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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Martyn Oliver’s speech at the Festival of Education

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Martyn Oliver’s speech at the Festival of Education

    Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, spoke at the 2025 Festival of Education.

    Optimism, inclusion and Ian Dury

    Good morning, everybody. I’m delighted to be here at the festival of education; to be here in the beautiful grounds of Wellington school; here in the sunshine.

    And that’s apt because I’m hoping in the time we have together this morning we can let a little sunshine in. We can talk a bit about optimism. I want us to think about why we do what we do as educators, as people who work in this field: in many cases, as people who have dedicated their working lives to improving the life chances and prospects of a younger generation.

    I thought I’d open my speech this morning with a cliché. And I thought I’d try and find out who coined that cliché and how far back it goes. But there is no clarity about who first said, ‘school days are the best days of your life’. So, as we all do, I asked AI for the answer – and I know a lot of the discussions over the next couple of days are going to be dominated by the march of AI.

    The AI summary told me that ‘the phrase doesn’t have a clear single origin or a specific person who first said it’. It went on: “one early reference comes from a 1910 song titled School Days by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards which includes the line school days, school days, dear old golden rule days. While not an exact match it captures the nostalgic view of school days as a cherished time.”

    So, no answer then.

    Like all cliches, this one has survived because it works – because it’s true, at least for many of us (though not all, and I’ll return to this later). It alludes to the idea of a more carefree time, of friendships built in the playground, of growing confidence, moments of satisfaction, of joy – reasons to be cheerful to quote Ian Dury. That’s why we say it.

    I’m starting with that cliché because I want to strike an optimistic note this morning – which is not always a natural position for people in our profession to adopt. Things are always tough in education; there are always challenges to overcome. There are new expectations put on all of us – and it’s not lost on me that you’re waiting to read about Ofsted’s revised inspection model in September. There’s never enough money to go around. Doing ‘more with less’ is another cliché – as old as it is tiresome – but still a reality that we need to accommodate.

    But even so, I still believe there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful and reasons to be optimistic. And those reasons are rooted in schools. These transformative institutions that have shaped lives for centuries and will, I hope, shape them for centuries to come.

    However hard bitten and cynical we may have become over the years, most of us can look back to our school days and agree that they were, at least some of the happiest days of our lives.

    Schooling shapes lives

    I want to talk a little bit about what school meant for me.

    I’ll do my best to do this without the aid of rose-tinted spectacles. I shan’t be skipping through the daisies of my mind as it were. There’s a lot that wasn’t great about my school days. The quality of teaching and the quality of the curriculum I was taught was not good enough – and I think that was something that an awful lot of schools in the 1970s and 80s had in common. Standards were not high, and aspiration was not always encouraged.

    But, as with many of us, I had stand-out, individual teachers – people who I really connected with and who helped shape my life. People like my art teacher, Mrs Scarsbrick – she had a wonderful skill for painting and drawing landscapes. I remember that watercolour paintings of trees was her particular talent, whilst I was already increasingly focusing on portraiture, which I later went on to study.

    Then Mr Senior, the English teacher who inspired me from the first lesson at the beginning of secondary school. That very first lesson in September started with a brand new, hardback book: Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. We spent the first 10 minutes being instructed on how to loosen the binding and prevent cracking the spine. I also remember being devastated when he took a secondment to the USA when I was in Year 4/5 (Year 10/11 now): I took GCSEs in their first year of use and can recall even now that some teachers were totally lost in the new specification – so losing my trusted English tutor at this crucial time was especially difficult.

    And there was Mr Ashton, the PE teacher who arranged for me to go training 3 lunchtimes a week – running the well-known, and often well-hated, cross-country course with his staff, as I was a budding cross-country runner. 

    Each of these experiences recall relationships. Relationships with teachers – teachers who went above and beyond, teachers who I placed trust in and who I knew had my best interests at heart. They didn’t just inspire in art, English and PE, they inspired my interest in education, in teaching itself.

    And school had another function for me. It was the place I built friendships.

    I was extremely ill from the age of 2 to 12 (the crucial years to get the best start in life) and whilst my school attendance was good, the powerful drug I was on had clear side effects for me which affected my concentration. The drug relied on sedation – ideal in helping me be well, but not at all good for educational purposes! 

    I undoubtedly would have had an EHCP had such things existed then. Instead, I had a few stand-out teachers who cared for me as an individual and I had an army of excellent friends. The benefit of living on a new housing estate meant that many families moved onto the estate at the same time and I had dozens of peers who lived on the same street, let alone the same estate, who I could rely upon to help me.

    Generational shifts

    A lot has changed over the years in our schools. The quality of education has most definitely changed for the better. There are lots of reasons for that – including better training and development for teachers – the greater professionalisation of the sector in general. And you would expect me to make an argument that the introduction of Ofsted 30-odd years ago had a real impact in improving consistency in education and driving improvements.

    But alongside rising standards, schools have also changed to fit the needs and expectations of each generation. They’ve evolved alongside society. They have adapted to new qualifications, crafted new curriculums, embraced new subjects. Perhaps more than anything else, schools have responded to the advance of new technology.

    In my school days technology in the classroom was generally limited to that moment when the teacher would wheel out the big telly to play us a video – hugely exciting at the time of course. (The debate then was Betamax or VHS, what’s the equivalent debate now? Is it perhaps, generative or predictive AI?)

    But as computers made their way into schools, there was a more profound change. And that became seismic when the computers were no longer confined to the corners of classrooms and moved into our pockets. Their influence is everywhere and drives the debates and disagreements over the place of technology in learning.

    Artificial intelligence

    Right now, that debate is focused on artificial intelligence. It dominates the discourse in the media, and at events like this one. It’s a big topic of conversation at Ofsted and within government more widely.

    We’ve recently published a piece of research commissioned by the DfE which looks at early AI adopters in education. The research found that AI is beginning to have real benefits in terms of staff workload – particularly in areas like lesson planning; and that leaders are clear that they are prioritising safe, ethical and responsible uses of AI. So no robot teachers yet!

    It seems that there is always a commentator keen to tell us how AI will either transform learning or destroy it; how it presents an existential challenge to the traditional approach to education that we’ve all grown up with.

    But I would mount a defence of the traditional approach. Right now, many children live much of their lives online. Socially, they are never ‘off’ and always in touch with their friends. And they increasingly receive life lessons from influencers or AI– generated summaries. I would argue that the place of learning, real learning, classroom learning – with human interactions – has never been more important.

    Young people are growing up in an increasingly curated world in which their favoured influencers or corporate algorithms can have a disproportionate impression on their views and opinions. It’s more important than ever that young people are able to lift their eyes from the screen and connect with their teachers, in person.

    They need broad, balanced, considered and above all challenging information to help them learn and to help them grow. Being an art teacher, it was never lost on me that drawing makes you look harder at the world around you, it greatly increases your attention. It seems to me that many technologies now do the exact opposite and actively seek to give short-term, instant gratification.

    Not far short of 4 hundred years ago, John Milton wrote that he couldn’t ‘praise a cloistered and fugitive virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary.’ He was arguing in favour of freedom of speech – ironically one of the great supposed touchstones for today’s keyboard warriors. Except, of course, they generally mean freedom of speech only for those that agree with them. In fact, in Areopagitica, Milton highlights the idea that true virtue is developed through experience and engagement with challenges, not through avoidance or seclusion.

    In a way there’s something cloistered about living one’s life in a curated online environment. You may be able to find ‘the best that has been thought or said’ if you go looking for it. But who’s guiding you through it? Where’s the human connection? And of course, where’s the protection?

    Community, relationships and learning

    Schools have never just been places of learning. They were, and are places of safety, even refuge. Places of community and connection. Places of friendship and humanity. They are citadels of childhood: communities within communities looking after their own and helping children develop into well-rounded adults – capable of looking after others in turn.

    Human relationships lie at the heart of every school’s success. And I’ve said ‘schools’ today, as they are the great universal service. But of course, those relationships begin for many in nurseries and continue on into further or higher education. Human connection is what makes education tick. And that is particularly true for more vulnerable children – those who need a little more attention paid to their wellbeing, alongside their education.

    Of course, schools have statutory roles to play. Safeguarding is an absolutely fundamental part of what we look at on inspection. Its principles are described over nearly 200 pages of guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education. Safeguarding is something that all of us involved in education prioritise perhaps above everything else – and it’s a human process, not paperwork. People working together to safeguard children. Nothing infuriates me more than glib commentary about schools falling short on inspection because of duff paperwork – or schools pulling the wool over inspectors’ eyes because their paperwork is on point.

    Any of us here who have worked in schools understand that safeguarding starts with relationships. Good teachers, good head teachers know their pupils. They know which children are having a tough time in their life. They know which children are experiencing vulnerability for one reason or another. Perhaps it’s part of their life story – they are a child in care, or a child with special educational needs, or a child growing up in poverty. But really great teachers understand too that children will experience short-term difficulties – because childhood is full of challenges. Well-being issues, mental health issues, family issues, financial issues. It’s the ebb and flow of growing up for so many children and the really great schools get that.

    When I was head teacher of a secondary school with 2,200 pupils, those personal relationships were clearly difficult, but I always made it my priority to support those who needed us most, no matter how busy I might be – and that always involved working with parents and carers, as well as the pupil. I also understood, from my own personal experience, that children form relationships with those they trust – their art, English or PE teacher, in my case.

    Schools provide a safe, protective environment. To continue with my ‘citadels of childhood’ metaphor: they have walls, and they have watchers on those walls. But it’s within the walls where lives are changed. Where sparks of interest are fanned into flames and children can discover talents, they weren’t aware of, and passions that take them by surprise. They are taught the knowledge and skills that they need for life – but also the subjects that bring them joy.

    Cynics sometimes decry the norms of education. Exams are ‘gradgrindian’ in their eyes, the 3 R’s are no longer preparing children for the ‘jobs of tomorrow’. And Ofsted are accused of being enforcers for this ‘out-of-date’, ‘joyless’ system – forcing schools to jump through these hoops.

    Well let me tell you how it looks from where I’m standing. For Ofsted, teaching a full, rich range of subjects isn’t just a nice to have, it’s fundamental to a great education. Music and art and sports aren’t add-ons to the core curriculum, they are some of the most important subjects to study, in terms of developing a child’s awareness of the world around them. And in a more macro sense, feeding into the cultural evolution of our country and pushing civilization on.

    It often surprises people when I say that I started out as an art teacher, in 1995. Art was my passion then and it’s still my passion now. When I have the time I love to paint. I find that it forces me to slow down and deeply observe the world around me. But I too feel that temptation to pick up my smartphone and check my emails far too often, breaking the observational trance-like state. I can only imagine how difficult and tempting this is for children.

    Opening doors

    Of course, learning about art means learning about perspective.

    That’s a good thing in the context of mental health and well-being – such hot topics, sadly, at the moment. But if you think about the influence of art on human history – its central role in the Renaissance, or the influence of perspective on the Age of Discovery – art has been a driver of exploration, of invention and pushing back the frontiers of human knowledge.

    It is also no surprise to an art historian that there is expression in breaking the established rules – that’s the essence of original creativity. So 500 years after the rules of perspective were established, the Cubists proved this point. Life evolves as we move with the times. Another favourite quote of mine is from Lampedusa’s, Il Gattopardo, “if we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change”. It’s quite a common refrain that children should be taught ‘creativity’ – but creativity relies upon a deep understanding of knowledge and facts; it comes from pushing at the limits of knowledge, and first you need to be taught where those limits are.

    Every subject we teach our children opens doors for them. So, the rounded classroom experience: a broad and rich curriculum, structured carefully by expert teachers and taught within a safe and welcoming environment, is fundamental to the intellectual growth of individuals and the development of society. Matthew Arnold’s quote still holds. ‘The best that has been thought and said’ still matters. And while an AI-enabled search engine can find the raw material, I wouldn’t want to entrust the teaching to the same machine – at least not without the art and skill of the teacher as a guide and storyteller.

    The classroom experience is based on human relationships and a sense of belonging. I spoke about the first priority for schools being the safety of children. Well, children feel safe when they know somebody cares. When they know that their teachers will show up and keep showing up day after day to make sure they’ve learned what they were taught yesterday and are ready to learn something new today. We can’t outsource human contact. Teachers are, and must always remain, the heart of education.

    And education is an exercise of the heart as much as it is of the head. It’s about support and care, as well as instruction. They go hand in hand. Which brings me on to inclusion.

    Inclusion

    As you’ll all be aware Ofsted will publish the full details of our revised education inspection framework in early September. We’re taking time to analyse and consider all of the feedback we were given in the public consultation this spring. There will be some changes from the proposals we published back in February. But I don’t think I’m jumping the gun to say that inclusion will remain a central tenet – perhaps the central tenet in our new approach.

    And I hope the reason for that is obvious. It’s my north star. Inclusion is both my guiding principle and the fire in my belly. That was true as a teacher, as a head of sixth form, as a head teacher, as a multi-academy trust leader. It’s true now for me as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector.

    Those of you who have spent far more time than is healthy listening to or reading about the things that I’ve said since taking on the job, will have heard me talk about vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Asserting repeatedly that if schools get it right for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among their pupils, they will get it right for all of their pupils.

    I use that phrase time and time again because I happen to believe that it’s true. And I have been challenged on my assertion now and then. But I have never seen or heard of a school that looks after the interests of disadvantaged and vulnerable children perfectly well but lets down those pupils who aren’t grappling with some of life’s more obvious challenges.

    That’s because those schools get it. They know their children and they understand that the secret of success lies in the relationships that bind the school community together.

    A school that truly understands the needs of its pupils will do right by its most vulnerable children, by its most gifted students and by all those children in-between.

    As always when we at Ofsted talk about a concept – like inclusion – it sparks debate and it energises the commentators and consultants to try and unpick what we mean.

    It’s really about relationships. It’s about belonging and thriving. It doesn’t mean being soft on behaviour or attendance. It doesn’t mean taking a dim view of head teachers who find the need to suspend or exclude a child, either in the pupil’s best interests or the interests of their classmates.

