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Author Archives: HM Government

Press release: Foreign Office Minister statement on the 35th anniversary of end of the Falkland Islands conflict

The Rt. Hon Alan Duncan, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said:

Today marks 35 years since the end of the Falklands conflict. It is an opportunity for us to remember and reflect on all those who lost their lives – the members of our Armed Forces, as well as those from Argentina.

We particularly want to honour the 255 UK servicemen and three Falkland Islanders who made the ultimate sacrifice, and gave their lives to protect the freedom of the Islands. The peace and independence which their courage secured in 1982 has seen the Islands grow and prosper in the three and a half decades since.

Whilst our relationship with Argentina is improving, our resolve to support the Falkland Islanders remains just the same as it did 35 years ago. We remain committed to upholding the right of the Falkland Islanders to determine their own future, and to remain British in line with their wishes.

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HM Government

News story: Civil news: court-assessed online claim change to speed payments

A breakdown of individual hearings for court-assessed claims under the Family Advocacy Scheme (FAS) will be required for submissions after 14 August 2014.

Any FAS advocacy, including ‘bolt-ons’, should be broken down individually and no longer submitted at summary level only. This will help to speed up payments.

How will the process work?

Guidance on how to enter a breakdown of individual hearings is provided on the Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) training website – see link below.

When creating the bill, on the ‘multiple fee scheme bills’ screen, you will need to click ‘yes’ to the top option, ‘would you like to bill for FAS?’.

Alternatively, CCMS’ bulk upload feature can be used to provide the breakdown where providers already use this function.

Claims submitted from 14 August 2017 onwards that do not have this breakdown will be rejected so that they can be amended and resubmitted.

Benefits

Breaking down the fees in your online claim will:

  • allow CCMS to cross-check rates and dates claimed
  • reduce the need for us to ask you for further information
  • simplify the process by making paper-based and online-based claims the same

This only applies to claims assessed by the court and including any advocacy under the FAS. There are no changes to submissions under other online billing schemes.

Further information

CCMS training website – see ‘court assessed bill’ under ‘closing cases and submitting bills’

CIV Claim 1A – to download checklist with evidential requirements for court assessed claims

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HM Government

News story: Statement on Grenfell Tower: 14 June 2017

A Downing Street spokesperson gave a statement on the Grenfell Tower fire.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

“The Prime Minister is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the Grenfell Tower and is being kept constantly updated on the situation.

“She has asked for a cross-government meeting at the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to take place at 4pm to co-ordinate the response and ensure the government is ready to assist the emergency services and local authorities as necessary.

“The Prime Minister’s thoughts are with all of those affected by this terrible incident and the emergency services, who are working tirelessly in very difficult circumstances.”

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HM Government

News story: Future manufacturing and materials: apply for funding

As a UK business you can apply for a share of £15 million to develop solutions to the challenges of future manufacturing and materials.

Up to £15 million will be made available by Innovate for UK businesses to work on innovative projects in the manufacturing and materials sector.

Creating a competitive advantage

New manufacturing processes and materials can be a source of global competitive advantage. The UK already has a strong position. It is the ninth largest producer in the world with an output of $247 billion. This competition aims to support manufacturing and materials as enablers of product innovation.

We are looking to fund projects that tackle identified technical and commercial challenges. These should lead to increased productivity, competitiveness and growth for UK small and medium-sized enterprises.

Focus areas

Applications should focus on innovations in:

  • manufacturing systems, technologies, processes or business models, such as new product introduction processes or remanufacture
  • materials development, properties, integration or reuse. Materials could include nanomaterials, ceramics, metals and inter-metallics, polymers, composites, coatings, smart materials and joining of dissimilar materials

Competition information

  • the competition is open, and the deadline for registration is midday on 12 July 2017
  • project should range between £50,000 and £2 million and last between 6 months and 3 years
  • projects must be led by a business and involve at least one SME
  • projects longer than 12 months or with costs of more than £100,000 must involve 2 or more businesses
  • businesses could attract up to 70% of their total project costs, depending on their size
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HM Government