During January, there were six new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port, four vessels remained under detention from previous months. A total of six vessels remain under detention at the end of January.

1. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping, and in compliance with the EU Directive on Port State Control (2009/16/EC as amended), the Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA) publishes details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month.

2. The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.

3. Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. When a ship is found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of their deficiencies are so serious they have to be rectified before departure, then the ship will be detained.

4. All deficiencies should be rectified before departure if at all possible.

5. When applicable, the list includes those passenger craft prevented from operating under the provisions of the EU Directive on Mandatory Surveys for the safe operation of regular Ro-Ro ferry and high speed passenger craft services (1999/35/EU).

Notes on the list of detentions

• Full details of the ship.
  The accompanying detention list shows ship’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) number which is unchanging throughout the ship’s life and uniquely identifies it. It also shows the ship’s name and flag state at the time of its inspection.
• Company.
  The company shown in the vessel’s Safety Management Certificate (SMC) or if there is no SMC, then the party otherwise believed to be responsible for the safety of the ship at the time of inspection.
• Classification Society.
  The list shows the Classification Society responsible for classing the ship only.
• Recognised Organisation.
  Responsible for conducting the statutory surveys: and issuing statutory certificates on behalf of the Flag State
• White (WL), Grey (GL) and Black lists (BL) are issued by the Paris MoU on 01 July each year and shows the performance of flag State.

SHIPS DETAINED IN JANUARY 2018

Vessel Name: YASEMIN

GT: 4355

IMO: 9136836

Flag: Malta (White List)

Company: 1st Denizcilik Ltd

Classification Society: NKK

Recognised Organisation: NKK
Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: NKK

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: NKK

Date and Place of Detention: 31st January 2018 at Southampton

Summary: Four deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
18313 – Cleanliness	Signs of vermin	Yes
05105 – MF/HF Radio installation	Not as required	Yes
07420 – Means of escape	Blocked	No
16105 – Access control to the ship	Not as required	No

This vessel was still detained on 31st January 2018

Vessel Name: GEORGIY USHAKOV

GT: 6204

IMO: 9210335

Flag: Russian Federation (White List)

Company: JSC Maritime Trade Port of Khatanga

Classification Society: RMRS

Recognised Organisation: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: RMRS

Date and Place of Detention: 30th January 2018 at Grimsby

Summary: Sixteen deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
04114 – Emergency source of power – Emergency generator	Not as required	Yes
01316 – Cargo information	Missing information	No
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Not as required	No
10117 – Echo sounder	Inoperative	No
10115 – GNSS receiver/Terrestrial radio navigation switch	Inoperative	No
11101 – Lifeboats	Not ready for use	No
04103 – Emergency lighting, batteries and switches	Inoperative	No
11117 – Lifebuoys incl. provision and distribution	Light missing	No
18407 – Lighting (working spaces)	Missing	No
07199 – Other (fire safety)	Other	No
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire resisting divisions	Not as required	No
18432 – Risk evaluation, training and instructions to seafarers	Not as required	No
18324 – Cold room, cleanliness, cold room temperature	Not as required	No
10101 – Pilot ladders and hoist/pilot transfer arrangements	Missing	No
04106 – Emergency steering position communications/compass reading	Inoperative	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 31st January 2018

Vessel Name: LIVA GRETA

GT: 851

IMO: 8801072

Flag: Latvia (White Flag)

Company: Aquarius Ship Management Co

Classification Society: RINA

Recognised Organisation: RINA

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: RMRS

Date and Place of Detention: 16th January 2018 at Troon

Summary: Eleven deficiencies with one grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
18425 – Access/structural features (ship)	Damaged	Yes
10111 – Charts	Missing	No
10129 – Navigation records	Not as required	No
01201 – Certificates for master and officers	Not as required	No
11116 – Distress flares	Expired	No
18401 – Medical equipment, medical chest, medical guide	Expired	No
01310 – Signs, indications	Missing	No
18416 – Ropes and wires	Damaged	No
03103 – Railings, gangway, walkway and means of safe passage	Damaged	No
03110 – Bulwarks and freeing ports	Damaged	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	No

