To celebrate the RPC’s 10-year anniversary, a reception sponsored by Lord Lindsay was held at the House of Lords. Interim chair Stephen Gibson and external stakeholders spoke on the importance of the RPC. The reception allowed the celebration of the achievements of the RPC over the last decade, as well as giving the opportunity to look forward to the future of the RPC, as we continue to provide expert scrutiny, as an independent regulatory scrutiny body.

Please find below attachments of Stephen Gibson’s speech and documents presented on the day:

1. Interim chair, Stephen Gibson, speech at the 10-year anniversary reception for the Regulatory Policy Committee (PDF, 141KB, 4 pages)

2. RPC 10-Year Anniversary – A Decade of Scrutiny (PDF, 695KB, 20 pages)

3. RPC engagement document (PDF, 187KB, 2 pages)

Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP called for a renewed commitment to stand up to antisemitism and prejudice as he joined the fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem.

Mr Jenrick attended the event yesterday (23 January 2020), entitled “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism”, to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Memorial Day.

He also undertook a tour of the World Holocaust Remembrance Center and Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem.

The tour was led by Yehudit Shendar, curator of the UK Holocaust Memorial and former deputy director and senior curator at Yad Vashem’s museums division. Also in attendance was Lord Pickles, UK Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues.

Following the visit, Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

I was honoured to attend the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. It was heartening to see leaders of all faiths and nations come together to remember the Holocaust and renew our promise to victims and survivors.

My tour of Yad Vashem was equally as moving. I was especially touched by the memorial showing that out of so much darkness we can still find light and hope.

The UK takes a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism at home and abroad, and as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, I have a profound responsibility to root out antisemitism wherever it arises.

We will take a zero-tolerance approach in cracking down on those who spread this vile poison, which has no place in any civilised society. Our message is simple; such an atrocity must not, and will not, take place again.

This visit comes ahead of International Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday 27 January which remembers the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

27 January 2020 also marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. On Monday, across the UK, thousands of people will come together to learn more about the past and take action to create a safer future.

Find out more about Holocaust Memorial Day and the events taking place on Monday organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

I am absolutely delighted to see so many ambitious businesses attending Arab Health 2020 in Dubai next week as part of the Midlands Engine delegation led by the Department for International Trade (DIT).

As the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) leading exhibition in the healthcare industry, Arab Health provides an unprecedented opportunity to Midlands businesses looking to tap into this growing healthcare market, projected to be worth $243.6 billion by 2023.

Arab Health is the second largest medical expo in the world, and with over 106,000 international visitors, provides an opportunity for businesses to connect with overseas buyers and receive bespoke market research and advice.

This year, the Midlands delegation consists of 29 outstanding businesses, all of whom are eager to capitalise on their share of the growing MENA healthcare market. Companies such as SP Services from Telford and Nutrivitality Ltd from Derby will be showcasing the Midlands medical expertise to the world.

The expansion of healthcare services in emerging economies is set to see global spending on healthcare double to over $18 trillion by 2040. It’s a trend that presents an enormous opportunity for businesses in the Midlands, where our combined strengths in R&D and advanced manufacturing are contributing to a rise in the region’s healthcare credentials.

The global success of the Midlands healthcare sector is paramount to the ongoing success of the Midlands Engine and its thriving economy, which is worth £284.5 billion. The Midlands Engine has over 1,200 life sciences businesses supporting nearly 34,000 highly skilled jobs.

This year presents exciting opportunities for both the UAE and UK to strengthen their trade relations, as Dubai prepares to welcome 190 nations to Expo 2020 in October. With total UK exports to the UAE amounting to £10.5bn in the 12 months to June 2019, it is great to see that Midlands businesses are in the right place to take advantage of this demand.

DIT predicts that British healthcare companies will seek to secure up to £7 billion worth of export opportunities a year over the next decade and with the right kind of support I believe these exporting ambitions can be made a reality.

With the support of DIT’s network of expert international trade advisers, more and more Midlands healthcare companies are turning potential into profit, creating jobs and prosperity here at home. I therefore encourage all businesses thinking of exporting to get in touch with their local DIT Midlands office to find out how they too can benefit from the international demand for our products and services.

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The summit will bring together drug recovery experts, health professionals, government ministers and senior police officers from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They will discuss how to work together to best prevent deaths related to drug misuse, which reached 4,265 across the UK in 2018, with more than a quarter of those deaths happening in Scotland.

The event will also boost collaboration between the UK government and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland administrations on this UK-wide issue with Professor Dame Carol Black, the independent reviewer of drugs, presenting her findings to the devolved administrations at the summit.

Minister for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service, Kit Malthouse, who will chair the event, said:

People are dying from drugs every day across the UK, and this summit will bring us together to tackle the issue of drug misuse.

We must have firm enforcement action and do all we can on prevention, recovery and treatment too.

I look forward to meeting key individuals from across the UK and listening to their views on addressing this challenge.

Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said:

The high numbers of lives lost to drugs in Scotland is a tragedy, a huge cause for concern.

I am pleased that the UK government is to bring experts together from all parts of the country, to share experience about tackling this terrible scourge.‎

Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, will also attend the event.

Senior police officers are invited to the summit, as are the Drug Recovery Champion, Dr Edward Day; Dr Owen Bowden-Jones, the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs; and representatives from the National Crime Agency.

Representatives from Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care will also be invited to attend, along with their counterparts from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

While the legal framework relating to the misuse of drugs is reserved for the UK government, the Scottish and Welsh governments and the Northern Ireland Executive have their own approach to preventing the harms of drug misuse in areas where responsibility is devolved, including healthcare, criminal justice, housing, and education.