Housing Minister Kit Malthouse MP will today announce that the government’s housing accelerator, Homes England, and Barclays have agreed £155.3 million of loan funding to accelerate the construction of hundreds of new homes in Wimbledon and Southampton.

The news will be announced today during the Housing Minister’s keynote speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s 2019 conference in Manchester.

The deals are the first to be agreed from the £1bn Housing Delivery Fund, which was announced by the Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP and former Barclays Chairman John McFarlane, in September last year.

In Wimbledon, a total of £150 million will be loaned to Merton Catalyst LLP, a joint venture between housing association Catalyst and developer Galliard. The funding will be used to help bring forward 604 apartments on the hybrid residential-led scheme at the former Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium site in Plough Lane. This sophisticated, mixed-use development will also include commercial space, improved public realm and a new sports stadium delivered by AFC Wimbledon.

In Southampton, Cannon Capital Developments will receive a £5.3 million loan to convert a former commercial building into 56 apartments for private sale in the city’s Ogle Road.

The Housing Delivery Fund was set up between the government and Barclays Corporate Banking to provide £1 billion of loan finance to open up the housing market and help small and medium-sized developers to deliver new homes across the country.

Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said:

“Upping our game to build more, better and faster is how we are going to meet our ambition of delivering 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the next decade.

“Innovations are key to unlocking the next generation of homes and our Housing Delivery Fund – a £1 billion partnership between Government and Barclays – is a great example of the new approaches we’re taking to get more homes out the starting blocks.

“Today I am announcing the first two deals from this partnership, worth £155 million, that will see sites developed into communities that people will be proud to call home.”

Sir Edward Lister, Chairman of Homes England, said:

“We promised to form new, innovative partnerships to shake up the housing market and do things differently to accelerate the delivery of new homes across the country, and this partnership with Barclays is doing just that.

“This is a real milestone moment as we announce the first loan deals to come to fruition, which will see new housing be delivered in two areas where it is needed most.”

Dennis Watson, Head of Real Estate at Barclays Corporate Banking, said:

“We recognised the need to get financing to smaller and medium-sized developers to help increase the number of quality homes being constructed. That’s why we set up the Housing Delivery Fund with Homes England – to ensure projects like this could become a reality. Hundreds of homes, including affordable housing, are now on their way but we know there is still more to do.

“Whether it’s a smaller conversion in Southampton or a larger regeneration scheme in Wimbledon, Barclays stands ready to help our housebuilders deliver more new homes more quickly.”

ENDS

For more information contact Sarah Tucker, PR and Media Officer at Homes England on 0207 393 2261 or email sarah.tucker@homesengland.gov.uk

A new law will require food businesses to include full ingredients labelling on pre-packaged foods, Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced today in a drive to protect the country’s two million food allergy sufferers.

Following the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, the teenager who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette, the Environment Secretary confirmed legislation will be brought forward by the end of summer to strengthen allergen labelling rules.

Under current laws, food prepared on the premises in which it is sold is not required to display allergen information in writing, meaning allergy sufferers sometimes lack confidence buying food out.

The new legislation, known as ‘Natasha’s Law’, will tighten the rules by requiring foods that are pre-packed directly for sale to carry a full list of ingredients – giving allergy sufferers greater trust in the food they buy.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse have been an inspiration in their drive to protect food allergy sufferers and deliver Natasha’s Law.

These changes will make food labels clear and consistent and give the country’s two million food allergy sufferers confidence in making safe food choices.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’s parents Tanya and Nadim said:

We are absolutely delighted that the Secretary of State has announced the government’s decision to go ahead with full allergen and ingredient labelling. While Natasha’s Law comes too late to save our beloved daughter, we believe that helping save other allergy sufferers and their families from the enduring agony that we will always bear is a fitting legacy for her life.

We would personally like to thank Michael Gove and Health Secretary Matt Hancock for their unflinching support in doing the right thing on behalf of all people with allergies, and their support in setting up the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation which we are launching today in Natasha’s memory.

The government will introduce legislation by the end of summer mandating full ingredients labelling for foods prepacked for direct sale, and the new laws will come into force by summer 2021 – giving businesses time to adapt to the change.

The introduction of ‘Natasha’s Law’ follows a consultation in January proposing four options, including full ingredient list labelling; allergen-only labelling; ‘ask the staff’ labels on products; and promoting best practice to businesses.

The consultation received overwhelming support from consumers for full ingredients labelling, with more than 70 per cent of individuals backing this option. The Food Standards Agency’s recent advice also recommended government should implement full ingredients labelling.

Chair of the Food Standards Agency Heather Hancock said:

We want the UK to become the best place in the world for people living with food hypersensitivities.