    When we talk about schools as places where children can feel safe, to grow, develop and express themselves we mustn’t forget how stabilising it is to understand the rules and to know they will be applied consistently and fairly. In the words of that 1910 song again: “School days – dear old golden rule days.”

    No – inclusion is about making sure that all pupils feel that they belong – no matter their personal talents or aptitudes, or the barriers and obstacles they need to overcome to feel that sense of belonging.

    And it is about putting disadvantaged and vulnerable children at the heart of what you do – as they will be at the heart of what we do as an inspectorate.

    And just as the term ‘inclusion’ can be a little hard to pin down, it’s also not easy to define what we mean by vulnerable. I think we all instinctively have a better understanding of disadvantage. There are clearer definitions. I’m sure everybody here who works in a school will be aware of how many of their children attract pupil premium for example. I’m sure many of you could reel off names.

    The concept of vulnerability is a little looser. Statutory responsibilities point us to formal designations: children with SEND, children who are looked after by the state. It’s absolutely right that we all maintain a laser-like focus on those children. But what about others who are experiencing vulnerability?

    I recently met with groups of young carers. Listening to their experiences and perspectives was both interesting and humbling. They feel a bit forgotten. All too often they are not included in our headline definitions of vulnerable children. And yet they are vulnerable. They don’t have the care structures that so many of us took for granted during our own childhoods. Instead, they themselves are the care structures for the adults in their lives. That has a huge impact on the way they view themselves, the way they view their potential and the way they think about their future.

    This week we published a piece of work that we commissioned from the National Children’s Bureau. We asked the NCB to consider how we might better define vulnerability in the context of our work.

    Their report is entitled ‘from trait to state’ and the definition of vulnerability that it puts forward leans into the idea that children move into and out of various degrees of vulnerability throughout their childhood.

    This describes vulnerability less as an immutable trait and more of a fluid state. It’s an interesting, and a logical concept, speaking to the importance of relationships that I’ve addressed in my comments today. Of course, it doesn’t detract from the responsibility that we all have to the children with SEND, those in care and children supported through pupil premium funding.

    But I think this definition gives us more latitude to think about how life impacts on the well-being of children in different ways, at different times. And how we best address vulnerability within the safe and nurturing communities that we create.

    I remember a particularly vulnerable cohort of SEND students who my SENDCO was desperately worried about leaving school at 16. So, she worked with their families and offered a uniquely bespoke post-16 course which gave this group the time and support that they needed to prepare for the transition to further education and employment. My wonderful SENDCO knew the children and worked to influence the entire school’s post-16 provision to meet their needs…it wasn’t a case of insisting that those children meet the needs of the school!

    Aspiration and optimism

    Education should be aspirational. And it should be aspirational for every child. Not everyone can ace their exams and get into Oxbridge. Not everyone will want to. Not everyone will turn a passion for music into a career as a concert pianist. But everyone can aim to learn a little more, develop a new skill and improve themselves one step at a time.

    That is as true for children with SEND as it is for those without; it’s as true for the poorest children as it is for the wealthiest. That’s not to deny the existence of barriers, but rather to flag a determination to overcome them.

    And if we are aspirational for all children, it stands to reason that we should be aspirational for all schools. I nodded earlier to the influence of Ofsted over the last 3 decades. I do believe that inspection helps schools look at where and how they can improve. It doesn’t make the improvement happen – that’s down to brilliant teachers and brilliant leaders working within their school community. But done right inspection can provide some pointers in the right direction.

    I’ve repeatedly said that I want inspection to feel done with not done to. That’s not just a nice touchy-feely sentiment. I want inspection to mirror what goes on in the places we inspect. Education at its best is done with, not done to. The best schools – the citadels of childhood – are places of belonging, rooted in human relationships and a sense of shared endeavour. They are optimistic places.

    Optimism isn’t easy. Particularly at our age…and especially if we read the papers!

    But children are optimistic. It’s a natural state of mind when you’re young, with your life stretching ahead of you, enjoying the best years of your life.

    It’s so much easier to be pessimistic and cynical as you get older. Because they are learned behaviours. But they should never be taught ones.

    That’s on all of us.

    Thank you for all you do for children and learners – and thank you for listening.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to Government’s 10 Year Health Plan

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan. 

    Prof Siddharthan Chandran, Director the UK Dementia Research Institute, said:

    “This bold and visionary 10-year plan that embraces the digital-data revolution will position the UK to lead again in health innovation.

    “We particularly welcome the move toward a neighbourhood health service. We know from our research and our community of people with lived experience of dementia that this is what they wish to see. At the UK Dementia Research Institute, our researchers are working with the NHS to integrate ‘at home’ pioneering digital and AI tools and technology to allow people with dementia to live safely, well and in their own homes for longer with reduced need for hospitalisation.

    “As the UK’s national research institute for dementia and related neurodegenerative conditions, we are leading transformative research that will lay the ground for individualised prediction, prevention and brain protection to ensure healthy brain ageing for all.”

     

    Professor Steve Turner, RCPCH President, said:

    “The 10-Year Health Plan makes a bold and welcome commitment to transforming the NHS into a more accessible, community-focused service, and offers a vital opportunity to reimagine how we deliver care to children and families. I’m really pleased to see the Plan emphasise prevention, early intervention, and integrated care. Embedding paediatric expertise within neighbourhood health teams, alongside mental health professionals, health visitors, and community workers, could be transformative for children – especially those with complex or long-term conditions.

    “Fundamentally, the success of this plan will also depend on sustained investment in the paediatric workforce. Children’s needs are unique, and these new models of care must be underpinned by adequate staffing, training, and support for professionals working in community settings, alongside equitable funding between children’s and adult’s services.

    “We must jointly seize the opportunity to transform child health, and as such RCPCH now look forward to working closely with government and NHS leaders to deliver a robust implementation plan for child health and realise the government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.”

     

     

    *DHSC Press Release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-launches-new-era-for-nhs-with-easier-care-in-neighbourhoods

     

    Declared interests

    The nature of this story means everyone quoted above could be perceived to have a stake in it. As such, our policy is not to ask for interests to be declared – instead, they are implicit in each person’s affiliation.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences Part 2: updates

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences Part 2: updates

    Updates on the work and progress of part 2 of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.

    Documents

    Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences: update July 2025

    HTML

    Details

    Updates from Jonathan Fisher KC, Chair of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Views sought on proposals for protecting Scotland’s environment

    Source: Scottish Government

    Draft plan to tackle nature loss, climate change and pollution

    Members of the public are being asked to have their say on proposals aimed at boosting the health, prosperity and wellbeing of communities by improving Scotland’s environment.

    The draft Environment Strategy sets out the opportunities for strengthening Scotland’s economy and improving people’s lives as a result of restoring and regenerating biodiversity, cutting levels of pollution and waste, supporting national net zero targets and improving Scotland’s environmental impact on countries across the world.

    It includes key government actions which aim to support green jobs and industries, tackle poverty and promote social justice including:

    • the transition to a circular economy through the reuse and repurposing of materials
    • increasing renewable energy generation in Scotland and supporting industrial decarbonisation with independent scenarios from Ernst and Young (EY), showing that with the right support, Scotland’s low carbon and renewable energy sector could support nearly 80,000 jobs by 2050
    • projects to restore nature – including those supported through the Nature Restoration Fund – which are also improving people’s physical and mental wellbeing by providing greater access to nature

    Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin said: “This draft Environment Strategy sets out ways in which Government action will help tackle the nature crisis, as well as reduce pollution and support our net zero targets.

    “These issues are interlinked, and by tackling them together we can protect our planet in ways that improve people’s health and wellbeing, reduce inequalities, and create new opportunities for business and investment.

    “We have already made significant progress in improving Scotland’s environment. We have cut pollution levels by banning a number of the most problematic single-use plastic products and introduced Low Emission Zones.

    “Scotland’s energy grid is also greener, thanks to the increase in the amount of renewable energy we now generate, we are more than halfway to reaching net zero by 2045, and our forthcoming Natural Environment Bill will introduce new statutory targets for restoring nature. 

    “However there is still much more we can do – and it is vital we tackle these global crises in ways that create wider benefits for Scotland – supporting green jobs and industries, improving people’s health, tackling poverty and promoting social justice.

    “I urge everyone with an interest to have their say on the proposals.” 

    Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes said: “This draft Strategy shows how we can achieve both our environmental and our economic ambitions for Scotland, highlighting the business and investment opportunities that will flow as we move to a net zero, nature positive future.”

    Background

    The draft Environment Strategy will be open for public consultation until 25 September 2025

    Consultation on the draft Environment Strategy

    The draft Strategy fulfils Ministers’ obligation under section 47 of the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 to prepare, consult on and publish an environmental policy strategy. Section 47 of the Continuity Act also requires Scottish Ministers to have due regard to the strategy when making policies, including proposals for legislation.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Managing healthcare easy as online banking with revamped NHS App

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Managing healthcare easy as online banking with revamped NHS App

    NHS App to become complete digital front door to NHS, where patients book appointments, manage medicines, and view data

    • PM sets out how 10 Year Health Plan will bring NHS into 21st century to meet the needs of patients around the country
    • Patients to make self-referrals via App, connect with a clinician, link-up wearable tech, and gain free access to health apps
    • Plan for Change will rebuild NHS and see ground-breaking Single Patient Record finally in one place – viewable on App from 2028

    Patients will be able to access a range of healthcare services and advice at the touch of a button, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has set out today, as the Government’s Plan for Change drives forward fundamental reform to the NHS to make it easier and fairer for everyone to access the care they need.

    Launching the 10 Year Health Plan today – the government’s roadmap to rebuilding the health service to make it fit for the future – the PM set out how the App will act as a digital front door to the health service, overhauling how people get advice, manage appointments and interact with services to make their healthcare more convenient and more personalised.

    For the first time, patients will be able to book, move and cancel all their appointments on the App – ending the 8am scramble for a GP – and the App will use artificial intelligence to provide instant advice for patients who need non-urgent care, available 24/7.

    Through the plan, which has been published in Parliament today, patients will have quicker, better access to the right care. They will be able to self-refer on the App to mental health talking therapies, musculoskeletal services, podiatry, and audiology – freeing up GPs and new Neighbourhood Health Services to focus on providing direct care while dramatically slashing waiting lists for these services – delivering on the government’s Plan for Change promise to cut waiting lists.

    Accessing healthcare will be quicker than ever thanks to expanded features on the app. People will be able to manage their medicines and book vaccines from their phone, connect with a clinician for a remote consultation, and even leave a question for a specialist to answer without making an appointment. Patients simply being able to book an appointment digitally rather than today’s convoluted process will save the NHS £200 million over 3 years.

    For parents, the new App will deliver a 21st century alternative to the ‘red book’, ensuring that their children’s medical records are available to them in their pocket, so they do not have to carry their red books to every appointment. It will also provide advice and support throughout childhood, offering guidance on weaning and healthy habits. Over time, it will record feeding times, monitor sleep, and use AI analytics to understand the best way to care for children when they are unwell.

    The changes will build on the progress Government has already made to increase the number of hospitals allowing patients to view appointment information on the app. Almost 12 million fewer paper letters have been sent by hospitals since July 2024. Forecasts for this year show the use of in-app notifications for planned care will prevent the need for 15.7 million SMS messages.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

    For far too long, the NHS has been stuck in the past, reliant on letters, lengthy phone queues and even fax machines.

    But that doesn’t match the reality of our daily lives, where everything from shopping and banking to entertainment and travel can be sorted with the touch of a button from our phones.

    To rebuild our NHS, we have to make sure it reflects the society it serves. That’s why our 10 Year Health Plan will bring it into the digital age by opening up fairer and more convenient access to healthcare. Through our new App – a digital front door for your care – parents will be able to keep track of their children’s health through an online ‘red book’ fit for the 21st century, and we will put a stop to patients having to endlessly repeat their medical history thanks to a single patient record.

    Our Plan for Change promised to make our NHS fit for the future and that’s what we are getting on with delivering – fixing the foundations of our health service and making sure it will be there to look after us for decades to come.

    This is one major arm of the technological innovation at the heart of the 10 Year Health Plan launched today, which also includes introducing the single patient record, rolling out AI scribes to take notes for clinicians, using Generative AI to create the first draft of care plans, and introducing single sign-on for NHS software.

    The government’s 10 Year Health Plan sets out the fundamental reforms we will deliver to address the challenges facing the health service in the face of inherited underinvestment and neglect and the evolving needs of a modern society.

    Speaking at the launch of the plan today, the PM set out how the plan will deliver three key shifts to make the NHS fit for the future: hospital to community; analogue to digital; and sickness to prevention. Through fundamental reforms to rewire the NHS around these shifts, the plan will deliver the government’s pledge to cut waiting lists, improve healthcare for everyone wherever they live, and ensure the NHS is equipped to look after us for decades to come.

    This historic transformation will fundamentally change the future of healthcare, and it will be underpinned by a new Single Patient Record. This will finally bring together all of a patient’s medical records into one place, so patients do not have to repeat their medical history to each clinician they see. The Single Patient Record will make sure patients get seamless care no matter who they are being treated by in the NHS.

    Two-thirds of outpatient appointments – which currently cost in total £14 billion a year – will be replaced by automated information, digital advice, direct input from specialists and patient-initiated follow ups via the NHS App.

    Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

    The NHS App will become a doctor in your pocket, bringing our health service into the 21st century.

    Patients who can afford to pay for private healthcare can get instant advice, remote consultations with a doctor, and choose where and when their appointments will be. Our reforms will bring those services to every patient, regardless of their ability to pay.

    The 10 Year Health Plan will keep every patient fully informed of their healthcare and make using the NHS as easy and convenient as doing your banking or shopping online. It will deliver a fundamental shift in the way people access their care – from analogue to digital.

    A new Single Patient Record will bring an end to the frustration of repeating your medical history to different doctors. Instead, health and care professionals will have your record in one, handy place, so they can give you the best possible care.

    Through our Plan for Change, this Government is shifting care to digital and delivering an NHS which is truly fit for the future.

    The Government will make the Single Patient Record possible through new legislation that places a duty on every health and care provider to make the information they record about a patient, available in the Single Patient Record. 

