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Category: Child Poverty

  • MIL-OSI Global: TB in Africa: global report shows successes, but Nigeria and DRC remain important hotspots

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tom Nyirenda, Extraordinary Senior Lecture in the Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University

    The World Health Organization’s 2024 Global Tuberculosis report reveals a sobering reality. Formidable challenges remain in the fight against the world’s most infectious disease: persistent poverty in high burden countries; increased rates of infection among vulnerable populations; the inability to find and treat all missing cases; and funding shortfalls.

    The WHO’s report measures progress in two ways: the number of TB-related deaths, and the number of people who become ill. There is still a long battle ahead to eradicate a disease that results in over 10 million patients among those already infected and claims around 1.5 million lives each year. This even though it is preventable and curable.

    The good news is that some countries in Africa have made significant progress in reducing infection rates and TB-related deaths.

    Global health specialist Tom Nyirenda assesses some of the report’s key findings and messages.

    Tackling poverty beats TB

    In 2023, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, including 6.0 million men, 3.6 million women and 1.3 million children. This is slightly more than the 10.6 million people recorded in 2022.

    TB can be defeated because we have good diagnostic tools and effective treatment for the commonest forms of the disease. Global funding, which is critical in fighting TB, is not yet up to the scale that is required to stop the disease. Only 26% of the funding committed by global partners to TB prevention, diagnostic and treatment services has materialised so far.

    Good diagnostic tools and treatment aren’t the panacea. Almost 87% of TB cases are from 30 high burden poor countries of the world. Slow or lack of economic progress of affected populations is one of the greatest challenges the world continues to face.



    Read more:
    New TB skin test could offer cheaper and easier way to detect the disease

    TB-related deaths

    On the positive side, progress has been made in reducing TB related deaths in the Africa region. The continent saw the biggest drop in TB related deaths since 2015 of all six regions – 42%. The European region came next with TB deaths down by 38% in the same period.

    When it comes to TB infections the WHO African and European regions have made the most progress: a reduction of 24% in Africa and 27% in Europe.

    One of the main reasons for the success in Africa has been progress in treating HIV patients. This is because TB is one of the most common opportunistic infections among patients with HIV. (Opportunistic infections occur more often or are more severe in people with weakened immune systems.)

    Before antiretrovirals transformed treatment for HIV patients, the African continent had the highest TB-HIV co-infection rates in the world. High mortality was experienced among co-infected patients.

    At one stage HIV prevalence among TB patients was estimated to be as high as 90% in some areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

    Treating co-infected patients with antiretrovirals has contributed significantly to the drop in TB-related cases and deaths on the continent.

    Some countries have increased TB screening among vulnerable groups such as children and those who live in confined areas, such as prisoners and displaced people.

    Mixed bag of infection rates

    Successes within the African region vary from country to country.

    For example Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are among eight countries that accounted for about two-thirds of the global number of people estimated to have developed TB in 2023. Nigeria has 4.6% of the global new cases and the DRC has 3.1%.

    It’s noteworthy that both countries have high levels of poverty; they are vast, with huge populations; and their health services are limited compared to the scale of disease burdens they face.



    Read more:
    Medical science has made great strides in fighting TB, but reducing poverty is the best way to end this disease

    Sometimes increases in reported cases are not a bad thing. They can be due to improved case finding or better diagnostic procedures. But vigilance is required to maintain the drive towards achievement of global targets.

    Barriers to seeking treatment

    Families of TB sufferers often have to bear costs such as for medications, special foods, transport, and a loss of income.

    Such expenses sometimes discourage TB sufferers from seeking treatment.

    The WHO global report estimates families in many countries in Africa are among those facing “catastrophic total costs” as a result of members becoming ill with TB. This is when direct and indirect costs account for more than 20% of a family’s annual household income. The countries where this is the case include Niger, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and South Africa.

    Vaccine race

    The only vaccine against TB, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine, has been used for more than 100 years. It is largely effective for children under five, but less so in older people. And it can’t be used on patients who have certain medical conditions.

    Development of vaccines is a lengthy and costly exercise. Only one-fifth of the finance necessary for research has been forthcoming to date.



    Read more:
    TB: gene editing could add new power to a 100-year-old vaccine

    The good news is that of all infectious diseases TB is probably the one that has the most vaccine candidates in the pipeline (about 17). There are currently six vaccine candidates for adults in phase III trials. They could be available within the next five years.

    Beating the disease will require an effective primary or recurrent TB prevention vaccine or a therapeutic vaccine for those already infected with the TB bacteria but who have not yet developed the disease.

    Future threats

    Climate change will affect food security and nutrition, essential for recovery from TB, and also diverting TB resources to epidemics and pandemics associated with it.

    Human conflict, migration and displacement are other threats that world faces that will hinder TB infection control and treatment.

    There is also the urgent need to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis.

    These dangers strengthen the case for multi-sectoral collaboration to share rare resources and strive for a meaningful impact. The speed at which COVID-19 vaccines were developed in the middle of a pandemic and global lockdowns shows this is possible in better and worse times.

    What needs to be done

    Without government support the war against TB will never be won. Every country and every community is different. It is therefore essential that locally relevant economic research is conducted in every situation to guide policies that reduce the economic burden of TB on communities. Generated evidence should guide policy and practice. Above all good financing should be mobilised, with governments leading the course.

    Tom Nyirenda is affiliated with European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership -EDCTP.

    – ref. TB in Africa: global report shows successes, but Nigeria and DRC remain important hotspots – https://theconversation.com/tb-in-africa-global-report-shows-successes-but-nigeria-and-drc-remain-important-hotspots-242489

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Leesburg native serving at U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Guantanamo Bay on the path to becoming an officer

    Source: United States Navy (Medical)

    Story courtesy of Ashley Craig, Navy Office of Community Outreach

    MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Petty Officer 1st Class Breanna Funderburk, a native of Leesburg, Florida, was recently selected for the Medical Service Corps In-Service Procurement Program while serving in the U.S. Navy assigned to U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

    The Medical Service Corps In-Service Procurement Program is a pathway for career-driven active-duty sailors to become commissioned officers.

    Funderburk graduated from Leesburg High School in 2016. Additionally, Funderburk earned an associate degree in health science from Incarnate Word University in 2020, a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from Purdue Global University in 2022 and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport in 2024.

    The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Leesburg.

    “Growing up in my hometown, and because of poverty levels of the economy, I always sought to be successful,” said Funderburk. “With this goal in mind, I began working at the age of 15 and diligently studied in school to ensure that this was to be my outcome. I earned two scholarships when I graduated high school, yet I returned these and knew that there was something greater out there for me. I carried my desire for higher education and work ethic with me as I began my naval career just seven and a half years ago. Everything happens for a reason and I wouldn’t be who I am today without the hometown experiences that shaped me into who I am and who I continue be in my naval career.”

    Funderburk joined the Navy seven and a half years ago. Today, Funderburk serves as a hospital corpsman.

    “I joined the Navy to find a solid foundation while pursuing higher education and to challenge myself in ways I couldn’t have imagined if I stayed in my comfort zone,” said Funderburk. “I wanted to serve a greater purpose, gain new skills and grow as a person by exploring opportunities beyond my hometown. The Navy offered me not only stability but also the chance to be a part of something bigger, experience new cultures and contribute to something meaningful. It’s been a decision that has expanded my horizons in ways I never thought possible.”

    Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay provides health care to the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay community, which consists of approximately 4,500 military members, federal employees, U.S. and foreign national contractors and their families. The hospital also operates the only overseas military home health care facility providing care to elderly special category residents who sought asylum on the installation during the Cuban Revolution.

    “What I love most about my role in the Navy is the opportunity to mentor and guide junior sailors and my peers,” said Funderburk. “The ‘sailorization’ process – helping others grow, develop their skills, and reach their potential – is deeply rewarding for me. As a leader, I strive to embody a servant leadership style, where my focus is on supporting others and empowering them to succeed. There’s nothing more fulfilling than watching someone I’ve mentored overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Knowing that I played a part in their growth is a reminder of the true purpose of leadership; serving others and uplifting those around you.”

    With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.

    Funderburk serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.

    “We will earn and reinforce the trust and confidence of the American people every day,” said Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations. “Together we will deliver the Navy the nation needs.”

    Funderburk has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.

    “My proudest achievement in the Navy is being selected through the Medical Service Corps In-Service Procurement Program to commission as a United States Navy officer with my master’s degree in healthcare administration,” said Funderburk.

    Funderburk can take pride in serving America through military service.

    “Serving in the Navy means being part of something greater than myself,” said Funderburk. “It’s about commitment, sacrifice and dedication to protecting our nation and supporting those in need. It’s given me the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, to learn from diverse experiences and to develop a strong sense of discipline and teamwork. Serving in the Navy has instilled a deep pride in knowing that my contributions make a tangible impact, and it’s allowed me to build a lifelong bond with others who share the same mission of service and excellence.”

    Funderburk is grateful for the opportunities the Navy has provided to help them reach their goals.

    “A main goal of mine when I joined was to have stability and a strong foundation while attending college and I sought to be very academically successful,” said Funderburk. “With that, the Navy has provided me with great opportunities and I was able to go to corpsman-specialized schooling, which awarded me with my associate in health sciences and a license as a Certified Respiratory Therapist, which is transferable to the civilian sector. Later, at my second command at Navy Medicine and Training Command Fort Belvoir, I was able to complete both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in healthcare administration through online colleges within four years of being stationed there.

    “It can be very challenging balancing the active duty lifestyle and excelling in your education, but it is not impossible.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Budget marks first step in plan to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Millions of people, including families, pensioners, carers and those struggling to find work are set to benefit from Autumn Budget reforms to boost work and tackle poverty.

    • Welfare safety net will be strengthened with a new Fair Repayment Rate, an increase to benefits and an extension of vital crisis support.

    • Carers will also see a boost to the amount they can earn whilst retaining their entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.
    • A £240 million package for the Get Britain Working White Paper will shift department’s focus from welfare to work.

    The first steps in the Work and Pensions Secretary’s plan to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty across the UK were unveiled in the Government Budget yesterday (Wednesday 30 October).  

    As the department shifts its focus from welfare to work, a £240 million package will open up opportunities to millions of people left behind and denied the opportunity to get into work and get on at work.

    These major changes will address spiralling economic inactivity and a record 2.8 million people locked out of work due to long term sickness and are part of the Government’s ambition to reach an 80% employment rate. 

    The Get Britain Working White Paper will develop:

    • A new jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, and get on in their work, by linking jobseekers with employers, with an increased focus on skills and careers;
    • Joined-up work, health and skills plans to tackle economic inactivity and boost employment, led by Mayors and local areas;
    • A new Youth Guarantee so that every young person is given the opportunity to earn or learn.

    Those with caring responsibilities will able to earn more without losing government support, with the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold boosted by £45 a week to £196, benefitting more than 60,000 carers by 2029/30. This is the biggest ever cash increase in the earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance. This is alongside an independent review into Carer’s Allowance Overpayments led by Liz Sayce OBE.

    As well as boosting pensions and benefits through annual uprating, a new Fair Repayment Rate will be introduced, reducing Universal Credit deductions. This will mean 1.2 million of the poorest households will benefit by an average of £420 a year.

    £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales. This will help struggling families and pensioners facing the greatest financial hardship.   

    Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall said:

    We promised change, and that is what we will deliver. 

    For too long, millions of people have been denied opportunities to work and build a better life, and too many children are growing up in poverty, harming their life chances and our country’s future.

    This Budget shows the first steps in our plan to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty in every corner of the country.

    There is still much more to do, but this Budget has shown change has begun.

    Measures announced today will also improve how the department detects and prevents fraud and error, so support is targeted where it is needed most and taxpayers know every pound is spent wisely. These changes are expected to save £7.6 billion by 2029/30.

    The Secretary of State has also concluded her annual review of the State Pension and benefit rates, which will see:

    • A 4.1 percent increase to the basic and new State Pensions due to the Triple Lock commitment – meaning those on the full rate of the new State Pension will now see an increase of over £470 per year.
    • A 1.7 percent increase to Universal Credit and other working-age benefits – worth an average £12.50 per month for a family on Universal Credit.

    Further Information

    • The Get Britain Working White Paper will be published in Autumn and will set out the government’s plans to reform employment support and tackle the root causes of record-high inactivity.
    • Welfare reforms announced at Autumn Budget include:
    • A new Fair Repayment Rate to reduce Universal Credit deductions from 25% to 15%.
    • A £240 million Get Britain Working package
    • An extension of the Household Support Fund
    • Maintaining Discretionary Housing Payments funding.
    • Raising the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold by £45 a week
    • Uprating disability benefits and working age benefits including Universal Credit by 1.7% in line with the year to September 2024 Consumer Prices Index figure.
    • Uprating basic and new State Pensions and the standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit by 4.1% in line with the average weekly earnings figure for the year to May to July 2024.
    • Improving fraud, error and debt detection and prevention.

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Autumn Budget 2024 speech

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Autumn Budget 2024 speech as delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

    Delivered on:
    (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

    Madam Deputy Speaker…

    [redacted political content]

    This government was given a mandate. 

    To restore stability to our economy… 

    … and to begin a decade of national renewal. 

    To fix the foundations… 

    … and deliver change. 

    Through responsible leadership in the national interest.  

    That is our task.  

    And I know that we can achieve it. 

    My belief in Britain burns brighter than ever.  

    And the prize on offer is immense.  

    As my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister said on Monday – change must be felt. 

    More pounds in people’s pockets.  

    An NHS that is there when you need it.  

    An economy that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all…  

    … because that is the only way to improve living standards.   

    And the only way to drive economic growth… 

    … is to invest, invest, invest.  

    There are no shortcuts. 

    And to deliver that investment… 

    … we must restore economic stability…

    [redacted political content]

    INHERITANCE

    [redacted political content]

    … it is the first Budget in our country’s history to be delivered by a woman.  

    I am deeply proud to be Britain’s first ever female Chancellor of the Exchequer.  

    To girls and young women everywhere, I say:  

    Let there be no ceiling on your ambition, your hopes and your dreams.  

    And along with the pride that I feel standing here today… 

    … there is also a responsibility… 

    … to pass on a fairer society and a stronger economy to the next  

    generation of women.

    [redacted political content]

    A black hole in the public finances… 

    Public services on their knees…. 

    A decade of low growth. 

    And the worst parliament on record for living standards. 

    Let me begin with the public finances. 

    In July, I exposed a £22bn black hole

    [redacted political content]

    The Treasury’s reserve, set aside for genuine emergencies… 

    … spent three times over… 

    … just three months into the financial year.  

    Today, on top of the detailed document that I have provided to the House in July… 

    … the government is publishing a line by line breakdown of the £22bn black hole that we inherited… 

    It shows hundreds of unfunded pressures on the public finances… 

    … this year, and into the future too.  

    The Office for Budget Responsibility have published their own review of the circumstances around the Spring Budget forecast.  

    They say that the previous government – and I quote – “did not provide the OBR with all the [available] information to them”… 

    … and – had they known about these “undisclosed spending pressures that have since come to light”… 

    … then their Spring Budget forecast for spending would have been, and I quote again: “materially different”.  

    Let me be clear: that means any comparison between today’s forecast and the OBR’s March forecast is false… 

    … because the party opposite hid the reality of their public spending plans. 

    Yet at the very same budget… 

    … they made another ten billion pounds worth of cuts to National Insurance.

    [redacted political content]

    That’s why today, I can confirm that we will implement in full… 

    … the 10 recommendations from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s review. 

    But, the country has inherited not just broken public finances… 

    … but broken public services too. 

    The British people can see and feel that in their everyday lives. 

    NHS waiting lists at record levels. 

    Children in portacabins as school roofs crumble. 

    Trains that do not arrive. 

    Rivers filled with polluted waste.  

    Prisons overflowing. 

    Crimes which are not investigated… 

    … and criminals who are not punished.  

    That is the country’s inheritance

    Since 2021, there had been no detailed plans for departmental spending set out beyond this year.  

    And [redacted political content] plans relied on a baseline for spending this year which we now know was wrong… 

    … because it did not take into account the £22bn black hole.  

    The previous government also failed to budget for costs which they knew would materialise.  

    That includes funding for vital compensation schemes…  

    … for victims of two terrible injustices…

    [redacted political content]

    … the infected blood scandal… 

    … and the Post Office Horizon scandal.  

    The Leader of the Opposition rightly made an unequivocal apology for the injustice of the infected blood scandal on behalf of the British state… 

    … but he did not budget for the costs of compensation.  

    Today, for the very first time, we will provide specific funding to compensate those infected and those affected, in full… 

    … with £11.8bn in this budget. 

    And I am also today setting aside £1.8bn to compensate victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal… 

    … redress that is long overdue for the pain and injustice that they have suffered.

    [redacted political content]

    … and we will restore stability to our country again. 

    The scale and seriousness of the situation that we have inherited cannot be underestimated. 

    Together, the hole in our public finances this year, which recurs every year… 

    … the compensation schemes that they did not fund… 

    … and their failure to assess the scale of the challenges facing our public services… 

    … means this budget raises taxes by £40bn. 

    Any Chancellor standing here today would have to face this reality. 

    And any responsible Chancellor would take action. 

    That is why today, I am restoring stability to our public finances… 

    … and rebuilding our public services.  

    FISCAL RULES / OBR FORECASTS 

    Economy forecast/growth 

    As a former economist at the Bank of England, I know what it means to respect our economic institutions.  

    I want to put on record my thanks to the Governor of the Bank, Andrew Bailey…  

    … and to the independent Monetary Policy Committee. 

    Today, I can confirm that we will maintain the MPC’s target of two per cent inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the Consumer Prices Index. 

    I want to thank James Bowler, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, and my team of officials. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, I would also like to thank my predecessors as Chancellor of the Exchequer… 

    … for their wise counsel as I have prepared for this Budget.

    [redacted political content]

    Finally, I want to thank Richard Hughes and his team at the Office for Budget Responsibility for their work in preparing today’s economic and fiscal outlook. 

    Let me now take the House through that forecast. 

    The cost of living crisis under the last government stretched household finances to their limit, with inflation hitting a peak of above 11%.  

    Today, the OBR say that CPI inflation will average 2.5% this year, 2.6% in 2025, then 2.3% in 2026, 2.1% in 2027, 2.1% in 2028 and 2.0% in 2029.  

    Next, I move on to economic growth.  

    Today’s budget marks an end to short-termism.  

    So I am pleased, that for the first time, the OBR have published not only five year growth forecasts… 

    … but a detailed assessment of the growth impacts of our policies over the next decade, too… 

    … and the new Charter for Budget Responsibility, which I am publishing today, confirms that this will become a permanent feature of our framework. 

    The OBR forecast that real GDP growth will be 1.1% in 2024, 2.0% in 2025, 1.8% in 2026, 1.5% in 2027, 1.5% in 2028 and 1.6% in 2029. 

    And the OBR are clear: this Budget will permanently increase the supply capacity of the economy…

    [redacted political content]

    … boosting long-term growth. 

    Every Budget I deliver will be focused on our mission to grow the economy. 

    And underpinning that mission are the seven key pillars of our growth strategy… 

    … developed and delivered alongside business…  

    … all driven forward by our Financial Secretary to the Treasury.   

    First, and most important, is to restore economic stability. That is my focus today. 

    Second, increasing investment and building new infrastructure is vital for productivity, so we are catalysing £70bn of investment through our National Wealth Fund… 

    … and we are transforming our planning rules to get Britain building again. 

    Third, to ensure that all parts of the UK can realise their potential… 

    … we are working with the devolved governments… 

    … and partnering with our Mayors to develop local growth plans.  

    Fourth, to improve employment prospects and skills we are creating Skills England, delivering our plans to Make Work Pay and tackling economic inactivity.  

    Fifth, we are launching our long-term modern industrial strategy and expanding opportunities for our small and medium sized businesses to grow. 

    Sixth, to drive innovation we are protecting record funding for research and development to harness the full potential of the UK’s science base.  

    And finally, to maximise the growth benefits of our clean energy mission, we have confirmed key investments such as Carbon Capture and Storage to create jobs in our industrial heartlands. 

    Our approach is already having an impact. 

