New funding to protect biodiversity in UK overseas territories

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Threatened species will benefit from funding to tackle invasive species and strengthen climate change mitigation.

Green turtle swimming — Credit: Colin Davies Getty Images

Threatened species across the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are set to benefit from £6.4 million government funding announced today (Monday 23 May).

Green turtles and the West Indian whistling duck are just some of the species that will be boosted by a share of the Darwin Plus initiative. A total of 20 environmental recovery projects will be supported to deliver marine conservation, research into threatened species, and improve resilience to climate change.

The UK Overseas Territories are unique and globally significant nature hotspots. Made up of thousands of small islands, vast oceans and dense rainforests, these areas are thriving with unique wildlife and contain 94% of the UK’s biodiversity.

Since 2012, the government has contributed more than £38 million towards 180 projects in the UK Overseas Territories through Darwin Plus, and has committed £30 million over the next three years to support even more environmental projects in these areas.

Funding through Darwin Plus and the Darwin initiative will help to deliver the commitments set out in the Environment Act to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity and improve species abundance by 10% by 2042.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, International Environment Minister, said:

From rare sea birds to threatened coral reefs and plants, the Darwin Plus initiative is instrumental in protecting and restoring our precious natural environment across the Overseas Territories.

This investment will enhance our global capability to respond to climate change, address biodiversity decline and help safeguard the future of these unique habitats for the next generation.

Jonathan Hall, Head of UK Overseas Territories at RSPB, said:

This is some of the most cost-effective conservation funding there is. We’re delighted Defra has increased this vital Darwin Plus fund, which is helping Territory conservationists deliver incredible work to protect vast marine reserves, fragile albatross islands and key carbon-rich habitats such as mangroves.

Habitats and projects set to benefit from the funding include:

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation across the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Polar regions. Drones and timelapse cameras will be used to monitor and gather information on green turtles, endemic frigate birds and masked boobies in the Ascension islands, data which is not currently available and will create effective management plans to protect these species
Investment to improve environmental protections for the East Caicos wilderness area. The funding will support the creation of a locally owned resource management plan to safeguard against inappropriate development on the uninhabited island to protect nesting turtles, plant species unique to those islands, and native birds, such as the West Indian whistling duck
A project to turn the tide on plastic pollution in Ascension and St Helena. Researchers will explore the drivers of plastic pollution and trial innovative solutions to reduce single-use plastic and improve waste management efficiency
Action to improve the New Island National Nature Reserve in the Falkland Islands and protect the sites’ world-renowned seabird colonies from invasive mammals and conserve its carbon-rich peatlands.

Communities in these areas are reliant on the natural environment for their economic welfare and security. This funding injection will also help provide local people with the skills and tools to manage the natural world and encourage tourism in a sustainable way.

Further information:

Darwin Plus (also known as the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund) is a competitive UK government grants scheme which is part of the Biodiversity Challenge Fund (BCF) that provides funding for environmental projects in UKOTs
The funding also supports fellowships for UKOT Nationals to increase their knowledge and ability to meet long-term strategic outcomes for their natural environment.
Darwin Plus supports projects across all 14 UKOTs which are: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; The British Virgin Islands; The Cayman Islands; The Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; The Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie & Oeno Islands; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus); and, The Turks & Caicos Islands.
Primary responsibility for biodiversity conservation and wider environmental management in the UK Overseas Territories has been devolved to the OT governments, who, with the support of the UK government, are responsible for developing appropriate, applicable, and affordable environmental policies, legislation and standards.
The Darwin Initiative provides Overseas Development Aid (ODA) to protect biodiversity worldwide. 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Darwin Initiative, to celebrate Defra is raising the ambition for the fund and awarding new, larger grants to environmental projects.
Since 1992, the Darwin Initiative has awarded over £164m to more than 1,143 projects across 159 countries.

Published 23 May 2022

April 2022 Transaction Data

News story

This data provides information about the number and types of applications that HM Land Registry completed in April 2022.

Image credit: NicoElNino/Shutterstock.com

Please note this data shows what HM Land Registry has been able to process during the time period covered and is not necessarily a reflection of market activity.

In April:

HM Land Registry completed more than 1,752,360 applications to change or query the Land Register
the South East topped the table of regional applications with 416,705

HM Land Registry completed 1,752,363 applications in April compared with 2,125,508 in March and 1,760,322 last April 2021, of which:

335,442 were applications for register updates compared with 390,596 in March
932,281 were applications for an official copy of a register compared with 1,141,724 in March
214,760 were search and hold queries (official searches) compared with 265,590 in March
16,013 were postal applications from non-account holders compared with 19,507 in March

Applications by region and country

Region/country	February applications	March applications	April applications
South East	440,118	490,963	416,705
Greater London	339,757	386,977	315,971
North West	216,620	244,964	200,963
South West	178,861	209,168	170,684
West Midlands	156,319	177,003	145,566
Yorkshire and the Humber	149,242	166,917	137,836
East Midlands	136,288	156,855	126,524
North	90,326	107,426	84,798
East Anglia	79,717	89,455	74,659
Isles of Scilly	42	100	42
Wales	83,412	95,565	78,518
England and Wales (not assigned)	124	115	97
Total	1,870,826	2,125,508	1,752,363

Top 5 local authority areas

April 2022 applications

Top 5 local authority areas	April applications
Birmingham	25,455
City of Westminster	20,731
Leeds	20,441
Buckinghamshire	18,129
Cornwall	17,090

March 2022 applications

Top 5 local authority areas	March applications
Birmingham	29,962
City of Westminster	25,617
Leeds	24,294
Cornwall	22,554
Buckinghamshire	22,058

Top 5 customers

April 2022 applications

Top 5 customers	April applications
Infotrack Limited	129,112
Enact	46,811
O’Neill Patient	25,287
Optima Legal Services	24,038
Avail AI Ltd	23,384

March 2022 applications

Top 5 customers	March applications
Infotrack Limited	151,371
Enact	65,731
O’Neill Patient	31,569
Optima Legal Services	31,077
TM Group (UK) Ltd (Search Choice)	28,064

Access the full dataset on our Use land and property data service.