    We will also legislate to give patients access to their record by default. From 2028, patients will be able to view it, securely, on the NHS App. Over time, that data will include not only medical records, but a personalised account of health risk, drawing from lifestyle, demographic and genomic data – helping catch problems early before they develop, and prevent people from poor health.

    The Single Patient Record is designed as National Critical Infrastructure. This means it will be built and maintained to meet the highest levels of security, equivalent to those used for the UK’s most vital systems, such as energy and transport networks. Health and care professionals treating and caring for a patient will have secure access to their record; patients can control who else they share it with and will have a robust audit trail of who has accessed their record.

    Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive at NHS England, said:

    The NHS App will be at the heart of the tech transformation we’re planning for the NHS to give people much more ownership of their healthcare – all from wherever they are at the tap of a screen. 

    Millions of us already have the app downloaded on our phones and the improvements we’re introducing as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, from booking appointments and speaking to clinicians online to seeing all your medical records in one place, will make the NHS App the digital front door to the NHS.

    A My Health tool will include real-time data from wearables, biometric sensors, or smart devices and will connect to relevant NHS data too – whether that is the results of recent tests at home or in a neighbourhood health centre. Wearables will be able to feed vital data into the App such as step count, heart rate and sleep quality, to provide tailored, personal health advice. The single patient record will have robust security controls.

    And a new My NHS GP tool will harness AI to direct people to the most appropriate and timely care they need. In some cases, it will advise on self-care – and help direct patients to well-evidenced consumer healthcare products. In others, it might direct to a community pharmacy, a neighbourhood health centre or to emergency care.

    Over the course of the plan, the features set to be developed through the NHS App will include the ability to:

    • My NHS GP – book a remote or face-to-face appointment, and receive personalised health advice using new AI tool
    • My Specialist – self-refer when clinically appropriate and leave a question for a specialist to answer
    • My Consult – connect with a clinician for a remote consultation
    • My Medicines – manage repeat prescriptions for delivery/collection and receive reminders
    • My Care – book and manage appointments, enrol in a clinical trial and access Single Patient Record
    • My Companion – get information about a health condition or procedure, and ask AI or a clinician a question
    • My Choices – find nearest pharmacy, the best providers, and leave feedback on services
    • My Vaccines – see when vaccines are up-to-date and book appointments to get them organised, and find travel vaccine info
    • My Health – bring data like blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels together, and include real-time date from wearables or smart devices
    • My Children – a digitised red book, where parents can get advice and support for parents throughout childhood
    • My Carer – securely prove you are a carer, book appointments and talk to your loved one’s care team

    Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: 

    It’s clear that technology is set to transform many aspects of our lives for the better over the next decade, including the delivery of healthcare and how we interact with the NHS.  

    The potential of the NHS App for example, is truly exciting, but we must also ensure that no one is left behind, including the many millions of older people who are not online and who often want and need to use more traditional means of communication, such as telephone and face to face.  

    The Government’s commitment to a digitally inclusive approach is really important in building public trust. It is also essential for the NHS’s promise of being equally accessible to continue to hold true in our increasingly digital world. The voluntary sector can certainly help by supporting people who are not digital natives and at Age UK we look forward to playing our part in this way.

    Julian David, CEO, techUK said: 

    We welcome today’s announcement as a landmark moment in the digital transformation of the NHS. The enhanced NHS App marks a bold step forward in putting citizens at the centre of their care, empowering patients with the same ease, accessibility, and control we expect from modern digital services. 

    Ongoing and meaningful engagement with the tech sector will be essential to delivering this transformation at scale. techUK will continue to work with government, NHS bodies, and our members to ensure this transformation is inclusive, secure, and future-ready.

    Boosting the App will not only benefit those managing their healthcare digitally but will also free up capacity in traditional healthcare routes and provide more access to care and appointments – freeing up phone lines so calls are answered on time and freeing up GPs’ capacity to offer face-to-face appointments.

    The government will aim to empower and upskill everyone to feel confident using the NHS App so that they can benefit from the additional access to services and the greater convenience the App will bring.

    The government will continue a partnership with libraries and other community organisations to set people up on the App, with show-and-tells to teach them how to use it and reap the benefits – this will be alongside ongoing work across government to improve access to technology and boost confidence among groups that have previously struggled.

    Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: 

    The foundations for a healthy life are laid in childhood, so an ambition of creating the healthiest generation of children yet is an important step towards tackling the deep inequalities in their healthcare. 

    I have long called for a child’s ‘red book’ to be digitised, so this is a really welcome move. Taken with plans currently going through Parliament to develop a unique childhood identifier, will vastly improve how we protect and care for the most vulnerable children, with fewer in danger of falling through gaps in services. 

    Children tell me that when they need additional support, they want it in one place, so creating neighbourhood services that bring different professionals under one roof will make a practical difference in their lives, as will increasing access to GPs and dentists.

    Andrew Davies, Executive Director of Digital Health, Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), said:  

    This transformation of the NHS App is an important milestone for healthcare delivery. A single, secure platform to access a range of services, digital tools and therapeutics, and connect devices will enable patients to more effectively engage with their care.  

    This plan showcases how HealthTech can drive a more efficient, personalised and accessible NHS, which in turn will free up time for clinicians to focus on care where it is needed most. Our members look forward to working with the NHS and Government to ensure these digital tools are implemented successfully and deliver meaningful benefits for patients across the country.

    Rachel Power, Chief Executive, the Patients Association said: 

    We welcome the government’s ambition to expand the NHS App as a central part of the 10 Year Health Plan. It could deliver the fundamental change patients have asked for in their interactions with the NHS, including the ability to manage their appointments, self-refer to vital services, and, in three years’ time, be able to view their health records through the Single Patient Record.  

    Our work with patients shows that those using the app often feel more in control and more satisfied with their care. But with nearly one in four still facing barriers to digital access, we must ensure that innovation doesn’t come at the cost of inclusion. If the NHS App is to become the digital front door, there must always be a real-world, accessible front door as well, with face-to-face or telephone options in place for those who need or want them. True progress means making the system work for everyone.

    Professor Habib Naqvi, chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said: 

    We need a more focused and systematic approach to tackling health inequalities and addressing unacceptable variation in healthcare amongst our communities. A key enabler for this endeavour is digital tools. The transformation of the NHS App has the potential to lead to a more efficient, agile, and technologically enabled NHS – an NHS that will deliver care quicker and closer to where people live. The App will empower people and transform the way the public receives healthcare and engages with NHS services. The Observatory will help ensure this shift, in the way healthcare is provided, benefits all communities equitable.

    Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices said: 

    Technology is moving at a blistering pace, and quite simply the NHS has failed to keep up. So, the increased emphasis on the App and other digital services is welcome, especially where it can help the NHS meet expectations that have become common place in other sectors.  

    Critically the Plan recognises there will always be patients with more complex needs and commits to using the resource freed up by digital innovations to continue offering more traditional forms of access to those who need it.” 

    Richard Stubbs, Chair of the Health Innovation Network said:  

    It is right that the 10 Year Health Plan will establish the digital and data foundations of the NHS to realise the potential of health innovation in empowering patients, better supporting the NHS workforce and driving economic growth in every community.  

    The Health Innovation welcomes the focus on AI, expansion of the NHS App and the commitment to a single patient record, all of which will involve innovation partnerships to deliver change to local services, that will have a national impact. 

    The 15 health innovation networks across England, look ahead to operationalising these plans and working with our partners to find, test and implement at scale innovations that improve patient outcomes, increased NHS productivity and reduce waiting lists, while delivering economic growth. If we get this right we will not only greatly increase outcomes and satisfaction for our patients, but we will also boost our essential life sciences sector and, as our Defining the Size of the Health Innovation Prize report found, add up to £278bn a year to the UK economy.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council praised for helping to build strong communities in Stoke-on-Trent

    Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent

    Published: Thursday, 3rd July 2025

    Council and community leaders have outlined the key challenges and opportunities facing neighbourhoods in Stoke-on-Trent – just weeks after the city was awarded up to £20m ‘trailblazer’ funding.

    On Friday 27 June, Baroness Hilary Armstrong – who chairs the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON) which is reviewing the current state of neighbourhoods across England – visited the city to find out more about the issues facing neighbourhoods in Stoke-on-Trent and learn about future regeneration opportunities.

    Baroness Armstrong’s visit comes just weeks after Bentilee and Ubberley was chosen as one of only 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods across the UK. Announced as part of the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, the area will receive up to £20 million to transform the area through community-led regeneration projects.

    During her visit to the city, Baroness Armstrong stopped off at St John’s Church in Abbey Hulton where she observed a Stay and Play session hosted by Thrive at Five.

    She also visited St John’s Day Service, run by the council’s Adult Social Care and All Age Commissioning service, which supports adults with learning disabilities with activities including cookery, gardening, health, education and digital skills.

    The Baroness was later joined by stakeholders and community leaders for a roundtable discussion at Bentilee Neighbourhood Centre where she met members of community groups which are actively working to improve the lives and opportunities for residents in Stoke-on-Trent.

    She finished off the day at The Portland Inn Project, in Hanley, learning about their plans to transform a former pub into a new community hub.

    Baroness Armstrong said: “It was a real pleasure to visit Stoke-on-Trent last week, meeting local community organisations, public service leaders and elected representatives. 

    “I saw first-hand how the council and grassroots organisations are building strong communities and enriching neighbourhoods. 

    The path to national renewal lies in neighbourhood renewal. I hope Ministers will closely examine the lessons from community-led regeneration, in Stoke-on-Trent and across the country.” 

    Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “It was a privilege to welcome Baroness Armstrong to Stoke-on-Trent and to be able to sit down with her and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing our local communities.

    “We were pleased to be able to showcase community in action at our Stay and Play session and be able to introduce her to community organisations which are leading the way when it comes to improving opportunities for local residents and families, particularly those in left behind neighbourhoods.

    “We are committed to continuing those efforts with the government funding we have received. We want to empower residents to improve and enhance the places where they live and work.”

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Plymouth re-signs anti-social behaviour pledge

    Source: City of Plymouth

    L-R Shaun Baker – Area Manager, Livewest
    Amanda Wells – Commissioning Officer, Office of Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
    Cathryn Vallender – Head of Neighbourhoods, Livewest
    Michelle Dawson – Executive Director of Homes and Communities, Plymouth Community Homes
    Steve Foale – Technical Lead for Community Safety, Plymouth City Council
    Matt Garrett – Service Director for Community Connections, Plymouth City Council
    Chief Superintendent Scott Bradley – Plymouth BCU Commander, Devon and Cornwall Police

    Organisations across the city are teaming up to help spread the word about tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB). 

    Plymouth City Council, Plymouth Community Homes, Livewest Housing Association, Devon and Cornwall Police, and the Police and Crime Commissioner have joined up to re-sign the ASB Pledge.  

    The pledge is a commitment to support victims of anti-social behaviour, using anti-social behaviour case reviews. 

    Victims of persistent anti-social behaviour have the right to request a case review where a local threshold is met. It is an opportunity for an independent review to see what, if anything else, can be done to resolve the anti-social behaviour.   

    The pledge was set up by ASB Help, a registered charity which provides advice and support to victims. 

    The criteria to have the pledge status has changed since the Council last signed it in 2022, and to retain the status, we need to renew our commitment.   

    There have been nine requests so far this year for case reviews, compared to 18 last year in total. 

    One of the most recent case reviews involved a long-term drug user who supplied drugs to others visiting their flat. They would leave used needles in the nearby bin shed. The neighbours reported their concerns and unfortunately the issues continued, and the council worked with partners to address it, leading to the police carrying out a drug warrant.  

    The occupier was issued a Community Protection Notice Warning to stop visitors at their address. The council and the police were able to identify one persistent visitor causing anti-social behaviour and were able to obtain a civil injunction which banned them from the area for two years.  

    Unfortunately, this warning was ignored so the council and the police applied for a closure order against the property and the housing association subsequently regained possession of the property.   

    The Council’s street services cleaned the area of discarded drugs paraphernalia, and the residents returned to a peaceful life.   

    The case review involves an independent chair who can give an issue a fresh perspective. The review brings together all agencies involved, and a new action plan drawn up. 

    Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “Anti-social behaviour can have an overwhelming impact on its victims and, in some cases, on the wider community. 

    “It is key that we as partners come together to show our commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour.  

    “By signing up to our ASB Help Pledge, we will work with partners to ensure that they demonstrate their commitment to supporting victims of ASB and will endeavour to implement and follow best practice with the ASB Case Review.” 

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU initiatives recognised for real-world impact

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    The exceptional real-world impact of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) researchers, teams and projects has been recognised by the national Alliance Awards 2025.

    ARU has three shortlisted nominees for this year’s Alliance Awards, organised by University Alliance, with each making significant contributions to the wider community.

    Dr Mirna Guha, Deputy Head of ARU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Senior Lecturer in Sociology, is nominated for the Research and Innovation Impact Award for improving domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) services across England.

    Dr Guha is helping to address the shortage of specialist support provided by and for women from minority backgrounds by leading initiatives to promote racially diverse leadership within support services. She also advises Peterborough Women’s Aid on the Dahlia Project, an intervention which emerged from her research.

    ARU’s Trusted Adult Scheme (TAS) is shortlisted for the Local Impact Award, which is supported by UCAS. TAS is a collaboration between ARU, Cambridgeshire County Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System (NHS) and helps young people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by providing safe spaces, mentorship, and guidance.

    Children and young people aged 14-19, with social workers, are referred to TAS, which offers on-campus activities such as music recording, street art and gym access.

    ARU’s Social Work team is shortlisted for the Teaching Innovation Award for its innovative and inclusive teaching methods for apprenticeship students.

    Teaching begins with reflective wellbeing check-ins, to help improve compassionate resilience, and the sessions have been carefully designed to embrace inclusive teaching for neurodivergent and disabled students on the BA (Hons) Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship course.

    University Alliance represents professional and technical universities in the UK and the shortlists for each award were selected by an independent panel of expert judges from across the higher education and research sector.

    “This year we have renewed the categories for the Alliance Awards – and the response has been phenomenal.

    “We have received over 250 nominations across nine categories, and I continue to be awe-inspired by the range, the depth and the quality of the many individuals and teams across the Alliance.