    Just two weeks ago – we delivered an International Investment Summit which saw businesses commit £63.5bn of investment into this country… 

    … creating nearly 40,000 jobs across the United Kingdom.

    [redacted political content]

    Economic growth will be our mission for the duration of this parliament.  

    Stability rule 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, in our manifesto, we set out the fiscal rules that would guide this government. 

    I am confirming those today… 

    Our stability rule… 

    And our investment rule… 

    The “stability rule” means that we will bring the current budget into balance… 

    … so that we do not borrow to fund day to day spending. 

    We will meet this rule in 2029-30, until that becomes the third year of the forecast.  

    From then on, we will balance the current budget in the third year of every budget, held annually each autumn. 

    That will provide a tougher constraint on day to day spending… 

    … so difficult decisions cannot be constantly delayed or deferred.  

    The OBR say that the current budget will be in deficit by £26.2bn in 2025-26 and £5.2bn in 2026-27… 

    … before moving into surplus of £10.9bn in 2027-28, £9.3bn in 2028-29 and £9.9bn in 2029-30… 

    … meeting our stability rule… 

    … two years early.  

    Monthly public sector finances data shows that government borrowing in the first six months of this year… 

    … was already running significantly higher than the OBR’s March forecast. 

    And so the OBR confirmed today, that borrowing in this financial year is now £127bn…

    [redacted political content]

    The increase in the net cash requirement in 24-25 is lower than the increase in borrowing, at £22.3bn higher than the spring forecast.  

    Because of the action that we are taking… 

    … borrowing falls from 4.5% of GDP this year to 2.1% of GDP by the end of the forecast. 

    Public sector net borrowing will be £105.6bn in 2025-26, £88.5bn in 2026-27, £72.2bn in 2027-28, £71.9bn in 2028-29 and £70.6bn in 2029-2930. 

    FIXING THE FOUNDATIONS 

    Spending  

    Madam Deputy Speaker, before I come to tax… 

    … it is vital that we are driving efficiency and reducing wasteful spending. 

    In July, to begin delivering, and dealing with our inheritance… 

    … I made £5.5bn of savings this year.  

    Today we are setting a 2% productivity, efficiency and savings target for all departments to meet next year… 

    … by using technology more effectively and joining up services across government 

    As set out in our manifesto, I will shortly be appointing our Covid Corruption Commissioner, they will lead our work to uncover those companies that used a national emergency to line their own pockets. 

    Because that money belongs in our public services. And taxpayers want that money back.  

    And I can confirm today that David Goldstone has been appointed as the Chair of the new Office for Value for Money…  

    … to help us realise the benefits from every pound of public spending. 

    Welfare 

    Today, I am also taking three steps to ensure that welfare spending is more sustainable.  

    First, we inherited [redacted political content] plans to reform the Work Capability Assessment.  

    We will deliver those savings…  

    …as part of our fundamental reforms to the health and disability benefits system that my Right Honourable Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary will bring forward. 

    Second, I can today announce a crackdown on fraud in our welfare system… 

    … often the work of criminal gangs.  

    We will expand DWP’s counter-fraud teams.. 

    … using innovative new methods to prevent illegal activity…  

    … and provide new legal powers to crackdown on fraudsters… 

    … including direct access to bank accounts to recover debt. 

    This package saves £4.3bn a year by the end of the forecast. 

    Third, the government will shortly be publishing the “Get Britain Working” white paper…  

    … tackling the root causes of inactivity with an integrated approach across health, education and welfare.  

    … and we will provide £240m for 16 trailblazer projects… 

    … targeted at those who are economically inactive and most at risk of being out of education, employment or training… 

    … to get people into work and reduce the benefits bill.  

    Tax avoidance 

    Before a government could consider any change to a tax rate or threshold… 

    … it must ensure that people pay what they already owe. 

    So we will invest to modernise HMRC’s systems using the very best technology… 

    … and recruit additional HMRC compliance and debt staff. 

    We will clamp down on those umbrella companies who exploit workers… 

    … increase the interest rate on unpaid tax debt to ensure that people pay on time… 

    … and go after promoters of tax avoidance schemes. 

    These measures to reduce the tax gap raise £6.5bn by the end of the forecast… 

    … and I want to thank the Exchequer Secretary for his outstanding work on this agenda. 

    PROTECTING WORKING PEOPLE 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, I know that for working people up and down our country… 

    … family finances are stretched… 

    … and pay checks don’t go as far as they once did. 

    So today, I am taking steps to support people with the cost of living. 

    Cost of living

    [redacted political content]

    As promised in our manifesto, we asked the Low Pay Commission to take account of the cost of living for the first time.  

    I can confirm that we will accept the Low Pay Commission recommendation to increase the National Living Wage by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour… 

    … worth up to £1,400 a year for a full-time worker. 

    And for the first time, we will move towards a single adult rate…  

    … phased in over time…  

    … by initially increasing the National Minimum Wage for 18-20 year olds by 16.3% as recommended by the Low Pay Commission… 

    … taking it to £10 an hour.

    [redacted political content]

    Second, I have heard representations from colleagues across this house about the Carer’s Allowance… 

    … and the impact of the current policy on carers looking to increase the hours they work… 

    … including from the Honourable member for Shipley, the Honourable member for Scarborough and Whitby and the Rt Hon Member for Kingston and Surbiton, too. 

    Carer’s allowance currently provides up to £81.90 per week to help those with additional caring responsibilities.  

    Today, I can confirm that we are increasing the weekly earnings limit to the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage per week… 

    … the largest increase in Carer’s Allowance since it was introduced in 1976.  

    That means a carer can now earn over £10,000 a year while receiving Carer’s Allowance… 

    … allowing them to increase their hours where they want to… 

    … and keep more of their money. 

    I am also concerned about the cliff-edge in the current system and the issue of overpayments. 

    My Right Honourable Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary has announced an independent review to look at the issue of overpayments, and we will work across this house to develop the right solutions. 

    Third, we will provide £1bn from next year to extend the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments, to help those facing financial hardship with the cost of essentials.  

    Fourth, having heard representations from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Trussell and others… 

    … to reduce the level of debt repayments that can be taken from a household’s Universal Credit payment each month… 

    … by reducing it from 25% to 15% of their standard allowance. 

    This means that 1.2 million of the poorest households will keep more of their award each month… 

    … lifting children out of poverty…  

    … and those who benefit will gain an average of £420 a year. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, our Plan to Make Work Pay will also protect working people.

    [redacted political content]

    It is right that we protect those who have worked their whole lives.  

    In our manifesto, we promised to transfer the Investment Reserve Fund in the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme to members… 

    … and I have listened closely to my Honourable Friends for Easington, Doncaster Central, Blaenau Gwent, and Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock on this issue. 

    Today we are keeping our promise…  

    … so that working people who powered our country receive the fair pension that they are owed. 

    Our manifesto committed to the Triple Lock… 

    … meaning spending on the State Pension is forecast to rise by over £31bn by 2029-30… 

    … to ensure that our pensioners are protected in their retirement.  

    This commitment means that while working age benefits will be uprated in line with CPI, at 1.7%… 

    … the basic and new State Pension… 

    … will be uprated by 4.1% in 2025-26. 

    This means that over 12 million pensioners will gain up to £470 next year… 

    … up to £275 more than if uprated by inflation.  

    The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will also rise by 4.1%…  

    … from around £11,400 per year to around £11,850 for a single pensioner.  

    Fuel duty 

    While I have sought to protect working people with measures to reduce the cost of living… 

    … I have had to take some very difficult decisions on tax. 

    I want to set out my approach to fuel duty.  

    Baked into the numbers that I inherited from the previous government… 

    … is an assumption that fuel duty will rise by RPI next year… 

    … and that the temporary 5p cut will be reversed.  

    To retain the 5p cut… 

    … and to freeze fuel duty again… 

    … would cost over £3bn next year.  

    At a time when the fiscal position is so difficult…  

    … I have to be frank with the House that this is a substantial commitment to make. 

    I have concluded… 

    … that in these difficult circumstances… 

    … while the cost of living remains high… 

    … and with a backdrop of global uncertainty… 

    … increasing fuel duty next year… 

    … would be the wrong choice for working people. 

    It would mean fuel duty rising by 7p per litre. 

    So, I have today decided to freeze fuel duty next year… 

    … and I will maintain the existing 5p cut for another year, too. 

    There will be no higher taxes at the petrol pumps next year.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, the last government made cuts of £20bn to employees’ and self-employed national insurance in their final two budgets.

    [redacted political content]

    Because we now know they were based on a forecast which the OBR say would have been “materially different”… 

    … had they known the true extent of the last government’s cover-up.   

    Since July, I have been urged on multiple occasions to reconsider these cuts.  

    To increase the taxes that working people pay and see in their payslips. 

    But I have made an important choice today: 

    To keep every single commitment that we made on tax in our manifesto.  

    So I say to working people: 

    I will not increase your National Insurance… 

    …I will not increase your VAT… 

    …And I will not increase your income tax. 

    Working people will not see higher taxes in their payslips as a result of the choices I make today. 

    That is a promise made – and a promise fulfilled. 

    TAX 

    But any responsible Chancellor would need to take difficult decisions today. 

    To raise the revenues required to fund our public services. 

    And to restore economic stability.  

    So in today’s Budget, I am announcing an increase in Employers’ National Insurance Contributions.  

    We will increase the rate of Employers’ National Insurance by 1.2 percentage points, to 15%, from April 2025.  

    And we will reduce the Secondary Threshold – the level at which employers start paying national insurance on each employee’s salary – from £9,100 per year to £5,000.  

    This will raise £25bn per year by the end of the forecast period.  

    I know that this is a difficult choice. 

    I do not take this decision lightly.  

    We are asking business to contribute more… 

    … and I know that there will be impacts of this measure felt beyond businesses, too… 

    … as the OBR have set out today. 

    But in the circumstances that I have inherited, it is the right choice to make.  

    Successful businesses depend on successful schools. 

    Healthy businesses depend on a healthy NHS.  

    And a strong economy depends on strong public finances.

    [redacted political content]

    That is the choice our country faces too.  

    As I make this choice, I know it is particularly important to protect our smallest companies.  

    So having heard representations from the Federation of Small Businesses and others… 

    … I am today increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. 

    This means 865,000 employers won’t pay any National Insurance at all next year… 

    … and over 1 million will pay the same or less than they did previously. 

    This will allow a small business to employ the equivalent of 4 full time workers on the National Living Wage… 

    … without paying any National Insurance on their wages. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, let me come now to capital gains tax. 

    We need to drive growth, promote entrepreneurship, and support wealth creation… 

    … while raising the revenue required to fund our public services… 

    … and restore our public finances.  

    Today, we will increase the lower rate of Capital Gains Tax from 10% to 18%, and the Higher Rate from 20% to 24%… 

    … while maintaining the rates of capital gains tax on residential property at 18% and 24%, too.  

    This means the UK will still have the lowest Capital Gains Tax rate of any European G7 economy. 

    Alongside these changes to the headline rates of Capital Gains Tax… 

    … we are maintaining the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief at £1m… 

    … to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in their businesses.   

    Business Asset Disposal Relief will remain at 10% this year… 

    … before rising to 14% in April 2025… 

    … and 18% from 2026-27… 

    … maintaining a significant gap compared to the higher rate of Capital Gains Tax.  

    Together, the OBR say these measures will raise £2.5bn by the end of the forecast. 

    In a sign of this government’s commitment to supporting growth and entrepreneurship… 

    …we have already extended the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust schemes to 2035… 

    … and we will continue to work with leading entrepreneurs and venture capital firms… 

    … to ensure our policies support a positive environment for entrepreneurship in the UK. 

    Next, inheritance tax. 

    Only 6% of estates will pay inheritance tax this year. 

    I understand the strongly held desire to pass down savings to children and grandchildren. 

    So I am taking a balanced approach in my package today. 

    First, the previous government froze inheritance tax thresholds until 2028. I will extend that freeze for a further two years, until 2030. 

    That means the first £325,000 of any estate can be inherited tax-free… 

    … rising to £500,000 if the estate includes a residence passed to direct descendants…. 

    … and £1m when a tax free allowance is passed to a surviving spouse or civil partner. 

    Second, we will close the loophole created by the previous government… 

    … made even bigger when the Lifetime Allowance was abolished… 

    … by bringing inherited pensions into inheritance tax from April 2027. 

    Finally, we will reform Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.  

    From April 2026, the first £1m of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax at all… 

    … but for assets over £1m, inheritance tax will apply with 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20%. 

    This will ensure we continue to protect small family farms… 

    … and three-quarters of claims will be unaffected by these changes. 

    I can also announce that we will apply a 50% relief, in all circumstances, on inheritance tax for shares on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and other similar markets… 

    … setting the effective rate of tax at 20%. 

    Taken together, these measures raise over £2bn in the final year of the forecast. 

    Next, I can confirm that the government will renew the Tobacco Duty escalator for the remainder of this Parliament at RPI+2%… 

    … increase duty by a further 10% on hand-rolling tobacco this year… 

    … introduce a flat rate duty on all vaping liquid from October 2026… 

    … alongside an additional one off- increase in tobacco duty to maintain the incentive to give up smoking. 

    And we will increase the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to account for inflation since it was introduced… 

    …  as well as increasing the duty in line with CPI each year going forward. 

    These measures will raise nearly £1bn per year by the end of the forecast period. 

    Madame Deputy Speaker, we want to support the take-up of electric vehicles. 

    So I will maintain incentives for electric vehicles in Company Car Tax from 2028… 

    … and increase the differential between fully electric and other vehicles in the first year rates of Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2025. 

    These measures will raise around £400m by the end of the forecast period. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker let me update the House on our plans for Air Passenger Duty…

    [redacted political content]

    Air Passenger Duty has not kept up with inflation in recent years… 

    … so we are introducing an adjustment… 

    … meaning an increase of no more than £2 for an economy class short-haul flight.  

    But I am taking a different approach when it comes to private jets…  

    … increasing the rate of Air Passenger Duty by a further 50%.

    [redacted political content]

    These measures will raise over £700m by the end of the forecast period. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, let me turn now to our high street businesses.  

    I know that for them, a major source of concern is business rates.  

    From 2026-27, we intend to introduce two permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties which make up the backbone of high streets across the country… 

    … and it is our intention that is paid for by a higher multiplier for the most valuable properties.

    [redacted political content]

    So I will today provide 40% relief on business rates for the retail, hospitality and leisure industry in 2025-26… 

    … up to a cap of £110,000 per business. 

    Alongside this, the small business tax multiplier will be frozen next year.  

    Next, I can confirm that alcohol duty rates on non-draught products will increase in line with RPI from February next year… 

    … but nearly two-thirds of alcoholic drinks sold in pubs are served on draught. 

    So today, instead of uprating these products in line with inflation… 

    … I am cutting draught duty by 1.7%… 

    … which means a penny off a pint in the pub. 

    Alongside the changes I am making today, I am publishing a Corporate Tax Roadmap.. 

    … providing the business certainty called for by the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute for Directors. 

    This confirms our commitment to cap the rate of Corporation Tax at 25% – the lowest in the G7 –  for the duration of this parliament…. 

    … while maintaining full expensing and the £1 million Annual Investment Allowance… 

    …and keeping the current rates of research and development reliefs, to drive innovation. 

    Manifesto 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, in our manifesto we made a number of commitments to raise funding for our public services.  

    First, I have always said that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your tax here. 

    So today, I can confirm… 

    … we will abolish the non-dom tax regime… 

    … and remove the outdated concept of domicile from the tax system from April 2025. 

    We will introduce a new, residence based scheme… 

    … with internationally competitive arrangements for those coming to the UK on a temporary basis… 

    … while closing the loopholes in the scheme designed by the party opposite. 

    To further encourage investment into the UK, we will also extend the Temporary Repatriation Relief to three years and expand its scope… 

    … bringing billions of pounds of new funds into Britain. 

    The independent Office for Budget Responsibility say that this package of measures will raise £12.7bn over the next five years.  

    Next, the fund management industry provides a vital contribution to our economy… 

    …  but as our manifesto set out, there needs to be a fairer approach to the way carried interest is taxed.  

    So we will increase the Capital Gains Tax rates on carried interest to 32% from April 2025… 

    … and – from April 2026 – we will deliver further reforms to ensure that the specific rules for carried interest are simpler, fairer and better targeted. 

    In our manifesto we committed to reforming stamp duty land tax to raise revenue while supporting those buying their first home.  

    We are increasing the stamp-duty land tax surcharge for second-homes… 

    …known as the “Higher Rate for Additional Dwellings”… 

    … by 2 percentage points, to 5%, which will come into effect from tomorrow.  

    This will support over 130,000 additional transactions from people buying their first home, or moving home over, the next five years. 

    Next, we committed to reform the Energy Profits Levy on oil and gas companies. 

    I can confirm today that we will increase the rate of the levy to 38%, which will now expire in March 2030… 

    … and we will remove the 29% investment allowance. 

    To ensure the oil and gas industry can protect jobs and support our energy security… 

    … we will maintain the 100% first year allowances and the decarbonisation allowances too.  

    Finally, 94% of children in the UK attend state schools. 

    To provide the highest quality of support and teaching that they deserve… 

    … we will introduce VAT on private school fees from January 2025… 

    … and we will shortly introduce legislation to remove their business rates relief from April 2025, too.  

    We said in our manifesto that these changes… 

    … alongside our measures to tackle tax avoidance… 

    … would bring in £8.5bn by the final year of the forecast. 

    I can confirm today that they will in fact raise over £9bn… 

    … to support our public services and restore our public finances. 

    That is a promise made – and a promise fulfilled. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, I have one final decision to take on tax today. 

    The previous government froze income tax and National Insurance thresholds in 2021… 

    … and then they did so again after the mini-budget. 

    Extending their threshold freeze for a further two years raises billions of pounds.  

    Money to deal with the black hole in our public finances…  

    … and repair our public services.  

    Having considered this issue closely… 

    … I have come to the conclusion… 

    … that extending the threshold freeze… 

    … would hurt working people. 

    It would take more money out of their payslips.

    I am keeping every single promise on tax that I made in our manifesto. 

    So there will be no extension of the freeze in income tax and National Insurance thresholds beyond the decisions of the previous government.  

    From 2028-29, personal tax thresholds will be uprated in line with inflation once again.

    When it comes to choices on tax, this government chooses to protect working people every single time.  

    SPENDING 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, these are the choices I have made. 

    To restore economic stability. 

    And to protect working people.  

    The next choice I make is to begin to repair our public services.  

    In recent months, we have conducted the first phase of the Spending Review… 

    … to set departmental budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26… 

    … and I want to thank my Right Honourable Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for his tireless work with colleagues from across government.  

    Because I have taken difficult decisions on tax today… 

    … I am able to provide an injection of immediate funding over the next two years… 

    … to stabilise and to support our public services.  

    The next phase of the Spending Review will report in late Spring, and I have set the overall envelope today. 

    Day to day spending from 2024-25 onwards will grow by 1.5% in real terms… 

    … and total departmental spending, including capital spending, will grow by 1.7% in real terms. 

    At the election we promised there would be no return to austerity.  

    Today we deliver on that promise. 

    But given the scale of the challenges that are facing our public services… 

    … that means there will still be difficult choices in the next phase of the Spending Review. 

    Just as we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity… 

    … nor can we simply spend our way to better public services.  

    So we will deliver a new approach to public service reform… 

    … using technology to improve public services… 

    … and taking a zero-based approach… 

    … so that taxpayers’ money is spent as effectively as possible…  

    … and so that we focus on delivering our key priorities.  

    Spending Review: Phase 1 

    In the first phase of the Spending Review… 

    … I have prioritised day-to-day funding to deliver on our manifesto commitments. 

    I want every child to have the best start in life… 

    … and the best possible start to the school day, too… 

    … and I know my Right Honourable Friend the Education Secretary shares my ambition.  

    So I am today tripling investment in breakfast clubs to fund them in thousands of schools.  

    I am increasing the core schools budget by £2.3bn next year… 

    … to support our pledge to hire thousands more teachers into key subjects.   

    So that our young people can develop the skills that they need for the future… 

    … I am providing an additional £300m for further education. 

