On 26 June 2017 changes will be made to UK anti-money laundering measures to help prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. It’ll increase the transparency of who owns and controls companies in the UK. This legislation will make changes to current requirements about people with significant control (PSC) information.

Impact on companies

From 26 June PSC won’t be updated on the confirmation statement (CS01). Instead, you’ll need to tell us on forms PSC01 to PSC09 whenever there’s a change. You’ll have 14 days to update your register and another 14 days to send the information to us.

Changes to exemptions

DTR5 companies are exempt from requirements to hold information about their PSC. From 26 June these exemptions will change, and you may need to provide PSC information. If your company’s traded on an EEA or Schedule 1 specified market, it’s still exempt. If your company isn’t exempt, you’ll need to send PSC information to us when changes take place.

Impact on different types of corporate bodies

Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLP)

From 24 July, active SLPs must register PSC information with us. You must tell us about the changes within 14 days. Every year, you must confirm the details are correct. From 24 July, you need to give PSC information when registering a new SLP.

General Scottish Partnerships (SP)

From 24 July, any SPs where all the partners are corporate bodies, need to register PSC information with us. You must tell us of changes within 14 days and confirm this information every year on a confirmation statement.

Protection regime

There will be changes to the protection regime. When SPs and SLPs provide us with PSC information, the protection regime becomes available to them. You can apply for a restriction so your information isn’t disclosed on the public register. Only specified public authorities can access this information at the moment for company types in scope of PSC requirements. The new anti-money laundering legislation extends this to credit and financial institutions, as these carry out customer due diligence. Where appropriate, we’ll make protected PSC information available to them.

The Agency’s Director of Growth, Catherine Mealing-Jones, and CNES President, Jean-Yves Le Gall, signed the MicroCarb cooperation agreement this morning (19th April) at the French Ambassador’s Residence in London, witnessed by Jo Johnson, the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, and France’s Ambassador to the UK, Sylvie Bermann.

MicroCarb is a satellite mission which will measure sources and sinks of carbon, the principal greenhouse gas driving global warming. It is the first European mission intended to characterise greenhouse gas fluxes on Earth’s surface and gauge how much carbon is being absorbed by oceans and forests, the main sinks on the planet.

Credit: French Embassy Press Office.

The mission, scheduled to launch in 2020, will also contribute to international efforts to measure how much carbon gas is being emitted by natural processes and human activities. MicroCarb will enable the UK Space Agency and CNES to pave the way for a longer term operational system in response to the Paris Agreement.

The UK space sector is already thriving, employing more than 38,000 people all over the country and supporting over £250 billion of output across the wider economy. With its £10 million investment, the UK will provide key components and services for the MicroCarb satellite, securing and growing vital capability in understanding climate change. The University of Leicester and University of Edinburgh will also represent the UK on the joint science team.

Universities and Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said:

“UK collaboration with France on MicroCarb provides an excellent platform to demonstrate cutting-edge British science, our commitment to climate policy, and a productive relationship with a key European partner.

“The UK space sector is alive with talent and opportunity and through our modern Industrial Strategy we are ensuring the UK remains a vital contributor to international space research.”

CNES President, Jean-Yves Le Gall, added:

“CNES is working with the UK Space Agency to curb climate change, and MicroCarb is a fine example of spacefaring Europe’s commitment to this global effort and a further illustration of our ability to ‘invent the future of space’.”

The submarine, named Agamemnon, is part of the Astute Class, the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever to enter service with the Royal Navy. The submarines are being built by BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, which employs around 8,000 people in its Submarines business, with thousands more working in the UK submarine supply chain.

The new contract guarantees a better deal for the UK taxpayer and for the Armed Forces, with an incentivised contract arrangement that will help to save money and demands the best possible work from industry.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

This latest investment means we are well on our way to completing our fleet of Astute submarines. These are the most advanced submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy and are already providing unprecedented levels of stealth and attack capability across the world.

Backed by a rising defence budget and a £178 billion equipment plan, Barrow will remain the hub of our submarine build programmes providing high skilled jobs for years to come.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon with BAE Systems apprentices inside Devonshire Dock Hall where HMS Agamemnon is under construction. Picture: Michael Vallance, BAE Systems.

Construction of the 7,400 tonne, 97-metre long Agamemnon began in 2012, and is well underway in the Devonshire Dock Hall at Barrow, alongside Boat 5 – Anson – and the yet-to-be-named Boat 7. Their sister submarines, HMS Astute, Ambush and Artful are already in service with the Royal Navy, contributing to operations around the globe.

Rear Admiral Paul Methven, Director Submarines Acquisition for the Submarine Delivery Agency, said:

The signature of this contract secures another world-class nuclear submarine for the Royal Navy. These are the most technologically advanced submarines we have ever operated, offering much greater firepower, better communications and more advanced stealth technology than their predecessors.  

Today marks another significant milestone for the Astute programme, that demonstrates the UK’s ability to deliver complex engineering projects, providing a fleet of submarines which will protect the UK’s interests around the globe.

Featuring the latest nuclear-powered technology, the Astute Class submarines can circumnavigate the world submerged, manufacturing the crew’s oxygen from seawater as they go. They also have the ability to operate covertly and remain undetected in almost all circumstances despite being 50 per cent bigger than the Royal Navy’s current Trafalgar Class submarines which are being replaced by the Astute Class.