    “The judges’ shortlisting to decide the nominees was incredibly competitive and close, with some categories receiving over 25 nominations. This attests to the sky-high standard of work that goes on across Alliance Universities.”

    Vanessa Wilson, CEO of University Alliance

    The winners will be announced at the Alliance Awards 2025 ceremony on 18 September, hosted by the University of Hertfordshire.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ministers allocate £1.5 million from dormant bank accounts to charitable organisations03 July 2025 The Chief Minister and Minister for External Relations have made the first of three annual allocations of £1. 5 million from the Jersey Reclaim Fund which will be distributed to local charitable and… Read more

    Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

    03 July 2025

    The Chief Minister and Minister for External Relations have made the first of three annual allocations of £1.5 million from the Jersey Reclaim Fund which will be distributed to local charitable and voluntary organisations. 

    In October last year the Ministers announced their intention to provide a three-year funding package of at least £4.5m for 2025 – 2027 to provide sustained support to charities and voluntary organisations. 

    Established in 2017, the Jersey Reclaim Fund is administered by the government and consists of balances in dormant bank accounts in Jersey where contact has been lost with the customer for more than 15 years. 

    The funds will be allocated by the Jersey Community Foundation. In addition to supporting the community, charities can apply to use part of their grants to sustain or strengthen the resilience and sustainability of their organisation. 

    The Minister for External Relations, Deputy Ian Gorst, who has responsibility for financial services, said: “This allocation from the Jersey Reclaim Fund marks the beginning of a new phase of long-term support for our charitable and voluntary sector. By providing funding over the next three years, we are giving organisations the certainty they need to plan ahead, and also to invest in their own resilience in order to serve our Island community. I’d like to thank Jersey’s financial institutions for continuing to work with the Fund, and the Jersey Community Foundation for their crucial role in making sure these grants reach the organisations and recipients that need them most.”

    The 2025 funding will be allocated over two grant rounds, and decisions on the first round of funding have been approved, with successful applicants to be notified this week. A second round of funding will take place in the autumn. The wide range of applications received from diverse organisations highlights both the vital work of Jersey’s charitable sector and the clear need for this funding at this time. 

    Anna Terry, CEO of the Jersey Community Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that the Government of Jersey has not only allocated £1.5 million from dormant bank accounts to the Jersey Community Foundation this year, but also committed to a three-year partnership. This long-term support enables us to offer multi-year grants, giving charitable organisations the stability they need to plan and deliver lasting impact. We’re incredibly grateful for the government’s trust in us to manage and distribute these funds, and we look forward to continuing to support the vital work being done across the Island.” 

    For information on how to apply for a grant, visit: Jersey Community Foundation​.​

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Draft Island Transport Plan set to be discussed 3 July 2025 Draft Island Transport Plan set to be discussed

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    A new long-term transport strategy for the Isle of Wight is set to be discussed by councillors at County Hall next week.

    The draft Island Transport Plan (ITP), which outlines the Island’s transport priorities from 2025 to 2040, will be considered by the Isle of Wight Council’s Economy, Regeneration, Transport, and Infrastructure Committee.

    The plan is part of a national requirement for Local Transport Authorities to have a Local Transport Plan in place.

    The ITP sets out a vision for a transport network that supports economic growth, reduces environmental impact, and improves access and safety for residents and visitors.

    It includes objectives such as supporting local economic growth, improving air quality and travel efficiency, and making transport more inclusive and affordable.

    The plan also highlights the importance of adapting to climate change and supporting healthier communities through safer and more sustainable travel options.

    Among the proposals are improvements to rural bus shelters, simplified ticketing across different modes of transport, and the rollout of real-time information across the network.

    The plan also supports enhancements at ferry terminals and the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

    The council has already secured £13.6 million in Levelling Up funding for walking, cycling, and public transport improvements, and £2.1 million from the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund for the A3056 between Newport and Lake.

    Public consultation on the draft plan is expected to begin in September, with events planned across the Island to gather feedback.

    The final version of the plan is due to be published in early 2026, following consideration of public responses, and will be submitted to the Department for Transport for approval.

    The committee will meet at 5pm on Thursday, July 10. Members of the public are welcome to attend in person or follow the meeting live online.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Re-apply for your Postal Vote before 31 January 2026

    Source: City of Norwich

    Published on Thursday, 3rd July 2025

    Norwich City Council is urging all 23,500 affected postal voters to re-apply for their postal vote before the deadline of 31 January 2026, following changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022.

    What’s changing?

    If you were granted a postal vote before 31 October 2023, your current arrangement will expire on 31 January 2026. To continue voting by post in future elections, you must re-apply.

    Why do I need to re-apply?

    The Elections Act 2022 introduced new rules requiring postal voters to re-apply every three years. This change is designed to keep the electoral register up to date and secure.

    How to re-apply

    Re-applying is quick, easy, and secure:

    Apply online at gov.uk/apply-postal-vote
    Deadline: 31 January 2026

    If you don’t re-apply, your postal vote will expire, and you’ll need to vote in person or apply again later.

    If you do not wish to re-apply online, or if we do not hold an email address for you, we will contact you by post in August and supply a paper application form for you to return.

    Spread the word

    If you work with or support someone who may be affected, please help them check their status and re-apply in time.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Annual Diwali event to change due to crowd safety concerns

    Source: City of Leicester

    LEICESTER’S Golden Mile will continue to be the focus for Diwali Day celebrations, but with major changes to the annual event due to crowd safety fears.

    Serious concerns about public safety at the popular event have been raised by the Diwali safety advisory group due to the massive crowd numbers the event has attracted in recent years.

    The group – which includes event and safety experts from the city council, representatives from Leicestershire Police, NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue and crowd security providers – has warned that the current location is no longer fit for purpose, and urgent action needs to be taken.

    Several meetings have since been held by the safety advisory group to consider a range of options, including relocating the popular event to Abbey Park or the city centre, extending it onto Belgrave Circle or moving it onto Melton Road.

    Following council engagement with Belgrave businesses and local community representatives, the decision has now been taken to enable Diwali Day celebrations on Belgrave Road, where it has been held for more than 40 years.

    However, major changes to the popular event will be required to ensure it can be held safely.

    Belgrave Road will be closed to all traffic for the evening of Diwali Day to allow families and friends to celebrate safely together and enjoy the atmosphere, shops and restaurants of the Golden Mile.

    Festive illuminations featuring more than 6,000 lights will continue to be installed along Belgrave Road during Diwali. The popular Wheel of Light will also return.

    There will be no stage entertainment or firework display at this year’s event. And Cossington Street Recreation Ground will no longer feature as part of the festivities.

    These measures need to be taken to avoid potentially dangerous crowd massing that has been observed at the event in the last two years.

    The city council has committed to continue to work with the safety advisory group and local community representatives to see whether any further enhancements can be made that will not compromise public safety.

    The new approach was agreed at a meeting last night between the City Mayor Peter Soulsby, Cllr Vi Dempster, asst city mayor for culture, representatives from the Leicester Hindu Festival Council and Belgrave Business Association, and members of the local Jain and Sikh communities. Local ward councillors, council officers and safety advisory group members also attended.

    Graham Callister, the city council’s head of festivals, events and cultural policy said: “Diwali has been a real highlight of the city’s festival calendar and attracts thousands of people who come from far and wide to join in the celebrations on the Golden Mile.

    “However, we are now being advised by our emergency service partners and event security providers that we have reached the point where the growing crowds and sheer volume of people attending is causing significant concern about public safety.

    “Scaling back on event infrastructure and activity means there will be the additional space needed – and more importantly less congestion – to safely welcome the crowds that want to celebrate on Belgrave Road.”

    Cllr Vi Dempster said: “Unfortunately, Leicester’s annual Diwali festival has become a victim of its own success. We’re being strongly advised by our emergency service partners and crowd control experts that it cannot continue safely in its current format due to the unrestricted and growing crowd numbers that it attracts, and that’s a warning we must take extremely seriously.

    “We are absolutely determined that Diwali continues to be part of the city’s festive calendar. We also understand the depth of feeling to see it continue on the Golden Mile where it began over 40 years ago. To do that, we must ensure that it can take place safely. That must be paramount.”

    Over the last two years, record crowds have turned out for the city’s Diwali celebrations on Belgrave Road and Cossington Street recreation ground. Last year’s event saw estimated crowds of up to 50,000 people attending.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New independent chair of MAPPA oversight group

    Source: Scotland – City of Dundee

    A FORMER senior police officer has been appointed as the Independent Chair of the Tayside MAPPA Strategic Oversight Group.

    Graham Binnie was confirmed in the position following a tender process supported by Dundee City, Angus and Perth & Kinross councils, Police Scotland and NHS Tayside.

    He has considerable experience of successful collaboration across law enforcement, public health, public protection, community planning and resilience partnerships, having worked in various roles with Police Scotland over almost 30 years. This has included public protection specific roles as well as serving as the Superintendent, Performance and Partnerships for Tayside Division.

    Since retiring from Police Scotland Graham has also taken on leadership roles within rugby and as a volunteer in wider community groups and charitable organisations.

    He said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to act as independent chair and am committed to working with partners to prioritise people and safety, supporting the hard work of those across our public protection agencies”.

    MAPPA aims to protect the public by requiring the police, NHS, prison service and local authorities (known as responsible authorities) to work together to assess and manage the risk posed by certain categories of offender. 

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Annual Report celebrates Significant Progress in key priorities

    Source: City of Derby

    Derby City Council’s latest Annual Report will be presented to Cabinet on Wednesday 9 July, showcasing a year of achievements across the city’s five priority themes: Green, Growth, Resilient, Vibrant, and Working Smarter.

    The report, covering performance and delivery from April 2024 to March 2025, highlights key successes that are making Derby a more sustainable, prosperous, and vibrant place for our residents.

    We’ve made big strides in our commitment to become a better-connected, greener city. Our Transforming Cities programme has championed efficient and active travel, delivering new and renewed cycle pathways, traffic signals and carriageways. We’ve also upgraded 5,560 streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs, saving an estimated 329 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

    Our green spaces continue to be high quality places for our residents to enjoy, with six city parks retaining the prestigious Green Flag status. Working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, we’ve also reintroduced cattle to three of our locations in the winter months to improve biodiversity and keep them in the best condition.

    The Growth theme has seen significant support for local businesses and the creation of future job opportunities. Aided by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund we have worked with partners to support 761 Derby businesses, while Council interventions have generated an impressive £30.7m of investment in the city.

    Investing in Derby’s future workforce is a priority, as demonstrated by the Derby Promise initiative. We’ve seen over 3,100 individuals enrolled in community and skills programme delivered by the Derby Adult Learning Service, continuing our focus on lifelong learning and raising aspirations and opportunities for our people of all ages in Derby.

    Looking ahead, we’re also actively collaborating with the Great British Railways Transition Team and the East Midland’s Mayor to develop a shared vision for a Derby Rail Campus, boosting the city’s vital rail sector.

    Over the past year, culture has been placed firmly at the heart of our increasingly vibrant city. Spring 2025 saw the opening of two major leisure and culture destinations: Vaillant Live and Derby Market Hall. The city also hosted a diverse mix of events, including St George’s Day and Festive Derby, and the record-breaking Darley Park Weekender, which generated over £1m for the local economy.

    Under the Resilient theme, the Council has focused on supporting residents to get on in life and ensuring the right care is available, at the right time. In 2024/25, some of our most vulnerable people were supported to remain in a place they call home. This includes 86.6% of adults with a Learning Disability, 91.6% of adults in contact with secondary mental health services, and 79.5% of older people within 91 days of being discharged from hospital following rehabilitation.

    Thanks to collaborative efforts with our partners, 45,000 visits were made to our Family Hubs, where a range of services are provided. This contributed to a reduction in the number of families assessed as ‘child in need’ and a decrease in the number of children in care.

    Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council, said:

    2024/25 was a very busy period for our city, and we saw big strides made in our journey to make Derby a city we can all be proud of. While the hard work continues, this report shows that we are heading in the right direction.

    This is also a great opportunity to recognise the commitment and achievement of our colleagues in 2024/25. They continually go above and beyond to deliver the best outcomes for the people of Derby, despite the ongoing challenges facing local government. I want to place on record my thanks to them for all they have done and will continue to do as we press on into 2025/26.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • OPCW hosts 23rd Asia Regional Meeting to boost Chemical Weapons Convention implementation

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in collaboration with India’s National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC), convened the 23rd Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia from July 1 to 3, at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting brought together senior officials from OPCW, international delegates from across Asia, and representatives from India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Cabinet Secretariat.

    This regional meeting is part of the OPCW’s ongoing efforts to support the effective implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which came into force in 1997. With 193 member states, the OPCW is the global authority overseeing the verifiable and permanent elimination of chemical weapons. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its commitment to global chemical disarmament.

    India, an original signatory to the Convention, has played a significant role in furthering its objectives. The NACWC, the national body responsible for implementing the CWC in India, recently mentored Kenya’s National Authority under the OPCW’s Mentorship/Partnership Programme, aimed at enhancing implementation capacities worldwide.

    The Indian Chemical Council (ICC), the country’s oldest chemical industry association, also received international recognition for its work in promoting chemical safety and compliance. In 2024, ICC was awarded the OPCW-The Hague Award, marking the first time a chemical industry body anywhere in the world received this honour. The award acknowledged ICC’s contributions to advancing the goals of the Convention and improving industry-wide safety and security practices in India.

    This year’s regional meeting in New Delhi served as a platform for 38 delegates from 24 Asian countries — including Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, among others — to share experiences, discuss national implementation challenges, and exchange best practices. The discussions addressed key topics such as legislative frameworks, chemical safety and security, the role of industry stakeholders, and the emerging use of Artificial Intelligence in chemical monitoring and compliance.

     

  • Centre to convene all-party meeting on July 19 ahead of Monsoon Session

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Central government will convene an all-party meeting on July 19, ahead of the Monsoon Session 2025, said Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday.

    Rijiju said, “The central government called an all-party meeting on July 19 regarding the monsoon session of Parliament. The monsoon session of Parliament is starting from July 21 and will run till August 21.”

