Tag Archives: HM Government

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency has made a new appointment to the vital role of Secretary of State’s Representative (SOSRep) Maritime Salvage & Intervention, which oversees the response to accidents at sea. Les Chapman has been appointed to the role and will join the Agency on Monday 21 August. He will work alongside the existing SOSRep Hugh Shaw OBE for several months, to allow a substantial transition period in this important role, and will not assume the role and responsibilities of the SOSRep until an agreed time later on in the year.

The SOSRep is responsible for reducing the risk to safety and the environment arising from accidents at sea. Recent incidents which were overseen by the current SOSRep Hugh Shaw include the Transocean Winner rig grounding off the Isle of Lewis in 2016 and the Hoegh Osaka car carrier incident in the Solent in 2015. Mr Chapman is no stranger to the maritime world, having graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada and served in both the UK’s Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy – as part of the former, he qualified for nuclear submarine command and held four command appointments. Over the course of a career spanning the maritime, security and transportation industries, Les has also worked with a number of commercial maritime organisations including Associated British Ports Ltd, DNV and The Maritime Group. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management and the Nautical Institute, a Liveryman of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, The Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and a Younger Brother of Trinity House. Les Chapman said: “The SOSRep role can be a difficult but very rewarding one as it’s all about providing protection and safety in the maritime world. I’m looking forward to working alongside Hugh Shaw as I familiarise myself with all aspects of the job.”

Sir Alan Massey, Chief Executive of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, commented: “We are committed to safety of life and the environment at sea through safer lives, safer ships, cleaner seas. As we have seen from many serious incidents in UK waters over recent years, the SOSRep has a unique and critical role in rapidly and effectively marshalling the resources of all parties to achieve the best possible outcomes. I am delighted we have appointed Les Chapman as our new SOSRep. Les brings highly relevant skills and experience with him and I am sure he will be an excellent successor to Hugh Shaw OBE, who has done a superb job over the years in growing the effectiveness and influence of the SOSRep role.”

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These matters are set out in para 8.77(d) of the 2013 Immigration Specification, and are subject to cost limits as described at paragraphs 8.80 to 8.89 of that specification.

CWA, the system onto which such claims are reported, does not contain validation to enforce such cost limits.

Providers should ensure that the costs claimed in their submission do not exceed the limit that applied at the time they were incurred.

For example, if costs totalling £835 have been incurred, but the cost limit was £800, then costs reported should be limited to £800. CWA will not automatically limit costs to the applicable cost limit.

Where the reasonable costs of attendance at an interview with the Home Office are to be claimed, you should enter ‘1’ in the Home Office interview field. The total profit costs incurred, subject to any agreed limit, including these additional reasonable costs, should then be reported in the ‘Profit Costs exc VAT’ field.

The guidance for reporting controlled work matters will shortly be updated to clarify this point.

Further information

2013 Standard Civil Contract (Immigration)

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The travel costs of a client for the purposes of attending their office to give instructions, are payable under the immigration contract.

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Providers likely to use their immigration new matter starts before the end of March 2018 can request supplementary matters from their contract manager.

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The Government is stepping up efforts to deal with threats posed to the UK from Libya as the Foreign Secretary makes his second visit to the country in less than six months.

The Foreign Secretary has been in Tripoli today where he met with the Libyan Prime Minister, Fayyez Al-Serraj, to discuss what more the UK can do to support the Government of National Accord and the UN-led political process to help stabilise Libya.

British Ambassador Peter Millett explains the UK’s support for a stable and peaceful Libya

UK support for Libya

The Foreign Secretary also outlined a package of additional support to help Libya deal with the terrorist threat and to tackle illegal migration. This includes:

• £3 million to remove improvised explosive devices from Sirte, following the success in pushing Daesh out of the city earlier this year.
• £1million to fund demining training across Libya, including in Sirte and Benghazi.
• £1million to help rebuild critical infrastructure and restore basic public services through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UK has already contributed £1.5million to the UNDP since 2016.
• £2.75 million to support women’s participation in peacemaking and rebuilding Libya.
• £1.29 million of new UK aid funding over the next two years to support displaced people with food, essential hygiene items and urgent healthcare needs.

The Government has also agreed to increase its engagement with the Libyan law enforcement authorities to tackle organised crime and trafficking, building on the work the UK is already doing with European partners to strengthen the ability of the Libyan Coastguard to secure its own borders in a manner which respects international law.

During his visit to Tripoli, the Foreign Secretary met with the Libyan Naval Coastguard to hear about their UK training. Delivered by the Royal Navy, training has focussed on activities such as search and rescue, boarding and inspecting vessels, human rights and the treatment of migrants.

Speaking from Tripoli, the Foreign Secretary said:

Libya is the front line for many challenges which left unchecked can pose problems for us in the UK – particularly illegal migration and the threat from terrorism.

That’s why it is so important that we work with the Libyan government and our partners to help bring stability to Libya, stopping it from becoming a fertile ground for terrorists, gun runners and people traffickers in close proximity to Europe.

This means supporting the new UN Representative and the political process, but it also means practical efforts too – including the new kit we are providing to make Sirte safer for Libyans and the work we are doing to ensure that the Libyan coastguard can secure their own borders, reducing the number of illegal migrants heading for Europe.

During his visit, the Foreign Secretary met with Libyan Prime Minister Fayyez Al-Serraj, Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala and the President of Libya’s High State Council Abdurrahman Swehli. Mr Johnson underlined the importance of Libya’s different political and social groups working together to overcome the current political conflict.

The meetings in Libya followed talks in Tunis on Tuesday evening with Ghassan Salamé, the new United Nations Special Representative on Libya. The UK believes the appointment of Mr Salamé presents an opportunity to break the political deadlock and build momentum towards amending the Libyan Political Agreement so that it delivers for all Libyans.

While in Tunis, the Foreign Secretary met with senior members of the Tunisian government, including Tourism Minister Salma Elloumi to discuss how we can strengthen security and economic ties between the UK and Tunisia, particularly following the recent decision to no longer advise against travel to most of the country.

The Foreign Secretary also visited the Bardo Museum, to pay respects those who died in the terrorist attack there in 2015.

After the visit, the Foreign Secretary said:

Tunisia has made great strides in its democratic transition since the revolution of 2011. I particularly applaud its promotion of women’s rights and gender equality, including the ground-breaking new law on violence against women.

Tunisian security improvements, supported in part through UK assistance, meant we could change our travel advice last month. The UK is a steadfast partner for Tunisia in building its prosperity and security, and combating terrorism, and I look forward to even stronger ties between us.

Further information

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