The British Embassy Kyiv invites proposals for project work from 1 September 2021 to 15 March 2022, working through civil society organisations alongside government bodies in support of internationally recognised universal human rights and democratic participation, including gender equality, and improved respect for minority and vulnerable groups. The deadline for submitting proposals is 17.00 (Kyiv time) on 11 August 2021.

The programme will focus on the following areas:

Outcomes

• greater gender equality and inclusion for all members of Ukrainian society, taking account of the additional challenges posed by Covid-19 for vulnerable groups
• increased levels of protection and support for vulnerable groups (including but not limited to victims of gender-based violence, LGBT+, national minorities, people with disabilities (including children), and veterans) and improved social and economic integration of these groups through increasing access to training opportunities, economic activity and decision-making
• human rights are observed on the whole territory of Ukraine, violations are documented and countered, and victims are supported

Indicators

• increased awareness of the human rights situation in Ukraine, including in Crimea and non-government-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Human rights monitoring mechanisms strengthened and reflect developments in civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and gender equality rights of people in Ukraine
• identifying and responding to additional challenges posed by COVID-19 global pandemic and its negative influence on existing issues, including an increase in economic insecurity and gender-based violence (GBV) among population
• advocacy and civil society organizations, as well as vulnerable persons, equipped with greater knowledge of their rights and ability to advocate for policies which best meet the needs of minority and vulnerable groups
• understanding of human rights issues among general population improved, including by changing public perceptions and working with authorities and businesses to ensure fair treatment and representation of minority and vulnerable groups, and a greater understanding for the particular challenges they face (social, economic, psychological, internet security)
• vulnerable groups – including minorities, IDPs and veterans – supported in becoming agents of economic development including access to training, services and resources that can help integrate them to the society, the job market and to decision-making at the local, regional, and national level
• greater gender equality in Ukraine is achieved through promotion, advocacy, and training activities that tackle underrepresentation of women in various sectors, such as STEM, security, policy-making
• projects complement activity of the Government of Ukraine under relevant strategies, such as National Action Plan on Human Rights; Strategy for De-occupation and Reintegration of Crimea; National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security; Biarritz Partnership, and others

Notes

Successful projects should have sustainable outcomes and should clearly identify the change that will be brought about. They may also build on projects by other organisations, complementing their efforts. All bids should make clear how they complement existing activities supported by other donors and international partners, and how work in the regions complements national level activity.

The minimum indicative funding for projects is £15,000 and maximum £30,000. This may be in addition to co-funding and self-funding contributions; indeed this will be considered a merit. Our funding is for the UK financial year 2021-22 only (projects must be implemented and all payments made by 15 March 2022). Where appropriate, bidders are encouraged to describe how their project could be further scaled-up if additional funding became available.

Administrative costs (office rent, project management and bookkeeper rates, utilities, communications, stationery, bank charges etc) must not exceed 8% of the total project budget. We are unable to fund academic courses or research, English language courses, the purchase of IT or other equipment.

The British Embassy Kyiv reserves the right to carry out due diligence of potential grantees, including seeking references, as part of the selection process.

Bidding is competitive and only selected projects will receive funding. The Embassy reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant(s) of the grounds of such acceptance or rejection. Due to the volume of bids expected we will not be able to provide feedback on unsuccessful bids.

Bidding process

Bidders should fill in the standard Project Proposal Form (MS Word Document, 73.8KB) and include a breakdown of project costs in the Activity Based Budget (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 26.5KB) (ABB). We will not consider proposals submitted in other formats. Budgets must be Activity Based Budgets (ABB), all costs should be indicative, in GBP (not Ukrainian Hryvna).

Successful bids must demonstrate Gender Equality Minimum Score 1 (according to the OECD DAC Definition and minimum recommended criteria for gender equality policy marker), have a gender equality objective explicit in the project documentation and an explanation of a positive impact of the project on advancing gender equality. If the project is designed with the principal intention of advancing gender equality, it must have outcomes on gender equality and outputs that contribute to these outcomes.

All projects or activities must align with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and assess climate and environmental impact and risks, taking steps to ensure that no environmental harm is done and, where relevant, support adaptation.

Successful implementers should be able to receive project funding in GBP (UK pound sterling) and open a GBP bank account for the project.

Proposals should be sent to the British Embassy Kyiv at Kyiv.Projects@fco.gov.uk by 17:00 (Kyiv time) on 11 August 2021. In the subject line, please indicate the name of the bidder. We aim to evaluate proposals by end August. Approved projects will commence in September 2021.

