Launched to showcase the very best of the nation to the world, the GREAT campaign is celebrating its seventh anniversary. It is the UK government’s most successful international campaign, active in 140 countries, recipient of 53 highly-coveted awards and securing a return of £3.4 billion to the British economy.

The campaign unifies the international growth promotion efforts of the Department for International Trade, VisitBritain, British Council, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 17 other government departments and organisations and hundreds of private sector companies. All work closely together to deliver jobs and growth across all parts of the UK. In 2017, the campaign supported 1,066 separate events and activities in almost 200 locations worldwide.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said:

The GREAT brand is an increasingly valuable asset to the UK, helping my international economic department reach companies and investors across the world with a clear UK proposition.

As we celebrate its seventh anniversary and the £3.4 billion economic return – plus jobs and opportunities – it has provided the country, I look forward to seeing this figure grow exponentially over the coming years.

A recent independent assessment by valuation experts Brand Finance showed that the GREAT brand has a current value of £271 million.

The sophistication and effectiveness of the campaign is admired by people and governments around the world, including our major competitors, and in 2015 the National Audit Office commended the campaign as meeting good practice from a brand communication perspective.

Conrad Bird CBE, Director of the GREAT campaign, commented:

GREAT is a highly visible, powerful campaign which delivers a tangible economic return for the UK. As we look ahead to the next 7 years, we will capitalise on the campaign’s success to date by improving global perceptions of the UK, helping to increase levels of trade, investment, tourism and high-quality students.

Over 600 businesses and high-profile individuals are backing the campaign with joint funding, sponsored activity and active support.

• Contact the DIT Media and Digital Team on +44 (0)20 7215 2000
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• UK aid to protect endangered Sumatran tiger, with only around 30 left in one critical habitat

• Partnership work in Indonesia will help create 16,000 sustainable jobs

• UK aid has a unique role to play in tackling the underlying causes of the illegal wildlife trade, while protecting the livelihoods of local communities.

UK aid will protect critically endangered wildlife in Indonesia and Liberia by creating sustainable jobs for people who work near these animal’s habitats, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced today ahead of next month’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference.

On a visit to the ZSL, London Zoo – which is leading the global Sumatran Tiger breeding programme – Ms Mordaunt committed to tackle the underlying causes of the Illegal Wildlife Trade and to protect species including the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger, Asian Elephant, Orangutan and West African Chimpanzee.

UK aid, through the Partnerships For Forests programme, is helping to create sustainable jobs and livelihoods for local communities in Africa and Southeast Asia. This provides communities with an alternative to clearing forest or hunting wildlife to make a living, and ensures that vital forest habitat for wildlife is protected. This is essential for the long-term survival of key wildlife species like the chimpanzee and the tiger.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

“The Illegal Wildlife Trade and the destruction of forests and natural habitats are having a catastrophic impact on both iconic wildlife and the world’s poorest people.

“Nobody wants to see extraordinary species become extinct, or the communities living near their habitats struggle for jobs and livelihoods, which is why UK aid has a unique role to play in tackling the underlying causes driving these problems, namely poverty and rapid, unmanaged deforestation.

“It’s only by working together with local communities that we will preserve endangered wildlife like the Sumatran Tiger, and protect them for future generations.”

Chief Executive at WWF Tanya Steele said:

“We don’t have to choose between helping people and saving our wildlife.

“Projects like this show UK aid can be used to help the world’s poorest people and save some of our most threatened species, like the Sumatran tiger and Sumatran elephant.

“Next month, world leaders are meeting in London to find ways to stop the illegal wildlife trade. That will only succeed if local communities are part of the solution not the problem.”

Dominic Jermey, Director General of ZSL, London Zoo said:

“As an international conservation charity, ZSL welcomes DFID’s increased focus on protecting critically endangered wildlife, tackling the illegal wildlife trade and supporting marginalised communities.

“ZSL’s own work in Indonesia with flagship species such as the tiger and its habitat enable us to address critical threats such as forest loss, mitigating forest fires and IWT.

“ZSL works closely with local communities; we help to empower them in managing their natural resources; and we ensure they have a voice in decision making to support their economic resilience.”

The Department for International Development (DFID), is part of a ground-breaking public-private partnership to protect chimpanzee habitats in Liberia and tiger habitats in Indonesia, through investments to develop sustainable rubber and cocoa. The project will help to create an estimated 16,000 fair wage jobs and in turn improve the livelihoods of 50,000 people. These jobs bring benefits to entire households and their dependants arising through the investment in the area.

