Dr Junaid Bajwa, Professor Graham Cooke, Dr Paul Goldsmith and Raj Long have been appointed as Non-Executive Directors on the Board of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for three years.

In addition, Haider Husain has been appointed as a non-voting Associate Non-Executive Director to add further experience to the Board.

Their terms will come into effect from 1 September 2021 to replace Dr Barbara Bannister MBE, Professor Bruce Campbell, Anne-Toni Rodgers and Professor David Webb CBE whose terms all came to an end on 31 August 2021.

Mandy Calvert, Mercy Jeyasingham MBE and Michael Whitehouse OBE will also continue in their roles as Non-Executive Directors on the MHRA Board until the end of their terms in 2023.

I’m pleased to announce that after a comprehensive search and selection process we have been able to appoint such talented Non-Executive Directors to the MHRA Board. Their appointment brings a wealth of diverse experience and expertise that will add huge value to the strategic leadership of the Agency.

I also want to thank our outgoing Non-Executive Directors for their hard work, commitment and wise counsel over what has been a challenging and high-profile period in the Agency’s history.

Notes to Editors

Dr Junaid Bajwa has a wide range of global digital health experience from a software and pharmaceutical perspective, combined with his ongoing clinical, academic and non-executive experience around the world.

Junaid is the Chief Medical Scientist at Microsoft Research, a practising GP in London, Non-Executive Director at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Non-Executive Director of Nahdi Medical Corporation in Saudi Arabia and a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health in the USA. He was previously an Executive Director in the Digital Centre of Excellence for the global pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme, where he helped shape the global digital strategy of the company and then led the academic and technology partnerships to implement it.

Professor Graham Cooke has extensive experience of international clinical research, innovative clinical trial design, World Health Organisation (WHO) Committees and expert groups.

Graham is NIHR Professor of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College in London and leads the translational infection research within the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre with a particular interest in precision medicines and diagnostics. He has been the Principal Investigator for the REACT study of COVID-19 home testing with over 3 million participants and has been involved in several other COVID-19 studies and expert committees. Graham’s international experience also includes being Chair of the WHO Committee on the Selection & Use of Essential Medicines, which has led to globally recognised recommendations on the use of innovative therapies and antibiotics. Graham’s experience also includes being a founding Principal Investigator in the National Health Informatics Collaborative collecting secondary care data to complement our Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care data and was Convenor of a Clinical Expert Group for the Infected Blood Inquiry.

Dr Paul Goldsmith has a breadth of clinical, drug development, digital health and governance experience, whilst also being a serial innovator who has co-founded 4 healthcare businesses.

He has extensive experience in frontline clinical medicine as a Consultant Neurologist and has held NHS Clinical Networks, Vanguard and Senate roles. He is also President, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder of Closed Loop Medicine Limited, as well as being a Board Member of the MDU Ltd and MDU Investments Ltd, and trustee of the Big Tent Foundation. Paul’s start-up companies have involved disease modelling, drug development, digital automated therapy provision, online cognitive behavioural therapy and drug optimisation by integrating the use of diagnostics, drugs and digital technologies. He has a PhD in developmental biology and has particular interest in applying evolutionary neuroscience insights to the problems of modern life.

Raj Long has considerable experience as a senior international regulatory executive in the pharmaceutical industry, combined with strategic experience as an advisor to the Department of Health & Social Care, European Union, Gates Foundation and World Health Organisation (WHO).

Raj is currently a Deputy Director for safety and pharmacovigilance at the Gates Foundation and also supports the WHO COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing taskforce. Prior to that, Raj was Consultant Advisor to the Chief Scientist of the WHO, as well as being a WHO co-lead on the COVAX Task Force on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and supporting other WHO committees, Vice Chair of the World Dementia Council and has provided advice to numerous expert groups and government initiatives such as the G7 Global Action Against Dementia initiative and the Accelerated Access Review with NHS England. In her executive career, Raj held very senior international regulatory roles with responsibility for licensing innovative medicines in global pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis and GE Healthcare.

Haider Husain is an experienced international healthcare IT business leader with a strong technology background and experience of partnership working, combined with his work as a Panel Chair for the British Standards Institute (BSI) and non-executive experience within the NHS.

Haider is the Chief Operating Officer of an international healthcare technology consultancy called Healthinnova Limited, a Non-Executive Director of Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and is the Panel Chair for the Safe and Effective Use of AI in Healthcare at the British Standards Institute. Prior to this, Haider was the General Manager for Caradigm’s European population health management business and has worked for other international companies such as Microsoft, GE Healthcare and Logica.