    The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be held from July 21 to August 21. There will be no Parliament sittings on August 13 and 14 due to Independence Day celebrations.

    Earlier in a post on X, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote, “The Hon’ble President of India has approved the proposal of the Government to convene the Monsoon Session of Parliament from 21st July to 21st August, 2025. In view of the Independence Day celebrations, there will be no sittings on the 13th and 14th of August.”

    This comes amid the demand by Opposition leaders to convene a special session of Parliament upon the arrival of all-party delegations to discuss various issues, especially the developments that followed the ghastly Pahalgam terrorist attack.

    The upcoming Monsoon session will be the first Parliament session following Operation Sindoor, which was launched by India on May 7 in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.

    The Budget session of Parliament began on January 31 this year. The Budget Session saw the passage of significant legislation, including Waqf Amendment Bill.

    Rijiju held a press conference after the end of the Budget Session, informing that the first part of the Budget Session yielded a total of 9 sittings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. In the second part of the Session, there were 17 sittings of both Houses. During the entire Budget Session, in total, there were 26 sittings.

    During the second part of the Session, Demands for Grants of individual Ministries of Railways, Jal Shakti and Agriculture & Farmers Welfare were discussed and voted in Lok Sabha. In the end the Demands for Grants of the remaining Ministries/ Departments were put to the Vote of the House on Friday, the 21st of March, 2025. The related Appropriation Bill was also introduced, considered and passed by Lok Sabha on 21.03.2025 itself.

    Appropriation Bills relating to Second and Final Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2024-25; Excess Demands for Grants for the year 2021-22 and Supplementary Demands for Grants of Manipur for the year 2024-25 and Demands for Grant on Account for the year 2025-26 in respect of the State of Manipur were also passed on 11.03.2025 in Lok Sabha.

    The Finance Bill, 2025 was passed by Lok Sabha on March 25.

    In the Rajya Sabha the working of the Ministries of Education, Railways, Health & Family Welfare and Home Affairs were discussed.

    (ANI)

  • By the Numbers: Deconstructing India’s Unprecedented Poverty Decline

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The global narrative of poverty reduction has an Indian imprint in the latest data releases. The decline in poverty, confirmed by a confluence of national and international assessments, is a significant landmark on India’s developmental journey. Reduced poverty means more empowered citizens, a factor that reflects the dynamic interplay of sustained economic growth, year after year, focusing on meticulously targeted welfare architecture.

    Even as global goals on poverty estimation shift—evidenced by the World Bank’s recent adoption of a stricter poverty threshold—India’s performance remains a hope—a journey of encouragement—on its path to become a developed country by 2047.

    Data tells its story. According to a discussion paper from NITI Aayog, a staggering 24.82 crore people, a quarter of a billion souls, escaped the clutches of multidimensional poverty in the nine years between 2013-14 and 2022-23 alone. 29.17% of India was multidimensionally poor in 2013-14, which was reduced to 11.28% in 2022-23.

    Measurement of multidimensional poverty based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a more holistic metric developed by the UNDP and the University of Oxford in 2010. This index, as its name suggests, measures poverty across multiple, overlapping dimensions—health, education, and living standards—offering a granular, non-monetary picture of deprivation at the household level.

    The largest declines in multidimensional poverty were registered in some of the nation’s most populous states, with Uttar Pradesh leading the charge by liberating 5.94 crore people, followed by Bihar (3.77 crore), Madhya Pradesh (2.30 crore), and Rajasthan (1.87 crore).

    This exodus, on the path of empowerment, is corroborated by the World Bank’s “Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief,” which notes the lifting of 17.1 crore people from extreme poverty in the country. Going by the old poverty rate of USD 2.15 per person per day, India’s population had 16.2% extremely poor people, living on less than USD 2.15 a day in 2011-12. It fell significantly to 2.3% in 2022-23.

    The World Bank assessment notes that these populous states, which accounted for 65% of India’s extreme poor in 2011-12, were responsible for an astonishing two-thirds of the overall national poverty decline by 2022-23. The progress has permeated both rural and urban landscapes with equal force. Rural poverty saw a dramatic fall from 18.4% to just 2.8% between 2011-12 and 2022-23, while urban poverty in the same period dwindled from 10.7% to a mere 1.1%.

    Consider the impact of the World Bank’s recalibrated international poverty line to USD 3 per person per day (in 2021 Purchasing Power Parity, released in May 2024) from USD 2.15. While this statistical adjustment instantly swelled the ranks of the world’s extreme poor, fresh household-consumption data from India reveals a story of remarkable resilience of the country. The recalibration should have added 22.6 crore people worldwide to its extreme-poverty count, but the real addition was just 12.5 crore, thanks to India’s positive indicators and reduced numbers.

    Updated consumption data and changed survey methods to its poverty indicators and headcount ratio reflect that India is doing extremely well on meeting positive indicators to reduce poverty. According to the new international poverty line, the percentage of extremely poor people in India rose from 16.2% (or 20.59 crore people) in 2011-12 to 27.12% (or 34.47 crore people).

    The latest data shows a significant decline in these numbers, corroborating India’s growth story. Under the new line—poverty fell drastically, from 27.12% in 2011-12 to 5.25% in 2022-23. In absolute terms, the headcount dropped from 34.45 crore to 7.52 crore over the same period—a striking decline that underscores India’s continuing progress—of addressing needs of the most vulnerable strata of the society.

    Also, according to the NITI Aayog’s discussion paper, between 2005-06 and 2015-16, the annual rate of decline was 7.69%. However, in the subsequent period from 2015-16 to 2019-21, this rate surged to an impressive 10.66% annually. This acceleration puts India firmly on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of halving multidimensional poverty well before the 2030 deadline.

    Furthermore, as India navigates evolving global benchmarks, its progress holds firm. If we go by the previous poverty rates, at the lower-middle-income poverty line of USD 3.65 per day, the poverty rate was more than halved in the country, dropping from 61.8% to 28.1% over the decade from 2011-12 to 2022-23. This suggests that millions (37.8 crore people in absolute numbers) are not just crossing the threshold of extreme poverty but are continuing on an upward trajectory.

    Perhaps most tellingly, this growth has not come at the expense of equality. The Gini Index, a standard measure of income and consumption-based inequality, actually declined from 28.8% in 2011-12 to 25.5% in 2022-23, indicating that the fruits of economic expansion are being distributed more broadly than before. India’s journey is a powerful demonstration that rapid, large-scale poverty reduction is an achievable reality, providing a solid foundation upon which the aspirations of a developed nation can be confidently built.

     

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Completes the Fourth Review Under the Extended Fund Facility with Sri Lanka

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    July 3, 2025

    • The IMF Executive Board completed the Fourth Review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility with Sri Lanka, providing the country with immediate access to SDR 254 million (about US$350 million) to support Sri Lanka’s economic policies and reforms.
    • Performance under the program has been generally strong with some implementation risks being addressed. Prior actions on restoring cost-recovery electricity pricing for the rest of 2025 and operationalizing automatic electricity tariff adjustment were met. All quantitative targets for end-March 2025, except the stock of expenditure arrears, were met. All structural benchmarks due by end-May 2025 were either met or implemented with delay. 2025Q2 inflation fell below the lower outer band of the Monetary Policy Consultation Clause largely due to energy prices. Debt restructuring is nearly complete.
    • The economic outlook remains positive. However, global trade policy uncertainties pose significant risks to Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic and social stability. If these shocks materialize, the authorities will work closely with staff to assess the impact and formulate policy responses within the contours of the program.

    Washington, DC: On July 1, 2025, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fourth review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement, allowing the authorities to draw SDR254 million (about US$350 million). This brings the total IMF financial support disbursed so far to SDR1.27 billion (about US$1.74 billion).[1]

    The EFF arrangement for Sri Lanka was approved by the Executive Board on March 20, 2023 (see Press Release No. 23/79) in an amount of SDR 2.286 billion (395 percent of quota or about US$3 billion). The program supports Sri Lanka’s efforts to durably restore macroeconomic stability by (i) restoring fiscal and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, (ii) safeguarding price and financial sector stability, (iii) rebuilding external buffers, (iv) strengthening governance and reducing corruption vulnerabilities, and (v) enhancing growth-oriented structural reforms.

    The Executive Board reviewed a report from the Managing Director on the inadvertent provision of inaccurate data by Sri Lanka on the ceiling of the central government’s stock of expenditure arrears. The under-reporting of the arrears stock identified through a detailed analysis of budget line appropriations gave rise to noncomplying purchases and a breach of Sri Lanka’s obligations under Article VIII, Section 5. The authorities have worked openly and closely with IMF staff to provide corrected data and have undertaken several corrective measures related to the clearing and reporting of arrears. They are also committed to improving reporting and data verification practices going forward in line with IMF technical assistance. Based on these actions, the Executive Board approved the authorities’ request for waivers of non-observance.

    The authorities have consented to the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation.[2]

    Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Mr. Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement:

    “Sri Lanka’s performance under the Fund-supported arrangement is generally strong with some implementation risks being addressed. Reforms are bearing fruit, with economic growth strengthening, inflation remaining low, reserves accumulating, and fiscal revenues improving. The debt restructuring process is nearing completion. The economic outlook is positive, but downside risks have increased. In case shocks materialize, the authorities should work closely with the Fund to assess the impact and formulate policy responses within the contours of the program. Steadfast program implementation will be crucial.

    “Sustained revenue mobilization is critical to restoring fiscal sustainability and creating fiscal space. Strengthening tax exemption frameworks, boosting tax compliance, and enhancing public financial management to ensure effective arrears management are important. Further improving the coverage and targeting of social support to the vulnerable is also necessary. A smoother execution of capital spending within the fiscal envelope would help foster medium-term growth. The restoration of cost-recovery electricity pricing and the operationalization of automatic electricity tariffs adjustment are commendable and should be maintained to contain fiscal risks.

    “The progress to advance the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt is noteworthy. Timely finalization of bilateral agreements with remaining official and commercial creditors is a priority.

    “Monetary policy should continue to prioritize price stability, supported by sustained commitment to eliminate monetary financing and safeguard central bank independence. Greater exchange rate flexibility and gradually phasing out administrative balance of payments measures remain critical to rebuild external buffers and economic resilience.

    “Resolving non-performing loans, strengthening governance and oversight of state-owned banks, and improving the insolvency and resolution frameworks are important to revive credit growth and support private sector development.

    “Structural reforms are crucial to unlock Sri Lanka’s potential. The government should continue to implement governance reforms and advance trade-facilitation reforms to boost export growth and diversification.”

    Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Mr. Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement:

    “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewed noncomplying purchases made by Sri Lanka under the 2023 Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (“EFF”), as well as a breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5. The noncomplying purchases arose as a result of the provision of inaccurate information by the authorities on the stock of expenditure arrears at the first, second, and third reviews under the EFF.

    “The inaccuracies in information provided to the IMF were inadvertent and arose because of weaknesses in the timely reporting of arrears by line ministries to the Ministry of Finance, as well as a misunderstanding by the authorities of the definition of “arrears” under the Technical Memorandum of Understanding. 

    “The Executive Board positively considered the authorities’ corrective actions, the fact that arrears repayments will be accommodated within the existing fiscal envelope, and the authorities’ commitment to improving public financial management procedures in line with the new PFM law, to reduce the risk of accruing arrears or inaccurate reporting of information going forward. In view of the above, the Executive Board agreed to grant waivers for the nonobservances of the quantitative performance criterion that gave rise to the noncomplying purchases and decided not to require further action in connection with the breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5.”

    Sri Lanka: Selected Economic Indicators 2024-2030
                                                                  

     

    2024

    		  

    2025

    2026

    2027

    Est.

    Projections
               

    GDP and inflation (in percent)

    		            

    Real GDP

    5.0

    3.5

    3.1

    3.1

    Inflation (average) 1/

    1.2

    3.3

    5.2

    5.0

    Inflation (end-of-period) 1/

    -1.5

    8.9

    5.2

    5.0

    GDP Deflator growth

    3.8

    3.6

    5.3

    5.1

    Nominal GDP growth

    9.0

    7.1

    8.5

    8.4

     

    Savings and investment (in percent of GDP)

    		            

    National savings

    25.2

    21.8

    22.2

    22.9

      Government

    -3.2

    -2.0

    -0.8

    -0.1

      Private

    28.4

    23.8

    23.0

    23.0

    National investment

    27.0

    21.8

    22.1

    22.5

      Government

    5.0

    4.3

    4.5

    4.6

      Private

    21.9

    17.4

    17.6

    17.9

    Savings-Investment balance

    -1.8

    0.0

    0.1

    0.4

      Government

    -8.2

    -6.3

    -5.3

    -4.6

      Private

    6.4

    6.4

    5.4

    5.1

     

    Public finance (in percent of GDP)

    		            

    Revenue and grants

    13.7

    15.0

    15.2

    15.3

    Expenditure

    19.3

    20.5

    19.7

    19.2

    Primary balance

    2.2

    2.3

    2.3

    2.3

    Central government balance

    -5.6

    -5.4

    -4.5

    -3.9

    Central government gross financing needs

    21.9

    22.6

    19.6

    14.9

    Central government debt

    100.5

    105.1

    103.4

    100.2

    Public debt 2/

    105.2

    109.6

    107.4

    103.6

     

    Money and credit (percent change, end of period)

    Reserve money

    15.8

    6.5

    8.5

    8.4

    Broad money

    8.6

    6.5

    8.5

    8.4

    Domestic credit

    4.0

    4.5

    3.0

    3.8

    Credit to private sector

    10.7

    9.4

    9.2

    9.3

    Credit to private sector (adjusted for inflation)

    9.5

    6.1

    4.1

    4.3

    Credit to central government and public corporations

    -1.4

    0.0

    -3.3

    -2.5

     

    Balance of Payments (in millions of U.S. dollars)

    Exports

    12,772

    12,880

    13,490

    14,194

    Imports

    -18,828

    -21,363

    -22,447

    -23,578

    Current account balance

    1,746

    -48

    -77

    -439

    Current account balance (in percent of GDP)

    1.8

    0.0

    -0.1

    -0.4

    Current account balance net of interest (in percent of GDP)

    3.7

    2.1

    2.0

    1.7

    Export value growth (percent)

    7.2

    0.8

    4.7

    5.2

    Import value growth (percent)

    12.0

    13.5

    5.1

    5.0
               

    Gross official reserves (end of period)

    		            

    In millions of U.S. dollars

    6,122

    7,255

    9,273

    12,974

    In months of prospective imports of goods & services

    3.0

    3.3

    4.0

    5.4

    In percent of ARA composite metric

    50.5

    60.3

    75.5

    100.0

    Usable Gross official reserves (end of period) 3/

    		            

    In millions of U.S. dollars

    4,686

    7,255

    9,273

    12,974

    In months of prospective imports of goods & services

    2.3

    3.3

    4.0

    5.4

    In percent of ARA composite metric

    38.6

    60.3

    75.5

    100.0

    External debt (public and private)

    In billions of U.S. dollars

    53.9

    54.6

    56.3

    59.9

    As a percent of GDP

    54.4

    55.1

    58.6

    59.4

     

    Memorandum items:

    Nominal GDP (in billions of rupees)

    29,899

    32,036

    34,754

    37,664

    Exchange Rate (period average)

    302.0

    …

    …

    …

    Exchange Rate (end of period)

    293.0

    …

    …

    …

    Sources: Data provided by the Sri Lankan authorities; and IMF staff estimates.

