Thank you President. And I join others in thanking Ambassador Byrne-Nason for her stalwart and eloquent defence of international peace and security during your tenure on the Security Council and elsewhere. We will miss you.

President, I’d like to start by thanking Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for her briefing.

First, we join others in welcoming the 22 July deal agreed in Istanbul to export the grain trapped by Russia’s blockade of Odesa and other ports.

We commend the role of the UN and Turkiye in brokering this solution.

The agreement is undoubtedly important. Its implementation is now vital.

So that Ukrainian farmers’ grain can once again be baked into bread in markets and on tables around the world – and enable the World Food Programme to address pressing famine conditions in Somalia and Ethiopia.

Second, we cannot forget the record of Russia’s atrocities and crimes in the over five months since Russia invaded Ukraine. Before the ink was even dry on the 22nd of July grain agreement, Russia brazenly attacked Odesa port. This latest attack follows others: breaches of international humanitarian law in Bucha and Irpin, the attacks on civilians in the Mariupol theatre, Kramatorsk train station, Kremenchuk shopping mall, apartment buildings in Chasiv Yar and Vinnytsia, and the widespread torture and abuse of detainees, including women and children, as identified by Human Rights Watch and the OSCE Moscow Mechanism.

The video this week of the castration of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian soldiers is an illustration of Russia’s barbarism and criminality.

Third, Russia has violated the UN Charter and breached its obligations under that charter. For five months, Russia has been engaged in an illegal invasion of another Member State in breach of its obligations under the UN Charter, and in complete disregard of resolutions of the General Assembly and orders of the ICJ.

Preparations for sham referenda in Kherson and Zaporizhzhya are the latest examples of Russia’s breaches of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

So, Mr President, we continue to demand that Russia end its invasion, withdraw from Ukraine and uphold its obligations under the UN Charter.

Ministers from across government have introduced a package of new measures to tackle travel disruption, helping to minimise the impact of ongoing rail and underground strikes and prevent long queues for passengers crossing the Channel.

Ahead of another busy weekend of holiday travel, this morning, Ministers and senior officials met for the second time this week, to discuss the preparations being put in place to ease any potential disruption, bolstering existing support for UK industry.

To ensure people can still easily get to the Commonwealth Games this weekend, contingency measures have been put in place, including extra capacity on rail lines that are running and laying on coaches for sports fans and spectators.

To minimise queue times in Kent, and prevent a repeat of the disruption seen last weekend, UK and French officials and Ministers have had regular discussions this week and a new UK-French Passenger Technical Working group has been established. This group will meet weekly throughout the summer to avoid any further disruption for passengers travelling to either side of the Channel.

Traffic enforcement has also been put in place to keep roads passable around Dover and Folkestone.

Flight cancellations have also recently fallen back to their 2019 levels following changes to regulations on airport slot rules to help airlines make sensible decisions about their schedule; avoiding last minute cancellations and providing passengers with more certainty.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Lead Minister for Resilience Kit Malthouse said:

“I know that travel disruption can affect all of us, whether you need to commute to work, travel to visit your friends, family or loved ones, get away on your well earned Summer break or even attend an event like our fantastic Commonwealth Games. I am working with ministers and officials right across government, as well as our partners and industry, to assess and mitigate any disruption, including any knock on effects from the rail strikes.

“We have already taken action, and continue to work with the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel, and the French Government, National Highways, local police and the Kent Resilience Forum on minimising traffic disruption, and also with our airport operators to avoid last minute cancellations, and we will continue to take all the necessary steps to help people travel easily.”

A new website providing homeowners with a home energy MOT, providing recommendations that could help save them hundreds of pounds a year on bills, is being launched by the government today.

It will offer guidance to homeowners on ways to improve the energy performance of their homes by upgrading with things like loft and wall insulation and double glazing.

It also links to advice on installing low carbon heating technologies, such as heat pumps, and how to access government grants of £5,000 that will allow homeowners to ditch boilers powered by fossil fuels that have seen price rises driven by pressures on global markets.

The new online service, which is being launched on the GOV.UK website, offers people impartial recommendations showing how to improve their home’s energy performance.

It is a simple-to-use interactive service where users enter details about their home and receive recommendations tailored to their individual circumstances so they can cut their energy consumption and make their homes greener.

Today’s website launch will complement investment the government is providing during the current Parliament through its Help to Heat schemes, which combined with the expanded Energy Company Obligation scheme, is totalling around £12 billion across 700,000 homes.

Help to Heat schemes include the £800 million committed to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund in the Heat and Buildings Strategy, along with £950 million for the Home Upgrade Grant, which are already delivering energy efficiency upgrades for tens of thousands of low-income households.

The government has also promised to extend the Energy Company Obligation scheme until 2026, boosting its value to £1 billion a year and helping hundreds of thousands of families with energy-saving measures, which will deliver average energy bill savings of around £300 a year.

Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan said:

The cheapest energy is the energy that you don’t use, and by making simple improvements to the energy performance of their homes, people can see immediate and lasting savings on their bills.

With global pressures pushing up fossil fuel prices, it has never been more important to make our homes more energy efficient. This website provides a new and trusted source of information where homeowners can give their property an energy MOT and get clear, impartial advice.

It builds on the £6.6 billion the government is investing to improve the energy efficiency of homes through our Help to Heat schemes where we are helping low-income households make their properties not only warmer, but cheaper to keep warm.

A further £5.4 billion is available through the Energy Company Obligation scheme, which we have expanded until 2026 and is delivering average energy bill savings of around £300 a year for those who need it most.

Some of the simplest upgrades can be the most effective and now is the time to act to make sure your home is ready for the colder months. I am urging homeowners to get online, use this new website and see the changes you can make now that could save you hundreds of pounds on your bills this winter.

• The new energy advice website can be found here.
• the government committed to set up the new energy advice website in the British Energy Security Strategy
• as part of the landmark Heat and Buildings Strategy, the UK government is investing more than £3.9 billion of new funding to decarbonise heat and buildings across the country between 2022 and 2025. This brings capital spending on buildings decarbonization over the lifetime of Parliament to £6.6 billion
• the Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out how the government is prioritising the most vulnerable in society, ensuring that those on low income and/or at greater risk of fuel poverty are able to access energy efficiency measures and not be left behind
• the government is providing home decarbonisation support to those vulnerable and fuel poor through a range of schemes, including:
  • providing £950 million in additional funding for the Home Upgrade Grant
  • committing a further £800 million to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) to improve the energy performance of social rented homes across England