    And finally, this government is committed to reforming special educational needs provision… 

    … to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and ensure the system is financially sustainable. 

    To support that work, I am today providing a £1bn uplift in funding, a 6% real terms increase from this year.  

    There is no more important job for government than to keep our country safe, and we are conducting a Strategic Defence Review to be published next year. 

    And as set out in our manifesto, we will set a path to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence at a future fiscal event. 

    Today, I am announcing a total increase to the Ministry of Defence’s Budget of £2.9bn next year… 

    … ensuring the UK comfortably exceeds our NATO commitments…  

    … and providing guaranteed military support to Ukraine of £3bn per year, for as long as it takes. 

    Last week, alongside my Right Honourable Friend the Defence Secretary, I announced, in addition to this, further support to Ukraine – on top of our NATO commitment…  

    … through our £2.26bn contribution to the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration agreement… 

    … repaid using profits from immobilised Russian sovereign assets. 

    And as we approach Remembrance Sunday…  

    … it is vital that we take time to remember those who have served our country so bravely.  

    So I am today announcing funding to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ day next year… 

    … to honour those who have served at home and abroad. 

    We must also remember those who experienced the atrocities of the Nazi regime first hand.  

    I would like to pay tribute to Lily Ebert, the Holocaust Survivor and educator who passed away aged 100 earlier this month.  

    I am today committing a further £2m to holocaust education next year… 

    … so that charities like the Holocaust Educational Trust, can continue their work to ensure these vital testimonies are not lost and are preserved for the future. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, to repair our public services we also need to work alongside our mayors and our local leaders. 

    We will deliver a significant real-terms funding increase for local government next year…  

    … including £1.3bn of additional grant funding to deliver essential services… 

    … with at least £600m in grant funding for social care…  

    … and £230m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping 

    We are today confirming that Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will be the first mayoral authorities to receive integrated settlements from next year… 

    … giving Mayors meaningful control of the funding for their local areas. 

    * 

    And to support our local high streets… 

    … we are taking action to deal with the sharp rise in shoplifting we have seen in recent years. 

    We will scrap the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting introduced by the party opposite. 

    And having listened closely to organisations like the British Retail Consortium and USDAW… 

    … I am providing additional funding to crack down on the organised gangs which target retailers… 

     … and to provide more training to our police officers and retailers to help stop shoplifting in its tracks.  

    Finally, I am today providing funding to support public services and drive growth across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  

    Having discussed the matter with the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, and my HFs for Llanelli and Pontypridd… 

    … I am providing a £25m to the Welsh Government next year for the maintenance of coal tips to ensure we keep our communities safe.  

    And to support growth, including in our rural areas, we will proceed with City and Growth Deals in Northern Ireland… 

    … in Causeway Coast and Glens; and Mid-South West.

    And we will drive growth in Scotland [redacted political content] including a City and growth Deal in Argyll and Bute.

    This budget provides the devolved governments with the largest real-terms funding settlement since devolution… 

    … delivering an additional £3.4 billion for the Scottish Government through the Barnett formula… 

    … funding which must now be spent effectively to improve public services in Scotland.  

    This budget also provides £1.7 billion to the Welsh Government… 

    …  and £1.5 billion to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2025-26. 

    I said there would be no return to austerity, and that is the choice I have made today.  

    REBUILDING BRITAIN 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, to rebuild our country we need to increase investment. 

    The UK lags behind every other G7 country when it comes to business investment as a share of our economy. 

    That matters.  

    It means the UK has fallen behind in the race for new jobs… 

    … new industries… 

    … and new technology.  

    By restoring economic stability… 

    … and by establishing the National Wealth Fund to catalyse private funding… 

    … we have begun to create the conditions that businesses need to invest.  

    But there is also a significant role for public investment.

    Hospitals without the equipment they need.  

    School buildings not fit for our children.  

    A desperate lack of affordable housing. 

    Economic growth held back at every turn.  

    Under the plans I inherited… 

    … public investment was set to fall from 2.5% to 1.7% of GDP.  

    But in Washington last week, the International Monetary Fund were clear:  

    More public investment is badly needed in the UK.  

    So today, having listened to the case made by the former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney… 

    … former Treasury Minister, Jim O’Neill… 

    … and the former Cabinet Secretary, Gus O’Donnell… 

    … among others…  

    … I am confirming our investment rule.  

    As set out in our manifesto, we will target debt falling as a share of the economy. 

    Debt will be defined as Public Sector net Financial Liabilities, or “net financial debt”, for short… 

    … a metric that has been measured by the Office for National Statistics since 2016… 

    … and forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility since that date too. 

    “Net financial debt” recognises that government investment delivers returns for taxpayers…  

    … by counting not just the liabilities on a government’s balance sheet, but the financial assets too. 

    This means that we count the benefits of investment, not just the costs… 

    And we free up our institutions to invest… 

    … just as they do in Germany, France and Japan.  

    Like our stability rule, our investment rule will apply in 2029-2030… 

    … until that becomes the third year of the forecast. 

    From that point onwards, net financial debt will fall in the third year of every forecast. 

    Today, the OBR say that we are already meeting our target two years early… 

    … with “net financial debt” falling by 2027-28…  

    … with £15.7bn of headroom in the final year. 

    So that we drive the right incentives in government investments… 

    … we will introduce four key guardrails to ensure capital spending is good value for money and drives growth in our economy.  

    First, our portfolio of new financial investments will be delivered by expert bodies like the National Wealth Fund which must, by default, earn a rate of return at least as large as that on gilts.  

    Second, we will strengthen the role of institutions to improve infrastructure delivery.  

    Third, we will improve certainty, setting capital budgets for five years and extending them at every spending review every two years. 

    Finally, we will ensure there is greater transparency for capital spending, with robust annual reporting of financial investments… 

    … based on accounts audited by the National Audit Office… 

    … and made available to the Office for Budget Responsibility at every forecast. 

    Taken together with our stability rule… 

    …these fiscal rules will ensure that our public finances are on a firm footing… 

    … while enabling us to invest prudently alongside business. 

    Growth projects  

    The capital plans I now set out… 

    … to drive growth across our country… 

    … and repair the fabric of our nation… 

    … are only possible because of our investment rule.  

    Let me set out those investment plans. 

    Industrial strategy 

    Today we are confirming our plans to capitalise the National Wealth Fund… 

    … to invest in the industries of the future… 

    … from gigafactories, to ports to green hydrogen. 

    Building on these investments, my Right Honourable Friend the Business Secretary is driving forward our modern industrial strategy… 

    … working with businesses and organisations like Make UK… 

    … to set out the sectors with the biggest growth potential. 

    Today, we are confirming multi-year funding commitments for these areas of our economy, including… 

    … nearly £1bn for the aerospace sector to fund vital research and development, building on our industry in the East Midlands, the South-West and Scotland… 

    … over £2 billion for the automotive sector… 

    …  to support our electric vehicle industry and develop our manufacturing base… 

    … building on our strengths in the North East and the West Midlands… 

    And up to £520m for a new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund. 

    For our world-leading creative industries…  

    … we will legislate to provide additional tax relief for visual effect costs in TV and film… 

    .. and we are providing £25m for the North East Combined Authority… 

    … which they plan to use to remediate the Crown Works Studio site in Sunderland… 

    … creating 8,000 new jobs.  

    Research & Development 

    To unlock these growth industries of the future, we will protect government investment in research and development with more than £20bn worth of funding. 

    This includes at least £6.1bn to protect core research funding for areas like engineering, biotechnology and medical science… 

    …through Research England, other research councils, and the National Academies. 

    We will extend the Innovation Accelerators programme in Glasgow, in Manchester and in the West Midlands.  

    And with over £500m of funding next year, my Right Honourable Friend the Science, Technology and Innovation Secretary, will continue to drive progress in improving reliable, fast broadband and mobile coverage across our country, including in rural areas. 

    Housing 

    We committed in our manifesto to build 1.5 million homes over the course of this parliament… 

    … and my Right Honourable Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is driving that work forward across government. 

    Today, I am providing over £5bn of government investment to deliver our plans on housing next year. 

    We will increase the Affordable Homes Programme to £3.1bn…  

    … delivering thousands of new homes.  

    We will provide £3bn of support in guarantees… 

    … to boost the supply of homes and support our small housebuilders. 

    And we will provide investment to renovate sites across our country… 

    … including at Liverpool Central Docks… 

    … where we will deliver 2,000 new homes… 

    … and funding to help Cambridge realise its full growth potential.  

    Alongside this investment, we will put the right policies in place to increase the supply of affordable housing.  

    Having heard representations from local authorities, social housing providers and from Shelter…  

    … I can today confirm that the government will reduce Right to Buy Discounts… 

    … and local authorities will be able to retain the full receipts from any sales of social housing… 

    … to reinvest back into the housing stock, and into new supply.. 

    … so that we give more people a safe, secure and affordable place to live.  

    We will provide stability to social housing providers, with a social housing rent settlement of CPI+1 percent for the next five years.  

    And we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to hire hundreds of new planning officers, to get Britain building again.  

    We will also make progress on our commitment to accelerate the remediation of homes following the findings of the Grenfell Inquiry… 

    … with £1bn of investment to remove dangerous cladding next year.  

    Transport

    Working with my Right Honourable Friend the Transport Secretary, I am changing that.  

    We are today securing the delivery of the Trans-Pennine upgrade to connect York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester…  

    … delivering fully electric local and regional services between Manchester and Stalybridge by the end of this year… 

    … with a further electrification of services between Church Fenton and York by 2026.… 

    … to help grow our economy across the North of England… 

    … with faster and more reliable services.  

    We will deliver East-West Rail to drive growth between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge…  

    … with the first services running between Oxford, Bletchley and Milton Keynes next year… 

    … and trains between Oxford and Bedford running from 2030.  

    We are delivering railway schemes which improve journeys for people across our country… 

    … including upgrades at Bradford Forster Square…  

    … improving capacity at Manchester Victoria… 

    … and electrifying the Wigan-Bolton line. 

    My Right Honourable Friend the Transport Secretary has also set out a plan for how to get a grip of HS2. 

    Today, we are securing delivery of the project between Old Oak Common and Birmingham… 

    … and we are committing the funding required to begin tunnelling work to London Euston station… 

    … This will catalyse private investment into the local area. 

    I am also funding significant improvements to our roads network.  

    For too long, potholes have been an all too visible reminder of our failure to invest as a nation. 

    Today, that changes… 

    … with a £500m increase in road maintenance budgets next year… 

    … more than delivering on our manifesto commitment to fix an additional one million potholes each year. 

    We will provide over £650m of local transport funding to improve connections across our country… 

    … in our towns like Crewe and Grimsby… 

    … and in our villages and rural areas, from Cornwall to Cumbria.

    … we understand how important bus services are for our communities… 

    …so we will extend the cap for a further year, setting it at £3 until December 2025. 

    Finally we will deliver £1.3bn of funding to improve connectivity in our city regions, funding projects like…  

    … the Brierley Hill Metro extension in the West Midlands… 

    … the renewal of the Sheffield Supertram… 

    … and West Yorkshire Mass Transit, including in Bradford and Leeds.  

    Energy 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, to bring new jobs to Britain and drive growth across our country… 

    … we are delivering our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, led by my Right Honourable Friend the Energy Secretary. 

    Earlier this month, we announced a significant multi-year investment between government and business into Carbon Capture and Storage… 

    … creating 4,000 jobs across Merseyside and Teesside. 

    Today, I am providing funding for 11 new green hydrogen projects across England, Scotland and Wales – they will be among the first commercial scale projects anywhere in the world… 

    … including in Bridgend, East Renfrewshire and in Barrow-in-Furness 

    We are kickstarting the Warm Homes Plan by confirming an initial £3.4bn over the next three years… 

    … to transform 350,000 homes… 

    … including a quarter of a million low-income and social homes. 

    And we will establish GB Energy… 

    … providing funding next year to set up GB Energy at its new home in Aberdeen. 

    Overall, we will invest an additional £100bn over the next five years in capital spending… 

    … only possible because of our investment rule.  

    The OBR say today that this will drive growth across our country in the next five years… 

    … and in the longer term increase GDP by up to 1.4%. 

    It will crowd in private investment… 

    … meaning more jobs, and more opportunities… 

    … in every corner of the UK.  

    That is the choice that I have made.  

    To invest in our country… 

    … and to grow our economy. 

    Today, I am setting out two final areas in which investment is so badly needed… 

    … to repair the fabric of our nation. 

    Schools

    [redacted political content]

    … schools roofs are crumbling….  

    … and millions of children are facing the very same backdrop as I did. 

    I will be the Chancellor that changes that.  

    So today, I am providing £6.7bn of capital investment to the Department for Education next year… 

    … a 19% real-terms increase on this year. 

    That includes £1.4bn to rebuild over 500 schools in the greatest need… 

    … including St Helen’s Primary School in Hartlepool, and Mercia Academy in Derby… 

    … and so many more across our country. 

    And we will provide a further £2.1bn to improve school maintenance, £300m more than this year… 

    … ensuring that all our children can learn somewhere safe… 

    … including dealing with RAAC affected schools in the constituencies of my HFs the members for Watford, Stourbridge, Hyndburn, and beyond.   

    Alongside investment in new teachers… 

    … and funding for thousands of new breakfast clubs… 

    … this government is giving our children and young people the opportunities that they deserve.   

    NHS 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, I come to our most cherished public service of all: our NHS.

    [redacted political content]

    In our first week in office, he commissioned an independent report into the state of our health service by Lord Darzi.  

    Its conclusions were damning.  

    While our NHS staff do a remarkable job, and we thank them for it… 

    … it is clear that, that in so many areas… 

    … we are moving in the wrong direction.  

    100,000 infants waited over 6 hours in A&E last year.  

    350,000 people are waiting a year for mental health support. 

    Cancer deaths here are higher than in other countries.  

    It is simply unforgiveable. 

    In the Spring, we will publish a 10 year plan for the NHS… 

    … to deliver a shift from hospital to community… 

    … from analogue to digital… 

    … and from sickness to prevention. 

    Today, we are announcing a downpayment on that plan…  

    …  to enable the NHS to deliver 2% productivity growth next year. 

    These reforms are vital.  

    But we should be honest.  

    The state of the NHS we inherited… 

    … after – and I quote Lord Darzi – “the most austere decade since the NHS was founded” –  

    … means reform must come alongside investment. 

    So today… 

    … because of the difficult decision that I have taken on tax, welfare and spending… 

    … I can announce… 

    … that I am providing a £22.6bn increase in the day to-day health budget… 

    … and a £3.1bn increase in the capital budget… 

    … over this year and next year. 

    This is the largest real-terms growth in day to day NHS spending outside of Covid since 2010.  

    Let me set out what this funding is delivering.  

    Many NHS buildings have been left in a state of disrepair. 

    So we will provide £1 billion of health capital investment next year to address the backlog of repairs and upgrades across the NHS.  

    To increase capacity for tens of thousands more procedures next year… 

    … we will provide a further £1.5bn… 

    … for new beds in hospitals across the country…  

    … new capacity for over a million additional diagnostic tests… 

    … and new surgical hubs and diagnostic centres … 

    … so that those people waiting for their treatment can get it as quickly as possible. 

    My Right Honourable Friend the Health Secretary will be announcing the details of his review into the New Hospital Programme in the coming weeks… 

    … and publishing in the new year… 

    … but I can tell the House today… 

    … that work will continue at pace to deliver those seven hospitals affected including… 

    … West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds… 

    … and Leighton Hospital in Crewe.  

    And finally… 

    … because of this record injection of funding… 

    … because of the thousands of additional beds that we have secured… 

    … and because of the reforms that we are delivering in our NHS…  

    … we can now begin to bring waiting lists down more quickly… 

    … and move towards our target for waiting times no longer than 18 weeks… 

    … by delivering our manifesto commitment for 40,000 extra hospital appointments a week.

    [redacted political content]

    CLOSING 

    Madam Deputy Speaker, the choices that I have made today are the right choices for our country.  

    To restore stability to our public finances. 

    To protect working people. 

    To fix our NHS. 

    And to rebuild Britain.  

    That doesn’t mean these choices are easy. 

    But they are responsible.

    [redacted political content]

    This is a moment of fundamental choice for Britain.  

    I have made my choices.  

    The responsible choices. 

    To restore stability to our country. 

    To protect working people.  

    More teachers in our schools.  

    More appointments in our NHS.  

    More homes being built.  

    Fixing the foundations of our economy. 

    Investing in our future.  

    Delivering change.  

    Rebuilding Britain.

    We on these benches commend those choices… 

    … and I commend this Statement to the House.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pressley Visits ABCD Head Start in Jamaica Plain, Highlights Threat of Project 2025 to Early Education

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    During National Book Month, Pressley Toured ABCD and Read to Head Start Children

    Project 2025 Would Eliminate Head Start and Deny 11,000 Massachusetts Children Childcare Access and Other Services

    Photos (Dropbox)

    BOSTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Co-Founder of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force, visited ABCD Jamaica Plain Head Start & Children’s Services to highlight the threat of Project 2025 to early education in Massachusetts and across the country. Congresswoman Pressley, whose visit comes during National Book Month, read to Head Start children and joined ABCD leadership and staff for a tour of the center.

    Project 2025, a bucket list of extreme right-wing policies, would completely eliminate the Head Start program, which provides access to no-cost childcare and other services for nearly 11,000 children in Massachusetts, including 2,500 children in the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District, and serves more than 833,000 children living in poverty nationwide.

    “I was proud to visit ABCD Head Start in JP to read to our babies and highlight how impactful and life-changing the work they do is,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “While Republicans try to eliminate Head Start, raise costs for families, and exacerbate the childcare crisis, I’ll keep pressing to expand these essential programs, raise the wages of our early educators, and invest in affordable, high-quality childcare for all. Thank you to President Scott-Chandler, Executive Director Haimowitz, and everyone at ABCD and Head Start Massachusetts for all that you do support our families.”

    Joining Rep. Pressley at the event were Sharon Scott-Chandler, ABCD President and CEO; Kim Weldon, Jamaica Plain Head Start Center Director; Josh Young, VP of Field Operations & Legislative Affairs; Michelle Haimowitz, Executive Director, Massachusetts Head Start Association; and Head Start children and staff.

    “Congresswoman Pressley has been an ally, an advocate, and, when necessary, a warrior for children and families when access to vital resources is at risk—as is the case if proponents of Project 2025 are able to enact its draconian policies. We are grateful for Rep. Pressley’s resolve to keep Head Start in place and, indeed, expand it,” said Sharon Scott-Chandler, President and CEO of Action for Boston Community Development.

    “We are deeply grateful to Congresswoman Pressley for fighting for early childhood education and care programs such as Head Start. She is a longtime advocate who understands that paying qualified teachers and staff equitably is essential; wages are an investment in families and this country’s future,” said Flossy Calderon, Vice President of ABCD Head Start & Children’s Services.

    “Head Start’s comprehensive services provide a vital lifeline to vulnerable families in the Massachusetts 7th and across the Commonwealth. We are so fortunate to have Congresswoman Pressley as a champion for Head Start in Congress, leading the charge for our Head Start families, educators, and programs. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Congresswoman to see that every vulnerable family has access to the high-quality Head Start services they deserve,” said Michelle Haimowitz, Executive Director, Massachusetts Head Start Association.

    Photos from the event can be found here.

    In Congress, Rep. Pressley has consistently sounded the alarm about Project 2025 and made the case for robust federal investments in childcare, living wages for early educators, support for the Head Start program, paid leave, and other policies that support families across the country.

    Last year, Congresswoman Pressley welcomed Jaqueline Sanches, a Mattapan resident, early educator, and mother of two, as her guest to President Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. In 2022, Rep. Pressley’s virtual guest to President Biden’s State of the Union Addres was Christina Morris, a Hyde Park resident, union carpenter, and mother of four who has advocated for affordable childcare so working parents like herself can make ends meet and take care of their families.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s press encounter at the end of his visit in Colombia [bilingual, scroll down for Q+A]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Ladies and gentlemen of the media.

    I thank President Petro for hosting the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali. 

    I congratulate Colombia on the excellent organization of this COP.

    I also thank the people of Colombia for their warm welcome, we all felt very much at home.

    The world has come to Cali to make peace with nature. 

