• UK announces new diplomatic presence in Western Australia to accelerate trade and investment with the region
• Comes after the UK doubled the number of British High Commissions across the Pacific Islands
• Visit will also underline the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific in light of the brutal invasion of Ukraine

The UK will boost diplomatic and trade ties in the Indo-Pacific as the UK Minister of Asia and the Middle East, Amanda Milling, today embarks on a regional tour of Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu.

As part of the visit, Minister Milling is announcing plans to re-establish the diplomatic post of Consul General in Perth, Western Australia after nearly 20 years.

Western Australia is Australia’s largest state accounting for 16% of Australia’s GDP and hosts the highest percentage of British people of any state in the country, with 8.9% of the population born in the UK and 42% having British ancestry.

The new Consul General will be supported by the existing team of eight staff in Perth. Their roles cover trade, investment, consular and Scottish Development International.

The new post emphasizes the UK’s commitment to Australia and the deepening trade and investment ties between the two countries following the Free Trade Agreement.

During the past three years the UK has doubled the number of British High Commissions across the Pacific Island Countries to six – Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu – underlining the importance of the Indo-Pacific to our economy, security and ambition to build a network of liberty as set out in the UK’s Integrated Review.

Minister for Asia and the Middle East, Amanda Milling said:

We may be geographically far apart, but when it comes to our shared values, history, economic and security ties, the UK’s partnerships with Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu could hardly be closer.

Testament to that closeness is the UK’s decision to strengthen our diplomatic footprint, re-establishing the diplomatic post of Consul General in Perth that I am delighted to announce today.

While in Australia, Minister Milling will visit Perth and Melbourne, holding meetings with representatives from the State and Federal Governments, business and industry leaders as well as representatives of the Indigenous community.

In Vanuatu, the Minister will meet President Nikenike Vurobaravu and Acting Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau, as well as formally opening the British High Commission in Port Vila.

Finally, in New Zealand, she will visit Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, delivering a speech at the High Commission on the importance of UK’s relationship with New Zealand alongside meetings with a number of representatives from across Government, business and Māori.

She will also be accompanied on many of her engagements by the UK’s new High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor of the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, Ms Iona Thomas OBE, who presented her credentials in Wellington last week (3 August 2022).

British High Commissioner to Australia, H.E. Vicki Treadell, said:

The new diplomatic post in Perth after an almost 20 year gap recognises the importance of Western Australia to the UK. This is underlined by the fantastic work already being delivered by our Head of Perth Office and the Consulate team there on our shared focus on economic security and the clean energy transition, as well as our support for the large number of Brits in WA.

The Minister’s visit follows an intensive period of engagement for the UK with its partners in the Pacific. In 2022, that includes visits to Australia by the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, and Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC. COP26 President Alok Sharma also visited Australia, Fiji and New Zealand last month (July 2022).

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also met Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, at the NATO Summit in Madrid and hosted New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, in London last month.

The Minister arrives in Australia from Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh where she represented the UK at ASEAN, a meeting of influential countries in Southeast Asia. She signed-off a new UK-ASEAN agreement for deeper cooperation on trade and investment, defence and security – including maritime security and cyber – as well as climate change, girls’ education, digital and science and technology.

As part of the agreement, the UK will scale-up development and security links in Southeast Asia, opening a regional British International Investment office in Singapore later this year to invest up to £500m in the Indo-Pacific. The UK is also offering training for countries in the region on security issues and maritime law, including from the Royal Navy.

• The Consul General is expected to take up post in Perth in 2023.
• The UK is also accredited to the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. The UK Ambassador in the Philippines is accredited to Palau.
• Further to the successful Carrier Strike Group deployment in 2021, the UK has a permanent presence in the Indo-Pacific with the deployment of two Offshore Patrol Vessels. They have already provided aid and assistance in the Pacific region, delivering humanitarian supplies in Tonga, following the volcanic eruption in January 2022, and delivering Covid booster vaccinations and dental care to the people of the Pitcairn Islands in February 2022.

New guidance will help make sure takeaway food businesses play their part in cleaning up high streets, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has set out today (7 August 2022).