The impact of food allergy and intolerance on quality of life can be as great or even greater than almost all other foodborne diseases.

Whilst it’s impossible to eliminate the risks entirely, we believe this change will mean better protection for allergic consumers.

The reforms cover labelling requirements for foods that are prepared and packed on the same premises from which they are sold – such as a packaged sandwich or salad made by staff earlier in the day and placed on a shelf for purchase.

Currently, these foods are not required to carry labels, and if asked by a consumer allergen information must be given in person by the food business.

Allergy UK CEO Carla Jones said:

We are delighted with the news that Defra’s labelling review backs mandatory full ingredient labelling for pre-packed direct sale food.

This move towards full ingredient labelling for pre-packed direct sale food will improve the lives of the allergic customer and it is warmly welcomed here at Allergy UK.

Food businesses across the country have already taken steps to improve food labelling and outlets are being urged to do all they can ahead of the implementation date to help consumers make safe food choices.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will continue to provide food businesses with guidance on allergens, and through its ‘Easy to Ask’ campaign it works to empower young people to ask food businesses about allergens when eating out so they can make safe food choices.

Britain’s most influential people are over 5 times more likely to have been to a fee-paying school than the general population. Just 7% of British people are privately educated, compared to two-fifths (39%) of those in top positions.

The findings are presented in Elitist Britain 2019, a new report by the Sutton Trust and the Social Mobility Commission. The report maps the educational backgrounds of leading figures across 9 broad areas:

• politics
• business
• the media
• Whitehall
• public bodies
• public servants
• local government
• the creative industries
• women and sport

Today’s report suggests that there has been some increase in the diversity of educational backgrounds at the top since Elitist Britain 2014 was published, but change is happening slowly. For the first time the research looks at the backgrounds of tech CEOs, entrepreneurs and women’s sport. Even among newer categories, such as leading tech CEOs, there is a disproportionate number of privately educated people at 26%.

The research finds that power rests with a narrow section of the population – the 7% who attend private schools and 1% who graduate from Oxford and Cambridge. The report reveals a ‘pipeline’ from fee-paying schools through to Oxbridge and into top jobs. 52% of leading figures in some professions, for example, senior judges, came through this pathway, with an average of 17% across all top jobs. 39% of cabinet ministers, at the time of the analysis in Spring 2019, were independently educated. This is in contrast with the shadow cabinet, of which just 9% attended a private school.

Interestingly, the education make-up of the shadow cabinet has changed markedly since 2014 when 22% of the then Labour leader Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet were privately educated. Overall 29% of current Members of Parliament come from a private school background, 4 times higher than the electorate they represent.

There is a majority of private schools alumni across various public bodies:

• Senior judges – 65%
• Civil Service permanent secretaries – 59%
• The House of Lords – 57%
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomats – 52%

The media also has some of the highest numbers of privately educated people. Of the 100 most influential news editors and broadcasters, 43% went to fee-paying schools. Similarly, 44% of newspaper columnists were privately educated, with a third – 33% – attending both an independent school and Oxbridge.

The report found big differences in the educational backgrounds of men and women at the top of sporting life. For example, 5% of male international football players attended independent schools. This is in stark contrast to 37% of international rugby players and 43% of England’s cricket team.

Women’s teams showed similar patterns to their male counterparts in terms of school background but about 80% female international players across football, cricket and rugby attended university compared to a very small number of men.

Women are under-represented at the top of all top professions but their journey to the top does not always look the same as their male peers. While women in top roles are still much more likely to have attended a private school than the population at large, they are less likely than their male counterparts to have attended Oxbridge.

Amongst the wealthiest members of the TV, film and music industries, a substantial number – 38% – attended independent schools with our best selling popstars at 30% and top actors at 44%.

Across the 37 categories of the 9 broad areas surveyed in the report, it was only amongst men and women footballers that the privately educated were under-represented.

The reasons why some groups continue to be over-represented in certain professions are complex and include access to education opportunities, financial barriers and the accumulation of social and cultural capital. But there are benefits to opening up the UK’s top professions to a more diverse talent pool. Many firms and industries have recognised this and there has been a welcome focus on diversity and professional access in recent years.

The Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Commission would like social diversity adopted as a key mission to ensure that the talents of people from all backgrounds are utilised. The report includes several recommendations to improve social diversity through the education system and employment practices including:

• tackling financial barriers to specific industries and professions, especially by paying internships lasting a significant length of time
• adopting contextual recruitment and admissions practices to enter top universities and industries
• tackling social segregation in schools through fairer admissions practices in comprehensive and grammar schools and opening up private schools.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and executive chairman of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation said:

Britain is an increasingly divided society. Divided by politics, by class, by geography. Social mobility, the potential for those to achieve success regardless of their background, remains low. As our report shows, the most influential people across sport, politics, the media, film and TV, are five times as likely to have attended a fee-paying school.

