We deeply regret the continued launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea, most recently on 16 August, which violate multiple UN Security Council Resolutions.

We encourage North Korea to engage in meaningful discussions with the United States, as agreed when President Trump and Kim Jong-Un met on 30 June.

North Korea must take concrete steps towards complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes. Until it takes these steps, sanctions will remain in place, and all states must implement and enforce them in full.

Officers from the Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Team, along with Warwickshire police officers, seized 5 vehicles from a farm field near Stratford-upon-Avon on Wednesday 14 August.

The vehicles seized were three 360 degree diggers, a large bulldozer type digger and an HGV tipper truck. It is believed the vehicles were being used to dump and spread large volumes of contaminated soil at a non-permitted site.

Area Environment Manager for Warwickshire with the Environment Agency, David Hudson, said:

This sends out a strong message that we will use all our powers possible to stop waste crime which harms the environment, wildlife and the community, as well as undermining the work of companies that operate legitimately. We are now continuing our investigations into alleged activities at the farm.

Landowners should take extra care when agreeing to the spreading of materials on their land. There are tight controls on what is allowed and illegal dumping of contaminated materials on farmland can create a significant liability for removal as well as seriously degrading the quality of the soil. In some cases the cost of removing waste can be higher than the original land value.

The owners of the vehicles now have until 6 September 2019 to claim to have the vehicles returned to them by the Environment Agency. If no legitimate claim is made, the vehicles will be sold or crushed.

Members of the public can report illegal waste activity anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the online form.

• ‘Ferdinand Lured by Ariel’ is a key early work in the Pre-Raphaelite style
• Arts Minister Rebecca Pow has stepped in to try and save the work for the nation

Arts Minister Rebecca Pow has placed a temporary export bar on Millais’ ‘Ferdinand Lured by Ariel’ to provide an opportunity to keep the painting in the country.

Valued at £9,500,000 the painting was completed by John Everett Millais, the father of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The work is at risk of export unless a UK buyer can be found to keep it in the UK where it would be put on public display.

‘Ferdinand Lured by Ariel’ is a key early work in the history of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, radical in its use of colour and its approach to detail, and was the artist’s first work completed outdoors. The painting shows the character of Ferdinand from William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. Having been shipwrecked on Prospero’s enchanted island, Ferdinand is lured by Ariel, the magician’s servant, towards his master by whispering that the prince’s father has been drowned.

Arts Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Millais is one of the most famous and recognisable members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with his work still aweing audiences hundreds of years later.

This artistic movement is a key part of British history and this is why we must keep this important work in the country.

John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896) was an English painter and one of the founders of the influential Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. A child prodigy, Millais entered the Royal Academy at the age of 11, their youngest ever student, and went on to become one of the foremost artists of his day.

Founded in 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was made up of English painters, poets and art critics. Its aims were to eschew convention, express genuine ideas, study nature attentively, and produce excellent works of art. The group remained close for less than five years and the painting at risk of export is one of only four Millais works completed during the short lifetime of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to remain in private hands.

Millais went on to have a successful career and became one of the most celebrated and wealthiest artists of his day. He died in 1896, shortly after he was elected President of the Royal Society.

Committee Member Peter Barber said:

This beautiful painting is a summation of everything English. A novel interpretation of an episode from Shakespeare, it is set in a minutely observed English garden in the summer. The more one looks, the more one sees.

You can almost hear the singing of the birds, the fluttering of the butterflies, the rustling of the insects and smell the scent of the flowers. Such close observation was unique to the Pre-Raphaelites, one of the very few distinctively British art movements. An epitome of its type and of Englishness, I hope a British institution will find the means to keep it in this country.

The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA). The committee noted Millais’ extraordinary skill in capturing a moment in the text of the play and that the novelty of the artist’s depiction of the subject was a rich vein for future research.

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the painting’s outstanding importance for the study of the history of collecting, the pre-eminent place of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the development and influence of 19th century British art and the brilliance of its composition and execution.

The decision on the export licence applications for the painting will be deferred until 15 November 2019. This may be extended until 15 May 2020 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of £9,500,000.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the painting should contact the RCEWA on 0845 300 6200.

Details of the painting are as follows:

Sir John Everett Millais, Bart, P.R.A.Ferdinand Lured by Ariel 1849-1850 Oil on panel, 64.8 x 50.8 cm (arched top) Signed and dated in monogram, lower left, JEMillais / 1849

Provenance: Bought from the artist by Richard Ellison in 1850 (£150) and with him until at least 1854; James Wyatt, Jr. Oxford; Thomas Woolner, by whom sold, Christie’s, 12 June 1875, no.72, where bought by J.H. Allen (£315); Purchased by H.F. Makins in 1897 (Makins Collection) and thence by descent to the present owner.

The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by The Arts Council, which advises the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.

The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections: www.artscouncil.org.uk.

From the 1 April 2019 all national applications will be processed on one of six timetables that vary in length depending on the complexity and nature of the application under assessment.

