Judith Gillespie has been appointed to the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) as member with Northern Ireland experience from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024.

Judith is a former senior police officer. She was the Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. She is currently an independent Chair of the Careers Advisory Forum in NI and Chair of the Garda Policing Authority’s Policing Performance and Strategy Committee.

PSPRB provides the government with independent advice on the remuneration of operational prison staff in the England and Wales, and Northern Ireland Prison Services.

Public appointments to PSPRB are made by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Justice Secretary in consultation with the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Justice, Northern Ireland.

Appointments to PSPRB are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This appointment has been conducted in accordance with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Judith Gillespie has not declared any political activity.

Published 13 February 2020

The United Kingdom notes the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission, which observed early Parliamentary Elections in Azerbaijan on 9 February.

The UK welcomes the engagement by the authorities of Azerbaijan and other interlocutors with the observation mission. We note that the Central Election Commission made concerted efforts to act transparently and to welcome the international observers.

Despite a high number of candidates, and an inclusive candidate registration process, the International Election Observation Mission reported a lack of meaningful choice due to a lack of real political discussion. We also note that only 21 percent of the candidates who contested the elections were women.

As the Statement of Preliminary Findings reports, a number of long-standing recommendations on election-related legislation by ODIHR and the Council of Europe Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) have yet to be addressed. We also note that a number of rulings of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to free elections have not been executed. Some of which prevented candidates from running.

In addition, the International Election Observation Mission reported significant procedural violations during the counting and tabulation of the vote on election day.

We look forward to receiving the Final Report of the International Election Observation Mission and encourage the authorities of Azerbaijan to take advantage of the expertise within ODIHR to assist them in implementing the recommendations. The UK stands ready to support the Azerbaijan authorities on electoral reforms and improvements to the democratic process.

The United Kingdom is deeply concerned by the attack on journalist Elena Milashina and laywer Marina Dubrovina in Grozny, in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation on 6 February.

We understand that Ms Milashina and Ms Dubrovina were attacked in a hotel in Grozny by a group of assailants, one of whom filmed the assault. Both individuals were in Grozny to attend a trial in their professional capacities. Ms Milashina has been clear that she believes the attack was as a result of her work as a journalist.

We share the concerns and condemnation expressed by the Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Desir, in his statement of 7 February. We recall that in Milan in 2018, participating States agreed to “take effective measures to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists… including by ensuring that law enforcement agencies carry out swift, effective and impartial investigations into acts of violence and threats against journalists”.

We also agreed in Brussels in 2006 that states should take all necessary measures “to respect, protect and promote the freedom of exercise of the profession of lawyer, without discrimination and without improper interference from the authorities or the public”. We urge the Chechen and Russian authorities to carry out a prompt and thorough investigation into this attack.

We also echo the words of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, who described the attack as “the latest of a series of worrying attacks on human rights defenders and critics in the Chechen Republic.”

We are reminded of the report of December 2018 on “alleged human rights violations and impunity in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation” by Professor Benedek, carried out under the Moscow Mechanism. That report clearly set out concerns over very serious human rights violations in the Chechen Republic. It also addressed the lack of effective remedies and the problem of impunity. As Prof Benedek wrote: “Human rights organizations and investigative media instead of being protected face various forms of harassment and attacks, which are not investigated.”

We urge the authorities in the Russian Federation to demonstrate their commitment to the OSCE human rights principles that they freely signed up to, and to hold those responsible for the attack on Ms Milashina and Ms Dubrovina to account, and to end the climate of impunity in the Chechen Republic. We would welcome an update on the investigation into the attack.

It is being brought forward by the innovative modern house builder ‘House by Urban Splash’, a new company backed by regeneration specialists Urban Splash, Homes England and Japan’s biggest house builder, Sekisui House.

Inholm comprises a total of 406 modular homes sitting within the context of Northstowe’s masterplan and is inspired by the area’s rich history and previous settlements. The new neighbourhood quarter will be defined by a perimeter of landscapes; country park, sustainable drainage swales, ecological zones and an education campus.

Proctor & Matthews Architects is the lead architect and master planner of the site. The village will encompass a range of housing typologies, later living homes and mixed-use buildings. The modular homes will include designs by architects shedkm, which can be configured by the buyer to their own design before being built in a factory and delivered to site.

With this expansion of Northstowe, House by Urban Splash is bringing its skill and expertise in world-class manufacturing to the East of England, choosing Cambridgeshire as its first location to deliver the homes on a new site. The majority of homes will be manufactured in the House factory in Alfreton, East Midlands.

Mark Latham, Regeneration Director at House says:

“We are delighted to launch our first homes in this part of the country and are excited about the opportunities ahead at Northstowe as we contribute to this emerging town.

“We want to break new ground and surprise people using the latest building methods combined with bespoke designs. We are offering a range of customisable homes and apartments to suit a wide range of modern families, lifestyles and budgets. We can’t wait to get going.”

Stephen Kinsella, Chief Land and Development Officer at Homes England, said:

“I’m delighted that planning permission has been granted for the first homes to be built on Homes England land at Northstowe, which is a significant step forward for the new town and an important milestone for our joint venture with Urban Splash and Sekisui House.”

“This is a really ambitious proposal for 406 homes using modern methods of construction, and the quality design of these homes really reflects our ambition to deliver outstanding places.”

Stephen Proctor, founder of Proctor & Matthews Architects says:

“As master planner and lead architect we are delighted to have secured planning permission for phase 2A of the Northstowe community. Our design for this contemporary mixed-use residential quarter is inspired by the form of traditional edge-of-fenland settlements and recent archaeological discoveries within the locality.”

“Innovative clusters of homes employing offsite modular construction will help to deliver a visually distinctive narrative creating a new ‘Inholm’ village for the 21st Century.”

Ian Killick, Director at shedkm commented:

“We are thrilled that the full range of our customisable, factory-built homes is soon coming to Northstowe. The ‘Inholm’ urban village will feature the most up to date versions of our house and apartment designs, incorporating new technologies and Cambridgeshire inspired materials and details.”

“We’re working with a great team and have high hopes of creating an exemplar neighbourhood that sets a new benchmark for the use of modern methods of construction.”

The customisable homes will be launching officially late Spring/ early Summer 2020. For more information visit the Urban Splash website.

Bidwells have been appointed as a local agent acting on behalf of House by Urban Splash and will be handling all initial sales enquiries.

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The Charity Commission, the regulator for charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into a South London based charity, The Everlasting Arms Ministries, over serious concerns about its financial management.

The regulator is especially concerned about the charity’s sale in 2016 of a property on the Old Kent Road in South London, the proceeds of which appear not to be adequately reflected in the charity’s accounts for the following years.

The charity was subject to a books and records check at the charity’s premises in August 2019, which revealed further concerns, including that the charity did not have adequate records of its assets, despite significant expenditure on musical and audio-visual equipment.

There are also serious concerns about payments to individuals connected to the charity, including its trustees. The Commission has frozen the charity’s bank accounts, and ordered the trustees to provide information to the inquiry.

The inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity, including whether the charity’s funds have been used for solely charitable purposes, whether there has been unauthorised private benefit and whether the trustees have met their duties and responsibilities under charity law.

The inquiry opened on 30 December 2019.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

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