- Heat network customers to get better protections over energy bills;
- New powers for councils to help build more affordable homes:
- Warning on human eye gels;
- Hate preachers and extremists banned from the UK;
- “There is nothing more democratic than outstanding journalism” says Government minister in speech to editors;
- “Generative artificial intelligence has enormous potential but it also creates new risks and amplifies existing ones around information manipulation, mis and disinformation, with the ability to create and distribute highly realistic manipulated imagery, video, and audio at unprecedented speed and scale” UK spokesman tells United Nations;
- Government to lift cap on faith school places;
- Consultation launched to strengthen safeguards for child strip searches; and
- Leading food delivery companies to introduce enhanced security checks on their apps to prevent the market being abused by illegal workers
The following are thumbnail (or larger) details of various Government communiques / press releases which you may / may not have read about. Not all involve politicians. But not all the headings on them say what the item is REALLY about so, in a few cases, NFCP have put an alternative headline (or alternative opening paragraph) on them…All can be found in full at News and communications – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications
The Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, is calling on members of the public to send real-world examples of public bodies – and those that advise public or private bodies – which could be wrongly stating that people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces according to their self-identified gender.
Confusion about the law is leading to some organisations suggesting that people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces according to their self-identified gender
It is vital that organisations follow the correct guidance to ensure they are operating within the law, but it is clear there is currently confusion.
Where certain conditions are met, businesses and other organisations can legally provide single and separate-sex services such as toilets, changing rooms, and female-only fitness classes, which exclude transgender people of the opposite biological sex who do not have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Where it is justified, they are also able to exclude transgender people with GRCs.
In some cases organisations believe they are required to allow self-identifying transgender people to access these services. Now, as part of raising awareness and to understand how well single-sex spaces are maintained, Kemi Badenoch is calling on the public to submit their examples to the Government.
Kemi Badenoch says: “Single-sex spaces are essential for ensuring privacy and dignity for women.
“I do recognise, however, that the law in this area is complex, and I know that some organisations are confused and afraid of backlash if they are seen to get it wrong.
“So I am asking people to submit real-world examples of organisations using incorrect guidance, so that our policymaking continues to tackle any confusion and we ensure single-sex spaces are maintained.”
The MHRA will introduce a patient alert card to increase awareness among men taking finasteride about potential psychiatric and sexual side effects.
After a comprehensive review of the safety of finasteride, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is asking men taking this medicine to stay vigilant for potential psychiatric (mental health) and sexual side effects.
As a recommendation of the review, a patient alert card will be introduced into the finasteride pack this year to raise awareness of these risks and help to ensure that patients are informed on what to do if they experience these side effects. As patients may not notice changes to their mood, they are encouraged to show this card, and the patient leaflet, to friends and family. Healthcare professionals have also been reminded to monitor patients for such side effects through a new Drug Safety Update.
Finasteride, a medicine used by men to treat hair loss (1 mg-dose, brand name Propecia) and benign (non-cancerous) enlargement of the prostate (5 mg-dose, brand name Proscar), has been reported to cause depressed mood, depression, suicidal thoughts and sexual dysfunction (including decreased sex drive and inability to get and maintain an erection). In some cases, sexual dysfunction has persisted in patients even after they have stopped taking finasteride. However, there is a lack of awareness of these potential side effects.
Before starting finasteride, patients should inform their prescriber of any personal history of depression or suicidal thoughts. Men taking finasteride 1 mg (Propecia) for hair loss who develop depression or suicidal thoughts must immediately stop treatment and contact their doctor as soon as possible. Those prescribed finasteride 5 mg (Proscar) for benign enlargement of the prostate who develop such symptoms, should speak to their doctor urgently for further medical advice.
If patients experience any problems with sexual function, such as inability to get and maintain an erection or decrease in sex drive, they should discuss this with their prescriber or doctor. All patients are reminded to always read the leaflet that is provided alongside the medicine, which contains important information about taking finasteride and a full list of known possible side effects.
Further measures to be introduced to ensure patients who are prescribed montelukast for the treatment of asthma are informed of the risk of neuropsychiatric reactions
HOUSING
The Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities has written to Peabody Housing Association following a further four findings of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman.
HOUSING / HEATING
Heat network customers to get better protections over energy bills.
More than half a million customers could get access to compensation and fairer energy bills under new regulations to improve their consumer rights.
Ministers have taken the latest step to introduce much needed regulation to the heat network market, publishing the government’s response to a consultation on consumer protections for homes and businesses connected to heat networks.
Heat networks are a way of heating multiple buildings from a central source. They can save costs and use green energy. Customers on heat networks registered with the Heat Trust can currently receive support when taking up issues with suppliers – today’s consultation response brings us a huge step closer to boosting these protections to keep pace with a growing market.
