Tag Archives: HM Government

The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Timothy Charles Kitson Sledge, MA, Vicar of Romsey and Area Dean in the Diocese of Winchester, to be appointed to the Deanery of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, Peterborough, on the resignation of the Very Reverend Charles William Taylor, MA, on 6 October 2016.

Reverend Canon Tim Sledge, (aged 53) studied Music at Ripon and York St John’s College then studied at York University for his MA. He studied for ordination at Trinity College, Bristol. His first curacy was at Huddersfield, in Wakefield Diocese from 1995 to 1998 before becoming Vicar at Luddenden with Luddenden Foot in Wakefield Diocese from 1998 to 2003.

In addition, from 2002 to 2003 he was Priest-in-Charge at Sowerby in the Diocese of Wakefield. From 2003 to 2008 he was Diocesan Missioner Enabler in the Diocese of Peterborough. Since 2008 he has been Vicar of Romsey in the Diocese of Winchester and since 2013 Area Dean. He is an Honorary Canon at Winchester Cathedral.

He has written and contributed to several books including Youth Emmaus and Mission Shaped Parish. He also wrote Creative Communion (BRF 2008) and contributed to Daily Reflections for Common Worship (Canterbury Press 2015).

Tim is Chairman of the Young Vocations Strategy Group for the Church of England, is a trustee of Triangulate – a Romsey Mental Health Charity, and has strong links with the Anglican Province of Burundi.

Tim is married to Caroline, and has two stepchildren, Grace (20) and Matt (18).

He enjoys cooking, poetry, golf and the arts, attending concerts and visiting art galleries.

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The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has published its 2016 to 17 annual report on major projects, reporting 143 major projects on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), worth £455.5 billion and spread across 17 government departments.

The report is in support of the IPA’s ongoing purpose to improve the way infrastructure and major projects are delivered and the government’s commitment to transparency and delivering public services effectively and efficiently.

Projects currently on the GMPP reflect the government’s priorities; making our infrastructure fit for the 21st Century, maintaining the security of the realm and modernizing and digitizing our public services.

The annual report provides a snapshot of how well these projects are progressing as of September 2016. The data shows a steady improvement in the way that government is delivering major projects:

• over 60% of projects by whole life cost are likely to be successfully delivered

• since last year’s report, the number of at risk projects has reduced from 44 to 38, which continues to be an improvement from 48 the previous year

• transformation projects continue to make up the largest category of the GMPP with 40 projects

• the infrastructure and construction sector is the largest area of growth on the GMPP, reaching a record value of £222.5 billion

The government has successfully completed a number of projects during the last year such as DCMS’s Super Connected Cities Programme, which enabled an extra 42,500 small business across the UK to have access to faster broadband.

John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service, said:

This year’s report continues to reflect a broad and ambitious government agenda with transformation and infrastructure and construction remaining key priorities.

The data shows signs of steady improvement in the way government is delivering major projects. All government projects are designed to improve the lives of our citizens. As we continue to deliver, the benefits of these projects will be felt by the public.

Tony Meggs, Chief Executive of the IPA, said:

We know that success or failure of a project is often determined in its earliest phases. That is why the IPA is focussing its efforts on engaging and supporting specific projects in the early stages of their development.

We will continue to work with departments and industry as early as possible on their projects, so we can help ensure they are set up for success.

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The UK Property Transaction statistics showed that in May 2017 the number of seasonally adjusted property transactions completed in the UK with a value of £40,000 or above increased by 13.4% compared to May 2016. The unusually low level of transactions in May 2016 was associated with the introduction of the higher tax rates on additional properties introduced from 1 April 2016. Comparing May 2017 to April 2017, property transactions fell by 3.3%. See the economic statement.

Sales during March 2017, the most up-to-date HM Land Registry figures available, show that:

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The proposed new action would restrict the online sale of knives and ban possession of dangerous or offensive weapons on private property.

Amber Rudd announced her intention to tighten the law in order to stop under 18s being able to purchase knives. The proposed measures would mean anyone who bought a knife online would be required to collect it in person, with retailers responsible for checking the age of all buyers.

It is already an offence to sell knives to under 18 year olds. The new offences would mean knives could no longer be delivered to private property, making it harder for underage sales to go undetected.

Banning the possession of outlawed weapons – such as zombie knives, knuckledusters and ‘throwing stars’ – on private property would mean police were able to seize them and make arrests. The proposal comes after police called for more powers to take action if they find such weapons in someone’s home.

The consultation will also seek views on whether the offence of possessing a knife in a public place and school premises should be extended to also include the grounds of other educational establishments, such higher education institutions.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:

Knife crime has devastating consequences. I am determined to tackle this and do all I can to break the deadly cycle and protect our children, families and communities.

The action I am setting out today will help keep people safe and give police the powers they need to crack down on offenders.

Prevention is also key and we will be working to educate our young people and give them the strength they need to turn away from knives.

Recorded police crime figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), for the year ending December 2016 show more than 32,000 knife crime offences took place, a 14% increase on the previous year.

Although some of the increase is down to improved police recording practices, it may also represent a real increase in some areas of the country.

There were over 4,000 hospital admissions for assaults involving sharp weapons in England in the year ending March 2016, a 13% rise, with 771 cases involving children or teenagers aged 19 or under.

The government is working to tackle this, banning the sale of so-called ‘zombie knives’ last year and working with major retailers to prevent the underage sale of knives.

It supports the police-led Operation Sceptre, a series of co-ordinated weeks of intensified action on knife crime that takes place across the country, and which includes weapon sweeps, test purchases in shops, targeted use of stop-and-search powers, and the use of surrender bins.

