Angelina Jolie will join Baroness Sugg, the UK’s Special Envoy for Girls’ Education, to ensure refugee children are not forgotten in the global coronavirus recovery, at a high-level virtual event on refugee education today (Monday 13 July 2020).

Baroness Sugg will announce £5.3 million of new UK aid to support the salaries of more than 5,500 teachers in 10 of the world’s poorest refugee-hosting countries, including Chad, South Sudan and Yemen.

She will urge the international community to protect the futures of the world’s most vulnerable children both during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, is expected to say:

“For millions of children and youth, schools are a lifeline of opportunity as well as a shield. Classrooms offer protection — or at least a reprieve — from violence, exploitation and other difficult circumstances.”

“Without urgent practical assistance, some of the children left without schooling worldwide due to the coronavirus may never set foot in a classroom again. We must find ways to try to ensure access to continuity of education for young people across the world.

“Ensuring education for refugee children is something we can make happen, if we all come together.”

Ensuring that children are not affected long-term by the interruption to their education during coronavirus is a priority in the UK and around the world. As the pandemic puts developing countries under increasing economic stress and limited resources are diverted to the health sector, there is a risk children will go uneducated as teachers go unpaid.

Without action, millions of children may be left without a school to attend in the aftermath of coronavirus, potentially undermining education systems in fragile and developing countries for a generation.

Baroness Sugg, the UK Special Envoy for Girls’ Education, will say:

“Education must be prioritised in the global recovery from coronavirus. This epidemic is not just a health crisis, it is an education crisis, especially for refugee children. Without school and an education they will be unable to rebuild their lives and achieve their full potential.

“Supporting every child’s right to 12 years of quality education is one of the best investments the UK can make to end the cycle of displacement, poverty and conflict, as we recover from coronavirus. We urge our partners to match our ambition.”

The UK support announced today will help at least 300,000 vulnerable refugee children to continue their education.

In addition to today’s announcement, the UK has previously announced £15 million of crisis funding from the aid budget to UNICEF and £5 million to Education Cannot Wait, for handwashing supplies, remote lessons and protection services to support the world’s most vulnerable children during the pandemic.

Bahati Ernestine Hategekimana, a Rwandan-born refugee living in Kenya and currently studying to be a nurse on a UNHCR scholarship, will say at today’s roundtable:

“I am part of the 3% of refugee youth who have access to tertiary education. As a refugee, I needed a skill that would give me control and would put me in a position to be useful and helpful in case there is need, whether it be another war or a pandemic like we have now.

“I see a lot of refugee youth like myself who have been empowered through education to contribute to the response on COVID-19.”

Before coronavirus, 260 million children were out of school worldwide. Now, 1.5 billion children in over 150 countries are out of school.

For every additional year a child goes to school, their future earnings can increase by 20%. Unleashing that potential, by protecting education through the crisis, will be essential to preventing the collapse of economies in the poorest countries deepening a global recession, making it harder for all of us to bounce back.