Under new regulations to be introduced from next year, families and businesses connected to a heat network would receive greater protection such as compensation if they lose access to heating, fairer pricing, and clearer and easier to understand billing. This will give customers similar consumer rights to those living on traditional gas and electricity connections. Increased protections for vulnerable customers – such as the elderly or those living with health conditions – will also be introduced.
Councils across the country will be able to buy cheaper land to help build thousands more social and affordable homes, thanks to new Government reforms.
Councils will be able to buy land for development through the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders without paying inflated ‘hope value’ costs. ‘Hope value’ estimates the cost land could be worth if it was developed on in the future, meaning councils are forced to pay potentially thousands more to buy land for housing or developments and get stuck in lengthy disputes about costs.
The new measures will remove hope value in certain circumstances where Compulsory Purchase Orders are being used and make it cheaper and easier for councils to transform communities by building new homes.
Batch recall alert for human eye gels that may be prescribed by vets and used under the cascade.
MHRA has provided precautionary safety advice to health professionals, patients, customers, and distributors via a Device Safety Information notice (DSI/2023/11)
HATE PREACHERS
Dangerous extremists intent on promoting extreme ideologies will be blocked from entering the UK as the government step up action to protect the public.
ENVIRONMENT
The UK along with 170 other countries attended the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) in Canada this week.
Progress has been made to agree a global treaty to end plastic pollution by the end of the year in the fourth session of negotiations held this week.
The fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) held in Canada, saw over 2,500 delegates, representing 170 Members States, come together and exchange views on the ambitious treaty that demands urgent action on plastics.
The UK strongly supports an ambitious treaty covering the full lifecycle of plastics, from production and consumption to waste management.
The UK, played a key role in securing the following outcomes:
- Environment Minister Rebecca Pow announced that the UK will champion efforts to make progress on problematic and avoidable plastic products and these plans proposals have been incorporated into the draft treaty text.
- A programme of work will be conducted ahead of the fifth meeting, giving expert groups the opportunity to meet and contribute to the design of the treaty.
- The draft text of the treaty was analysed to check efficiency streamlined to support the next round of negotiations at INC-5.
- The INC agreed to establish a legal drafting group, which will ensure legal clarity in the text of the future agreement.
THE LAW
Criminal Legal Aid Manual updated to explain the process for applications for partially convicted defendants to pay a proportion of their costs.
JOURNALISM
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer’s speech to the Society of Editors 25th Anniversary Conference
“…As we speak, journalists are on the front line fighting for the public’s right to know in war zones or in places where press freedom is dangerously contested. Places where state control of media is an accepted part of everyday life.
We have seen far too many cases in the past year where journalists who have sought to empower people at home with accurate, timely news gathering have paid the ultimate price.
According to the ICIJ, 99 journalists lost their lives in 2023 – with three quarters of those lives lost in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In the UK, we’ve seen the Iranian TV journalist Pouria Zeraati stabbed on the streets of London. Fortunately Mr Zeraati returned to broadcasting his show on April 5th and told his audience that “the show must go on.”
Many of you in this room, like me, have been sanctioned by Russia for standing up for our principles. And we must continue to do it.
Last week an eminent, well respected titan of the industry was asked by a House of Lords committee how Government could help the industry.
He gave the question short shrift.
Government, he said ‘should stay the hell out of it. We are not on your side. You are not on our side. I am a Jeffersonian. Government should concentrate on what only Government can do,’ he said.
And, in principle, of course, that’s right.
There is nothing more democratic than outstanding journalism.
The media is there to scrutinise, to challenge and to investigate. Often politicians like us. And so it is clear that there can be no role for the Government in this, or indeed saying how this should be done…”
Statement by UK spokesperson to the UN Mungo Woodifield at the UN Committee on Information General Debate.
“…for the world to come together to tackle global challenges, people need first to understand what the problems are and to know what needs to be done to fix them. This room is full of experienced diplomats used to reading lengthy policy documents and negotiated resolutions. But out in the real world, the people whom we represent get their information from stories and images that bring these issues to life and give them context and meaning to their everyday lives. UN communicators have such an important role to play around the world in getting those stories and that trusted information out there in many languages, and the UK supports them delivering this crucial mandate.
“I would like to make three points.
“Firstly about the changing information landscape that we face today…Secondly the UK is deeply concerned by the threat already posed by disinformation to UN peacekeeping operations…”
Thirdly: Instead of allowing journalists to freely and safely do their job, many countries around the world intimidate and even criminalise journalists for accurate reporting.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech at the Society of Editors 25th Anniversary Conference in London.
“…it’s great to be talking to you all here this morning.