A record 32 police forces are taking part in the current week of action, which began on Monday 17 July, after the Home Office hosted a summit last month to encourage more to get involved.

The Home Secretary visited a Metropolitan Police operation this week to view some of the knives police have seized and see a knife arch in action.

In addition, the government is considering a series of new non-legislative measures to tackle knife crime as part of a comprehensive action being set out.

It also intends to launch a new anti-knife crime campaign in the Autumn and a new £500,000 fund for community projects tackling the issue. There are also plans to expand the capacity of youth violence intervention projects based in hospital emergency departments to reach and try to divert at risk young people.

John Poyton, chief executive of Redthread Youth, said:

Everyday in A&E we see the devastating impact knife crime has on young people, their families and the wider community. More needs to be done to lower the numbers of young people meeting our youth workers in London’s major trauma centres, and restricting the availability of knives to under 18’s is an important contribution to creating safer communities.

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• Historic new National Funding Formula will be introduced in 2018 as planned, ending unfair postcode lottery system

• Every local authority to see a rise in its per pupil funding for schools as a result of new formula

• More direct support for schools to get best value from every pound of school funding

A £1.3billion boost for core school funding will mean local authorities are able to increase the amount of cash going to every school, the Education Secretary announced today.

She has also announced plans for a new national funding formula, with the additional investment over the next two years during the transition to the NFF allowing an increase in the basic amount of funding for all pupils – allowing gains for all schools. The new formula will maintain overall per pupil funding in real terms for the next two years; and it will allow for a cash increase for every school.

In an oral statement to Parliament, Justine Greening said the additional investment would help deliver historic reforms to the funding system, balancing fairness and stability for schools. It will further build on the improved standards delivered since 2010, with 1.8 million more children in good or outstanding schools, nine out of 10 schools are now good or outstanding and the attainment gap beginning to close.

The £1.3billion announced today – £416million in 2018-19 and £884million in 2019-20, on top of the core school budget set in the last spending review – means schools funding will be £2.6billion higher in 2019-20 compared to 2017-18. This funding boost has been found from within the Department for Education’s budget, rather than through increased taxes or more debt. This has required some difficult decisions but reflects the government’s continued belief that funding is most valuable in the hands of head teachers who have the freedom to use their professional judgement to spend money where it will have the greatest impact.

The Education Secretary also confirmed that a new National Funding Formula will be introduced in 2018, ending the unfair postcode lottery on school funding that has resulted in similar children, attending similar schools, attracting very different levels of funding.

Education Secretary Justine Greening said:

Fairer schools funding – backed by today’s additional investment – will deliver the biggest improvement to the school funding system for well over a decade. It will mean an increase in the basic amount that every pupil will get, protected funding for those with high needs and will ensure every local authority is in a position to give schools a cash increase through the new formula.

This means that, with teachers and schools across the country, we can continue to raise standards and give every child the best possible education, and the best opportunities for the future.

The Education Secretary also confirmed today that the new national funding formula will:

• Increase the basic amount that every pupil will attract in 2018-19 and 2019-20;

• Allow for gains of up to 3% per pupil for underfunded schools for the next two years;

• Provide at least a 0.5% a year per pupil cash increase for every school in 2018-19 and 2019-20; and

• Continue to protect funding for pupils with additional needs, as proposed in the consultation published in December.

The Education Secretary also confirmed the PE and Sports Premium for primary schools will increase from £160million to £320million. All primary schools will receive an increase in their PE and sports premium funding in the next academic year.

Alongside this investment in our schools, it is vital that school leaders strive to maximise every pound they spend to achieve the best outcomes for all their pupils and best promote social mobility. Increased support will be available to school leaders to help them focus their resources, including offering individual schools access to expert advisors so they can receive tailored guidance.

There were over 25,000 responses to the detailed proposals from parents, teachers and school leaders across the sector. A full detailed response to the national funding formula consultation, and local authorities’ gains under the new formula, will be published in September.

Local authorities will continue to set a local formula for individual schools’ budgets in 2018-19 and 2019-20, in consultation with schools in the area. This longer transition will help provide stability for schools.

Spending plans beyond 2019-20 will be set in a future Spending Review.

Notes to editors

The £1.3bn additional investment in core schools funding announced today will be funded in full from efficiencies and savings which have been identified from within DfE’s existing budgets, including:

• Efficiencies and savings across the main capital budget can release £420million. The majority of this will be from the healthy pupils capital funding – from which we will make savings of £315million. This reflects reductions in forecast revenue from the soft drinks industry levy, as producers are already reformulating sugar out of their drinks. Every pound of England’s share of spending from the levy will continue to be invested in improving child health, including £100million in 2018-19 for healthy pupils capital.

• We remain committed to an ambitious free school programme that delivers choice, innovation and higher standards for parents. In delivering the programme, and the plans for a further 140 free schools announced at the last Budget, we will work more efficiently to release savings of £280 million up to 2019 20. This will include working more collaboratively with local authorities to provide free schools to meet basic need.

• Across the rest of the DfE resource budget – over £60 billion per year – the government will reprioritise £250 million in 2018-19 and £350 million in 2019-20 to fund the increase in spending announced today. The government will redirect £200m from the Department’s central school improvement programmes towards frontline funding for schools. While these projects are useful, we believe strongly that this funding is most valuable in the hands of head teachers.

The Department will continue to support schools to make efficient use of their resources. Good value National Deals, that procure better value goods and services on areas all schools purchase. We will expect schools to be clear if they do not make use of these deals and have higher costs. We have just launched a new online efficiency benchmarking service which will enable schools to analyse their own performance more effectively.

The government has confirmed its commitment to double the PE and sports premium for primary schools. All primary schools will receive an increase in their PE and sports premium funding in the next academic year.

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