Good afternoon everyone – it’s great to be back talking to the LGA again. Now where was I?

Well, when I last left off with you, well that was in 2017, I’m amazed that you’ve invited me back and that is because before I logged in, I took a moment to re-read some of the feedback from my last speech to the LGA as a Secretary of State – just for old time’s sake.

And I must say my favourite description was when someone called it “cat food lasagne”, that is the best description in terms of my most favourable one. I still don’t actually know it what means, I have never had cat food lasagne, I do not know about you Izzi and others. But I do know that it’s harder to heckle someone on Zoom! So I thought that would be a very good format for me.

Now a lot has changed since 2017. 90’s fashion is back although England are actually winning in semi-finals now – something we can all celebrate.

But in all seriousness, we’ve all learned a lot since then. The last eighteen months have been some of the most difficult in our country’s history.

And I’ll freely admit, I haven’t found it easy to watch from the side-lines. That’s not what I’m all about. I’m so pleased that the PM has brought me back from furlough because what I did miss in the time that I have been out of government, in parliament but out of government, is being able to help through public service.

And on that point I’m 100 percent aligned with the LGA, with everyone listening today – because public service is what you’re all about. You’re the front line of our democracy. Without you, this country simply wouldn’t be able to function. That’s just a fact.

I’ve always loved working with local government and what you do for this country I saw, as many of you would know, first-hand when I was the Communities Secretary.

There are so many parts of life in this country where local government holds the key – that is especially true for health and care.

I was thinking just before this speech and preparing for my remarks you have to go all the way back Viscount Addison, he was the first ever Minister of Health a hundred years ago, to find a Health Secretary with experience of local government. It’s experience that I promise to use.

It’s not just your knowledge of your communities, which is vast. It’s also the huge trust those communities have in you. It’s a degree of trust that, I’m acutely aware, is higher than the trust in central government. And many of you are aware of, and it is one of the things that really struck me when I was Communities Secretary, was how sometimes government policy, the policy we have together, both central and local government which we agree on, is sometimes better understood and believed in by people when they know it is coming from local government rather than Westminster.

Well I remember watching, I do not know if any of you watched during the lockdown the show on the Salisbury Poisonings on BBC iPlayer. And in scene after scene, you see the Director of Public Health, who whatever she said, whatever she did, she was out thinking all of the suits who had joined her from the Cabinet Office and all the other departments. I think that a lot of people thought because she knew, because she did, knew the city better than anyone else – and she knew what needed to be done. Of course we know it’s a dramatised account, but I think we can all recognise some truth in that.

So at this moment, as we reshape what health and care look like for a post-pandemic world, it’s only right that local government should be at the heart of our plans.

Because the pandemic has shown us how quickly a local health problem can become a global one, and a global health problem can become a local one.

I’ve been so impressed by how you’ve worked with anyone and everyone to deliver for local people throughout the pandemic, from surging testing to helping vulnerable people off our streets.

And next Wednesday here in Westminster what we are going to see is the second reading of our Health and Care Bill. The officials in my department they just call it “The Bill”, which is quite unhelpful. But the reason they call it that is because it is such an important and central piece of legislation, it really is a big set of reforms we set out.

It’s a blueprint also for future collaboration. So through Integrated Care Systems, local government will be a central player in the health and care needs of the people they serve. You’ll not only shape what that care looks like, but be at the heart of efforts to prevent people from becoming patients in the first place.

The Directors of Public Health are going to play the role they were born to play, which really is an aim to set them free so they can help with so many more of the challenges that we all face. Whether it’s healthy weight, or action on smoking and alcohol abuse, I know we’re going to benefit from the experience local government has to offer.

And just as we draw on your expertise, you will be able to call on our new Office for Health Promotion, which will be under the leadership of the Chief Medical Officer. That’s the kind of leadership I know people will value everywhere.

Because these changes weren’t simply drawn up in a beige boardroom in Whitehall. These are changes people have really had an input in because we know that these are the kind of changes that we need to do to improve the health of the nation.

