Young people in Alternative Provision (AP) at risk of unemployment or dropping out of education at age 16 are set to receive further mentoring, pastoral support and careers guidance under Government plans to level up opportunity for all young people and build back better.

The Department for Education has today (21 May) announced a further £8 million as part of the AP Transition Fund for 2021/22 to support up to 11,400 Year 11 pupils as they move into the next stage of their education, work or training after they leave school, more than doubling the original investment in the fund last year.

The money – up to £750 per pupil – will help AP settings pay for one-to-one support such as mentors or specialist transition coaches to help young people make decisions about their options after they finish school, helping guide them into further education, post-16 training routes or directly into employment.

Children and Families Minister Vicky Ford said:

Being excluded from school should never be at the cost of a young person’s education or place a barrier in the way of their future. All young people deserve an excellent education that sets them up for life and we know that the last year has been really challenging for students in Alternative Provision.

This fund helps these students, who are often extremely vulnerable, to get back on track with their education and paves the way for their future careers. That’s why we are putting even more investment into it this year, so more Year 11 pupils can benefit from this bespoke support and build their self-confidence to make the transition into the next phase of their lives easier, whether that is in further education or employment.

The funding builds on the £7 million provided to schools last year as part of the programme, following concerns that pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 may slip into unemployment or out of further education as a result of many young people missing out on time in the classroom with their teachers and peers during the pandemic.

Robert Gasson, Chief Executive of the Wave Multi Academy Trust, said:

The effective use of the transition fund last year enabled us to support our Year 11 pupils and improved their outcomes significantly. As such I am delighted that this fund has been announced again for this year, as I know it will be crucial in ensuring that our pupils remain supported at what will continue to be a very challenging time for them once they have left us.

Tim Morfin, Founder and Chief Executive of Transforming Lives for Good, said:

Given the impact of the pandemic in the lives of young people, we’re delighted that the Transition Fund has been created to give young people the personal support they need to take their next step in education, further training or employment.

Data shows that just over half (54%) of young people who finish Key Stage 4 in Alternative Provision go on to a sustained post-16 destination, compared to 94% attending mainstream schools, and 23% of the cohort are classed as ‘Not in Education, Employment or Training’ (NEET). Without making a successful transition to post-16 these more vulnerable pupils are at risk of being exploited into gang involvement, county-lines activity or serious violence.

Alternative Provision can offer a lifeline to these young people and their families, in providing tailored support from teachers and smaller classes to help them focus and fulfil their potential.

Today’s additional funding follows the Government’s announcement to ensure equal opportunities for post-16 education to help the nation recover from the pandemic, creating a new law for post 16 and adult education and training systems, providing the skills that people need for well-paid jobs and opportunities to train throughout their lifetime.

The Prime Minister has today (21 May 2021) launched plans for a new ‘Global Pandemic Radar’ to identify emerging COVID-19 variants and track new diseases around the world, ahead of the Global Health Summit hosted by Italy and the EU.

The pathogen surveillance network will save lives and protect health systems by spotting diseases before they cause future pandemics and enabling the rapid development of vaccines, treatments and tests.

The Prime Minister spoke to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus and Director of the Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar yesterday (20 May 2021) to agree the next steps ahead of the G7.

WHO will lead an implementation group, supported by the Wellcome Trust, to launch this new international partnership to identify, track and share data on new coronavirus variants and monitor vaccine resistance in populations.

The PM was updated on work already happening in this area, including the newly-opened global WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence based in Berlin. WHO surveillance has also identified the B.1.617 variant, first found in India, in more than 50 countries so far.

The ‘Global Pandemic Radar’ is expected to be fully up and running with a network of surveillance hubs before the end of 2021, significantly improving global health security going into next year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Tackling COVID-19 globally and ensuring we are better prepared for future health threats is an absolute priority for the UK’s G7 presidency.

The world must never be caught unawares again by a virus spreading among us unchecked. We need to build a system of disease surveillance fit for the 21st century, with real-time data sharing and rapid genomic sequencing and response.

A Global Pandemic Radar will ensure that we are vigilant to new variants and emerging pathogens, and can rapidly develop the vaccines and treatments needed to stop them in their tracks.

The Prime Minister first called for a global network of disease surveillance centres as part of ‘5 point plan’ at the UN Security Council last September.

