Mr. Chair, today we should solely be celebrating with Ukraine as they mark 31 years of independence. Instead, we have also gathered here at this Special Council to once again condemn Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine. These have been six long, dark months. The Russian government anticipated a three-day war – it is fitting that exactly six months on, we celebrate the indomitable spirit of the proud nation of Ukraine that refuses to yield to President Putin’s imperialism. We congratulate our Ukrainian colleagues and all the people of Ukraine on their national day, and look forward to many more to come.

Yesterday, politicians met for the International Crimea Platform. Since 2014, the people of Crimea have endured a brutal and systematic campaign of human rights abuses by the Russian authorities, including the persecution of the Tatars, arbitrary arrests, and the restriction of land ownership. Let us remember that the 24th February was an escalation in Putin’s hostilities against Ukraine; not the beginning. It has never been more important to emphasise that Crimea is Ukraine.

We reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, pay tribute to all those who have sacrificed their lives in the face of evil and tyranny, and express our deepest sympathy to the families of the victims of the ongoing aggression against Ukraine. 6.5 million people have become refugees across Europe, with one third of Ukrainians forced from their homes. As of Monday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 13,477 civilian casualties, of which over 5,500 are fatalities. Behind each of these numbers is a human being – with a name, a face and family and friends who love them. And the true figure is almost certainly significantly higher, rising every day as Russia continues to target civilians and critical infrastructure – including recent indiscriminate shelling in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Donetsk.

Russia’s disregard for international law, and its lack of humanity has appalled the international community. The world was horrified to learn of reports of war crimes and atrocities committed by Russian forces in places such as Irpin and Bucha. I and many of my colleagues here have repeatedly emphasised the callousness and blatant illegality of Russia’s tactics. Tactics which include the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political purposes; we’ve heard reports of torture and mistreatment, and the use of sham trials – all in a clear breach of the Geneva conventions. By continuing to wage this war of brutality, Russia does not make us accustomed to its inhuman methods – it only increases our collective outrage. The UK is committed to ensuring that those who commit war crimes in Ukraine are brought to justice.

Having been humiliated militarily and failing in his initial war aims, President Putin has shown his true colours and resorted to the use of food and energy as weapons, threatening global food security and pushing some of the world’s most vulnerable populations to the brink of famine. We remain gravely concerned about the implications of Russia’s illegal invasion for nuclear safety and security. Since February, nuclear facilities in Ukraine have experienced significant disruptions to operations, posing a grave threat to the populations of Ukraine and wider Europe. Specifically, Russia must immediately restore full control of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the competent Ukrainian authorities and ensure that the International Atomic Energy Agency has appropriate access to address critical safety, security and safeguard concerns. Failure to comply would be an exceptionally costly act of desperation. Though let us be clear – the quickest path to restoring nuclear safety and security in Ukraine is the immediate and complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine’s sovereign territory.

Since the invasion started, the UK has provided economic, humanitarian and military assistance totalling over £3 billion, including towards holding those responsible for war crimes to account and an unprecedented package of sanctions on those facilitating this invasion. We will continue to use all the tools available to ensure that Ukraine succeeds in the face of President Putin’s unprovoked, premediated and unjustified war.

On this Ukrainian Independence Day, we resolutely reaffirm that we remain committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, extending to its territorial waters.  Today, once again, we reiterate our demand for the immediate cessation of hostilities by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, of all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the full, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Russian forces and military equipment from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine – we stand with you.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured undertakings from 9 companies that bought freeholds from leading housing developer Taylor Wimpey. A further 4 national developers – Crest Nicholson, Redrow, Miller Homes and Vistry – have also agreed to work with the companies who purchased their freeholds to remove doubling terms. The move will impact over 5,000 households throughout the UK, with many who paid a doubled rent receiving a refund.

All 9 firms must now remove problematic contract terms that cause ground rents to double in price every 10 years. These terms can lead to people being trapped in homes they cannot sell or mortgage. The firms will also remove contract terms which were originally doubling clauses, but were converted so the ground rent increased in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI). The CMA believes that the original doubling clauses were unfair and should therefore have been fully removed – not replaced with another term that still increases the rent.

