From June 2017, teachers in secondary schools around the country will take part in a new training programme to help them identify and respond to early signs of mental health issues in children.

The programme, backed by £200,000 government funding, and delivered by the charity Mental Health First Aid, will eventually cover every secondary school in England, as part of a government commitment to improve support for children and young people.

Teachers and other school staff will receive practical advice on how to recognise issues including depression and anxiety, self-harm, and eating disorders.

They will also be invited to become ‘first aid champions’, sharing their knowledge and experiences across schools and communities to raise awareness and break down stigma and discrimination.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

Teachers already provide outstanding pastoral care and support for their pupils, but many have said that they would appreciate more training on how to understand and respond to mental health issues.

We know that identifying symptoms of mental illness early can help young people on the road to recovery. This training will mean more children receive the timely and sensitive support they need to stay well.

One in 10 school-aged children will have a mental health condition at any time, with half of all mental health conditions beginning before the age of 14, making early intervention and support vital.

The introduction of Mental Health First Aid training supports the government’s pledge in the Queen’s Speech to improve mental health services and protect those living with mental health problems from unfair treatment and discrimination.

Earlier this year, the prime minister announced that every secondary school in the country would be offered the training, as part of a comprehensive set of messages to transform mental health support for children and young people.

Community event to explore the voluntary sector’s contribution to the Lammy Review, Friday 14 July 2017 9:00am to 1:00pm.

The British High Commission hosted its annual national day celebration – the Queen’s Birthday Party – on 20 June – an occasion to celebrate the breadth of UK-Cyprus bilateral relations.

This year’s celebration saw the event take on a Harry Potter theme, celebrating one aspect of UK creativity which has reached worldwide renowned, given that June 2017 marks 20 years since the publication of the first Harry Potter book.

Below is a summary of High Commissioner Matthew Kidd’s opening remarks at the event, in the presence of H.E. President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades and building on the Harry Potter theme.

“I guess that I don’t need to explain the references. The car out front is not there for trade promotion, even though I saw that Phileleftheros the other week reproduced an advertisement for a Ford Anglia from the 1960s – when it cost C£620. Our servers are not all from the same school, nor have they all visited the same optician. Harry’s Bar is not a copy of Venice.

But you will have seen through all that. It’s twenty years since the first Harry Potter book was published. The first eventually of seven volumes: a huge success, films, translations, merchandise. A generation of children, including my own, stimulated and enthused to read books.

So what? You thought you were coming to a Queen’s Birthday Party, not a book promotion. So what’s the link?

There are three (there always are). The first is determination. As she wrote that first book, JK Rowling was an unemployed single mother, short of money. She spent her days scribbling in the public library, no space at home. She struggled to find a publisher. But she kept at it, managed the difficulties, didn’t give up – and success came.

The second is that the success came through the young: not the older generations, the katestimeno, telling her that it would never sell, who on earth would want to read the adventures of a bunch of apprentice wizards at a boarding school? But the young responded to the imagination, the fantasy, the jokes, even the fake Latin. I take a clear lesson from that: if you have vision or ambition, it is the young who will respond, and help you to deliver it. I hope those here tonight who feel that they fall into the “young” category recognise the responsibility we put on their shoulders; and those who no longer do, recognise the need to educate and help them to deliver, for all of us.

Third is rebirth. Those of you who know the books will know that there is a key role for a phoenix, the bird that is consumed by flames but then miraculously revives from the ashes, glossier and stronger than before. I’ve often heard Cypriots make parallels to the phoenix story in their own emergence from disasters. I know that Anorthosis supporters do the same.

The UK is in some ways being reborn, following our referendum a year ago. We know it will not be straightforward to build a new place for ourselves in the world, to continue to be secure, prosperous, and influential in helping others to achieve the same. But we have many strengths and assets, including the creativity and determination reflected in the Harry Potter story; and we shall call on all of them. We will still value our old friends, including Cyprus, but learn to collaborate with them in new ways. We will have to show that we recognise their anxieties about how what we are doing may affect their interests too. As far as Cyprus is concerned, Mr President, I promise that we will give that our best shot.

In the specialised vocabulary of Cyprus Settlement, to say that Cyprus too is on the verge of rebirth would be politically controversial. So I shan’t; but you see the link. Cyprus and its citizens, from both communities, stand on the edge of being able to emerge from two generations of division, disaster, handicap. It’s a tremendous opportunity to achieve a brighter, liberated future. But it will take tremendous imagination and vision to design and grasp its full potential.

It’s always easier to say “It’ll never work”. The more who do, the likelier they are to prove themselves right. In the financial sector, there are rules against creating self-fulfilling prophecies like that. Not in politics, unfortunately. But my hope for this evening is that all those here tonight, from whatever field, who dare, who imagine, who create, who look to the future, will leave this party feeling boosted and backed by the rest of us”.

Earlier this month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that Heineken’s proposed purchase of part of the Punch Taverns estate could reduce competition in 33 local areas across Great Britain. Before the merger was referred for a further in-depth investigation, the companies were given the opportunity to offer proposals to address these concerns.

Heineken has now offered to sell pubs in each of the affected areas to preserve competition and ensure customers in these locations do not lose out.

The CMA has decided that there are reasonable grounds for believing that these proposals, or a modified version of them, might be acceptable to remedy the competition concerns it has identified.

As part of an initial investigation, the CMA looked in detail at areas where pubs operated by Heineken and Punch currently compete. It has identified 33 local areas where their pubs would not face sufficient competition after the merger, which could lead to price increases or a deterioration in the quality of the service on offer.

The CMA has until 22 August 2017 to consider whether to accept the undertakings, although it may decide to extend this deadline to 17 October 2017 if it decides that there are special reasons for doing so.

As part of its process, the CMA will undertake a public consultation.

If the CMA does not accept the undertakings proposed, the merger will be referred for an in-depth investigation.

The full text of the decisions, including details of the areas affected, will be published shortly on the investigation case page.

The Conference on Cyprus will reconvene in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana with the participation of the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, and representatives of the Guarantor Powers (Greece, Turkey and UK).

The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson’s attendance demonstrates the UK’s ongoing support and commitment to the settlement process. He will be accompanied by the Minister for Europe, Sir Alan Duncan. The UK has an important role as a Guarantor Power, and stands ready to support the UN facilitated process. The UK is contributing to a settlement in a number of ways, including as one of the most significant contributors to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, through our offer to cede almost half of the land of the UK Sovereign Base Areas to a united Cyprus and through practical assistance to help the two sides prepare for a settlement.

On arrival in Switzerland this evening, the Foreign Secretary is due to hold a series of meetings with the Parties and attend the launch of the Conference. The Foreign Secretary is expected to pay tribute to the commitment and vision shown by Mr Anastasiades and Mr Akıncı in dedicated pursuit of a settlement for the benefit of both Cypriot communities. He is expected to encourage all those present to ‘keep the goal in sight’ noting that ‘the status quo carries risks, while only change will realise the opportunities of a united Cyprus’. He will point to the ‘opportunity to move beyond the past and stake out a new future’.

The Foreign Secretary will acknowledge that reaching an agreement will require difficult political decisions from all parties and that flexibility and compromise will be essential in order to reach a deal.

Ahead of the talks, the Foreign Secretary said:

This Conference builds on months of hard work, commitment and progress shown by both sides. It’s an exceptional opportunity for both communities to find a lasting solution for Cyprus, which will bring huge benefits to the whole island and the region. It will not be easy, but with political will, creativity and flexibility, I believe that a deal can be done. The UK is ready and willing to help in any way we can.

Further information

Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter: @BorisJohnson and Facebook.