The Health and Care Bill is a result of close work with the NHS, yes. But equally, it’s a product of local government. So I’m so grateful to everyone in local government that has played a part in shaping them – including James and Ian and everyone involved through the LGA.

The other thing of course, the other big task we’ll be working on together in the months ahead is to put social care on a sustainable footing for the future.

Many of you may remember that when I was the Communities Secretary, I tried to do all I could to be your voice in Whitehall that pushed for so many things on social care including the social care precept and getting more of those money-raising powers into local hands. But we know the job isn’t done. Governments have recognised for years now that we need a new settlement as it were on social care, a new approach. I want to assure you that I will continue to be your voice,

Now we all want to see high-quality personalised care. We all want to see fairer ways of paying for that care. We all want people to have the choice of housing that works for them. We all want also carers to be better recognised for the work they do.

So I’m also determined we approach social care with the same spirit of integration and innovation we’ve seen through this pandemic – because we know this is when we can all work at our best.

It’s a big in-tray. The biggest I’ve had at any department I’ve led, and I’ve run five.

My immediate priority is to help get us safely out of this pandemic. But I’m mindful I’m not simply the “Covid Secretary”, I’m the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I’ll be looking at everything under the sun that’s going to improve the health of our great country.

We can see there are a huge lot of challenges ahead. But what I know from looking at those challenges, I know about the incredible capabilities of local government and I have every confidence that we can rise to meet them those challenges together.

That is something I am very much looking forward to. Thank you.

The Environment Secretary today (Thursday 8 July) visited Clean Growth UK to discuss how they are creating new green economy jobs. This comes as the government’s Plan for Jobs has been running for a year, helping protect livelihoods and support millions of people across the whole of the UK.

As part of our drive to reach Net Zero by 2050 and ahead of COP26, we are backing a green industrial revolution through the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan. This will mobilise billions in private and public sector investment to boost our green technology and finances industries and create 250,000 highly skilled green jobs across the UK. Clean Growth UK has already created or safeguarded over 700 green economy jobs by supporting a range of businesses to secure more than £15m million in research and development funding to develop new green products and services. Their innovation and commercialisation support has helped create new green jobs including roles in waste management, zero-emission electric bikes and modelling for flood risks.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

As we look ahead to COP26, our green industrial revolution and our Plan for Jobs are helping create new green jobs across the whole country.

It was brilliant to see this in action today at Clean Growth UK and hear how the organisation is both boosting the local economy and supporting the nation’s drive to become Net Zero by 2050.

The Plan for Jobs is working and is protecting jobs across the whole country, including in the South East. In the region, 1,554,400 people have been supported by the furlough scheme and 210,834 loans have been offered to businesses, totalling more than £8.8 billion.

Zoe Osmond, Director for Clean Growth UK, said:

The UK leads the world in climate change legislation and targets and today we discussed the challenges our SMEs face when innovating and growing the clean-green businesses we need for a net zero, nature positive world.

We now need a set of clear, long-term policies for climate and nature to enable businesses to invest, grow the green economy and turbocharge the green revolution. This will lead to a welcome growth in skilled green jobs and ensure our covid recovery is truly green and equitable.

Local companies who have benefitted from Clean Growth UK’s support include:

Medisort

Medisort collects, processes and disposes of healthcare waste in the South East, which includes children’s nappies and adult incontinence products. The company accessed the Green Growth Hub’s peer-to-peer action learning platform and received coaching which enabled them to secure investment for a dedicated nappy waste treatment and recovery facility. Over the coming months this will helps increase the amount of recyclable waste, improve the segregation route for materials and reduce the costs associate with recycling and incineration.

Zedify

Zedify uses zero-emission electric cargo bikes to run a delivery network around cities in the UK, delivering whatever clients need moving across congested urban environments including food, office supplies, textiles and print media. The company started in Brighton and Hove and following support from the Green Growth Platform it now operates in nine UK cities and has more than 100 staff.