    1/ Colombo CPI.

    2/ Comprising central government debt, publicly guaranteed debt, and CBSL external liabilities (i.e., Fund credit outstanding and international currency swap arrangements). The debt statistics currently assume the external debt restructuring to have been completed at end 2023.

    3/ Excluding PBOC swap ($1.4bn in 2022) which becomes usable once GIR rise above 3 months of previous year’s import cover.
                                     

    [1] SDR figures are converted at the market rate of U.S. dollar per SDR on the day of the Board approval.

    [2] Under the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, publication of documents that pertain to member countries is voluntary and requires the member consent. The staff report will be shortly published on the www.imf.org/srilanka page.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/07/02/pr24235-sri-lanka-imf-executive-board-completes-the-fourth-review-under-the-eff

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP and Samoa Lay Groundwork for Food System Improvements at the First Cost and Affordability of Diet Workshop

    Source: World Food Programme

    APIA, SAMOA – The Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), co-hosted a national validation workshop to present and discuss findings from Samoa’s first Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets.

    The workshop brought together representatives from government ministries, UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations, civil society, and the private sector to review and validate the findings of the diet cost analysis, and to discuss how the results can inform policies and programmes aimed at improving diet quality and affordability in response to the country’s high burden of non-communicable diseases. 

    “This workshop is a pivotal step in our collective journey to address one of the most pressing development challenges of our time – ensuring access to affordable, nutritious and healthy diets for all Samoans, especially our most vulnerable,” said Seumalo Afele Faiilagi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of MAF Samoa, “We are confronting the real-life consequences of poor diets – malnutrition, obesity, non-communicable diseases and intergenerational cycles of poor health – that are now too common across our communities.”

    The Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets is a flagship initiative of the joint UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund programme, Catalysing the Samoa National Food Systems Transformation Agenda Through Collective Action, by the Rome-Based Agencies (WFP, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development). It supports national priorities outlined in the Samoa Food Systems Pathway 2030, the National Food and Nutrition Policy & Plan of Action 2021–2026, the Health Sector Plan 2019/20–2029/30, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector Plan 2022/23–2026/27.

    Drawing on data from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Health and other partners, and informed by extensive national stakeholder consultations, the recommendations of the Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets will inform decision-making across key sectors including agriculture, health, education at both national and community level. 

    “This is a pivotal moment in Samoa’s journey to transform its food systems and place nutrition at the centre of national development,” said Alpha Bah, WFP Representative for the Pacific. “WFP is proud to support the Government of Samoa and partners in turning evidence into action.”

    During the workshop, sectoral working groups contributed insights to validate the findings and proposed tailored actions to help ensure the results lead to meaningful change. Civil society organisations were present to ensure the analysis is grounded in local realities and support community-led solutions.

    “I wish to emphasise again the UN system’s commitment to supporting the Government of Samoa in creating a future where every Samoan has access to the nutritious food needed to lead healthy and productive lives,” said Karla Hershey, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Samoa.

    This initiative reaffirms the strong commitment of the Government of Samoa and WFP to enhance food and nutrition security for Samoans, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.

    #                 #                   #

    The Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is committed to promoting sustainable agricultural and fisheries practices to ensure food security and improve the livelihoods of Samoan communities.

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media and @wfp_Pacific_

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP and Samoa Lay Groundwork for Food System Improvements at the First Cost and Affordability of Diet Workshop

    Source: World Food Programme

    APIA, SAMOA – The Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), co-hosted a national validation workshop to present and discuss findings from Samoa’s first Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets.

    The workshop brought together representatives from government ministries, UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations, civil society, and the private sector to review and validate the findings of the diet cost analysis, and to discuss how the results can inform policies and programmes aimed at improving diet quality and affordability in response to the country’s high burden of non-communicable diseases. 

    “This workshop is a pivotal step in our collective journey to address one of the most pressing development challenges of our time – ensuring access to affordable, nutritious and healthy diets for all Samoans, especially our most vulnerable,” said Seumalo Afele Faiilagi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of MAF Samoa, “We are confronting the real-life consequences of poor diets – malnutrition, obesity, non-communicable diseases and intergenerational cycles of poor health – that are now too common across our communities.”

    The Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets is a flagship initiative of the joint UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund programme, Catalysing the Samoa National Food Systems Transformation Agenda Through Collective Action, by the Rome-Based Agencies (WFP, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development). It supports national priorities outlined in the Samoa Food Systems Pathway 2030, the National Food and Nutrition Policy & Plan of Action 2021–2026, the Health Sector Plan 2019/20–2029/30, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector Plan 2022/23–2026/27.

    Drawing on data from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Health and other partners, and informed by extensive national stakeholder consultations, the recommendations of the Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets will inform decision-making across key sectors including agriculture, health, education at both national and community level. 

    “This is a pivotal moment in Samoa’s journey to transform its food systems and place nutrition at the centre of national development,” said Alpha Bah, WFP Representative for the Pacific. “WFP is proud to support the Government of Samoa and partners in turning evidence into action.”

    During the workshop, sectoral working groups contributed insights to validate the findings and proposed tailored actions to help ensure the results lead to meaningful change. Civil society organisations were present to ensure the analysis is grounded in local realities and support community-led solutions.

    “I wish to emphasise again the UN system’s commitment to supporting the Government of Samoa in creating a future where every Samoan has access to the nutritious food needed to lead healthy and productive lives,” said Karla Hershey, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Samoa.

    This initiative reaffirms the strong commitment of the Government of Samoa and WFP to enhance food and nutrition security for Samoans, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.

    #                 #                   #

    The Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is committed to promoting sustainable agricultural and fisheries practices to ensure food security and improve the livelihoods of Samoan communities.

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media and @wfp_Pacific_

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP and Samoa Lay Groundwork for Food System Improvements at the First Cost and Affordability of Diet Workshop

    Source: World Food Programme

    APIA, SAMOA – The Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), co-hosted a national validation workshop to present and discuss findings from Samoa’s first Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets.

    The workshop brought together representatives from government ministries, UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations, civil society, and the private sector to review and validate the findings of the diet cost analysis, and to discuss how the results can inform policies and programmes aimed at improving diet quality and affordability in response to the country’s high burden of non-communicable diseases. 

    “This workshop is a pivotal step in our collective journey to address one of the most pressing development challenges of our time – ensuring access to affordable, nutritious and healthy diets for all Samoans, especially our most vulnerable,” said Seumalo Afele Faiilagi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of MAF Samoa, “We are confronting the real-life consequences of poor diets – malnutrition, obesity, non-communicable diseases and intergenerational cycles of poor health – that are now too common across our communities.”

    The Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets is a flagship initiative of the joint UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund programme, Catalysing the Samoa National Food Systems Transformation Agenda Through Collective Action, by the Rome-Based Agencies (WFP, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development). It supports national priorities outlined in the Samoa Food Systems Pathway 2030, the National Food and Nutrition Policy & Plan of Action 2021–2026, the Health Sector Plan 2019/20–2029/30, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector Plan 2022/23–2026/27.

    Drawing on data from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Health and other partners, and informed by extensive national stakeholder consultations, the recommendations of the Cost and Affordability Analysis of Diets will inform decision-making across key sectors including agriculture, health, education at both national and community level. 

    “This is a pivotal moment in Samoa’s journey to transform its food systems and place nutrition at the centre of national development,” said Alpha Bah, WFP Representative for the Pacific. “WFP is proud to support the Government of Samoa and partners in turning evidence into action.”

    During the workshop, sectoral working groups contributed insights to validate the findings and proposed tailored actions to help ensure the results lead to meaningful change. Civil society organisations were present to ensure the analysis is grounded in local realities and support community-led solutions.

    “I wish to emphasise again the UN system’s commitment to supporting the Government of Samoa in creating a future where every Samoan has access to the nutritious food needed to lead healthy and productive lives,” said Karla Hershey, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Samoa.

    This initiative reaffirms the strong commitment of the Government of Samoa and WFP to enhance food and nutrition security for Samoans, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.

    #                 #                   #

    The Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is committed to promoting sustainable agricultural and fisheries practices to ensure food security and improve the livelihoods of Samoan communities.

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media and @wfp_Pacific_

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 3 July 2025 News release Readout on WHO participation in global nuclear emergency exercise

    Source: World Health Organisation

    On 25 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded its participation in a 36-hour nuclear emergency exercise organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    The exercise was part of the IAEA’s Level 3 Convention Exercise (ConvEx-3), the highest and most complex level of its emergency exercises. These large-scale exercises are conducted every three to five years to test emergency preparedness and response capacities and identify areas in need of improvement. The last ConvEx-3 exercise took place in 2021 in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.

    The exercise involved more than 75 countries and 10 international organizations and was based on a simulated accident at a nuclear power plant in Romania, resulting in the release of significant amounts of radioactive material. Participating countries and organizations exchanged information in real time, assessed evolving risks, coordinated communications, and decided on appropriate protective actions, including the medical response.

    As part of the simulation, WHO set up an Incident Management Support Team composed of experts from country, regional and headquarters offices. The WHO teams liaised with national authorities to monitor the public health impact, developed public health messages on protective actions, and provided guidance on mental health support for affected communities and emergency responders.

    New elements this year included the close coordination of protective measures by neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, the deployment of international assistance missions and the additional challenge of cybersecurity threats. An expanded social media simulator was used to test crisis communication strategies.

    By simulating high-risk cross-border nuclear emergencies, these exercises test existing structures and technical readiness, help build trust and strengthen a coordinated global response. WHO’s ongoing work to strengthen radiation protection of the public, patients and workers worldwide includes providing Member States with evidence-based guidance, tools and technical advice on public health issues related to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

    Following the exercise, the IAEA will compile and publish a detailed review of best practices and areas for improvement. WHO will review the lessons learned and adjust processes accordingly.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 3 July 2025 News release Readout on WHO participation in global nuclear emergency exercise

    Source: World Health Organisation

    On 25 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded its participation in a 36-hour nuclear emergency exercise organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    The exercise was part of the IAEA’s Level 3 Convention Exercise (ConvEx-3), the highest and most complex level of its emergency exercises. These large-scale exercises are conducted every three to five years to test emergency preparedness and response capacities and identify areas in need of improvement. The last ConvEx-3 exercise took place in 2021 in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.

    The exercise involved more than 75 countries and 10 international organizations and was based on a simulated accident at a nuclear power plant in Romania, resulting in the release of significant amounts of radioactive material. Participating countries and organizations exchanged information in real time, assessed evolving risks, coordinated communications, and decided on appropriate protective actions, including the medical response.

    As part of the simulation, WHO set up an Incident Management Support Team composed of experts from country, regional and headquarters offices. The WHO teams liaised with national authorities to monitor the public health impact, developed public health messages on protective actions, and provided guidance on mental health support for affected communities and emergency responders.

    New elements this year included the close coordination of protective measures by neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, the deployment of international assistance missions and the additional challenge of cybersecurity threats. An expanded social media simulator was used to test crisis communication strategies.

    By simulating high-risk cross-border nuclear emergencies, these exercises test existing structures and technical readiness, help build trust and strengthen a coordinated global response. WHO’s ongoing work to strengthen radiation protection of the public, patients and workers worldwide includes providing Member States with evidence-based guidance, tools and technical advice on public health issues related to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

    Following the exercise, the IAEA will compile and publish a detailed review of best practices and areas for improvement. WHO will review the lessons learned and adjust processes accordingly.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 3 July 2025 News release Readout on WHO participation in global nuclear emergency exercise

    Source: World Health Organisation

    On 25 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded its participation in a 36-hour nuclear emergency exercise organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    The exercise was part of the IAEA’s Level 3 Convention Exercise (ConvEx-3), the highest and most complex level of its emergency exercises. These large-scale exercises are conducted every three to five years to test emergency preparedness and response capacities and identify areas in need of improvement. The last ConvEx-3 exercise took place in 2021 in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.

    The exercise involved more than 75 countries and 10 international organizations and was based on a simulated accident at a nuclear power plant in Romania, resulting in the release of significant amounts of radioactive material. Participating countries and organizations exchanged information in real time, assessed evolving risks, coordinated communications, and decided on appropriate protective actions, including the medical response.

    As part of the simulation, WHO set up an Incident Management Support Team composed of experts from country, regional and headquarters offices. The WHO teams liaised with national authorities to monitor the public health impact, developed public health messages on protective actions, and provided guidance on mental health support for affected communities and emergency responders.

    New elements this year included the close coordination of protective measures by neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, the deployment of international assistance missions and the additional challenge of cybersecurity threats. An expanded social media simulator was used to test crisis communication strategies.

