HM Government

A scheme which allows local communities to adopt under-used stations and rail lines is set to enter a new era under multi-million pound plans to be announced by the Rail Minister Paul Maynard today (6 November 2017).

Nearly 60 Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) have been set up around the country since 1993, and have helped to revive and reshape more than 80 routes and stations, thanks to volunteers, community engagement and funding from the government and train operators, which last year topped £3 million.

The role and importance of community rail

And now the Department for Transport plans to build on the success of the scheme by launching an updated community rail strategy – with millions of pounds of investment available for successful schemes. The plan is to see the scheme expanded and replicated on a wider scale across the country.

The most successful projects have seen passenger numbers boosted, while others have recreated railway stations as important community hubs.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said:

We have seen nearly a quarter of a century of communities pulling together to breathe new life into railway lines and stations – and we want to build on that success.

We want give the volunteers the support they deserve, spread their success and encourage new partnerships to be created and flourish.

This forms a key part of the investment the government is making in the railways – the biggest since the Victorian era, delivering new carriages, new routes, track upgrades and better stations.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard invites you to have your say on the new community rail stratregy

The minister is launching a consultation into how to expand and enhance community partnerships today at one of the scheme’s success stories, Burnley’s Manchester Road station. Over the past year, the station has seen passenger numbers rise by more than 100,000.

The funding each partnership receives allows them to promote their station or line in the local community and improve accessibility which has increased passenger footfall and helped to reduce vandalism.

More than 3,200 volunteers give 250,000 hours of their time every year to partnerships across the network.

The new strategy for England and Wales is the first since 2007, and will be launched in Spring next year following the end of the public consultation on 28 January 2018.

The consultation focuses on 4 themes

• connecting people to places and opportunities
• supporting communities, diversity and inclusion
• supporting local and regional economies
• suggesting innovative ways to improve the way the railway works

The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), the national umbrella organisation for community rail, has also produced a booklet setting out the benefits of community rail.

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Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: I am shocked and horrified by the attempted missile strike on Riyadh which was a deliberate targeting of a civilian area. The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting Saudi Arabia as it faces regional crise… read more

International Development Secretary Priti Patel has announced a new package of UK aid support to help end the “untold horror” that means thousands of helpless Syrian children fall victim to the “brutal assault of winter” every year.

From November, temperatures typically plummet in Syria and as many as 1 in 3 child deaths could be caused by respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia – up from 1 in 10 before the crisis began.

Chest infections are now the number one reason for children in Syria seeking medical attention. UK aid will provide immunisations and give early treatment for coughs and colds, preventing children from suffering life-threatening illnesses and giving them hope for the future.

People living in tents and make-shift shelters in Syria do all they can to survive sub-zero temperatures but they are struggling to afford daily essentials, food and medical care. Dirty conditions increase the chances of chest infections and malnourishment makes children up to 15 times more likely to die from pneumonia.

As well as delivering life-saving medical support, UK aid is restoring large buildings so that people have a safe and clean place to stay for as long as they need, helping them now and in the winters to come. It is also providing more than 100,000 people with hot meals, warm clothes and blankets to stop children falling ill in the first place.

UK aid will:

• provide more than 1.3 million health care consultations, including 700,000 reproductive, maternal and child health care consultations to give children early treatment and prevent illnesses such as pneumonia.
• provide vaccinations for more than 100,000 people to help prevent infections and boost immune systems.
• support 102,500 people, including families living in besieged and hard to reach areas, with winter kits that include blankets, warm clothing and kitchen utensils to help cook hot meals.
• accommodate 3,000 people in secure shelters by restoring 600 housing units that are fitted with heaters, new doors and windows, and working amenities.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

The barbaric conflict in Syria means that hundreds of thousands of vulnerable men, women and children face another deadly winter ahead.

Pneumonia is an untold horror of the Syria crisis and helpless children are falling victim to the brutal assault of winter before their lives have properly begun. No child should die from the cold. As well as providing lifesaving vaccines and medical treatment, we’re taking action to fortify buildings against sub-zero temperatures and prevent these needless deaths for winters to come.

I urge the international community to step up and provide support that will not only keep people alive but also give them a fighting chance of rebuilding their lives.

The brutal Syrian civil war has already cost an estimated 400,000 lives, with over 11 million people displaced by conflict and causing a severe shortage of food, clean water and healthcare.

Over half of Syria’s population has been displaced by the violence, with nearly 3 million people in hard to reach locations. Today’s UK aid package includes critical support delivered across international borders to people trapped in besieged areas in Syria.

Britain has been at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis and already we have delivered 26.2 million food rations, 9.8 million relief packages, 8.3 million vaccines against deadly diseases and 10.4 million medical consultations for those in need.

Notes to Editors

1. Today’s £62 million package is an allocation of support from the UK’s response to the Syria crisis and will be provided to partners already working in Syria, including UN agencies.
2. This includes £15 million for UNICEF, £12 million for UNRWA, £7.2 million for the Danish Refugee Council, £6 million to the World Health Organisation and £21.8 million for other NGOs. For safety and security reasons, DFID does not name a number of our partners operating in Syria.
3. The UK is a leading donor in the humanitarian response. To date we have committed over £2.46 billion in funding to the region.
4. For more information on the UK’s humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/factsheet-the-uks-humanitarian-aid-response-to-the-syria-crisis

ENDS

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Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will reassure Welsh firms looking to export overseas that they’ll receive the government support to succeed, in a GlobalWelsh event at Tramshed Tech in Cardiff today (6 November).

Mr Cairns will be joined by John Griffiths, Technology Specialist at the Department for International Trade (DIT) to outline the support available from the UK Government to help the firms in attendance to begin their export journey.

Figures from well-known Welsh firms such as Tiny Rebel, Orchard and Doopoll are expected to join Martyn Phillips, chair of event host GlobalWelsh to learn more about the range of export support provided by DIT.

GlobalWelsh aims to build a community and network for Welsh people and businesses abroad, encouraging them to tap into shared resources and bring investment and business opportunities to fruition.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

The UK Government is determined to make sure that Welsh businesses have the tools and support at their disposal to start exporting overseas.

The Department of International Trade has already assisted hundreds of businesses in Wales with export services, with everything from market research to help attending international trade shows. It stands ready to help many more.

With 1,200 dedicated DIT staff in 109 countries worldwide, the UK Government offers a world class resource can tap into to realise their exporting ambitions. I want to see Welsh companies take full advantage of this – UK Government trade support is as much for an enterprise in Caerphilly as it is for a business in Colchester.

There are currently more than 3,800 businesses in Wales that export, with a combined value of £16 billion in the last year – an annual increase of nearly 18%.

Wales is also an attractive place for inward investment, with latest figures showing that 85 foreign direct investment projects were secured in Wales, creating 2,581 new jobs and safeguarding almost 9,000 more.

The Secretary of State for Wales has recently written to over 26,000 Welsh businesses identified as potential exporters including a copy to the Wales Export Guide.

The Wales specific guide sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. You can read the guide online here

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The Queen has been pleased to approve that Dame Sarah Jane Asplin, Sir Timothy Victor Holroyde, Sir Peter Arthur Brian Jackson, Sir Guy Richard Newey, and Sir Rabinder Singh be sworn of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council following their appointment as Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal.

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