Thousands of people will be prevented from falling into homelessness and sleeping rough on the streets thanks to millions of funding announced by the Prime Minister today (23 December 2019).

As part of his drive to tackle homelessness, over £260 million has been committed for local authorities to support people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes.

The funding will empower councils across England to provide the best services for local needs, helping those experiencing homelessness in their area to improve their lives and get back on their feet.

Councils can use the funding to employ specialists to provide practical advice to vulnerable people to help ensure they are meeting their rent payments, as well as helping them to find long-term stable accommodation.

Visiting a rough sleeping shelter in London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

It cannot be right in the 21st century that people are homeless or having to sleep on our streets, and this government will work tirelessly to bring this to an end.

This new funding is going to help councils provide better support to homeless people, and importantly, prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.

But we have got to do even more, and we’re committed to expanding rough sleeping and homelessness programmes, and ensuring more integrated working between our local health and housing services.

I salute the Standard for their campaign on homelessness in London, particularly their vital work in supporting vulnerable women across the capital.

The Prime Minister has also confirmed the Cold Weather Fund will receive an additional £3 million, taking the total to £13 million, to enhance support available for rough sleepers during the winter period.

This new action forms part of a wider strategy to tackle all forms of homelessness. The government is already investing £1.2 billon to tackle homelessness, and last year introduced ambitious new legislation, the Homelessness Reduction Act to ensure people at risk of becoming homeless get help more quickly, with councils receiving funding to support them in these duties.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP said:

As Communities Secretary, it’s one of my main priorities to ensure that we reduce all forms of homelessness and rough sleeping.

That’s why we have announced an additional £260 million funding in homelessness funding – to ensure councils up and down the country provide crucial services tailored to their areas.

Last year the number of people sleeping rough fell for the first time in several years, and while the government’s interventions are working, there is a great deal more work to do. We’re committed to eliminating rough sleeping by the end of the Parliament.

Of the money announced today, the first £200 million comes from the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant, introduced in 2017, to lead to a radical change in the way councils were providing support to those at risk of homelessness.

The remaining funding, the £63 million Homelessness Reduction Grant, will go to councils to fulfil their duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force last year, to help homeless households into accommodation.

The Act requires public bodies, such as hospitals, prisons and social services, to refer people who may be threatened with homelessness to a housing authority.

Case studies

A number of councils have already used funding from previous rounds of the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant to launch innovative solutions for people with a housing need:

• Leeds City Council have invested heavily in upfront prevention to reduce the numbers of people becoming homeless in the city, with 5 times as much being spent on preventing homelessness than on temporary accommodation.
• Rushmoor District Council have invested in 2 support workers to work with families with complex needs to maintain their housing and ensure they do not become homeless.
• Basildon Council have invested in a ‘Rent Start’ scheme to assist all single homeless people with a housing need find somewhere secure to live.

Last April the government introduced the Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform to homelessness legislation in decades.

Today £263 million has been announced for local authorities to prevent and relieve homelessness in their areas through the Homelessness Reduction Act, including the £200 million Flexible Homelessness Support Grant and the new £63 million Homelessness Reduction Grant.

In August last year the government unveiled its Rough Sleeping Strategy – backed by £100 million – which set out the next steps towards ending rough sleeping for good.

This forms part of a wider strategy to tackle all forms of homelessness, including:

• investing £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness
• providing £76 million for the Rough Sleeping Initiative to 246 local authorities – including the 83 areas with the highest number of rough sleepers
• this year councils are using the investment to create an estimated 2,600 more beds and 750 additional specialist support staff
• providing £28 million for Housing First pilots in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Liverpool to support vulnerable rough sleepers with complex needs
• introducing the Homelessness Reduction Act to ensure people at risk of becoming homeless get help more quickly

The Communities Secretary also announced £10 million – extended today by £3 million – for the Cold Weather Fund, which will boost life-saving support for rough sleepers during the cold winter weather.

This government has committed to ending rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament in 2024 – 3 years earlier than the previous commitment.

Scottish businesses are benefiting from record levels of trade with Japan, as UK exports totalled £14.8 billion in the year to September 2019, up by over 7.6% on the previous 12 months.

Latest figures show that Atlantic salmon exports to Japan were 1,060 tonnes, worth £8.7 million in the 12 months to October 2019, an annual increase of over 71.8%.

A growing taste for Scotch whisky has seen exports of the spirit to Japan rise to £147.2 million in the 12 months to October, an increase of 20.9% on the previous year.

One business already taking advantage of growing demand is The Scottish Salmon Company. The Edinburgh based firm has recently secured a deal to supply Japanese sushi chain ‘Genki Sushi’ with their quality brand Tartan Salmon.

The company currently has 60 sites across the West Coast of Scotland and Hebrides and employs more than 650 people.

Su Cox, Communications and New Business Development Director for The Scottish Salmon Company, said:

Japan and the Far East is a key market and demand for our salmon has helped drive a 25% increase in our exports to the region over the past year.

We expect this to increase as more consumers discover this fine Scottish product and experience the great taste and provenance of our quality ‘Tartan Salmon’. Our recent success with Genki Sushi is testament to this.

We take great pride in our Scottish heritage, and this is demonstrated through our commitment to bringing the finest quality Scottish salmon to worldwide markets.

