The government will deliver the biggest change to renters law in a generation, improving the lives of millions of renters by driving up standards in the private and socially rented sector, delivering on the government’s mission to level up the country.

A “new deal” will be put in place for the 4.4 million households privately renting across England by extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. These reforms will build on the progress the government has already made in this area, and ensure all renters have access to secure, quality homes, levelling up opportunities for the 21% of private rented who currently live in homes of an unacceptable standard.

New measures will also protect tenants, delivering on a manifesto commitment. So-called ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions – that allow rogue landlords to terminate tenancies without giving any reason – will be outlawed, so renters can remain in their homes and communities, and continue supporting the local economy. 22% of those who moved in the past year did not end their tenancy by choice.

Together these reforms will help to ease the cost of living pressures renters are facing, saving families moving from one privately rented home to another an estimated £1,400 in moving costs.

The Bill will also strengthen landlords’ grounds for repossession making it easier for them to evict tenants who are wilfully not paying rent, or who are repeatedly engaging in anti-social behaviour, bringing down neighbourhoods.

Tenants in social housing will also benefit from major reforms to the sector. The Social Housing Regulation Bill will make all registered social housing providers subject to a tough new regulatory regime, with failing social landlords facing unlimited fines if they fail to meet the standards expected of them.

Levelling Up and Housing Secretary Michael Gove said:

Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe and cold homes, powerless to put it right, and under the threat of sudden eviction.

The New Deal for renters announced today will help to end this injustice, improving conditions and rights for millions of renters.

This is all part of our plan to level up communities and improve the life chances of people from all corners of the country.

New deal for private renters

There are 4.4 million households in the private rented sector and the Decent Homes Standard will place a legal obligation on the small number of landlords renting out homes that are of such low quality they are endangering the health of their tenants to quickly improve them.

Today’s reforms will prevent private landlords from benefiting from tax payer money for renting out low quality homes, slashing the £3 billion a year in housing benefit that is estimated to go to landlords renting out non-decent homes. It will also save the NHS anywhere up to the £340 million a year it is spending on the ill health that low quality privately rented homes create.

Currently, areas in the North have the highest proportion of non-decent private rented homes. The measures announced in the Queens Speech will ensure every private renter in the country can enjoy a good standard of living, spreading access and opportunity across the country.

The Renters Reform Bill will also end the injustice that sees renters unable to put down roots in their communities as a result of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

A new Private Renters’ Ombudsman will be created to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, at low cost, and without going to court. The ombudsman will cover all private landlords letting properties and make sure that when residents make a complaint, landlords take action to put things right.

The Bill will also introduce a new property portal to help landlords understand their obligations, give tenants performance information to hold their landlord to account, and help councils crack down on poor practice.

The government will shortly publish a White Paper setting out more detail on our proposals for landmark reform in the private rented sector and will continue to work with the sector to develop the Renters Reform Bill.

Social renters

The Social Housing Regulation Bill will continue to deliver on the government’s reforms in response to the Grenfell Tower fire as we reach the 5th anniversary of the tragedy. It follows on from the Building Safety Act and last year’s Fire Safety Act. The Social Housing Regulation Bill will create a robust regulatory framework that will drive up the standards of social housing accommodation and help tenants and the Regulator hold social housing landlords to account.

It will:

• Create new, tough regulations for better social housing – helping tenants to hold shoddy landlords to account.
• Give the Regulator stronger powers to enforce action if they see failings by social housing landlords.
• Place an expectation on social landlords to place tenants’ concerns at the heart of all they do, with effective resident engagement in place, so no one has to live in sub-standard social housing.
• Provide greater transparency for tenants on how their landlord is performing, how their homes are managed and who is responsible for compliance with health and safety requirements.
• Strengthen the economic regulation of the social housing sector, increasing protections for tenants’ homes and supporting continued investment in the new supply of social housing.

The government also today introduced the landmark Levelling Up and Regeneration bill, which will spread opportunity and prosperity and transform towns and communities across the United Kingdom. This includes a significant package of measures to revive high streets, regenerate town centres and deliver the high-quality homes that communities need. It will put the legal foundations in place to deliver the government’s wide-reaching proposals to spread opportunity, drive productivity and boost local pride.

Further information

• A fifth of renters paying over a third of their income to live in a low quality home.
• The NAO published a report on Private Rented Sector regulation in December 2021, which estimated that £9.1 billion in housing support was paid to private renters or directly to private landlords in 2020-21. 29% of renters in receipt of welfare live in a non-decent homes, giving around £3 billion of housing benefit spent on poor quality homes.
• The reforms will be of particular benefit to those in the North of England, with data from the English Housing Survey showing that the proportion of non-decent homes is high in the North than other areas of the country.

