Madam President, thank you for convening this important High-Level meeting.

Last year’s IPCC report set out the facts simply in black and white: whichever way you look at it – from the economic, the environmental, or the moral standpoint- we have reached a critical moment for our collective climate ambition. There is absolutely no time to waste.

For too many people, it is already a matter of life and death. Millions around the world have been left without homes or livelihoods as we’ve seen recently in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi following Cyclone Idai. Thousands in the Caribbean, as I have seen directly myself having visited the region, are still rebuilding their lives more than two years – yes that’s two years – after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit.

We all know that the impacts of climate change. The impacts are such that will cause more hardship, they will cause instability and they will cause conflict in the future. The most vulnerable will be hit first and hardest, but let us be clear, your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, none of us are safe. All of us will be impacted and affected in one way or another.

That is why the UK fully supports the efforts of the President of the General Assembly and Secretary General Guterres to refocus the United Nations on climate change and, importantly, the urgent need for action. We must work together, we must pool our resources and draw on the best of human ingenuity to tackle this incredible challenge. That means arresting climate change where we can; it means adapting to changes that are already taking place.

The Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in September, as we all I’m sure acknowledge, will be a critical moment. If we are to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action must be at the heart of our approach. And we must urgently increase our collective ambition – to reduce emissions, mobilise finance and build resilience.

Let me share with you what the United Kingdom is doing on all three.

Firstly, we have ourselves cut our emissions by 42% since 1990 but importantly, this is whilst growing our GDP by 72%.

Secondly, we are one of the world’s leading providers of climate finance, having committed more than $7.5 billion between 2016 and 2020 in support of both mitigation and adaption. And at the Secretary General’s Climate Summit later this year we will be co-leading the resilience and adaptation strand with Egypt, in direct partnership with Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and Malawi. Investing in resilience not only reduces risks to lives and livelihoods, it also offers a great opportunity – an opportunity to create jobs, spread prosperity, accelerate development and enhance security. At the Summit we will bring government, businesses and civil society together – together to drive a transformational change in the way we think, act and take investment decisions. We want climate risk to be at the heart of all our decision-making. And we want the Climate Action Summit to be – not an end in itself – but a catalyst for a new era of increased ambition.

Finally, Madam President, the United Kingdom has offered to host COP26 in 2020. If our bid is successful, let me assure you, let me assure all of you that we will bring to bear the full weight of our expertise, the full weight our influence and our ambition together. We will bring civil society, the private sector governments and every expert on the planet together to encourage a spirit of shared enterprise; and we will set challenging goals that reflect the different global priorities.

Madam President, the greatest threat we face today is not climate change itself. It is inaction in the face of that threat. The time for delay is in the past. If not now, then when? If not us, then who? It is time for action. So together, let’s take action now on climate change. Together let us build that future which will make our future generations proud of what we do today.

Thank you.

The companies and the Minister signed a joint document, named ‘Vision 2025’, which includes new pledges from both parties to improve the productivity of the UK defence sector and ensure the armed forces obtain the capabilities they need in the future.

After welcoming remarks from the Defence Minister and Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive of BAE Systems, attendees took part in sessions focused on boosting defence exports, encouraging innovation within the defence industry and accelerating the inclusion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the market.

The Defence Minister also unveiled the MOD’s SME Action Plan at the event, setting out the department’s commitment to supporting smaller businesses across the defence supply chain. Developed with input from businesses, industry bodies and Trade Associations, the SME Action Plan includes a range of measures to increase the MOD’s procurement spend with SMEs by removing barriers to entry to the defence market. The Plan sets an ambitious target to spend 25% of the MOD’s total procurement budget with SMEs by 2022.

Speaking at the Defence Suppliers Forum, Defence Minister Stuart Andrew said:

Vision 2025 represents a significant evolution in government-industry collaboration. By committing to work together more closely, we will ensure our armed forces continue to benefit from world-leading capabilities while driving up value-for-money for UK taxpayers.

Small and medium-sized businesses will play a crucial role in delivering our future military capability, so I am delighted to endorse the publication of our SME Action Plan today. Engaging with smaller and innovative suppliers will help create a more resilient supply chain while boosting local economies and creating jobs.

Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, BAE Systems, said:

The UK Defence Sector has a long history of successful collaborative working with customers and partners.

Vision 2025 will help ensure that we remain best placed to design, deliver and maintain the world class defence capabilities that the Armed Forces need and deserve.