• The £5.3 million of UK aid announced today will allow UNHCR to make direct payments to 5,669 teachers in 10 refugee-hosting countries for 7 months where urgent support is needed. The countries are: Chad, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Yemen.
• Of the world’s 26 million refugees, around half are under the age of 18. Even before COVID-19 struck, refugee children were twice as likely to be out of school than other children, with fewer than 1 in 4 refugee children enrolled in secondary education.
• Today’s event, a high-level round-table on education for refugees during and after the coronavirus, will be co-hosted by the UK and Canada, alongside UNHCR and UNESCO. It will give a platform to refugee students, states hosting refugees, and key development organisations, to prompt action to give refugee children the education they deserve.
• Karina Gould, Canadian Minister of International Development; Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO; Yasmine Sherif, Director, Education Cannot Wait; Ag Mohamed Aly Ahmed, community teacher and mobiliser and refugee living in Burkina Faso; H.E. Pauline Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, Cameroon; H. E. Shafqat Mahmood, Federal Minister of Education and Professional Training, Pakistan; Professor George Magoha, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Science and Technology, Kenya; Nayla Fahed, Malala Fund Education Champion, Lebanon; and Andrew Dunnett , Group Director SDGs, Sustainable Business & Foundations, Vodafone, are also due to attend.
• During the course of the pandemic, teachers have come up with innovative ways to continue lessons. In refugee camps in eastern Chad for example, teachers are giving students work which is left outside their homes each week. Once completed, the work is then collected by parents’ groups and after a 48-hour period, to stop the risk of infection spreading, given to teachers to mark. The work is then returned to children.
• Educating vulnerable children helps protect all of us against future pandemics. Educated children are more likely to understand and act on health advice, such as handwashing. When a girl can read, her child is 50% more likely to live past the age of five. Her child is also 50% more likely to be immunised, as she is more likely to understand the benefits of vaccination.
• School closures increase the risk of child labour, neglect and abuse. During the West Africa Ebola epidemic, the closure of schools exposed vulnerable teenage girls to sexual exploitation and violence. In Sierra Leone, cases of teenage pregnancy more than doubled.
• The Malala Fund estimates that when classrooms reopen, half of all refugee girls will not return to school. For countries where less than 10% of refugee girls are enrolled in secondary schools, the Malala Fund predicts the impact of COVID-19 could remove girls from the classroom entirely.

Restaurants and other establishments serving food for on-premises consumption can now sign up to a new government initiative aimed at protecting jobs in the hospitality industry and encouraging people to safely return to dining out.

The Eat Out to Help Out registration service went live this morning on GOV.UK, allowing businesses to join the scheme announced last week by Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Restaurants, bars, cafes and other establishments who use the scheme will offer a 50% reduction, up to a maximum of £10 per person, to all diners who eat and/or drink-in throughout August.

Customers do not need a voucher as participating establishments will just remove the discount from their bill. Businesses simply reclaim the discounted amount through an online service, supported by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Claims can be made on a weekly basis and will be paid into bank accounts within five working days.

The scheme is open to eligible establishments across the UK and can be used all day, every Monday to Wednesday, between 3 and 31 August 2020.

Businesses will receive a window sticker to show they are using the scheme and can download promotional items from GOV.UK.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

Restaurants and other eligible establishments are now able to support jobs by signing up to a place on the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.

HMRC’s quick and easy registration page will soon have you on your way to welcoming back your customers with discounted dining on every Monday to Wednesday throughout August, with a simple process to reclaim these discounts back from the Government each week.

Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary of HMRC, said:

The hospitality industry is among the sectors worst affected by COVID-19. The Eat Out to Help Out Scheme will deliver support to more than 100,000 businesses, including restaurants, cafes and bars serving food and drink, helping to protect 1.8 million jobs across the UK.

Registering is easy, and we urge businesses to sign up early so they are ready to use the scheme when it starts on 3 August.

Businesses have made great efforts to re-open their sit-down services safely in line with social distancing guidance, so people can feel confident to dine out again.

Businesses can find information about the scheme and how to register online at GOV.UK.

Who can register?

You can register for the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme if your establishment:

• sells food that is intended for consumption on the premises when purchased
• provides its own dining area or shares a dining area with another establishment for eat-in meals
• has registered as a food business with the relevant local authority on or before 7 July

How to register

Businesses can register to be part of the scheme online at GOV.UK.

A searchable restaurant finder tool will be available to the public before the scheme launches on 3 August.

The scheme can be used by diners who order food and/or drinks for consumption on the premises. Alcohol is excluded from the offer.

Further information for businesses is available on GOV.UK:

Today the government is launching a major new public information campaign, ‘The UK’s new start: let’s get going’. It will clearly set out the actions businesses and individuals need to take to prepare for the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, and ensure they are ready to seize the opportunities that it will bring. Campaign advertisements will include our “Check, Change, Go” strapline which directs people and businesses to a straightforward checker tool at gov.uk/transition which quickly identifies the necessary next steps they need to take.

