• Network of dedicated 50PLUS: Champions now in place across England, Scotland and Wales
• Builds on £22 million funding boost secured to support older workers

Dozens of 50 PLUS Champions tasked with helping older workers into work are now in place across England, Scotland and Wales, the Minister for Employment confirmed today.

Each area has specialised, local staff dedicated to this helping over 50’s into work. They are working directly with Jobcentres and employers to remove any barriers that are keeping older workers out of the jobs market. Results of this partnership work are already being seen with leading employers like McDonald’s working with the Jobcentre in Scunthorpe to fill vacancies.

50 PLUS Champions assist Work Coaches to change employer attitudes about hiring over 50s as well as matching jobseekers with opportunities that suit their skills.

Minister for Employment, Guy Opperman MP, said:

Older workers are a huge asset to our country and our economy. I want to support them to get into work.

An age-inclusive workforce makes business sense too. Our 50 PLUS Champions will work with leading employers across the country to connect job-ready people with the vast number of opportunities out there.

DWP is also supporting older jobseekers, with the introduction of the Jobcentre Mid-Life MOT service which supports people to take stock and make plans for their work, wealth and well-being into the future.

Jobcentres deliver a specialised offer for those 50 and over, identifying and overcoming obstacles holding them back from the labour market. Support includes modernising CVs or developing new skills through specialist programmes with new employers and a new approach.

There are also individual businesses which partner up with Jobcentres to create sector-based work academies. These SWAPs last up to six weeks and offer pre-employment training, work experience with an employer in the industry and, at the end of the programme, an opportunity to apply for a job interview in the sector or seek help with the application process.

To mark National Older Workers Week, DWP is organising a number of events and jobs fairs across the country, including job fairs at Hackney Jobcentre Plus and in Birmingham & Solihull at Kings Norton Jobcentre Plus on 22 November, as well as the ‘Let’s Go Retro’ jobs fair in South Manchester on 25 Novembers, all specifically targeted at jobseekers over 50.

• National Older Workers Week takes place from 21 to 25 November 2022
• Founded by Working Wise, the awareness week is now in its second year
• Working Wise will host a series of events during National Older Workers Week, including an online session for employers on how they can create an age-inclusive workplace

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Thank you to the co-chairs for bringing us together again – in particular, our host, Foreign Minister Colonna and also to Minister Baerbock and Foreign Minister Aurescu. Thank you Deputy Prime Minister Popescu.

I am very pleased to represent the United Kingdom today at this third Moldova Support Platform conference.

As we witness unrelenting Russian aggression in Ukraine, and its devastating impact on the people of Ukraine, we also see the harrowing consequences it is having beyond Ukraine’s borders, in particular on Moldova. The resilience and solidarity demonstrated by the people of Moldova, under President Sandu’s leadership, are truly inspiring. For the UK, it is an irrefutable duty to join with our allies and partners in helping Moldova to overcome some of the worst impacts of Russia’s war. As winter arrives, we must continue to demonstrate our unity in standing with Moldova, its democratically-elected government and its people, and their right to choose their own future.

In October I was honoured to visit Moldova. I saw and heard for myself how this small country with a big heart had welcomed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, many of whom continue to be supported by the Moldovan people and their government. President Sandu, Foreign Minister Popescu and their colleagues explained the difficulties their country was facing, including energy insecurity caused by Russia’s deliberate disruption of the gas supply, soaring inflation and security threats, vividly illustrated by Russian missiles violating Moldovan air space with utter disregard for civilians and their safety.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, since the launch of this process in April, the UK has been pleased to co-chair, with Romania, the anti-corruption working group. Our coordination with the Moldovan Ministry of Justice and other key agencies in Moldova has been exceptionally valuable. We will present the working group’s latest report, focused on concrete results, this afternoon.

I am pleased to report that the UK’s own contribution to anti-corruption and transparency work – an additional £12m over three years – is taking shape, providing support where it is needed the most and complementing the efforts of the Moldovan government and our partners.

We also seek to assist Moldova in other sectors, including direct support for its humanitarian efforts. Our humanitarian contribution this year – including £29.45 million regionally and £10.8 million directly to Moldova – is helping crisis-affected refugees and their Moldovan host families, and has helped ease the pressure on the Moldovan government.

Under the auspices of NATO’s Tailored Support Package we are delivering support that includes the NATO-sponsored Professional Development Programme, English Language Training, Strategic Communications and Military Engineering along with providing a range of training courses. Our other programmes are tailored to support Moldova in its hour of need, by helping increase energy efficiency, and by working alongside partners to support reforms and capacity-building that will help build Moldovan resilience.

At his meeting with Foreign Minister Popescu in London a few weeks ago, the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly reiterated the UK’s commitment to stand by Moldova. We will continue to take every opportunity we see to reinforce our support.

We must clearly show that we are resolute and united in resisting Russian aggression and its efforts to defeat democracy.

Finally, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, through the Moldova Support Platform and other fora, we will continue to play our part in a collective and coordinated response, both to bring about concrete short-term support and to identify long-term solutions to ensure Moldova’s stability and promote greater European integration. The people of Moldova deserve no less.

