Author Archives: HM Government

I wish to update the House on how the Government has been supporting our national security interests through conflict prevention, peace building, stabilisation, peacekeeping and conflict resolution using the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).

Details of the programmes funded by the CSSF and its impact so far are in the first Annual Report, a copy of which has been placed in the library of the House. The publication of this first report reflects the Government’s commitment to transparency in the delivery of Official Development Assistance. We will be updating GOV.UK pages with more information on the CSSF and individual programmes.

The CSSF replaced the Conflict Pool in April 2015, as part of a new, more strategic approach to enhancing the delivery of our national security interests directed by the National Security Council (NSC).

As announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), CSSF funding has continued to increase and will be £1.162 billion in 2017 to 2018. The CSSF is now one of the world’s largest mechanisms for addressing conflict and instability. Its programmes deliver against more than 40 cross government strategies set by the National Security Council (NSC). These help to secure the UK, promote peace and stability overseas and contribute directly to SDSR objectives.

Parliamentary accountability for taxpayers’ money spent via the CSSF is provided primarily through the Joint Committee for the National Security Strategy (JCNSS). The JCNSS concluded its first inquiry into the CSSF in February. We have responded to the inquiry report and are taking forward many of their recommendations. Further announcements on governance will be made in due course.

Meeting both our legal and policy gender commitments is central to the delivery of the CSSF. Last year the CSSF spent £214.5 million on programmes which addressed gender equality. For example the CSSF in the Democratic Republic of Congo supported the provision of free legal assistance to 269 victims of international war crimes, of which 179 were women, mostly victims of sexual violence.

In addition to supporting peace building activity, CSSF funding is strengthening the multilateral system, supporting the UN and other international organisations to develop more effective multilateral responses to instability. The CSSF funds our contributions (known as assessed costs) to the UN peacekeeping budget. We are the sixth biggest contributor, spending over £300 million in 2016 to 2017. In addition, we have been using CSSF funds to help reform the UN and UN peacekeeping, coordinating outreach to Member States to secure pledges of personnel for peace operations and to assist with the transition from pledges to deployments. In 2016 to 2017 the CSSF provided a further £15 million to fund the doubling of the UK’s troop contribution to peacekeeping through 2 new deployments: 70 UK military personnel to support UNSOS in Somalia, which provides essential logistical support for the African Union Mission (AMISOM) that is combating the terrorist organisation Al Shabaab; and 370 UK military personnel to provide engineering and medical support to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

To address some of the JCNSS recommendations for the CSSF a rapid review is being undertaken of Cross-Whitehall Fund governance and structures.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund resources, financial year 2017 to 2018

CSSF	2017/18 (millions)
Peacekeeping & Multilateral	391.7
Regional/Country Strategies	606.3
Security & Defence	150
Delivery Support, including the Stabilisation Unit & National School of Government	14.5
Total	1162.5

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The Government Legal Department (GLD) offers a 2-year training programme, which gives legal trainees the opportunity to get experience in both contentious and non-contentious areas of law across a variety of government departments.

Being the largest provider of legal services across government, GLD offers the opportunity to work with all the main Whitehall departments. From roads to rivers, health to human rights, and more recently Brexit, its work touches on most aspects of public life.

Two former GLD trainees reflect on their experiences during their training contracts:

India Burnett, GLD’s Treasury Legal Advisers:

My work touched on a vast range of subject areas, including EU law, employment law, intellectual property, public procurement, immigration law and prison law. During this time I was able to manage my own cases, advise government departments and draft statutory instruments.

This variety was incredibly beneficial in getting a first-hand insight into several areas of interest rather than being pushed to specialise early on.

Jonathan Orde, GLD’s Litigation Group:

The highlight of my pupillage was representing the government in court. It was, and continues to be, an enormous privilege to be able to do this while still at such a junior level.

GLD goes to great lengths to make pupils feel part of the organisation and there is a real focus on helping us develop our careers. At a group level, the Attorney General, the Treasury Solicitor and Director of Litigation took time to meet us during our training, to help develop our understanding of our roles. We had frequent access to our supervisors, and a network of recently qualified lawyers to guide us. This really helps create a strong bond with the organisation from the outset.

The Government Legal Department is currently recruiting for trainee solicitors and barristers. There are 6 places available to start in 2018 and 30 places for 2019. The deadline for applications is 12pm (noon) 28 July.

You can find out more about the scheme on the Government Legal Service website.

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Established in October 2016 by Consumer Minister Margot James, the group consisting of product and fire safety experts was brought together to explore and build on the recommendations made by Lynn Faulds Wood in her independent review into consumer product recalls.

Led by Chief Executive of the Institution of Fire Engineers and former deputy Chief Fire Officer Neil Gibbins, the group provided interim recommendations in December 2016 and embarked on a programme of work to improve the recall system. The minister received their report in April, which outlined progress made by the Working Group in the past 6 months.