Ambiental Environmental Assessment

Ambiental Environmental Assessment uses complex data and sophisticated computer modelling to predict flood risks. The assessments help developers, banks, insures, planners and government agencies make informed decisions to protect people’s lives, properties and businesses. By partnering with the Green Growth Hub, students are working on some of the projects, building their own experience and careers while supporting the business to get skilled help where it is needed most.

As Operation TORAL, the UK’s contribution to NATO Resolute Support, draws to a close, a small number of UK military personnel will temporarily remain to support the transition to a new phase of UK Government support to Afghanistan.

Operation TORAL has been the UK’s mission in Afghanistan since the end of UK combat operations in 2015. In line with the orderly and coordinated withdrawal of NATO Forces which began on 1 May, the Prime Minister confirmed earlier today that the UK has now withdrawn the majority of our personnel from the country.

A number of troops will remain to offer diplomatic assurance to the international community in Kabul as we transition to the end of the NATO mission. This is consistent with the continued diplomatic presence and retaining a bi-lateral relationship with Afghanistan.

The Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace MP, said:

Operation TORAL is drawing to an end, but our enduring support for the Afghan Security Forces and Afghan Government has not.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all those who have served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, particularly those who lost their lives. Their efforts have helped prevent international terrorism and set the country on the path to peace. We hope the deal struck last year will form the basis for progress.

We will now continue this important work as we transition to a new phase in Afghanistan.

Since 2001, 457 members of the UK Armed Forces have sadly lost their lives in Afghanistan, with more sustaining life-changing injuries. The country owes them a huge debt of gratitude, and their sacrifice must never be forgotten. Over 150,000 UK personnel have served in the country, and their efforts have not been in vain.

UK Armed Forces have helped deny terrorists a safe haven from which they could plan and launch attacks on the UK and its Allies. There has been no international terrorist attack mounted from Afghanistan in the past 20 years.

Alongside NATO Allies, we have trained 5,000 ANDSF cadets, including 330 women, at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA). The ANDSF have led security in Afghanistan for the last six years and are countering security threats across the country.

The logistical withdrawal of UK Armed Forces from Afghanistan has been conducted by elements from across the Armed Forces. The Royal Air Force has flown more than 50 flights, covering more than 100,000 nautical miles.

This includes the return of RAF Puma Helicopters, which have transported 126,000 passengers and moved 660,000kg of freight during their deployment in Afghanistan.

Brigadier Oliver Brown, outgoing Commander of Operation TORAL, said:

The men and women who have served as part of Op TORAL should be immensely proud. They have trained thousands of Afghan troops, helped prevent international terrorism and created the conditions for the Afghan Security Forces to succeed.

The logistical effort to draw the Operation to a close quickly and safely has been an excellent demonstration of the Armed Forces’ extraordinary professionalism.

Most of the soldiers who have departed Afghanistan are from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland. These soldiers have led the Kabul Security Force (KSF), which provided force protection for coalition mentors, including a Quick Reaction Force in Kabul. The Regiment marked the drawdown of Operation TORAL with a flag lowering ceremony on 24 June, attended by General Miller, Commander of Resolute Support Mission.

The withdrawal of British forces does not mean the end of our commitment to Afghanistan and we will continue to use diplomatic and humanitarian levers to support Afghanistan’s development and stability. The UK has already provided £3.3 billion of aid funding since 2002, which has helped improve the rights of all Afghans, including:

• 8.2 million more children who are now in school than in 2001.
• 3.6 million who girls are now in school.
• The Girls Education Challenge Fund has helped over a quarter of a million Afghan girls into the classroom.
• Maternal mortality has almost halved and infant mortality has decreased faster than any low income country since 2001.

Through our Afghanistan Multi Year Humanitarian Response Programme, we will continue to provide urgent lifesaving assistance to immediate humanitarian need. The UK is also a substantial contributor to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which continues to fund infrastructure development, resilience to climate change, and rural development.

The Government also remains committed to the many interpreters and other locally employed staff who risked their lives working alongside UK forces in Afghanistan. Through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), we will continue to relocate them to the UK and support them in building their lives here.

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