    Let me be clear: we are facing an existential crisis.

    Temperatures are climbing higher and higher. 

    We are losing more and more species – forever. 

    We are poisoning our waters. 

    And treating nature as a disposable asset.

    Human activities have already altered three-quarters of Earth’s land surface and two-thirds of its waters.

    And no country, rich or poor, is immune to this devastation. 

    To survive, humanity must make peace with nature. 

    We must transform our economic models – shifting our production and consumption to nature-positive practices. 

    Renewable energy, sustainable supply chains and zero-waste policies are not optional. 

    They must become the default option for both governments and businesses.

    Dear friends,

    The good news is that we have a plan: 
    The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted two years ago.

    But nature cannot wait for its implementation any longer. 

    This is what this COP is about:

    Turning promises into action. 

    We have seen good progress, and I want to thank everyone for their efforts. 

    But with less than two days of negotiations left to go, we need to accelerate. 

    I want to highlight three priorities.

    First – Cali must spark a new era for ambitious national biodiversity plans.

    As of today, a majority of countries have national targets that align with the Global Biodiversity Framework.

    I urge every Member State to follow suit and align these national plans with their adaptation plans and updated climate Nationally Determined Contributions – due early next year.

    We must also reach an agreement on a strengthened monitoring and transparency framework to ensure accountability and move forward together.

    Second – we must leave Cali with concrete plans to unlock new funding and share the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

    This means capitalizing the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

    I thank the countries and regions that pledged an additional 163 million US dollars this week.

    But if we are to deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework in full, we need much more. 

    We must make sure we are able to mobilize 200 billion dollars annually by 2030 from all sources – domestic, international, public and private.

    Developed countries must lead the way and provide at least 20 billion dollars per year – by next year – to support developing countries, in particular the Least Developed Countries and Small Island States, in their conservation and restoration efforts.

    Businesses profiting from nature must also contribute to its protection and restoration.
    This includes operationalizing a mechanism for sharing the benefits from the use of the Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources – in a clear, fair and efficient way.

    Third – we must recognize, involve, and protect those who guard our natural heritage. 

    Indigenous Peoples and local communities possess vital knowledge of biodiversity conservation. 

    And in this region, People of African descent are key custodians of natural resources. 

    They must all be at the center of our decisions, not on the sidelines.

    In Cali, we must agree on the proposal to establish a new permanent body for Indigenous peoples and local communities within the Convention on Biological Diversity – ensuring their voices are heard at every step across the work of the Convention.

    The clock is ticking.

    The survival of our planet’s biodiversity – and our own survival – are on the line.

    We don’t have a moment to lose.  

    Señoras y señores de la prensa, 

    Mientras el mundo se reúne en este hermoso país para comprometerse a hacer la paz con la naturaleza, aprovecho la oportunidad para reafirmar nuestro compromiso con la paz en Colombia.  

    Me complace estar de nuevo en Colombia en este momento propicio para cerrar los dolorosos capítulos de guerra y consolidar este ejemplo de paz ante el país y el mundo.

    Saludo los esfuerzos renovados del Presidente Petro y su gobierno para acelerar la implementación del Acuerdo Final de Paz – incluso mediante el Plan de Choque que se enfoca en aspectos concretos para mejorar la calidad de vida en los territorios priorizados.

    Asimismo, reconozco el compromiso firme de la otra parte firmante – los que fueron combatientes de las FARC-EP.  

    Estos antiguos adversarios trabajan hoy como socios en la construcción de la paz.   

    Llegando con avances y desafíos a su octavo aniversario, este histórico Acuerdo debe de mantenerse en el centro de los esfuerzos de consolidación de la paz.   

    El Acuerdo sigue siendo la hoja de ruta principal para romper con los ciclos de violencia en Colombia. 

    Y también para enfrentar las causas estructurales de esta violencia mediante el compromiso de llevar la presencia integral del Estado a las regiones históricamente olvidadas. 

    Una presencia que conlleva seguridad, oportunidades de desarrollo y gobernanza inclusiva.  

    No debe haber más demora para que los dividendos de paz lleguen a todos los territorios. A todos aquellos pueblos que todavía esperan que se concrete la promesa de paz. 

    Asegurar la justicia para las víctimas también es impostergable. 

    Reconozco la noble y valiente labor del sistema pionero de justicia transicional creado por el Acuerdo. Y animo a que avance.  

    La Paz Total impulsada por el gobierno nacional es un objetivo loable. 

    Las iniciativas de diálogo, a pesar de los desafíos, buscan ampliar la paz en el país de manera complementaria al Acuerdo de Paz. 

    Aconsejo no dejarse desviar del camino del diálogo.

    Estos diálogos son oportunidades para acabar con la violencia que sigue azotando a las poblaciones de regiones que también son claves para la implementación del Acuerdo de Paz. 

    Especialmente a las comunidades Indígenas y Afrocolombianas, a los desplazados y confinados por los grupos armados, a las mujeres víctimas de la violencia sexual y a los niños y niñas reclutados en la guerra.

    Hoy, mi llamado al pueblo colombiano es de perseverar. 

    Que trabajen juntos para que sea un esfuerzo nacional, compartido.  

    Les quiero recordar que Colombia nunca estará sola en sus esfuerzos por la paz. 

    Será un honor seguir acompañando a Colombia en su camino hacia la paz, a través de la Misión de Verificación de la ONU y las agencias y programas del equipo de país.

    Cuenten siempre con mi apoyo y mi solidaridad con Colombia, así como con mi profunda gratitud por la confianza que han otorgado a las Naciones Unidas. 

    Estaremos siempre al lado de Colombia. 
     
    Question: Muchas gracias Secretario. Quiero trasladarle una pregunta de muchas delegaciones acá y es ¿Cómo vio usted la presencia en la COP16 del Canciller venezolano Yván Gil, lo cuestionan muchas delegaciones -más de la mitad- incluso usted, que le ha exigido que publique las actas de las elecciones y esto no cayó nada bien aquí su presencia. Lo vimos incluso a usted distante del Canciller Gil. Si bien la diversidad y la protección de la naturaleza debe abarcar la mayor cantidad de actores posibles, ¿Cómo vio usted la presencia de Venezuela aquí en la COP16?
     
    Answer: Hay dos aspectos distintos. En primer lugar, la opinión que formamos sobre la forma como se transcurrieron las elecciones, la ausencia de una transparencia adecuada y el hecho que hay muchos gobiernos que aún no han reconocido el gobierno de Venezuela. La otra parte es el mecanismo del funcionamiento de las organizaciones multilaterales y en particular de las COPs. Y en las COPs hay una acreditación en que los que están, participan desde que la misión del país los acredite. Esta es una práctica que no podemos cambiar porque es la práctica establecida estatutariamente, pero eso no invalida la opinión que podemos tener sobre lo que pasó en Venezuela.

    Question: [Inaudible] – AFP. There are five years left to achieve the coming Montreal Objective Framework – to have them reversed by biodiversity laws by 2030.  Here the focus is mainly on resource mobilization. Is that the correct approach? Is it really the fight over finance that will determine the success of the [Global Biodiversity Framework Fund] GBF.  Is it the fight over finance that is key to determine the success of GBF? Or is it something else? 

    Answer: I think the most important thing in it – and that is the reason my presence in this COP – is to change what has been the permanent neglect of biodiversity, namely when compared with our efforts in relations to climate change. 

    We need, first of all, to accept the concept that we are facing three existential crises: climate change, biodiversity and pollution, namely plastics. 

    But they are all interlinked and indivisible.  So, the central question is to make sure that we are able to put biodiversity as the center of our concerns in all aspects of policy and strategy and financing as we are putting climate change.

    Obviously, finance is essential, but finance is not enough. What we need is a political priority at government levels. Political priorities at multilateral institution levels, and the clear commitment of the Private Sector to be involved in order to make sure that we understand that without defeating the biodiversity crisis, we will not defeat the climate crisis, we will not defeat the pollution crisis, and we will condemn our world to a situation of extreme poverty in the natural environments and this is totally unacceptable. 

    So, we must bring the attention of the people of the government, the institutions, and the Private Sector to the centrality of biodiversity in the context of our environmental processes.

    Question: Sir, this is Stella Paul from IPS news (Inter Press Service News).  Our overarching theme here is making peace with nature, but at the time, when we are seeing increasing impact of war and conflict on biodiversity across the world, starting from Ukraine to all the way to Palestine and we are not seeing enough discussion of that in a formal way, even at the COP, how do you think that we can make peace with nature? Thank you. 

    Answer: Well, we need peace with nature, and we need peace among ourselves. That is the reason I’ve been asking for in line with the Charter, in line with international law, and in line with the General Assembly resolutions. That is why we have been asking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, releasing all hostages and massive humanitarian aid to Gaza. That is why we have been asking for peace in Lebanon and peace that respects Lebanese sovereignty and Lebanese territorial integrity and paves the way for a political solution. That is why we have been asking for peace in Sudan, where an enormous tragedy exists. And, obviously, we need to make peace in nature, but we need to make peace among ourselves because wars have one of the most devastating impacts – wars have some of the most devastating impacts on biodiversity on climate and on pollution. 

    Thank you so much. At the back there, Le Monde.  Thank you.

    Question: Hi [inaudible] for Le Monde. Many issues of the negotiations are still unresolved, and many Ministers are leaving tonight. Are you worried this COP could fail or at least not be as successful as is should?

    Secretary-General: I have to say that I met with the five groups. And I heard a large number of ministers talk. And I felt that there was a huge will to find a successful result and a huge will to compromise on the pending issues. So, I’m quite optimistic that it will be possible to reach a consensus and not a consensus on the consensus, but the consensus that paves the way for progress after the COP in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Framework

    Question: Secretario, Silvia Patiño de W Radio Colombia. Usted estuvo ayer reunido con el Presidente Gustavo Petro y el presidente le planteó la posibilidad de cambiar el mecanismo a través del cual la ONU mide la cantidad de hectáreas de cultivos de coca en Colombia. ¿La ONU está dispuesta a eso? Porque el Presiente además planteó hace algunas semanas la posibilidad de comprar los cultivos de coca a los campesinos para tratar de enfrentar el tema de narcotráfico. A la ONU ¿le suena, le gusta, le parece esta idea en torno al tráfico de drogas?
     
    Answer: Hay convenciones sobre drogas y la ONU está vinculada a esas convenciones. Pero creo que es importante abrir la puerta a una reflexión muy seria en un mundo donde vemos que desafortunadamente el tráfico de drogas es simultáneo con el tráfico de armas, de muchos otras formas incluso de tráfico de mujeres, hombres y niños. Y que ese tráfico está minando en muchos países la estructura del Estado, por la corrupción generada.
     
    Entonces creo que el apelo del Presidente Petro a una reflexión sobre los mecanismos que hoy tenemos en relación con el combate al narcotráfico y en relación con la droga, creo que el apelo que es hecho a una reflexión sobre la eficacia sobre los mecanismos que tenemos es un apelo que debe ser escuchado. Yo no conozco en detalle el proyecto, pero si la compra es hecha para después ser utilizada de una forma positiva, ¿puede impedir el tráfico no?

    Si eso puede garantizar que haya una neutralización de esa producción y que esa producción no alimente al tráfico. Pero naturalmente el objetivo nuestro tiene que ser un objetivo de preservar la salud de la gente de todo el mundo. Muchas gracias.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Labour’s first budget means for wages, businesses, the NHS and plans to grow the economy – experts explain

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics/Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    For the first time in 14 years, it was a Labour chancellor who delivered the UK budget. And for the first time ever, that chancellor was a woman. But Rachel Reeves faces an almighty task: plugging a £40 billion spending gap in the knowledge that pre-election promises not to raise the main taxes are still fresh in people’s memories.

    Growth was the buzzword of the election campaign – Reeves now had to lay her cards on the table. So here’s what our panel of experts made of the plans:

    More challenges for employers and small businesses

    Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Associate Professor in Economics, University of East London

    The budget introduces £40 billion in tax hikes and, in some areas, spending cuts that will put pressure on the economy and business in particular. But it also reflects the government’s focus on economic growth, with policies intended to stabilise finances while addressing some of the concerns of small businesses.

    The chancellor has retained her commitment to preserve the rates of income tax, employee national insurance and VAT. But a notable change is the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%.

    There was also a reduction in the secondary threshold, which is the amount at which the employer starts paying NI on each employee, from £9,100 to £5,000. Altogether this will raise £25 billion annually but will significantly impact many businesses that will now face higher wage bills.

    The national living wage is also rising by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour in April 2025, boosting incomes for about three million workers but again increasing costs for many businesses. These rising taxes and wage increases, alongside incoming employment regulations, will strain businesses, particularly in sectors with high labour demands.

    To offset some of these pressures, the employment allowance, which allows some smaller employers to reduce their NICs, has been raised from £5,000 to £10,500. The chancellor said that over 1 million employers will not see their NICs bill rise as a result.

    Small businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure, where profits have been hit as consumers struggle with the cost of living, will benefit from a 40% business rate relief on properties up to £110,000. Other supportive measures include a continued freeze on fuel duty, which will aid logistics and transport costs. Corporation tax remains fixed at 25%.

    Higher wages for three million, but it could cost more to get the bus to work

    The biggest change for those on low incomes was an increase in the national minimum wage (for 18 to 20-year-olds) of 16.3%, from £8.60 to £10 an hour, and an increase in the national living wage (for employees aged 21 and over) of 6.7%, from £11.44 to £12.21, from April 2025. This will lead to a pay rise for more than 3 million workers.

    Business associations warn that this will cause job losses, particularly in hospitality and the care sector, where many employees earn the minimum wage. But a large body of research has not found a negative effect of minimum wages on employment.

    There is some evidence that earlier minimum wage rises caused an increase in the number of zero-hours contracts in social care, as firms tried other ways to reduce wages. However, the new employment rights bill introduced earlier in October would limit the use of zero-hours contracts in this scenario.

    The budget could have an indirect effect on pay packets though. The effect of the change to employer NICs will be greater in sectors with more low-paid workers, such as hospitality, and employer associations have warned that it will risk jobs. There is also some evidence that in the long term, firms pass some of these costs on to employees by reducing their wages.

    However, the minimum wage increase will reduce the capacity for firms to reduce wages. And any long-term effect would also be offset by lower income taxes that will come after 2028 when the chancellor has said she will increase the threshold at which people starting paying tax.

    So if wages and profits fall because of increased contributions, then the amount Reeves raises will be lower than expected, because income and corporation tax receipts will be hit.

    Another indirect factor affecting incomes is the cost of getting to work. The fuel duty freeze will continue, but the bus fare cap will increase from £2 to £3. Lower-paid workers and jobseekers are much more likely to use the bus than those with higher incomes, who are more likely to drive, but the cost of bus travel increased much more than the cost of train travel or petrol over the last parliament.

    At the next stop they’re putting up bus fares.
    Mistervlad/Shutterstock

    The fare cap reversed some of this increase, and some evidence shows that it led to more people travelling by bus. But the new £3 cap will only last until the end of 2025, which may be too soon to see much effect.

    A downpayment on growth – but probably not quickly

    Linda Yueh, Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    The chancellor declared that the government will “invest, invest, invest”. This is an important enabler of economic growth.

    But, the country’s creditors need reassuring, so Reeves also announced two new fiscal rules that aim to achieve that balance of allowing the government to borrow to invest (and generate growth), but not to pay for day-to-day spending.

    Specifically, the investment rule permits borrowing to invest and the stability rule requires day-to-day spending to be paid for by taxes. Both rules support the government’s growth aims while trying to reassure the country’s creditors that the borrowing will pay off by generating future growth – and also higher tax receipts with which to repay that borrowing.

    But spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded the UK’s GDP growth outlook from 2% to 1.8% in 2026, and to 1.5% in 2027 and 2028. The OBR’s forecast of slower growth highlights the impact of the £40 billion of tax increases, which dampens economic activity.

    This underscores the government’s challenge of investing to grow while at the same having to raise taxes to balance the books when it comes to its daily spending. In particular, the OBR’s assessment of slowing growth towards the middle of this parliament raises questions about how long it will take for the investment-fuelled growth to materialise.

    It may be that five years is still too short a period. Many physical investments require planning and those reforms could also take a while. Moreover, getting investment projects under way requires scoping, and private investors will want time to assess before joining the government in energy projects.

    But this budget is certainly a start on a much-needed growth strategy.

    Good news on public investment – emerging industries could benefit

    Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy, University of Bath

    The key budget change related to the chancellor’s fiscal rules. By redefining how public debt is calculated, Reeves has been able to increase public investment by around £100 billion. The new fiscal rules have gone not as far as some economists have advocated – but they are a welcome step in the right direction.

    Investment was the core focus of the budget. For decades, the UK has suffered from low investment and weak productivity compared to other leading economies. Since 1990, the UK’s investment gap with the average across rich countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been around £35 billion a year – the UK now ranks 28th of 31 OECD countries on business investment. British workers are using outdated kit and so are less productive. This has meant a stagnant economy and lower living standards.

    So, the budget’s plans to boost investment in the UK’s crumbling infrastructure and public services and to support the new industrial strategy are a positive move. The latter should see additional funding to support emerging tech industries, such as artificial intelligence, cyber and clean energy. And this public investment should “crowd in” additional private investment.

    Clean energy boost?
    StudioFI/Shutterstock

    In the long run, these investments should pay for themselves. For instance, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that a sustained increase in public investment of 1% of GDP increases that GDP by 0.5% after five years and more than 2% after ten to 15 years.

    The rise in employer national insurance contributions will increase business’s operating costs, especially those in the care and hospitality sectors. But paradoxically, in the long run, it may encourage some businesses (in sectors where it is feasible) to invest in new labour-saving capital equipment.



    Read more:
    Rachel Reeves is the UK’s first female chancellor. Here’s why that’s so significant

    The NHS gets a cash injection – but it may not go that far

    Karen Bloor, Professor of Health Economics and Policy, University of York

    Amid all the gloomy pre-budget talk of tough choices and economic problems, would the government’s plans to improve the NHS cheer up the country (England, at least)? Not entirely.

    On the plus side, the chancellor promised a generous spending increase of £22.6 billion in the year 2025 to 2026, with £3.1 billion on capital investment. But solving the problems of the NHS is not just about money, and there will be difficult decisions to come.

    Meanwhile, increases in employers’ national insurance contributions, while raising funds, will also have a big impact on the NHS, which employs over 1.5 million people. So the additional spending may be less than it appears.

    The new government has said it has three main priorities for healthcare in England: moving care from hospitals to the community, moving resources from treatment to prevention, and changing systems from analogue to digital. None of these ideas are new, and there are good reasons why they haven’t happened already.

    Expanding primary and community care often does not translate into reduced demand for hospital services – in fact, it can do the opposite, by uncovering previously unmet needs. And successive governments have failed to address long-standing problems in social care, which is crucial to addressing pressures on the NHS. A successful NHS means people living longer, but often with long-term health problems.

    Returns on investment in preventing illness can be substantial, but they vary widely, and can be difficult to achieve. This is particularly true when it comes to interventions needing individual behaviour change, such as increasing exercise or cutting down on alcohol. Even when clearly positive, they take a very long time to generate cost savings.

    And there are other aspects of the chancellor’s plans which could arguably harm public health. Abolition of winter fuel payments for example, could affect the health of older people on low incomes.

    Rising bus fares could affect people’s ability to attend appointments, and the controversial two-child benefit cap, which can affect child health remains in place.

    Finally, while technology should improve the efficiency of services, people need care from people. Capital investment – in scanners, radiotherapy machines and diagnostics – will need to be matched by the cost of the professionals who operate them and interpret their findings.

    More reaction to be published soon.

    Karen Bloor receives funding from the NIHR policy research programme to conduct responsive analysis for the Department of Health and Social Care,

    Phil Tomlinson receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation.

    Rachel Scarfe is a member of the Labour Party.

    Jonquil Lowe, Linda Yueh, and Shampa Roy-Mukherjee do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What Labour’s first budget means for wages, businesses, the NHS and plans to grow the economy – experts explain – https://theconversation.com/what-labours-first-budget-means-for-wages-businesses-the-nhs-and-plans-to-grow-the-economy-experts-explain-242509

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Budget marks ‘step in right direction’

    Source: Scottish Government

    Finance Secretary responds to UK Autumn Budget.

