A man who sexually assaulted a young boy will spend longer in jail after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, today referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal for being too low.

Fred Taylor, now 68, was convicted of indecently assaulting a young boy on two occasions. The victim, who was between the ages of 10 and 12 when the assaults took place, kept the abuse to himself for some years before finally opening up about his traumatic experiences when he was 20.

Taylor was originally sentenced at Chester Crown Court in May, where he was given 12 months’ imprisonment. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 30 months’ imprisonment.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

Taylor stole a young boy’s innocence, and his crimes went unpunished for a long time, so it is important that his sentence now truly reflects the gravity of his crimes. I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed to increase Taylor’s sentence, and hope the victim can begin to move on from what would have been a hugely traumatic experience.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has confirmed an investment of £508 million to fully fund the deal which means the main pay range for classroom teachers will increase by 3.5 per cent.

Responding to recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

There are no great schools without great teachers and I want to us to recruit and retain brilliant teachers who are fairly rewarded for the vital work they do.

Today we are announcing a fully funded pay rise of up to 3.5% – or between £800 and £1,366 – for classroom teachers on the main pay range, 2% for those on the upper pay range and 1.5% for those in leadership positions.

This will mean that teaching continues to be a competitively rewarded career, and I will continue to work with the profession, Ofsted and the unions on issues like excessive workload, professional development and flexible working, to make sure teaching remains an attractive, fulfilling profession.

Schools will continue to determine how their staff are paid but the increases above will be funded by government with a new teachers’ pay grant – worth £187 million in 2018/19 and £321 million in 2019/20 from the existing Department for Education budget – paid to all schools on top of their core budgets from the National Funding Formula, which has also been confirmed today.

In cash terms, teachers could receive a boost of between £1,184 and £1,366 to their salary, while salaries for new teachers will increase by between £802 and £1003.

The announcement comes as the government announces the biggest pay rise in almost 10 years for around one million public sector workers across Britain – the result of the government’s balanced approach to the economy, reducing debt while investing in public services.

The average gross pay for a teacher in 2017 was £38,700. The starting salary for a teacher is £22,917 outside of London and £28,660 in inner London. In addition to an annual pay award, many teachers also receive increases from promotions and responsibility allowances.

British Sign Language introduction:

On behalf of the UK Government, Government of Kenya and International Disability Alliance, welcome to the Global Disability Summit 2018.

For too long, people with disabilities in the world’s poorest countries have not been able to fulfil their potential due to stigma or lack of practical support. Today, we give focus to this long neglected area.

This event is about all of us working together, sharing ideas and good practice to ensure that as we work towards a more prosperous world no one is left behind.

This is not just the right thing to do for a common humanity – it is the smart thing to do. When disabled people are included great things happen.

(British Sign Language introduction ends)

It is wonderful to have you all here today, especially you your Excellency and the first lady of Ecuador. Here at the London Olympic Park – host to the world’s largest Paralympic Games in 2012 and the spiritual birthplace of the first-ever organised sporting event for disabled athletes in 1948.

I am delighted to be here today co-hosting this event with Government of Kenya and International Disability Alliance.

Thank you all for joining us today – and in particular, thanks to the Disabled Person’s Organisations and people with disabilities, who have led this Summit from conception to delivery.

Today, we have come together to work as partners and collectively step-up our efforts to improve the lives of people with disabilities around the world.

We are here to tackle the root causes of stigma, discrimination and abuse; to work towards inclusive education and employment for all. And to harness the power of technology, innovation and assistive devices for people with disabilities across the world.

Today we focus on moving from words to action; working together as partners; and holding ourselves and each other to account for our promises.

We are all starting from a low base – and the UK recognises we also have work to do as well and that is why today we will launch a range of dedicated policy and programming to champion the rights of the most marginalised and vulnerable people with disabilities.

We will launch ‘AT Scale’, a partnership for assistive technology (with partners such as USAID, WHO, UNICEF and GDI Hub) to transform access and affordability for life-changing Assistive Technology (AT) such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, hearing aids and glasses.

Access to AT is a critical enabler for inclusive education, economic empowerment and participation in communities. But at present only 10% of the 1 billion people in the world who need assistive products and services have access to them.

Our ambition is that 500m people globally will be being reached by essential assistive technology by 2030.

We are launching a DFID Scale Up on Inclusive Education – with a new education policy that has a clear promise for the most disadvantaged children. Through strengthening education programming; we commit to support countries including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Pakistan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Jordan.

In Ethiopia, we will transform and develop 687 Inclusive Education Resource Centres (IERCs) nationwide by 2022 to promote the inclusion of 24,000 children with disabilities.

In Rwanda, we will train 12,000 teachers of English and Maths in inclusive education teaching methods.

In Tanzania, we will support important reforms in primary and lower secondary schools to improve learning outcomes for all children particularly for girls and children with disabilities.

We are also launching the Disability Inclusive Development Programme – a new six-year cutting-edge innovation and scale-up programme to find out what works, for whom, when and why.

Through a ground-breaking consortium, led by Sightsavers, several UK International NGOs and Summit co-hosts, International Disability Alliance, the programme will deliver tangible outcomes to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

This includes improved educational attainment and health outcomes, jobs and livelihoods and reduced stigma and discrimination.

By 2024 we aim to enable up to 100,000 women, men, girls and boys with disabilities to access health services; up to 45,000 people with disabilities to increase their incomes; 10,000 children with disabilities to go to school and access education as well as reaching millions of people through interventions to tackle stigma and discrimination.

We are also committed to a DFID scale up on disability inclusion over the next 5 years and we will be publishing a new disability framework later this year, setting out how we would put disability at the heart of our work. And the legacy today will be a ten point Charter for Change which I would like us all to sign up to. This plan for action will be published and fully accessible. Progress will be monitored regularly and we will all be held accountable for our pledges. Empowering people with disabilities does not just affect the individuals – it leads to better decisions and more effective outcomes for communities, for nations and for the world.

Unless every one of our citizens can reach their full potential our nations never will. Let today be the start of our journey.

Now is the time.

I am deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Nicaragua, particularly the excessive use of force by the authorities and pro-government armed groups against the people of Nicaragua. Reports of human rights abuses, including the use of live ammunition, are alarming and should be thoroughly investigated. For stability to return to the country the Nicaraguan Government must take responsibility for ending the violence and provide safe conditions for peaceful dialogue to resume.

The UK supports the work by the Organisation of American States, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN, and we urge the Nicaraguan authorities to allow them to carry out their work without any interference. We also welcome the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference’s mediation role and encourage all parties to commit to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.