• These Non-Executive Director appointments are made by Ministers in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Governance for Public Appointments. The regulation of public appointments against the requirements of this Code is carried out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
• Associate Non-Executive Directors are appointed by the Chair of the MHRA Board to provide additional breadth and depth of experience to enable the Board to achieve its responsibilities, but they do not have any voting rights.
• The appointments are made on merit and political activity played no part in the decision process. However, in accordance with the Code, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public.
• The appointment will involve a time commitment of 2 to 3 days per month. Annual remuneration for the role will be £7,883 for the preparation required and attendance at Board Meetings and Board Committee Meetings.
• More information on the work of the Agency Board can be found on the MHRA’s [Governance page}(https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency/about/our-governance#the-board)

Families may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for breakfast and after school clubs as children go back to school.

Eligible families can save money on their childcare and benefit from a government top-up worth up to £2,000 every year, or up to £4,000 a year if a child is disabled. In June 2021, about 308,000 families across the UK benefited from using Tax-Free Childcare, but thousands are missing out on this opportunity.

Tax-Free Childcare is available to parents or carers who have children aged up to 11, or 17 if their child is disabled. For every £8 a parent or carer deposits into their account, they will receive a £2 top-up, up to the value of £500 every three months, or £1,000 if their child is disabled.

HMRC recognises that families’ personal circumstances have changed since March 2020 as more parents and carers are preparing to return to their workplaces. The 20% top-up is paid into the Tax-Free Childcare account and is ready to use almost instantly, meaning parents and carers can use the money towards the cost of childminders, breakfast and after school clubs, and approved play schemes.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

As your children head back to school this autumn, don’t miss out on the opportunity to receive your 20% top-up to help pay for their childcare.

It is quick and easy to sign up, just search ‘tax-free childcare’ on GOV.UK.

Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders or other accredited childcare providers. Parents and carers, who are returning to work after parental leave, can apply for a Tax-Free Childcare account for that child before they need to start using it. Families can start depositing money 31 days before they return to work, maximising the potential government top-up saving.

Childcare providers can also sign up for a childcare provider account via GOV.UK to receive payments from parents and carers via the scheme.

Each eligible child requires their own Tax-Free Childcare account. If families have more than one eligible child, they will need to register an account for each child. The 20% government top-up is then applied to deposits made for each child, not household.

Account holders must confirm their details are up to date every 3 months to continue receiving the government top-up.

More than 200 industry practitioners joined this online meeting with more than 16 companies sharing best practice in offshore wind farm Operations and Maintenance (O&M), smart grid and innovative floating offshore wind technology. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between CSBC, Taiwan’s largest ship builder and Flotation Energy, a British floating wind developer, focusing on collaboration on floating wind development in Taiwan. The MoU signing was witnessed by YU Cheng-Wei, Director General of Bureau of Energy and John Dennis, British Representative in Taiwan.

Through its energy transition policy, Taiwan plans to increase the proportion of renewable energy power generation to 20% by 2025 and become an offshore wind power hub in the Asia region. The three stages of Taiwan’s offshore wind power policy include demonstration, potential, and zonal development. Recently Taiwan officially began Phase 3 of offshore wind development. “The Developer Selection Mechanism for Phase 3 (Zonal Development) of Offshore Wind” was announced on 19th August 2021 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs after extensive consultation with stakeholders. 15 GW of capacity will be released in phases from 2026 to 2035. It is expected to steadily develop Taiwan’s offshore wind market and move toward an environmentally sustainable future.

With rapid offshore wind expansion and ambitious energy transition, Taiwan has the potential to become a leader in the Asia Pacific region in the offshore wind industry. The UK government is investing in technologies to bring more green energy into the UK grid system. Offshore wind is becoming cheaper and more economically compelling every year, and the UK is at the forefront of this innovation, and the UK is committed to sharing this innovation with Taiwan.

30 UK offshore wind companies are already established in Taiwan – a strong sign of confidence in Taiwan’s offshore wind market. The UK has the experience and commercial capabilities to help Taiwan build a robust supply chain of developers, setting the global standard for offshore wind development. Capitalising on new technologies such as floating offshore wind will cement Taiwan as the region’s leading offshore wind market.

TSENG Wen-Sheng, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs remarked:

This Roundtable Meeting has acted as an important platform for regular dialogue and cooperation on renewable energy between Taiwan and the UK. To achieve our target of 20% renewable energy generation by 2025, Taiwan has been working on accelerating its offshore wind farm development. In line with the global RE100 initiative, more and more Taiwanese enterprises have committed to the RE100 goal, and thus domestic demand for clean energy is increasing. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will continue to promote the expansion of renewable energy related plans in order to supply domestic green power demand.