    Finance Secretary Shona Robison has welcomed additional funding in the Autumn Budget, but said the Scottish Government will still face “enormous cost pressures” despite the measures.

    The Finance Secretary said:

    “We called for increased investment in public services, infrastructure and tackling poverty. This budget is a step in the right direction, but still leaves us facing enormous cost pressures going forwards. The additional funding for this financial year has already been factored into our spending plans.

    “By changing her fiscal rules and increasing investment in infrastructure, the Chancellor has met a core ask of the Scottish Government. But after 14 years of austerity, it’s going to take more than one year to rebuild and recover – we will need to see continued investment over the coming years to reset and reform public services.

    “Indeed, there is a risk that by providing more funding for public services while increasing employer national insurance contributions, the UK Government is giving with one hand while taking away with the other. We estimate that the employer national insurance change could add up to £500 million in costs for the public sector unless it is fully reimbursed – and there is a danger that we won’t get that certainty until after the Scottish budget process for 2025/26 has concluded.

    “With the lingering effects of the cost of living crisis still hitting family finances, it is disappointing that there was no mention of abolishing the two-child limit, which evidence shows would be one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce child poverty. Neither was there mention of funding for the Winter Fuel Payment.

    “As ever, the devil is in the detail, and we will now take the time to assess the full implications of today’s statement. I will be announcing further details as part of the Scottish Budget on 4 December.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Three ways for schools to make climate education inclusive for all children

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rachael C. Edwards, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, UCL

    Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock, CC BY-NC-ND

    All young people need to have access to high-quality climate education because, when not overwhelming, emotional engagement with the climate crisis can motivate action.

    We recently surveyed more than 2,400 school students aged 11-14 in England about their views on climate change and sustainability education. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to experience negative emotions related to climate change. Children from more advantaged backgrounds were more likely to want to learn about climate change and sustainability, to want to do more to look after the environment and to believe that adults are doing enough to look after the planet.

    The variation in climate literacy and educational opportunities demonstrated through our survey is highly concerning. These inequalities are particularly concerning as children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. But these children’s limited capacity to engage with climate issues is also understandable considering the state of child poverty in the UK and the more immediate challenges they are probably facing.

    Much has been written about young people’s fears about the climate crisis and the associated mental health effects. We know far less about how to introduce these challenging topics to children who are less engaged. How can we reach these young people so they’re not isolated or sent into a panic, but empowered to act? Our research suggests that schools are a critical place to start.



    Read more:
    Ten years to 1.5°C: how climate anxiety is affecting young people around the world – podcast

    In our survey, students of all socio-economic backgrounds told us that they learned about climate change and sustainability in secondary school. Conversely, children from disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to have learned about these topics in the news and media, from their families and from extracurricular activities.

    These findings are somewhat unsurprising given the algorithms limiting engagement with online content that challenges our existing perspectives. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds also experience many barriers to participating in nature-based activities outside school. These include lack of availability, cultural exclusion and safety concerns.

    A chance for change

    Based on our survey and earlier research (for example, the pioneering work of psychology professor Maria Ojala), we have identified three ways that schools can address inequalities to reach and connect with all children to deliver quality climate and sustainability education.

    First, the education sector should include climate and sustainability learning within a broader range of subjects. Climate change intersects with nearly all aspects of our lives. Therefore, all school subjects offer unique learning opportunities.

    If climate and sustainability education was integrated throughout the formal and informal curriculum, children could learn about the issues as part of the subjects that most interest them.

    A hybrid nature craft tree incorporating nature products, paper leaves, and circuitry.
    Andrea Gauthier, CC BY-NC-ND

    For example, our colleagues at UCL are developing a new type of crafting activity in schools. It involves combining materials from nature and paper circuits which bring nature to life through light. Through integrating nature, technology and art, these hybrid nature crafts align with many subjects and could appeal to children of all ages.

    We must also develop emotionally responsive teaching practices. Building climate awareness is emotionally challenging, particularly for children with little prior knowledge of the issues. It can also be emotionally draining for teachers.

    Time for emotional reflection should be included in lesson plans. Students should be encouraged to share their emotions, be it sadness, anxiety or anger. These are valid and natural responses when learning about climate change.

    Creative practices can encourage emotional engagement with climate learning. For example, arts-based activities and storytelling. Our research found that students felt happier with their life, spent more time outdoors and were more optimistic about the future after taking part in arts-in-nature experiences.

    Schools should also give students opportunities to combat the climate crisis and other environmental issues. This supports their sense of agency which is critical to motivating action. Engaging students in collective action can be particularly effective for empowering them and instilling hope.

    In our survey, one student highlighted the benefits of whole-school projects for climate and sustainability education. She said that “a whole community feels more empowered when they know everyone is working towards a goal and therefore, it helps [us] understand the depth of global warming and the long-term and short-term changes we can make.”

    However, a word of caution. Limiting climate action to activities that don’t challenge existing power structures (through recycling or buying eco-friendly products, for example) does not go far enough. Instead, we advocate for transformative actions that encourage students to critically evaluate the norms and practices around them. This could include partnerships with local organisations, student-driven whole-school approaches and political activism.

    It is essential that schools provide high-quality climate and sustainability education that engages all students and avoids causing disengagement and despair. The strategies we’ve outlined here will help schools do so, thereby equipping the next generation with the skills, knowledge and agency to tackle climate change.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Three ways for schools to make climate education inclusive for all children – https://theconversation.com/three-ways-for-schools-to-make-climate-education-inclusive-for-all-children-242059

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Labour’s first budget means for wages, taxes, business, the NHS and plans to grow the economy – experts explain

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics/Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    For the first time in 14 years, it was a Labour chancellor who delivered the UK budget. And for the first time ever, that chancellor was a woman. But Rachel Reeves faces an almighty task: plugging a £40 billion spending gap in the knowledge that pre-election promises not to raise the main taxes are still fresh in people’s memories.

    Growth was the buzzword of the election campaign – Reeves now had to lay her cards on the table. So here’s what our panel of experts made of the plans:

    More challenges for employers and small businesses

    Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Associate Professor in Economics, University of East London

    The budget introduces £40 billion in tax hikes and, in some areas, spending cuts that will put pressure on the economy and business in particular. But it also reflects the government’s focus on economic growth, with policies intended to stabilise finances while addressing some of the concerns of small businesses.

    The chancellor has retained her commitment to preserve the rates of income tax, employee national insurance and VAT. But a notable change is the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%.

    There was also a reduction in the secondary threshold, which is the amount at which the employer starts paying NI on each employee, from £9,100 to £5,000. Altogether this will raise £25 billion annually but will significantly impact many businesses that will now face higher wage bills.

    The national living wage is also rising by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour in April 2025, boosting incomes for about three million workers but again increasing costs for many businesses. These rising taxes and wage increases, alongside incoming employment regulations, will strain businesses, particularly in sectors with high labour demands.

    To offset some of these pressures, the employment allowance, which allows some smaller employers to reduce their NICs, has been raised from £5,000 to £10,500. The chancellor said that over 1 million employers will not see their NICs bill rise as a result.

    Small businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure, where profits have been hit as consumers struggle with the cost of living, will benefit from a 40% business rate relief on properties up to £110,000. Other supportive measures include a continued freeze on fuel duty, which will aid logistics and transport costs. Corporation tax remains fixed at 25%.

    At the next stop they’re putting up bus fares.
    Mistervlad/Shutterstock

    Higher wages for three million, but it could cost more to get the bus to work

    Rachel Scarfe, Lecturer in Economics, University of Stirling

    The biggest change for those on low incomes was an increase in the national minimum wage (for 18 to 20-year-olds) of 16.3%, from £8.60 to £10 an hour, and an increase in the national living wage (for employees aged 21 and over) of 6.7%, from £11.44 to £12.21, from April 2025. This will lead to a pay rise for more than 3 million workers.

    Business associations warn that this will cause job losses, particularly in hospitality and the care sector, where many employees earn the minimum wage. But a large body of research has not found a negative effect of minimum wages on employment.

    There is some evidence that earlier minimum wage rises caused an increase in the number of zero-hours contracts in social care, as firms tried other ways to reduce wages. However, the new employment rights bill introduced earlier in October would limit the use of zero-hours contracts in this scenario.

    The budget could have an indirect effect on pay packets though. The effect of the change to employer NICs will be greater in sectors with more low-paid workers, such as hospitality, and employer associations have warned that it will risk jobs. There is also some evidence that in the long term, firms pass some of these costs on to employees by reducing their wages.

    However, the minimum wage increase will reduce the capacity for firms to reduce wages. And any long-term effect would also be offset by lower income taxes that will come after 2028 when the chancellor has said she will increase the threshold at which people starting paying tax.

    So if wages and profits fall because of increased contributions, then the amount Reeves raises will be lower than expected, because income and corporation tax receipts will be hit.

    Another indirect factor affecting incomes is the cost of getting to work. The fuel duty freeze will continue, but the bus fare cap will increase from £2 to £3. Lower-paid workers and jobseekers are much more likely to use the bus than those with higher incomes, who are more likely to drive, but the cost of bus travel increased much more than the cost of train travel or petrol over the last parliament.

    The fare cap reversed some of this increase, and some evidence shows that it led to more people travelling by bus. But the new £3 cap will only last until the end of 2025, which may be too soon to see much effect.

    Second thoughts about that second home?
    Andrew Roland/Shutterstock

    Taxing times for the wealthy

    Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, The Open University

    As expected, the budget targeted several wealth taxes, including capital gains tax (CGT), which is charged on profits you make when you “dispose of” (sell or give away) an asset. The first slice of such profits (£3,000 in 2024-25) is tax-free. Profit above that is added to your income to determine what rate will apply: a lower rate for profit covered by the basic income tax rate band and a higher rate on anything more.

    Reeves announced that CGT rates on financial assets – things like shares – will immediately increase from 10% to 18% (for the lower rate) and from 18% to 24% (for the higher rate). Financial assets account for around 85% of all disposals within the scope of CGT, but only around 350,000 people a year pay the tax.

    This brings the rates on financial assets into line with residential property, such as a second home. (There is no CGT when you sell or give away your only or main home.) But this still leaves wealth taxed less heavily than income.

    The government says it is committed to tackling the UK’s housing shortage. So to deter multiple home ownership, it has raised stamp duty for people buying a second (or third or fourth) home. Purchases completed will now incur an extra 5% tax (currently 3%) over and above the normal stamp duty rates.

    There were also changes to inheritance tax (IHT). Pension savings left unused at death have in recent years been passed on tax free. But from April 2027, the savings will count as part of the estate and be subject to IHT at a rate of up to 40%.

    The first slice of the estate a person leaves, called the nil-rate band, is IHT-free, and that band has been frozen at £325,000 since 2010. Reeves extended the freeze until April 2030.

    As a result of these changes, the government expects almost 6% of estates to pay IHT this year, up from fewer than 5% in recent years. People in London and the south east are more likely to be IHT-payers, largely due to higher property values in those areas.

    A downpayment on growth – but probably not quickly

    Linda Yueh, Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    The chancellor declared that the government will “invest, invest, invest”. This is an important enabler of economic growth.

    But, the country’s creditors need reassuring, so Reeves also announced two new fiscal rules that aim to achieve that balance of allowing the government to borrow to invest (and generate growth), but not to pay for day-to-day spending.

    Specifically, the investment rule permits borrowing to invest and the stability rule requires day-to-day spending to be paid for by taxes. Both rules support the government’s growth aims while trying to reassure the country’s creditors that the borrowing will pay off by generating future growth – and also higher tax receipts with which to repay that borrowing.

    But spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded the UK’s GDP growth outlook from 2% to 1.8% in 2026, and to 1.5% in 2027 and 2028. The OBR’s forecast of slower growth highlights the impact of the £40 billion of tax increases, which dampens economic activity.

    This underscores the government’s challenge of investing to grow while at the same having to raise taxes to balance the books when it comes to its daily spending. In particular, the OBR’s assessment of slowing growth towards the middle of this parliament raises questions about how long it will take for the investment-fuelled growth to materialise.

    It may be that five years is still too short a period. Many physical investments require planning and those reforms could also take a while. Moreover, getting investment projects under way requires scoping, and private investors will want time to assess before joining the government in energy projects.

    But this budget is certainly a start on a much-needed growth strategy.

    Clean energy boost?
    StudioFI/Shutterstock

    Good news on public investment – emerging industries could benefit

    Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy, University of Bath

    The key budget change related to the chancellor’s fiscal rules. By redefining how public debt is calculated, Reeves has been able to increase public investment by around £100 billion. The new fiscal rules have gone not as far as some economists have advocated – but they are a welcome step in the right direction.

    Investment was the core focus of the budget. For decades, the UK has suffered from low investment and weak productivity compared to other leading economies. Since 1990, the UK’s investment gap with the average across rich countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been around £35 billion a year – the UK now ranks 28th of 31 OECD countries on business investment. British workers are using outdated kit and so are less productive. This has meant a stagnant economy and lower living standards.

    So, the budget’s plans to boost investment in the UK’s crumbling infrastructure and public services and to support the new industrial strategy are a positive move. The latter should see additional funding to support emerging tech industries, such as artificial intelligence, cyber and clean energy. And this public investment should “crowd in” additional private investment.

    In the long run, these investments should pay for themselves. For instance, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that a sustained increase in public investment of 1% of GDP increases that GDP by 0.5% after five years and more than 2% after ten to 15 years.

    The rise in employer national insurance contributions will increase business’s operating costs, especially those in the care and hospitality sectors. But paradoxically, in the long run, it may encourage some businesses (in sectors where it is feasible) to invest in new labour-saving capital equipment.



    Read more:
    Rachel Reeves is the UK’s first female chancellor. Here’s why that’s so significant

    The NHS gets a cash injection – but it may not go that far

    Karen Bloor, Professor of Health Economics and Policy, University of York

    Amid all the gloomy pre-budget talk of tough choices and economic problems, would the government’s plans to improve the NHS cheer up the country (England, at least)? Not entirely.

    On the plus side, the chancellor promised a generous spending increase of £22.6 billion in the year 2025 to 2026, with £3.1 billion on capital investment. But solving the problems of the NHS is not just about money, and there will be difficult decisions to come.

    Meanwhile, increases in employers’ national insurance contributions, while raising funds, will also have a big impact on the NHS, which employs over 1.5 million people. So the additional spending may be less than it appears.

    The new government has said it has three main priorities for healthcare in England: moving care from hospitals to the community, moving resources from treatment to prevention, and changing systems from analogue to digital. None of these ideas are new, and there are good reasons why they haven’t happened already.

    Expanding primary and community care often does not translate into reduced demand for hospital services – in fact, it can do the opposite, by uncovering previously unmet needs. And successive governments have failed to address long-standing problems in social care, which is crucial to addressing pressures on the NHS. A successful NHS means people living longer, but often with long-term health problems.

    Returns on investment in preventing illness can be substantial, but they vary widely, and can be difficult to achieve. This is particularly true when it comes to interventions needing individual behaviour change, such as increasing exercise or cutting down on alcohol. Even when clearly positive, they take a very long time to generate cost savings.

    And there are other aspects of the chancellor’s plans which could arguably harm public health. Abolition of winter fuel payments for example, could affect the health of older people on low incomes.

    Rising bus fares could affect people’s ability to attend appointments, and the controversial two-child benefit cap, which can affect child health remains in place.

    Finally, while technology should improve the efficiency of services, people need care from people. Capital investment – in scanners, radiotherapy machines and diagnostics – will need to be matched by the cost of the professionals who operate them and interpret their findings.

    Karen Bloor receives funding from the NIHR policy research programme to conduct responsive analysis for the Department of Health and Social Care,

    Phil Tomlinson receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation.

    Rachel Scarfe is a member of the Labour Party.

    Jonquil Lowe, Linda Yueh, and Shampa Roy-Mukherjee do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What Labour’s first budget means for wages, taxes, business, the NHS and plans to grow the economy – experts explain – https://theconversation.com/what-labours-first-budget-means-for-wages-taxes-business-the-nhs-and-plans-to-grow-the-economy-experts-explain-242509

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Replacing Lead Pipes and Protecting Drinking Water

    Source: US State of New York

    October 30, 2024

    Albany, NY

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a $12 million state grant to help the City of Poughkeepsie identify and replace lead service lines, improving drinking water safety, protecting public health, and enhancing residents’ quality of life. This funding is part of a $340 million statewide initiative, combining state resources with federal support through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to remove lead pipes from water systems across New York. Additionally, as highlighted by U.S. Representative Pat Ryan at today’s announcement, Poughkeepsie is eligible for an extra $3.2 million federal grant to further ensure clean, safe drinking water for its residents.

    “When it comes to New York’s water infrastructure, we’re getting the lead out,” Governor Hochul said. “We’re continuing to give municipalities the resources and support they need to replace lead water pipes and protect public drinking water.”

    [embedded content]

    [embedded content]

    Today’s announcement builds upon the Governor’s greater investment now totaling $100 million in state grants for lead service line inventory and replacement projects. Poughkeepsie is one of 12 municipalities to receive the state grant as well as federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) grants and interest-free financing for lead service line replacement. The state grant will reimburse costs that were not fully covered by BIL grants, so the communities won’t have to pay back the financing for the associated projects.

    To date, New York State has received $240 million for lead service line replacement through the BIL. Additional funding is expected over the next two years. Coupling state grants with federal funding takes the fiscal pressure off communities, allowing them to replace more lead service lines without incurring additional costs. The State’s comprehensive approach continues to provide communities with the resources they need to improve their water infrastructure without overburdening local ratepayers.

    Representative Pat Ryan said, “Freedom means every American has the right to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and that’s why I’m pushing relentlessly to remove every last toxic lead pipe from the Hudson Valley. Today’s funding is a huge step towards ensuring that parents in Poughkeepsie never have to worry if the water coming out of the faucet is safe for their kids. I’m proud to work alongside Governor Hochul and Mayor Flowers in this fight – we will not rest until our communities are free from toxic lead pipes for good.”

    We’re continuing to give municipalities the resources and support they need to replace lead water pipes and protect public drinking water.”

    Governor Kathy Hochul

    Including Poughkeepsie and previously announced awards, the full list of communities receiving nearly $100 million in state grants are:

    • New York City (Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens): $28,000,000
    • City of Rochester: $28,000,000
    • City of Syracuse: $12,756,047
    • City of Poughkeepsie: $11,869,472
    • Village of Herkimer: $3,962,616
    • City of Albany: $3,859,328
    • City of Troy: $3,846,900
    • Gloversville Water Works: $2,310,445
    • Village of Ilion: $1,221,477
    • Village of Ogdensburg: $688,300
    • Village of Bath: $468,300
    • Village of Catskill: $106,545

    This funding is specifically targeted for historically disadvantaged communities. The awards prioritize communities that meet one or more of the following criteria:

    • The community’s median household income is less than 80 percent of the regionally adjusted statewide median household income.
    • The community’s local poverty rate is higher than the statewide poverty rate.
    • At least 50 percent of the community’s lead service line project serves an environmental justice community.

    Lead is harmful to human health and can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures. In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water. Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986.

    State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State has made historic investments to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water which we know threatens public health. Most recently New York State provided communities across New York State with roughly $100 million that will help support projects like the ones announced today in Poughkeepsie and replace lead service lines in historically underserved neighborhoods. We look forward to working with our federal, state and local partners to protect the health of our communities, promote health equity, and ensure that clean drinking water is available for all New Yorkers now and for generations to come.”

    State Environmental Facilities Corporation President and CEO Maureen A. Coleman said, “Governor Hochul’s unprecedented investment in clean water is empowering communities to get the lead out of drinking water and reduce risks to public health. In administering these grant dollars, EFC and our partner agencies are providing crucial financial and technical assistance to get critical projects underway and help communities like Poughkeepsie advance the goal of delivering lead-free and safe drinking water.”

    Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson said, “There is no acceptable level of lead in drinking water. We know lead contamination is a serious health hazard that causes developmental disorders in children, as well as cardiovascular and fertility issues in adults. That’s why I have long advocated for increased funding to replace lead service lines and helped facilitate Poughkeepsie’s application for this funding. We cannot fail another generation of children in Poughkeepsie or any other city.”