This action brings the total number of homeowners that have benefitted from the CMA’s investigation to over 20,000.

All affected leaseholders will now see their ground rents remain at the original amount – i.e. when the property was first sold – and this will not increase over time. The 9 freeholders have also agreed to refund residential leaseholders who had already paid out under doubled ground rent terms.

Sarah Cardell, interim Chief Executive of the CMA, said:

For years leaseholders have been plagued by what we believe are unfair practices. That’s why we sought to tackle the problem by launching action against some of the biggest names in the business.

As a result of our work, over 20,000 people now have a new lease of life, freed from issues like costly doubling ground rent terms.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up Greg Clark said:

This is good news that will see thousands of leaseholders get the refunds they are entitled to.

Levelling up home ownership and creating a fairer, more transparent leasehold system is a top priority for this government, and these agreements are an example of this in action.

We will work with the CMA to continue challenging industry on its practices, so we can ensure more leaseholders get the fair deal they deserve.

Since 2019, the CMA has sought to tackle issues around the possible mis-selling of leasehold homes and contract terms it believes are unfair. Its investigations involving 7 leading housing developers – and businesses who purchased freeholds from these firms – have led to landmark changes:

• August 2022: 9 businesses who purchased freeholds from Taylor Wimpey commit to remove problematic doubling terms. Developers Crest Nicholson, Miller Homes, Redrow and Vistry agree to help remove doubling terms from leasehold contracts they sold on.
• March 2022: 15 businesses who bought freeholds from Countryside remove doubling ground rent terms.
• December 2021: Taylor Wimpey removes doubling ground rent terms, and RPI-based terms that were originally doublers, from all its contracts.
• September 2021: Countryside Properties removes doubling ground rent terms in relation to freeholds it owns.
• June 2021: Persimmon offers leasehold house owners the opportunity to buy the freehold of their property at a discounted price that better reflects what they expected when they originally bought their home.
• June 2021: Aviva removes doubling ground rent terms in relation to freeholds it bought.

As the investigation moves into the final stages, the CMA is engaging with additional firms, including the Abacus Land and Adriatic Land investment group, which bought freeholds from Taylor Wimpey.

Notes to editors

1. The undertakings have been provided to the CMA voluntarily and without any admission of wrongdoing or liability. It should not be assumed that any of the 9 businesses have breached the law – only a court can decide whether a breach has occurred.
2. Crest Nicholson, Redrow, Miller and Vistry are cooperating with the CMA by working with freeholders to remove doubling clauses from their leases. Vistry PLC includes Galliford Try, Linden and Bovis Homes, which it acquired in 2020.

3. The 9 businesses who purchased freeholds from Taylor Wimpey and have provided undertakings are: a) BDP Freehold Limited; b) Mortgage Incentive Funds Limited; c) The Bridges (Darlington) Management Company Limited; d) Bessant Properties Limited; e) Brigante Properties Limited; f) Furatto Limited and Long Term Reversions No 1 Limited; g) SF Ground Rents No18 Limited, SF Ground Rents No 15 Limited and RMB 102 Limited; h) Sarum Properties Limited; i) Taylor Court Limited

4. The businesses who purchased freeholds from Taylor Wimpey and have not provided undertakings yet are listed below. The CMA is continuing to engage with these firms: a) Island Apartments Freehold Limited; b) Madison Close Freeholders Limited; c) Elmdon Real Estate LLP; d) Abacus Land 1 (Holdco 1) Limited, Abacus Land 4 Limited and Adriatic Land 1 (GR3) Limited (part of the Abacus Land and Adriatic Land investment group); e) Plaza 2 Surbiton Limited

5. Following our update on 18 March 2022, the CMA has now concluded its discussions with 2 remaining freeholders who had purchased Countryside leases. Freeholders D.A.T.S. (Holdings) Limited and Wallace Estates Limited have now both given similar commitments to make changes for the benefit of leaseholders.
6. The main provisions of consumer protection legislation relevant to the CMA’s concerns about ground rent terms are the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs), for contracts entered into before 1 October 2015, and Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), for contracts entered into on or after 1 October 2015. The UTCCRs and Part 2 of the CRA aim to protect consumers against unfair contract terms, and require contract terms to be fair and transparent.
7. All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the CMA press office by email on press@cma.gov.uk or by phone on 020 3738 6460.
8. All enquiries from the general public should be directed to the CMA’s General Enquiries team on general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk or 020 3738 6000.