The defence industry in the UK supports 260,000 jobs and contributed £9bn in exports in 2017. The MOD invested £18.9bn with UK industry in 2017/18, equating to £290 per resident.

Madam President, thank you for convening this important High-Level meeting.

Last year’s IPCC report set out the facts in black and white: whichever way you look at it – from the economic, the environmental, or the moral standpoint, we have reached a critical moment for our collective climate ambition. There is absolutely no time to waste.

For too many people, it is already a matter of life and death. Millions around the world have been left without homes or livelihoods as we’ve seen recently seen in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi following Cyclone Idai. Thousands in the Caribbean, as I have seen directly myself having visited the region, are still rebuilding their lives more than two years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit.

We know that the impacts of climate change will cause more hardship, instability and conflict in the future. The most vulnerable will be hit first and hardest, but none of us are safe. All of us will be impacted and affected one way or another.

That is why the UK fully supports the efforts of the President of the General Assembly and Secretary General Gutterres to refocus the United Nations on climate change and the urgent need for action.

We must work together, pool our resources and draw on the best of human ingenuity to tackle this challenge. That means arresting climate change where we can; and it means adapting to changes that are already taking place.

The Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in September will be a critical moment. If we are to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action must be at the heart of our approach. And we must urgently increase our collective ambition – to reduce emissions, mobilise finance and build resilience.

The UK is taking action on all three.

Firstly, we have cut our emissions by 42% since 1990, while growing our GDP by 72%.

Secondly, we are one of the world’s leading providers of climate finance, having committed more than $7.5 billion between 2016 and 2020 in support of both mitigation and adaptation.

And thirdly, at the Secretary General’s Climate Summit we will be co-leading the resilience and adaptation strand with Egypt, in partnership with Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and Malawi.

Investing in resilience not only reduces risks to lives and livelihoods, it also offers a great opportunity to create jobs, spread prosperity, accelerate development and enhance security.

At the Summit we will bring government, businesses and civil society together to drive a transformational change in the way we think, act and take investment decisions. We want climate risk to be at the heart of all our decision-making.

And we want the Climate Action Summit to be – not an end in itself – but a catalyst for a new era of increased ambition.

Finally, Madam President, the United Kingdom has offered to host COP26 in 2020. If our bid is successful, we will bring to bear the full weight of our expertise, our influence and our ambition. We will bring civil society, the private sector, governments and experts together to encourage a spirit of shared enterprise; and we will set challenging goals that reflect the different global priorities.

Madam President, the greatest threat we face today is not climate change itself. It is inaction in the face of that threat. The time for delay is in the past. If not now, then when? If not us, then who? It is time for action.

So together, let’s take action now on climate change. Together let us build that future which will make our future generations proud of what we do today.

Thank you.

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Copies of the response to the consultation on the Windrush Compensation Scheme are available from the Vote Office.

The United Kingdom has a proud history of welcoming arrivals from around the world.

We have long held open the door to those who want to come and help build a better country – including, my parents for example or indeed the parents of the shadow Home Secretary.

And we have all benefited as a result, with the UK emerging as a stronger, broader, more vibrant and successful nation.

We would not be the country that we are today without the men and the women who crossed oceans to come here legally, to make their homes, to work hard, to pay taxes, to raise their families.

And we all know it.

Which is why the whole country was shocked by the unacceptable treatment experienced by some members of the Windrush generation.

People who have built their lives in this country, people who have done so much for this country, people who have every right to be in this country they were told that they were not welcome.

It was a terrible mistake and it should never have happened.

And that it did is a matter of profound regret to myself, to my department, to the government.

That’s why, just under a year ago, one of my first acts as Home Secretary was to stand at this dispatch box and to say sorry on behalf of successive governments.

Sorry to the parents and the grandparents who suffered the trauma of being incorrectly ordered to leave the country they love.

Sorry to those who had paid taxes here for decades, only to be denied NHS care to which they were perfectly entitled.

Sorry to hard-working men and women who were unfairly refused the right to work – and even refused the dignity of a roof over their head.

But I know that words alone are not enough which is why, 11 months ago, I didn’t just say sorry to members of the Windrush generation – I also vowed to right the wrongs that had been done to them.

I sincerely hope that this compensation scheme being unveiled today goes some way into doing that.

It has taken longer than I would have liked but if we are to deliver justice for the Windrush generation and their families, it is vital that we get this right.