The range of support demonstrates, ahead of the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in October, DFID’s unique place in addressing the underlying causes of Illegal Wildlife Trade and the UK’s role as a world leader in supporting global biodiversity.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Indonesia’s Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape is home to some of the world’s most endangered species, the Sumatran Tiger (only 30-40 remain in the landscape), the Orangutan and the Asian Elephant. DFID’s support will:

• Help 28 public and private organisations work together to protect the landscape, including local government, national conservation authorities, private companies, NGOs and indigenous community leaders to secure critical remaining wildlife areas, preventing the loss of remaining habitat and curbing the risk of poaching.

• Help to develop ‘green’ (environmentally sustainable) rubber, other products like wild forest honey, and establish a wildlife corridor within the conservation landscape.

In Liberia’s Gola Forest:

• To counter the mounting threat of deforestation and boost forest and biodiversity conservation, DFID’s Partnerships for Forests is supporting the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and local conservation partners in Liberia to develop a market for forest-friendly Gola cocoa.

• RSPB and partners are already supporting smallholders around protected forest in Sierra Leone to market forest-friendly cocoa, the first shipment of which was sold to international markets in 2017. This will protect wildlife habitats for threatened bird species and critically endangered West African chimpanzee and the endangered pygmy hippopotamus.

In addition to these projects, DFID’s total support to this programme is helping to prevent the destruction of over one million hectares of forests and wildlife habitats in Africa and Southeast Asia by 2020.

• Low-level poachers are usually young, poor villagers who poach to earn money. A poacher might receive £35 for a live chimpanzee which would sell for £14,000. When wildlife is slaughtered for quick cash and trees are illegally logged, ecosystems break down – and the poorest people are hit hardest.

• DFID’s wider work, which in many cases will have knock on benefits in addressing the underlying conditions driving the illegal wildlife trade or destruction of wildlife habitats, could constitute as much as £583mn of support from 2011 to 2022. This is an approximate combination of DFID’s support for job creation, tackling deforestation, tackling illicit financial flows and other areas in IWT priority countries. This announcement relates to three projects DFID is funding through Partnerships for Forests. Two projects in Indonesia and one in the Gola Forest. In total these projects represent a £2.1mn allocation. DFID’s total support to the Partnerships for Forest programme is £56.5mn.

1. A public-private partnership to develop a green rubber plantation and establish a wildlife corridor. The plantation is being developed by PT Royal Lestari Utama, a joint venture backed by tire manufacturer Michelin, working closely with WWF Indonesia. This will contribute to the protection of the 400,000 hectare landscape. The initiative has secured green commercial finance of US$95 million.

2. A coalition of 28 public and private organisations work together to protect the landscape, including local government, national conservation authorities, private companies, NGOs and indigenous community leaders. This will help to meet the most immediate conservation needs in the landscape, including community engagement and the development of long-term economic security for habitat and wildlife protection activities – supporting communities to be the first line of defence for the environment they live in. .
3. Creating incentives for the protection of the Gola rainforest through the production of ‘rainforest-friendly’ cocoa as an alternative to other, unsustainable agriculture and logging practices, working with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and local businesses.

The UK (DFID, FCO, Defra) is hosting an international conference on IWT to inspire global commitment to eliminate the illegal wildlife trade. The conference will bring together global leaders, governments, the private sector, NGOs, academics and others. Bringing the global community back to London this year re-affirms our combined commitment to tackling the trade at the highest levels.

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Thank you Madam President, and thank you to Special Coordinator Mladenov for your briefing and for the work you are doing to improve the situation and bring the situation closer to peace and for all the hard work of your teams on the ground.

The United Kingdom is committed and remains committed to achieving a two-state solution, leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as a shared capital.

We continue to believe that the best way to achieve this is through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and for all parties to focus on steps that are conducive to peace.

As the French Ambassador said, some 25 years ago, we had the Oslo Accords. It is doubly concerning, therefore, to see the recent developments on the ground, on key aspects of Resolution 23 34. The level of rhetoric of hatred and dehumanisation and all sides is repellent but it is also dangerous.

The UK remains deeply concerned about the Israeli authorities’ planned demolition of the village of Khan al-Ahmar. Khan al-Ahmar is located in an area of strategic importance for the contiguity of a Palestinian state. Its demolition threatens a major blow to the prospects for a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital, by paving the way for settlement building in Area E1.

