John McDonnell MP,
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on Philip Hammond’s Mansion House speech this morning, said:

“The Chancellor has
made clear this morning that the message remains the same – austerity will
continue. The Tories have learnt nothing from the General Election, and the
last seven wasted years of economic failure. The Conservatives have no
understanding of the depth of suffering, stress and insecurity their long
austerity regime has caused.

"And we
have seen the Chancellor again trying to distance himself from
the position of his Prime Minister on Brexit. It just shows
further disarray at the top of government. The fact that there is
clearly such a serious split between Number 10 and 11 is very worrying and only
helps to undermine our country ahead of the Brexit negotiations.

“It further shows just
how weak a position Theresa May is in. And raises the serious question of: how
can she negotiate Brexit when her own Chancellor is so publicly disputing her
position on Brexit and briefing against his own Cabinet colleagues?

“The truth is that the Government’s
spin of over a “hard” or soft “Brexit”, is just a smokescreen to paper over the
cracks of the divide at the very heart of this Tory Government. The reality is
that they are really planning a Brexit for the few by turning our county into a
tax haven off the coast of Europe, which diminishes workplace rights and
undermines working people’s living standards.

“Labour has called from
day one for the Chancellor to act on gaining assurances over our stake in the
EIB, and it has taken him a year to raise a finger; and now he has, all he is
offering businesses in our country in way of support to mitigate any risks from
the loss of this resource is a drop in the ocean from the actual support they
will really need.

“Only a Labour Government
will secure a Brexit for the many that will put jobs and the economy first, and
ensure that working families and small businesses are protected from any
challenges our country faces after leaving the EU.”

As Minister for Faith and Integration, I would like to personally reiterate the messages from the Prime Minister and Secretary of State Sajid Javid in light of the attack in Finsbury Park on 19 June.

I want to send my reassurances to the Muslim community across the UK that the government wholly condemns the act of terror that occurred. Such an act of terror, directed at the Muslim community, has no place in Britain.

Muslims across Britain should feel free to practice their religion safe in the knowledge that their right to do so is guaranteed. This government will do everything in its power to make sure that Muslims are protected and safe to celebrate during the holy month of Ramadan.

I will continue my work with Muslim faith and community leaders. I will listen to their concerns. I will do everything to make sure that this attack does nothing to disrupt the incredibly positive interfaith engagement and community work of Muslim communities across the UK.

The Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Bill, which introduces a new landfill disposals tax to replace landfill tax in Wales when it is devolved in April 2018, today reaches stage three, in the National Assembly.

The Welsh Government introduced an amendment, which, if the Bill is passed, places the new Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme on the face of the Bill.

The amendment places a duty on Welsh Ministers to prepare and publish a communities scheme, which will be targeted at activities which promote or improve the social or environmental wellbeing of communities close to landfill sites and waste transfer stations.

The scheme will be funded by using some of the revenue raised by landfill disposals tax. A decision about how much will be allocated will be made in the autumn.

A procurement exercise to appoint the single distributive body that will run the scheme has begun. It is anticipated the contract notice will be launched at the end of July – the contract is expected to be awarded by the end of the year.

The Welsh Government will administer the overall governance of the scheme.

Professor Drakeford said:  

“In a year’s time, Wales will introduce the first Welsh taxes in almost 800 years. This is an historic milestone in Wales’ devolution journey as we become responsible for raising our own money to spend on public services.

“I am fully committed to having a new communities scheme when landfill disposals tax is introduced in April. The benefits it provides communities located around landfill sites and waste transfer stations are clear and numerous.

“The new grant scheme will focus on three areas – biodiversity, environmental enhancements and waste minimisation. It will maximise the amount of funding reaching community projects most affected by the disposal of waste to landfill and help improve our environment.

“The details of the scheme will be published separately but work is already underway to prepare for its introduction. I will make an announcement about the amount allocated to the scheme in the autumn.”

The Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Bill is the third of three Bills to establish tax arrangements in Wales – a series of crucial legislation to prepare for the introduction of the first Welsh taxes in almost 800 years. The Welsh Government has also adopted a collaborative approach to gain cross-party support for the Bill, agreeing non-government amendments to further improve the legislation.

The Finance Secretary added: 

“This Bill is the third piece of legislation to establish tax arrangements in Wales. It has been extremely important to work with colleagues across the Assembly to build consensus so we have a strong piece of legislation to help pave the way to a smooth transition to tax powers.”

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Youth Development Summer Camp Project, registered charity number 1086721. The inquiry was opened on 2 September 2016.

The charity has objects to provide youth development activities at summer camps to children up to the age of 17.

On 28 August 2016 the Commission was made aware by the Metropolitan Police Service that a charity trustee was arrested under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups and Adults Act 2006. A serious incident report was not made to the Commission by any of the trustees in regards to this matter. The Commission is investigating whether any Disclosure and Barring checks have been conducted.

The charity’s annual returns for financial years’ ending 2014 onwards indicate that the charity has no written safeguarding policies in place, including in relation to risk management or vulnerable beneficiaries. Due to the nature of the charity’s activities, these factors have raised serious regulatory concerns for the Commission and require further examination by way of statutory inquiry.

In order to address these concerns, the investigation is looking at whether:

• the trustees have properly managed the risk to the charity’s beneficiaries and services
• the trustees have complied with their legal duties and responsibilities in the governance and management of the charity particularly in relation to policies and procedures regarding safeguarding
• the trustees have protected the charity’s assets, including its reputation

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool.

Ends

PR 49/17

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our online register.
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the Commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.
4. The Commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.

20 June 2017

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “We believe that when someone comes to your home seeking your help, you do not point them to the exit”

The Green Party has called for the Dubs scheme to be reinstated as a High Court challenge is launched today, on World Refugee Day [1].

Charity Help Refugees has accused the Government of failing to properly assess councils’ capacity to take in unaccompanied minors under the Dubs Amendment [2].

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“In the last few weeks the British public have thrown open their doors to stranded strangers, defended people from heinous attacks, and rallied round to give donations of clothing, food, and money to those left homeless. So I know that when this Government turns away child refugees seeking sanctuary, they do so not as representatives of the beliefs or values of the British people.

“At a conservative estimate, 90,000 child refugees are believed to have been forced from their homes by wars in the Middle East – wars, let’s remember, that we have a played a part in. Of those this Government promised to accept 3000 but have closed the door at just 480. That’s 0.5% of the total numbers seeking refuge. 0.5% accepted to the fifth biggest economy in the world. It’s cruel and it’s shameful.

“The Green Party fully supports Help Refugees’ call for the reinstatement of the Dubs Amendment to allow child refugees a safe passage to Britain because we believe that when someone comes to your home seeking your help, you do not point them to the exit. When you have promised to do your bit to help the global community, you do not drop the ball and shrug your shoulders. Having witnessed the incredible spirit of the British public over these last few weeks I know that we will win this fight and we will create, together, a more caring Britain representative of its people.”

Notes:

1. http://www.unhcr.org/refugeeday/
2. http://helprefugees.org.uk/dubs/

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