News story
Lord Evans replies to Tonia Antoniazzi’s request that the Committee on Standards in Public Life investigate the Chancellor’s declaration of interests
In response to a letter from Tonia Antoniazzi MP, Lord Evans outlined the Committee’s remit as an advisory body, and not a regulator. It is not within the remit of the Committee to investigate individual alleged breaches of any Code of Conduct.
Published 30 November 2020
News story
Jane Ramsey, an independent member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, has resigned from the Committee with immediate effect.
Lord Evans thanked Jane Ramsey for her service to the Committee over the past four and half years.
Published 30 November 2020
Press release
The Rural Payments Agency has launched a consultation on the operation of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) on the New Forest common.
The Rural Payments Agency has launched a consultation on the operation of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) on the New Forest common.
The Rural Payments Agency has launched a consultation on the operation of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) on the New Forest common.
New Forest commoners can apply for BPS and be allocated a notional share of the Forest’s eligible agricultural area. At present, the allocated area is based on the number of marking fees they paid for animals turned out to graze in the previous year.
Marking fees are a fee that commoners must pay to the Verderers (a body which regulates and protects the interests of the New Forest commoners) in order to have their animals marked before being turned out to graze in the forest, so they can be identified and traced back to the keeper in the case of need.
This method has recently been challenged as having the effect of encouraging commoners to keep more animals in order to be paid more subsidies, and therefore impacting the environment.
The Rural Payments Agency is now seeking views on ways to replace or amend the present allocation method for BPS 2021 and the remainder of the life of the scheme. It does not intend to continue with the present method after this year.
The consultation is directed at anyone who:
The consultation period will be open for a period of just over nine weeks and end on 3 February 2021. Responses submitted after that date will not be considered.
The RPA is writing directly to all commoners who claim BPS in the New Forest and the consultation is also being published on Gov.uk. The outcome of the consultation is expected to be published in the Spring.
The Government has also today published the ‘Path to Sustainable Farming’ which includes a wide-range of support measures that will help farmers adapt to a new agricultural system. One of the key changes is the reduction in Direct Payments. Starting from the 2021 Basic Payment Scheme year and phased out entirely by the end of 2027.
Payments will reduce by around 50% by 2024 for the majority of farmers and the money used to fund new grants and schemes to boost productivity and reward environmental improvements. Support and advice will be available to help those most affected by the phasing out of Direct Payments during the agricultural transition period.
Published 30 November 2020
News story
Details of seizure notice served following a parcel addressed to premises in County Tyrone stopped at a Belfast Depot.
The following veterinary medicines were identified by a courier company based at Belfast depot. The products were then detained and subsequently seized by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
This parcel was addressed to residential premises in County Tyrone and was shipped from Australia. The parcel contained:
This product is intended for use in horses and is not an authorised veterinary medicine in the UK.
The medicines were seized under Regulation 25 (Importation of unauthorised veterinary medicinal products) of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.
Published 30 November 2020
Interim findings show a 30% fall in infections nationally between 13 and 24 November, with 96 people per 10,000 infected
New tiering system will be crucial to safeguarding these gains, bringing down infections further and keeping infection rates low
Interim results from the seventh report of one of the country’s largest studies into COVID-19 infections in England have been published today by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI.
Over 105,000 volunteers were tested in England between 13 and 24 November as part of the REACT study, to examine the levels of infection in the general population.
The findings show cases were rising as the country entered lockdown but this was followed by a decrease as national measures successfully lowered infection rates across the country. This supports findings from SAGE that stronger measures would be needed in some areas to prevent the epidemic from growing and that local tiers needed to be toughened to keep the virus under control once national measures end this week.
Infections fell by over 50% in the North West and North East, with prevalence highest in the West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.
While gains have been made to bring down infections, prevalence of the disease remains high with around 1 in 100 people testing positive compared to 1 in 80 between 16 October and 2 November.
The main findings from the seventh REACT study show that between 13 and 24 November:
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:
Thanks to the huge efforts of the public over the last few weeks we have been able to get the virus more under control. This latest data shows we must keep our resolve and we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal just yet, despite the encouraging fall in cases and progress on vaccines.
The next few weeks and months are the busiest time of year for our NHS, so it’s vital we all continue to follow new local restrictions, wash our hands, wear a face covering and observe social distancing.
Professor Paul Elliott, director of the programme at Imperial, said:
Our robust data offers encouraging signs for England’s epidemic, where we’re seeing a fall in infections at the national level and in particular across regions that were previously worst affected. These trends suggest that the tiered approach helped to curb infections in these areas and that lockdown has added to this effect.
As we approach a challenging time of year, it’s even more vital that through our actions and behaviours we all play our part in helping to keep the virus at bay.
This report is the latest from the REACT study, which was commissioned by DHSC and carried out by a world-class team of scientists, clinicians and researchers at Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Ipsos MORI.
While infections have fallen across England and the spread has slowed, it is crucial we safeguard gains made and keep R below 1. The new regional, tiered system has been strengthened to ensure infections continue to decrease and stay low. Mass community testing using rapid lateral flow tests will be offered to areas facing the toughest restrictions. It will enable areas to detect asymptomatic cases and isolate them to protect others, stop the virus from spreading and help move out of the toughest restrictions.
Decisions on tiers are made by ministers based on public health recommendations. These are informed by a variety of criteria including local context, pressure on the NHS as well as case detection rate, how quickly cases are changing and positivity in the general population.
Kelly Beaver, Managing Director of Public Affairs at Ipsos MORI, said:
The REACT study programme has processed over one million tests as we track in real time the prevalence of COVID-19 across England. We’re incredibly grateful to all those members of the public who’ve taken part, who have contributed to this vitally important study.
See the pre-print report.
See the GOV.UK summary of the November 2020 interim results.
See more information on the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) programme of work.
This study falls under pillar 4 of the COVID-19 National Testing Programme, which focuses on mass surveillance in the general population.