Thank you Mr President,

Mr Tochytskyi,

We salute you, we salute the Ukrainian people as you stand up against aggression and oppression.

This Tenth Review Conference is long overdue, so I am pleased that we have finally come together to advance this vital work.

The United Kingdom remains firmly committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Treaty.

That includes Article Six, and our ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

This Treaty is the only route to that goal.

Let me reaffirm the UK’s unequivocal undertaking to achieve the total elimination of our nuclear arsenal, alongside the other Nuclear Weapon States.

Our National Report, published last November, outlines what we have done to implement the Treaty since 2015.

It demonstrates that we take our responsibilities as a Nuclear Weapon State seriously, and that we are committed to transparency and accountability.

Since the Cold War, the UK has dramatically reduced the number of its nuclear weapons, while de-targeting and de-alerting those that remain.

We are the only Nuclear Weapon State to have decreased our deterrent capability to a single delivery system. Indeed, ours is the smallest stockpile of any recognised nuclear state.

The UK will continue to play a leading role in disarmament by pioneering verification work, championing transparency and advancing risk reduction.

We will carry on pressing for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to enter into force and for negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament.

But as you all know, we have to acknowledge the growing challenges to international security.

Last year, the UK published our Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

It described a deteriorating global security environment, increased competition, technological disruption and challenges to the international order.

Since then of course, we have witnessed Russia’s unprovoked and premeditated assault on Ukraine, a sovereign, democratic, non-nuclear weapon state.

The United Kingdom continues to stand with Ukraine.

Russia’s actions and irresponsible rhetoric raise questions about its commitment to international law and the fulfilment of its obligations, not lease those under the Treaty.

Meanwhile, we are deeply concerned that Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continue to escalate their nuclear programmes despite calls to engage in diplomacy.

Today, we issued a joint Ministerial Statement with France and the US. This reaffirmed our January statement, made, you’ll all remember,  with the other nuclear weapon states, on preventing nuclear war. We also repeated our commitment to honour our national security assurances when given.

We will work with all States Parties to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict and enhance mutual trust.

Much of the Treaty’s success in curtailing the nuclear arms race is due to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards regime.

The UK will continue to champion this regime and indeed, the Agency, while working to enhance nuclear security by ratifying key conventions.

We remain committed to nuclear weapon-free zones. We have signed and ratified the Protocols for Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia. We stand ready to do so for South East Asia as soon as possible.

As co-sponsor of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East, we remain committed to a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, based on freely-made agreements by all the countries of the region.

The Non-Proliferation Treaty provides the framework for the safe, secure, and safeguarded transfer of peaceful nuclear technologies.

These technologies have the potential to improve lives around the world, particularly in the least developed countries.

This is why the United Kingdom alongside the United States has been consulting with States Parties on improved access to peaceful uses coming out of those technologies.

We would like to see a new Sustained Dialogue, bringing fresh perspectives and identifying new opportunities to support peaceful uses across a number of areas.

At this Review Conference, the UK calls on all States Parties to work towards a meaningful outcome across all three pillars of the Treaty.

Let us be optimistic. Let us celebrate the NPT and renew our support for it. Let us strengthen it as the cornerstone of our efforts to deliver a world free of nuclear weapons.

• Scheme is part of government commitment to ensure young people given access to more activities, trips away from home and volunteering opportunities
• Announcement follows 418 youth projects benefiting from £12 million of cash fast-tracked to those in need earlier this year

Youth services in the country’s most underserved areas are being encouraged to apply for a slice of a £368 million fund to improve the health, wellbeing, skills and opportunities for young people.

The Youth Investment Fund, designed to create, improve and expand local youth facilities and services, today opens for bids from 45 local authorities and more than 600 district wards in some of the most deprived areas in England. It will provide funding to build or refurbish up to 300 youth facilities over the next 3 years, providing safe spaces in which young people can socialise and participate in a wide range of activities, including those designed to help support them into employment.

The funding forms part of the Government’s ‘National Youth Guarantee’ to ensure every young person right across England will have access to regular out of school activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer backed by a £560 million investment. These opportunities will help them develop the skills they need for life and work, improving their wellbeing and employability.

The guarantee also includes offering The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to every state secondary school for the first time, as well as increased access to social action projects or the opportunity to meet new people and learn life and work skills like money management or public speaking skills through the National Citizen Service.

Minister for Civil Society and Youth Nigel Huddleston said:

We are committed to ensuring that no young person is left out of reach or left behind, and have put it at the heart of our drive to level up this country.

I encourage eligible youth services to apply for this life-changing funding.

Nick Temple, CEO, Social Investment Business said:

All young people deserve access to high-quality youth services and great youth facilities to thrive in life, but youth provision across the country is sadly unequal. That’s why we’re proud to be able to apply our 20+ years’ knowledge and experience of grant programmes and capital projects to design, manage and deliver the Youth Investment Fund.

Working alongside our partners National Youth Agency, Key Fund and Resonance, we’ll enable up to 300 youth facilities to be built or refurbished over the next three years. This is a wonderful opportunity to prioritise the needs of young people in England and create a more equal society for future generations.

