Press release: International Development Secretary welcomes Call to Action on modern slavery

At the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday 19 September, the Prime Minister announced new domestic measures and an investment of £20 million in the new Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. In total the UK will double its development spending on modern slavery to £150million, enabling more work in collaboration with source and transit countries.

Speaking at an event hosted by Alliance 8.7 at the General Assembly, immediately after the Prime Minister’s announcement, International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, joined in the call for further action to tackle modern slavery.

Priti Patel also welcomed the “wake-up call” provided by new global estimates, which show that if all enslaved people were brought together in a single country, it would be the 34th most populous country in the world, ahead of Poland and Canada.

International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, said:

The UK’s call to action is on behalf of some of the most victimised, brutalised, exploited people in the world.

I recently met young female victims of trafficking at a safe house in Lagos, and heart-breaking testimonies like theirs vividly demonstrate that modern slavery is a scourge that needs to be eradicated.

In Nigeria, as well as many places around the world, we are stepping up our efforts and rising to this challenge – we will not accept a world where human beings are bought and sold.

Notes to editors:

  • Pictures and B-Roll: Please see video and picture content from DFID modern slavery programmes in Nepal, as well as personal testimonies from victims and vulnerable people supported through UK aid.
  • For photo credit, AD is Anna Dubuis/DFID and SM is Steph Moor/DFID.


News story: Defence Minister welcomes London Stock Exchange’s commitment to Armed Forces

After opening the day’s trading in Central London, Mr Ellwood co-signed the agreement which sees the London Stock Exchange Group join a number of FSTE 100 companies who are already signatories to the Covenant, including BAE Systems, Marks & Spencer and Vodafone.

By signing, the London Stock Exchange Group commits to upholding the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, pledging to support reservists and create career pathways through the MOD’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP).

As part of the agreement, the London Stock Exchange Group will promote that they are an armed forces-friendly organisation, advocating the armed forces to their business networks and ecouraging support for the military community.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said:

This signing is a significant step for the London Stock Exchange Group, which is set to be a strong advocate for the benefits of employing our talented Defence people in businesses across the UK.

These pledges will seek to open the door to new career pathways for veterans and provide flexibility for reservists – ensuring the Armed Forces community is not disadvantaged by their service and sacrifice for our country.

To celebrate the signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, the London Stock Exchange Group hosted a special market opening ceremony in London this morning. The event was attended by existing and prospective signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant at a networking breakfast for small and medium enterprises.

London Stock Exchange Group’s pledges include:

  • Being an armed forces-friendly organisation which values the skills that military training and experience can bring to their diverse talent base.

  • Seeking to support the employment of veterans, of all ages, by linking the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to their careers website.

  • Endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment, subject to operational requirements.

To date the Covenant has been signed by more than 1,800 organisations, including businesses and charities, all of which have set out their support for members of the armed forces community employed by them or accessing their products and services.



Research and analysis: Improved spatial data on activity distribution and intensity

The MMO, as marine regulators and planners, must consider the location and intensity of many marine activities in decision making within the MMO’s remit.

The MMO already has access to diverse activity data such as that presented in Marine Information System or generated through internal processes including marine licensing, but would benefit from continued improvement of the best available evidence, including up to date, reliable and standardised spatial data on the distribution and intensity of activities that may impact the marine environment individually or in combination.

The diversity of marine activities are described in the UK Marine Policy Statement. Of particular interest is information on the following sectors:tourism and recreation, cable routes and landfalls (particularly disused) and fishing activity from vessels less than 15m in length. The MMO is also interested in new or emerging activities.



Research and analysis: Acclimation of birds to disturbance from marine activities

Requirement R071

Requirement detail

Human use of the marine environment exerts a range of pressures on marine species including disturbance from noise or physical activity. Disturbance results include stress responses, flight, and changes in foraging for example. Such responses can directly or indirectly reduce the fitness of individuals and health of the population. To manage these potential negative impacts, disturbance impacts are considered in decision making.

However, there are increasing stakeholder observations and reports that bird species become, at least partially, acclimated to disturbance from some marine activities. If acclimatisation occurs, this may change the threshold at which disturbance impacts become significant and thus is of relevance to marine decision making.

The MMO seek evidence on whether, or to what extent, acclimatisation occurs, whether acclimation is species dependant and the conditions under which acclimation occurs such as in interaction with other pressures.



Research and analysis: Pressures of different fishing gear

Requirement R045

Requirement detail

To enhance understanding of the types and magnitudes of pressures exerted by different types of fishing gear on the environment, and potential management actions that may be appropriate to manage any negative impacts from the fishing gear on protected features.