This vessel was released on 20th January 2018

Vessel Name: DEEPSEA WORKER

GT: 3345

IMO: 7905285

Flag: St Vincent & Grenadines

Company: Seaway Offshore LLC

Classification Society: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: DNV GL

Date and Place of Detention: 19th January 2018 at Sunderland

Summary: Fifteen deficiencies with one grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
16105 – Access control	Not as required	No
01214 – Enforcement by flag state	Missing	No
01137 – Civil liability for oil pollution damage cert	Missing	No
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Lack of information	No
10116 – Nautical publications	Missing	No
18399 – Other (Accommodation, recreational facilities)	Other	No
07122 – Fire control plan	Not updated	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
07109 – Fixed fire extinguishing installation	Not as required	No
18302 – Sanitary Facilities	Not as required	No
18324 – Cold room, cold room cleanliness, cold room temperature	Inoperative	No
14499 – Other (Marpol Annex IV)	Other	No
07114 – Remote means of control (opening, pumps, ventilation etc.) Machinery spaces	Inoperative	No
03108 – Ventilators air pipes, casings	Corroded	No
14108 – 15ppm alarm arrangements	Inoperative	No

This vessel was still detained on 31st January 2018

Vessel Name: NAS PATHFINDER

GT: 224

IMO: 7312402

Flag: Panama (White Flag)

Company: Hakvoort Transport Shipping BV

Classification Society: QRS

Recognised Organisation: QRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: N/A

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: N/A

Date and Place of Detention: 16th January 2018 at Dover

Summary: Twenty three deficiencies with eleven grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01214 – Endorsement by flagstate	Missing	Yes
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Missing	Yes
10111 – Charts	Not updated	Yes
10116 – Nautical publications	Not updated	Yes
10127 – Voyage or passage plan		Not as required	Yes
01108 – Load lines (including exemption)	Missing	Yes
11116 – Distress flares	Expired	No
11117 – Lifebuoys inc. provisions and disposition	Not as required	No
18417 – Anchoring devices	Not properly maintained	No
18399 – Other (Accommodation, recreational facilities)	Other	No
13101 – Propulsion main engine	Not as required	No
02113 – Hull – cracking	Cracked	No
11104 – Rescue boats	Not ready for use	Yes
07199 – Other (fire safety)	Other	Yes
04102 – Emergency fire pump and its pipes	Not as required	Yes
07110 – Fire fighting equipment and appliances	Not as required	Yes
18404 – Electrical	Unsafe	Yes
04103 – Emergency lighting, batteries and switches	Inoperative	No
18299 – Other (conditions of employment)	Other	No
11113 – Launching arrangements for rescue boats	Not as required	No
07113 – Fire pumps and its pipes	Not as required	No
06199 – Other (cargo)	Other	No
07118 – International shore connection	Not as required	No

This vessel was released on 25th January 2018

Vessel Name: A2B ENERGY

GT: 3999

IMO: 9183427

Flag: Netherlands (White flag)

Company: Holwerda Shipmanagement BV

Classification Society: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: DNV GL

Date and Place of Detention: 11th January 2018 at Blyth

Summary: Seventeen deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
10138 – BNWAS	Inoperative	No
03106 – Windows, sidescuttles and deadlights	Not properly maintained	No
10109 – Lights, shapes, sound signals	Not properly maintained	No
18407 – Lighting (working spaces)	Damaged	No
18425 – Access/structural features (ship)	Not as required	No
02114 – Bulkhead – corrosion	Holed	No
10105 – Magnetic compass	Not readable	No
07106 – Fire detection and alarm system	Not as required	No
18416 – Ropes and wires	Not as required	No
03108 – Ventilators, air pipes, casings	Damaged	Yes
18399 – Other (accommodation, recreational facilities)	Other	No
13103 – Gauges, thermometers, etc.	Not as required	No
18420 – Cleanliness of engine room	Not as required	No
04103 – Emergency lighting, batteries and switches	Not as required	No
14105 – Pumping, piping and discharge arrangements	Not as required	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
07105 – Fire doors/opening in fire resisting divisions	Not as required	No

