Thank you very much distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, excellencies.

I would really like to thank the Netherlands for hosting this excellent summit. We have heard some brilliant submissions and real power to the messages that have been coming through. I also want to thank the Global Center on Adaptation – I see you have my friend Feike with you. And of course, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, for his leadership in adaptation and resilience.

And I can tell you that as COP President this is a top priority indeed. And I know that it is the same for my dear friend Patricia Espinosa who you will hear from shortly as well.

Building resilience into our economies and societies is absolutely urgent, and it is essential, if we are to protect human lives and livelihoods from the effects of our changing climate.

Ultimately it requires all of us to act together: whether it’s governments or cities, or regions; businesses, investors or civil society, all of us have to act on this issue.

Of course there is a great deal of fantastic work that is already going on.

From cities like Port Moresby, investing in trees and mangroves to protect the City and its people from coastal flooding.

To the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment, which represents around $10 trillion in assets.

Driving private finance to fund resilient infrastructure and helping investors to understand climate risk which is so vital.

And of course today, we are launching two new campaigns to focus efforts and make progress faster.

This morning, as you will have heard, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the Adaptation Action Coalition. With our partners, Egypt, Bangladesh, Malawi, St Lucia, the UN, and, of course the Netherlands.

The Coalition will bring governments together to accelerate action ahead of COP26.

And now it is my particular pleasure to launch the Race to Resilience campaign.

This is a campaign that will mobilise businesses, investors, cities, civil society and others to act.

Bringing together initiatives with the aim of building the resilience of 4 billion people across the world – that’s representing over half of the world’s population – by 2030.

The campaign will support activities delivering for people and nature.

For example, cities protecting people against heatwaves.

Or small holder farmers utilising climate resilient technologies.

And restoring deforested and degraded land.

I would also like to thank our two brilliant Climate Champions, Nigel and Gonzalo, for the incredible effort that they have put in to make sure that this initiative happens.

And I do think that together, these two campaigns can make a real difference to the scale and pace of adaptation and resilience across all our economies and indeed across society.

So I will finish with an ask to everyone who is listening and watching this: the ask to governments, is please join the Adaptation Action Coalition; and to businesses, to cities, to civil society groups, please join the Race to Resilience.

And help us, working together, to build a more resilient and better world.

Thank you.

Needy families across West Cumbria enjoyed some Christmas cheer thanks to a significant donation from LLWR, who also ensured the scheme guaranteed small independent local retailers a timely boost.

The company gifted shopping vouchers to Copeland communities and ensured they could only be redeemed at local stores.

Jenny Brumby and Jenn Jakubowski, of Around the Combe Community Group, coordinated the assistance in the Millom area, where LLWR’s funding helped supply families with Christmas Day lunches.

“It was absolutely amazing to have LLWR offer support at this time of great need in the community,” said volunteer Jenny, also Copeland Borough Council’s Shop Local Coordinator.

“The need is huge and we’re very thankful. The support we’ve been able to give families has been life changing for some.”

Some £2,500 went to families in toy vouchers, to ensure youngsters had presents to open on Christmas morning, whilst 60 care parcels, including toiletries, were distributed, plus 30 baby parcels, including nappies.

In all, around 300 families in the Millom area have received help in part due to LLWR funding, with grants from other sources also playing a major part. Some funding has been held back by the Community Group, so they can continue to provide food parcels for those in most need.

The spark for LLWR’s campaign came from Egremont Town Council, who made a successful bid for funding to help support its aim to fund shopping vouchers for 105 struggling families that could only be redeemed in the town, thus also supporting local business.

Cath Giel, LLWR’s Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations, opted to extend the scheme to also include the wider Copeland area, including Millom and Whitehaven.

She said: “We realised there was a great need right across the borough. Deprivation is an issue further exacerbated by Christmas, so we were happy to bring smiles to faces at what should be a joyous time of the year.

“Our donations also gave us the chance to support local businesses who have also been impacted by COVID, so this was a double win for our community.”

In addition, the West Cumbria Community Action Trust had identified 100 families who would struggle to fund the festivities, and each was gifted £50 in vouchers from LLWR to spend on meat, fruit and veg in local Whitehaven shops.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has begun an inspection of the use of hotels and barracks as contingency asylum accommodation and is inviting anyone with relevant knowledge or experience to submit their evidence to chiefinspector@icibi.gov.uk.

The call for evidence will remain open for four weeks (until 19 February 2021).

This inspection will examine the use made of hotels and other forms of contingency asylum accommodation, including Penally Camp and Napier Barracks, since the beginning of 2020. It will focus on the roles and responsibilities of the Home Office and the accommodation service providers, and of other parties, in relation to the use of contingency asylum accommodation, including:

• communication between the Home Office and the accommodation service providers, and with other stakeholders (for example, local authorities, health services, NGOs who provide support to asylum seekers), regarding the need for contingency asylum accommodation in particular areas

• the process(es) for identifying potential contingency asylum accommodation and for testing and deciding about the suitability of specific sites, including with regard to Covid-19 safety

• decisions about individual asylum seekers and their needs in terms of accommodation and other support, including information sharing, record keeping, oversight and review, particularly with regard to vulnerabilities and risks

• communication between the Home Office and/or the accommodation service providers and individuals (“service users”) regarding their asylum accommodation, including any changes to that accommodation

• the strategy for reducing the requirement for contingency asylum accommodation in the short- to medium-term (to the end of 2021-22) and longer-term (through to the end of the current Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts)

ICIBI would welcome evidence in relation to any of the above points, but also in respect of any other matters that those with knowledge and experience of contingency asylum accommodation consider relevant.

Since the end of 2020, ICIBI has been speaking to and receiving evidence from a number of stakeholders, along with residents of both Penally Camp and Napier Barracks. There is no need for those who have already provided evidence to re-submit it, unless they wish to update or add to it.

Please Note: The Independent Chief Inspector is unable to assist with individual asylum claims or with complaints, but where anyone considers that the details of a claim or complaint are relevant they may include them in their evidence submission.

Data Protection

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we need your permission to process and retain the information you submit, by clicking here a consent statement will automatically be added to your email.

However, if you are using a non-compatible email client then please send your submission to chiefinspector@icibi.gov.uk with ‘Contingency Asylum Accommodation submission’ in the subject line and include the following consent statement in the body of your email: “I consent to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration retaining and processing the information and data in this email.”

Please do not include this statement if you do not wish to give your consent. The information you submit may be quoted in the final inspection report, but it is the ICIBI’s practice not to name sources and to anonymise as much as possible any examples or case studies.