    By simulating high-risk cross-border nuclear emergencies, these exercises test existing structures and technical readiness, help build trust and strengthen a coordinated global response. WHO’s ongoing work to strengthen radiation protection of the public, patients and workers worldwide includes providing Member States with evidence-based guidance, tools and technical advice on public health issues related to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

    Following the exercise, the IAEA will compile and publish a detailed review of best practices and areas for improvement. WHO will review the lessons learned and adjust processes accordingly.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Suspected people smuggling gang taken down in nationwide strikes

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Suspected people smuggling gang taken down in nationwide strikes

    Seven members of a suspected organised crime group believed to have made millions have been arrested in West Yorkshire and Essex.

    A suspected people-smuggling gang has been arrested for allegedly using false identity documents to smuggle hundreds of people into the UK illegally, luring them into a life of exploitation and misery.  

    On Tuesday 1 July, Immigration Enforcement officers executed warrants in Greater London, and Batley, West Yorkshire and arrested 7 suspects. The targets are believed to have used forged passports and visas of people with legitimate status in the UK to facilitate their illegal arrival, and subsequent employment in black market businesses.   

    The gang is believed to have facilitated the illegal entry of over 500 people with no right to be in the UK.

    Their alleged money-grabbing scheme is believed to have developed into a wide-scale, dangerous criminal network operating across the country, with the 5 men and 3 women believed to have sent fake documents to beneficiaries to evade detection from law enforcement. The gang, who largely targeted Gambian nationals, are also suspected of re-using the fraudulent documents for different imposters hoping to make it to the UK illegally, with an ongoing investigation revealing a substantial quantity of images of passports found on the main suspect’s mobile phone.  

    From booking flights to housing the migrants on arrival and providing them with illegal work, the gang provided a full service and charged around £5,000 per person. 

    This particular gang, like many others, is believed to be charging substantial fees for arranging illegal entry to the UK, with the main suspect believed to have a turnover of over £1.3m in his bank account despite claiming to only earn £35,000 a year working for a furniture manufacturing company.

    Another suspect is believed to have a turnover of over £1m across two bank accounts whilst simultaneously receiving Universal Credit. A further investigation will be launched in order to recover the profits made by this suspected organised criminal gang.

    At the various addresses visited, officers seized several counterfeit identity documents which are believed to have been used in this criminal scheme.

    These arrests form part of this government’s Plan for Change to strengthen the UK’s border security, which is already delivering results, with almost 30,000 people with no right to be here returned since the election and a turbocharge in immigration enforcement activity across the country which has led to a 51% increase in the number of illegal working arrests. 

    Organised criminal gangs who are driven by profit often go to extreme lengths to make their cash, disregarding the safety of humans. The suspects in this case are believed to have been exploiting those they promised to help by forcing them to work in private homes under their control, leaving the survivors trapped in unsafe situations and exhausted for little or no pay.  

    Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle said: 

    This operation is a clear display that we will not stand by and let evil criminal gangs abuse our immigration system. 

    This suspected gang promised their beneficiaries a better life here in the UK. Instead, they face heinous levels of exploitation which is exactly why we are working with law enforcement to ensure survivors of modern slavery are supported and the criminal gangs face justice. 

    Our Border Security Command has £280m of additional funding over the next 4 years to deliver the step-change required to break their business models and deliver our Plan for Change to restore order to the immigration system.

    Ben Ryan, Chief Operating Officer at Medaille Trust, said:

    Medaille Trust is delighted to have collaborated on this operation and to have played a part in ensuring that victims were identified and supported to begin their recovery as survivors.

    We believe that collaborative efforts like this between the Home Office and civil society provide a model for confronting the evils of modern slavery; with a focus on both pursuing abusers and recognising and supporting survivors.

    The Home Office’s Criminal Financial Investigations team works closely with charities like Medaille Trust to support the victims of organised crime by keeping them at the heart of any investigation, providing invaluable expertise and support to the most vulnerable. Through closer collaboration we are able to identify victims and offer them a safe haven to come forward about the abuse they have faced. Medaille Trust provide refuge and freedom from modern slavery and are one of the largest providers of supported safe house beds for victims of modern slavery in the UK.   

    Cracking down on abuse of the immigration system is central to securing the UK’s borders. As set out in the Immigration White Paper in May, the government will introduce tighter controls, restrictions, and scrutiny of those who attempt to abuse and misuse the immigration system. This includes strengthening border security by rolling out digital identity for all overseas citizens through the implementation of eVisas and new systems for checking visa compliance.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Latvia: Kathy Leach

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Latvia: Kathy Leach

    Ms Kathy Leach has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia in succession to Mr Paul Brummell CMG, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Ms Leach will take up her appointment during August 2025.

    Ms Kathy Leach

    Curriculum vitae           

    Full name: Kathy Leach

    Date Role
    2021 to present Astana, His Majesty’s Ambassador
    2019 to 2020 FCDO, Deputy Director, Constitution and Devolution, Europe Directorate
    2015 to 2018 FCO, Head then Deputy Director, Policy Unit, Strategy Directorate
    2012 to 2015 Yerevan, Her Majesty’s Ambassador
    2007 to 2011 Tokyo, Head, Energy and Environment Team
    2005 FCO, Deputy Head, Passport and Documentary Services, Consular
    2001 to 2004 Moscow, First Secretary Security Policy, then Internal Political
    2000 to 2001 FCO, Desk Officer, EU Trade and Development Policy, Europe Directorate
    2000 Joined FCO

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Email the FCDO Newsdesk (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Local Government Association Conference 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Local Government Association Conference 2025

    A speech from the Deputy Prime Minister at the Local Government Conference.

    Can I just start by saying how proud I am to be back here in Liverpool.

    And I’m sure you’ve all heard the devasting news this morning about the tragic loss of legend Diogo Jota.

    I know everyone here, his fans and the city of Liverpool will be heartbroken by this news.

    My thoughts are with his family at this saddened time.

    It’s a pleasure to look out at a room full of people dedicated to serving the communities that you represent.

    From Barnsley to Barrow – Cornwall to Cheshire…

    Councillors and mayors are delivering day-in, day-out for local people right across our country.

    I know how hard you work

    I know the difference you make

    I’m for local government because I’m from local government.

    And yes, I wasn’t a councillor. But as a home help and a carer I was on the front line delivering local services.

    And as a union rep, I worked with the leadership of a council to transform the service I worked in, for the good of the people that we served.

    And as a young mum, facing low pay and insecure hours without much of a safety net, it was the Sure Start centre and the council home that helped me turn my life around.

    The services that you deliver every single day changes lives

    And I say that not just as the Deputy Prime Minister, but as someone whose own life was changed by local government

    It’s why, in me, you will always have a Secretary of State that sees you as a partner, and not a punchbag.

    And Conference, it may not surprise you to know – but I’m not a patient person.

    I’ve been restless for 14 years.

    I’m restless to give local people a stronger voice.

    I’m restless to put decision-making in the hands of the people who know best.

    I’m restless to restore local government and provide the change that we were elected to deliver.

    Because I know how hard it has been

    How it feels at the sharp-end at local government level

    That’s why every single day in Westminster I’m fighting to turn that around

    To put power back in your hands, and deliver for communities the length and breadth of Britain.

    So – almost 12 months ago from the General Election, what have we delivered?

    Just last month, in the Spending Review we announced five billion pounds of new funding for local services.

    New funding means an 8% increase in Government funded spending power in the next four years compared to a reduction of 24% in the first four years of the last government.

    We’ve delivered a £4 billion uplift to adult social care

    alongside a targeted recovery grant of £600m for the areas most in need

    we doubled the direct investment in preventative children’s social care services.

    and provided a record £1.6bn for local road maintenance, enough to fill an extra 7 million potholes over the next year. I knew that would wet your whistle.

    And an uplift for every single local highway authority.

    We have refused to repeat the mistakes of the past which took the axe to your budgets, and left our communities to pay the price

    You made the case for local government, and we listened.

    That’s why we’re rolling back the era of micromanagement too, with simpler funding, and a rapid consolidation of your Finance Settlement.

    We are handing you the freedom and flex to meet local needs without needing to get sign off from central government for the most minor change.

    And right now, the paperwork you’re asked to fill out for micro-managed funds every year would stretch from here to the West side of Wirral!

    There’s no justification for that – so we’re cutting it down

    Meaning that you can focus on your priorities, not filling out forms.

    And with more flexible funding, we’re giving you the opportunity to work more collaboratively including through new pilots so councils and mayors can pool budgets and do joined-up services, learning the lessons of projects like Total Place – the last Labour government’s pioneering reform programme.

    Because we know every ambition of this government requires an active, empowered and strong local government.

    And we were elected to bring change, and that change can only be achieved in partnership with you.

    Nowhere is that more obvious than housing.

    None of our ambitions are possible without the support and the expertise of people here today.

    And the extraordinary examples of so many leaders in this room have inspired us to go further and faster.

    Right here in Liverpool, under the leadership of Council leader Liam Robinson and the Mayor Steve Rotheram, this great city is going from strength to strength. 

    You only have to look at the incredible regeneration of the Liverpool Waters district – not too far from here, with new funding unlocking around 2,350 new homes.

    Now Liam said the Central Docks could act as a “beacon for what housing developments in the 21st century can and should be”. 

    It’s hard to argue with that.

    But you know – and I know – you need a government that matches your ambition. 

    And that’s why I am so proud to say that just last month we announced the biggest increase in the social and affordable homes budget for a generation!

    Our historic £39 billion of new Social and Affordable Homes Programme aims to deliver around 300,000 new homes with at least 60% for social rent.

    This is a personal priority not just for me, but for the whole of this Government.

    And I say that, in the context of 160,000 children that are growing up in temporary accommodation

    When a million are living their lives on social housing waiting lists, no government should sit back whilst people live their lives in limbo.

    So through investment and reform, this government is backing councils and the whole social housing sector to deliver council housing.

    That means a brighter future where families aren’t trapped in temporary accommodation and young people are no longer locked out of a secure home.   

    And we’re giving the sector certainty in other areas too.

    A ten-year rent settlement, consulting on how to implement rent convergence,

    Giving social landlords equal access to the building safety funds – for the first time ever

    And in the Autumn, we’ll confirm our approach to help councils to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board.

    And on top of this, we’re also committed to reforming the support given for skills capacity with a new Council Housebuilding Skills & Capacity Programme

    And that will be a partnership between the LGA and Homes England – backed by £12 million in funding – and it will also help you get the skilled staff you need to build.

    And the scale of this challenge means we all need to play our part.

    Local authorities, housing associations, investors, developers, housebuilders, and regulators are all vital to help us reset social housing – so that it’s treated, once again, as the national asset that it is.

    Now, taken together with our bold planning reforms, the new National Housing Bank and the billions we’re putting into transport and infrastructure

    there’s a real opportunity here for councils.

    Opportunity not just to build the decent, and secure homes that working people so desperately need, but to build stronger communities at scale and at pace. 

    Our goal of delivering 1.5 million homes will only be met by building affordable homes, with councils in the driving seat.

    We want our new Programme to be a game-changer.

    We’re setting a target which is six times more than were built in the last decade.

    The truth is for too long, the potential of what local government can achieve has been underestimated by Whitehall.

    Our government was elected to deliver change, and I know how fundamental you all are to delivering that.

    But you’re all having to work within a broken system.

    You’ve been left unequipped to deliver what is being expected of you.

    And despite the huge sums that you’re spending on public services

    On adult Social Care

    Children’s Social Care

    SEND

    and temporary accommodation

    I’m hearing loud and clear from you all, that these services are still not working for the people who need them.

    And the truth is that Westminster just hasn’t kept its side of the bargain.

    Public services need reform, and the onus is on us to work with you to deliver it.

    And that is why I am here today to fire the starting gun on a new way of working with you to deliver the reforms we know are needed.

    First, we are today announcing a fundamental shift, to radically simplify the funding and reporting regime that underpins your work.

    Through a new Local Government Outcomes Framework, we will move together to a completely new way of measuring performance.

    And this will be focused on delivering what we know matters most.

    Outcomes like kids learning to read and write

    people living healthier lives for longer

    and communities feeling safe.

    It brings everything in line with the government’s broader Missions and the Plan for Change

    And means prioritising the long term, instead of getting caught up in the nuts and bolts.

    The aim is that it frees you up to deliver meaningful outcomes

    And facilitates a shift towards prevention.

    But I know that we don’t have all the answers

    So my promise to you, is that if you come with a new way of delivering a service and it shows results, we will work with you to pursue it.

    The micromanagement of previous governments failed

    It wasted taxpayers’ money, and got us into the mess we’re in now.

    We can all recognise there are times when governments have to step in

    And make no mistake, that I’m still prepared to intervene where there is failure to deliver

    But it has to be by the book – and we can’t have a ‘Westminster knows best’ attitude.

    That is why we’re putting together a clear menu of actions of how government will respond where services are failing.

    I want everyone to know where they stand so concerns and weaknesses can be picked up before they become a crisis.

    And I’m committed to writing this with the sector, to get this right the first time.

    There’s real urgency to this – so to the Chief Executives and the Council Leaders here today

    Keep an eye on your inbox, because straight after this speech today, you’ll be receiving details of how to get involved.

    Now everyone in the room knows that ending Whitehall micro-management also means sorting out the spaghetti soup of obligations facing local government.

    That’s why, alongside our new Outcomes Framework, we’ll be launching a comprehensive review to ensure unnecessary regulations and needless asks from government aren’t getting in the way of you serving your communities.

    We will harness the Government’s AI team to unlock efficiencies.

    And work lock step with the LGA so we get it right.

    So, that’s two fundamental shifts in the way this government is doing business with local leaders.

    And we won’t stop there.

    Money is understandably at the forefront of everyone’s minds in this room.

    You watched as your communities were unfairly short-changed for too long.

    So that’s why – my third pledge – is to make good on a promise I made countless times in Opposition.

    A promise to fund councils on the basis of need.

    The last government promised a Fair Funding Review back in 2016, they recognised how outdated and unfair the funding process was back then.

    [Political content removed]

    But not under my watch.

    Anyone who knows me, knows I don’t make promises that I can’t keep!

    I listened to the people in this room calling for government funding to recognise the unique challenges of their place

    whether that be rising temporary accommodation or even the pressure caused by huge footfall in coastal communities on the weekends.

    Many of you – including our colleague, the Minister for Local Government – campaigned for this change for decades.

    And this government  will waste no time in delivering it.