    New York’s Commitment to Water Quality
    New York State continues to increase its nation-leading investments in water infrastructure, including more than $2.2 billion in financial assistance from EFC for local water infrastructure projects in State Fiscal Year 2024 alone. With $500 million allocated for clean water infrastructure in the FY25 Enacted Budget announced by Governor Hochul, New York will have invested a total of $5.5 billion in water infrastructure between 2017 and this year. Governor Hochul’s State of the State initiatives are ensuring ongoing coordination with local governments and helping communities to leverage these investments. The Governor increased WIIA grants for wastewater projects from 25 to 50 percent of net eligible project costs for smaller, disadvantaged communities. The Governor also expanded EFC’s Community Assistance Teams to help small, rural and disadvantaged communities leverage this funding and address their clean water infrastructure needs. Any community needing assistance with water infrastructure projects is encouraged to contact EFC.

    The funding, in addition to other substantial water quality investments, includes the voter-approved $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 which is advancing historic levels of funding to update aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, strengthen communities’ ability to withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution and lower climate-altering emissions, restore habitats; and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms. The first round of funding under the Environmental Bond Act was awarded through the WIIA/IMG programs in December, when Governor Hochul announced $479 million in grants to 156 projects across New York State, including $309 million made available to disadvantaged communities. Disadvantaged Communities will receive at least 35 percent of the benefits of Bond Act funding, with a goal of 40 percent.

    About the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Lead Service Line Replacement Funding
    President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests a historic $15 billion nationwide to identify and replace lead service lines. The law mandates that 49 percent of DWSRF LSLR funds must be provided as grants or loan forgiveness to disadvantaged communities, a crucial investment for communities that have been underinvested in for far too long. EPA projects a national total of 9 million lead service lines across the country, based on data collected from the updated Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment. The funding will be provided specifically for lead service line identification and replacement and will help New York fund projects to remove lead pipes and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water. To ensure that funding is used for lead service line related activities in the states with the most need, LSLR allotments are based on need – meaning that states with more projected lead service lines receive proportionally more LSLR funding.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: National recognition for Council support to people seeking sanctuary

    Source: Scotland – City of Perth

    The formal recognition of the Council’s support for the sanctuary-seeking population follows a comprehensive evaluation by UK City of Sanctuary.  

    Perth and Kinross has been a place of sanctuary for people for many years, and since at least the outbreak of World War I in 1914 when a group of Belgian refugees came to Perth. In more recent times, people of all ages from countries around the world, including the Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan, have received vital help and multi-agency support for positive integration and resettlement within the community. 

    Leader of Perth and Kinross Council, Councillor Grant Laing said: “Our vision is for Perth and Kinross as a place where ‘everyone can live well free from poverty and inequalities’. For refugees and people seeking asylum this can be a challenge, however we will continue to work creatively across our services and with our public sector and community partners to make the area as safe and welcoming as possible.” 

    Equalities Lead, Councillor Peter Barrett said: “Our sanctuary seeking population have come from wide-ranging and difficult circumstances in their own countries from war to persecution. This national recognition of what we have done to make a difference to their lives, from families to unaccompanied children and young people, is something we all warmly welcome at the Council and the link with the UK City of Sanctuary organisation also opens up new avenues of support, advice and good practice we can access for the benefit of those most in need.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Each bears his own ghosts’: How the classics speak to these days of fear, anger and presidential candidates stalking the land

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University – Newark

    “Fear stalks the land, including the Upper West Side,” I wrote to a friend the other day. A week before the election, everyone seems to be afraid.

    Not that we’re afraid of the same things. Newspaper owners and corporate leaders fear Donald Trump’s retribution if they endorse Kamala Harris. Election workers fear the mob. Democrats fear losing votes because of the carnage in the Gaza Strip. Trump’s followers fear immigrants.

    Walled up in our silos, we fear what the people in the other silo might inflict on us. The frightening visions have different names and faces, but everyone seems to fear the future.

    Halloween’s ghoulish displays seem to have generated more sales than ever this year, inflation be damned. What with school shootings, random violence and a general atmosphere of threats, one would think we didn’t need to scare ourselves more.

    But as psychologist Sarah Kollat has recently written, Halloween thrills and chills can feel warming and reassuring. People who have survived a frightening shared ordeal, be it a hurricane or flood or fire or war or even, apparently, a haunted house, feel significantly connected to those who have experienced the same fearful event alongside them.

    Our fear can bring us together. It can also tear us apart.

    Halloween provides the language to talk about threats, real or imagined. “The zombies have arrived, and we have to figure out how to navigate around them,” a citizen of a Vermont town was recently quoted as saying. She was talking about homeless people.

    ‘Treachery, Rage and black Fear’

    It’s both easy and helpful to personify fear as something outside of us – to give it, in Shakespeare’s phrase, “a local habitation and a name.”

    Fear looms and fades; visits at night; thrives in certain conditions. In his epic “The Aeneid,” the Roman poet Virgil describes the war god, Mars, as accompanied by his posse: “the god’s retainers – Treachery, Rage, and black Fear – pound beside him.”

    This nightmare troika has a contemporary ring. If by treachery we understand traps, tricks, ambushes, we can plug in political debate, rife with accusations of mendacity; tricks and rage also characterize a good deal of public discourse. And isn’t anger the opposite side of the coin of fear?

    Virgil, a great psychologist of many kinds of unease, also depicts a less aggressive manifestation of fear: “Up on the wall stood frightened mothers, gazing/After the dust cloud and the bronze-bright squadrons.” Uneasy spectators, helpless to protect their loved ones, they watch their sons marching to war. In a similar passage, “mothers, the unarmed commons,/And weak old men came pouring out to fill/Towers and roofs.”

    Those of us not on a battlefield are in a position of tense watching and waiting.

    We feel powerless to affect the outcome; the stakes are high; we fear the worst.

    Love and heroism in short supply

    Fear is linked to love. In Homer’s “Iliad,” Achilles is reluctant to fight for the Greek side not because he’s afraid of death, even though he knows his life may be short. Rather, he’s too angry to sacrifice his life for a cause and commanders he no longer believes in – until his beloved Patroklos is killed by Hector. Only then do Achilles’ mood and motivation change; he eagerly rejoins the fight.

    Characters in Greek tragedies can make terrible decisions, be subject to madness, destroy themselves and others – but they are rarely afraid. The fear and pity Aristotle ascribes to tragedy are the emotions of the spectator.

    In connection with fear, one of the only characters in Greek tragedy who readily comes to mind is Admetus, the husband of Alcestis in Euripides’ play of that name. Informed that he is fated to die, Admetus scrambles frantically for a substitute to die in his place. His own father huffily refuses, but his wife Alcestis volunteers.

    When at the end of the play a veiled, silent figure we presume to be Alcestis reappears, there’s relief, as well as some nervous laughter. This play, with its – sort of – happy ending, turns out not to be a tragedy after all. It’s closer to dark comedy.

    In our own time, rather than fear of death, fear of loss looms large – fear of isolation, humiliation, status; fear of poverty; fear of change. Elsewhere in “the Aeneid,” a character in the underworld makes a resonant remark about the afterlife: “Each bears his own ghosts.”

    Maybe each of us has our own flavor of fear. There’s not much love or heroism in evidence these Halloween and preelection days. Anger and treachery, fear’s companions, are on daily display.

    Rachel Hadas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘Each bears his own ghosts’: How the classics speak to these days of fear, anger and presidential candidates stalking the land – https://theconversation.com/each-bears-his-own-ghosts-how-the-classics-speak-to-these-days-of-fear-anger-and-presidential-candidates-stalking-the-land-242286

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Scaling-back of human trafficking – E-002231/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    23.10.2024

    Question for written answer  E-002231/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Gabriela Firea (S&D)

    Human trafficking is a social phenomenon that takes many forms, involving the buying and selling and exploitation of adults and children. Traffickers take advantage of people’s vulnerabilities and their unstable circumstances arising from poverty, discrimination, violence against women, lack of access to education, ethnic conflict and natural disasters. In recent years, several Member States have reported an increase (to 21 % of all trafficking victims) in trafficking with a view to labour exploitation, including an increase in the number of men being pressed into agricultural work. Traffickers are taking advantage of loopholes in the laws relating to work permits, visas, workers’ rights and working conditions.

    On top of this, the increase in child trafficking has been exacerbated by the current migration crisis, during which time the number of children arriving in the EU has increased exponentially.

    • 1.To what extent is the Commission intervening and working with the Member States to improve the collection of statistics on these phenomena and to pinpoint solutions for gearing EU legislation to help combat human trafficking?
    • 2.What arrangements does the Commission have in mind for information campaigns, particularly in rural areas, aimed at raising awareness of human trafficking among low-income families, which are those most often targeted by traffickers?

    Submitted: 23.10.2024

    Last updated: 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Electricity prices in Cyprus – E-002232/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    23.10.2024

    Question for written answer  E-002232/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Giorgos Georgiou (The Left)

    Cyprus is the only Member State that remains condemned to energy isolation as it is cut off from all EU energy networks and cannot fulfil the objectives of the green transition. As a result, electricity prices in Cyprus are constantly rising, leaving much of the population mired in energy poverty. According to data from the European statistics service, Cyprus has the second highest electricity prices in Europe. Of those in the EU who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 35 % said they live in accommodation that is not comfortably warm in the winter.

    In view of the above:

    • 1.What measures does the Commission plan to put forward so that the problem of high electricity prices across the EU can be resolved?
    • 2.What short-term measures will it take to address the problem, in Cyprus in particular (e.g. VAT reduction)?
    • 3.Will it support the proposal for the establishment of an emergency mechanism for recovering the excessive profits of energy producers and suppliers?

    Submitted: 23.10.2024

    Last updated: 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Deputy Secretary-General’s remarks to the Qatar Foundation: “Towards the Second World Social Development Summit 2025: Reinforcing global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda” [as prepared for delivery]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    I am delighted to be here and to see so many of you present here today.

    Let me start by thanking the Qatar Foundation for organizing this important and timely event, and the Government of Qatar for generously agreeing to host the Second World Summit for Social Development in November 2025.

    This is a great opportunity to shape our common vision for the upcoming Summit and ensure its success, building on the recent Pact for the Future.

    Almost 30 years ago, the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and its Programme of Action established a pathbreaking new consensus for people-centred development. Theis was strengthened by the Beijing Platform for Women, and this vision was later enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    Since the Copenhagen Summit in 1995, remarkable progress has been achieved. However, recent overlapping crises have further stalled or reversed progress in many areas.

    Uneven progress – coupled with the lingering effects of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, rising geopolitical conflicts, the climate crisis, and economic disruptions like the debt crisis – have deepened inequalities and placed significant stress on countries fiscal space for investing in sustainable development and the brunt felt by people.

    The number of people living in extreme poverty is almost 700 million and growing. The number of people facing hunger is over 730 million and growing. Access to quality and relevant education, decent work, universal healthcare, social protection, and digital connectivity remains limited, with billions at risk of being left behind.

    The message is clear – and it is stark.

    The outlook for achieving people-centered development and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals is fragile.

    But it is not too late to change course if we step up our efforts and reaffirm our commitment to leave no one behind. We need urgent, coordinated reforms and harmonization of social, economic, and fiscal policies. We need genuine partnerships.

    The recently adopted Pact for the Future proposes a number of commitments and solutions. It reinforces the promise to deliver on Agenda 2030.

    This includes an SDG Stimulus, a review of the sovereign debt architecture, and a commitment to reform the global financial architecture, so it provides developing countries with the support and safety net they need to invest in their people and the systems they require.

    The Pact also proposes solutions to strengthen peace and security and redoubles the world’s commitment to human rights and international law.

    This is an important reminder that social development cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security – or in the absence of respect for human rights and all fundamental freedoms.

    The Pact goes further to embrace the new era of technology and provide the guard rails for the opportunity of AI to better connect and reap the benefits for all.

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    The Social Summit comes at an opportune time. With only five years left to achieve the SDGs, we must address all seventeen goals – from poverty, hunger and inequality, to education, peace and inclusivity.

    The 2025 Summit must culminate in a detailed and measurable action plan for social development fit for the 21st century, safeguarding progress for years to come.

    The Summit will also be informed by the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development and by Member States’ progress on the Pact for the Future’s commitments to invest in people, end poverty and hunger, and strengthen trust and social cohesion.

    At every step, the process towards the Summit must be inclusive and respond to people’s realities and expectations. We must listen to their voices and ensure that people – particularly youth – have a say in shaping their future.

    Open and broad consultations will be an opportunity to build trust and reinforce the connection between people and their governments, but also between people and global institutions.

    It will be an opportunity to shape the societies we want, tailormade to benefit our rich heritage and fabric which underpin the very foundation of inclusive and caring societies.

    To safeguard progress in the long run, we need to join forces around a shared agenda, underpinned by solidarity, respect and trust.

    Throughout, we must all aim high. Let us seek innovative approaches to engagement, cocreation and finding consensus at the highest ambition, while remaining steadfast in our pursuit of accelerating progress towards the SDGs.

    With the leadership of the Government of Qatar, and key partners such as the Qatar Foundation, I am confident that the Social Summit will lay solid foundations for advancing a key strand of the DNA of sustainable development, the social pillar.

    Thank you for joining us on this journey and let’s begin the conversation today.  
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy Discusses Infrastructure in Acadia Parish, Tours Catholic Charities in Lafayette

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    LAFAYETTE – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) spoke before the Rotary Clubs of Crowley and Rayne, and hosted a rural community funding summit in Rayne, to highlight the opportunities available for communities in Acadia Parish to benefit from his Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
    “Part of my goal in writing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill was to help growing communities in Acadiana prevent flooding, improve highways, fix water and sewage problems, and connect their towns to high-speed broadband,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Working in partnership with mayors and police jurors, we help get them the resources to meet these needs and keep making Acadiana a place where our children want to stay.”
    Since the IIJA was passed in August of 2021, millions of dollars have been spent on projects that benefit residents of Acadia Parish, including over $54.8 million for slab repair in the I-10: Jeff Dav PI-I-49 project. Additionally this year, over $349,000 was awarded to install landslide perimeter fencing and access gates at the Le Gros Memorial Airport in Crowley, and over $928,000 was granted for flood mitigation elevations in the parish. Surrounding parishes have also received money to make improvements to their infrastructure.
    Cassidy has visited Acadiana multiple times, including in July to Acadia Parish to meet with mayors from Crowley, Duson, Elton, Estherwood, Kaplan, Lake Arthur, Maurice, Rayne, Vinton, and Welsh. At both the Rotary meeting and the rural community funding summit, he was welcomed by local leaders.
    “We appreciate Senator Cassidy visiting us today and speaking to the Crowley and Rayne Rotary Clubs, along with the Crowley Lions Club and others,” said Ms. Katie Chiasson, member of the Crowley City Council and board member for the Rotary Club of Crowley. “It was good to get updates from him on infrastructure, insurance and other important issues.”
    “I appreciate Senator Cassidy bringing representatives of federal and state agencies to our region to discuss how mayors, police jurors and city council members can access the funds from his infrastructure bill,” said Mr. Chuck Robichaux, mayor of Rayne. “Our constituents want better roads, cleaner water and more jobs in our communities. We also want to make sure that the benefits of high-speed broadband come to Acadiana. I appreciate Senator Cassidy’s leadership on these topics and look forward to working with him in the future.” Robichaux co-sponsored the rural community funding summit with the Louisiana Municipal Association, the Louisiana Housing Corporation and LITACorp.
    Later, Cassidy toured Catholic Charities of Acadiana in Lafayette, including visiting their regional disaster warehouse where they store supplies that victims of floods and hurricanes need to survive. Cassidy also visited their St. John Street Campus, where he learned about their efforts to provide accommodations for the homeless and find permanent housing for homeless veterans.
    “Catholic Charities in Lafayette helps the homeless and the addicted while fulfilling the mission of Christ to care for the less fortunate,” said Dr. Cassidy.
    Cassidy himself has taken steps to support those who volunteer in their communities. In September, he introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and strengthen AmeriCorps programs, which provide national service opportunities to more than 200,000 Americans every year in thousands of communities around the country. He has also previously introduced bipartisan legislation to provide medical professionals with a limited, but consistent, level of legal protection while volunteering during federally-declared disasters. Before being elected to Congress, Cassidy himself co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic and converted an abandoned K-Mart building into an emergency health care facility in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
    Cassidy was led on a tour of Catholic Charities’ facilities by their CEO, Ms. Kim Boudreaux.
    “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to offer Senator Cassidy a firsthand look at the programs we provide at Catholic Charities of Acadiana,” said Ms. Boudreaux. “Every day, our organization works to address the urgent needs of our neighbors in Acadiana who are experiencing homelessness, hunger, poverty, and situational crisis. Additionally, we offer critical support to survivors of natural disasters, helping them rebuild and restore their lives. Senator Cassidy’s visit underscores the importance of these critical services, and we hope it will inspire continued collaboration and support as we work together to bring healing, stability and hope to the most vulnerable members of our community.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman Participates in the World Food Prize

    Source: USAID

    Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to participate in the 2024 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation.

    The Borlaug International Dialogue is the premier annual event for the U.S. global food security and nutrition community. This Dialogue serves as a vital platform to elevate the actions and innovations needed for stronger and more resilient food systems. Deputy Administrator Coleman will deliver remarks on the bold measures necessary to unlock agriculture-led economic growth in Africa. She will also meet with global leaders committed to policy reforms and private sector investment aimed at reducing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Kim, Burlington County Commissioners Break Ground on Emergency Shelter and Celebrate the Impact of Federal Project Funding

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03)

    WESTAMPTON, N.J. – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) joined Burlington County Commissioners for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on Burlington County’s first-ever emergency shelter. In 2022, Congressman Kim helped secure $3 million in Community Project Funding for Burlington County to address local needs with the new facility.

    “As we continue working to address affordability and housing access issues, we must also look after people’s immediate needs and uphold the basic right for everyone to have a roof over their head,” said Congressman Kim. “Today’s groundbreaking is a culmination of incredible planning and leadership in Burlington County to address a long-overdue community need. The first of its kind in Burlington, this shelter will not just look after people’s safety, but also help set them up for healthy and secure lives after they leave. I am proud to have brought federal dollars back to get shovels in the ground and look forward to seeing this project through to its completion.”

    “The Burlington County emergency shelter will assist and guide those experiencing emergent housing needs through the services and programs available to help them move into transitional and permanent housing,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson. “This is something our county has desperately needed for decades. We’re excited to be taking this important step, and we are grateful for the support of leaders like Congressman Kim who have championed this initiative by helping to secure significant federal assistance that is moving this project toward completion.”

    For Fiscal Year 2023, Congressman Kim secured Burlington County $3 million to help construct a non-congregate homeless shelter, support county residents who fall below the poverty line, and provide a safer alternative than emergency housing in unsupervised area motels and hotels. The emergency shelter will be a standalone two-story, 33,792 square-foot building and will serve adult men and women experiencing an emergent housing crisis, providing them sleeping accommodations, warm meals, showers, laundry facilities, and bathrooms. Individuals will be paired with a case manager to guide them through the services and programs to help them move into transitional or permanent housing.

    The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site of the new shelter behind the existing Burlington County Human Services Building in Westampton and included Congressman Kim, Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson and Commissioners Daniel O’Connell, Allison Eckel, and Balvir Singh, State Senator Troy Singleton, Westampton Mayor Sandy Henley, Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, Assemblyman Herb Conaway, and Pastor Darlene Trappier, founder and director of Beacon of Hope, a Mount Holly-based social service provider that aids and advocates for those experiencing homelessness.

    Congressman Kim is committed to supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and tackling the affordability crisis and other root causes of housing insecurity. In Congress, he has supported $2.5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to help meet the needs of the millions of low income households across the U.S. without access to affordable housing. Congressman Kim is also a cosponsor of the Housing Crisis Response Act to build fair and affordable housing and the Housing Supply and Affordability Act to remove barriers to local and state governments from increasing housing supply.