The UN has said that demolition could amount to forcible transfer in violation of international humanitarian law. The recent decision of the Israeli Supreme Court does not mandate demolition; demolition remains at the discretion of the Israeli Government.

We therefore call on the Israeli government once again not to go ahead with its plan to demolish the village, including the school, and displace the residents.

I share concerns about the situation of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which is facing severe financial pressure at a time of increased demand.

We support a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for Palestinian refugees, and until that point, we remain firmly committed to supporting UNWRA and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.

We are concerned about the impact of the recent US decision on funding. We believe UNRWA is a lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. We have so far provided ourselves some $67 million to UNRWA; $59 million to its core services and $7.8 million in humanitarian aid in Syria. We hope this will help meet immediate needs and that programmes and services remain uninterrupted. We call on the international community and other donors to follow this and step up support to UNRWA to ensure its vital services are not interrupted.

At the same time, I would like to stress that for UNRWA to have a sustainable future, it needs to continue to promote realistic and technical cost-saving reforms. The United Kingdom will continue to work closely with UNRWA and donors on how best to ensure continuity of essential services to Palestinian refugees at this time.

Lastly, and as the French Ambassador said, there is an urgent need to address the awful and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. The United Kingdom has recently announced a new $49 million programme to support economic development in Gaza and the West Bank. We have released $2.6 million to UNICEF, to help provide up to 1 million Gazans with access to clean water and sanitation, and have given $2 million to the ICRC appeal to support emergency medical needs.

We are supportive of efforts to reduce the conflict in Gaza. It is in everyone’s interest for peace and stability to prevail in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

And Special Coordinator, we fully support your efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and we urge the relevant parties to engage fully with your proposals.

We also would like to see progress on humanitarian and economic proposals at the meeting of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee next week, and we call upon both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to deliver on their outstanding commitments.

We reiterate the need for Israel to reduce its movement and access restrictions on the people of Gaza, and for Hamas to commit to non-violence and fully end its attacks on Israel.

In order to see a long-term improvement in Gaza, momentum around Fatah-Hamas reconciliation needs to be maintained. The United Kingdom is supportive of Egyptian efforts to enable the Palestinian Authority to resume control of Gaza, and we encourage all parties to engage constructively.

The recent deaths on both sides of the conflict, including the deaths of three Palestinians in Gaza over the past week and the stabbing of an Israeli in a settlement on 16 September, reflect the need for progress to end the cycle of violence.

We strongly urge all relevant parties to respect international law, de-escalate tensions, exercise restraint and prevent incidents that could jeopardize the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.

Thank you, Madam President.

The UK Civil Service has this week launched the UK’s first degree-level apprenticeship in economics – creating new routes to careers in the Civil Service for young people who would prefer to study for a degree whilst working at the heart of government.

A range of central government departments and agencies including HM Treasury, Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), Department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Science (BEIS), Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will provide apprenticeship placements through the new programme – which will offer students a starting salary of about £22k in London and in excess of £20k nationally.

The apprenticeship standard on which the programme is based was developed by a group of economist employers that included HM Treasury, the Bank of England as well as a range of consultancies and third sector organisations. The programme will be delivered in partnership with the University of Kent and will be open to candidates with GCSE maths at grade B (6) or above and 96 UCAS points – equivalent to CCC at A-level, MMM for a BTEC Diploma, DD for a BTEC Certificate.

Joint head of the Government Economics Service and Chief Economic Adviser at HM Treasury, Clare Lombardelli said:

“We are delighted to launch this new programme, which we hope will create new opportunities for talented young people from all parts of the communities we serve to consider economist careers in Government.”

Sam Beckett, joint head of the GES and Director General in BEIS said:

“This is an exciting new initiative for the economics profession. I am looking forward to working with the new apprentices who will join us next year – and hope to see other employers launching similar programmes in the months to come.”

Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Kent said:

“We are proud to have been selected to deliver the programme working with colleagues across the Government Economics Service. At Kent we have a long history of delivering undergraduate degree courses in economics to a very high standard.

We are looking forward to working with GES to deliver an apprenticeship programme which provides participants with on and off the job training and support that will prepare them for long and successful economist careers.”

For further information about the Government Economics Service Degree Apprenticeship Programme, email us at economic.apprenticeship@hmtreasury.gov.uk or visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-economics-service-degree-apprenticeship-programme