This vessel was released on 14th January 2018

DETENTIONS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS

Vessel Name: DOLLY C

GT: 652

IMO: 7222310

Flag: St Vincent & Grenadines (Grey List)

Company: No Information

Classification Society: No Information

Recognised Organisation: No Information

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: No Information

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: No Information

Date and Place of Detention: 29th November 2017 at Falmouth

Summary: Eight deficiencies with eight grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01209 – Manning specified by the minimum safe manning doc	Missing	Yes
01214 – Endorsement by flagstate	Missing	Yes
07111 – Personal equipment for fire safety	Missing	Yes
01199 – Other (Certificates)	Other	Yes
11116 – Distress flares	Missing	Yes
05103 – Main installation	Missing equipment	Yes
10105 – Magnetic compass	Not as required	Yes
14103 – Segregation of oil and water ballast	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 31st January 2018

Vessel Name: MALAVIYA SEVEN

GT: 3001

IMO: 9087312

Flag: India (Grey List)

Company: GOL Offshore Ltd

Classification Society: IRS

Recognised Organisation: IRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: IRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: IRS

Date and Place of Detention: 5th October 2016 at Aberdeen

Summary: Five deficiencies with five grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire resisting divisions	Not as required	Yes
07113 – Fire pumps and its pipes	Not as required	Yes
18203 – Wages	Missing	Yes
01220 – Seafarers employment agreement (SEA)	Invalid	Yes
18204 – Calculation and payment of wages	No records	Yes

This vessel was released on 27th January 2018

Vessel Name: SEA TRIDENT

GT: 964.

IMO No: 7393169.

Flag: PANAMA (white list)

Company:

Classification Society: Expired

Recognised Organisation: Expired

Recognised Organisation for ISM DOC:

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC:

Date and Place of Detention: 17 June 2016, West Cowes

Summary: Seventeen deficiencies with seventeen grounds for detentions

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01101 – Cargo ship safety equipment cert	Expired	Yes
01102 – Cargo Ship safety construction cert	Expired	Yes
01104 – Cargo ship safety radio cert	Expired	Yes
01108 – Loadline cert	Expired	Yes
01117 – IOPP (International Oil Pollution Prevention cert	Expired	Yes
01119 – International Sewage Pollution Prevention cert	Expired	Yes
01124 – International Air Pollution Prevention cert	Expired	Yes
01137 – Civil liability for bunker oil pollution damage cert	Expired	Yes
01199 – Other certs (Certificate of class)	Expired	Yes
01201 – Certificates for master and officers	Missing	Yes
10111 – Charts	Not updated	Yes
10116 – Publications Nautical	Not updated	Yes
11108 – Inflatable liferafts	Expired	Yes
11116 – Distress flares	Missing	Yes
07109 – Fixed fire fighting extinguishing installation	Not as required	Yes
07110 – Fire fighting equipment & appliances	Not as required	Yes
01140 – Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance	Missing	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 31st January 2018

Vessel Name: CIEN PORCIENTO (General Cargo)

GT: 106.

IMO No: 8944446.

Flag: Unregistered.

Company: Open Window Inc.

Classification Society: Unclassed.

Recognised Organisation: Not applicable.

Recognised Organisation for ISM DOC: Not applicable.

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: Not applicable

Date and Place of detention: 4 March 2010, Lowestoft

Summary: Thirty deficiencies including seven grounds for detention

This vessel was still detained on 31st January 2018

Notes to Editors

• The MCA is a partner in the Sea Vision UK campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the sea and maritime activities. Sea Vision promotes the importance and economic value of the sector and works to highlight the exciting range of activities and career opportunities available to young people within the UK growing maritime sector at www.seavision.org.uk

• Follow us on Twitter: @MCA_media

For further information please contact
Maritime and Coastguard Agency Press Office, on:
+44 (0) 2380 329 401
Press releases and further information about the agency is available here.

• Ministers welcome move by regulator to protect more vulnerable consumers
• Move will now see a total of 5 million consumers protected by safeguard cap this winter
• Government’s new energy price cap legislation will be introduced later this year

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry today (7 February) welcomed the protection that 1 million more vulnerable consumers will get this winter from the extension of the energy regulator’s safeguard tariff cap.