A future UK-Japan Free Trade Agreement could help to create even more opportunities for British businesses to trade in the region and bring benefits to households across both the UK and Japan.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss said:

Scotland has a world-renowned food and drink sector and it’s great to see Scottish salmon being served up in sushi restaurants across Japan.

Japan is one our closest trading partners and it’s encouraging to see Scottish businesses already taking advantage of trading opportunities in one of the fastest growing markets globally.

Taking back control of our own trade policy will allow us to trade more with countries like Japan, creating greater opportunities and jobs throughout the whole of the UK.

In September, the Department for International Trade launched a call for input to prepare for trade negotiations with Japan after Brexit.

This ran for six weeks and gave businesses, interest groups and members of the public across Scotland and the whole of the UK the opportunity to highlight their priorities for a potential future agreement with Japan.

Ronald Birnie Anderson (71), of Edinburgh, has signed a 10-year disqualification undertaking after he caused and or allowed companies to make loans to connected companies and himself worth more than £5 million.

Effective from 21 October 2019, Ronald Anderson is banned from being involved, directly or indirectly, in the formation, promotion or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Ronald Anderson was the director of three companies, incorporated between 2011 and 2012: Quantum Global Introducers Ltd, Quantum Global Investments Ltd and Juno Biotechnology Ltd.

Juno Biotechnology Ltd and Quantum Global Investments Ltd acted as vehicles to invest pension monies, where funds were received from various pension schemes. Ronald Anderson formerly acted as a trustee for some of these pension schemes. Quantum Global Introducers Ltd acted as a pension transfer business.

Juno Biotechnology Ltd traded to about August 2014 when its business was taken over by Quantum Global Investments Ltd which traded to at least July 2015. Quantum Global Introducers Ltd traded to at least August 2016.

Quantum Global Introducers Ltd entered into liquidation in August 2016. Juno Biotechnology Ltd entered liquidation in October 2016.Quantum Global Investments Ltd entered into liquidation in September 2017. These proceedings brought them to the attention of the Insolvency Service, which investigated the causes of the businesses’ failures and the conduct of the directors.

Investigators found that Quantum Global Investments Ltd and Juno Biotechnology Ltd had received over £12 million from pension schemes.

Ronald Anderson caused and or allowed Quantum Global Investments Ltd and Juno Biotechnology Ltd to make loans of at least £4.5 million to the third company, Quantum Global Introducers Ltd, which remained outstanding at the liquidation. There was no apparent reasonable prospect that Quantum Global Introducers would be able to repay these loans.

Ronald Anderson further received loans of circa £253,000 from Juno Biotechnology Ltd and Quantum Global Investments Ltd. Ronald Anderson further caused and or allowed Quantum Global Introducers Ltd to make further loans worth circa £392,000 to himself and further connected companies.

Investigators found that circa £4.8 million worth of loans made by Juno Biotechnology Ltd and Quantum Global Investments Ltd to connected companies and Ronald Anderson were derived from pension scheme monies. Additionally, the circa £392,000 worth of loans made by Quantum Global Introducers Ltd to connected companies and Ronald Anderson were ultimately derived from pension schemes.

Ronald Birnie Anderson is of Edinburgh and his date of birth is May 1948.

Juno Biotechnology Limited (SC 406770).

Quantum Global Investments Limited (07877108).

Quantum Global Introducers Limited (SC 415847).

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

The Home Secretary has announced that the number of eligible fellowships which can offer accelerated endorsement for visas for scientists wanting to conduct research in the UK will double from 62 to over 120.

This builds on the announcement made by the Prime Minister in August 2019, which outlined how a wider pool of world leading scientists and researchers will be able to benefit from a fast-track process to obtain entry into the UK.

In line with the current process, individuals who receive these fellowships will only need to provide a letter from the relevant funding organisation, which will see them fast-tracked to the Home Office / UKVI visa application stage where immigration checks will be carried out.

This will ensure that world leading scientists can come to the UK as soon as possible to begin their innovative work.

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said:

The UK is already a world leader in science, with some of the most exciting and innovative research being undertaken here in this country.

We want to make sure the UK continues to be at the forefront of innovation, so we need an immigration system that attracts the sharpest minds from around the globe.

As part of this ambitious plan, we are taking decisive action to boost the number of top scientists and elite researchers who can benefit from fast-tracked entry into the UK.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:

We want the UK to be a global science superpower, and continuing to attract the world’s top scientists and researchers to join us in the race to solve the great challenges of the future – from clean energy and advanced storage to solving antibiotic resistance – is an important part of realising that ambition.

Organisations joining the expanded list include world renowned research fellowships such as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Human Frontier Science, European Research Council and the European Molecular Biology Organization. A number of additional awards from UK Research and Innovation and its research councils will also be added, allowing the UK to attract a wide range of elite researchers and specialists.

The revised list of fellowships will be added to the existing Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route, which is the beginning of a wider package of measures to welcome the brightest and best researchers to the UK.

As announced in August 2019, the Home Office will be bringing forward the plans to abolish the cap on the numbers under the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route and an accelerated path to settlement who arrive under this scheme. The Home Office is working to implement these changes early in the New Year.

The full fellowships list will be published in due course. The current fellowships list is available.

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Monday 23 December	09.00 – 1700
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Published 23 December 2019