Evaluation criteria

Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• fit to programme objectives – the extent to which the proposal addresses the issues
• quality of project – how well defined and relevant the outcome is and how outputs will deliver this change; ability to leverage bigger funding would be an advantage
• value for money – the value of the expected project outcomes, the level of funding requested and institutional contribution
• previous experience – evidence of the project team’s understanding the issue and of its regional activities, ability to manage and deliver a successful project, through work done to date in the area or in related fields
• gender-sensitive approach and alignment with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change – as indicated above; the proposals will be assessed by a mixed gender panel

Plans for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset have taken an important step forward today following approval from Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick.

The plans will move the areas away from a two-tier system of county and district councils to unitary councils, strengthening local leadership and transforming the way services are delivered in these areas.

Establishing these new unitary councils will help ensure the people and businesses across Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset can have the sustainable high-quality local services they deserve.

This reorganisation will bring significant benefits to Cumbria, North Yorkshire, and Somerset, giving the local leaders there tools to help level up opportunity and prosperity across their communities.

For Cumbria two unitary councils will be established – an East unitary council covering Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland and a West unitary council covering Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland, and in North Yorkshire and Somerset, a new single unitary council will be established for each county area; all subject to Parliamentary approval.

The locally-led plans are being taken forward after a period of consultation which considered views from residents, business leaders and councils.

The Local Government Secretary has asked the existing councils and their partners to work collaboratively and constructively together to drive forward the process of establishing unitary councils.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

I have always been clear that any restructuring of local government must be locally-led and will not involve top-down solutions from government.

Residents, businesses and service providers have had their say on what will work best for their area and now councils in these three areas can start planning for the next step.

Where there is local support, changing the structure of local government can offer better value for money and improved services for residents.

This follows an announcement by the Prime Minister last week whereby he set out his vision to level up and unite the whole of the United Kingdom. In a speech, he set out the government’s role to:

• empower strong local leaders by taking a more flexible approach to devolution, with new ‘County Deals’
• focus on growing the private sector by creating the conditions for long-term growth and productivity;
• invest in infrastructure and connectivity;
• ensure that people have access to good public services, and the skills and training needed to get good jobs; and
• improve the quality of life in communities through cutting crime and regenerating towns and high streets

Moving forward, Parliamentary approval will be sought to implement these locally led plans for the area. At the turn of the year, a draft structural changes Order will be laid in Parliament. This will include plans for the necessary transitional arrangements, including for elections in May 2022 for the future unitary councils.

The consultation which was launched in February asked a number of questions about each proposal around value for money, proposed geography of the council and impact of the proposal on local services.

There were over 13,000 responses from residents, councils in neighbouring areas, health providers, the police, Local Enterprise Partnerships, businesses voluntary groups and educational bodies.

The three criteria which had to be met before a proposal was accepted were:

• is likely to improve local government and service delivery across its area;
• commands a good deal of local support as assessed in the round overall across the whole area of the proposal;
• and any unitary councils to be established have a credible geography. 

• Restrictions will apply to medium and large retailers
• Measures form a key part of the government’s strategy to tackle obesity and get the nation fit and healthy

Promotions on food and drinks high in fat salt or sugar (HFSS) in retailers will be restricted from October 2022, the government has confirmed today [Wednesday 21 July 2021].

Regulations will be laid in Parliament that will require medium and large businesses, including those with 50 or more employees, to phase out their offering of multibuy promotions such as “buy one get one free” or “3 for 2” offers on HFSS products.

Less healthy promotions will also no longer be featured in key locations, such as checkouts, store entrances, aisle ends and their online equivalents. Free refills of sugary soft drinks will also be prohibited in the eating-out sector.

Today’s announcement follows consultation with industry and the government has considered industry’s feedback and has made the decision to extend the implementation date of this policy – from April 2022 to October 2022 – to allow businesses enough time to prepare for these restrictions.

The government will continue to work with businesses, trade associations and local authorities to ensure they are supported in implementing the new requirements ahead of them coming into force. This will include sharing draft guidance with industry and local authorities to provide further clarity on how these restrictions will need to be implemented in practice.

As part of the regulations, the government will provide local authorities with the option of issuing civil penalties for non-compliance with the promotions restrictions.

These measures will support people in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and improve the nation’s health. Over 25 years, these measures are estimated to accrue combined health benefits of approximately £60 million, according to the value that society places on changes in the quality and length of people’s lives as a result of fewer cases of obesity. They will make supermarkets and other retailers places where the healthier choice is the easy choice for everyone and support people to lead healthier lives.

Public Health Minister Jo Churchill, said:

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the impact that an unhealthy weight can have on people’s health. We know families want the healthy choice to be the easy choice, and restricting promotions on unhealthy foods will help them achieve this.

We want to support everyone to eat healthier foods more regularly and this starts with helping supermarkets and manufacturers promote healthier food choices lower or free from HFSS, to support families to make healthier choices.

These restrictions will come into force from October 2022. I look forward to working together with everyone to ensure that for families a healthy option is the easy option when shopping.

