UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt Hon Mark Field MP, will arrive in India today (7 May) for two days of high-level talks on technology, cyber security, energy and girls’ education.

Speaking ahead of his visit to India, UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt Hon Mark Field MP said:

I am looking forward to visiting India once more to discuss a range of bilateral issues and build on the tremendous success of the recent visit to the UK by Prime Minister Modi.

I shall be meeting Minister MJ Akbar and Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog to follow up on the ambitious set of deliverables that were agreed last month during Prime Minister Modi’s visit and specifically on the India-UK Tech Partnership.

As two countries with a global outlook, the UK is committed to working with India to unlock the full potential of our trade and investment relationship.

While in New Delhi on 7 May, Minister Field will meet Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar and CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant and visit ASHA, a civil society organisation working for women’s empowerment and the environment.

On Tuesday 8 May, the Minister will travel to Hyderabad to attend a roundtable on ‘Corporate Green Leadership’ and also visit T-Hub, India’s largest incubator housing more than 200 start-ups, before interacting with rural female students at Voice Camp, an event organised by civil society organisation Voice4Girls in collaboration with BDHC Hyderabad.

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The Rt Hon Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, arrived in Nepal on Sunday 6 May for a two day visit. This was Mr Field’s first visit to Nepal.

Mr Field visited Nepal to further strengthen the more than 200-year long bilateral relationship.

While in Nepal he met senior leaders from government, including Prime Minister KP Oli and Foreign Minister Gyawali, and business as well as those working to improve the lives of the most vulnerable. He discussed what more can be done to grow bilateral trade and boost inward investment, and how the UK can help support Nepal’s transition to federalism.

Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said:

I am delighted to be the first British Minister to visit Nepal since the formation of Nepal’s current government. The UK is Nepal’s oldest diplomatic partner and I look forward to my meetings with Prime Minister Oli and Foreign Minister Gyawali to strengthen our relationship even further.

I will also be visiting the Red Cross Emergency Prepositioning Site in Bhaktapur to see first-hand how UK assistance is making a real difference to the lives of the people of Nepal in their post-earthquake reconstruction effort.

The UK is committed to supporting prosperity and stability in Nepal and my visit will also be an opportunity to discuss how our countries can work together on our shared priorities.

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Sue James

Sue James has over 30 years’ experience working in the media industry. She was a senior executive of Time Inc UK for over 20 years and until September 2017 she was the Editorial Director of woman&home, the UK’s leading consumer title for 40+ women. Sue received widespread recognition for her work there earning numerous industry awards and establishing a strong commercial reputation for understanding and meeting customer needs as well as delivering and managing behavioural and organisational change. Sue now runs her own media brand consultancy advising clients from all sectors on Strategic Brand Marketing, Content Creation and Customer Engagement.

Her passion for wellbeing and desire to help all women ‘lead their best life’, led Sue to develop long standing partnerships with some of the UK’s biggest health charities. For Breast Cancer Care she created the game-changing Pink Ribbon Walk initiative in 1999 and she was the driving force behind Walk for One Million for Target Ovarian Cancer. These, plus her recent work with the Alzheimer’s Society, have resulted in more than £10 million being raised for health and wellbeing charities.

Sue is a consummate communicator and has an astute understanding of the needs and aspirations of women globally, having herself worked in the USA, Europe and South Africa. She is passionate about supporting and mentoring and has, during her career, helped, encouraged and inspired women of all ages. She has also worked on youth and graduate inclusive physical activity initiatives through her involvement as a Trustee with the National Centre of Circus Arts.

Natalie Ceeney CBE

Natalie is a non-executive Director and strategy consultant. She was appointed to the board of Sports England from 1st June 2018, and her other roles include Chair of Innovate Finance, non-executive director of Board of Countrywide PLC, and a business advisor on technology driven transformation. Her previous executive career includes three CEO roles, of HM Courts and Tribunals Service, The National Archives and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Natalie has always been passionate about sports, initially just as a supporter of elite sports and more recently as a regular cyclist and gym user. Her own experience of ill health, including breast cancer, has made her a strong believer in the power of activity and exercise for physical and mental health. Natalie is also a digital evangelist, with a career history of using digital technology to widen participation and access, and excited by its potential in sport.