Next publication

Transaction Data is published on the 15th working day of each month. The May data will be published at 11am on Thursday 23 June 2022.

Published 23 May 2022

PM call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: 23 May 2022

The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia this morning to congratulate him on his election win at the weekend.

The Prime Minister told the new Australian leader that he wanted to congratulate him fulsomely on the big moment and said he looked forward to strengthening the UK – Australia relationship even further.

Prime Minister Albanese thanked the Prime Minister and noted that the UK and Australia had a strong and historic friendship, stemming from their close Commonwealth ties. The pair agreed that there was more that could be done together.

Both leaders agreed that there was strong alignment between their Governments’ joint agendas, spanning across global security, climate change and trade.

Discussing AUKUS, the leaders strongly agreed on its vital importance and the exciting opportunities it provided. The Prime Minister said he thought the trilateral grouping could go further together in other domains, where both countries could collaborate for the global good.

The pair also paid tribute to the extraordinary resistance of the Ukrainian people in the face of ruthless Russian aggression, and the Prime Minister thanked Australia for its principled position and strong support to Ukraine.

The leaders agreed that it was important that the war in Ukraine did not embolden other countries to undermine global stability.

The Prime Minister said that now was an important moment for democracies to stand together and prove their worth, and it was important that coercive autocracies were sent a message of strength and unity.

On trade, both leaders agreed the Free Trade Agreement was incredibly important to both countries going forward, as well as the UK’s accession to the CPTPP trade bloc.

The leaders agreed to stay in close touch, and hoped they would be able to meet in person soon.

PM’s congratulatory remarks on the election of Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister of Australia: 21 May 2022

Press release

The Prime Minister congratulated Anthony Albanese on his election as Prime Minister of Australia.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said:

Congratulations to Anthony Albanese on your election as Prime Minister of Australia.

Our countries have a long history and a bright future together. As thriving likeminded democracies we work every day to make the world a better, safer, greener and more prosperous place.

As we reap the rewards of our comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, the AUKUS partnership and the unmatched closeness between the British and Australian people, we do so knowing that the only distance between us is geographical.

I look forward to working with Prime Minister Albanese in the weeks, months and years ahead as, together, we tackle shared challenges and demonstrate the importance of our shared values.

Published 23 May 2022

Aylesbury Company Director prosecuted for unlicensed security at the Isle of Wight Festival

Ratu Baleidraulu, director of Islanders Protection Security Services Ltd was fined £300, ordered to pay £1,624 court costs and a victim surcharge of £34. The company was also fined £250, ordered to pay £800 court costs and another victim surcharge of £34. The prosecution was brought by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and it follows an investigation into the attempted use of a counterfeit licence at the Isle of Wight Festival.

The festival took place between 16-19 September 2021 and its lead security contractor, Main Event Security Services an SIA approved contractor, used several contractors to supply additional security. On 15 September Main Event Security Services Ltd was carrying out checks to ensure that the security operatives deployed were legally allowed to work at the festival. During this process they discovered a counterfeit licence. The licence was valid but did not belong to the man attempting to use it. man submitted a valid licence with an image of himself. The checks revealed that the licence was valid but it belonged to someone else and the company deduced the licence was counterfeit. The licence wasy retained the licence and the unknown man was escorted off the site. Later that day an SIA regional investigator carried out a routine inspection and Main Event Security Services handed the counterfeit licence over to them.

The case was referred to the SIA’s Criminal Investigation Team and who began an investigation and it was confirmed that the licence was a counterfeit. Main Event Security Services Ltd provided the SIA’s Criminal Investigation Team with the information to confirm that Islanders Protection Security Services Ltd were responsible for the deployment of the unknown man carrying the counterfeit licence.

Baleidraulu then failed to provide the required information to the SIA when requested and a prosecution was brought against both him and his company Islanders Protection Security Services Ltd. The person who held the legitimate licence confirmed that he had not worked at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Mark Chapman, the SIA’s Criminal Investigations Manager said:

The protection of the public at high-profile festivals is paramount. Main Event Security Services Ltd did exactly as would be expected of an approved contractor, by identifying and rejecting a suspicious licence through robust due diligence. Islander Security placed the public at risk by supplying a person who was not fit and proper and had not done the requisite training to protect the public. Baleidraulu has now had his Close Protection licence suspended and both he and his company have incurred significant fines and a criminal record. He had also not long been a director of a company and has been prosecuted.

As part of its drive to support public safety at festivals and events, the SIA has published updated guidance to ensure that people providing security services at events are compliant with the law. Throughout the summer the SIA will also be issuing further information and guidance to support security operatives as they carry out their duties at these events. SIA has published guidance here. Please read our latest blog on festival safety.

Notes to Editors:

The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act (2001) that are mentioned above are as follows:

The Private Security Industry Act 2001 is available online via: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2001/12/contents

By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence. Information about SIA enforcement and penalties can be found on the website.

The offence relating to the Private Security Industry Act (2001) that is mentioned above is as follows:

Information about SIA enforcement and penalties can be found on GOV.UK.

Further information:

The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Our main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.
For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (SIAuk).