Obesity is one of the biggest health crises the country faces as almost two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity and 1 in 3 children leave primary school overweight or obese. Obesity-related illnesses cost the NHS £6 billion a year.

Further action as part of the government’s obesity strategy to get the nation fit and healthy will see the introduction of mandatory calorie labelling in restaurants, cafes and takeaways from April 2022 and restrictions for the advertising of HFSS products being shown on TV before 9pm and online coming into force at the end of 2022.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• There is a two-stage process to define what products are captured by the promotions restrictions. This two-step process ensures the restrictions apply to the products of most concern to childhood obesity whilst allowing the healthiest products within categories to be excluded. First the products will only be subject to the restrictions if they are in a narrowed set of categories listed in regulations. If a product falls into one of these categories, then the second stage is to apply the 2004/05 Nutrient profiling Model (NPM). If a food products scores 4 or above or a drink product scores 1 or above it will be considered as HFSS and not able to be promoted.

• The government’s Impact Assessment for the promotions policy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/restricting-promotions-of-food-and-drink-that-is-high-in-fat-sugar-and-salt

Leaseholders in blocks of flats with cladding should be supported to buy, sell or re-mortgage their homes after the government agreed with major lenders to pave the way to ending the need for EWS1 forms. It comes following expert advice that the forms should no longer be needed on buildings below 18 metres.

The announcement by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick today (21 July 2021) follows new advice from fire safety experts that the government commissioned earlier in the year to investigate risk in medium and lower-rise buildings, which makes clear that there is no systemic risk of fire in these blocks of flats.

The report recommends that residents are reassured as to safety, and a more proportionate approach is urgently instituted, requiring action by all market participants.

A group of major high street lenders has committed to review their practices following the new advice; HSBC UK, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and others have said that the expert report and government statement paves the way for EWS1 forms to no longer be required for buildings below 18 metres and will help further unlock the housing market.

The government welcomes their support but is now calling on others to demonstrate leadership by working rapidly to update guidance and policies in line with the expert advice.

The expert advice was commissioned by the Secretary of State after witnessing what Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, has described as extreme risk aversion, which has left leaseholders across the country receiving costly bills for remediation that is not necessary.

It states that fire risks should be managed wherever possible through measures such as alarm systems or sprinklers, and that the overwhelming majority of medium and low- rise buildings (those under 18m) with cladding should not require expensive remediation.

The intervention is designed to reduce needless and costly remediation in lower rise buildings and is part of wider efforts to restore balance to the market, helping flat owners to buy, sell or re-mortgage homes.

Risk to life in blocks of flats remains very low. The number of fires in homes in England has been on a general downward trend for many years, reaching an all-time low last year. 91% were in houses, bungalows, converted or low rise flats, while only 9% were in blocks of flats of four storeys or more.

The government is already fully funding the cost of replacing unsafe cladding on all buildings over 18 metres, through the unprecedented £5 billion Building Safety Fund, and has been clear with building owners, lenders and the industry throughout that they must take a proportionate response to fire safety and enable homeowners to get on with their lives.

Today’s announcement – outlined by the Secretary of State during the second reading of the Building Safety Bill – demonstrates that the industry should now be actively taking an evidence-based approach to fire safety.

The move has been backed by the National Fire Chiefs Council and the Institution of Fire Engineers.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said:

Today’s announcement is a significant step forward for leaseholders in medium and lower-rise buildings who have faced difficulty in selling, anxiety at the potential cost of remediation and concern at the safety of their homes.

While we are strengthening the overall regulatory system, leaseholders cannot remain stuck in homes they cannot sell because of excessive industry caution, nor should they feel that they are living in homes that are unsafe, when the evidence demonstrates otherwise.

That’s why I commissioned an expert group to further examine the issue, and have already agreed with many major lenders that lower-rise buildings will no longer need an EWS1 form, and the presumption should be that these homes can be bought and sold as normal.

We hope that this intervention will help restore balance to the market and provide reassurance for existing and aspiring homeowners alike. The government has made its position very clear and I urge the rest of the market to show leadership and endorse this propionate, evidence based, safety approach.

There is a longstanding legal duty on the Responsible Person for all purpose-built blocks of flats to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment. Moving forward, where the Responsible Person has identified fire safety issues they should update their fire risk assessments to determine any actions required. This could include measures such as installing sprinklers or alarms and in exceptional cases, remediation to ensure buildings are safe and people feel safe.

To help with this, new guidance for the risk assessment of external wall systems will be introduced. The PAS9980 will ensure that fire risk assessments are consistent, proportionate to risk and actions to manage risk are cost-effective, and the Consolidated Advice Note will be withdrawn.

For buildings under 18m which do require remediation, the government will introduce a financing scheme so that no leaseholder will have to pay more than £50 a month for the cost of replacing unsafe cladding. Further details of this scheme will be set out in due course.