Updated guidance published today will clarify the powers councils in England have to set stricter litter rules for new hot food takeaways when considering planning applications, including making sure that more bins are installed to reduce rubbish in the surrounding area.

The move will help create cleaner town centres, with figures showing that fast food items are the fourth most common type of litter found on UK high streets.

Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark said:

We are empowering councils to make sure new takeaway food businesses are doing their bit to stop rubbish littering our high streets.

It is just one of the many ways we are improving the environment and making sure we can all take pride in the local communities we call home.

The guidance will give councils clear and consistent advice on what rules they can enforce when new takeaways open, such as ensuring they install more bins and anti-litter signs around shops or have staff members pick up litter regularly. Failing to adhere to these rules could result in financial penalties.

A number of councils are already putting these requests into place, such as Gateshead Council which has ordered new takeaways to provide litter bins for customers.

Today’s announcement will ensure this practice becomes the norm across the country, so that new takeaway outlets do not increase the impact of litter on local communities.

This is part of wider measures set out in the Build Back Better High Streets Strategy to improve the public realm and create safer and cleaner spaces.

It follows new funding announced by the Environment Secretary yesterday to remove chewing gum stains from our high streets, with more than 40 councils across the UK awarded grants of up to £70,000.

New Government action to crack down on litter on our high streets has been set out today (6 August), with more than 40 councils across the UK awarded grants of up to £70,000 to remove chewing gum stains.

Exeter, Birmingham, Sunderland, Swansea, Glasgow and Belfast are among the first winners of funding as part of the Government’s new Chewing Gum Task Force, helping to reinvigorate our country’s towns and cities by funding efforts to clean up streets.

Established by Defra and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Task Force aims to clean gum off pavements and put in measures to stop it being dropped in the first place.

Estimates suggest the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million and according to Keep Britain Tidy, around 87% of England’s streets are stained with gum.

The funding announced today is the first tranche of a package worth up to £10 million from major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle to tackle chewing gum stains – the investment will be spread over five years.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

Littering blights our towns and costs taxpayers money. Working with responsible gum manufacturers, we are now giving councils extra help to clean up our cities and towns.

This means we can double down on regenerating our high streets, boosting local economies and levelling up communities across the country.

Funding will cover: 

• Grants of up £20,000 for councils including Leicester, Hull, Croydon, Southend, Lewisham and Colchester to purchase cleaning equipment as well as receiving signage to warn people not to litter gum – previous pilots run by Mars Wrigley and not-for-profit Behaviour Change using this signage have reduced gum littering by up to 64%.
• Long-term monitoring of gum litter levels and the effects of intervention for four councils including Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newport.
• £70,000 for several council partnerships – including Bury and Bolton, Camden and Brent, and Nottingham and Derby.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said:

This is an exciting new opportunity for councils to tackle the ongoing problem of gum pollution.

The grants will allow councils to clean up historic gum litter staining in our towns and cities, as well as taking action to prevent people littering in the first place.

Ana Baptista, Corporate Affairs Director, Mars Wrigley UK, said:

Mars Wrigley has invested in campaigns to tackle litter across the UK for many years. Through our partnership with Behaviour Change we have developed interventions proven to reduce gum littering which have already been used by over 100 Councils.

We are delighted to see these deployed as part of the Chewing Gum Task Force Grant Scheme and look forward to having many more Councils on board.

Hayley Osborne Communications and Sustainability Manager for Perfetti Van Melle, said:

As a manufacturer of gum products we are aware of the unfortunate impact our products can cause to cities and towns. By working together with industry peers, councils, and customers, we can also help be part of the solution, helping to clean-up our streets and educating consumers on the importance of safe gum disposal.

In addition, we are also working on our own campaigns to support our customers, with on-package signage and labelling to help work towards a circular, long-term solution.

This forms part of the Prime Minister’s High Street Strategy to support the evolution and regeneration of high streets across the country, which includes 15 Town Deals totalling £335 million to fund community regeneration projects, the transformation of derelict buildings, and communities being given the chance to own local pubs, theatres, sports grounds and corner shops.