The campaign will run across the full range of communication channels, including TV advertising and radio, out of home, digital, print, and direct channels such as text messages and Webinars. The campaign will also see the launch of a field force team which will give one-to-one support in person or over the phone to businesses and their supply chains to minimise disruption to the movement of goods.

The campaign will target UK citizens intending to travel to Europe from 1 January 2021 and all importers to and exporters from the EU, alongside UK nationals living in the EU and EU, EEA or Swiss citizens living in the UK.

The actions people and business owners need to take vary based on their circumstances. They include:

• Making sure you are ready to travel to Europe from 1 January 2021, for example by getting comprehensive travel insurance, ensuring your passport is valid, and checking your roaming policy with your mobile phone provider.

• If you want to travel to Europe with your pet from 1 January 2021, contact your vet at least 4 months before you travel.

• Making sure your business is ready to export or import from/to the EU, for example by getting an EU EORI number or registering with the relevant Customs Authority.

The campaign isn’t being run just to prepare people and businesses for changes at the end of the year. It will also highlight the significant opportunities ahead including for exporters through new free trade agreements, for small businesses through smarter regulation, and for fishermen as we take back control of our coastal waters.

This campaign will run alongside the UK’s continued negotiations with the EU. The UK is leaving the single market and customs union at the end of the year, and so most of the actions businesses and citizens are being asked to take will need to be completed regardless of the outcome of negotiations.

Some areas of UK-wide guidance published will not be applicable for trade between Northern Ireland and the European Union, until negotiations have concluded with the EU. Initial guidance specific to Northern Ireland will be published in the coming weeks and will continue to be issued throughout the transition period. The government is already working closely with NI businesses, traders, agents, carriers and ports to prepare for the end of the transition period.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove said:

At the end of this year we are leaving the single market and Customs Union regardless of the type of agreement we reach with the EU. This will bring changes and significant opportunities for which we all need to prepare.

While we have already made great progress in getting ready for this moment, there are actions that businesses and citizens must take now to ensure we are ready to hit the ground running as a fully independent United Kingdom.

This is a new start for everyone in the UK – British and European citizens alike – so let’s get going.

Details of the key actions that businesses and individuals need to take before the end of the transition period can be found on gov.uk/transition.

The Defra-coordinated annual Bees’ Needs Week got underway today (Monday 13 July) with an online launch to highlight what everyone can be doing at home to care for pollinators.

Bees and other pollinators play a crucial role in food production and agriculture – they contribute the equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and food production, by improving crop quality and quantity – and are also vital to our wider, natural ecosystems.

The Coronavirus pandemic has provided an opportunity for being in nature, according to Natural England’s People and Nature Survey for England, 60% of adults in England said that they had spent time outside in green and natural spaces in the previous two weeks.

These spaces are vital homes for our insect pollinators, of which there are thousands of species in the UK, including moths and butterflies as well as our beloved honeybees, bumblebees and many solitary bees. But their populations are under threat from risks such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, pests and disease, climate change and pesticide use.

Through the National Pollinator strategy, we are working with farmers, business and conservation organisations to provide pollinator habitat on farmland, in urban areas and in gardens.

Bees’ Needs Week 2020 will see Defra and many other organisations working together to encourage everyone who can to do simple things at home – like growing more flowers and cutting grass less often – to help our precious pollinators thrive, and to engage further with nature through citizen science initiatives such as the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme’s (PoMS) insect counts.

Defra Minister for pollinators, Rebecca Pow, said:

This year, we have seen an increased appreciation for nature in England in response to the Coronavirus pandemic with the nation building back greener.

Bees’ Needs Week is about celebrating the fact that everyone can get involved by leaving patches of garden to grow wild, growing more flowers, cutting grass less, not disturbing insect nests, and carefully considering how we use pesticides.