John Dennis, British Office Representative said:

The British Office has a long history of working with Taiwan in offshore wind. As Taiwan embarks on its energy transition, we are excited to see how this relationship develops. The industry is evolving, with new technology on the horizon. In the years ahead, we will strengthen our relationship with Taiwan by sharing these technologies and methods, helping ensure Taiwan remains at the apex of Asia’s offshore wind development.

Huub den Rooijen, Managing Director (Marine) of The Crown Estate as the UK Chair of the 16th UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Roundtable Meeting also commented:

Great wind resources and strong government leadership have catapulted Taiwan to the premier league of offshore wind developers. Similar to the UK, continuous dialogue between industry and stakeholders is critical to create favourable investment conditions, and we are pleased to share our experiences with Taiwan.

Taiwan Chair, YU Cheng-Wei, Director General of Bureau of Energy also said:

I am glad to have continued to organise this Roundtable Meeting for the sixteenth time with the UK, and I am also delighted to witness the MOU signing between CSBC Corporation Taiwan and Flotation Energy from the UK. I look forward to seeing more Taiwanese and British companies cooperate in the renewable energy field in the future. At today’s meeting, a lot of government and industry representatives from both sides were invited and put forward very insightful ideas and knowledge exchanges. The UK has always been an important partner for Taiwan to achieve our energy transition goals, and Taiwan is also working hard on expanding the deployment of renewable energy and offshore wind. Therefore, I believe there will be more cooperation opportunities for both sides to work together towards the goal of net zero carbon emissions.

• To support offshore wind industry development in Taiwan, two MoUs have been signed between the UK and Taiwan organisations for further collaboration in skills development and health, safety & environment (HSE). They are:

1. MoU on information exchange and cooperation on workplace health and safety between Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labour and UK’s Health and Safety Executive.

2. MoU on strengthening technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and achieving excellence in skills development between Taiwan’s Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labour and UK’s WorldSkills UK.

• The UK and Taiwan concluded the 3rd UK-Taiwan Energy Dialogue on 6 July 2021 to cooperate on the UK-Taiwan carbon reduction pathway in energy sector, as well as to co-organise a series of energy innovation workshops focusing on floating offshore wind, hydrogen and Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.

• At the 3rd UK-Taiwan Energy Dialogue, a MoU was signed between the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult) and Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) on offshore wind innovation project and information exchange, beginning a new chapter of the cooperation between UK and Taiwan on renewable energy.

• RE100 (Renewable Energy 100) is a global initiative bringing together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100% renewable power globally in the shortest possible timeline (by Year 2050 at the latest).

• Chancellor Rishi Sunak appoints John Flint as first permanent Chief Executive of the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB).
• He will lead the organisation to support regional growth and tackle climate change.
• The UKIB opened in June to accelerate investment in ambitious infrastructure projects in sectors including clean energy, transport, digital, water and waste.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has put John Flint, former CEO of HSBC, at the helm. He will be tasked with leading the UKIB to accelerate investment into ambitious infrastructure projects that cut emissions and help level up every part of the UK.

Born in Yorkshire, Mr Flint is committed to UKIB’s levelling up agenda, and will be based at the institution’s headquarters in Leeds. He most recently held the role of Group Chief Executive of HSBC, a company where he spent 30 years. He first joined as a graduate trainee in 1989 before holding various senior leadership positions across the business including as Chief Executive of Global Asset Management, Group Treasurer and Deputy Head of Global Markets.

First announced by the Chancellor alongside the Spending Review, the UKIB will help finance important projects in every region and nation of the UK in sectors including clean energy, transport, digital, water and waste.

The UKIB will receive an initial £12 billion of capital and will be able to issue a further £10 billion of government guarantees, helping to unlock more than £40 billion of investment overall.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

I am delighted to appoint John Flint as the first permanent CEO of the UK Infrastructure Bank. This is an important milestone for the Bank in its efforts to tackle climate change and level up, while creating new opportunities across the UK as part of our Plan for Jobs . Mr Flint brings outstanding financial and management expertise which will be crucial to leading the organisation as it grows its operations and starts to deliver on its mission to finance projects in every region of the UK.

Chris Grigg CBE, Chair of UKIB, said:

The CEO will play a pivotal role in shaping the organisation’s culture, taking charge of UKIB’s development and performance, and leading its talented workforce. John Flint has an outstanding track record and deep experience within both finance and senior leadership positions; I look forward to working with him closely in his new position.

I would also like to offer my personal thanks to John Mahon, who has served as interim CEO with considerable skill, for his many contributions to the Bank – steering UKIB through a crucial development period.