With the cap in place, these consumers will only see an increase of around 3.7% in their bills compared to an average 8% increase of dual-fuel standard variable tariffs of the Big Six last year.

Ofgem’s extension of the current prepayment meter cap to those who receive the Warm Home Discount means 5 million people are now protected from unfair energy price rises.

The move comes as the government’s own energy Tariff Price Cap Bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament shortly. The Bill will extend the price cap to the highest tariffs.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said:

It is a positive step that a million vulnerable consumers are now being protected from unfair energy price rises through the energy cap.

But energy tariffs are still too high – customers of the Big Six energy suppliers are overpaying by up to a staggering £1.4 billion a year. This is totally unacceptable and why government will continue to go further – including by bringing in new laws in the forthcoming energy Tariff Price Cap Bill to put an end to rip-off standard tariffs.

Notes to Editors:

1. More information on Ofgem’s safeguard tariff cap can be found here
2. Based on Ofgem’s current typical domestic consumption values the new prepayment meter dual fuel cap will be £1089 from April 2018 compared to £1050 in April 2017, an increase of 3.7%. All figures include VAT.
3. In 2017 the six largest energy suppliers increased their standard variable tariffs by an average 8% (based on a simple unweighted average).
4. The latest figures from Ofgem show that 57% of the ten largest energy firms’ domestic customers were on standard variable tariffs and that the average customer could save over £300 by switching to a cheaper deal.
5. The energy Tariff Price Cap Bill will give delegated powers to Ofgem to amend industry licences for the purposes of implementing and managing the price cap. The Bill will require Ofgem to place a price cap on all poor value standard variable tariffs.
6. The government is committed to an energy market that works for all which is why we have put in place a series of measures, in addition to the planned introduction the Tariff Price Cap Bill. These include:

• The rollout of smart meters, which will put consumers in greater control of their energy use and will save £300 million off bills in 2020 alone

• ECO: Help to Heat which was launched in April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of more than 300,000 homes a year, tackling the root cause of fuel poverty. This includes installing measures like including solid wall, cavity wall and loft insulation

• Under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, 2 million low income and vulnerable households will be provided with a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter

• These proposals combined will see £770 million of support for low income and vulnerable households each year in 2017-2018.

The 6th of February 1918 may not be as well-known or instantly recognisable as the dates of the wars, battles and coronations that have shaped our nation’s history.

But there is no doubt it was a day that forever changed our nation’s future. A day when, for the first time, we went from being a country where most people could not vote to one where most people could.

It was another decade before equal suffrage was achieved.

But on that February day – seven centuries after Magna Carta, almost 90 years after the Great Reform Act – the Mother of Parliaments finally earned the right to call itself a true democracy.

A 1909 postcard published by the Women Writers Suffrage League shows a woman being dragged from the feet of Justice by the masked thug of Prejudice. And so it was in real life.

Because the right to vote was not handed over willingly. Rather it had to be forced, over many years of struggle, from the hands of those who held it for themselves. All around us here today are reminders of what that struggle looked like.

Through that small door away to my right is the cupboard where Emily Wilding Davison hid on census night. Up the stairs is St Stephen’s Hall, where the statue of Viscount Falkland still bears the mark of Margery Humes, who chained herself to its spur.

Outside, beyond the grand arched window, lie New Palace Yard and Parliament Square, scene of such brutality when suffragettes clashed with police on Black Friday. Now these stories now dwell in the history books, dusted off to share with visiting constituents and schoolchildren. Yet in this hall tonight we see the living legacy of the suffrage campaigners. Hundreds of female Parliamentarians, past and present.

Women who serve or have served as ministers and shadow ministers. A female former Speaker of the House of Commons. A female Prime Minister.

A century after women won the right to send MPs to Westminster, nearly all the parties represented here have a female leader or deputy leader.

The women in this hall come from every corner of the country, indeed from right across the world.

We represent many parties and almost every point on the political spectrum.

None of us are exactly alike, none of our stories are the same.

Yet every one of us is here today because of the heroic, tireless struggle of those who came before us.

Women who led a campaign not just for themselves or their families, but for generations as yet unborn.