As well as academic achievement an independent education tends to develop essential skills such as confidence, articulacy and team work which are vital to career success. The key to improving social mobility at the top is to tackle financial barriers, adopt contextual recruitment and admissions practices and tackle social segregation in schools. In addition, we should open up independent day schools to all pupils based on merit not money as demonstrated by our success Open Access Scheme.

Dame Martina Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said:

Politicians, employers and educators all need to work together to ensure that Britain’s elite becomes more diverse in gender, ethnicity and social background. It is time to close the power gap and ensure that those at the top can relate to and represent ordinary people.

The Sutton Trust is committed to improving social mobility from birth to the workplace. Founded by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997, the Trust has supported over 30,000 young people through evidence-led programmes and published over 200 pieces of agenda-setting research, many of which have influenced government policy.

The Social Mobility Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England.

Methodology

• Past school and university attendance data were collected for approximately 5,000 individuals occupying high ranking positions in 37 different categories of professions. Publicly available sources were used including ‘Who’s Who’, media interviews, local newspaper reports and LinkedIn profiles. In some cases individuals provided their information confidentially and as a consequence, it is not possible to provide further disaggregated data from the report.
• School category was defined as where the individual spent most of their secondary school years, and university as where individuals completed their first undergraduate degree.
• Further details on how the lists were created can be found in the ‘Methodology’ section of the report.

Contact

Hilary Cornwell or Ruby Nightingale at the Sutton Trust on 020 7802 1660 or 07917 462 164.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom are gravely concerned by the increased tensions in the Gulf that were further heightened after the downing of a US drone by Iran on 20 June. These developments risk miscalculation and conflict. We call for de-escalation and dialogue, with full respect for international rules.

We reiterate our strong condemnation of attacks on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the acts of sabotage on four vessels off-Fujairah, and any threat to the safety of maritime traffic and peace and security in the region. The attacks on tankers contravene international rules on freedom of navigation and maritime transport. They carry environmental risk. And they have the potential to further destabilise an already volatile region.

With a view to the upcoming Council Session on SCR 2231 this week, France, Germany and the United Kingdom stress their commitment to the full implementation of SCR 2231 and the preservation of the JCPoA, which we believe contributes to reducing tensions in the region as well as global nuclear non-proliferation.

We are committed to working hard for the full implementation of SCR 2231 and urge all sides to do the same. It is in everyone’s interest to show restraint and avoid any actions that would undermine this vital pillar of the non-proliferation regime and of our collective security.

A new UK-USA free trade agreement should be ambitious in emerging sectors such as fintech and data-driven technology.

In a speech at the Centre for Policy Studies, International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox will set out how the UK and USA can both benefit from striking a bold and ambitious free trade agreement after Brexit.

Underlining the importance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to global trade, Dr Fox will also call on the US to help the UK and other countries to overhaul the global trade rules so that it is ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

In the speech, he will restate the government’s position that the NHS will never be for sale to the private sector and a US, or any other trade deal, will not alter this.

The government has also been clear that it will not lower its high food safety, animal welfare or animal protection standards as part of any new trade agreement.

On his priorities for a US-UK FTA, Dr Liam Fox will say:

As two of the most innovative economies in the world, we should work together to shape the sectors of the future, from trade in services to fintech and data-driven technology.

Not only will this be a boon for businesses and communities across our countries, but it could also be a trailblazer, setting the global benchmark for how two leading economies can trade with each other.

So I’m pleased that President Trump took the opportunity to underline his commitment to achieving this goal this during his visit.

He will also outline the urgent need to resolve the stalemate in the appointment of members to the WTO’s Appellate Body, which rules on disputes between WTO members.

Urgent reform is also needed to ensure the WTO is fit to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Reform would include updating outdated WTO rules on digital and services trade.

Calling for the UK and US to work together on reforming the global trading system, he will say:

The United Kingdom and the United States are in a great position to drive the overhaul that the international rules-based trading system badly needs. This means reforming WTO rules to prevent countries engaging in unfair trade practices such as illegal subsidies or dumping.

It means tackling issues like industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises. It means strengthening the dispute settlement system.

And it means removing barriers to trade by agreeing new rules for e-commerce, and tackling obstacles to digital trade such as unjustified data localisation.

Our two great nations have done so much down the generations to open up our markets, and those of us who genuinely believe in free trade have a duty to uphold these values.