Prince Albert in the year of his wedding to Queen Victoria, and worn by her following his death, that was acquired for £5 million for the Victoria and Albert Museum in August 2017.

Under the current rules, if a UK institution puts in a matching offer on an item subject to an export deferral, it is down to the seller to honour that commitment. The Government wants to strengthen this by introducing a mechanism to ensure that owners are legally bound to honour their commitment of accepting a matching offer from a UK buyer, and thereby remove the risk of reneging on the sale.

Over the last ten years, 40% of items at risk of export – worth a total of £97 million – were saved for the nation by UK museums and galleries.

However the remaining 60% of items at risk of export between 2007/08 and 2016/17 were sold overseas, at a cumulative value of £578.5 million.

The consultation follows an examination of how the export deferral process could be strengthened.

Notes to Editor

The public consultation, ‘Strengthening the Process for Retaining National Treasures’ is now open. It will close at 00.01 on 24 February 2019.

Until 1939, the UK had no legal controls on the export of works of art, books, manuscripts and other antiques. The outbreak of the Second World War made it necessary to impose controls on exports generally in order to conserve national resources.

Items that are being sold abroad are assessed at the point of application for an export licence by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, which establishes whether it meets the ‘Waverley criteria’ to be regarded as a national treasure.

These are:

• Is it closely connected with our history and national life?
• Is it of outstanding aesthetic importance?
• Is it of outstanding significance for the study of some particular branch of art, learning or history?

The export control process has always sought to strike a balance, as fairly as possible, between the various interests concerned in any application for an export licence.

Thank you Mr President.

Firstly, I would like to thank the Prosecutor for her 28th report on the situation in Darfur and for her briefing today. I would also like to commend the hard work that she and her staff have undertaken in relation to this investigation and their commitment to making progress and getting justice for the victims.

The UK welcomes reports that the level of violence against civilians in Darfur has decreased throughout the last six months. As UNAMID draws down, we encourage the Government of Sudan to focus its efforts and resources on building the capacity of the Sudanese Police Force and judiciary to prevent, respond to and investigate human rights abuses and violations. We continue to support the Government of Sudan’s stated aim of opening an Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights before next October. More broadly, we encourage the Government of Sudan to engage constructively with the Secretary-General’s recommended benchmarks in order to ensure that the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding in Darfur is a success.

Whilst the situation in wider Darfur shows signs of improvement, the situation in Jebel Marra remains of serious concern. Of particular concern is the ongoing targeting and displacement of civilian populations, with up to 2 million internally displaced persons currently in Darfur. The United Kingdom urges the Government of Sudan to abide by its unilateral cessation of hostilities and to facilitate unfettered access throughout Darfur to UNAMID and humanitarian actors. We further urge the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdel Wahid to extend its unilateral cessation of hostilities, due to expire on 18 December, and engage immediately with the peace process.

The UK welcomes the recent signing in Berlin of the Pre-negotiation Agreement for the Resumption of the Peace Process in Darfur and the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) meeting in Addis Abba. The people of Darfur have already waited too long for sustainable peace, justice and accountability. We therefore urge all parties to build on the current momentum by swiftly agreeing a permanent ceasefire and engaging meaningfully in negotiations to reach an inclusive political settlement that addresses the root causes of the conflict.

Mr President, the United Kingdom was pleased to co-host the Arria-formula meeting in July which resulted in productive discussions on the relationship between the Court and the Council. We encourage further discussion on ideas generated from that meeting to improve this relationship, including addressing non-compliance by States Parties. We call on all States Parties to cooperate with the ICC and abide by their Rome Statute obligations.

We note the Government of Sudan’s continuing complete disregard for its obligations under UN Security resolution 1593 to cooperate with the Court and to fulfil its international obligations. We yet again urge the Government of Sudan to cooperate fully with and provide assistance to the Court and the Office of the Prosecutor.

The United Kingdom continues to be frustrated that fugitives of the Court, including President Al-Bashir, are still travelling overseas unhindered, including to the territory of States parties to the Rome Statute. The United Kingdom will continue to raise our concerns with the relevant governments and we renew our call to all States to cooperate with the ICC in relation the Darfur situation as required by the Security Council resolution, and to States Parties to abide by their obligations under the Rome Statute. We would urge any State that feels unable to co-operate with the Court for any reason to consult the Court’s authorities. We also support France’s proposal that States which, according to the Court, have not complied with their obligations to cooperate with the Court be invited to address the Security Council.

Finally Mr President, we acknowledge the Prosecutor’s dedication to her continuing investigations, and welcome the report that significant progress has been achieved by the Darfur Investigation team within this reporting period. We recognise the importance for the victims and their families, some of whom I understand are with us today, of hearing regularly from the Prosecutor on progress in this investigation, and it is important for this Council to hear from her too. For this reason we support the 6-monthly reporting cycle and would be opposed to any suggestion of less frequent reporting to the Council. The UK again thanks the Prosecutor for her report, and her Office for its persistent pursuit of justice for victims in Darfur. We would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to supporting the Court, both as a State Party to the Rome Statute and as a member of this Council.