Foreign Secretary to host Canada’s Foreign Minister at Hampton Court Palace

Press release

The Foreign Secretary is meeting his Canadian counterpart, François-Philippe Champagne, at Hampton Court Palace on 28 August.

The Foreign Secretary is meeting his Canadian counterpart, François-Philippe Champagne, at Hampton Court Palace later today [Friday].

Canada is a close ally of the UK and a key partner in the UK’s drive to be a force for good in the world. Dominic Raab and Minister Champagne will discuss the global response to coronavirus, shared international priorities and strengthening UK-Canada trade.

Following respective visits to the Middle East this week, they are also expected to discuss the Middle East peace process and support to Lebanon following the recent explosion, alongside other foreign policy and security issues.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

I look forward to welcoming Foreign Minister Champagne to Hampton Court Palace, and to continue our work making the friendship between our countries a force for good in the world.

From trade to security cooperation, the UK and Canada have a close bond but above all we share the same values – and a commitment to champion them around the world.

The UK and Canada have a unique partnership as the only two members of all of the G7, the G20, the Commonwealth, NATO and Five Eyes.

We are committed to protecting and strengthening our trading relationship and to a seamless transition of free trade arrangements at the end of the transition period.

Notes to editors:

  • The Foreign Secretary will host Minister Champagne in his constituency. They will visit Hampton Court Palace and hold talks in the Little Banqueting House and gardens.
  • The Palace, begun by Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century and later home to Henry VIII and all six of his wives, was opened to the public in 1838 by Queen Victoria and attracted 700,000 visitors last year.
  • The UK and Canada have a strong trading relationship. Total trade in goods and services between our two countries was £22.1bn in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2019, a 14.2% increase from the same period in the previous year.

Published 28 August 2020



July 2020 Price Paid Data

News story

HM Land Registry Price Paid Data tracks land and property sales in England and Wales submitted to us for registration.

A white front door and window of a cottage in Snowdonia, North Wales.

This release contains updates to the partial releases we’ve made since April as well as introducing the first release of data for July 2020.

As the July data is not complete, we would not recommend using it in isolation as an indication of market or HM Land Registry activity. When the full dataset is viewed alongside the data we’ve published since April, it adds to the overall picture of market activity in this period.

We will continue to add to the data in the coming months with a view to reinstating the normal releases in the autumn.

Access the full dataset

There is a time difference between the sale of a property and its registration at HM Land Registry.

In the dataset you can find the date of sale for each property, its full address and sale price, its category (residential or commercial) and type (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or maisonette and other), whether or not it is new build and whether it is freehold or leasehold.

Published 28 August 2020



Vaccine update: issue 311, August 2020



New measures to support development of safe COVID-19 vaccines for UK

  • Measures will allow UK-wide rollout of vaccine to save lives and bring pandemic to an end
  • Proposals to bolster safeguards and improve access to protect the public ahead of the winter
  • COVID-19 vaccines will only be given to UK patients if proven to be safe and effective

A raft of measures to allow the safe future mass rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine have been outlined by the government today (Friday 28 August).

The new rules and safeguards will strengthen the UK’s ability to successfully deploy a UK-wide vaccination programme, which will be crucial in saving lives and bringing the current pandemic to an end.

The measures include:

  • reinforced safeguards to support the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to grant temporary authorisation for the use of a new COVID-19 vaccine ‒ provided it meets the highest safety and quality standards
  • expanding the trained workforce who can administer COVID-19 and flu vaccines to improve access and protect the public
  • clarifying the scope of the protection from civil liability for the additional workforce that could be allowed to administer vaccinations

If a vaccine is discovered before 2021, the proposals will bolster existing powers that allow the MHRA to consider approving its use, before a full product licence is granted, provided it is proven to be safe and effective during robust and extensive clinical trials.

The measures are necessary because during the transition period, a new potential COVID-19 vaccine must be granted a licence by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The regulations will permit the MHRA to consider giving temporary authorisation allowing patients to benefit while it undergoes the full licensing process, with reinforced conditions attached to ensure safety, quality and efficacy.

