The Home Office has been working with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Association and teachers to create new and improved school curriculum materials on knife crime ahead of the summer holidays.

Today (5 June 2019) 20,000 PSHE teachers were sent new lesson plans that will further equip them to challenge myths and communicate to their pupils the realities of carrying a knife.

Aimed at children aged between 11 and 16 years old, the hour-long lessons have been created in partnership with the PSHE Association and developed based on feedback from teachers.

Lesson plans feature real-life case studies of young people from the latest #knifefree campaign along with new content on the importance of having good role models.

Victoria Atkins, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability said:

Early intervention is a key part of our Serious Violence Strategy and it’s vital that we give young people the tools and resilience to keep themselves safe over the summer holidays.

I’m pleased that our current lessons on knife crime have proved successful and that we are able to strengthen them even further, and I’d like to thank every teacher who has taken the time to deliver them.

The lessons explore how role models can influence young people’s attitudes, decisions and behaviour in positive ways and signpost young people towards support services and the #knifefree website. They also include the true story of Dean, a teenager who was arrested for carrying a knife but managed to turn his life around through meeting James, a worker at a local support centre.

The new lesson plans are a welcome addition to the current PSHE syllabus after a series of lessons on knife possession were introduced last year.

Jonathan Baggaley, PSHE Association Chief Executive said:

We are pleased to build on the popular #knifefree PSHE teaching resources we produced with the Home Office last year.

These new materials are designed to challenge inaccurate perceptions about knife crime, help young people develop the confidence to resist pressure to carry knives, and to recognise positive role models. We encourage all schools to download and deliver these free materials.

Current lessons on knife crime that were developed by the Home Office and the PSHE Association have been downloaded over 14,000 times since they were introduced in July last year.

This action follows a recent relaunch of the #knifefree campaign, which aims to discourage teenagers from carrying knives through sharing real-life stories.

In addition to the government’s ongoing engagement with schools and youth organisations, the Home Office has appointed the charitable foundation Impetus to manage its £200 million Youth Endowment Fund to help prevent young people being drawn into a life of crime and violence.

The Home Office also has a £22 million Early Intervention Youth Fund which is already supporting 29 projects in England and Wales.

We have updated the electronic handbooks for civil finance and escape cases.

What has changed in the handbooks?

Subject Access Requests (copies of records):

We have clarified the position in relation to the funding of police disclosure.

How to use the handbooks

The electronic handbooks for both civil finance and escape cases contain our operational requirements and guidance.

They should be used together with the cost assessment guidance and also the relevant contracts.

Further information

Revised handbooks:

Submit and escape fee case claim

Funding and cost assessment for civil and crime matters

All DCO claims for dismissed defendants in the magistrates’ court over £2000 and all DCO claims for dismissed defendants in the crown court must be made on digital claim form DCO2 from 1 June 2019. The digital form has been used successfully since 6 April 2018 and it will be mandatory for all claims to be made this way from 1st June 2019.

Benefits

The DCO2 form:

• streamlines the billing process
• allows assessments to be completed with greater accuracy and efficiency

What you need to send

The electronic bundle must be sent for assessment in a single email containing three separate file attachments as follows:

Attachment 1 – DCO2 digital claim form

Attachment 2 – Copy of the DCO order

Attachment 3 – Copies of the following documents:

a. any correspondence with the defendant

b. attendance notes

c. invoices/receipts

d. expert reports

e. case summary/details of proceedings

f. advocate’s work log and fee note

Where to find the form

The DCO2 forms and accompanying guidance are listed under ‘How to claim back costs’ on this GOV.UK page:

Claims paid out of central funds

Submitting the form

You should send your claim form and electronic bundle to this email address: dco@justice.gov.uk

The Legal Aid Agency have published updated CCMS Advanced Guide to help avoid civil claims being returned to organisations to provide further information.

Common reasons for applications being returned to organisations include:

• 38% of civil claim rejects are for claims submitted without a disbursement voucher

• 11% of all civil claims are returned for further information on expert’s fees. Ensuring the information on expert’s fee is correct makes it more likely you will be paid first time

• Over half returned claims are where no travel details have been provided. Details where the expert has travelled from and to are required to validate the claim.

• Experts must provide a breakdown of the work done and the hourly rate claimed. LAA requires this to ensure work is not claimed above the codified rates. Where an expert is paid an hourly rate, submitting a claim for a lump sum cannot be accepted.