The UK commissioned a report from the Wellcome Trust and has been working with WHO, other governments’ centres of disease control, NGOs and research organisations to take it forward as part of our G7 Presidency.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO:

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the vital need for a robust, modern system to keep the world ahead of emerging diseases through active monitoring at the community level, swift and accurate sequencing of new pathogens, and data-sharing across the globe.

The UK has set a strong example for pathogen surveillance and sequencing, as well as vaccine development. I am delighted that under PM Johnson, the UK will partner with WHO to contribute to stronger global surveillance and a safer world.

This announcement follows the publication today of new analysis commissioned by the UK government from Jeremy Farrar, Chair of the Wellcome Trust. The report sets out the mechanisms for a global pathogen surveillance system that can identify new variants of COVID-19 and detect other diseases before they become pandemics.

The work builds on existing surveillance mechanisms and data sharing agreements for HIV, TB and malaria.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said:

This pandemic has provided a stark wake-up call to the threat posed by a fast-moving infectious disease. We are long overdue the essential reinforcement of our local, national and international disease surveillance networks.

We failed to address these gaps following other epidemics and we must act now before countries move on from this pandemic. This commitment from the UK, as President of the G7, will be hugely important in achieving these aims. There is no time to spare in making this aspiration a reality.

The Prime Minister will also address the Global Health Summit, convened by G20 President Italy and the European Union, later today [Friday]. The Summit aims to bring countries together to endorse a ‘Rome Declaration’ of principles on dealing with global health crises.

The investment of an initial £195 million has been awarded to 26 organisations across England and Wales to provide vital support services that help reduce reoffending, such as employment and housing advice. This includes over £45 million awarded to services tailored to female offenders to address their specific needs and the underlying causes of their crimes as part of the Government’s pledge to see fewer women go to prison. The total funding awarded could rise to £270 million if contracts with these organisations are extended to their full terms.

By tackling the drivers of crime and getting offenders’ lives back on track, these services will help to prevent thousands of people becoming victims each year and save some of the £18 billion annual cost of repeat offending.

The move is one of the improvements being made to the Probation Service next month as responsibility for supervising low- and medium-risk offenders comes back under public sector control. The delivery of unpaid work in community sentences and behavioural change programmes are also being brought back in-house.

Prisons and Probation Minister Alex Chalk said:

Tackling things like homelessness, unemployment and illiteracy is vital to our drive to cut crime but these issues cannot be solved by our brilliant probation staff alone.

The expertise and support of charities and companies like those we are funding today plays a crucial role in helping offenders to rehabilitate and lead a crime-free life.

Almost £46 million has been awarded to charities which provide wraparound support to women in the criminal justice system, acknowledging the complex array of issues female offenders particularly face. Organisations including The Nelson Trust, Women in Prison, and a partnership between the St Giles Trust and the Wise Group will work with vulnerable women to help them get their lives back on track. This significant investment provides long-term support to women’s centres and other dedicated services for women serving community sentences or leaving prison.

Prison leavers are around 50 per cent more likely to reoffend if released with nowhere to stay so over £33 million will be shared by charities helping the homeless, including St Mungo’s, Shelter and NACRO. Their work will help get offenders off the streets into stable accommodation and work alongside the Probation Service’s new temporary accommodation service.

A further £33 million has been awarded to companies such as Seetec, Maximus and Ingeus which provide offenders with skills training and employment support. With their expertise in helping people find work they will partner with probation staff and the New Futures Network in the Prison Service to support offenders into jobs.

Up to £118 million has been awarded to organisations which work with offenders to address personal issues, including Catch 22, The Forward Trust and The Growth Company. This ranges from support accessing mental health services to help with managing complex family relationships.

The funding has been awarded through a new process designed to make it easier for charities and other third-sector organisations to access funding from Government and around two-thirds of the funding has been awarded to registered charities. In addition, many lead organisations are using the specialist skills of smaller organisations to help deliver services, with another 50 organisations, mostly in the voluntary sector, in their supply chains.

Notes to Editors

• Women’s and personal support services have been procured at Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) level, while each provider for Education, Training and Employment services will work across one of the twelve probation regions in England and Wales. Accommodation services will also be provided at a regional level except in Wales where they have been procured at PCC level.
• For the first time, the Probation Service is jointly commissioning the full range of rehabilitative services in Greater Manchester with the region’s Combined Authority from July 2021. In London, women’s services will be commissioned jointly with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) by providing funding to MOPAC’s existing providers for an extension and expansion of the current service. A new commissioning process will be undertaken for services from 2022.