Of course, women were not the only people brought into public life by the 1918 act.

It also enfranchised, for the first time, more than five million working class men. Men who – for four, bloody years – had been expected to fight and die for their country, yet had not been trusted with the right to choose who governed it.

So the granting of Royal Assent was a truly momentous moment in our history. Yet when it came, the celebrations were muted.

In 1918, Europe was still at war. In the words of Emmeline Pankhurst – the founder of the Women’s Social and Political Union, who I’m proud to say was later adopted as a candidate for the Conservative Party – “the sorrows of the world conflict precluded jubilations”. A century on, we’re putting that right.

And not just this evening. As we’ve heard, the celebrations and commemorations will run all year long, both in here in Parliament and across the country.

In an age where millions around the world are denied the right to vote and millions here at home are apathetic about exercising it, it’s only right that we all learn more about those who fought so hard to extend the franchise.

We don’t hear enough about these Edwardian radicals.

In fact I think for many people, the first time many of us encounter the suffragettes is when we see Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins. It’s certainly an entertaining introduction to the “soldiers in petticoats”. But in terms of detail I think it leaves a little bit to be desired.

We owe such a debt to the suffrage campaigners that they deserve greater recognition. And that’s why, later this year, a statue of Millicent Fawcett will be unveiled in Parliament Square,
It’s why the government is also helping to fund a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in her home town of Manchester.

And it’s why the Government has put £5 million towards events marking this year’s centenary. Events that will recognise and celebrate not just the Pankhursts and the Fawcetts, significant though they were. But also the many other women whose roles are often overlooked. Marion Wallace Dunlop, the illustrator of children’s books who staged the first suffragette hunger strike. Sophia Duleep Singh, the Maharaja’s daughter who faced both sexual and racial prejudice as she played a leading role in the Women’s Tax Resistance League.

Helen Ogston, the “woman with the whip”, who in 1908 was driven from the stage by an angry mob during a suffrage rally in Maidenhead – a town that, many years later, I have the privilege of representing in Parliament. And, of course, the thousands – tens of thousands – of ordinary women and men whose names are lost to history. Some risked arrest and imprisonment. Others were forced out of their jobs. All faced being shunned by family, friends and society.

Yet each played their part in securing a right we should never take for granted – and a right that is still not secure today. Because a century after women were first enfranchised, some are still prevented from taking their place on the electoral roll. Many survivors of domestic abuse are unable to register for fear of revealing their address to an ex-partner. That effectively means the threat of violence is removing women’s right to vote, something that is simply unacceptable. That’s why just before Christmas, the Government laid a series of statutory instruments that will make it easier for those who are at risk of abuse to register and vote anonymously.

Those changes will be debated in the House of Commons tomorrow. I’m sure that, in the week of this significant anniversary for women voters, MPs of all parties will set aside their differences to support this important change.

The need to expand anonymous registration is a reminder that the Act we’re commemorating tonight was only one step on a long journey.

I’m the 54th person to be Prime Minister of this country, but only the second to be a woman. Women make up half the population of this country, yet only a third of its MPs. I’ve long campaigned to get more women into public life at all levels. It’s not about appearances, or even just about giving women an equal chance to get on. I want to see more women in politics and government because greater female representation makes a real difference to everyone’s lives.

The same is true of the many other groups who do not see themselves properly reflected in public life.

People from minority ethnic groups, members of the LGBT community, people with disabilities, or those from less privileged backgrounds. At last year’s election, the proportion of MPs who were educated at comprehensive schools reached a record high – but it’s still just 51 per cent.

So let us celebrate this centenary, and give thanks to those who gave their all so that we might be here today.

But let us also commit ourselves to continuing their work.

To carrying forward the torch they passed to us.

To securing the rights they fought for and ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, is able to play a full and active role in our democracy.

The brave women and men who came before us left us the most precious inheritance.

Now let us all, through words and deeds, be their fitting heirs.

Thank you Mr President.

And I would like to thank Ian Martin for his briefing, and the Kuwaiti Presidency for scheduling this open debate. I would also like to congratulate Kuwait on taking up the Chairmanship of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions, and I look forward to a productive two years under your leadership.

