A connectivity issue is affecting phone calls into Bona Vacantia. So far today (Wednesday 4 July), we have had a high volume of calls, but a number of these have been cut off. We would like to apologise to customers for this and to assure callers into BV that telephone engineers are working to identify the root cause of the problem. We will update the website once we have more information.

In the meantime, individual Bona Vacantia teams can be contacted by email:

Companies’ restoration team – bvwaiver@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Cash balance team – bvcbt@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Estates – bvestates@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Companies – bvcompanies@governmentlegal.gov.uk

General enquiries – bvinfo@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Today, I am laying before Parliament legislation reducing court fees for certain proceedings in the civil courts and the Court of Protection in England and Wales. As a result, claimants bringing these proceedings will pay less to access the courts.

The reduction to these fees follows a thorough and detailed review undertaken by officials in the Ministry of Justice into the cost of these proceedings. Our review has identified a number of cases where the fees charged were above full cost recovery levels. We are therefore taking action to reduce those fees. We will also be establishing a refund scheme to reimburse people the amounts they have been over-charged. We are also taking action to refund those who have been overcharged fees to commence certain low value personal injury claims, known as “stage 3” claims. Officials are working on the detailed arrangements and full details of the scheme, including the types of case affected, and how to apply, will be announced in due course.

These changes affect the fees charged for certain proceedings in the Court of Protection; a number of civil proceedings in the magistrates’ courts; fees for general applications in insolvency proceedings; and the fees charged for High Court judges sitting as arbitrators. The intention when these fees were prescribed was that they should be set at, or below, full cost recovery levels and it was on that basis that they were approved by Parliament.

As part of our ongoing improvements we are making to the justice system, including the Government’s £1bn investment in Court Reform, we will continue our review of court fees, including the methodology for setting those fees, to minimise the risk of this issue re-occurring in future. The vision of the reform is to modernise and upgrade the court and tribunal system so that it works even better for everyone, from the victims of crime, witnesses and litigants to judges and legal professionals.

RYA SafeTrx: designed to improve safety at sea

The world-leading RYA SafeTrx app is designed to improve safety at sea and potentially cut vital minutes off the time taken to pinpoint a casualty’s location. It monitors your boat journeys and alerts designated emergency contacts should you fail to arrive on time.
Using iPhone and Android smartphone technology, this free tracking and alerting system is easily accessible and ideal for everyone who enjoys being on the water – from kitesurfers and kayakers to dinghy sailors and powerboat users.

Notify the Coastguard at the touch of a button

The free RYA SafeTrx mobile app and website, now supersedes the HM Coastguard CG66 scheme. It combines a more technologically cutting-edge version of the CG66 database function with additional lifesaving technologies so that you can make a 999 call to the Coastguard at the touch of a button.
The app can be used free of charge in UK territorial waters. Maritime search and rescue agencies in Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Finland, Norway, Cyprus, South Africa and Australia have already adopted the app.

Freely available to any UK resident

The RYA SafeTrx app is available to any UK resident who wants to be safer afloat and already has over 13,000 users. It provides all recreational boat users with an accessible and simple-to-use way of automatically informing HM Coastguard of their voyage plans, vessel and crew information, incident data, dynamic location and even a direct 999 connection in the event of distress.
‘When we receive an emergency call we need a huge amount of information fast. This app helps us access all your details, so that you can get a swifter response with the right resources,’ says the MCA’s Director of Maritime Operations & HM Coastguard, Richard Parkes.

‘RYA SafeTrx uses real-time advanced technology. CG66 was just a database, but the new app allows users to do so much more, including summoning the Coastguard – which could save lives. The precise geolocation feature for example, allows the Coastguard to know where the caller is, an important consideration when the person in distress is unsure of where they are, disoriented, injured or unfamiliar with the area.
‘We have already contacted CG66 users to tell them about the switchover to RYA SafeTrx. The handover is well underway and from Wednesday 11 July people will be redirected from GOV.UK’s CG66 page to the RYA SafeTrx website. Information on CG66 will still be accessible to the Coastguard, but we will no longer be accepting new information.