Earlier this year £12 million from the fund was fast-tracked to local youth services where supply was short of meeting demand. The aim was to cover small-scale capital improvements such as providing new laptops to youth groups, small redevelopments of buildings and facilities, and improving transport, such as providing a new minibus for a youth club so they can keep young people safe and extend activities beyond their local area.

BBC Children In Need was the grant administrator for the first phase of the Youth Investment Fund and distributed funding to some 418 eligible youth projects in the most in-demand areas which included:

• The Community Court Yard in Northampton, a social enterprise delivering traditional youth work, bespoke alternative education and creative workshops based on the youth work curriculum. It was awarded a grant of more than £44,740 to fund a vehicle for detached youth work, gaming booth equipment, CCTV and the refit of the gym area. It will help build positive behaviours and communication skills for disadvantaged young people.
• IMO (Inspire, Motivate, Overcome) Charity in Blackburn and Darwen, which aims to help local young people and their families to combat disadvantage and overcome challenges they face. The grant of £32,155, has funded equipment and furnishings for a new Youth Hub which will provide programmes, activities and a safe environment for young people who struggle at school with their mental health and who are in poverty.
• Brunswick Youth and Community Centre in Bootle, which provides a wide range of activities for young people, received £10,325 of funding to update a community garden space for the youth community centre. It will help promote wellbeing and healthy eating programmes for young people facing mental health challenges and/or at risk of exposure to gang culture. 

Leigh Middleton, CEO, National Youth Agency said:

High quality, universal youth provision supports all young people to have somewhere safe to go, to socialise and learn new skills, with a trusted adult who is skilled and trained to support them.

We are delighted to be partnering with Social Investment Business on the design and delivery of the Youth Investment Fund. This provides much needed investment for youth centres and dedicated spaces for young people to go in their communities, as part of the government’s National Youth Guarantee.

Working with SIB, youth sector partners and young people directly, our shared aim is to ensure the funding enables high quality youth work which will have the best outcomes for young people, and for communities to thrive.

Notes to editors:

• Applications are invited from local authorities. A full list of funded projects for Phase 1 can be found here.
• Further details on the eligibility criteria for the second tranche of the Youth Investment Fund can be found here. DCMS has developed a detailed methodology underpinning the selection of areas.
• The £380 million Youth Investment Fund comprises capital and resource funding.
• SIB will directly disperse £283 million capital funding and £58.9 million resource funding to successful projects. £5 million capital funding will be dispersed by DCMS. The remaining funds will be used to deliver the programme.
• DCMS will release up to £5 million of this funding through four pilot projects testing user requirements, layouts and construction approaches to meet the needs of organisations working with young people. The bidding window for the pilot projects closed on 3 July and successful projects will be delivered in 2022 and 2023. 
• The National Youth Guarantee follows the completion of a review of DCMS spending on out-of-school youth programmes. The review, which was announced in 2020, engaged around 6,000 young people and 175 youth sector organisations, and found that:
• The National Youth Guarantee is targeted at all 11-18 year olds, and up to 25 years old for those with special educational needs and disabilities
• Youth services are a vital part of the response to these challenges, delivering benefits for wellbeing and employability skills.
• Going forward, young people would like the Government to prioritise regular clubs and activities, adventurous trips, and support to volunteer in their local communities.
• The full findings of the Government’s review of public spending on out-of-school youth programmes

More than 3,500 businesses risk significant delays to importing goods if they don’t move to the UK’s new streamlined customs system now.

Businesses submitting import declarations must use the Customs Declaration Service from 1 October 2022, when the Customs Handling Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system will close for import declarations.

Businesses should check that their customs agents are ready to use the Customs Declaration Service. Those without a customs agent must set themselves up to make their own declarations using software that works with the system.

Many businesses are already using the Customs Declaration Service, however around 3,500 businesses are yet to move.

It can take several weeks to be fully set-up on the Customs Declaration Service so those waiting to register risk being unable to import goods to the UK from 1 October.

Julie Etheridge, HMRC’s Director of Programme and Operational Delivery for Borders and Trade, said:

There are now only 2 months left until businesses must use Customs Declaration Service for imports. Businesses need to move now or risk being unable to bring their goods into the UK.

Registering takes time so businesses should start moving to the Customs Declaration Service to ensure a smooth transition and avoid disruption to their business.

To help all businesses and agents prepare for the Customs Declaration Service, declarants are being contacted by phone and email to inform them of steps they need to take. Further information is available on GOV.UK, including a Customs Declaration Service toolkit and checklists, which break down the steps traders need to take.

Traders can also register or check they have access to the Customs Declaration Service on GOV.UK and access live customer support services for additional help.

Once registered, businesses which use a Duty Deferment Account will need to set up a new Direct Debit Instruction for the Customs Declaration Service by 30 September. If this is not set up, the Duty Deferment Account will no longer be usable, and individual immediate payments will need to be made each time an import declaration is made.

CHIEF will close for export declarations on 31 March 2023, with businesses being required to use the Customs Declaration Service to send goods out of the UK.