Littering is a criminal offence, and the UK Government has already bolstered local authorities enforcement powers by increasing the on-the-spot penalties for littering to £150 in England. Councils can also take offenders to court, which can result in a fine of up to £2,500 if convicted.

Through the Environment Act, the Government will be able to ensure that enforcement powers are used with a high degree of professionalism, whether by council staff or private contractors, and place our improved enforcement guidance on a firm statutory footing.

This forms part of wider government action to tackle litter and protect our environment.  We plan to launch a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, extended producer responsibility for packaging and consistent recycling collections which will transform the way we deal with our rubbish.

Thank you to New Zealand for your generous hospitality.

I am genuinely delighted to be able to attend today’s event which starts the official handover of the International Working Group on Women and Sport from New Zealand to the UK.

It is great that the event could be happening at the very same time as Birmingham 2022, which – and this is worth repeating – has the largest female sport programme in the history of the Commonwealth Games and will be the first time a major multi-sport event will feature more women’s than men’s medal events and I think that is fantastic.

I am absolutely committed to supporting women’s sport at every opportunity – pushing for greater participation, employment, commercial opportunities and visibility in the media. The fantastic success of the Lionesses this weekend shows just how far we have come.

The UK has a strong track record and strong history of empowering women and girls through sport. There is a long way to go but we have much to be proud of in this area.

The media profile of women’s sport is continuing to rise and recent research shows that two-thirds of UK sport fans currently follow some form of women’s sport, and half have attended an event featuring women’s athletes.

Our domestic initiatives, like This Girl Can, are inspiring millions of women and girls to get physically active. Something that is particularly important as we recover from the pandemic.

We have also seen the growth in audiences for women’s sport.

Recent research published by Women’s Sport Trust shows that domestic women’s sport attracted a record British broadcast audience of nearly 33 million in 2021, the main drivers being The Hundred and the FA Women’s Super League.

And the leadership role of certain media outlets is very important, including the BBC, which made the strategic decision to make sure that many of those matches were on BBC One, peak time. It worked. It showed that there is a mass audience for women’s sport. And that is pivotal. If the eyeballs are there, then the money and commercial opportunities start flowing. Instead of just doing that because it is the right thing to do, we will have increasing competition to hold these events and make sure these events are on TV because they are commercially viable and commercially lucrative.

And a record crowd of more than 87,000 attended this year’s UEFA Women’s Euros final – the highest attended match at either a men’s or women’s European Championship.  I was lucky enough to attend some of the matches including the final and I can honestly say that there was a superb atmosphere. The spectators were evenly balanced and importantly, more than 100,000 children were spectators in those matches. I know the whole nation will have been inspired by the Lionesses.

There have also been record sponsorship deals struck with women’s sports leagues, such as Barclays’ sponsorship of the Women’s Super League, the premier women’s football league in England.

And the UK is due to host a number of high profile women’s sports events this year, including the Rugby League World Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. Plus Birmingham 2022 of course which is going on at this moment in time.

We are working tirelessly to make the most of these events in showcasing women’s sport, and encouraging more women and girls to get active as a result. But we recognise that we need to go further.

The IWG is a great opportunity to build on this success and not only share the fantastic work we are doing but to learn from other countries too.

The UK Secretariat’s vision for a ‘just and sustainable post-pandemic world where women and girls play a full and equitable role’ is something that I feel passionately about.

It is vital that we continue to strive for greater equality and opportunity in sport.

We have been working with our women’s sport working group in the UK, which many of you have attended, to look at some of the challenges and opportunities that exist and I am really keen that we continue to make progress as a result of these discussions.

I would also like to commend the work of the current hosts New Zealand in sharing, promoting and supporting stories of inspiring change from around the world.

Their development of the world’s first IWG Insight Hub as a home for the world’s best research, insight, case studies, news and interactive programmes such as training and seminars has also been ground breaking.

I believe the IWG can be a catalyst for women’s sport as we recover from the impact of the pandemic.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the role you have all played in securing the IWG secretariat for the UK.

It’s absolutely essential that we work collectively to share the messages behind the bid of inclusivity, equity and collaboration.

I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that women’s sport continues to thrive not just in the UK but on the international stage.