    Congressman Kim is the Ranking Member on the Military Personnel Subcommittee, and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. More information about Congressman Kim’s accessibility, his work serving New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, and information on newsletters and his monthly town halls can be found on his website by clicking here.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Louise Upston cherry-picks data to punch down on the poor

    Source: Green Party

    The Government has very conveniently cherry-picked data from the latest MSD projections to justify its cruel agenda and punch-down policy when it comes to people living in poverty. 

    “Poverty is a political choice this Government is choosing for our communities,” says the Green Party’s social development spokesperson, Ricardo Menéndez March.

    “We can choose to look after each other and ensure everyone has enough to get by and that nobody gets left behind. The solutions exist and they are right at our fingertips, all that is missing is the political will. 

    “The Government has failed to show any interest in ending poverty and has instead made excuses to make it worse. Today, Minister Upston has conveniently omitted that the latest projections by MSD show that people who have been hospitalised, been in prison, suffered from poor mental health, or have previously experienced housing insecurity are more likely to need a benefit for longer.

    “The Government has turned its back on people living in poverty as well as the overwhelming evidence that shows punching down on people with benefit sanctions will fail to get them into work and only push them deeper and deeper into poverty. 

    “Instead of working to address the underlying drivers of the insecurities that push people towards needing the benefit, Minister Upston has instead chosen to belittle those in need with benefit sanctions. This is tried, tested and failed policy proven to not help people into work but instead trap them in poverty. 

    “Cruelty is the point here, not supporting people into employment. The data the Minister is leaning on does not justify or support the use of sanctions. The data is clear that the current economic conditions, coupled with young people not having their basic needs met are a big factor for people experiencing barriers to employment. 

    “This is why the Greens will end poverty by introducing a guaranteed minimum income, paid for by a fairer tax system, instead of doubling down on policies that do not support young people’s aspirations.

    “Instead of cherry-picking data, the Government should step up and actually support our communities, rather than find excuses to tear them down,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi pays homage to Shri Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 30 OCT 2024 3:38PM by PIB Delhi

    The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid tributes to Shri Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on the occasion of his Guru Pooja today. 

    Shri Modi hailed his thoughts and teachings, adding that he always worked to to uplift society. 

    The Prime Minister posted on X:

    “Paying homage to the widely respected Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Ji on the occasion of his Guru Pooja. Countless people derive strength from his thoughts and teachings. He devoted himself to making our society better, with a focus on poverty alleviation, spirituality and welfare of farmers. We will keep working to realise his vision.”

     

     

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa’s fight against extreme poverty needs a new strategy – model shows how social grants could work

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ramos Emmanuel Mabugu, Professor, Sol Plaatje University

    South Africa has been struggling for decades to reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment and raise the rate of economic growth.

    Economic growth has been slow since a recession in 2008. The annual growth rate averaged 1.1% between 2009 and 2021, slowing to 0.6% in 2023.

    Unemployment remains stubbornly above 30%. It was 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024.

    The country’s Gini coefficient, a measure of how income is distributed across the population, is estimated to be 0.63, one of the worst in the world. Poverty levels remain high too. A large number of people live in extreme poverty. According to Statistics South Africa, an estimated 40.0% of the population (or 25 million people) have a monthly consumption expenditure of below R9,096 (which is used as the lower-bound poverty line). And 55.5% of the population falls within the upper-bound poverty line, with monthly consumption expenditure of below R13,656.

    This is despite government’s extensive spending on social assistance and other support mechanisms. In the 2023/24 fiscal year, there were 18.8 million social grant beneficiaries (about 35% of the population) with an annual cost to the fiscus of R217.1 billion (US$12.2 billion). This is expected to increase to R259.3 billion (US$14.6 billion) in 2026/27.

    Social support also includes spending on health, education, social protection, community development and employment programmes which protect the most vulnerable groups. In addition, the government has extended the Social Relief of Distress Grant which was introduced during the COVID pandemic.

    Based on my research as an economist for the last 20 years, I believe the government won’t make much progress in reducing unemployment, inequality and poverty unless it adopts a different strategy – one that targets extreme poverty reduction explicitly.

    In a recent paper, colleagues and I identify key conditions for reducing extreme poverty through social transfers. We designed an economic simulation model to track the effect of increasing social grants to very poor South Africans to move them out of extreme poverty. This would be done by transferring an average of R4,020 (US$225) to every extremely poor South African. Based on our assumptions, about 25 million individuals would be eligible for this social transfer.

    Moving about 25 million South Africans out of extreme poverty would cost on average US$6.5 billion per year. We argue that this cost is worth carrying. Our model also showed that, under certain conditions, poverty-alleviation social transfers can be good for the broader economy.

    Additional benefits

    We know that social grants are important instruments to fight poverty and inequality in South Africa. They can produce sizeable multiplier effects in the economy.

    But we wanted to know more about how society benefits when a large share of the public budget is transferred to poor households.

    What makes the model we built to explore this different is that we simulated the economic implications of a hypothetical South Africa with lower poverty and inequality outcomes. More precisely, we set the poverty headcount rate at the lower-bound poverty line at 5.0% under both unconstrained and constrained scenarios. This is the conventionally accepted definition of extreme poverty eradication.

    The tool combined a macroeconomic model to project the economic impacts and a micro-simulation model to work out the poverty and inequality effects.

    We tested a combination of policy options, including social grants, and their multiplier effects and funding implications. We considered two financing scenarios: one that involved a budget deficit and one which was budget-neutral.

    Under a budget-neutral scenario, funding for interventions would be taken from budgets allocated for other purposes and put towards poverty alleviation instead.

    Key findings

    The model showed that the South African economy, measured by the level of gross domestic product (GDP), would grow faster (by 0.5 percentage points) when the transfer was designed to support poor people’s progressive engagement in economic participation rather than simply providing them with a basic cash grant. This can be done, for instance, by expanding and upgrading the current social assistance schemes such as the public work programmes. These have been shown to have positive outcomes for economic participation.

    When people who receive income transfers are able to work, they contribute to a higher supply of goods and services as well as to higher demand.

    The inflationary effects, in particular food price increases, are limited under this scenario.

    On the other hand, GDP deteriorates by 1 percentage point when there is no requirement or condition for participation (when grant recipients still don’t have a job). Under this scenario food demand increases and related price increases contribute to reducing consumers’ purchasing power.

    What needs to be done

    Our model shows how poverty-alleviation social transfers can have positive economic outcomes under two conditions.

    First, the expansion of the grant lifting approximately 25 million South Africans above the lower-bound poverty line of R9,606 has to be done under a budget-neutral funding arrangement.

    Second, the transfer has to be made with a requirement that there is an increase in the economic participation of extremely poor beneficiaries. In other words, the grant only has a positive effect if the very poor beneficiaries can find work or are required to participate in a certain kind of public work activity.

    The fiscal cost of the poverty alleviating grant transfer would be around 1.6% of GDP or 4.9% of public expenditure. This would mean increasing social spending by 4.9%. Alternatively, spending on other areas would have to be cut by the same proportion.

    In either scenario, the findings show that this constraint might even be relaxed if the fiscal transfer enabled poor people to get work or if the cash transfer was conditional on recipients doing certain work.

    In our view the benefits of this are massive in terms of extreme poverty eradication.

    – South Africa’s fight against extreme poverty needs a new strategy – model shows how social grants could work
    – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-fight-against-extreme-poverty-needs-a-new-strategy-model-shows-how-social-grants-could-work-241694

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: South Africa’s fight against extreme poverty needs a new strategy – model shows how social grants could work

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ramos Emmanuel Mabugu, Professor, Sol Plaatje University

    South Africa has been struggling for decades to reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment and raise the rate of economic growth.

    Economic growth has been slow since a recession in 2008. The annual growth rate averaged 1.1% between 2009 and 2021, slowing to 0.6% in 2023.

    Unemployment remains stubbornly above 30%. It was 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024.

    The country’s Gini coefficient, a measure of how income is distributed across the population, is estimated to be 0.63, one of the worst in the world. Poverty levels remain high too. A large number of people live in extreme poverty. According to Statistics South Africa, an estimated 40.0% of the population (or 25 million people) have a monthly consumption expenditure of below R9,096 (which is used as the lower-bound poverty line). And 55.5% of the population falls within the upper-bound poverty line, with monthly consumption expenditure of below R13,656.

    This is despite government’s extensive spending on social assistance and other support mechanisms. In the 2023/24 fiscal year, there were 18.8 million social grant beneficiaries (about 35% of the population) with an annual cost to the fiscus of R217.1 billion (US$12.2 billion). This is expected to increase to R259.3 billion (US$14.6 billion) in 2026/27.

    Social support also includes spending on health, education, social protection, community development and employment programmes which protect the most vulnerable groups. In addition, the government has extended the Social Relief of Distress Grant which was introduced during the COVID pandemic.

    Based on my research as an economist for the last 20 years, I believe the government won’t make much progress in reducing unemployment, inequality and poverty unless it adopts a different strategy – one that targets extreme poverty reduction explicitly.

    In a recent paper, colleagues and I identify key conditions for reducing extreme poverty through social transfers. We designed an economic simulation model to track the effect of increasing social grants to very poor South Africans to move them out of extreme poverty. This would be done by transferring an average of R4,020 (US$225) to every extremely poor South African. Based on our assumptions, about 25 million individuals would be eligible for this social transfer.

    Moving about 25 million South Africans out of extreme poverty would cost on average US$6.5 billion per year. We argue that this cost is worth carrying. Our model also showed that, under certain conditions, poverty-alleviation social transfers can be good for the broader economy.

    Additional benefits

    We know that social grants are important instruments to fight poverty and inequality in South Africa. They can produce sizeable multiplier effects in the economy.

    But we wanted to know more about how society benefits when a large share of the public budget is transferred to poor households.

    What makes the model we built to explore this different is that we simulated the economic implications of a hypothetical South Africa with lower poverty and inequality outcomes. More precisely, we set the poverty headcount rate at the lower-bound poverty line at 5.0% under both unconstrained and constrained scenarios. This is the conventionally accepted definition of extreme poverty eradication.

    The tool combined a macroeconomic model to project the economic impacts and a micro-simulation model to work out the poverty and inequality effects.

    We tested a combination of policy options, including social grants, and their multiplier effects and funding implications. We considered two financing scenarios: one that involved a budget deficit and one which was budget-neutral.

    Under a budget-neutral scenario, funding for interventions would be taken from budgets allocated for other purposes and put towards poverty alleviation instead.

    Key findings

    The model showed that the South African economy, measured by the level of gross domestic product (GDP), would grow faster (by 0.5 percentage points) when the transfer was designed to support poor people’s progressive engagement in economic participation rather than simply providing them with a basic cash grant. This can be done, for instance, by expanding and upgrading the current social assistance schemes such as the public work programmes. These have been shown to have positive outcomes for economic participation.

    When people who receive income transfers are able to work, they contribute to a higher supply of goods and services as well as to higher demand.

    The inflationary effects, in particular food price increases, are limited under this scenario.

    On the other hand, GDP deteriorates by 1 percentage point when there is no requirement or condition for participation (when grant recipients still don’t have a job). Under this scenario food demand increases and related price increases contribute to reducing consumers’ purchasing power.

    What needs to be done

    Our model shows how poverty-alleviation social transfers can have positive economic outcomes under two conditions.

    First, the expansion of the grant lifting approximately 25 million South Africans above the lower-bound poverty line of R9,606 has to be done under a budget-neutral funding arrangement.

    Second, the transfer has to be made with a requirement that there is an increase in the economic participation of extremely poor beneficiaries. In other words, the grant only has a positive effect if the very poor beneficiaries can find work or are required to participate in a certain kind of public work activity.

    The fiscal cost of the poverty alleviating grant transfer would be around 1.6% of GDP or 4.9% of public expenditure. This would mean increasing social spending by 4.9%. Alternatively, spending on other areas would have to be cut by the same proportion.

    In either scenario, the findings show that this constraint might even be relaxed if the fiscal transfer enabled poor people to get work or if the cash transfer was conditional on recipients doing certain work.

    In our view the benefits of this are massive in terms of extreme poverty eradication.

    Ramos Emmanuel Mabugu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. South Africa’s fight against extreme poverty needs a new strategy – model shows how social grants could work – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-fight-against-extreme-poverty-needs-a-new-strategy-model-shows-how-social-grants-could-work-241694

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Life and the law explored in new podcast series The University of Aberdeen’s School of Law has launched a new podcast series looking at a range of topical issues viewed through a legal lens.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    The first four episodes are available nowThe University of Aberdeen’s School of Law has launched a new podcast series looking at a range of topical issues viewed through a legal lens.
    In each episode hosts Neil Weightman and Lauren Mitchell will chat to law lecturers to get their take on a variety of topics from energy law and cryptocurrency to freedom of speech and the impact of copyright on the music industry.
    Across the 10-part series, they will use real-world cases to bring each episode’s theme to life, while keeping the topics interesting and fun for a broad audience ranging from undergraduates, postgraduates and members of the public.
    “There isn’t a topic in existence that the law doesn’t bump up against, which gives us endless scope to offer insights and perspective on some of the key challenges facing society today,” said Professor Greg Gordon, Head of the School of Law.
    “These podcasts will shine a light on the breadth of expertise that exists within the School and the scope of the research, policy affairs and public-facing issues that we play an active part in tackling.
    “Tailored towards a wide audience, we hope they will be both interesting and fun to listen to.”
    The first four episodes are available now across platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, as well as the University website, with further episodes to come in the new year.
    The series includes:

    There isn’t a topic in existence that the law doesn’t bump up against, which gives us endless scope to offer insights and perspective on some of the key challenges facing society today.” Professor Greg Gordon, Head of the School of Law

    Episode 1: Anti-SLAPP Laws: Protecting the Public
    Dr Francesca Farrington and Professor Justin Borg-Barthet discuss anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws and their crucial role in safeguarding freedom of speech. SLAPPs are lawsuits aimed at silencing critics, such as journalists, activists, and human rights defenders, by burdening them with costly legal battles.
    Episode 2: Crypto Assets, Blockchain, and the Law
    Delve into the legal dimensions of crypto assets and blockchain technology with Dr Alisdair MacPherson and Professor Burcu Yüksel Ripley. They discuss how crypto assets challenge traditional legal concepts of property, regulation, and financial transactions. The conversation covers the regulatory gaps, the treatment of crypto assets under English and Scots law, and the broader legal implications of decentralised systems like blockchain.
    Episode 3: Copyright Law: Taylor Swift and the Music Industry
    Professor Abbe Brown, Dr Titilayo Adebola and Professor Greg Gordon discuss the complex legal landscape of copyright law, with the Taylor Swift case as a central example. The episode explores how copyright operates as a property right, its territorial nature, and the significant role of contracts in determining artists’ control over their creations.
    Episode 4: Energy Law and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Future
    Professor Greg Gordon and Dr Daria Shapovalova discuss the legal challenges surrounding the energy transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources. The episode explores the critical role that law and policy play in decarbonising energy systems, securing supply and addressing energy poverty.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What the presidential candidates have done − and where they stand − on education

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Robert Shand, Assistant Professor of Education, American University

    Donald Trump and Kamala Harris present dueling platforms for U.S. education. Getty Images

    When it comes to education policy, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris not only have mostly distinct visions but also distinct track records.

    Harris is calling for a wider role for the federal government and larger investment to improve educational opportunities. Trump is focused on reducing the federal role in education and relying upon states, localities and parents to make educational decisions and investments.

    At the same time, there are some commonalities, including the growing importance of career and technical education. What follows is a review of what the two candidates have done in the world of education while in office.

    On higher education

    The candidates share a concern about the high cost of higher education. But they have different visions for how to address those costs. As California’s attorney general, Harris secured a US$1.1 billion judgment against Corinthian Colleges for false advertising. The judgment provides refunds for students who were misled by claims about job placement rates, program offerings and military affiliations.

    Whereas Harris has pursued for-profit colleges for fraud, Trump has focused on promoting innovation by reducing regulation and expanding alternatives to traditional higher education. This includes making it easier for online, faith-based and for-profit institutions to be accredited.

    As part of the Biden administration, Harris has pursued student loan debt forgiveness. She has also strongly signaled her support for expanding access to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This follows her having co-sponsored legislation for debt-free college as a United States senator.

    The administration has faced challenges to the constitutionality of the loan forgiveness initiative on the grounds that the president does not have the authority under present law to unilaterally cancel debt. Opponents have also said any debt forgiveness would have to be authorized by Congress. Critics say further that loan forgiveness does not address the root causes of rising costs of higher education. Loan forgiveness could cause further price increases if institutions thought that students would care less about the cost of college in anticipation of having their debt forgiven.

    Trump created two entities to advise the federal government on workforce development and training needs: a council of federal officials and an advisory board of business leaders.

    In 2019, Trump signed a bipartisan bill to make permanent $250 million in annual federal funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, that was previously subject to annual renewal.

    Harris has called for reducing degree requirements for federal jobs. She also promoted job training programs as an alternative to incarceration in her Back on Track initiative as attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

    As attorney general and then a U.S. senator from California, she called for greater oversight of advertising by for-profit colleges and debt forgiveness for former students of for-profit colleges. She also supported expanding federal aid to public and nonprofit colleges, including free community colleges and large grants to HBCUs.

    On K-12 education

    The 2024 Trump campaign platform calls for sweeping changes to K-12 education policy. This includes universal school choice and more parental control over schools, which would entail allowing parents across the country to use educational funds to pay for private school through vouchers or tax credits if they chose. It also features a drastically reduced federal role in education. In fact, Trump wants to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Many of these plans, such as direct election of school principals by parents, are unlikely to come to fruition due to the fact that schools in the United States are mainly under state and local control.

    Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Trump expanded college savings 529 plans to allow parents to save up to $10,000 per year tax-free for K-12 private school tuition.

    While president, Trump made several other proposals that could foreshadow his future plans. These proposals include creating a $5 billion federal tax credit for private school tuition, cutting the budget for the U.S. Department of Education in annual budget requests and turning the Title I allocation for supplemental services for students in poverty, such as smaller classes or tutoring, into a block grant to states.

    The Biden administration has sought to expand federal funding for full-service community schools.
    Full-service community schools are public schools that receive additional funding and staffing to help address the academic needs of students as well as factors outside of school, such as access to health care and healthy food, that affect learning.

    The Biden administration also expanded Title IX gender discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

    As a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2019, Vice President Harris also called for federal funding to provide teachers with an average of a $13,500 raise, though she has not made a similar call in this campaign.

    As California attorney general, Harris made reducing chronic absenteeism a signature issue when she led the In School and On Track anti-truancy initiative. This initiative included additional funding to districts and schools to use data to better understand and monitor absenteeism and to communicate with parents about the importance of school attendance.

    The data and communication-focused approach was an evolution from her initial approach as San Francisco district attorney, which placed more emphasis on prosecuting parents for truancy.

    On early childhood learning

    Neither Trump nor Harris has a significant record of tangible actions when it comes to early childhood education. Project 2025, which Trump has disavowed but was written by close allies of the former president, calls for eliminating Head Start, a federally funded, locally run, early childhood learning program to support low-income families.

    Although Trump made several similar proposals to cut funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant by about 5%, they were not passed into law by Congress.

    Harris has made calls for free, universal prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds, but the Biden administration was not able to get its early childhood proposals through Congress.

    More recent studies of some universal pre-K programs have raised questions about how long the academic gains from early childhood programs persist. On net, however, the evidence from the highest-quality studies for high-quality early childhood programs in general, and the Head Start program in particular, suggests that they improve cognitive skills among children.

    Robert Shand does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What the presidential candidates have done − and where they stand − on education – https://theconversation.com/what-the-presidential-candidates-have-done-and-where-they-stand-on-education-239555

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The ‘Courage Tour’ is attempting to get Christians to vote for Trump − and focused on defeating ‘demons’

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michael E. Heyes, Associate Professor and Chair of Religion, Lycoming College

    Evangelist Lance Wallnau addresses people at the ‘Courage Tour’ rally. Michael E. Heyes, CC BY

    As a scholar of religion, I attended the “Courage Tour,” a series of religious-political rallies, when it made a stop in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, from Sept. 27-28, 2024.

    From what I observed, the various speakers on the tour used conservative talking points – such as the threat of communism and LGBTQ+ “ideologies” taking over education – and gave them a demonic twist. They told people that diabolical forces had overtaken America, and they needed to expel them by ensuring Donald Trump was elected.