Since Lynn Faulds Wood’s report into product safety was published in February 2016, a number of her recommendations and further actions have already been taken forward, including:

• considering the framework for a national body to support consumers on product safety
• updating the government’s product recall page, ‘Acting on Product Safety’, to provide a one stop shop for recall information across a number of products, including electrical appliances, vehicles and food
• tasking the working group with considering a new standard on recalls, which they are taking forward with the British Standards Institution
• undertaking behavioural insights research with the working group to understand how to increase the impact and effectiveness of product safety messages

The working group’s recommendations include:

• setting up a central scientific and technical resource, to help support effective decision making of government, businesses and enforcers, and co-ordinate national corrective action and recall programmes
• working with BSI to create a Code of Practice for businesses and regulators – informed by behavioural insights research – to set out best practice for undertaking and evaluating corrective action and recalls of products
• improving the way product-related accident and fire data is gathered and used to better understand risks
• establishing effective arrangements between trading standards and electrical goods manufacturers through Primary Authority, to strengthen compliance and recalls

Consumer Minister Margot James said:

Everyone deserves to know that the products in their homes are safe to use, and that there is a robust system in place if they need to be repaired or replaced. The government has already taken forward a number of proposals suggested in Lynn Faulds Wood independent review and the working group report builds on that.

I gave the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety an ambitious task – to explore and progress recommendations for improving product safety within 6 months. Under Neil Gibbins’ leadership, the group has made impressive steps which we are already taking forward, for example considering the framework for a national body to support consumers on product safety.

Chair of the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety, CEO of The Institution of Fire Engineers and former deputy Chief Fire Officer Neil Gibbins said:

Since starting my career in the fire service almost 40 years ago, it has been my personal mission to help reduce fires and other risks. I am confident that the recommendations in this report and the progress we have already made can help improve the UK’s product safety regime.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the minister and the working group members, to deliver outcomes that will make a difference.

The government will continue to work closely with the working group in taking forward its workplan to strengthen the product safety system and will be formally responding in the Autumn.

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The Department for Work and Pensions has today published its review into the State Pension age, proposing a new timetable for the rise to 68, to maintain fairness between generations in line with continuing increases in life expectancy.

Latest projections from the Office for National Statistics show that the number of people over State Pension age in the UK is expected to grow by a third between 2017 and 2042, from 12.4 million in 2017 to 16.9 million in 2042.

Under the proposed new timetable, the State Pension age will increase to 68 between 2037 and 2039, earlier than the current legislation which sees a rise between 2044 and 2046. The change will affect everyone born between 6 April 1970 and 5 April 1978.

Those affected by this proposed timetable will on average still receive more State Pension over their lifetime than generations before them.

When the modern State Pension was introduced in 1948, a 65-year-old could expect to spend 13.5 years in receipt of it – 23% of their adult life. This has been increasing ever since. In 2017, a 65-year-old can now expect to live for another 22.8 years, or 33.6% of their adult life.

Failing to act now in light of compelling evidence of demographic pressures would be irresponsible and place an unfair burden on younger generations. Keeping the State Pension age at 66 would cost over £250 billion more than the government’s preferred timetable by 2045/46.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions David Gauke said:

I want Britain to be the best country in the world in which to grow old, where everyone enjoys the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.

Since 1948 the State Pension has been an important part of society, providing financial security to all in later life. As life expectancy continues to rise and the number of people in receipt of State Pension increases, we need to ensure that we have a fair and sustainable system that is reflective of modern life and protected for future generations.

Combined with our pension reforms that are helping more people than ever save into a private pension and reducing pensioner poverty to a near record low, these changes will give people the certainty they need to plan ahead for retirement.

Today’s announcement agrees with the timetable set out by John Cridland CBE in March 2017, which proposed bringing forward the increase in State Pension age to 68 between 2037 and 2039.

Mr Cridland’s review highlighted that under the previous timetable, by 2036/37 annual spending on the State Pension would have increased by 1% of GDP on 2016/17, equivalent to £20 billion in today’s terms – or a rise in taxation of £725 per household.

A separate report from the Government Actuary’s Department in March 2017 considered 2 alternative scenarios for the State Pension age, under the government’s principle that an individual should spend on average up to one third of their adult life above State Pension age.

No one born on or before 5 April 1970 will see a change to their current proposed State Pension age.

The UK Government currently spends 5.2% of GDP on the State Pension. Without action this would rise to 6.5% of GDP by 2039/40. The government’s proposed timetable reduces this to 6.1% of GDP by 2039/40 – saving each household £400, based on the number of households today, and in total saving £74 billion by 2045/46 compared to the currently legislated timetable.

The Pensions Act 2014 introduced a regular and structured method for considering future changes to the State Pension age in light of changes in life expectancy.

This is the first government review of State Pension. Any future changes to State Pension age would have to be approved by Parliament in legislation.

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