Full list of contracts awarded according to region

Please note, the figures given are for the standard term of the contracts which are 2 years and 9 months, unless specified (see each contract below). Note Women’s services contracts are for 3 years and 9 months. For Accommodation and Education, Training and Employment services these are predicted values.

East Midlands

• Women’s Services
  • Lincolnshire Action Trust – £544,992 (Lincolnshire)
  • Changing Lives – £1,240,656 (Leicestershire)
  • Nottingham Women’s Centre – £1,831,193 (Nottinghamshire)
  • Women’s Work Derbyshire – £1,509,887 (Derbyshire)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • The Forward Trust – £998,975 (Lincolnshire)
  • Ingeus – £6,021,064 (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

East of England

• Women’s Services
  • Advance – £2,128,122 (Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire)
  • St Giles Wise (SGW) – £2,177,655 (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk) (Northamptonshire – until June 2023)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • Nacro – £3,054,280 (Suffolk, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire)
  • The Forward Trust – £4,374,002 (Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Essex)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

Kent, Surrey and Sussex

• Women’s Services
  • Advance – £1,317,735 (Kent)
  • Brighton Women’s Centre – £1,167,285 (Sussex)
  • Women in Prison – £588,630 (Surrey)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • The Forward Trust – £2,557,318 (Sussex, Surrey)
  • Seetec – £2,135,134 (Kent)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

London

• Women’s Services
  • In London, women’s services will be commissioned jointly with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) from mid-2022 with the Probation Service providing funding to MOPAC’s existing providers until then.
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

North East

• Women’s Services
  • Changing Lives – £4,253,089 (Cleveland, Northumbria)
  • St Giles Wise (SGW) – £866,581 (Durham)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • Ingeus – £3,032,996 (Northumbria)
  • St Giles Wise (SGW) – £3,177,664 (Durham, Cleveland)
• Accommodation
  • Thirteen Housing Group – £2,740,568
• Education, Training and Employment

North West

• Women’s Services
  • Lancashire Women – £1,791,947 (Lancashire)
  • PSS UK – £3,050,765 (Cheshire, Merseyside)
  • Women’s Community Matters – £319,435 (Cumbria – until June 2023) (Subject to contract)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • The Growth Company – £5,732,481 (Lancashire, Merseyside) (Cumbria – until June 2023)
  • Seetec – £2,108,173 (Cheshire)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

South Central

• Women’s Services
  • Advance – £2,111,499 (Hampshire) (Thames Valley – until June 2023)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • Catch 22 – £4,091,542 (Hampshire, Thames Valley)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

South West

• Women’s Services
  • Nelson Trust – £2,897,254 (Avon & Somerset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire)
  • The Women’s Centre Cornwall – £1,765,668 (Devon & Cornwall, Dorset)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • Catch 22 – £5,706,872 (Avon & Somerset, Dorset) (Wiltshire, Devon & Cornwall, Gloucestershire – all until June 2023)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

Wales

• Women’s Services
  • The Nelson Trust – £1,992,162 (Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, South Wales – all until June 2023)
  • PSS UK – £432,225 (North Wales – until June 2023)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships (Young Adults and 26+)
  • St Giles Wise (SGW) – £6,011,313 (Dyfed-Powys, Gwent – all until June 2023) (South Wales, North Wales)
• Accommodation
  • o Forward Trust – £2,006,168 (Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, South Wales)
  • Nacro – £633,425 (North Wales)
• Education, Training and Employment

West Midlands

• Women’s Services
  • Changing Lives – £6,095,524 (West Midlands, Warwickshire)(Staffordshire – until June 2023)
  • Willowdene – £1,014,080 (West Mercia)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • Catch 22 – £1,639,494 (West Mercia)
  • Ingeus – £8,324,204 (Staffordshire, West Midlands) (Warwickshire – until June 2023)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment

Yorkshire & The Humber

• Women’s Services
  • Changing Lives – £1,835,581 (South Yorkshire)
  • St Giles Wise (SGW) – £1,072,461 (North Yorkshire)
  • Together Women – £4,604,673 (Humberside, West Yorkshire)
• Support services for issues including mental health, family and relationships
  • Foundation – £1,246,789 (North Yorkshire)
  • Ingeus – £6,671,666 (Humberside, West Yorkshire)
  • The Growth Company – £2,593, 567 (South Yorkshire)
• Accommodation
• Education, Training and Employment
  • The Growth Company – £4,134,343

Greater Manchester

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority – For the first time, the Probation Service is jointly commissioning the full range of rehabilitative services in Greater Manchester with the region’s Combined Authority from July 2021.