Mr President, I am afraid that you have a tough act to follow. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Japan as the outgoing Chair, particularly their stewardship of the negotiations that led to agreement of a new Note 507.

The new Note 507 is a valuable resource for all current and future members of this Council. It brings together almost all of the Council’s myriad procedural documents and contains a number of important changes. In particular, I would highlight the new language on the conduct of informal consultations, the negotiation process, and cooperation with non-Council bodies, including the Peacebuilding Commission and the African Union. And I echo what the distinguished representative of Ethiopia had to say on the value of African Union briefers to this Council, something we called on collectively when we were in Addis Ababa for our annual meeting.

Many parts of the Note reflect best practice which has built up gradually over the years. But it also signals our collective ambition for a more inclusive, transparent and effective Council that is better able to tackle the challenges of the modern world.

One of the ways that we can deliver this ambition is through a stronger relationship with external partners. Last week, the Cruz report reminded us of the risks faced by peacekeepers deployed by this Council. The United Kingdom is pleased to have worked with Pakistan to strengthen triangular cooperation between the Council, Troop Contributing Countries, Police Contributing Countries and the Secretariat and looks forward to further discussions on this crucial issue in the forthcoming session of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping. The Security Council needs to work closely with those countries whose troops and police are on the front line when we consider our peacekeeping deployments, and we in the UK will continue to ensure that we do so when considering mandates.

We also need to hear more from civil society and particularly from women. And I would just note that today marks a hundred years since women first gained the right to vote in the UK. All too often, we hear only one perspective, and we do not hear from those that are most affected by our decisions in this Chamber. Last year just 30 representatives of civil society briefed this Council, and under a quarter of our briefers were women. We need to do better.

We also need to continue our efforts to make our meetings more effective and action-oriented. This means making sure that the briefings we receive from the Secretariat are comprehensive, but promoting more interactivity in consultations, and seeking outcomes from our meetings. This will not be accomplished by more changes to the guidance, but requires the commitment of all of us around this table, especially during Council members’ Presidencies.

Finally, this Council needs to work harder to meet the Secretary-General’s ambition—and our own—to do more on preventive diplomacy. This means focusing our time on the conflicts of today and tomorrow, not only those of previous decades. It means being flexible in in how we handle our agenda, and making the best use of the Secretariat’s insights, including through situational awareness briefings.

Mr President,

As the world’s threats evolve, so too must this Council. We must implement Note 507. We must also challenge ourselves to continue to adapt as a Council so that we better meet our mandate of maintaining international peace and security.

And may I just finish by thanking those who work so hard to support us as a Council, including in particular SCAD and our excellent interpreters.

Thank you.

Opioid substitution treatment (OST) plays a fundamental role in supporting people to recover from drug dependence. But sustained recovery is hard to achieve when addiction is combined with a lack of personal and social resources. Long-term recovery often needs high-quality treatment and a range of other support, tailored to each person.

Clinical guidance, including the new Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management, describes quality drug treatment. PHE is helping drug services implement the guidelines and improve treatment where it is not optimal.

The OST programme will support services to improve the quality of treatment so that people understand how their treatment works, comply with it and stick with it. That way they should get more from it and increase their chances of recovery. This will include a focus on using psychosocial interventions to support changes in behaviour. There is already a lot of good practice in this country, and the programme will aim to harness and build on that.

Among the issues that we plan to address, one is people continuing to use drugs, particularly heroin, while receiving treatment. Drug treatment monitoring data (NDTMS) and PHE’s drugs evidence review both found that people who continue to use illegal substances (especially heroin) while on substitution treatment are less likely to fully benefit from treatment and to reduce the wider harms caused by their drug use. Cutting down, rather than stopping drug use, is still a good result for many people and they still benefit from being in treatment. Pushing people too hard to stop all ‘use on top’ can drive them out of treatment or prevent them seeking help in the first place. The programme will develop resources to support services in getting this right.

The programme will also enhance wider recovery support for those in treatment by supporting services to help more in other aspects of their lives beyond drug use, such as employment, living arrangements, family relationships, trauma and abuse.

PHE will be making contact with providers and service user organisations shortly to gain their input and involvement.