New data from the Diabetes Foot Care Profiles, published by PHE’s National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network, shows that the number of major lower limb amputations (above the ankle) continues to rise – with 7,545 major amputations over the past 3 years between 2015 to 2018, compared with 6,957 between 2012 to 2015.

The overall number of major amputations is increasing, as the number of people with diabetes rises, but the rate among people with diabetes is not significantly increasing.

The data also shows that while the risk of diabetes is higher in some ethnic groups, especially those from South Asia, the rate of major amputations caused by diabetes is greatest in white males. The data also shows that there is significant variation in the risk of amputation across the country.

Type 2 diabetes is a preventable condition and even those living with the disease can make simple lifestyle changes that will help them stay well and even potentially reverse the disease.

To help reach more people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the NHS Long Term Plan, launched in January, included a commitment to double the NHS DPP over the next 5 years.

This means the programme – delivered by Public Health England, NHS England and Diabetes UK – will support 200,000 people each year to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which can be prevented by better lifestyle choices: eating a healthy balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active.

Top findings from today’s data show that during the 3-year period of 2015 to 2016 up to 2017 to 2018:

• patients from England had 147,067 hospital stays for diabetic foot disease
• the average length of stay in hospital was 8 days and the total number of days spent in hospital for diabetic foot disease was 1,826,734
• 85,837 individual patients were admitted for foot disease and 33% of these had more than one stay over the 3 years
• the rate of major amputations was greatest among men (male rate 10.5/10,000 population-years compared with females 4.9; and the white population rate of 9.6/10,000 and non-white 2.6)

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is set to rise from 3.9 million (in 2017) to 4.9 million by 2035, equivalent to around 9.7% of the adult population. Approximately 90% of people with diabetes have type 2.

Dr Jenifer Smith, Programme Director at PHE for the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, said:

It’s a tragedy that so many people are unnecessarily having to face the life-changing consequences of diabetes, such as amputations. Survival rates and quality of life for people following such major surgery can often be poor. This shouldn’t be happening when the condition is preventable.

The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme has been hugely successful in providing help and support to those at risk of developing the condition, which is why it’s now being doubled in size. It’s important that those providing the service need to work closely with their local public health teams who know their community, to ensure they’re reaching and meeting the needs of those at greatest risk.

Type 2 diabetes remains the greatest health challenge in this country and many adults are in danger of developing this deadly but preventable disease.

The goals of the NHS DPP are to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes; reduce the incidence of complications associated with type 2 diabetes (heart, stroke, kidney, eye and foot problems related to diabetes); and reduce health inequalities associated with incidence of type 2 diabetes, over the longer term.

One in six hospital beds are occupied by someone with type 2 diabetes and 22,000 people die early every year in England as a result of the disease.

More information is available from PHE’s National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network’s Diabetes Foot Care Profiles.

Minister Robin Walker signed the agreement in London today (Tuesday 2 April) alongside representatives from the Governments of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The agreement protects the rights of 17,000 UK nationals living in the EEA EFTA states and 15,000 EEA EFTA nationals living in the UK in the event that a withdrawal agreement is not reached with the EU.

Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union Robin Walker said:

This agreement provides citizens of the UK and the EEA EFTA states with certainty about their rights going forward, ensuring that they can continue living their lives broadly as they do now.

And it reaffirms our commitment to putting citizens’ rights at the heart of this process.

This agreement was first announced and published in draft on 8 February 2019 and today marks the formal signing.

In the event that a Withdrawal Agreement is approved, this agreement will not enter into force and we would proceed with the EEA EFTA separation agreement published in December instead. The arrangements for citizens are broadly similar in both scenarios.

Lynda McMullan is joining the agency as CFO from the Metropolitan Police, where she has been Director of Commercial and Finance since 2014. Previously, Lynda held senior roles at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the National Audit Office and in local government.

As Chief Finance Officer, Lynda will be responsible for shaping the agency’s finance function and managing a net programme budget of £6.5 billion per year – including operational expenditure of £120 million – and a £30 billion balance sheet.

Alongside this, Amy Casterton has been confirmed as the permanent Chief of Staff having served in the role on an interim basis since October 2017. She will continue to head up Homes England’s cross-cutting Executive Office, which supports the agency to make the right connections and interventions in all areas of the housing market.

Amy has extensive experience of supporting leadership teams and corporate governance reform, including running a private office at the Department for Culture Media and Sport and heading a Government Tailored Review of UK Anti-Doping. She has also spent six years in Brazil as commercial director of a major events company and leading partnership activations for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and acted as the first Head of Public Policy at the Premier League.