Fresh business opportunities and potential new jobs will be unlocked for the UK’s rail industry thanks to a new partnership signed by the Transport Secretary with Israel today (24 August 2022).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed by the two countries to share expertise on large scale rail projects, following the successful launch of the UK’s Elizabeth Line earlier this year. 

The benefits of the state-of-the-art line will be extended overseas, through the Department for Transport’s Crossrail International advisory company. This follows the introduction of the Elizabeth Line, which slashed fares by over a third for commuters across London and massively reduced journey times. The project is also estimated to pump £42 billion into the UK economy and has created more than 55,000 jobs and 1,000 apprenticeships while expanding central London’s rail capacity by 10%.  

It is now hoped business opportunities with Israel, the UK’s third biggest transport goods trading partner, will not only enable firms to share valuable expertise, but boost economic growth and could lead to more jobs being created.  

In July, the UK launched negotiations with Israel to upgrade the current trade deal, currently worth £5 billion and supports 6,600 UK businesses. The upgraded agreement would establish a modern, revamped trading relationship between two of the world’s services superpowers.  This includes seeking improved access to major public sector contracts for UK businesses and boosting opportunities for the services sector.

In 2021 alone, the UK imported £144 million of transportation services from Israel, highlighting the close relationship between our two nations.

As part of the Transport Secretary’s visit to Israel this week, he has visited the building site of Tel Aviv’s new light rail line and will meet with the Israeli Transport Minister Merav Michaeli.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

Today’s partnership further ingrains our commitment to a global Britain, helping our world-leading rail industry to extend its expertise to friends overseas, while unlocking fresh business opportunities to boost the UK economy. 

Following the successful launch of our iconic Elizabeth Line earlier this year, this memorandum is a fantastic opportunity for our British engineers and advisors to share their ingenuity with Israel as they undertake their largest ever rail project in Tel Aviv. 

It was a pleasure to visit the project site this week to see first-hand the ongoing work to build such a revolutionary transport hub which will help millions of passengers get from A to B quicker, easier and more sustainably. 

Minister of Transport and Road Safety, Merav Michaeli:

Transport is a national security issue. This is accepted and understood around the world, and I am happy to strengthen ties and enter into agreements with other countries that make Israel stronger.

I would like to thank my colleague Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps for his visit to Israel and for the ground-breaking cooperation we have created together. I am confident that the know-how we have shared and the agreements we have signed will result in better transportation in both countries, and particularly greener, shared transport that the world needs so much as we face the climate crisis. These steps contribute to strengthening the relations between Israel and the United Kingdom and are a cornerstone of our important bilateral ties.

This is how we are moving Israeli transport several steps forward.

The UK-Israel MOU comes as Israel undertakes a multi-billion-pound mass transit project in Tel Aviv – the country’s largest and most complicated infrastructure project to ever exist.

The scheme is being supported by the Department for Transport owned Crossrail International, a specialist advisory company which offers its expertise across the globe to deliver complex rail projects. The project will see the build of 3 light rail and metro lines to serve 27 local authorities and 3 million passengers daily. 

The new memorandum will allow both countries to share experience and best practice in relation to large-scale transport projects.  

For example, the UK’s Crossrail International will offer advice to Israel on design, safety and standards of new train lines across the country. Expertise will also be shared on ensuring the build of transport projects is as green and sustainable as possible. 

Chief Executive Officer of Crossrail International Paul Dyson said:

Our aim is to share good practice, lessons learned and innovation to provide better outcomes and wider benefits for our respective societies.

Crossrail International is extremely proud to be a partner of this MoU and to act as a conduit of UK knowledge, skills and expertise that will support the Israeli Ministry of Transport in the delivery of its transformational rail transit portfolio.

The memorandum between the Department for Transport and the Israeli Ministry of Transport and Road Safety is set to boost the UK economy by offering British engineers the chance to provide bespoke advice in relation to Tel Aviv’s new metro line.