Mohamed Elsarky

Mohamed Elsarky is a seasoned executive with wide experience in industry, sport, and not for profit organisations. Most recently he served as Global President and CEO of Godiva Chocolatier where he was also a member of the Board. Previously, he was operating partner at Lion Capital, a leading private equity firm; President of United Biscuits Northern Europe; CEO Jacobs Bakery (Danone) UK and Ireland, and Chairman / CEO Kellogg Australia and New Zealand.

Mohamed’s involvement in sport include major sponsorship of Rugby League, Netball, and Surf Life Saving Iron Man and Iron Woman competitions in Australia where he was Vice Patron of Surf Life Saving Queensland. More recently he was Chair of British Canoeing overseeing improved governance and developing relationships with funding bodies and key stakeholders. Mohamed is currently Chair of British Equestrian Federation.

Mohamed hold a number of non-executive board positions including NOMAD Foods (NYSE) and the East India Company. He also served on several not for profit organisations focussing on children including Kids Help Line, Children’s Hospital Council, and Australian Council for Children and Parenting as well as the New South Wales Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Board.

The roles are remunerated at £218 a day. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Natalie, Sue and Mohamed have declared no such political activity.

Dogs that are capable of detecting minute traces of explosives concealed in air freight are being deployed in cargo sheds at British airports as the government introduces its latest measure to reinforce the UK’s aviation security.

Free running explosive detection dogs (FREDDs) working in close partnership with their human handlers are being used to check freight for a range of explosive materials. The dogs are being used alongside existing screening methods, offering a rapid and effective way of screening large volumes of air cargo.

Each animal has undergone 12 months of rigorous training to achieve government certification before being deployed in the cargo sheds. As they carry out their operational duties they will go through a regular quality assurance programme.

The world leading standards that have been set by the government will make sure that a robust programme is in place which guarantees and maintains the animals’ detection capabilities.

In 2016, goods worth £178 billion were transported by air between the UK and non-EU countries. These detection dogs have the potential to play a vital role in helping to ensure such cargo is safe to fly.

Baroness Sugg, Aviation Minister, said:

Free running explosive detection dogs are the latest addition to the government’s multi-layered approach to tackling potential aviation security threats.

The ability of these highly-skilled dogs to detect small amounts of vapour from explosives hidden in cargo will bolster our existing rigorous security methods, and I was really impressed to see them in action.

The UK’s aviation security standards are already among the best in the world and we will continue to seek out new and innovative ways to ensure that passengers remain protected.

Dogs are already used successfully in a variety of ways at UK airports, for example, by helping police to identify criminals and prevent illegal activity. The introduction of FREDDs will add to this capability and provide the aviation industry with a new way to fight the threat of terrorism.

In April 2018, the government published its aviation strategy next steps document, setting out its plans for the future of the industry. This involved a commitment to ensure that the UK is equipped to respond to changing threats.

The deployment of dogs in cargo sheds is just one example of how this pledge is being met, with knowledge and expertise being used to build on the highly sophisticated security interventions already in place across the aviation industry.

While all cargo is made secure before it is allowed on to aircraft, the dogs offer the ability to detect minute traces of vapour from concealed explosives. This provides a high level of scrutiny as well as a highly mobile and time-saving way of screening freight, 2.4 million tonnes of which passed through the UK’s airports in 2016.

The dogs are already operating in multiple airports, and more will be deployed around the country as the number of approved canines’ increases.

Both the certification and quality assurance process that the dogs will need to go through is set by the Department for Transport (DfT) which will share oversight with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The CAA will have a further responsibility ensuring those who operate the dogs do so in line with the standards set out by the DfT.

Ten projects are receiving investment as part of the second round of the £80 million Life Chances Fund and will focus on helping young people into employment by providing education and training. The projects will also help reduce the number of days young people spend in care and help vulnerable children get prepared for school.