Thank you, Mr President. Thank you SRSG Perthes for his briefing today. And it’s very good to see my friend, the Chargé d’Affaires of Sudan, here as well today and have you participating in our meeting. And although it’s a little late, let me say Eid Mubarak to you and to all the Sudanese people.

Mr President, the United Kingdom wants to commend the continued progress made by Prime Minister Hamdok and his government towards delivering all aspects of Sudan’s transition. Progress on difficult economic reforms is particularly notable, with Sudan passing a second IMF review this month, and being on track to reach the first milestone of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative.

The United Kingdom is committed to supporting these efforts, including commitments to helping Sudan to clear its arrears at the World Bank, African Development Bank, and the IMF, unlocking access to much needed international finance.

And on the peace and security side, I want to welcome the signing of a Declaration of Principles with the SPLM-N Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu and the planned return to negotiations next week.

I also want, Mr President, to recognise the progress made by UNAMID in completing the closure and handing over of sites within a challenging context, as well as the efforts of the Government of Sudan to secure the sites handed over to them by UNAMID. And as this is the final Council session before UNAMID closes on 30 June, let me take this opportunity to thank all personnel who have contributed so much over the years to UNAMID’s efforts to support peace and stability in Darfur.

Mr President, notwithstanding significant progress, many challenges remain. We are concerned by use of violence against protesters in Khartoum on 11 May. And I want to welcome the swift action taken by the Sudanese authorities to investigate. But this incident is a reminder that accountability for crimes committed before, and during, the revolution needs to be delivered if Sudan’s transition is to succeed. It is vital that progress is made in this area, alongside progress on implementing the Juba Peace Agreement, good governance and constitutional reform. Only with such progress will all citizens across Sudan be empowered and benefit from the transition.

And I want to echo the Secretary-General’s concerns about increasing intercommunal violence. We must prioritise peace and the protection of civilians, and I call on the Government to accelerate implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement and the National Plan for the Protection of Civilians. UNITAMS can play an important role in supporting these efforts.

As the Council discusses the renewal of UNITAMS mandate, I want to really commend the work of SRSG Perthes and his team in recent months. UNITAMS is a partnership between the international community and Sudan, and we are really encouraged by the positive engagement and commitment of the Government of Sudan in working with UNITAMS in support of the transition. It was good to hear today that the Status of Mission Agreement is ready for signature, and let’s hope that can be done as soon as possible.

In the coming weeks, colleagues, we hope the Council will renew UNITAMS’ mandate, enabling continued support in line with the four strategic objectives identified in resolution 2524. I believe that Council members will want to ensure UNITAMS’ support to the Government of Sudan’s own priorities has the maximum impact over the coming year. We should ensure a prioritised and focused mandate to support UNITAMS in implementing its strategic objectives. UNITAMS support to Sudan should be underpinned by a whole-of-UN approach and I call on all to coordinate across the UN system and indeed with the International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

Mr President, this will be the last time that I speak on Sudan in this Council. I just want to reflect on the enormous changes that I have seen in my four years here. The Sudanese people showed incredible bravery and determination in their revolution to remove a military dictatorship. The African Union played a critical role. Not all permanent members of this Council supported the people of Sudan and the AU in their desire for freedom, but I am proud that the United Kingdom stood with the people of Sudan throughout and does so now.

But navigating a successful transition, with all the many priorities faced by the government, also requires courage and determination. Democracy and civilian rule remains fragile. And so I believe that it is more important than ever that the United Nations, both UNITAMS and the agencies, funds and programmes, prioritise support for Sudan. It is vital that the international community works in partnership, especially the IFIs and NGOs. And, finally, those of us who celebrated with the Sudanese people when they threw off dictatorship; those of us who believe in democracy, human rights and the rule of law; those of us who saw Sudan as a bright spot on this Council’s agenda, must not be complacent. We must not be distracted. We must not lose focus. We must work to support Sudan’s transition. We must not let Sudan’s people down; and we must not let down all those across the world striving for their own freedom and measuring our determination in our response in Sudan.

Thank you very much, Mr President.