The MAIB report on the collision between two Hong Kong registered vessels, Huayang Endeavour and Seafrontier, approximately 5 nautical miles to the west of Sandettie Bank in the Dover Strait on 1 July 2017, is now published. Both vessels sustained damage but the accident did not result in any injuries or pollution.

The report contains details of what happened and subsequent actions taken, read more.

Thank you Mr President. And may I start by thanking the Secretary-General, State-Secretary Neculaescu and Commissioner Chergui for their briefings. As I remember saying in Addis last September at the Security Council’s joint meeting with the African Union PSC, our relationship is vital, and we must continue to strengthen it if we are to have success, so it is particularly good to see you here, Commissioner Chergui.

The UK shares the briefers’ alarm at the scale and complexity of violent conflict today. The costs are mounting, whether we measure those in lost lives, displaced families, human rights violations, extreme poverty, or peacekeeping and humanitarian budgets. Our motivation to prevent further conflict and to sustain peace must be greater than ever. And I agree very much with the Secretary-General on the importance of human rights in this context, both of course as a warning or trigger of conflict, but not only that. We believe that activity at national and local level on human rights can be an important contribution in of itself to stability and conflict prevention.

The UK very much welcomes Secretary-General Guterres’ vision for peace building and sustaining peace, and particularly the renewed focus on conflict prevention set out in his report. We also fully endorse the understanding that supporting countries to sustain peace should be a shared priority across the whole UN system, from peace and security to developments and human rights. Many of our own ministries and governments have come to this conclusion. The UK government has decided that over half of our development spend will be in conflict and fragile states, as that is the greatest challenge in reducing poverty today. This does not, as some might be concerned, does not mean that the respective mandates of different parts of the United Nations are under threat. And in this regard, we welcome the fact that both the General Assembly and the Security Council will adopt resolutions committing to further implementation of the Sustaining Peace Vision agreed in 2016.

The UK has identified three priorities for future work.

First, we want to see a stronger partnership for peace developed between the United Nations and the World Bank. Their combined vision, expertise and global presence are essential to ensure that multilateral investments and development tackle the drivers of conflict.

Second, we want to see more effective preventive diplomacy by the United Nations. In particular, addressing underlying causes. We all know the critical role that political agreements play and the openings they create for peacebuilding. And I very much endorse the Secretary-General’s words on the importance of women’s participation in such negotiations. We know from the research done that peace negotiations are 35 percent more likely to be sustained for at least 15 years if women are involved in them.

And our third priority is ensuring smoother peacekeeping mission transitions from mission to non-mission settings, and I’ll say a few more words more about that in my intervention. Right from the moment that we decide to deploy peacekeepers, we should be thinking about their exit. While recognising that fragile contexts will always be prone to risk, we on the Security Council need a clear vision of what a sufficiently stable end state looks like. And the Secretariat has a key role to play in this through generating deeper analysis and a mission implementation plan with clear benchmarks towards achieving that end state. These steps should then focus resource and allow the Council to track progress. This is being tested at the moment of course in Haiti.

The UN development system needs to be stepping up sooner in Mission settings. We welcome the Secretary-General’s suggestion to link development assistance frameworks with Mission assessments. As the peacekeeping fund has sought to encourage Mali, peacekeepers and UN country teams need to work to the same script, the same deadlines and the same objectives. Funds, programs and agencies must be ready to tackle conflict rather than simply work round it. Mapping capabilities to do so, as was done in Liberia, should ensure we are all better prepared to fill gaps when a mission leaves.

Now the Secretary-General stressed the importance of enhancing coherence to support efforts by national governments. Not everything is up to the United Nations. National ownership, when politically inclusive, is what makes transition processes effective and resilient. We must always consider how missions handover to national institutions and actors. Côte d’Ivoire’s experience demonstrates the impact this can have when done well. I think the salutary lessons you put forward Minister were important for us all, in particular about ensuring that the UN does not take on the functions of government and prevent them from being able to carry out their own tasks.

The development of a shared peacebuilding plan could help pull the mission, the UN country team donors, the host government and other national stakeholders together through and beyond the transition. That the US, Sweden and Liberia work together so effectively to develop a peacebuilding plan demonstrates the valuable role the Peacebuilding Commission can have. And that’s why the UK has been one of the largest and longest standing donors to the Peacebuilding Fund.