• Prime Minister announces new medal to honour the service of veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests on ‘plutonium anniversary’
• 22,000 veterans are expected to be eligible for the new honour, marking their service and contribution to the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme.
• Comes as veterans and their families gather at the National Memorial Arboretum today to pay tribute to nuclear heroes, who have kept the country safe for 70 years

A new medal is to honour the significant contribution of veterans and civilian staff from across the Commonwealth, who participated in Britain’s nuclear testing programme, the Prime Minister will announce today.

The award comes as the country pays tribute to the veterans of the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire this morning.

The event, which takes place 70 years after the first British test of a nuclear weapon, will be attended by the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and Veterans’ Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer.

Service personnel, veterans and their families, and representatives from military charities will also attend.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

I am incredibly proud that we are able to mark the service and dedication of our nuclear test veterans with this new medal. Their commitment and service has preserved peace for the past 70 years, and it is only right their contribution to our safety, freedom and way of life is appropriately recognised with this honour.

This medal is an enduring symbol of our country’s gratitude to each and every person who played a part in this effort and their loved ones who supported them.

The veterans and civilians who participated in the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme, the first of which was known as Op Hurricane, made the UK the third nuclear power. This work contributed to achieving the nuclear deterrent – the ultimate guarantee of UK sovereignty which continues to keep us safe today, and helps guarantee international security.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:

This medal honours those who served far from home, at a crucial time in our nation’s history.

To this day the nuclear deterrent remains the cornerstone of our defence, and that is only because of the service and contribution of the brilliant veterans and civilian personnel.

It’s right that we mark this contribution today, 70 years on from Britain’s first nuclear test.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

I am delighted that a commemorative medal can be given to our Nuclear Test Veterans, who have made an invaluable contribution to the safety and security of the UK, and who we recognise and value for their enduring service to our nation.

The Nuclear Test Medal will be a commemorative medal that can be worn by recipients.

The medal also recognises the contribution made by veterans and civilians from across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati. All service personnel and civilians under UK command, including close partners from the Commonwealth and Pacific region, who participated in, or were present at, the British or American nuclear tests at the Montebello Islands, Christmas Island, Malden Island and Maralinga & Emu Field, South Australia between 1952 and 1967 will be eligible for the medal. This also includes scientists and local employees..

It is estimated that around 22,000 veterans will be eligible for medallic recognition.

The medal can be awarded posthumously. Veterans, their families and next of kin will need to apply for the medal, which will be free of charge. It is expected that the first awards of the medals will be made in 2023.

To further recognise the contribution of veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests, the government is investing £450,000 into projects which will commemorate and build further understanding of the experiences of veterans who were deployed to Australia and the Pacific.

As part of that funding, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs is launching an oral history project to chronicle the voices and experiences of those who supported the UK’s effort to develop a nuclear deterrent.

Due to start in April 2023 the project will run for two years, giving nuclear test veterans the opportunity to be interviewed, and contribute to an accessible digital archive of testimonies about their time working on the tests.

Michael Hansen, 42, from Hebburn has been disqualified as a director for 10 years after overstating the turnover of his engineering firm to claim a £40,000 Bounce Back Loan to which his business was not entitled.

Hansen was the sole director of MH Property & Engineering Services Limited, which was incorporated in 2019 and traded as a property and engineering firm from Monkton Lane in Hebburn until it went into liquidation in November 2021.

When the company’s turnover decreased during the pandemic, Hansen applied for a Bounce Back Loan to help support his business, stating the company’s turnover to be £160,000.

Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to help businesses to stay afloat during the Covid pandemic. Companies could apply for a loan of between £2,000 and £50,000, up to a maximum of 25% of their turnover. The money was to be used for the economic benefit of the company, under the rules of the scheme.

MH Property and Engineering Limited struggled to recover the custom it lost during the pandemic and went into liquidation, owing more than £42,000 and triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators discovered that during the company’s first year of trading, up to June 2020, MH Property and Engineering Limited’s turnover was £8,294 and the company had therefore received nearly £38,000 more than it had been entitled to through the Bounce Back Loan scheme.

They also found that around £14,000 had later been withdrawn or paid out of the company’s bank account, followed by a transfer of around £24,600 to Hansen himself between November 2020 and August 2021.

Hansen was unable to show investigators that the money had been used for the economic benefit of the company.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Michael Hansen after he did not dispute that he had overstated the turnover of MH Property and Engineering Services Limited to gain more than £37,900 to which it was not entitled, and had failed to make sure the money was used for the economic benefit of the company.

His disqualification started on 11 November 2022 and lasts for 10 years. The ban prevents Hansen from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Mike Smith, Chief Investigator of the Insolvency Service said,

Covid Support Schemes were a lifeline to businesses across the UK protecting jobs and preserving businesses.

We will not hesitate to take action against directors who have abused Covid-19 financial support like this, and Hansen’s lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.

Michael Hansen is of Hebburn and his date of birth is November 1980.

MH Property and Engineering Limited company number 12061331.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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