Will Blamey, Managing Director of BAE Systems Submarines, said:

Securing the contract for the sixth Astute class submarine is a significant milestone for BAE Systems and the result of many years of hard work by our highly skilled workforce. The Astute class submarines are amongst the most highly capable and technologically advanced in the world and we’re immensely proud to build them for the Royal Navy.

Alongside work on the Astute Class, BAE Systems is also the industrial lead for the Dreadnought programme, the Royal Navy’s next generation of nuclear deterrent submarines.

The third meeting of the biannual UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue was hosted by the Government of Sudan in Khartoum on 29th March 2017, co-chaired by Undersecretary Abdulghani Al Naim, from the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Sudan, and Neil Wigan, Director for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, accompanied by delegations from both countries.

The meetings covered bilateral issues, culture, the peace process, human rights, development, trade and investment, migration, defence engagement, counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism, and regional issues.

Both sides welcomed the steps taken since the last Strategic Dialogue meeting in London and agreed to continue their joint work over the coming months. They welcomed the visit to Sudan of the Permanent Undersecretaries of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, and a recent visit by a trade delegation from Sudan to the UK, as well as recent agreements on increasing cultural co-operation.

Both parties discussed recent political developments and the peace process in Darfur and the Two Areas. The United Kingdom welcomed the recent HAC directives to improve humanitarian access to Darfur and the Two Areas, in particular the decision to open a humanitarian corridor into South Sudan. Both sides agreed to continue the regular dialogue on human rights between the two governments at all levels, including on the subject of trafficking in people.

The UK provided briefing on recent political developments in the UK, including its decision to leave the European Union and the way forward after triggering Article 50 of Lisbon Treaty.

Both sides also affirmed their strong commitment to continuing to cooperate on education and the importance of cultural exchanges. These continue to be an important opportunity to build on our shared history and values, and engage the next generation. Both sides exchanged views on recent political developments in the region, including Libya and South Sudan, and agreed to continue an open dialogue on these issues. Both sides expressed strong concern about the current situation in South Sudan, and agreed on the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to those in need in the South, as well as supporting Sudan’s efforts in receiving South Sudanese refugees.

The two parties also agreed to continue working together on countering terrorism and violent extremism. They welcomed the recent exchanges of visits to share expertise and agreed to continue and broaden these exchanges in future.

The UK and Sudan reaffirmed the importance of continued progress towards our joint goals, and a continued broadening of the bilateral relationship, and agreed to hold another Strategic Dialogue in London in six months’ time.

Introduction

International Trade Minister Greg Hands today signed an arrangement with the organisers of the 2019 Pan-American Games, making the UK the lead partner in helping deliver the fourth largest sporting event in the world, providing expertise from managing events like London 2012.

The games, hosted in Peru for the first time in Lima in 2019, will bring together the nations of North and South America, with over 5,000 competitors in 36 different sports. As part of the agreement, a team of UK experts with experience running over 100 major sporting events including the 2012 Olympics will work closely with the Lima 2019 organising committee, helping it deliver the infrastructure and organisation of the games on-time and on-budget.

Contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds will be open to UK companies to help deliver the organisation of the games in areas like event management, security and construction where the UK is a world-leader having been involved in the organisation of every major international sporting event since the 2000 Olympics.

Joint Statement from the UK and Peru governments

(Lima, Peru – 19 April 2017) The Peruvian government, through its ‘Special Project for the Planning and Development of the Lima 2019 Games’, and the UK’s Department for International Trade, have arranged for Peru to receive UK support and knowledge-transfer in order to successfully organise and deliver the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games. The arrangement will cover the entire duration of the project until the closing of the Lima 2019 Games.

The bilateral arrangement was signed within an international cooperation framework which will enable Peru to carry out a successful edition of the Pan American Games and leave a lasting economic, social, urban, and sporting legacy.

The UK has proven experience in organising and delivering successful global sport events whilst leaving a positive legacy for host cities and countries.

Carlos Neuhaus, President of the Lima 2019 organising committee, said:

This arrangement with the UK government is fundamental to our progress in successfully organising and delivering the Lima 2019 Games. We are thrilled to be working in close collaboration with our British partners, benefitting from their extensive expertise to make the Lima 2019 Games a success.

Greg Hands, Minister of State in the Department for International Trade, said:

Since the Sydney Games in 2000 the UK has been involved in every major global sporting tournament offering support in areas like construction, transport and event organisation. This new agreement will deliver that world-leading expertise to help make the Lima 2019 Games a success, creating opportunities for UK companies and a lasting legacy for the Peruvian people as we did at London 2012.

British Ambassador to Peru, Anwar Choudhury, added:

This is a significant new milestone for our 2 countries. We are in this together, as friends and as long-standing partners. Through our support and expertise, we are confident we can make the Lima 2019 Games a tremendous success and leave a lasting legacy for Peru, just as the 2012 Olympic Games did in London.

Knowledge transfer is also part of the bilateral arrangement. The team of British experts has an accumulated experience of over 100 large sporting events, including the 2012 Olympic Games in London, to help the Special Project ensure effective time-management and quality delivery of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.