Families across the country who are vulnerable to the devastating effects of knife crime and gang culture are set to receive more support from a new £5 million fund announced today.

The Supporting Families Against Youth Crime fund will allow keyworkers, community groups, teachers and other professionals working with children and young people to intervene earlier to help them develop the personal resilience to withstand peer pressure and make their own positive life choices.

It will also support more in-depth work with parents and carers to help them fully understand the risk factors and dangers of their children becoming drawn into gang crime.

Councils will be able to bid for funding to bolster their response to youth violence and gangs in their local area, as part of their Troubled Families programme.

The Supporting Families Against Youth Crime fund builds on the government’s wider support available to tackle serious violence which includes a £22 million Early Intervention Youth Fund and a £1.5 million Anti-Knife Crime Community Fund.

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, said:

Knife crime and gang violence can devastate the lives of young people, families and their communities.

Carrying knives must never become normal behaviour and we need to change the culture among many young people.

Early intervention and prevention is vital to tackling violence. That is why I am announcing £5 million to support initiatives which are helping young people to take a positive direction in life.

The government has committed £920 million to the Troubled Families Programme, which aims to achieve significant and sustained improvement for up to 400,000 families with multiple high-cost problems by 2020. The programme champions working with the whole family, ensuring they receive coordinated support from services working together to solve their problems as early as possible.

The programme which works with the whole family has achieved significant progress with:

• nearly 130,000 families meeting the improvement goals agreed with local services against each of the problems they need to overcome
• in 16,925 of the families where such progress has been achieved, one or more adult has succeeded in moving into continuous employment; and
• the programme’s focus on preventing poor outcomes for children in troubled families has started to show positive results including reducing the number of cases that need to be escalated to children’s social care

The fund will come into effect immediately, underpinning the government’s ‘public health’ approach to tackle the root causes of serious violence underpinned by the Serious Violence Strategy. This includes new measures recently announced by the Home Secretary:

• a consultation on a legal duty for public services like health, education and welfare to tackle serious violence;
• a £200 million Youth Endowment Fund aimed at steering those most at risk of youth violence away from becoming young offenders
• an independent review into drug misuse

For the first time in nearly 70 years, the public will have their say on how the country’s most cherished landscapes can be enhanced for future generations.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove and writer Julian Glover are today inviting views on how England’s 10 National Parks and 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) meet the nation’s needs in the 21st century and whether there is scope for the current network to expand.

With more than half the population living within half an hour of a National Park or AONB – and over two million people calling these landscapes home – a call for evidence will explore how access can be improved and communities better supported – alongside which parts of the country could benefit from greater protection.

The public will also have input on whether housing and transport in protected landscapes could be improved, the role they play in our cultural heritage, and how these iconic areas can boost habitats for wildlife.

The evidence will form part of the recently-launched review into protected landscapes – led by Julian Glover – which is ensuring our National Parks and AONBs can be fit for the 21st century.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

For so many of us our love for nature is intrinsically linked with our protected landscapes, from holidays spent in National Parks to weekend rambles across our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We want to ensure the people who live, work in and visit these cherished places have a say in their future. As we look afresh at these precious landscapes, I look forward to hearing from everyone who shares an interest in conserving and enhancing them for the next generation.

Through the designated landscapes review, launched in May, Julian Glover and an advisory panel are currently exploring how these iconic landscapes can be enhanced, alongside considering the case for expansion.

Weakening or undermining the existing protections or geographic scope is not part of this review, which is instead focusing on how designated areas can boost wildlife, support the recovery of natural habitats and connect more people with nature.

The review is of the key commitments of the government’s 25-Year Environment Plan, which outlines its vision for improving the environment over a generation by connecting people with nature and helping wildlife to thrive.

Lead reviewer Julian Glover said:

It’s an honour to lead a review into something as precious as England’s finest landscapes. From the Jurassic Coast of Dorset to the wilderness of the Cheviot Hills, they are still rich in beauty, local life, plants and animals – and enjoyed by millions of people.

But already, in this review, I’ve seen the pressures too. Local people need jobs and housing, farmers who look after the landscapes need help to survive, and biodiversity is under threat as the numbers of things such as birds and butterflies decline.

The good news is that I know we can do better – and in this review we are hearing lots of ideas about how to do it. Now we’re offering a chance for everyone who loves our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Beauty to have a say.