Today’s scheme is the product of many months of work with affected individuals and their representatives, including well over 2,000 responses to our call for evidence and the consultation.

We are also indebted to Martin Forde QC, who has provided us with invaluable independent advice and met with a great many of the individuals that were directly affected.

His findings have contributed hugely to the final design of the scheme, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Martin for his work.

As a result of this meticulous approach, I am confident that the proposals for the scheme are closely aligned with what affected communities wanted to see.

Namely that it is simple, it is accessible and, above all, it is fair.

Full information is now available online and via a free telephone hotline number.

Guidance is being provided to help people understand what compensation they might be entitled to and how to submit a claim.

And the application process itself is as simple and clear as possible.

It has also been important to note that the scheme is not only open to those of Caribbean origin.

The government proposes broadly to align eligibility with the Commonwealth Citizens Taskforce.

This means that Commonwealth citizens settled in the UK before 1973, along with certain children and grandchildren of theirs, are eligible to apply if they have losses to claim for.

Other eligible groups include those of any nationality who have a right of abode, or settled status, or are now British citizens, who arrived to live in the UK before 31 December 1988.

Of course, Mr Speaker, the historical nature of the wrongs done mean that some of those who have been affected throughout the years are sadly not alive to see justice being done.

Where this is the case we propose to accept claims from the estates of individuals who would themselves have been eligible had they not passed away and from close family members of an eligible person.

But justice will not be done if people don’t know about the scheme, or for any reason they are afraid to engage with it.

So in addition to today’s media coverage we will launch an extensive programme of events with key stakeholders, community groups, and faith organisations so that people across the country and overseas know about the compensation that they can apply for.

On 22 of June we will be marking the second annual Windrush Day – a celebration of everything that the Windrush generation and their descendants have contributed to in the UK.

And later this evening, I will be welcoming community group leaders to Parliament, alongside some of those who have suffered, and their families.

It will be an opportunity to reflect not only on the mistakes of successive governments brought to this point but also on what we as a country can do to ensure that mistakes like this are not repeated.

Wendy Williams’ review will explore how members of the Windrush generation came to be treated like illegal migrants, and I look forward to receiving her recommendations.

But there is no doubt that the roots lie in a historical policy that saw people given settled status without also being given the ability to prove it.

Nothing we say or do will ever wipe away the hurt, trauma and loss that should never have been suffered by the men and women of the Windrush generation.

But together, we can begin to right the wrongs of Windrush.

We can begin to turn the page on this sad chapter in our history.

And we can do justice by people who have contributed immeasurably to our country.

When the UK called out for help, thousands of people from the Caribbean and across the Commonwealth stepped up to help get us back on our feet.

Now it’s time for us to step up and do what’s right by those that we have failed.

I commend this statement to the House.

• Baroness Fairhead announces HSBC as founding partner for UK’s World Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion
• Partnership set to further bolster £16bn trading relationship with UAE
• British business wins Dubai Metro Red Line Extension contract

The agreement will see HSBC working closely together with the Department for International Trade to support the UK’s presence at the Expo, to promote international collaboration. The UK’s presence at Expo 2020 Dubai will showcase the UK economy as being at the forefront of innovation, showcasing strengths in sectors such as artificial intelligence and space.

With its theme – Connecting Minds, Creating the Future – Expo 2020 Dubai provides a global platform to promote the UK as a great trading nation and a world class destination for trade, investment, education and tourism.

Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion Baroness Fairhead said:

The UK is renowned for its award-winning pavilions and I am delighted that HSBC is partnering with us to deliver a stand out presence at one of the world’s greatest showcases of innovation and creativity.

Expo 2020 Dubai provides a brilliant platform to showcase the very best of UK business to millions of visitors, exposing British firms to new opportunities and connecting them with potential partners and customers.

The Department for International Trade is committed to supporting British businesses of all sizes export more and break into new markets, as outlined in the government’s Export Strategy.

During her visit, Minister Fairhead also met with Director General of the Dubai Roads and Transportation Authority to discuss future collaboration between the UK and UAE. Trade between the UK and UAE is currently valued at £17.5bn.

Minister Fairhead also witnessed the signing of a contract extending the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro with the British Serco Group until September 2021. The new contract will cover the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro Red Line Extension Project and is worth an estimated £140m.

Find out more about the UK’s participation at gov.uk/ukpavilion2020 or follow @UKPavilion2020 on Twitter.