Number of ex-offenders in work picks up speed due to turbo-charged push to cut crime

The number of ex-prisoners in work has increased dramatically following the Deputy Prime Minister’s drive to make our streets safer, cut crime and protect the public by getting offenders skilled up while behind bars.

Over the last year, the proportion of ex-offenders in work 6 weeks after release increased by more than half – with tough new targets on employment to be introduced for prison chiefs.

As part of the push, the Deputy Prime Minister was joined by four-time Formula One world champion, Sebastian Vettel, at HMPYOI Feltham, London, today to open a new car workshop that’ll train up young offenders in auto maintenance and repair – helping them make the move from prisons to pistons on release.

Evidence shows that getting prisoners into work while behind bars works, with job waiting for them back in the community on release are significantly less likely to go on to reoffend.

And 9 out of 10 employers who have taken on ex-prisoners say they are ‘motivated, reliable, good at their job and trustworthy’ – making it a win-win all round.

Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, said:

Getting prisoners into work is a crucial way to reduce reoffending – which is why game-changing initiatives like the mechanics’ workshop at HMYOI Feltham are so important.

Together with abstinence-based drug treatment and facilities to maintain family ties, our prisons are turning offenders away from a life of crime – cutting crime and protecting the public.

Sebastian Vettel said:

I believe teaching useful skills, such as car mechanics, is a great way to help rehabilitate young people who have made mistakes in their past. It should not be the case that teenagers are written off at such a young age.

This workshop means that these youngsters, when released, will have a chance to take a new direction in life and can make a valuable contribution to society.

The Prisons White Paper – the Deputy Prime Minister’s strategy to reduce reoffending and keep the public safe – puts a laser sharp focus in getting prisoners into work both behind bars and on release, with new individual targets for prison governors.

And in March, 20 big-name businesses including Lotus Cars and Sodexo pledged to head up new Employment Advisory Boards in prisons – acting as a link between jails and employers to make sure offenders use their time in jail to gain the skills they need to head straight into work on release.

Over the next 2 years we will also:

  • Hire new education, work and skills specialists to improve education and training in prisons on offer to get more offenders into work on release
  • Set up a new work innovation fund to support prisons in working with more employers to and meet the needs of local businesses and the economy and smooth the path from prison to employment
  • Overhaul literary education in prisons to improve the reading and writing of all offenders so they are better placed to get a job

Notes to editors

New figures published today show:

  • The proportion of persons released from custody employed at six weeks from their release rose by 6 percentage points to 16% between April 2021 and March 2022. This is an increase of more than half (57%).
  • The proportion of persons released from custody employed at six months from their release rose by 9 percentage points to 23% between April 2021 and March 2022. This is an increase of almost two thirds (66%)


Northern Irish start-up beats established competitors to win transformative export contract

Press release

Northern Ireland-based Circular Group used the General Export Facility from UK Export Finance to secure a major £4m competitive contract

  • The finance from UK Export Finance and HSBC UK helped them secure a £4m contract beating off competition from larger, more established businesses.
  • The Northern Irish start-up is now looking to expand to new markets in North America, Europe and Asia, with exports expected to soar to 75% over the next 36 months.
  • Circular Group’s wet processing systems are environmentally friendly, maximising natural resources such as natural sand & aggregates – helping to extend reserves of this finite material for future generations

A Northern Irish-based start-up has secured a major recycling contract, on the back of a £2.1m support package from HSBC UK with an 80% guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF). The business is now seeking to expand across North America, Europe and Asia and create extra jobs in Northern Ireland and key export markets.

Circular Group designs, manufactures, delivers and installs systems for the sand, aggregates and construction and demolition waste recycling sectors – with the latter re-directing significant volumes of waste from landfill and reprocessing into valuable sand and aggregates for commercial resale. Launching in March 2020, just as the pandemic took hold, Circular Group was given the opportunity to tender for a £4 million contract.

Up against three established companies, Circular Group’s innovative approach, coupled with the most advanced technology on the market put them in pole position. As part of the tender process the end customer required advance payment guarantees to form part of the purchase contract. Circular Group quickly approached HSBC and UKEF for support, given the company’s limited trading history. Circular Group was able to secure the contract with the support of UKEF’s General Export Facility (GEF). The Group is now looking to new global export markets and expects the export portion of its revenue to grow to 75% in the next 36 months.

Sand is the world’s second most-used raw material after water – the UN estimates as much as 40 billion tonnes is extracted and consumed globally per year in the construction industry alone. However, sand mining is having a major impact on rivers, and coastal and marine ecosystems. Wet processing construction waste that is currently directed to landfill produces commercial grade sand from construction waste, thus protecting the natural reserves of this resource for future generations.

