UK Export Finance (UKEF) has today signed a cooperation agreement with the Saudi Arabian export credit agency, Saudi Export-Import Bank (‘Saudi Exim’).

The agreement provides a general framework that will enable the two agencies to combine their financial support to help UK and Saudi Arabian businesses secure export contracts anywhere in the world.

UKEF can now support the export of products from Saudi Arabia through its collaboration with Saudi Exim where a transaction also involves substantial trading opportunities for UK exporters in third countries.

Saudi Exim was established in 2020 and is one of the world’s newest export credit agencies, while UKEF was set up in 1919 as the world’s first. Therefore, UKEF will share its knowledge and expertise with its Saudi counterpart to assist in its development as part of the strong diplomatic ties between both countries.

UK Export Finance CEO Louis Taylor said:

This partnership is a major boost to our trading relationship and to businesses in both countries. By working with other export credit agencies from around the world we can open doors to suppliers from other countries to contribute to international projects, making the projects even better and our offer even more attractive to overseas buyers.

We already have strong trading ties with Saudi Arabia, with both nations home to some of the world’s leading companies. We are now working together to harness this expertise to create new export and investment opportunities in other markets that benefit both economies.

Saudi Export-Import Bank CEO HE. Saad Alkhalb said:

Saudi Arabia is diversifying its exports capability and intensely as part of Vision 2030 strategy. The two countries are already working closely together to strengthen trade ties to support the growth in export.

• Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis sign Joint Declaration to boost defence and security collaboration
• as NATO members, the UK and Lithuania vow to continue to work together in condemnation of Russia’s illegal invasion and in support of Ukraine
• meeting in London comes on 100th anniversary of bilateral relations.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and her Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis today (23 May) agreed to greater security and economic cooperation between their 2 countries – in the face of growing aggression from malign regimes.

Their signing of a Joint Declaration marks 100 years of bilateral relations between the two nations and helps further the UK’s global network of liberty.

The Declaration will build on the current defence cooperation the countries share as NATO allies and will increase resistance to threats, including from Russia and China.

The Foreign Secretary highlighted Lithuania in a landmark speech at Mansion House last month as a country which China had tried to bully economically. Today she praised Lithuania for standing up to this coercion.

Lithuania is also a front-line state in the fight against Putin’s appalling barbarism in Ukraine.

Speaking at the signing of the Joint Declaration, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

The UK and Lithuania are two countries which believe in freedom and sovereignty, and who stand up to authoritarian regimes in Europe and across the world. We stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal, barbaric war.

I have immense admiration and respect for Lithuania and I am delighted that today we are deepening our defence and security relationship, and forging greater opportunities for trade and investment through this Joint Declaration.

Both the UK and Lithuania have shown huge support for their Ukrainian ally in its brave fight for freedom.

The UK has inflicted tough and far-reaching sanctions on Russia. This, coupled with Lithuania’s decision to cut off all Russian oil and gas, are helping to cripple Putin’s war machine.

The Declaration signed today also seeks to build closer trade opportunities, counter organised crime, tackle climate change and promote people-to-people links between the UK and Lithuania.

This review explores a wide and diverse range of research relating to English, to identify factors that can contribute to high-quality curriculums, pedagogy, assessment and schools’ systems for managing the subject. Ofsted’s education inspection framework (EIF) and the research underpinning it are the lenses through which we have considered, framed and presented the research literature.

English is a complex subject that combines the disciplines of English language and literature. Studying English is vital to understanding the rest of the curriculum, as well as for educational success beyond school. But more than this, English allows pupils to explore the power and beauty of literature and language.

Today’s review highlights teaching approaches that could raise the attainment of pupils in English, starting from early years education. A core theme of the review is the importance of progression in reading. It notes that reading a broad range of increasingly complex and whole texts gradually increases pupils’ ‘readiness’ for the ambitious literature that is the end point of the national curriculum.

The review discusses how curriculum content and sequencing, as well as subject-specific pedagogy, best enable pupils to achieve the national curriculum aims for English. It identifies themes that contribute to an effective education in English, including:

• strong foundational knowledge for reading, writing and spoken language as essential aspects of the early years curriculum
• developing vocabulary is fundamental to pupils’ progress and narrows the word gap between pupils who are word-rich and word-poor
• an effective reading curriculum ensures that pupils read large amounts of text and focuses on providing pupils with the knowledge they need for comprehension
• a reading curriculum incorporating carefully chosen texts of increasing challenge
• the English curriculum for novices, who are likely to learn more effectively through direct instruction, is structured differently in many aspects from the curriculum for experts

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said:

More than any other subject, English – and especially reading – is fundamental to pupils’ educational success. But English is so much more than the gateway to success in other subjects. Through studying literature, pupils’ eyes are opened to the human experience; they explore meaning and ambiguity as well as the beauty and power of language.

We hope that this review helps teachers and school leaders raise the quality of education in English and inspire a love of literature and language in all young people.

The Independent Chief Inspector is interested in assessing the extent to which the Home Office’s immigration functions support the agricultural sector. To that end, it is expected that this inspection will adopt a broad perspective on the interaction between the UK’s immigration system and the agricultural sector, examining such areas as:

• the efficiency and effectiveness of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pilot
• the extent and quality of communication and engagement between the Home Office and the agricultural sector
• the current suitability of the Home Office’s licencing system for visa sponsorship
• the effectiveness of the Home Office’s compliance requirements on sponsors, including how these safeguard employees from exploitation

This call for evidence will remain open until 20 June 2022.

The Independent Chief Inspector would be pleased to hear both what is working well and what could be improved. Information received in response to this call for evidence will play an important part in defining the scope and focus of the inspection. Submissions touching on any and all areas of interest to the sector, including those that may not be mentioned above, are therefore welcome.

The information you submit may be quoted in the final inspection report, but it is the ICIBI’s practice not to name sources and to anonymise as much as possible any examples or case studies.

Data Protection

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we need your permission to process and retain the information you submit. By clicking here a consent statement will automatically be added to your email.

Alternatively, or if you are using a non-compatible email client, then please send your submission to agriculture@icibi.gov.uk, with ‘Agricultural sector call for evidence’ in the subject line and the following consent statement in the body of your email: “I consent to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration retaining and processing the information and data in this email.”