Thank you Mr President,

Let me begin by expressing my condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Afghanistan.

And let me thank the High Commissioner, Special Rapporteur and Ms Fawzia Koofi for their powerful interventions this morning.

It is almost one year since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Tragically, our worst fears have come true when it comes to girls’ education.

Many secondary schools continue to be closed to girls, despite Taliban commitments that secondary education would be open to all by 23 March. Afghanistan is the only country where girls cannot attend secondary school. As the father of three girls myself, I find that heartbreaking.

An entire generation of girls are missing out on equal access to opportunities, their hopes and dreams shattered, the gains of the last decades squandered.

But education isn’t the only way women’s and girls’ rights have been cruelly curtailed. Women and girls face increasing restrictions on their ability to work and to travel. Women cannot leave their homes without a mahram. Some remain trapped in their homes, facing domestic violence with no way out.

This suffering is, of course, not limited to women and girls. In August, the Taliban announced an amnesty for all Afghans yet we continue to receive credible reports of former security force members, being tortured orkilled. Many Afghans, including religious and ethnic minorities, LGBT+ persons, and civil society activists, continue to face discrimination, harassment, and death threats.

The UK remains committed to supporting the Afghan people. We delivered £286m of aid to Afghanistan in the last financial year and we will do the same this year. We are allocating at least 50% of that aid to women and girls and recognise the urgent need for funding to women’s organisations, to ensure vital services are delivered to women across Afghanistan.

Mr President,

We call on the Taliban to uphold women’s and girls’ rights. And we stand with the women and girls of Afghanistan and commend their extraordinary bravery.

Thank you.

Following the success of last year’s Forward Thinking conference, the Insolvency Service is planning the next conference on Friday 18 November 2022.

The theme for the conference is ‘Forward Thinking: Insolvency Response in uncertain times’. We want to provide a platform for insolvency academic research and technical discussions while facilitating a stronger link between academia, the insolvency sector and policy makers, and encourage feedback from interested parties.

Call for papers

We’re now inviting scholars, researchers, postgraduate students, insolvency practitioners and anyone else with an interest in insolvency law and related areas to submit their abstracts for an academic or technical paper for presenting at the conference, including:

• an academic research paper, or
• a technical issue relating to insolvency practice

The Insolvency Service welcomes submissions in all areas of personal or corporate insolvency, whether UK or international in focus, and papers should be focused on the central theme of this year’s conference, an insolvency response in uncertain times and economic shocks.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is Wednesday 14 September. At this stage, we would like you to submit an abstract of the paper with a maximum of 500 words only.

For selected papers, the final draft will need to be submitted by Friday 14 October ready to be presented at the conference venue in person.

Research submissions will be considered by a panel of insolvency law academics and representatives from the Insolvency Service. Technical submissions will be considered by a panel of Insolvency Service representatives.

Conference format

We expect the conference to feature about 8 papers. Speakers will have approximately 20 minutes to present their paper, with additional time for questions from those at the event and online delegates.

Papers selected for presentation at the conference will be published online, hosted by the Insolvency Service.

Submission of Abstracts

If you wish to submit an abstract, maximum 500 words, please send it to: conference@insolvency.gov.uk.

Your covering email should include:

• whether you are submitting a research paper or a technical issue
• your name
• firm/affiliation/role (where applicable)
• email
• telephone number

These details will be removed when the abstract is forwarded to the panel for consideration. Please ensure the abstract does not contain information or acknowledgments that could reveal your identity, firm or affiliation.

Further information

The venue will be confirmed shortly and if you have any queries, please contact conference@insolvency.gov.uk.

New laws will ensure the 13.7 million disabled people in England, Scotland and Wales receive the assistance they need and will not be charged over the odds when using taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs).

The new Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022, which came into force on 28 June, is the most significant change to taxi accessibility legislation since the Equality Act was introduced 12 years ago.

The 2022 Act amends the Equality Act 2010 to place duties on taxi drivers and PHV drivers and operators, so any disabled person has specific rights and protections to be transported and receive assistance when using a taxi or PHV without being charged extra.

As part of the amendments, taxi and PHV drivers could face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to provide reasonable mobility assistance to disabled passengers taking a pre-booked vehicle.

This will also ensure that visually impaired passengers will be assisted by drivers to help them identify or find the vehicle. There will also be a duty for local authorities to publicly identify wheelchair-accessible vehicles in their fleets.

The measures will apply to drivers in England, Scotland and Wales and will help to provide consistency of experience for affected passengers.

Wendy Morton, Accessibility Minister, said:

It is fantastic that the updated legislation and guidance will help ensure that all disabled people receive assistance when using taxis and PHVs.

Disabled people account for around a fifth of the population and our Inclusive Transport Strategy is making travel more accessible for all.

The Act was a Private Members’ Bill introduced by Jeremy Wright QC MP. Another change will mean that even drivers granted exemption from assistance duties on account of medical needs must still accept the carriage of disabled passengers and will not be able to charge them more than others.

Disability affects 13.7 million people in Great Britain. It includes physical and sensory conditions, as well as impairments that are ‘non-visible’.

The amendments to the Equality Act 2010 have been developed by the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of work in support of its 2018 Inclusive Transport Strategy and cross-government commitments on improving access to taxi and PHV services and will benefit a wide range of disabled passengers, as well as their friends and family.

In March 2022, DfT announced a £2.5 million package to help disabled people travel more confidently. This included funding towards mobility centres across England and to enhance access to lifeline ferry services.

The updated legislation will build on the commitment we made and will make travel more accessible for all.