‘I’d like to take this opportunity to remind all boaters that you must continue to use emergency alerting equipment appropriate to your sport. RYA SafeTrx complements this equipment but is not designed to be used instead of it.’
RYA Cruising Manager, Stuart Carruthers, added: ‘With the full support of the MCA, the RYA SafeTrx app promotes enjoyable boating, a safe mind set and good practice. The software consulting company behind the development of SafeTrx, 8 West Consulting, is striving to make this the default technology for keeping the ordinary seafarer safer at sea. With that goal in mind, it is vital that the product continues to adapt to new challenges and opportunities.’

RYA SafeTrx is free to download from Apple app store or Google Play. Once downloaded, boaters can run unlimited free trips using the app. In addition to the Sail Plan mode, the app has a tracking option called Track Only mode, which enables boaters to analyse their speed and performance on the water while racing or cruising. For customers who do not wish to use the mobile app, there is an option to register their details online at

https://safetrx.rya.org.uk/login.html

• infringement levels down 7% points from 2015 for 16 to 24 year olds
• decrease of 5% points in the use of illegal services since 2013

While overall levels of piracy remain the same compared to 2017, there has been a drop in illegal activity by some groups. This is especially true amongst young consumers, with over half of 16 to 24 year olds now paying to access at least one subscription service.

The latest figures, from the Online Copyright Infringement (OCI) tracker, are published on British IP Day. The annual tracker measures the level of online copyright infringement in the UK. The UK has led the way in measuring online copyright infringement in this way with Australia, and more recently Canada, using the same method.

Sam Gyimah, Minister for IP, launched the report at the Alliance for IP British IP Day event. He said:

The variety of legitimate services now available to consumers is extraordinary and our world-leading creative industries have made great strides in meeting the demands of viewers and fans, so there really is no excuse for the ongoing use of illegal services.

Today’s findings are a positive step forward in stamping out online copyright infringement, but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are committed to tackling piracy and helping this vibrant sector go from strength to strength through our Creative Industries Sector Deal, a major part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

Key findings from the OCI tracker include:

• the UK has a lower overall infringement rate (25% of online content consumers) than both Canada (26%) and Australia (38%)
• levels of infringement varied by content type. TV programmes recorded the highest levels of infringement (23% amongst consumers of TV), with music (18%) and films (19%). Whereas infringement of software has decreased from 26% in 2017 to 20% this year. Infringement of sports content was 21%
• an increase in the share of consumers citing convenience, quality and fears of viruses/malware/spyware as reasons for choosing paid for services over free services
• 65% of those who consumed any of the six key content types during the past three months paid for at least some of it (an increase from 60% in 2017), this is partly due to increased spend on subscription services
• amongst infringers there was a decline in the use of BitTorrent software (from 11% of infringers in 2017 to 7% this year), while the use of Kodi remained relatively unchanged (used by 12% of infringers)

Eddy Leviten, Director General of the Alliance for Intellectual Property, added:

British IP Day is a celebration of the creativity that brings great products, brands, design and content to consumers worldwide. Today we are taking that message to Parliament and ensuring that MPs across the political spectrum understand the need to protect IP and support creators of all kinds.

The OCI Tracker is a valuable measure of progress in the UK in the use of legitimate content services but piracy levels remain at one quarter of the population, which is still far too high.

The Alliance and its members are active participants in the Sector Deal roundtables which can help to drive down piracy and counterfeiting and allow genuine content and goods to flourish. We look forward to working collaboratively to achieve concrete results.”

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Nick Court of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Department (PIPCU) said:

It is encouraging to hear that consumers are favouring subscription streaming services and that illegal streaming is becoming less attractive, especially to the young.

Digital piracy is a problem that has a number of risks associated with it, including enabling children to watch inappropriate content, and we continue to encourage people to use legitimate services in order to avoid falling victim to such risks.