This applies to national Marketing Authorisations (MAs), Animal Test Certificates (ATCs) and Veterinary Homeopathic Registrations (VHR) and variations to or renewals of these. It also covers specific batch control applications for pharmaceutical products.

It does not apply to Autogenous Vaccine Applications or batch release requests; both of which will be processed using current timelines and procedures.

What are the benefits

Having fewer and easier to follow timetables will make national procedures more efficient and transparent, and our published standards will better reflect the work that we do.

The new timetables have more structured clock stops which allow a certain number of rounds of questions and set timescales for assessing responses. This means you should have a better idea of when your application should be completed by.

All timetables will be accumulative in terms of clock days which will ensure consistency across all application types.

Applications that are received after 1 April will run on one of the new timetables.

Applications that have already been received and are either in the validation or initial assessment periods will transfer onto a new timetable.

All other applications will remain on their existing timetables.

Full details of the clock periods and timescales for each timetable are available on the Timetables for national applications page.

Complex

Used for complex new MA applications and will be completed within 210 days of receipt of a valid application. It will be determined at the validation stage based on set criterion, such as whether there are novel therapies or new active substances, whether an application is complex or major. It is likely that most biological and immunological applications will be processed on a complex timetable.

Major

Used for new MA applications including variation-extensions but excluding MAPIs and Copycats, and will be completed within 180 days of receipt of a valid application.

Standard

Used for MAPIs and Copycats, New VHRs, and Type II variations and will be completed within 120 days of receipt of a valid application.

Shortened

Used for Type IB variations, MA and VHR renewals, new ATCs (Type B) and conditional data. These will be completed within 60 days of receipt of a valid application.

Minor

Used for New ATC (Type A and S), ATC variations and renewals, Type IA variations, and administrative Type IB variations. These will be complete within 30 days of receipt of a valid application.

Batch

Used for Specific Batch Control applications and will be completed within 20 days of receipt of an application.

Additional application process improvements

Multiple products

MA Renewals

You may now include more than one product in a renewal application as long as all products form part of a product range. A product range includes all strengths and pharmaceutical forms of a product, for example:

• VMD 5 mg tablets for cats and ferrets
• VMD 10 mg tablets for small dogs
• VMD 20 mg tablets for medium dogs
• VMD 30 mg tablets for large dogs

A fee will still be charged per product, not per application.

New MAs

If you submit a number of new MA applications for a product range, these will be grouped together for assessment purposes and one application number assigned. A fee will still be charged per product, not per application.

MA Variations

No change to current position; you can continue to submit grouped or workshare applications for multiple products.

Validation

All MA and VHR applications will be validated within 10 days of receipt. For ATC applications, the validation period remains as 5 days.

Specific batch control applications and Type IB administrative variations will no longer be validated and will go straight into an assessment period upon receipt. Like Type IA variations, these applications will be charged for regardless of the outcome of whether the application is approved or refused.

Clock stops

The clock may be stopped for a number of reasons:

• when we require further information / clarification from you to progress an application
• to ensure an application for a new authorisation can be considered at an appropriate peer review meeting
• during the sign-off period, and in exceptional circumstances, to resolve minor outstanding issues, which is of benefit to you especially when the alternative is to refuse the application
• to get expert advice from a third party, such as Veterinary Products Committee or other Government Department
• to allow communication with Ireland during procedures on joint-labelled products

Questions

You will no longer receive individual question letters from different disciplines during the latter phase of a new MA application.

All questions raised during any part of a procedure will be sent as part of a consolidated list of questions.

Company response

This remains the same, but has been included here to remind you about the importance of submitting full company responses.

The clock will only restart on receipt of a full company response, which is one that addresses all the questions raised.

If, during the assessment of the company response, it is realised that not all questions have been answered therefore making it a partial response, the clock will be stopped and rewound and you will be asked to submit responses to the outstanding questions.

Mock-Ups

We will be improving this process by applying the ‘2-strike’ system in a more consistent manner. The 2-strike system means that if mock-ups are incorrect upon second submission, the application will be signed-off on condition that mock-ups are submitted for assessment under cover of a separate variation prior to any marketing of the product.

For products that aren’t joint-labelled, there will be one mock-up period and the clock can be stopped only once during this period to allow revised mock-ups to be submitted, if needed. Upon receipt of the revised mock-ups, the clock will restart where it left off; it will not revert to 0.

For joint-labelled products, there may be two mock-up periods. The first is for both countries to assess mock-ups and agree a way forward. If revised mock-ups are needed, these will be requested at the end of the first mock-up period. Once received, the second mock-up period will start.

Issue period

ATCs will continue to be issued within 5 days from the end of the assessment period.

Specific batch control applications will now be issued within 5 days rather than 3 days; however, as they are no longer being validated, the overall timescale is still shorter.

All other applications will be issued within 10 days except where an application includes multiple products. In this case, the issue period may be extended to 20 days.

Refusal

For new MA applications, excluding MAPIs and copycats, you will continue to be notified of our intent to refuse an application and offered a right of appeal before any action is taken.

For further information, please email n.shilling@vmd.defra.gsi.gov.uk

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