Liz McCrory, UKEF Export Finance Manager for Northern Ireland said:

Highly advanced, innovative systems like that produced by Circular Group are crucial in protecting our planet’s natural reserves for future generations.

The fact that it could stand its ground in a highly competitive market demonstrates the strength of its proposition. With GEF support it’s incredible to see this start-up now ready to expand around the world and help more countries in their efforts to drive a more sustainable future.

Eoin Heron, co-owner of Circular Group said:

We are passionate about promoting a circular economy and protecting our environment for future generations. The support from UKEF and the GEF facility has been a genuine game-changer. By ensuring we could be a serious contender for a major project, it helped our business unlock multi-million-pound contracts, grow exponentially in a relatively short time, and create more jobs in the process.

Published 13 May 2022



Work of Strategic Command personnel recognised in Operational Awards List

News story

Members of Strategic Command have been recognised in the Operational Awards List for their services to defence.

Photo showing Strategic Command Headquarters in Northwood

Strategic Command Headquarters, Northwood

Members of Strategic Command have been recognised in the Operational Awards List for their services to defence. The list recognises the bravery, commitment and commendable service of armed forces personnel.

The following individuals have been recognised:

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

  • Royal Air Force Wing Commander (now Acting Group Captain) T L Stevenson MBE

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

  • British Army Warrant Officer Class 2 T A Whitehead

Air Force Cross (AFC)

  • Royal Air Force Wing Commander K H T Latchman

Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service (QCVS)

  • British Army Lieutenant Colonel C O’Brien

US Bronze Star Medal

  • Royal Air Force Wing Commander M A Kroyer

NATO Meritorious Service Medal

  • British Army Major A S Campbell

Joint Commander’s Commendations

  • British Army Colonel P Driver
  • British Army Lieutenant Colonel R Castro
  • British Army Lieutenant Colonel J Pattinson
  • British Army Lieutenant Colonel J Winfield
  • Royal Air Force Wing Commander S M N Bloomer
  • British Army Major C Brindley
  • Royal Air Force Squadron Leader N S Clark
  • British Army Captain J Boyce
  • British Army Captain G Edwards
  • British Army Captain J Wilkinson
  • British Army Private L Kinnersley
  • Civil Service D Hodge

Team Commendations

  • Team Award – 906 Expeditionary Air Wing
  • Team Award – Force Movements Control Cell
  • Team Award – J8 S2O Team
  • Team Award – PJHQ DSTL Operational Analyst Team for Op PITTING

Published 13 May 2022



Pakistani activist receives Commonwealth Points of Light Award

World news story

Pakistani lawyer and activist Tahera Hasan received the Commonwealth Points of Light Award for her efforts promoting the wellbeing of orphaned, abandoned and stateless children.

Points of Light Awards are given to outstanding individual volunteers who are making a positive change in their community.

Having been a strong supporter of adoption, Hasan specialises in family law and custody cases. She founded the Imkaan Welfare Organisation in 2012, which now runs a shelter and recreational centre for orphaned and abandoned children in Karachi’s Machar Colony, a squatter settlement home to nearly 700,000 people. Hasan has also set up a mother and child healthcare centre there.

In addition, Hasan helps in the adoption of orphans and stateless children, helping reduce both infanticide and child abandonment. Imkaan, she says, was found on the principle that “each and every child not only has the right to live but to thrive”.

Tahera Hasan said:

It is an honour and privilege to receive the Points of Light Award. It is a recognition for the work of all those involved on a day-to-day basis, highlighting and fighting for the rights of stateless and marginalised communities in Pakistan. The right to citizenship, identity and more specifically children’s rights, is a neglected subject. This award goes a step forward in bringing these issues to the forefront.

UK High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner said:

Tahera is making a big impact on the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in Pakistan. This recognition of her work is a testimony to the long-standing and deep ties that UK, Pakistan and other Commonwealth nations share.

Notes to editors:

  1. The Commonwealth Points of Light Award runs in parallel with the UK Points of Light Award which has been in place since 2014 (the British Prime Minister makes an award and sends a letter to the recipient).

  2. In the run up to the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, one outstanding volunteer from each of the Commonwealth nations was recognised with an award. Following the success of the programme, The Queen continues to award one volunteer from each country every week and sign a certificate for each winner. Awards are recommended by British High Commissioners in collaboration with Commonwealth nations.

  3. In June 2020, the British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner briefed The Queen on Pakistan’s Commonwealth Point of Light award winners, Huzaifa Ahmed and Hassaan Shah of the organisation Rizq to celebrate Volunteers’ Week.