This is a precautionary measure and will be used as a last resort if there is a strong public health justification for widespread use of a vaccine before it has been granted a product licence.

From 2021, MHRA will have a national licensing system in place and will be responsible for granting licences for potential COVID-19 vaccines and treatments once they meet high standards of safety and effectiveness.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said:

We are making progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines which we hope will be important in saving lives, protecting healthcare workers and returning to normal in future.

If we develop effective vaccines, it’s important we make them available to patients as quickly as possible but only once strict safety standards have been met.

The proposals consulted on today suggest ways to improve access and ensure as many people are protected from COVID-19 and flu as possible without sacrificing the absolute need to ensure that any vaccine used is both safe and effective.

The MHRA has the power to grant an unlicensed medicine or a vaccine temporary authorisation where a product is proven to be safe and effective and is in the best interest of the patient on the basis of available evidence.

A consultation is being launched today, which will look to amend the Human Medicine Regulations 2012 and will last 3 weeks, seeking the opinions and advice on the proposals from health experts and key stakeholder groups.

The measures could come into force by October, ahead of the winter season.

Dr Christian Schneider, Director of National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) ‒ part of the MHRA ‒ said:

Protecting health and saving lives is at the heart of all our work. Throughout the pandemic, the MHRA has prioritised work to ensure rapid approval of robust clinical trials to test a range of medicines and vaccines, whilst maintaining the highest quality and safety standards.

Whilst the existing licensing system, or a new UK one from next year, is the preferred and expected route to supply any vaccine, these new measures will strengthen the regulatory regime and our ability to protect public health.

The proposals will also allow more fully trained healthcare professionals to administer vaccines under NHS and local authority occupational health schemes, as well as enable an expanded workforce that can administer vaccinations to the public. This will make it easier and quicker for patients to access the vaccines they need, protecting them against potentially serious and fatal diseases.

The expanded workforce will undergo a robust training programme, and could include a wider range of existing NHS staff, as well as groups such as student doctors and nurses.

The consultation will also look at clarifying the scope of the protection from civil liability, which the regulations already give to healthcare workers and manufacturers, to ensure it applies to the companies which order the medicines and the additional workforce that could be allowed to administer vaccinations.

This will establish a fairer and more equal footing and encourage companies to place cutting-edge medicines on the markets as soon as possible, ensuring UK patients can be the first to benefit.

Find the full consultation here.



Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick Sees Dstl’s Police Innovation

Press release

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Dame Cressida Dick, has visited the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to see the latest innovations being trialled in support of the police and judicial system.

Dstl Chief Executive Gary Aitkenhead, The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Dame Cressida Dick and Dstl's Mike Smith

Dstl Chief Executive Gary Aitkenhead, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Dame Cressida Dick and Dstl’s Mike Smith

Dstl, the science inside UK defence and security, designs and develops new technology to keep the UK and its people safe from harm, and improve evidence-gathering techniques to aid criminal prosecutions.

During the visit the Commissioner was updated on the progress of a variety of physical and electromagnetic technologies being trialled for future use. These included the detection of concealed metal objects to help reduce knife crime, improvements in the design of body armour to provide increased protection for the wearer while making it lighter, cyber-crime, and Chemical, Biological and Radiological capabilities.

The Commissioner also toured Dstl’s new state-of-the-art Energetics Analysis Centre, the UK’s centre of excellence for explosives detection, forensic analysis and other critical counter-terrorism science and technology. The facility includes the Forensic Explosives Laboratory, which provides evidence to the Criminal Justice System as part of criminal and terrorist investigations that involve explosives.

Chief Executive of Dstl, Gary Aitkenhead, commented:

Since the integration of the Home Office’s science services into Dstl, we have continued to deliver enhanced S&T to the police service, with access to the full range of our specialist capabilities and synergies such as military and policing body armour. The Commissioner’s visit has been a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of current innovations and examine ways we can work even more effectively with the police.

Published 28 August 2020