And finally, we need to be creative about what the residual UN country team presence looks like. The creation of an enhanced Resident Coordinator’s office in Liberia is a very promising initiative, and it reflects the recognition in the Secretary-General’s report that the UN development system needs enhanced capacities to support countries at risk of conflict.

Transitions from Mission settings are just one dimension of what is a larger agenda for sustaining peace. But given that one of the most significant predictors of future conflicts is past conflicts, we must get them right. Daunting as solving the recurrent challenge of transitions may be, we do have good examples of innovative and effective action to draw on for our inspiration. Now with the Secretary-General’s reports on sustaining peace and peace building, we have a plan for making change happen. So there should be nothing, Mr President, stopping us in this Council from making change happen.

We are making changes to your contracts to support changes in data protection legislation.

This follows consultation with your consultative bodies concerning the new General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR). This aims to harmonise data privacy laws across the European Union.

What does it mean for our contracts?

You can find the changes in the definition section and clause 16 of all the civil, Civil Legal Advice (CLA) and crime standard terms documents.

Revised versions of the standard terms documents, a summary of the amendments made and a copy of the contract amendment notice can be downloaded from the GOV.UK website – see below.

All providers have been sent contract amendment notices regarding the amended contract.

These amendments will come into force with effect from 25 May 2018.

Amendments relating to the Law Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680), being implemented via Part 3 of the Data Protection Bill, will come into effect on 6 May 2018.

Further information

GOV.UK: Contracts – to view appropriate contract page and download the amendment notice

The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling and Steve Baker, Minister for Exiting the European Union, have met with representatives from the aviation industry today (25 April 2018) to discuss how the sector can continue to flourish after the UK leaves the EU.

The meeting with senior representatives from the UK aviation industry follows the Prime Minister’s tour of the UK to mark one year until Brexit.

And it also follows agreement in March 2018 between the UK and the EU to the terms of the implementation period, ensuring the aviation industry can continue to benefit from the existing liberal market access until the end of 2020. This paves the way for the UK to continue to participate in the European Aviation Safety Agency during this period.

The Transport Secretary spoke of the importance of the liberal aviation access agreements and harmonised safety standards, underlining the benefits they bring to both the UK and the EU.

Both representatives from industry and government ministers agreed it is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to secure a good deal for aviation as soon as practical in the future negotiations, ensuring businesses and citizens can continue to enjoy a high level of connectivity, choice and value for money.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Aviation connectivity is crucial for businesses and citizens alike and it is vital that market access continues uninterrupted.

It has been invaluable to discuss with industry leaders their priorities for a future deep and special partnership with the EU on aviation. We are confident that the UK will get a good deal which allows our aviation industry to continue to flourish.

DExEU Minister Steve Baker said:

Britain’s aviation industry is one of the biggest in Europe, and we are pleased the EU has recognised its importance to people and businesses right across the continent as we move onto discussing our future partnership.

We are focused on reaching an agreement with the EU which secures the right arrangements for this vital industry so it continues to go from strength to strength.

Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, said:

UK airlines support the implementation period and the reassurance that market access to, from and within the EU – as well as to third countries such as the United States – will be protected. We are pleased that the government accepts that continued participation in the European Aviation Safety Agency is both desirable and in the interests of all sides.

We welcome that aviation is a priority in the negotiations and look forward to discussions on future market access beginning as soon as possible. We are confident there will be a deal that secures open and liberal aviation arrangements beyond 2020, for the benefit of all European consumers.

Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA) Karen Dee said:

With nearly three-quarters of visitors to the UK and 40% of the UK’s trade by value travelling by air, aviation provides the necessary international connectivity for a truly global Britain. UK airports stand ready to facilitate the connectivity of the future.

We look forward to a continued dialogue as the UK government and the EU begin negotiations on the future relationship to ensure that it allows the passenger to continue to benefit from excellent air connectivity, whether they live and work in the EU, UK or beyond.

The UK government and the aviation industry have agreed to continue their collaborative and positive engagement throughout the Brexit negotiations.

Defence Secretary attended the Wreath Laying Ceremony and Parade at The Cenotaph, Whitehall