  4. For more information, visit Points of Light website

  5. More information about Imkaan Welfare Trust can be found here

For updates on the British High Commission, please follow our social media channels:

Contact
British High Commission
Islamabad
tel. 0300 500 5306

Published 13 May 2022



Call for proposals under Small Projects Fund 2022 to 2023 in Ukraine

The British Embassy Kyiv invites proposals for project work under the Small Projects Fund for the period from 15 July 2022 to 15 March 2023.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 5pm (Kyiv time) on 15 June 2022.

The British Embassy Kyiv uses its Small Projects Fund (SPF) to complement work funded by the large-scale programmes in Ukraine via funding small-scale quick-win projects or activities aimed at leveraging bigger funding, at providing unique UK expertise in areas of top priority for the Ukrainian government or at obtaining insights into new areas of activity for future interventions.

The programme will focus on the following areas:

  • support to local self-government in certain oblasts or territorial communities to effectively rebuild their areas after the war, focusing on various areas from pilot awareness campaigns on keeping safe from unexploded remnants of war, to education and social support, working with local civil society organisations and think tanks, therefore building better networks at the sub-national level and reaching out to particular parts of Ukraine where larger CSSF programmes are less likely to operate

  • support to civil society and think tanks focusing on planning reconstruction of Ukraine in line with its reform agenda, working in close cooperation with the key domestic and international stakeholders, therefore ensuring that civil society views are taken into consideration and reflected in the plan; as well as focusing on other specific areas working with IDPs and other vulnerable groups which need quick support, with projects can serve as pilots to inform larger-scale work, policy and programming decisions, providing a framework for understanding developments in Ukraine for the wider international community and keeping Ukraine prominent on the international agenda

Notes

Successful projects should have sustainable outcomes and should clearly identify the change that will be brought about. They may also build on projects by other organisations, complementing their efforts. All bids should make clear how they complement existing activities supported by other donors and international partners, and how work in the regions complements national level activity.

The minimum indicative funding for projects is £20,000 and maximum £50,000. This may be in addition to co-funding and self-funding contributions; indeed this will be considered a merit. Our funding is for the UK financial year 2022 to 2023 only (projects must be implemented and all payments made by 15 March 2023). Where appropriate, bidders are encouraged to describe how their project could be further scaled-up if additional funding became available.

Administrative costs (office rent, project management and bookkeeper rates, utilities, communications, stationery, bank charges etc) must not exceed 8% of the total project budget. We are unable to fund academic courses or research, English language courses, the purchase of IT or other equipment.

The British Embassy Kyiv will carry out due diligence of potential grantees, including seeking references, as part of the selection process.

Bidding is competitive and only selected projects will receive funding. The Embassy reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant(s) of the grounds of such acceptance or rejection. Due to the volume of bids expected we will not be able to provide feedback on unsuccessful bids.

Bidding process

Bidders should fill in the standard Project Proposal Form (ODT, 44 KB) and include a breakdown of project costs in the Activity-Based Budget (ODS, 20.3 KB). We will not consider proposals submitted in other formats. Budgets must be Activity Based Budgets (ABB), all costs should be indicated in GBP (not UAH).

Successful bids must demonstrate Gender Equality Minimum Score 1 (according to the OECD DAC Definition and minimum recommended criteria for gender equality policy marker), have a gender equality objective explicit in the project documentation and an explanation of a positive impact of the project on advancing gender equality. If the project is designed with the principal intention of advancing gender equality, it must have outcomes on gender equality and outputs that contribute to these outcomes.

All projects or activities must align with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and assess climate and environmental impact and risks, taking steps to ensure that no environmental harm is done and, where relevant, support adaptation.

Successful implementers should be able to receive project funding in GBP (UK pound sterling) and open a GBP bank account for the project.

Proposals should be sent to the British Embassy Kyiv at Kyiv.Projects@fco.gov.uk by 5pm (Kyiv time) on 15 June 2022. In the subject line, please indicate the name of the bidder. We aim to evaluate proposals by the end of June. Approved projects will commence in July 2022.

Evaluation criteria

Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

  • fit to programme objectives: the extent to which the proposal addresses the issues
  • quality of project: how well defined and relevant the outcome is and how outputs will deliver this change; ability to leverage bigger funding would be an advantage
  • value for money: the value of the expected project outcomes, the level of funding requested and institutional contribution
  • previous experience: evidence of the project team’s understanding of the issue and of its regional activities, ability to manage and deliver a successful project, through work done to date in the area or in related fields
  • gender-sensitive approach and alignment with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change – as indicated above; the proposals will be assessed by a mixed gender panel