News story: Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Jordan: April 2017

Prime Minister Theresa May visits Jordan and Saudi Arabia from 3 to 5 April to further strengthen the UK’s relationships in the Middle East.

Jordan

On her first visit to Jordan as Prime Minister, Theresa May will visit Amman today, 3 April. The Prime Minister will announce a new UK-Jordan initiative to tackle the terror threat and develop new capabilities to strike at the heart of Daesh, with new support for the Jordanian Air Force. She will confirm a plan to improve co-operation on countering violent extremism in the region.

The Prime Minister will also discuss how the UK can build on our co-operation with Jordan to manage the fallout from the Syrian conflict.

Saudi Arabia

The Prime Minister will visit Saudi Arabia Tuesday 4 April and Wednesday 5 April. She will make clear that they are a close and important ally and that we will continue to work closely in a range of areas, particularly on counter-terrorism where UK-Saudi co-operation is vital.

The Prime Minister is also expected to explore ways of boosting our already very strong trade ties. Saudi Arabia is currently the UK’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with exports of British goods standing at £4.67 billion and services at £1.9 billion in 2015.

Announcements



News story: Small, local charities set to benefit from fundraising skills training

The Foundation for Social Improvement (the FSI) has been awarded a grant worth £199,580 to run a two year training programme, helping small, local charities and community groups develop their fundraising skills.

The programme run by the FSI in partnership with LocalGiving, the Small Charities Coalition and Charity Finance Group, will provide over 5,000 fundraising training opportunities. It will include face-to-face events across the country, webinars and online learning resources, one-to-one advice and consultancy appointments, fundraising campaign planning support, and intensive mentoring matches. Training will be subsidised, helping organisations to take part who may not normally have the resources to attend.

The training will be for small, local charities and community groups with an annual income of up to £1 million, which have a local focus within England.

Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson said:

Small, local charities and community groups provide essential support for local people and are the backbone of our communities helping to build a fairer society that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few.

I want to help them be more resilient and sustainable, and this training programme will give them valuable skills so they can continue their vital work helping to support people up and down the country.

Details of the training events will be added to the FSI’s website as they become available, with online resources for those who might not be able to attend the training. You can also follow the FSI on Twitter for latest news and information about the training.



Policy paper: Yate and Chipping Sodbury: reducing the risk of flooding

Updated: Updated with feedback from consultation, preferred option and next steps.

This document explains how the Environment Agency is investigating ways to offer flood protection to 100 homes and 40 businesses at risk of flooding from the River Frome and its tributaries.



Official Statistics: Residues of veterinary medicines in food: 2017

Updated: Updated results paper

This document contains information on substances found in the UK where the level of concentration of a residue in an animal product is above the action point. Where a Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) is set, this is the concentration used. Where no MRL has been set, the Limit of Quantification (LOQ) is used which is the smallest analyte concentration for which a method has been validated with specified accuracy and precision to enable quantification.

The first table is a summary of the following detailed results table with outcomes of investigations into non-compliant samples and what action is being taken to avoid unacceptable residues in the future.



Press release: HMRC launches new Fraud Hotline

HM Revenue and Customs has launched a new hotline for the public to report fraud and evasion in the fight against tax fraud.

This service will replace the two separate tax evasion and customs hotlines with one, streamlining HMRC’s intelligence gathering on tax fraud.

Customers can report all kinds of tax fraud and evasion on the new hotline, including PAYE and National Insurance fraud, undisclosed offshore investments, non-payment of the National Minimum Wage, tax credit fraud, failure to pay UK duty, tax evasion and VAT fraud.

Jennie Granger, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Compliance, said:

Information provided by the public is a crucial element of HMRC’s work to close the tax gap, so it’s vital that the reporting process is as simple and accessible as possible. The HMRC Fraud Hotline will form an important part of our intelligence gathering operations to bring in more money for the Exchequer and the country.

We encourage the public to continue to work with us and report any suspected fraud or evasion to us for investigation.

  • The HMRC Fraud Hotline – on 0800 788 887 – is open between 8am – 8pm seven days a week, 365 days a year.
  • You can also report online using our digital form available on GOV.UK.
  • In the last financial year we received over 113,000 reports from members of the public providing information to the department.
  • An audio clip for broadcast can be found here