The government will shortly launch an independent review to consider whether Post Office Ltd has learned lessons from the Horizon dispute and court case, and made the changes needed to ensure a similar case cannot happen again.

Today, Small Business and Postal Affairs Minister Paul Scully announced the draft terms of reference for the review via a written ministerial statement laid in the House of Commons.

It follows Post Office Ltd reaching a settlement of £57.75 million in December 2019 to conclude a long-running civil court case brought against it by a group of postmasters over issues related to its Horizon IT system.

Small Business and Postal Affairs Minister Paul Scully said:

The Horizon dispute and court case has had a devastating impact on the lives of many postmasters, and I have been deeply moved by the individual stories of those I have spoken to.

It is so important that a case like this can never happen again.

That is why this government is committed to establishing an independent review to ensure that lessons have been learned, and that concrete changes have taken place at Post Office Ltd.

We are keen to see the review launch as soon as possible, and the publication of draft terms of reference today is an important step toward this.

The terms of reference and the final timings for the review are subject to confirmation by the chair, who will be fully independent of Post Office Ltd. and the government. A chair will be appointed and announced in due course.

As Universities and colleges are now starting to confirm their teaching arrangements for the forthcoming academic year in response to Covid-19, SLC is extending the deadline for full-time returning students to apply for finance, from 12th June (Wales) and from 19th June (England) to 30th June.

Derek Ross, Executive Director of Operations at SLC said, “SLC recognises that students may still be gathering information on which to base their plans for next year. On that basis, we want to give them more time to complete their application before the ‘returner’ deadline.

“The clear advice to returning students is to submit their funding applications as quickly as possible and by extending the deadline we are providing students with valuable additional time. “

While SLC does everything in its power to process all applications as quickly as possible, more complex cases do take time. Students submitting late applications may not receive their full maintenance loan for the start of the new term. While the basic non income assessed payment will be made, any additional entitlement will only be paid once the application and assessment process is completed.

Derek Ross added “Submitting an application as soon as possible is the only way to ensure funding will be in place for the start of next term. For maximum peace of mind, students are encouraged to note the extension to the deadline and submit their applications as quickly as possible.”

Applications can be made online at www.gov.uk/student-finance or www.studentfinancewales.com. Information is also available on Facebook.com/SFEngland and Twitter.com/SF_England or Facebook.com/SF_Wales and Twitter.com/SF_Wales

The student finance deadline for new students has already passed but for anyone who may have missed it, the advice is still to get an application in as soon as possible. Even when someone is not sure of their eventual course, University or college, new students should apply based on their first preference, as there is no penalty for withdrawing an application or amending details later.

Applications can be made online at www.gov.uk/student-finance or www.studentfinancewales.com. Information is also available on Facebook.com/SFEngland and Twitter.com/SF_England or Facebook.com/SF_Wales and Twitter.com/SF_Wales

Earlier this week on World Ocean Day, 8 June, we published our annual update on the achievements and progress of the Blue Belt Programme over the past year.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister for Pacific and the Environment said:

The Blue Belt Programme, one of the UK government’s most ambitious environmental policies ever, is on course to establish 4 million square kilometres of protected and managed oceans around the UK Overseas Territories.

The update for 2019-2020 showcases how the Blue Belt Programme is helping strengthen governance, protect biodiversity, support sustainable fisheries, support compliance and manage human activities across the UK Overseas Territories.

You can also read the latest Blue Belt newsletter.

And with lockdown measures set to ease in the coming weeks and more people returning to towns and cities, Counter Terrorism Policing need people to return to being vigilant when out and about.

A police appeal to the public, to take part in the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) e-Learning course while working at home, has resulted in nearly 70,000 signing up to be ‘CT Citizens’. Overall half a million participants have responded to the call since the course was launched two years ago.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi, national policing lead for Protective Security said:

It’s an incredible number. We wanted to encourage more people to take the course and become ‘CT citizens’ as it can easily be done when you are working remotely, but the enthusiastic response has been even better than we had hoped.

With everything people have had to cope with over the past couple of months, we are delighted that they want to continue supporting Counter Terrorism Policing and play their part in keeping all communities safe.

And it is so important that they do, because as we start to move towards the easing of lockdown, and the return of busy centres of activity, we need to remind everyone that the threat from terrorism has not gone away.

Having more people with a basic level of awareness, and who know what to do if they see suspicious activity, is a real asset to the police.

The international award winning ACT Awareness e-Learning was developed in partnership with retail giant Marks and Spencer and Highfield Learning.

The interactive course, which is available to companies or private individuals, takes just 45 minutes to complete and can be done all in one go or in short modules.

It explains how to spot the signs of suspicious behaviour and what to do to help yourself, others and the emergency responders if an attack should take place.

To log on and learn, visit https://ct.highfieldelearning.com/