Welcoming the support from the fire safety profession and from major lenders, Dame Judith Hackitt said:

I am pleased to see the support and commitment to returning to an evidence-based proportionate approach to fire and building safety. It’s critical, given the significant – and in many cases unnecessary – impact this is having on people who live in and own homes in blocks of flats.

What’s needed now is for the remaining bodies and lenders to get onboard so we have a collective, fact-based system that is reflective of the reality of the situation and reassures leaseholders that they, their homes and their investments are safe.

CEO of the Institution of Fire Engineers, Steve Hamm, said:

The IFE supports the expert statement issued today. We expect this will lead to a significant reduction in the demand for the EWS1 process from mortgage valuers, particularly for buildings under 18m in height.

Today’s statement will support competent fire engineers to use their professional training, judgement and expertise to assess buildings based on professional appraisal of risk. This should enable a move away from the often risk-averse and overly cautious approach that has been seen in many cases.

We welcome the commitment of all parties to ensure a proportionate and evidence-based approach to fire and building safety for all buildings along with the increased scrutiny to be provided by the new Regulators and the gateway approval process, which we expect will lead to improved levels of safety, providing comfort and reassurance for residents and homeowners as well as the wider market.”

Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Mark Hardingham said:

“We fully support this new advice and welcome the challenge to those who are applying an overly risk-averse approach in many buildings below 18 metres. We expect this will start to redress the balance where disproportionate measures have been put in place to manage fire risks. We want to ensure that buildings are safe and will work closely with fire and rescue services to apply the advice for buildings in their area.”

The government has also set out plans for developers of high-rises in England to contribute to the cost of remediating safety defects in a major step towards ensuring industry contributes to righting the wrongs of the past.

A consultation published today outlines that the levy will be applied when developers seek permission to build certain high-rise residential buildings of 18 metres or more in height.

The money recouped would contribute towards fixing historic fire safety defects, including unsafe cladding, protecting leaseholders and taxpayers from shouldering the burden of remediation costs.

The government is calling for views on the proposed design of the levy, which was first announced earlier this year as part of multi-billion-pound package to fix unsafe cladding on high-rise residential buildings, alongside wider financial and regulatory support.

The government has also confirmed today that the Building Safety Fund will reopen for applications in Autumn for any eligible buildings that missed the original deadline in June, with more details to be published in the coming months.

The expert group members are:

• Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety
• Sir Ken Knight, Chair of the Independent Expert Advisory Panel on building safety following the Grenfell Tower Fire
• Ron Dobson, former London Fire Commissioner
• Roy Wilsher, adviser on fire reform, former Chief Fire Officer.

Read the statement from the group.

Read the government’s statement.

Very few fires spread from the room where they start. In 2019/20, 7% of fires spread beyond the room of origin in blocks of flats over four storeys, compared with 9% in blocks below four storeys and 14% in houses, bungalows, converted flats and other dwellings.

Find the developer levy consultation.

The government has also today published the Building Regulations Advisory Committee working group report which sets out the definition of the ‘golden thread’ and how industry can support the government in delivering safer buildings.

As part of the strengthened regulatory system set out in the Building Safety Bill, all high-rise residential buildings will have to have a golden thread of information, which will capture and protect all relevant safety information relating to the building.

The golden thread was a recommendation by Dame Judith Hackitt and will be used by the people responsible for the building to demonstrate its safety to the regulator throughout its life-cycle.

Full statements from lenders:

HSBC UK

We welcome the statement from experts on building safety and note the assessment from the parties to the statement that there is no systemic risk from fire in medium and lower rise blocks of flats. Our expectation is that the existing consolidated advice note will be removed and, with the endorsement from IFE, this means we will no longer require EWS1 forms for buildings below 18m, and consequently RICS guidance will be updated in line with this advice. We look forward to these changes being reflected in valuations from our RICS qualified partners and remain committed to supporting affected homeowners.

Barclays

We have seen and support the statement from experts on building safety and accept their assessment that there is no systemic risk from fire in medium and lower rise blocks of flats. This should remove the need for EWS1 forms for mortgage applications in any block below 18 metres. Our approach to mortgage lending and valuation has been and will remain proportionate, relying on the normal statutory process for blocks of flats having an up-to-date fire risk assessment to assure residents’ safety.

Lloyds Banking Group

We welcome the government’s statement on fire safety in multi storey apartment blocks and specifically its declaration, based on advice from relevant experts on building safety, that there is no systemic risk from fire in medium and lower rise blocks of flats. In particular, we welcome the government’s pledge to withdraw its consolidated advice note. We look forward to working with RICS as they update their specialist guidance, which should provide the certainty everyone needs. We also look forward to seeing the details of the government loan scheme that will provide residents support if they need any cladding-related remediation. We expect the government’s action will help further unlock the housing market.