Our ambitious Environment and Agriculture Bills will enable us to enhance and protect our precious natural environment and diverse ecosystems, improving habitats for pollinators, for years to come.

Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper, said:

Bees maybe small, but they have a huge impact on how our world works. These wonderful insects are a kind of natural glue, holding the environment together by moving pollen between plants, enabling whole systems to be sustained and replenished. Without bees, we could not live.

Although overall the status of pollinators has declined, the good news is that everyone can do something to help. Many of us have been more connected with Nature during the pandemic lockdown and I very much hope that this newly-found reverence for our environment can be harnessed to ensure pollinators’ habitats, populations and products are protected for the future.

Whether you are a farmer, a gardener, or a land manager, there is something you can do to help support our valuable insect pollinators.

Here are five simple actions you can take to help pollinators and make sure their populations are sustained:

1. Grow more flowers, shrubs and trees
2. Let your garden grow wild
3. Cut your grass less often
4. Don’t disturb insect nest and hibernation spots
5. Think carefully about whether to use pesticides

Another way people can help is by monitoring your local bee and pollinator populations. Spend 10 minutes in the sun to count insects for the UK’s Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS), and get involved on social media using #beesneeds.

In 2018 this Government changed the law (Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018) so that anyone found guilty of assaulting a police officer, firefighter, prison officer or paramedic faced a maximum of 12 months in prison. Judges must also consider tougher sentences for more serious offences – such as GBH or sexual assault –  if the victim was an emergency worker.

Now the Government is seeking views from stakeholders, including representative bodies from the emergency services and the judiciary, on whether the maximum penalty should be doubled to two years behind bars.

It delivers on a manifesto commitment to consult on tougher sentences, with ministers determined to recognise the debt of gratitude the public feels towards our emergency workers –  for the courage, commitment and dedication they show every day in carrying out their duties, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Justice Secretary & Lord Chancellor, Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP, said:

Being punched, kicked or spat at should never be part of the job for our valiant emergency workers who put their lives on the line to keep the public safe.

Now more than ever they must be able to do their extraordinary work without the fear of being attacked or assaulted, which is why we’re determined to look at how our laws can protect them further.

We will continue to do everything in our power to protect our police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics – and ensure those who seek to harm them feel the full force of the law.

Home Secretary, Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, said:

Our police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers go above and beyond every single day – running towards danger to protect us all.

They are our frontline heroes who put their lives on the line every single day to keep us safe, and yet some despicable individuals still think it’s acceptable to attack, cough or spit at these courageous public servants.

This consultation sends a clear and simple message to the vile thugs who assault our emergency workers – you will not get away with such appalling behaviour and you will be subject to the force of the law.

The consultation will run for four weeks and, depending on the response to the consultation, legislation could be brought forward – which would see the maximum sentence for assaulting an emergency worker doubled for the second time in two years.

Assault can cover acts such as a push, shove or being spat at. When an emergency worker is seriously injured, prosecutions will take place under more serious offences such as ABH, GBH, or attempted murder that have far longer sentences.

Notes to Editors:

• The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act modified the offence of common assault or battery where it is committed against emergency workers acting in the course of their functions, with a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment. This doubled the maximum penalty for common assault from 6 to 12 months for those who assault emergency workers, including police, prison staff, custody officers, fire service personnel, search and rescue workers and frontline health workers.
• The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act also created a statutory aggravating factor. This means that when a person is convicted of a range of offences including sexual assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) and manslaughter, the judge must consider the fact that the offence was committed against an emergency worker as an aggravating factor meriting an increase in the sentence within the maximum allowed for the particular offence.
• In line with the manifesto commitment, this consultation, which will run for around four weeks, will focus on whether the maximum penalty for this offence should be increased from 12 months to 2 years.
• In 2019, more than 11,000 people were prosecuted for assaulting an emergency worker, with a quarter of those found guilty receiving a suspended sentence or immediate custody.