Homes England Chief Executive Nick Walkley said: “I’m delighted to appoint these high calibre candidates to crucial posts in our structure. The role of Chief Finance Officer is critical to us achieving our ambitions to support the development of the homes needed across the country.

“As CFO, Lynda will have responsibility for making sure Homes England continues to use public funds effectively and delivers value for money, while making a real difference to the housing market.

“Alongside this, I’m thrilled Amy will continue as our Chief of Staff. Her track record and commitment to driving strategic change across the agency is second to none. I look forward to her continuing to play a leading role in the development of the agency’s mission and strategic objectives.”

Lynda McMullen said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Homes England, especially at this critical stage of its development.

“The level of ambition is truly inspiring, with a fresh approach to securing additional homes where they are needed. I am delighted to be joining the team and cannot wait to start.”

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For more information contact Sarah Tucker, PR and Media Officer at Homes England on 020 7393 2261 or email sarah.tucker@homesengland.gov.uk.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has today (Tuesday 2 April) launched the government’s first-ever Latin America and Caribbean Investor Club. The club, which has been created to help support Latin American and Caribbean (LATAC) companies invested in the UK, will:

• provide a single channel to connect businesses from the region with key officials across UK government departments,
• provide a platform to identify mutual obstacles to trade and investment faced by Latin American and Caribbean investors,
• create an exclusive forum to allow investors to connect and network,
• host the first Latin America Invest Awards celebrating Latin American companies successfully invested in the UK bringing most value to the economy.

The UK currently has over 200 Latin American and Caribbean investors, and the LATAC region represents a market equivalent to the third largest economy in the world, after the USA and China. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and the region totals £26.1 billion.

The club’s launch forms part of the department’s increasing focus on UK trade and investment with Latin America, and follows on the back of a week-long LATAC Roadshow promoted by DIT, which aimed to drive more UK businesses to export opportunities in the region.

Minister for Investment Graham Stuart MP said:

I am delighted to announce the launch of the first ever Latin America and Caribbean Investors club.

Its launch recognises the huge importance of trade ties between the UK and Latin America, and signals our long-term commitment to supporting businesses from this region establish operations across the UK.

As an international economic department, we will continue to promote the strengths of the UK, with an open, liberal economy, world-class talent and business-friendly taxation, to maintain our position as Europe’s leading destination for inward investment.

The club will formally launch tonight (Tuesday 2 April) at a reception attended by over 100 inward investors from across the region including Brazilian bank Banco do Brasil, Argentinian IT business Globant, Colombian organic ingredient business Grupo Daabon and Mexican computing business Dynaware.

The evening will be jointly hosted by the Minister for Investment Graham Stuart MP and Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Latin America and the Caribbean Jo Crellin.

Once active, the club will be chaired by two representatives of each of the five countries which have the highest investment presence in the UK, this includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Colombia. The five will help manage the club, as well as promote trade and investment with the UK across the region.

Young farmers with outstanding ideas for running a successful farm whilst caring for the environment and local water and air quality have been awarded the prestigious Great Farm Challenge Award 2019.

Ideas brought forward in this year’s competition included using a tramline to reduce the risk of water pollution and methods to stop cattle from drinking directly out of rivers to avoid damage to river banks.

Natural England’s Catchment Sensitive Farming team, the Environment Agency and water companies for the areas involved – Severn Trent, Anglian Water and United Utilities – have awarded students from agricultural colleges from across the East of England, the North West and the West Midlands with the prestigious prize.

Regional award ceremonies were held last week in recognition of over 150 young agricultural students’ collaborative and innovative solutions to future farming.

The young farmers worked together on projects to assess and address the impact of different farm practices on their local natural environment and farm business. These projects were then developed into plans and presented to a panel of judges, with the participants demonstrating how they would care for the environment and run a successful farm whilst protecting local water and air quality.

This year Natural England are proud to announce that the regional winners and runners-up impressed the judging panel comprising representatives from Natural England, Environment Agency, water companies and Young Farmers’ Clubs with their plans for managing a successful farm. The young farmers focused on minimising run-off from pesticides, nutrients and suspended solids such as sediment and algae that can be problematic for aquatic life, whilst also looking at ways to improve air quality and use water wisely on the farm.

Geoff Sansome, Natural England’s Head of Agriculture, said:

It’s great to see so many young people engaged and positive about the future of farming. It’s even better that they so clearly understand the challenges of diffuse water pollution. This is good farming that is good for the environment, planned at a landscape scale – this is the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan being put into practice.