• Where only submitting the minimum evidence, this should be justified with a note. This could be, for example, full evidence not available due to the case being historic.

Chapter 10 of the Civil Finance Electronic Handbook sets out the requirements for expert’s invoices. Ensuring this evidence is sent first time will increase the chances of your claim being paid on first pass.

If any of this information is required, but not present, it will be requested through a ‘document request’. Asking for this information is a cause of delay in paying claims first time.

Further information

CCMS training Quick Guides – for guidance on submitting bills in CCMS and uploading documents: scroll to the bottom of the page for Advanced Guides

Legal aid guidance to download.

The International Trade Secretary unveiled government support for the export of climate resilience infrastructure in a centenary speech at a UK Trade and Export Finance Forum.

The speech, covering UK Export Finance (UKEF) and the broader international trade landscape was delivered at the second UK Trade and Export Finance Forum, hosted by UKEF to mark the organisation’s 100th anniversary and celebrate its role in supporting UK exports over the last century.

UKEF and the Environment Agency will work together to help UK suppliers with expertise in climate change adaptation deliver infrastructure projects and services across the globe.

The International Trade Secretary also announced an agreement between UKEF and AECOM Limited (AECOM), to promote the UK’s expertise in climate resilience. The new partnership will see AECOM commit to boosting procurement from the UK for its overseas projects and deepening its UK supply chain, while UKEF has affirmed its appetite to support AECOM’s priority projects.

As part of the Department for International Trade’s green initiative, this partnership demonstrates the growing potential opportunity in climate adaptation as well as the expertise of UK suppliers in the sector.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP, said:

British firms are world-leading at supporting climate change adaptation. “By focusing on climate change, UKEF will help communities across the world, as well as ensure businesses across the UK can capitalise on this fast-expanding export industry.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said:

The international climate change resilience market is a rapidly growing one, with significant UK expertise and capability.

Working with UK Export Finance, and others, the Environment Agency can both take advantage of new opportunities to build international partnerships to tackle climate change and help to support and position the UK supply chain at the forefront of this market.

Peter Skinner, Chief Executive – Environment & Ground Engineering, Europe, Middle East and Africa, AECOM, said:

Through our previous research with UKEF we have identified a range of international markets and opportunities for flood and coastal risk management expertise.

The UK possesses vital technical skills that can help international governments mitigate the impacts of climate change on communities, businesses and economies. Signing this new MOU with UKEF provides AECOM with the opportunity to bring its UK capabilities and wider supply chain to a broader market, using our extensive climate adaptation expertise, which includes flood and coastal risk management, to support the projects and countries most in need.

DIT’s Export Hub is stationed outside the forum at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre as part of the Exporting is GREAT campaign. It will showcase the campaign’s export champions from across the UK and trade experts will be on hand to offer advice on exporting.

Unlocking finance for small deals

The Secretary of State also announced major steps to unlock finance for SMEs exporting to emerging markets, including a new small deals Initiative. Through this the department will back the army of exporters undertaking the smaller contracts that underpin British trade. Companies of all sizes will be able to access buyer finance support, with UKEF guaranteeing the loans that their potential customers abroad take out in order to buy British. The department will also simplify the processes involved in obtaining financing, allowing banks and other institutions to work more easily with UKEF to support smaller transactions. This will enable UK companies to get paid up front for their exports, while their buyers can benefit from deferred payment terms. 

He said:

If we want to become an exporting superpower, with greater influence, selling more goods and services abroad and encouraging more British investment overseas, then we will have to invest in the capabilities required. UKEF’s work would be at the very forefront of this investment strategy.

Background

UK Export Finance

1. UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency. It exists to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance from the private market. It provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and ensure they get paid for export contracts.

2. Sectors in which UKEF has supported exports include: aerospace, construction, oil and gas, mining and metals, petrochemicals, telecommunications, and transport.

3. UKEF has a regional network of 24 export finance managers supporting export businesses.

4. Find the latest information on UKEF’s country cover positions

5. UKEF supports exporters with a range of products that include:

• Bond insurance policy
• Bond support scheme
• Buyer & supplier credit financing facility
• Direct lending facility
• Export insurance policy
• Export refinancing facility
• Export working capital scheme
• Letter of credit guarantee scheme

Media enquiries: Claire Lynch, Media Relations Officer

Email
claire.lynch@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Telephone
+44 (0)20 7271 8100

Mobile
+44 (0)7791 795992

Out of hours
+44 (0)207 215 2000