You know, I was away last week in Poland and Germany talking about European security.
And nothing makes you feel more at home, in these troubled times…
…than coming back home to the British papers reflecting the things I am most passionate about…
Front page of The Telegraph: Defence Spending.
The Times: Defence Spending.
The Guardian: Defence Spending.
And, The Sun… Taylor Swift’s Guide To London Pubs.
No just joking, The Sun also actually did stellar reporting of the defence spending announcement too….”
EDUCATION
Government to launch consultation on lifting the 50 per cent cap alongside proposals on opening special faith-based academies.
Proposals to create more good school places through lifting the faith cap have been unveiled today as new data shows over half of schools are now academies.
A consultation on lifting the 50 pc cap, which applies to new faith free schools, will be launched alongside proposals on opening special faith-based academies.
These proposals build on the government’s success in raising school standards, with 90 pc of schools now rated good or outstanding, up from just 68 pc in 2010. Pupils in England are now ‘best in the West’ at reading and have risen to 11th in the global maths rankings, up from only 27th in 2009, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study.
The proposals mean high performing faith school providers will be able to create more good school places and create strong multi-academy trusts around the country where there is demand.
The Church of England, Catholic Church and other faith school providers have a track record in delivering high quality education and run some of the highest performing schools across the country.
New data also published today shows that there are almost 11,000 academies in England, representing over half of state-funded schools, marking a major milestone in the government’s progress towards the vast majority of schools being part of strong trusts by 2030.
The 50 pc faith cap means that if a new free school with religious character is oversubscribed, it can only prioritise pupils based on faith for 50 pc of places. At least half of the school’s available places must be allocated without reference to faith-based admissions criteria.
As a result, some faith groups have felt unable to open new free schools and felt discouraged about bringing existing schools into academy trusts.
STRIP SEARCHES OF CHILDREN
Consultation launched to strengthen safeguards for child strip search including the requirement to notify parents and guardians when a child is strip searched.
CORONATION
The Coronation Roll is the official record of the Monarch’s accession and crowning.
IMMIGRATION
The first illegal migrants set to be removed to Rwanda have now been detained, following a series of nationwide operations this week.
Leading food delivery companies will introduce enhanced security checks on their apps to prevent the market being abused by illegal workers, following discussions with the government.
Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats are taking significant steps to protect the British public’s safety by preventing exploitation of account sharing by those looking to work.
Michael Tomlinson, the Minister for Countering Illegal Migration, and Minister Hollinrake, the Minister for Business and Trade, met with representatives from the 3 companies on Monday for productive talks at the Home Office in London.
All three firms have now committed to changing their processes to confirm substitute riders have the right to work legally in the UK directly, with Deliveroo the first to roll out a new substitute registration feature, including right to work checks, earlier this month…
…While substitution is a legitimate part of self-employment, a small minority of drivers have taken advantage of the system to avoid completing right to work checks, leading to an increase in operations by Immigration Enforcement to prevent this.
This leaves customers with no way of knowing if the person handing over their food can legally work in the UK. It can also leave delivery firms in the dark about whether their substitute drivers have the right to work in the UK.
Robust Home Secretary action has driven an almost 80 per cent fall in student dependant applications in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN General Assembly debate on Gaza.
The UK Minister of State for Europe, Nusrat Ghani, met with Evgenia Kara-Murza to discuss the imprisonment of her husband, Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Nusrat Ghani said: “I was honoured to speak to Evgenia Kara-Murza, a tireless champion for the case of her husband, Vladimir Kara-Murza. “I assured Mrs Kara-Murza that I and the UK government will not rest until Mr Kara-Murza is released.
“Imprisoned on politically motivated charges by the Russian authorities, Mr Kara-Murza is being persecuted for opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The prison conditions are threatening his life. “His health is declining.
“Mr Kara-Murza is a committed human rights activist. He represents the open and democratic Russia we still hope to see, and everything Putin’s regime seeks to undermine. “Russia must release him immediately on humanitarian grounds for urgent medical treatment.”
As Orthodox Christians in Ukraine prepare to mark Easter, Ambassador Holland raises Russia’s suppression of freedom of religion and calls for an end to its illegal war.
The Foreign Secretary visited Ukraine to reiterate the UK’s unequivocal support for the Ukrainian people.
Statement by UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN Security Council meeting on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The UK’s statement at Chile’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council.
The UK’s statement at Cyprus’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council.
The UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and the UN, Simon Manley, delivered a statement at Uruguay’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council.
The UK’s statement at Yemen’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The UK’s statement at Vanuatu’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
SANCTIONS
The UK have imposed sanctions on Ugandan politicians charged with corruption
NEWS FROM CRYSTAL PALACE 