The Prime Minister spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy today to discuss a range of issues, including military support and global food security.

President Zelenskyy updated on the situation in the Donbas and the ongoing fight to regain all of Ukraine’s sovereign territory and counter Russian disinformation in contested areas. The Prime Minister stressed his undimmed admiration for the brave defenders of Mariupol and urged Russia to treat any prisoners of war with dignity and respect.

Noting the recent announcement of an additional £1.3billion in UK military aid for Ukraine, the Prime Minister set out the support flowing to Ukraine’s defence, including long-range artillery, shore-to-ship missiles and unmanned drones.

The leaders discussed progress in negotiations and agreed to step up work with allies, including the US, France and Germany, to define the longer-term security architecture for Ukraine.

The Prime Minister raised his significant concerns about the growing global fallout from Russia’s illegal invasion and President Putin’s craven and reckless blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, including rising food prices in developing countries. They looked at options to open up critical sea and land supply routes for Ukrainian grain stocks, and committed to direct their teams to work urgently on the next steps.

The Prime Minister closed by congratulating President Zelenskyy on the occasion of Vyshyvanka Day and reiterating the United Kingdom’s steadfast solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

The Government Actuary’s Department’s (GAD) has just marked 6 months of having ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation. It’s in recognition of the department’s strengths in information management security.

The ISO/IEC 27001 certification is the international standard for information security management. It was awarded by Lloyd’s Register for GAD’s information security management system. Lloyd’s Register is a technical and business services organisation and a maritime classification society.

Security practices

As the accreditation is the international standard for information security management, it recognises we have successfully demonstrated good security practices in information and communication technology. View and download the certificate at this link.

The certification is proof of GAD’s commitment to ensure any cyber security risks are managed effectively, and that this is done to a specific standard.

Robust and reliable

Commenting on the accreditation GAD’s IT Security Officer John Grant said:

“I am very pleased that GAD has been awarded with this accreditation because it demonstrates we have a robust security surrounding our communication and technology services. The certification is an important acknowledgment of that, and it also shows that we have trusted systems.”

Client confidence

This success means that GAD’s ISO/IEC 27001 certification can offer robust reassurance that after identifying any risks, we take the necessary steps to minimise them.

For further information and guidance about staying safe online visit the National Cyber Security Centre.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has been re-accredited for a further three years with the Customer Service Excellence Standard (CSE).

CSE recognises organisations in the private and public sector that prioritise customer service and are committed to continuous improvement.

The standard is awarded after a rigorous assessment process which involves organisations being tested against 57 criteria areas. The assessment places particular focus on:

• delivery
• timeliness
• information
• professionalism and staff attitude
• understanding user experience
• measuring customer satisfaction

To achieve the re-accreditation, DBS underwent a two-day assessment in December 2021 which involved interviews with staff and customers.

DBS was found to be compliant in all areas of the assessment and exceeded compliance (known as compliance plus) in 15 areas. Examples of areas DBS was found to be compliance plus include:

• having policies and procedures, which support the right of all customers to expect excellent levels of service
• using customer feedback to continually improve services
• responding to initial enquiries promptly
• monitoring our performance for timeliness and quality of customer service
• making efforts to identify hard to reach and disadvantaged groups and developing our services in response to their specific needs

Eric Robinson, CEO of DBS, said:

We are delighted to be reaccredited with the Customer Service Excellence Standard. It shows our dedication to putting customers at the core of what we do. We are determined to build on this achievement by continuing to listen to the valuable feedback of our customers and partners so we can make further improvements to DBS services.

Provide your feedback on DBS services by completing the customer satisfaction survey.

Find out more about the Customer Service Excellence Standard at www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com.

The independent inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case has published an update today, Thursday 19 May, on its progress to date.

The inquiry was established to investigate how David Fuller was able to carry out inappropriate and unlawful actions in the mortuary of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and why they went unnoticed (phase 1).

The inquiry will also consider if procedures and practices in other hospital and non-hospital settings safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased (phase 2). The inquiry will publish its initial report on phase 1 later in 2022 and its final (phase 2) report in 2023.

The progress update published today sets out the transition from a local, independent investigation initiated by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to the current independent inquiry announced last year.

The update explains the background to the investigation originally set up by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, and how this has informed the first phase of the inquiry. It highlights the following:

• areas of concern arising from the original investigation and flagged to NHS England and NHS Improvement
• progress in establishing the independent inquiry, including engagement with families and publication of its terms of reference
• collection of evidence and next steps, including scoping of phase 2, the final report

The inquiry was announced in November 2021 by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, and has worked closely with the families of the more than 100 victims of Fuller’s crimes. Health Minister Maria Caulfield today made a written ministerial statement to Parliament on this matter.

In addition, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) – whose regulatory remit covers how human tissue may be taken, stored and used for public display; research; anatomical examination (for medical training); organ donation and transplantation; human application and post-mortem examination purposes – is also publishing today a progress report on advice sent to the Secretary of State in December 2021.

Action taken to date by the HTA has focused on internal activity to review and revise their guidance for licensed mortuaries in the post-mortem sector. The HTA will shortly be engaging with stakeholders (such as other regulators and devolved administrations) to ensure the guidance is sufficiently explicit.