The projects are Social Impact Bonds, meaning Social Investors provide projects with up front funding and are reimbursed by government only when projects meet agreed results.

The Government’s contribution is in addition to funding from local authorities who will provide a combined £83 million to the successful projects.

Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Tracey Crouch, said:

The Life Chances Fund is helping transform lives across the country and I am looking forward to seeing how these fantastic projects use this funding to benefit children and young people, teaching them valuable life skills.

Examples of the projects that will receive funding are:

Sheffield City Council will receive £19,294,766, the largest amount of money from the Life Chances fund. This will set up a local projects to help tackle a range of issues from mental health and wellbeing to homelessness and youth unemployment.

Harrow Council will be given £1,895,000 for its flexible therapeutic solution that offers 24/7 accessibility to support. This will enable young people to plan, coordinate and accelerate progress towards their goals. It will target vulnerable young people aged between 10 and 18, both in care and outside.

Think Forward will be granted £683,620 to implement its Move Forward programme which supports young people aged 14-25 with mild to moderate learning disabilities to develop the aspirations, qualifications and skills they need to realise their potential and gain paid employment.

The Life Chances Fund is being delivered on behalf of DCMS by the Big Lottery Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The £80m Life Chances Fund launched in July 2016 with the objective of tackling entrenched social issues and helping those people in society who face the most significant barriers to leading happy and productive lives.

The fund is structured around six key themes: drug and alcohol dependency, children’s services, early years, young people, older people’s services, and healthy lives.

To date, a total of £45,152,177 of Life Chances Fund money has been committed across 20 projects, with more funding to be announced in the summer.

The grantees, the money they will receive and the project they will deliver, are listed below:

Sheffield City Council: will receive £19,294,766. This aims to maximise the impact of public spending across the city and achieve better social projects for residents. It will transform the way public services are delivered in Sheffield.

Future’s Advice – Nottinghamshire: will receive £891,660 to offer a bespoke package of support and training to young people including: individual coaching, group work and peer support, and personal budget management, to reduce the proportion that are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Norfolk County Council: will receive £1,238,512 to reduce the number of days children and young people spend in care. This will generate savings for the council and achieve improvements to the children’s school attendance, educational attainment and wellbeing.

Gloucestershire Positive Behavioural Support Service: will receive £360,000 for its positive behavioural support service which aims to avoid the poor outcomes and high costs associated with children and young people with learning disabilities in residential care settings.

Harrow Council: will receive £1,895,000 for its The Adolescent Collaborative Multi-Channel which offers flexible therapeutic support through a new mobile app with 24/7 accessibility enabling young people to plan, coordinate and accelerate progress towards their goals. It will target vulnerable young people aged between 10 and 18, both in care and outside.

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham: will receive up to £540,000 to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), through the provision of an intensive two-year one-to-one coaching programme delivered to young people in school years 10-12. The programme will target those hardest to reach and most at risk of becoming NEET.

Innovation Unit – Doncaster: will receive £1,795,810 to address poor school attendance and education attainment among 11 to 16 year olds who have been identified as having low social mobility and are at risk of becoming NEET.

The Skill Mill – locations across the north: will receive £1,793,302 to help get ex-offenders aged 16 – 18 into paid labour opportunities.

Family Lives – Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea: will receive £252,900 to narrow the gap in school readiness between vulnerable children and their better off peers by introducing the Parent Child Home Program, an American evidence-based programme targeted at low income and vulnerable families.

Think Forward – Islington, Kent and Surrey: will receive £683,620 for its Move Forward programme which will support young people aged 14-25 with mild to moderate learning disabilities to develop the aspirations, qualifications and skills they need to realise their potential and gain paid employment. The project includes the engagement of parents and staff at mainstream and special schools and colleges and Local Authorities. It will provide holistic and personalised 1:1 coaching support and participants will gain financial, social and wellbeing benefits associated with improved self-esteem and employment.