Chair of National Parks England, Margaret Paren, said:

Our protected landscapes are special and worthy of celebration. We are keen to ensure their beauty is enhanced; they are loved by and accessible for everyone; and that they continue to support thriving communities.

But what of the future? Big challenges exist and people have different views about how they should look, feel and be managed. We all want our national parks to be the best they can be and to continue to benefit society in a rich variety of ways. We hope lots of people will respond to this call for evidence and the opportunity it presents to secure our best landscapes for the future.

Chairman of the National Association of AONBs, Philip Hygate, said:

The AONB Family and NAAONB are enjoying working with Julian and his review team.

We recognise that maintaining vibrant, healthy and diverse local communities is essential to the future of AONBs. AONB Partnerships and Conservation Boards have long engaged with and supported anyone who cares about our outstanding national landscapes and we will continue to work to improve the connection between people and nature.

Sir Arthur Hobhouse’s landmark report in 1947 paved the way for the creation of England’s network of designated landscapes, with the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act passed in 1949 to open up the countryside and connect more people with nature.

Now, AONBs and National Parks are some of our most cherished sites, spanning from the Lake District, which was recently announced as a UNESCO World Heritage site, to the picturesque Cornwall AONB.

The nation’s 34 AONBs and 10 National Parks cover a quarter of England’s land and are home to over 2.3 million people. They also generate over £20 billion for the rural economy, and support 75,000 jobs.

The call for evidence closes on 18 December. Evidence received will form part of the designated landscapes review, which will report back next year with recommendations.

The Prime Minister spoke with over 130 business leaders today on the progress in Brexit negotiations, following the European Council this week.

First, she recognised the importance of these discussions for businesses, their supply chains and clients. She outlined that the Government’s proposed future relationship with the EU would preserve the UK’s and EU’s frictionless access to each other’s markets for goods, protecting jobs and livelihoods on both sides.

She set out the significant progress that has been made on the Withdrawal Agreement and on our future relationship with the EU. She acknowledged that there were a few significant issues that were still outstanding, but said that the very real sense she had from leaders around the table at the Council was that they wanted to reach a deal as soon as possible this autumn.

Second, the Prime Minister spoke about the Northern Irish backstop, which is intended to guarantee that – in the unlikely event that there is a delay in bringing into effect our future relationship by the end of the implementation period at the end of December 2020 – there is no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. If required, this would therefore only be necessary for a temporary period to act as a bridge to the future relationship.

The Prime Minister explained that the UK could not accept the EU’s proposal which included an arrangement in which Northern Ireland could be kept in a separate customs territory to the rest of the UK. She advised that our proposal included a UK-wide joint customs territory with the EU for the duration of the backstop, which would protect the integrity of the UK and deliver on the commitment to avoid a hard border with Ireland. She emphasised that both sides wanted to have our future relationship in place by the end of December 2020 so that the backstop never needed to be used, but that the negotiating teams would work intensively on this to find a way forward.

Finally, she urged businesses not to lose sight of the prize – that of a smooth trading relationship with the EU alongside the ability to seek new opportunities and open up new markets with trading partners around the world.

The Prime Minister took questions from businesses and representative bodies (Centrica, EY, Diageo, Enterprise Nation, RBS, Federation of Small Businesses, ITV, Aston Martin, Barratt Developments and Tesco) on topics such as the importance of frictionless trade, the implementation period and opportunities for the future.

A number of businesses thanked the Prime Minister for the opportunity to speak with her directly on the Brexit negotiations.

Mr Martyn Roper has been appointed Governor of the Cayman Islands in succession to Mr Anwar Choudhury. Mr Roper will take up his appointment in October 2018.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Martyn Keith Roper

Married to: Elisabeth Melanie Harman

Children: Two

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Prime Minister Theresa May today held a bilateral meeting with Premier Li of China at the Asem summit in Brussels.

The two leaders began by discussing the Prime Minister’s successful visit to China earlier this year, when she had been joined by a UK trade delegation.

They discussed the opportunity to build further upon that visit, and the golden era in UK-China relations. Premier Li said he looked forward to ushering in a diamond era in the relationship.

The Prime Minister updated Premier Li on the Brexit negotiations. She said she looked forward to further strengthening our economic ties with China, including our trade relationship, in the future.

The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s firm commitment to the rules based international system, including the importance of freedom of navigation and maritime security, in line with international law.

On Hong Kong, they agreed on the continued importance of one country, two systems.