    The tour is attempting to get those Christians to vote for Trump. The tour has moved through several battleground states such as Arizona, Michigan and Georgia, drawing several thousand people at every site.

    The tour is not only focused on defeating Democrats but also on defeating demons. The idea that demons exert a hold over the material world is a key feature of the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, worldview. The NAR is a loose group of like-minded charismatic Christian churches and religious leaders – sometimes termed “prophets” – who want to see Christians dominate all walks of life.

    As someone who recently finished a book on the intersection of demons and politics, “Demons in the USA: From the Anti-Spiritualists to QAnon,” I was eager to see this combination for myself. I believe it would be a mistake to think that the New Apostolic Reformation is a fringe group with no real influence.

    The influence and reach

    The group has an associated nonprofit organization known as Ziklag – named for a town in the Hebrew Bible that is an important site associated with David’s kingship – with deep pockets for the movement’s goals. A ProPublica investigation found that the group had already spent US$12 million “to mobilize Republican-leaning voters and purge more than a million people from the rolls in key swing states, aiming to tilt the 2024 election in favor of former President Donald Trump.”

    The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the New Apostolic Reformation “the greatest threat to U.S. democracy that you have never heard of.”

    The diffuse nature of NAR membership and its rapid growth make it difficult to gauge followers: Estimates have placed the number of NAR adherents between 3 million and 33 million, but individuals who may not label themselves as part of the NAR might nevertheless agree with the group’s theology.

    Moreover, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s presence at the meeting I attended is also a tacit and significant endorsement for this group.

    The ‘Seven Mountain Mandate’

    According to NAR’s theology, there are “seven mountains” that govern areas of worldly influence, and Christians are destined to occupy all of them. These mountains are religion, government, family, education, media, entertainment and business.

    Known as the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” this “prophecy” first rose to prominence in 2013 with the publication of “Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate,” written by Bill Johnson, lead pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and member of the NAR, and Lance Wallnau, NAR prophet and one of the founders of the Courage Tour. In the book, the Seven Mountain Mandate is trumpeted as a message received directly from God.

    The NAR perceives the majority of these mountains as currently occupied by diabolical spiritual forces. To counter these forces, the NAR engages in “spiritual warfare,” which are acts of Christian prayer that are used to defeat or drive out demons.

    As religion scholar Sean McCloud writes, these prayers can be taken from “handbooks, workshops and hands-on participation in deliverance sessions.” Deliverance sessions involve diagnosing and expelling demons from an individual.

    Alternatively, it is not uncommon for pastors to incorporate spiritual warfare into church services. For example, in a much-reported sermon, Paula White-Cain, the former spiritual adviser to Trump, commanded all “satanic pregnancies to miscarry.” In the sermon’s context, satanic pregnancies were not literal pregnancies. Instead, White-Cain was praying for the failure of satanic plots “conceived” by the devil.

    In NAR theology, all Christians are embattled by demons, and spiritual warfare is a necessary part of life. As scholar of religion André Gagné writes, the NAR sees spiritual warfare as happening on three “levels.”

    The ground level occurs in a case of individual exorcism or deliverance, a kind of “one-on-one” battle with demons. The second level is the occult level, in which believers seek to counter what they believe to be demonic movements such as shamanism and New Age thought. Finally, there is the strategic level in which the movement does battle with powerful spirits whom they believe control geographic areas at the behest of Satan.

    Friday night on the Courage Tour.

    The Courage Tour

    The Courage Tour is part of a strategic-level act of spiritual warfare: Stumping for Trump is really about exerting Christian influence over the “government mountain” that followers of the NAR believe to be occupied by the devil.

    According to the speakers on the tour, America is in trouble: It is currently being run by “the Left,” or Democrats, a group that is slowly pushing the U.S. toward communism, a system of government in which private property ceases to exist and the means of production are communally owned.

    It claims that the Left wants to see this shift occur because it is populated by “cultural Marxists.” This is part of a far-right conspiracy theory that suggests all progressive political movements are indebted to the ideas of Karl Marx, whose Communist Manifesto is most closely associated with communism.

    In more extreme forms of communism, nation-states disappear – an idea reflected in speakers’ frequent criticism of “globalism,” which was generally defined as a single, worldwide governmental structure. The group rejects globalism on the grounds that God instituted nation-states as a divinely ordained form of government.

    Wallnau described globalism as a sign of the beast and the end of days, and claimed that “the intent of that Marxist element in our country is to collapse our borders.”

    Promotional sign on the Courage Tour for My Faith Votes, an organization that encourages voters to vote biblically.
    Michael E. Heyes, CC BY

    Demonizing queerness

    The speakers further claimed that this demonic Marxism was perverting the educational system in the United States. For example, numerous speakers criticized schools for supposedly indoctrinating or “evangelizing” children with “LGBTQ ideologies.”

    Wallnau even suggested that the “trans movement” began “in the days of Noah” when the fallen angels of Genesis 6 married human women and had hybrid children. This echoes a discussion Wallnau and Rick Renner had on the “Lance Wallnau Show,” linking such “ideologies” to fallen angels and the Apocalypse.

    This negative view of nontraditional gender and sexual orientations is a long-lived feature of the group. John Weaver, a scholar of religion, notes in his book “The New Apostolic Reformation” that the group’s ideas are indebted to conservative theologian Rousas John Rushdoony, who supported the death penalty for homosexuals.

    Likewise, religion scholar Damon T. Berry writes that members of the movement believe that “demonic spirits” are “acting to subvert the will of God through aspects of culture like the toleration of homosexuality, abortion, addiction, poverty and political correctness.”

    Wallnau encouraged the audience on the Courage Tour to “fight for your families because I don’t want to leave behind a demonic train wreck for my children.”

    As hard as it is to believe, one of the most important questions of the election might well be – how many Americans believe in demons?

    Michael E. Heyes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. The ‘Courage Tour’ is attempting to get Christians to vote for Trump − and focused on defeating ‘demons’ – https://theconversation.com/the-courage-tour-is-attempting-to-get-christians-to-vote-for-trump-and-focused-on-defeating-demons-241335

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK budget: A drop in the ocean compared to the change needed

    Source: Scottish Greens

    30 Oct 2024 Finance

    Labour could have taxed the super rich to bring in the funding needed to undo cruel Tory policies and drop Labour’s own cuts

    More in Finance

    A response from Scottish Green finance spokesperson Ross Greer on the UK budget.

    Mr Greer said: “This timid budget is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of change that is actually needed. Labour has under-promised and still somehow under-delivered. 

    “The failure to end the cruel two child cap or the Winter Fuel Payment cut will have dire consequences for vulnerable people and families across the UK. Children will continue to live in poverty and pensioners will die this winter, all entirely avoidably.

    “The Chancellor could have targeted the super rich to bring in the funding needed to undo cruel Tory policies and drop Labour’s own cuts. Instead she has chosen to hike up bus fares in England and pour £3 billion into keeping a climate-busting fuel duty freeze. 

    “A responsible government would invest in cheaper public transport and walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure. The Scottish Greens did both of those during our time in government, delivering free bus travel for young people and removing peak rail fares. Labour have instead chosen to encourage even more car journeys while the climate crisis spirals out of control.

    “There are a few important steps in the right direction in this budget, such as the increase in tax on private jets. The Scottish Greens have led calls for this and whilst it doesn’t go as far as we would like, it is progress on one of the most incredibly polluting forms of travel.
     
    “What was missing was any confirmation from the Chancellor that she will take the necessary steps to finish the ten-year process of devolving Air Passenger Duty and allowing Scotland to make these decisions for ourselves.

    “There were also some deeply disappointing announcements. The social security section of the speech could have been lifted straight from the nastiest Tory conference speeches. Labour are continuing the Conservative tactic of punching down at vulnerable people when there is so much more money being lost through tax avoidance by the super-rich.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Afreximbank Calls for Increased Collaboration to Accelerate the Green Energy Transition in Africa

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, October 30, 2024/APO Group/ —

    The eighth Babacar Ndiaye Lecture held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington D.C., on 26 October 2024, under-scored the need for African nations to strike a balance between short-term development imperatives and long-term climate goals. 

    Under the theme “Saving Lives Today versus Saving the Planet for the Future: Can the AfCFTA Resolve the Climate Change Dilemma?” discussions centred on how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Africa’s most ambitious trade initiative, could serve as a vehicle for economic growth and environmental sustainability, positioning the continent as a leader in the global green transition.  

    The Lecture drew a distinguished audience of policymakers, academics, financial experts and climate advocates.  

    Speaking about Dr. Babacar Ndiaye in his opening remarks, H.E. Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank Group, said “Dr Babacar Ndiaye was most concerned by the long-term threats posed to humanity by climate change. He once said, “Climate change is the greatest threat to development, particularly in Africa, where millions of people depend on the environment for their livelihoods … Africa’s economic transformation cannot happen without addressing climate change.”  

    Dr. Ndiaye’s reflection on the impact of climate change was spot-on and intellectually deep.” But, “disappointingly, the global debate on climate has been so much focused on emissions reduction with the question of reducing its impact on Africa and other developing countries always reduced to a footnote. A call for Africa to decarbonise, when the continent has not even carbonised, poses a serious threat to the socio-economic development of a gas-rich continent that has at least six hundred million people without electricity.” 

    The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement “is seen as a potent means of reducing carbon emissions as it is helping to domesticate industrial activities and minimise the carbon emissions caused by shipping of commodities to far-away lands for value addition and reshipping to Africa and elsewhere. We believe that The AfCFTA could offer a pathway to a just transition, enabling local industrial value addition while protecting the planet.”  

    Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, the Immediate Past Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, delivered a powerful address titled “Sustainable Infrastructure for Africa’s Future: Harnessing Innovation and Partnerships.” He spoke passionately about the advantages of the AfCFTA and its potential to transform Africa’s trade landscape, reduce carbon emissions and foster innovation in green industries. 

    “There are two obvious advantages to a fully operational AfCFTA.The first is that 42% of African countries, aside from North Africa, now have legislation prohibiting the export of raw ores or minerals before being processed. This legislation gives African countries the benefit of jobs and revenues from local processing and manufacturing.  

    “The second advantage of the AfCFTA is that shipping is a major source of carbon emissions. Under current trade practices, a large share of African raw materials are exported to other regions, where they are processed or manufactured into finished products, usually using fossil fuel power sources, before being shipped back to Africa for consumption. This cycle contributes to higher emissions and constitutes a loss for African countries that do not reap the value chain gain from beneficiation. Intra-African trade in finished goods will substantially reduce this massive cause of global emissions,” he said. 

    The reduction of emissions by intra-African trade has been the subject of several empirical studies. Professor Osinbajo referred to a recent ECA/ CEPII study titled “Greening the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement’s Implementation” published in December 2023, which found, inter alia, that implementing the AfCFTA can boost intra-African trade by 35% in 2045 while increasing GHG emissions by less than 1%, compared to no AfCFTA or climate policies.  

    These studies do not factor in using renewable energy sources in the processing and manufacturing of traded goods, an assumption of the Climate Positive Growth paradigm, which would again substantially reduce emissions.  

    Professor Osinbajo cited mining bauxite in Guinea as an example. If Guinea, which has 25% of global deposits of bauxite, processed the bauxite it mines to aluminium with renewable energy in readiness for export, Guinea could save the world 335 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year, which is approximately 1% of global emissions, and create 280,000 jobs and generate $37 billion of additional revenue. If it chooses to sell the aluminium within Africa, it will again save the huge shipping cost to countries thousands of miles away.  

    A Bloomberg study done for the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2021 on the manufacture of battery precursors found that manufacturing battery precursors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has plenty of lithium and cobalt, is three times cheaper than manufacturing it in the US, EU and China. Manufacturing in the DRC would extend value chain opportunities to other African countries, they would need manganese from Zambia, Tanzania, Gabon and South Africa to contribute to its capacity to produce these battery precursors. Manufacturing using renewable energy could significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing. Africa’s abundant renewable energy has very low seasonality or intermittency, making it possible to reliably provide a renewable baseload to power continuous industrial production.  

    “The AfCFTA empowers African countries first to add value to materials and specialise in areas of national comparative advantage, and also to work together to trade more beneficially with the rest of the world,” said Prof Osinbajo. 

    He futher said that “Most African countries depend on fossil fuels for their energy needs and for fossil fuel rich African countries, this is also a major source of export earnings and fiscal revenues. Ostensibly in keeping with their net zero obligations, there has been a growing trend amongst development finance institutions to withdraw from fossil fuel investment. These actions include the World Bank’s decision to cease funding for upstream oil and gas development in Africa and the restrictions on financing downstream gas development by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Clearly, the implications of these actions are dire, where there are no immediate alternative sources of power and the cost of the transition to cleaner fuels may be prohibitive. Some studies show that divesting from fossil fuels could reduce GDP by as much as USD$30 billion for Nigeria, USD$22 billion for Algeria, and USD$19.3 billion for Angola.” 

    H.E. Dr Rania A Al-Mashat, Minister for Planning, Economic Development and International Co-operation, Arab Republic of Egypt said that while the “African continent is the least responsible for carbon emissions, it has the biggest burden in terms of financing climate change for developmental needs – such as food and water security, and access to energy. 

    She called for greater collaboration with national and international stakeholders “We need to work together; we need to bring the experiences from other places so that Africa can push forward with respect to development and sustainable economic growth.” 

    In her Goodwill Message, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, spoke about the rapidly closing window to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. She addressed the fact that many African countries are mired in debt, exacerbated by extended crises with little access to long-term concessional financing to invest in sustainable development. 

    “With adequate access to financial resources at a reasonable cost, renewables can dramatically boost economies, grow new industries, create jobs and drive development, including by reaching the over 600 million Africans living without access to power,” said Ms Mohammed. 

    She also stressed the importance of prioritising inclusive policies that empower women and youth when building climate-resilient economies.  

    “By harnessing the collective might of the AfCFTA, Africa can make strides in addressing both climate action and sustainable development by promoting regional integration and fostering green industrialisation.  

    “The AfCFTA can help build climate-resilient economies while creating jobs, reducing poverty and strengthening food security.”  

    The eighth Babacar Ndiaye Lecture also reinforced Afreximbank’s commitment to leadership in financing sustainable infrastructure and trade policies across the continent. 

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Lamont Announces Connecticut Awarded $9 Million to Close the Digital Divide

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the Commission for Educational Technology, an office within the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS), is being awarded more than $9 million in federal funding to launch key initiatives outlined in the state’s digital equity plan, “Connecticut: Everyone Connected.” The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) through its Digital Equity Program, which is part of the White House’s Internet for All initiative authorized through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

    Connecticut’s digital equity plan was produced following more than a year of outreach and research to identify the barriers preventing residents from getting online, equipped with a device, and supported with the training and technical assistance they need to thrive in today’s digital world. The plan aims to close the digital divide, particularly among the most disenfranchised groups in the state, including residents at or below 150% of the poverty line, racial and ethnic minorities, the aging, those incarcerated in or in transition out of state correctional facilities, individuals with disabilities or language barriers, those living in rural areas, and veterans.

    The first wave of initiatives funded through the federal Digital Equity Program will support critical projects, including through:

    • “Digital navigation” pilots: Local partners will receive support to work directly with residents to address skill gaps and lack of access to Internet connections and computers.
    • Digital equity collaboratives: Covering the entire state, six new collaboratives will provide the resources and professional network for educators, policymakers, and community organizations to learn and share best practices that scale and improve efforts to connect and train residents.
    • Digital equity curriculum: Through the collaboratives, the state will release a set of common assessments and teaching resources freely available to adult education and other local training programs to help meet residents where they are to close the digital skills gap in Connecticut.
    • Asset map: Residents will be able to conduct online searches and call a telephone hotline to find and use the community-based programs and resources to help them get online and develop the technical skills necessary to thrive in the digital world.

    “This award comes at a perfect time to further the important steps Connecticut has already taken to close the digital divide,” Governor Lamont said. “We are grateful for this investment to help ensure that all residents have the connections, computers, skills, and support to thrive in today’s digital world.”

    “We are leading efforts to ensure a ‘digital-first’ approach to delivering state services,” DAS Commissioner Michelle Gilman said. “This initial round of funding will help our neighbors take advantage of programs and benefits across dozens of state agencies.”

    “For the first time, every state in the nation has a digital equity plan in place to promote widespread adoption of high-speed Internet services,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said. “Connecticut now can request access to the funds to put its digital equity plan into action. The Biden-Harris administration’s Internet for All initiative will ensure everyone can thrive online through access to devices and digital skills.”

    “We are thrilled with this announcement, welcoming this ‘down payment’ on longer-term investments to fast-track the training and support programs that our residents need,” Connecticut Chief Information Officers and DAS Deputy Commissioner Mark Raymond said.

    “These funds will help implement the state’s digital equity plan,” Doug Casey, executive director of the Commission for Educational Technology, said. “We look forward to working with our agency and community partners to scale up training and establish regional centers of excellence in digital inclusion.”

    “We are so excited to make our plan a reality, a real investment in our residents,” Lauren Thompson, digital equity program manager for the Commission for Educational Technology, said. “The tools and programs we have planned will soon make it possible for residents everywhere to find the support they need. Our work will open opportunities for everyone in Connecticut.”

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: How the B20 is turning policy into action for a sustainable future

    Source: International Chamber of Commerce

    Headline: How the B20 is turning policy into action for a sustainable future

    As a B20 Network Partner, ICC supported the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI) in the fulfilment of the theme – contributing to the development of impactful policy recommendations, leveraging the participation of 11 ICC Executive Board members across a range of Task Forces, and ICC and World Chambers Federation leadership in the B20 International Business Advisory Caucus.

    The B20 is a global platform for the international business community to support the work of the G20 process. Here’s how ICC is working to help the B20 turn policy into action.

    Improving representation of women in B20 Task Forces

    As a partner institution of a new B20 initiative to help increase the representation of women in B20 membership and leadership, ICC pledged to support B20 presidencies by proposing women candidates eligible to chair B20 task forces and encouraging women to become B20 members through the mobilisation of the global ICC network in over 170 countries. The SheLeads B20 initiative aims to achieve 50% female representation by 2030. ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO, who co-chaired a B20 Task Force on Finance and Infrastructure, signed the pledge on behalf of ICC, together with representatives from the OECD, Business at OECD, and International Organisation of Employers (IOE). Prominent women leaders, ICC Honorary Chair Maria Fernanda Garza, ICC Board Member Lama Al-Sulaiman and ICC World Chambers Federation First Vice-Chair Marie Christine Oghly co-chaired B20 Brazil Task Forces on Integrity and Compliance, Employment and Education, and Women, Diversity and Inclusion in Business respectively. Five additional female ICC Board Members (Candace Johnson, Rebecca Enonchong, Marienne Coutinho, Marjorie Yang, and Patricia Nzolantima) were also Members of B20 Task Forces this year.

    Women in trade

    ICC is also a proud supporter of B20 Brazil’s Women in Trade legacy initiative. Working in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the initiative saw the G20 and B20 partner to share knowledge and best practices for inclusive trade policy designed to increase women’s participation in international trade.

    Combatting food loss and waste

    The Summit also saw the launch of an ICC-B20 Global Challenge against Food Loss and Waste to address food insecurity. The Initiative aims to identify, through a global challenge, private sector projects that can contribute to tackle the most critical issues related to food loss and waste.

    Following a consultation phase, businesses worldwide will be invited to submit proposals aimed at addressing the five biggest challenges related to food loss and waste. The highest-ranking projects will be presented at the FAO World Food Forum in October 2025, providing an opportunity for further visibility and engagement with key stakeholders. A founding member of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, one of the Brazilian G20 Presidency’s key initiatives, ICC is committed to leveraging the unique expertise and network of the private sector to support and scale integrated solutions to sustainably and equitably feed the world.

    Addressing B20 participants on a panel looking at how B20 Brazil legacy initiatives are turning policy into action, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said:

    “Through the ICC-B20 Global Challenge against Food Loss and Waste, we aim to act as a bridge between the B20 and G20, ensuring public-private collaboration to achieve lasting solutions to poverty and hunger worldwide.”

    MIL OSI Economics –