It’s brilliant to be here at this incredible venue.

We look around at the great artists that are on the walls. I can just imagine the Fab Four right in front of me. It is electric to be here.

Of course, it’s not just The Beatles. This place is associated with Elgar, Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse, Elton John, Kanye West, Kate Bush, Stevie Wonder – anyone who’s anyone in music, from Adele to Zucchero.

And the reason I mention all of these is because of the range. The range of genders, of ethnicities, of sexualities and people from all parts of Britain and all parts of the world.

I just want to introduce this morning’s session and say why I care about this, and why I’m so glad that so many of you have given up your time to come here.

You can be forgiven for being sceptical as to why a straight, white man in a suit cares so much about diversity. But this is a moral imperative for everyone, from whatever background.

I have always thought that talent – in music, in sport, in tech, in the arts, in design – can be found anywhere.

And we need to look for the thing that everyone can do as an achievement. Look into every human heart for what they can bring to the party. And unless we look for that everywhere, and open up opportunities to everyone in this country, then we all risk losing out.

It’s not just that we miss out on amazing ideas and amazing work and that people miss the chance to shine. As well as a moral imperative it’s a business imperative too.

I have never been in a room making a decision where a less diverse group could make a better decision.

Diversity of thought improves the way things are done, and the way things are run, and creates the spark of creativity that makes for progress.

Anything, whether it’s a TV script or a business plan for a sports team, can be improved by discussion with a diverse group.

And then there’s the national debate – the mood music of our country – which is impoverished when we don’t have a wide range of voices contributing, reflecting the rich diversity of our nation.

Some of our most exhilarating creative moments have been when diversity takes centre stage.

Take the first lesbian kiss on Brookside or Channel 4’s groundbreaking, brilliant coverage of the Paralympics.

One of my passions is grime and one the great strengths of it is that it’s produced by people demanding to be heard.

I apologise for saying this in a Universal venue… But grime climbed its way up the outside of the music business, not through the traditional record labels. But demanded to be heard.

Now, having said that, not everyone is Skepta and not everybody can make that climb. Some people need help and encouragement to make the most of their gifts. We’ve seen some great progress in the last few years years, but there’s much more to do. The Arts Council has announced millions of pounds to develop work by disabled and BAME talent and address the lack of diverse leadership in the arts. The Tech Talent Charter that Margot is championing has seen hundreds of tech firms sign a pledge to improve gender diversity. And there’s millions of pounds been allocated through Sport England’s investment funds, with a specific focus on under represented groups. I’ve just come from the Roundhouse, another legendary music space, and we launched a Creative Industries sector deal.

And as part of this, announced 2 million pounds of support to encourage a more diverse intake of talent and more routes into the creative industries.

But there is much, much more to do. Not just in the workplace, but in participation. It is a truth that participation in culture and sport is consistently below the national average for those with disabilities, those who are not white and those on lower incomes.

And that needs to change. And the Diversity Forum is a crucial step in putting these concerns right.

What we want to do today is bring together the leading organisations – like you in this room – to share best practice, to find new ways to make the industry more diverse.

We’ve all got the same objective, and we all gain when we work at it together.

So we are as much enthusiasts, as also in listening mode.

We are saying, with a resounding voice, from the bully pulpit of Government that a lack of diversity will not stand. And everybody has a role to solving the problems that we face. And we want to do this working together, and listening, and making sure that we come forward with solutions that work.

Our digital, our creative, our sporting industries are world leading and they showcase our country at its best.

But they will be so much stronger, and better represent who we are as a nation, when they are open to all. When they are not just opening the door but inviting people in and actively recruiting from across our whole society.

One our greatest authors wrote: “To thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

And Shakespeare was right. Everyone has the right to be themselves and tell the world their story.

And we need to do our part in supporting everyone to do that. Thank you very much.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Bolt, has published his inspection report on how the Home Office considers the ‘best interests’ of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

The completed report was sent to the Home Secretary on 7 February 2018.

In 2017, the Independent Chief Inspector commissioned a literature review to assist with its planned programme of inspection work in relation to children. The review, compiled by Adrian Matthews, formerly Senior Policy Development Officer at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England, is published alongside this inspection report.