John Flint said:

I am honoured to be appointed the first permanent CEO of the UK Infrastructure Bank.

This is a unique leadership opportunity. The UK Infrastructure Bank’s purpose is clear, and the opportunity to play a role in accelerating the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy, and catalysing regional economic growth is exciting.

I look forward to getting started on the new adventure, meeting my new colleagues, and building an outstanding team.

Mr Flint was appointed following a fair and open competition and will lead the executive functions of UKIB and, as CEO, sit on the institution’s board. He will formally begin his role on 27 September.

Notes to editors

• UKIB has been operational in interim form since June 2021 and is the new, government-owned policy bank, focused on increasing infrastructure investment across the United Kingdom. The UKIB is partnering with the private sector and local government to finance a green industrial revolution and to support regional and local economic growth across the country.
• John Flint was selected following a fair and open competition, after the role was advertised on the Cabinet Office Public Appointments website for one month, concluding 7 July 2021.
• Russell Reynolds Associates were retained to aid in the search for the Chief Executive position.
• This appointment was made on merit and political activity played no part in the decision process. In accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments published by the Cabinet Office, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public. Mr Flint did not declare any political activity.
• The CEO role is a full-time position and will be based in Leeds.
• John Mahon will finish in his role as interim CEO on 17 September 2021.
• The Bank’s £22 billion of financial capacity consists of £5 billion of equity, £7 billion of debt, and £10 billion of guarantees.
• The website for the UK Infrastructure Bank can be found here.

About the Appointment Process:

John Flint was selected following a fair and open competition. An advisory assessment panel chaired by Chris Grigg CBE (Chair, UK Infrastructure Bank) and also consisting of Charles Roxburgh (Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury) and Dame Melanie Dawes (Chief Executive, Ofcom) interviewed a number of candidates and made recommendations to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Chancellor, which informed the selection decision.

The Treasury is committed to appointing a diverse range of people to public appointments and works to attract the broadest range of suitable applicants for posts. There were 19 applications for the position, of which six candidates were shortlisted for interview. The gender breakdown for this appointment is below.

Thank you Mister Moderator. We would like to thank the Swedish Chairpersonship for organising this Special Session on the Structured Dialogue. And though he has now left the OSCE, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Spanish Chair of the Informal Working Group, Ambassador Cuesta for his able stewardship of the Structured Dialogue and his excellent team for all their efforts in organising the Expert level Workshop and Informal Working Group meetings so far this year.

The UK continues to value the Structured Dialogue which we see as having two primary purposes. First, as an additional, informal forum for participating States to have meaningful conversations about the current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area. Second, to explore opportunities for increasing reciprocal transparency and reducing risks in these times of heightened tension and increased threats to our security.

We have seen again this year that new strategic threats, including the suite of actions by state and non-state actors below the threshold of armed conflict, remains a priority current and future security challenge for a great many participating States. Unfortunately, we have again seen that one participating State refuses to acknowledge this or to engage on the serious concerns raised. It was also disappointing that the same participating State chose not to engage in discussions on climate change and security, an important subject where we believe the OSCE could have the potential to add value for the benefit of us all.

Under such circumstances, it will be difficult to fulfil the Hamburg mandate of fostering greater understanding to serve as a common solid basis for a way forward. And we risk losing the chance to improve our collective security by further developing the proposals made by a number of participating States in both the Climate Change and Security, and New Strategic Threats sessions, proposals which we believe merit serious consideration.

Turning now to the transparency, risk reduction and incident prevention component of the Structured Dialogue. We have said many times that we are open to the idea of collecting best practices on TRRIP, and exploring additional voluntary transparency where this is reciprocated and as a complement to existing mandatory measures. The Expert Level Workshop discussion on Preventing Incidents at Sea appeared to show good support for considering further work on best practices in the maritime domain too.

I want to finish by highlighting some very clear messages that we again heard from many participating States during Structured Dialogue meetings this year. First, restoring full respect for the fundamental OSCE principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and Paris Charter, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, and the non-use or threat of force is essential. Second, all participating States need to fully and faithfully implement their existing politico-military commitments. Third, we urgently need to modernise the Vienna Document as the first and most obvious task in progressing the TRRIP agenda. Fourth, no agreement, however good on paper, can address deliberately provocative or aggressive activities. And fifth, participating States continue to be concerned about the risks to their security posed by below threshold activities, in addition to the more traditional security challenges that our existing instruments were designed to address.

Mr. Moderator, we look forward to the October meeting of the Structured Dialogue. You may be assured of the continued support of the UK Delegation, and our continued constructive engagement.