The students have gone above and beyond to find practical solutions for protecting water and air quality, assets and skills that will serve them well as tomorrow’s successful farmers.

Using a case study farm, some of the agricultural students discovered the management of tramlines could be an effective way to reduce the risk of sediment and phosphorus pollution of surface water. These young farmers presented their plans to change the direction of the tramlines to reduce the amount of sediment and pesticides moving into the water course from crop spraying, and advised the farmer to plough across slopes to avoid tramlines moving down slope. To avoid soil run-off into the water course, the students also proposed adding grass or vegetative buffer strips or crop parallel to the water course to catch sediments and pesticides.

James Eckely, National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs Chief Officer, said:

NFYFC is delighted that Leicestershire Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs chairman and dairy farmer Alistair Hughes was part of the judging panel for an event that challenges young agricultural students to find solutions to improve water and air quality on farms.

YFC members are aware of the challenges, demands and opportunities ahead for their farming future and NFYFC commends the achievements of this collaborative project.

Notably, one college discovered the farm had not conducted soil testing in 15 years. Soil testing should be conducted every three years and is important for efficient nutrient management and for the assessment and minimisation of pollution of surface and ground water to conserve water quality, caused by agricultural practices.

Others looked at ways to prevent cattle from drinking directly from the river to avoid poaching and river bank damage, and came up with the solution of using water bays for cattle to drink from instead of the river.

The students noted that farmers could seek advice from their local Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers to find out what grants are available to help fund some of these actions.

Madeleine Gardner, Environment Agency Environmental Specialist, said:

I’m delighted to see the Environment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming team working alongside water companies and agricultural colleges across England to reward young agriculturalists for thinking about ways to protect local water quality.

I’m proud to be a part of the Great Farm Challenge and help to educate the next generation of farmers to think sustainably, and by sharing good water quality practices we’re reducing the issue of poor water quality – improving the local environment and farm businesses.

This year marks the 8th Great Farm Challenge. Since the Challenge started in 2011, over 1,170 students and land managers have engaged and got involved in improving water and air quality through best practice on farms.

Catchment Sensitive Farming is a partnership between Natural England, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency.

The Great Farm Challenge is a joint partnership, led by Natural England, Defra, Environment Agency and regional water companies Severn Trent, Anglian Water and United Utilities. As a collective, the partnership continues to nurture the next generation of farmers and encourage strategic solutions for our young farmers to carry throughout their careers.

Richard Reynolds, Anglian Water’s Senior Agronomist, said:

The Great Farm Challenge is a really important initiative and provides the farmers and advisors of the future with a practical and rewarding experience that will help develop their skills and techniques for protecting the water environment.

It is vital that the farming sector focuses on issues like pesticide run-off, nutrient management and watercourse protection if we are to continue delivering world-class produce whilst protecting drinking water sources and wildlife.

I was really impressed with the standard of the students taking part in the challenge and I look forward to working with them in the future. Huge congratulations to the winners and everyone else who took part. It’s important that we continue to support up and coming students and the Great Farm Challenge is an excellent way to do so.

Una McBride, Agricultural Advisor at Severn Trent, said:

We’re delighted to have been part of the Great Farm Challenge for the past eight years. It’s a great way for us to engage directly with the farmers of the future, raising their awareness of the whole water journey, from farm to tap and, the opportunities for farming businesses to thrive whilst protecting our water environment. It’s really encouraging to see so many of our future farmers so enthused about incorporating good water quality practices in to their own farming systems.

Clare Bullen, Strategy Development Manager at United Utilities, said:

We’re delighted to be involved in this challenge as it is a great way to influence the next generation of farmers about how they can help us to care for the environment without impacting on their farm business.

By creating the awareness of good water quality practices we will hopefully avoid problems in the future which could lead to increased water treatment costs and potentially affect the bill paying customer.

Richard Reynolds, Anglian Water’s Senior Agronomist, said:

The Great Farm Challenge is a really important initiative and provides the farmers and advisors of the future with a practical and rewarding experience that will help develop their skills and techniques for protecting the water environment.

It is vital that the farming sector focuses on issues like pesticide run-off, nutrient management and watercourse protection if we are to continue delivering world-class produce whilst protecting drinking water sources and wildlife.

I was really impressed with the standard of the students taking part in the challenge and I look forward to working with them in the future. Huge congratulations to the winners and everyone else who took part. It’s important that we continue to support up and coming students and the Great Farm Challenge is an excellent way to do so.

Find out more about how we’ve been educating young farmers to improve water quality for all here.