Mr Bolt said:

The UK’s treatment of asylum seeking children is a matter of considerable public interest. In this inspection, I looked specifically at the Home Office’s handling of unaccompanied asylum seeking children, and in particular at how it ensured that the ‘best interests’ of the child were properly considered throughout the asylum process. This included how those interests were met for those children transferred from one Local Authority area to another under the National Transfer Scheme. This inspection was the second in what I intend to be a series of inspections focused on the treatment of children by the Home Office’s Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System. The first report, published in July 2017, dealt with the Home Office’s application of the good character requirement in the case of young persons who apply for registration as British citizens.

It also sits alongside my report on the Home Office’s Asylum Intake and Casework, which was published in November 2017.

My predecessor reported in 2013 on the handling of asylum applications from unaccompanied children. In that inspection he made 9 recommendations, covering: consistency of treatment; family tracing; timeliness of asylum decisions; performance targets; development of statistics; data quality/record-keeping; quality of refusal letters; consistency of initial interviews; and referrals to Refugee Council.

The Home Office accepted all 9 recommendations, and “closed” them all between October 2013 and May 2016, having satisfied itself that it had taken the necessary actions. This latest inspection showed that it now needed to revisit most of these areas and make improvements that stick.

In addition, improvements are needed in relation to the National Transfer Scheme, in how the Home Office communicates with unaccompanied asylum seeking children and stakeholders, and in the use of UASC leave. This report contains just 2 recommendations, although each breaks down into several parts. Overall, there is a considerable amount of work for the Home Office to do. Given the impact the asylum system has on the lives of those children and young people who come into contact with it, I hope that the Home Office can move quickly to make the necessary improvements.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this inspection. My special thanks go to Adrian Matthews for his literature review of children’s rights and ‘best interests’, which provided the foundations for this inspection.

An inspection of the best interests of unaccompanied asylum seeking children

Home Office’s response to the Chief Inspector’s reports.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Bolt, has published his report of the re-inspection of Border Force’s identification and treatment of Potential Victims of Modern Slavery.

The completed report was sent to the Home Secretary on 30 January 2018.

The IPO and INPI signed a PPH agreement on 28 March at the 10th UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in London. The UK meets Brazil annually, using JETCO as a forum to pursue UK trade policy and commercial interests in Brazil.

The Agreement was signed by Andy Bartlett, IPO Divisional Director, and Mauro Maia, Executive Director of INPI. The signing was witnessed by Secretary of State for the Department of Trade, Rt Hon Liam Fox and his counterpart, acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Foreign Service, Marcos Jorge de Lima.

Ministers witnessing the signing of the PPH agreement by Andy Bartlett and Mauro Maia.

Mr Bartlett welcomed the agreement:

This agreement has obvious practical value to innovators seeking international patent protection. It is also symbolic of a more open and strategic approach by the Brazilian government on IP.

This bilateral PPH builds on work initiated under the UK-Brazil Memorandum of Understanding on IP. It will support UK and Brazilian businesses looking to trade in each other’s markets. It will also reinforce the already excellent relationship between the IP Offices of both countries.

Under the PPH program, an applicant whose claims are accepted by one office, can request faster processing of a co-pending application. The PPH can significantly speed up the process of gaining a patent and help minimise the associated costs to the applicant.

This is one of a number of initiatives launched in Brazil this month. Last week, the IPO and Oxentia, Oxford University’s Global Innovation Consultancy, launched a version of the Lambert Toolkit in Brazil. This toolkit helps academia and industry to carry out research projects together. We hope it encourages cross border technology transfer and joint projects between the countries.

UK Embassy, Oxentia, INPI, IPO and University Center of Belo Horizonte colleagues launching the Brazilian version of the Lambert toolkit.

Our Brazilian IP attaché Angelica Garcia has been working to understand the enforcement conditions and legislative process in Brazil. She recently attended meetings with PROCON, the consumer enforcement agency in Sao Paulo and the UK-Brazil Parliamentary group.

Such information gathering activities help us understand the problems facing UK businesses. We can then tailor our advice to those seeking to register and protect IP rights in Brazil.

Angelica also attended the launch of the UK-Brazil Year of Science and Innovation in Rio – a celebration of bilateral science and innovation cooperation.

By cooperating on IP resources such as the Lambert toolkit and issues like granting of patents, we can build stronger and more effective national IP systems. This will support both UK and Brazilian businesses.