A Foreign Office spokesperson said:

The UK is concerned about the latest North Korea missile launches. These launches undermine efforts to secure a peaceful future for the Korean Peninsula.

To change the course of its future for the better, North Korea must engage meaningfully with the US in negotiations towards denuclearisation.

Published 28 November 2019

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) have launched a customer satisfaction survey. The survey will take approximately 8 to 10 minutes to complete, and gives customers the opportunity to provide feedback on DBS services.

Customer feedback allows us to identify potential improvements to services, and helps ensure that services are of a high standard.

All feedback received throughout the survey will be anonymised and kept confidential.

The survey can be found here, and our Research Privacy Policy which details how your information may be used in line with GDPR, can be found here.

Published 28 November 2019

The UK Space Agency has today (28 November) announced it will invest £374m per year with the European Space Agency (ESA) to deliver international space programmes over the next five years.

The UK is one of the founding members of ESA, an inter-governmental organisation established in 1975 to promote cooperation in space research, technology and applications development. ESA is independent of the EU, bringing together countries across Europe and around the world.

Membership enables the UK to collaborate with space agencies across the world on projects like the International Space Station and the ExoMars programme to send a UK-built rover to search for signs of life on Mars.

The funding, confirmed today at the 2019 ESA Ministerial Council in Seville, Spain, is in line with the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy agreed between government and the UK space sector in 2010, to increase investment in ESA.

This investment will secure UK involvement in international space missions and the development of new technologies, including:

• Building the Lunar Gateway, a new space station orbiting the moon
• Returning the first samples from Mars
• New satellites to help us understand climate change
• An early warning system for solar storms
• Research in space technology to deliver high-speed mobile technology such as 5G and satellite broadband services around the world
• Removing space junk to prevent collisions in space

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:

We are delighted to be making this investment in ESA today. From improving communication and connectivity, to helping us monitor the impact of climate change and protect our power grid, our membership of this international organisation will further our position as a space, innovation and climate superpower.

The UK joined all ESA member states in supporting a 10% rise to the overall space science budget (UK share around £600m) to increase the number and ambition of space science missions. These include missions to use gravitational waves to study black holes and to intercept and study a comet in our solar system.

The combined international investment will fund the following international programmes (funding is committed in euros so all figures are subject to future foreign exchange rates (GBP/euro):

• £250m for ESA’s telecommunications programme, which could enable faster 5G connectivity through the development of new satellites
• £180m on the global exploration programme to bring back the first samples from Mars and support the US ambition to have a sustainable presence on the Moon through the Lunar Gateway and the lunar communications programme to support astronauts and robots on the moon
• £80m on space safety and security for a mission in partnership with the US to protect infrastructure in space and on Earth from space weather and to help remove space debris

In Seville, the UK also committed over £200m investment in Earth Observation, including a UK-led TRUTHS mission to help tackle climate change and the ESA Copernicus Space Component, which runs to 2028.

Following investment from the UK and other member states, ESA has re-confirmed that all astronauts from the class of 2009, including Tim Peake, will return to the International Space Station before 2024. The timings will be confirmed by ESA in due course.

Additional investments include over £16m on satellite navigation innovation, £12m to support commercial spaceflight and over £30m to support space technology, including help for small businesses to take advantage of the space sector.

The UK is now spending an average of almost £95m per year to support telecommunications research and £80m per year to support Earth observation and climate science projects.

This remarkable 63% increase year on year is almost four times as fast as the global rate.

In the last decade, more than 270,000 Indian students – 70% of whom were postgraduates – have benefitted from the UK’s world leading education. The UK is home to thee of the world’s top 10 universities. Over 1,400 walk-ins were recorded during the recent Study UK Fair in New Delhi, which gave students an opportunity to interact with representatives from over 50 UK universities.

The latest visa statistics also show that the UK remains a popular destination for Indian holiday makers. More than 512,000 Indian nationals received visit visas – a 9% increase compared to the previous year.

Overall, it is estimated that more than 1 in 5 of all UK visas go to Indian nationals and 90% of Indian applications are successful, above the global average. Indian nationals also accounted for nearly 51% of all Tier 2 visas granted globally – with over 56,000 Indians receiving skilled work visas in the reporting period.

Sir Dominic Asquith, High Commissioner to India, said:

I’m delighted to see that once again the statistics show that more Indians are choosing to study at the UK’s world-class educational institutions. This is now the third consecutive year in which the numbers have increased. It is important to us, because these young leaders of tomorrow will reinforce the living bridge that connects India and the UK.

Barbara Wickham, Director India, British Council, said:

We are delighted to see, year on year, more Indian students choosing and trusting the UK education system. UK education institutions equally benefit from the diversity of talent and culture that Indian students bring to campuses. The positive growth in student visa statistics, along with the great collaboration between the Indian and UK higher education sectors, ensures that education continues to be key in the relationship between our two countries.

• All figures in the Q3 2019 report relate to the year October 2018 to September 2019. The full statistical release can be found online on the Gov.uk website here: student visas , visit visas , skilled work visas .
• Migration statistics are updated quarterly to provide insight into UK visa trends. Upcoming releases will cover a 12-month period in the following format:
  • Q4 2019: January 2019 – December 2019 (released February 2020)
  • Q1 2020: April 2019 – March 2020 (released May 2020)
  • Q2 2020: July 2019 – June 202 (released August 2020)
• According to the Times Higher Education rankings for 2020, three of the world’s top 10 universities are in the UK (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College). We also have 11 in the top 100 (UCL, LSE, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow) and 28 in the top 200 (Birmingham, Sheffield, Exeter, Nottingham, Leeds).

Mail to: ashwamegh.banerjee@fco.gov.uk

Website: https://www.gov.uk/world/india

Hindi:  https://www.gov.uk/world/india.hi

Follow us: https://twitter.com/UKinIndia

The following products were seized by a VMD inspector during a routine inspection of a veterinary practice:

• 7 x 100 tablet packs of Sucrabest 1g

Sucrabest 1g is a non-UK authorised human product. This product can only be administered under Schedule 4 (Administration of a veterinary medicinal product outside the terms of a marketing authorisation) of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 (VMR) by vets who hold a valid Special Import Certificate (SIC). No such certificate was held by this practice.

The possession of these products is an offence under regulation 26 (Possession of an unauthorised veterinary medicinal product) of the VMR

Published 28 November 2019