• The UK and Egypt as COP26 and COP27 Presidencies will bring together ministers in Copenhagen to secure delivery of Glasgow Climate Pact commitments and other key declarations and decisions
• The May Ministerial Meeting will focus on the practical action needed to shift from negotiations to implementation ahead of COP27 in Egypt
• This will include sessions on how to reduce emissions and keep 1.5C alive, adapt to the impacts of climate change, address loss and damage due to climate change and mobilise finance

The UK and Egypt will bring together more than 40 countries in Copenhagen this week to focus on what climate action needs to be taken to deliver key commitments ahead of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

In the first jointly led event by the UK and Egypt as COP26 and COP27 Presidencies, the May Ministerial Meeting on Implementation will take stock of action and implementation across key elements of the Glasgow Climate Pact signed at COP26, the Paris Agreement and other international climate agreements and decisions.

The Glasgow Climate Pact kept alive the goal of keeping global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees, at the same time cementing progress on finance for climate action, adaptation and loss and damage.

However, the most recent report from the IPCC shows how the window to keep the 1.5C goal within reach is rapidly closing, and so ministers will focus on the practical action needed to drive progress on implementation and ambition of commitments made in Glasgow.

They will focus on how best to drive down emissions across major sectors of their societies – for example through reducing coal production and forest loss. They will look at the best approaches taken worldwide to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and to protect the most vulnerable. Ministers will consider action and support to address the loss and damage to communities on the frontline of climate change, considering early warning systems, emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction, among other areas.

They will also consider examples for the emissions reductions needed to keep 1.5 degrees alive, as well as the steps they are taking to strengthen their climate action plans for 2030 this year. There will also be a clear focus on ensuring that finance flows to those who need it – for example in supporting countries in a just transition away from fossil fuels.

COP26 President Alok Sharma and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, COP27 President-Designate will co-chair the event, hosted by Denmark’s Minister of Climate and Energy, Dan Jørgensen.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said:

Since the Glasgow Climate Pact was signed at COP26, the IPCC reports on adaptation and mitigation have shown unequivocally that the window of time we have left to secure a liveable future is closing rapidly.

And of course, the Putin regime’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine has changed international politics fundamentally.

However, the chronic threat of climate change remains, which is why I am pleased to co-chair this Ministerial meeting on Implementation bringing countries together to drive forward action on pledges already made.

I look forward to hearing clear commitments from countries on how they will play their part to implement commitments on mitigation, finance, adaptation and loss and damage. When we meet in Sharm-el-Sheikh for COP27, we need to demonstrate to the world we are delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact.

H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt and COP27 President designate said:

Climate action has never been more important. The world needs to demonstrate its continued commitment to curb emissions, enhance adaptation, and deliver on climate finance.

COP27 should see us all coming together to renew our determination, take stock on where we stand on implementation, and lay out a clear path towards turning pledges into tangible action on the ground.

Danish Minister of Climate and Energy and Public Utilities Dan Jørgensen said:

I am very honoured to host the May Ministerial on Implementation and welcome key decision makers to Copenhagen to discuss how we best implement the high ambitions from last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact.

COP26 was a milestone for defining our shared visions on how to fight global climate change.

It is crucial that we deliver across the board on mitigation, finance, adaptation and loss and damage. In Copenhagen, we will build a solid foundation to do just that ahead of COP27 in Egypt later this year.

• Recognising the importance for all of society to be included in implementing climate action, observer groups from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have been invited to participate in the Ministerial.

Section 48(2)(j) of the UK Borders Act 2007 provides that the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) shall:

consider and make recommendations about … the content of information about conditions in countries outside the United Kingdom which the Secretary of State compiles and makes available, for purposes connected with immigration and asylum, to immigration officers and other officials.

To assist the Chief Inspector in fulfilling this statutory role, a body of experts sitting as the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI) regularly reviews the Country of Origin Information (COI) products that are issued by the Home Office. The Home Office refers to these products in procedures that assess claims of individuals for refugee status or other forms of international and humanitarian protection. COI is also used in policy formulation.

The IAGCI reviews products to provide assurance to the Chief Inspector that the content is accurate, balanced, objective and up-to-date. COI is contained in:

• Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs)
• responses to information requests

CPINs are generated on an ongoing basis, generally focusing on countries from which asylum claims are most commonly received. These reports may provide general background information on a country, address aspects of conditions in a country that are relevant to common types of asylum claims, and/or describe the current humanitarian or security situation in a country. CPINs are compiled from material produced by a range of recognised external information sources (news reports, academic literature, independent research reports, fact-finding reports from UK government or from other governments, etc). These documents also contain Home Office policy on the recommended position to be taken with respect to various types of claims, based on the available and accepted country information.