We are hopeful that the younger consumers who are using these legitimate services will lead the way in encouraging all users to do the same.

The government is taking action to tackle online copyright infringement through a range of activities:

• joint funding with DCMS for the Creative Content UK campaign, Get it Right from a Genuine Site

• IPO funding of over £7.5 million for the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit

• continuing to work with search engines and copyright owners to ensure that copyright infringing websites are removed from the front page of search results.

• worked with Industry to fund a campaign fronted by Crime Stoppers to raise awareness of the risks involved in using illicit streaming devices

• made commitments through the Industrial Strategy Creative Industry Sector Deal

• launched a new series of Nancy & the Meerkats to encourage children to think about ownership of IP, whether music, video or information on the web

• in a unique partnership with UK Music, launched Music Inc in 2013, an app to give gamers an insight into the modern music industry as well as education them on aspects of copyright

• in 2015 launched crackingideas.com a portal for free IP and copyright education resources from the IPO and industry including the Industry Trust, UK Music and ALCS

Note to editors

1. The UK survey was funded by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and was undertaken by Kantar Media.
   The survey was conducted between March and May 2018.

2. It’s the eighth wave of a large-scale consumer tracking study into the extent of online copyright infringement, as well as wide digital behaviours and attitudes, among people ages 12+ in the UK.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has today commissioned part 2 of the review into cannabis-related medicinal products, after the Chief Medical Officer concluded there is evidence of therapeutic benefit for some conditions.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Medical Advisor for the UK government, examined existing research into the therapeutic and medicinal benefits of cannabis-related medicinal products. Her report, which formed part 1 of the government review announced on 19 June, has now been published.

Commissioned today, the second part of the review will be completed by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). As part of this work the ACMD will advise on whether cannabis-related medicinal products should be rescheduled within 3 weeks.

Fresh look

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Recent cases involving sick children made it clear to me that we needed to take a fresh look at the scheduling of cannabis-related medicinal products.

I would like to thank the Chief Medical Advisor for her initial review and have now asked my independent advisory committee to commence the second stage of this process.

When I have received its advice I will consider what next steps need to be taken.

The results from the Chief Medical Advisor’s report has advised that all cannabis-related medicinal products should be considered in part 2 of the review.

The government has absolutely no plans to legalise cannabis. Recreational use of cannabis will remain illegal and the penalties for unauthorised supply and possession will remain unchanged.

Therapeutic benefits

Chief Medical Advisor for the UK government Professor Dame Sally Davies said:

There is clear evidence from highly respected and trusted research institutions that some cannabis based medicinal products have therapeutic benefits for some medical conditions.

As Schedule 1 drugs by definition have little or no therapeutic potential, it is therefore now clear that from a scientific point of view keeping cannabis-based medicinal products in Schedule 1 is very difficult to defend.

Let me be emphatic – this report does not look at recreational cannabis use and does not endorse or condone recreational use. There is well-established evidence on the potential harm of recreational cannabis use. This is about helping patients, in exceptional circumstances, get access to treatment which could work.

Measures

This review forms part of a series of measures announced by the Home Secretary, including the launch of an expert panel who will consider individual applications from senior clinicians to prescribe cannabis-related medicinal products.

There are currently 8 members of the expert panel, which was launched on 27 June.

Chair: Dr Michael McBride – Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland

Members:

• Dr Clare Gerada, MBE – GP and former chair, Royal College of General Practitioners
• Professor Martin Kirkpatrick – Consultant Paediatric Neurologist, Scotland
• Dr Jenny Harries, OBE – Deputy Medical Director and Regional Director South for Public Health England
• Dr Jackie Cornish, OBE – National Clinical Director Children, Young People and Transition to Adulthood in NHS England
• Professor Tom Walley, CBE – Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at Liverpool University and Director of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme
• Professor Finbar O’Callaghan – Professor of Paediatric Neuroscience at the UCL GOS Institute of Child Health and (Hon) Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital
• Andrew Evans (non-voting observer) – Chief Pharmacist, Wales