Information Request (IR) responses are prepared to address specific queries from caseworkers or other Home Office officials. These relate to information that is not covered in the CPINs.

Tender Details

IAGCI commissions country experts or experienced researchers to evaluate and report upon the COI contained in Home Office country information products. The IAGCI requires a country expert to review the country information contained in the following CPINs on Rwanda, published in May 2022:

Description of work

Country Policy and Information Notes aim to provide an accurate, balanced and up-to-date summary of the key available sources regarding conditions in the country covered. The purpose and scope of the reports are clearly set out in an introductory section of the document. Reviewers should evaluate the reports in this context and seek to identify any areas where they can be improved. Specifically, the review should entail:

• assessing the extent to which information from source documents has been appropriately and accurately reflected in the CPIN reports
• identifying additional sources detailing relevant aspects of current conditions in the country
• noting and correcting any specific errors or omissions of fact
• making recommendations for general improvements regarding, for example, the structure of the report, its coverage or its overall approach
• ensuring no reference is made to an individual source which could expose them to risk

Reviewers should follow these specific guidelines:

• the review should focus exclusively on the country of origin information contained within the document, and not pass judgment on the policy guidance provided
• the CPIN should be reviewed in the context of its purpose as set out above. It should consider the situation in the country up to the stated ‘cut off’ date for inclusion of information
• when suggesting amendments, rather than ‘tracking changes’ on the original CPIN, a list of suggested changes should be provided as part of a stand-alone review paper, and each report should be reviewed separately. A reporting template will be provided to reviewers (for reference please refer to most recent reviews on the IAGCI webpage for examples of the template)
• any suggestions for additional information (or corrections to information in the document) must be referenced to a source document for the Home Office to be able to use it (preferably open source). The Home Office may use foreign language source documents, but only if the information is considered essential and is not available in English language source

Previous reviews of COI products can be viewed on the ICIBI website.

The selected reviewer will be requested to attend an IAGCI meeting, likely virtual, otherwise at the office of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in London, where their review will be considered. This meeting is due to take place in July 2022. Alternative arrangements may be made if attendance is not possible.

Representatives from the Home Office will also attend the meeting to provide responses to comments and recommendations made in the review.

Reviews commissioned by IAGCI will be published and may be used as source documents for future CPIN reports or other Home Office information products.

How to Apply

Researchers interested in conducting this review should submit:

• a one-page letter demonstrating their expertise in human rights and/or asylum issues pertaining to Rwanda
• their c.v.

Payment for this work will be set at £2,000. Expressions of interest should be submitted to IAGCI@icibi.gov.uk by close of Monday, 30 May 2022.

Unfortunately, we are only able to accept expressions of interest from individuals and not from institutions or consultancy groups. Successful bids will be notified by Wednesday, 8 June. Final reviews will be due by the close of Friday, 8 July, and will be discussed at the IAGCI meeting in late July 2022.

Minister of State for Asia, Amanda Milling, visited South Korea this week (8 -10 May) to attend the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-Yeol and promote collaboration on bilateral and global issues.

Prior to the inauguration ceremony, the Minister met President Yoon to discuss a range of bilateral initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperation between our two countries. They also exchanged views on regional security and the importance of the international community acting together to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Yoon was presented with a letter of congratulations from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Minister for Asia, Amanda Milling, said:

South Korea is a key security partner and trusted friend in the region, as well as a very important trading partner for the UK.

Our countries have a strong relationship based on a shared understanding of the world’s major threats and how best to deal with them, including regional security and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

It was a pleasure to represent the UK at the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-Yeol and I look forward to enhancing and elevating the bilateral relationship, building on our shared values and mutual interests, as part of the UK’s far-reaching work in the Indo-Pacific.

The Minister also met Foreign Minister-designate Park Jin and senior South Korean Parliamentarians from the Foreign Affairs Committee. This follows another year in which bilateral relations have flourished. Last year South Korea was a guest nation at the UK’s G7 Summit and outgoing President Moon attended the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

Korea also welcomed the visit of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group, headed by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, in a clear demonstration of commitment to enhanced security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Whilst in Seoul, the Minister also took time to visit the Korean War Museum, laying a wreath in honour of soldiers of all allied countries who gave their lives during the Korean War – including 1,106 of the more than 80,000 British service personnel who fought to defend Korea against Communist aggression. She also met with a group of young defectors from North Korea (DPRK), reiterating the UK’s position on universal human rights and ongoing support for the North Korean defector community through the British Embassy in Seoul.