    We will implement a Fair Funding Review.

    And yes, that’s the full-fat version!

    Jim and I will make no apology for this.

    Government grant will be allocated based on the drivers of need in your area in a fair and transparent way.

    We will replace the decade old data, and for the first time, properly take into account factors such as deprivation and poverty

    the cost of remoteness faced by rural communities – meaning bus drivers and refuse collectors have to travel miles to serve their communities.

    We will take into account the varying ability to raise tax locally with lower house prices impacting on councils budgets

    temporary accommodation and the impact of daytime visitors on major cities and coastal towns alike.

    Taken together, this new approach supports every part of the country to manage their unique pressures.

    And I’m impatient – as I know you are – for this change.

    So alongside Minister McMahon, we will waste no time in putting things right to support places that lost out to rebuild those valued services and match money to need.

    And true reform of local government means taking a long and serious look at the plumbing.

    We won’t shy away from that.

    That’s why my fourth on my list of Local Government is Local Government Reorganisation.

    Now I can feel the anxiety levels in the room increasing at that phrase!!

    But I think everyone in this room can agree that governments cannot keep passing the buck on this one.

    If we are serious about shifting local government into a stronger footing…

    And fit for the future

    Delivering good services for residents

    Then we must cut out this needless duplication.

    We must take the brilliant leadership shown by district and county councillors, and move it to a simpler structure

    with more resources for the frontline, and a clearer accountability for residents.

    So many of you in this room have entered this process with an open mind and I want to thank you for your continued support as we navigate towards the end of a two-tier system in England.

    You have my word, that Jim and I will work in partnership with you every step of the way.

    Reforming local government also means learning from our mistakes as well as our successes.

    And my fifth focus is on trusting local government to deliver services in-house.

    Local government has long been the champion of insourcing – and I know too well about your efforts to innovate, and bring services in-house to lower costs and improve outcomes.

    We hear you and are on your side.

    That’s why we’re also delivering new procurement flexibilities for councils so you can confidently support your local businesses, and ensure that the investment and jobs stay local too.

    We are working to undo the ideological presumption of outsourcing by default, as part of our plan to Make Work Pay.

    The truth is that we’ve become hooked on short-term solutions – creating a costly dependence on external providers which can fail to deliver particularly for vulnerable people, young and old.

    You’ve been telling us about your efforts to innovate, and bring services in-house to lower costs and improve outcomes.

    With colleagues across government, we’ll introduce a quick and proportionate public interest test, to decide whether work could be done more effectively in house.

    The consultation on insourcing launched last week and I have no doubt we will get a lot of responses from people here today!

    I know what’s possible when local leaders have the powers to really deliver.

    With local people seeing that change in their high streets, in the opportunities available to young people, and in their hopes for the future.

    That’s why we’re shifting power out of Whitehall to our regions, and making devolution the default setting through our landmark English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

    It’s part of building a modern state, built on the foundations of a strong local government.

    So, that all levels and in everything we’re doing – whether through devolution, fairer funding, trusting local government in-house, or giving authorities the certainty and freedom to deliver on what really matter.

    We’re handing power back to where it belongs – to people with skin in the game.

    Resetting, rebuilding, and renewing local government, through ambitious investment and reform, and, with it, our country, after the hardest of years, so  that it, once again, works for working people.

    That’s the difference a government makes.

    That’s the difference you make in your Local communities every single day.

    I’ve got your back. Let’s work together.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £150m Capital Grants offer returns to help farmers boost profits

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    £150m Capital Grants offer returns to help farmers boost profits

    The government is making a substantial investment in the future of farming, supporting cleaner rivers, healthier soils, and more resilient landscapes.

    Thousands of farmers will benefit from £150 million in new funding as the government opens a new round of its flagship Capital Grants offer, supporting sustainable food production and environmental improvement. 

    The offer funds a wide range of on-farm projects – from tree planting and flood prevention to improved slurry storage and water filtration – helping farmers boost profitability while protecting the environment. 

    Last year alone, Capital Grants helped plant over 4,000 miles of hedgerows and upgrade slurry systems to keep our rivers clean – real, tangible improvements for farming and the environment. 

    Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: 

    British farmers work tirelessly to feed the nation and look after our countryside. This major investment will give them the tools to cut pollution, restore nature, and grow their businesses. 

    It forms part of the record £11.8 billion we’ve committed to sustainable farming during this Parliament – boosting food security, supporting rural growth, and protecting the environment. 

    The announcement is the latest in a series of steps taken by the government to support the farming industry. These include slashing costs for food producers by cutting red tape on exports to the EU, appointing former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend reforms to boost farmers’ profits, and ensuring farmers get a bigger share of food contracts across our schools, hospitals, and prisons. 

    Farmers and land managers are now able to apply for a total of 78 items, ranging from supporting natural flood management projects to improving water quality on farms under this new round of the Capital Grants offer. Four new items have been added including assessing woodland condition, creating wildfire management plans, repairing drystone walls and hosting educational visits.  

    Changes are also being introduced to ensure that more farm businesses can access these grants – making it fairer for farmers by setting funding limits that maximise the number of farms benefiting, while enabling Defra to manage budgets more effectively. This includes funding limits to four of the six groups of capital items in this Capital Grants offer. An application can include items from each of the six groups. The funding limit for four of the groups is:   

    • £25,000 maximum for each of the following three groups: water quality, air quality, and natural flood management 

    • £35,000 maximum for the group covering boundaries, trees, and orchards 

    Defra will also listen to feedback from farmers and use it to improve the offer ahead of the next round, which we plan to open in 2026. 

    This comes as the Environment Secretary and Farming Minister head to the Groundswell Show to discuss the new Capital Grants launch. More details about the reformed SFI scheme will be published this Summer. 

    This is part of the government’s wider Plan for Change to grow the rural economy, support our farmers and boost Britain’s food security.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM speech at the launch of the 10 Year Health Plan: 3 July 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    PM speech at the launch of the 10 Year Health Plan: 3 July 2025

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s speech at the launch of the 10 Year Health Plan.

    Thank you Rachel, thank you Wes. And thank you Denyse. Come and sit down with us. Denyse’s story is fantastic. Because she works here. She lives in this borough and she uses the services here. 

    What a great testament that is. And Denyse, thank you for your introduction and thank you for your words. 

    It’s a privilege to be here with you in Stratford. I’ve seen the work that you have been doing this morning. And I’m sorry for interrupting your work.  

    I do understand how hard it is. My mum worked in the NHS. She was a nurse, a proud nurse. My sister worked in the NHS and my wife still works in the NHS in one of the big London hospitals. So I do understand what you do, how you do it, what you put in and why you do it. 

    So let me start by saying a big thank you to all of you for what you do, and if I may, through you, to say thank you to all NHS staff right across the country who do what they do as public servants by treating and caring for other people.

    Thank you also for welcoming us here. To your Neighbourhood Health Centre. Because it’s buildings like this here that represent the future of the NHS.

    As I’ve just had the chance to go around and see some of the work that’s going on here. The 24 teams that you have got working on dentistry. I’m really pleased to see that you don’t need an appointment, you can walk in. You have got children and families up there on the next floor having their teeth done. That’s hugely important. 

    And that’s what a Neighbourhood Health Service can do working in partnership with the people it serves. And Denyse you are the embodiment of that.  

    Power and control in their hands. Care closer to their community. Services organised around their lives.   

    But look – before I say a bit more about the future in a minute. But it is important that we go back a year to the NHS left by the last government. With record waiting lists. The lowest ever satisfaction. I know the toll that takes on staff who work so hard. 

    100,000 children waiting more than six hours in A&E. 

    Now – I’m not going to stand here and say that everything is perfect now. We have so much work to do and we will do it. 

    But let’s be under absolutely no illusions. Because of the fair choices we made, the tough [political content redacted] decisions we made the future already looks better for our NHS. 

    That’s the story of this Government in a nutshell. With breakfast clubs, hugely important for children coming into schools so they are ready to learn.

    Potholes across the country – filled. Fuel duty – frozen. Four interest rate cuts, hugely important for mortgage holders.

    Setting up Great British energy, levelling up workers’ rights, record investment in affordable housing, infrastructure the length and breadth of our country. 

    It’s all down to the foundation we laid this year. All down to the path of renewal that we chose. 

    The decisions made by the Chancellor, by Rachel Reeves which mean we can invest record amounts in the NHS.  

    Already over 6000 mental health workers recruited.  

    1700 new GPs. 

    170 Community Diagnostic Centres, really important, already open. 

    New surgical hubs, new mental health units, new ambulance sites. Record investment – right across the system. 

    And because of all that the results are crystal clear. 

    At the last election a year ago, we promised two million extra appointments in the NHS in the first year of [political content redacted] government. 

    We have now delivered four million extra appointments and that’s thanks to your hard work and that of your colleagues. 

    4 million. That’s a record amount for a single year ever. And I want to thank you for the part that you have played in that. 

    That is what change looks like.

    A promise made and a promised delivered. 

    And turning those statistics into the human is really important. So let me tell you about Jane. 

    At Christmas, she was taken to hospital with back pain. 

    And the diagnosis was not good. She needed her gallbladder removed. Jane asked as you can imagine “how long will I have to wait”. 

    And they said – “I’m sorry, but at the moment it could take up to ten months.” 

    Yet – because we have speeded up electives, because we have speeded up appointments, by May – she was offered a private appointment, paid for by the NHS, as part of our plan. 

    And now Jane is pain free. 

    Five months – not ten. 

    She’s got five months back – free from pain, free from anxiety and in a sense her life is no longer on hold. 

    That’s what change looks like in human terms. [Political content redacted.] 

    But we have to keep going. 

    We are fixing the foundations. We made choices no other government would have made and we are starting to repair the damage done to the NHS and public health, through Covid and austerity. 

    But reform isn’t just about fixing problems. It’s also about seizing opportunities. 

    And the way I see it – there is an opportunity here. 

    Because the NHS is at a turning point in its history. 

    We’re an older society now. Disease has changed. 

    Conditions are chronic, they are long-term, they need to be managed. And that means we need to reform the NHS to make it fit for the future. 

    With the technology that is available to us now, we have an unprecedented chance to do that to make care better. 

    To transform the relationship between people and the state. To give patients more power and control. And this is about fairness. 

    Millions of people across Britain no longer feel they get a fair deal. 

    And it’s starting to affect the pride, the hope, the optimism they have in this great country. 

    Our job is to change that. And the NHS is a huge part of it. I mean – for 77 years this weekend the NHS has been an embodiment if you like of British pride, hope, that basic sense of fairness and decency. 

    77 years – of everyone paying in, working hard, doing the right thing, secure in the knowledge, that if they or their family needs it, the NHS will be there for them. 

    In ten years’ time – when this plan has run its course, I want people to say this was the moment, this was the government that secured those values for the future. 

    And look – when people are uncertain about the deal they are getting from this country, what fairer way is there to respond to that than by giving them more control. 

    By partnering with them, to build an NHS that is fit to face the future. 

    That’s what this plan that we are launching today will do. 

    And it will do so in three ways. 

    Three shifts that will transform healthcare in this country. 

    First – we will shift the NHS away from being only a sickness service to a health service that is genuinely preventative in the first place, prevents disease in the first place.  

    That means a stronger focus on vaccination, on screening, early diagnosis.  

    Things like innovative weight loss services – available in pharmacies. 

    Working with major food businesses – to make their products healthier.

    Better mental health support, particularly for our young people. And starting with children aged sixteen this year we will raise the first entirely smoke-free generation. 

    Second – we will shift the NHS away from being a hospital-dominated service to being a community, neighbourhood health service. 

    You can see why we chose to come here. Places like this are the future of our NHS. You don’t have to book an appointment. You can just walk in. There are families here and people who use the services live in this area. 

    Now of course hospitals will always be important – for acute services especially.  

    But I say it again – disease has changed. And we must change with it. 

    And not only can we do that. We can do it in a way that improves care and convenience for millions of people. 

    So just imagining nurses, doctors, pharmacists, dentists, carers, health visitors all under one roof.  

    But also, services like debt advice, employment support, smoking cessation: preventative services which we know are so crucial for a healthy life. 

    Now that is an exciting prospect.  

    You know – the idea that the future of healthcare is no longer defined by top-down citadels of the central state.

    But is instead here – in your home, in your community, in your hands, that’s an inspiring vision of change. 

    It will bring the state and the people it serves into a partnership on something we all care deeply about. 

    But more importantly. It means a future where we have better GP access, no more 8am scrambles, more dental care for your children, better care on your doorstep and a Neighbourhood Health Centres like this in our coastal towns, in rural counties, in every community across the country. Every community across the country. 

    Finally – the third shift from the analogue NHS we have at the moment to a truly digital health service.

    A health service capable of seizing the enormous opportunities before us in science and technology.  

    In genomics, in artificial intelligence, advanced robotics. 

    Look – I have seen in your everyday lives what this can do.

    I’ve spoken to stroke patients who have had their lives saved by technology and AI because it could find the blood clot in their brain in milliseconds, giving them just enough time to be operated on and saving their lives. 

    So this plan – backs technology to deliver. Because it can and will save thousands of lives. But it’s not just about saving lives.

    AI and technology is an opportunity to make services more human. 

    That always sounds counterintuitive, but it does because what it gives all of you and all of your colleagues is more time to care, more time to do the things that only human beings can do which is that care that is needed, the professional skills that you have. So this will make it a more human service as well. 

    It gives you more time to care, to do all the things that brought you into the NHS in the first place.  

    And it’s not just cutting-edge technology either. 

    Technology like the phones in the pockets of everyone in this room we can use that too. 

    Now, you won’t hear this often in a speech – but look at your phones. But look at your apps! Seriously! Because what you see on that screen is that entire industries have reorganised around apps. 

    Retail, transport, finance, weather – you name it. 

    Why can’t we do that with health? 

    Why not the NHS app on your phone? 

    Making use of the same dynamic force to cut waiting lists at your hospital. 

    To make it easier for you to get a GP appointment, to give you more control over our health. 

    There’s no good reason why we can’t. So I can announce today, as part of this plan, that we can, and we will transform the NHS App so that it becomes an indispensable part of life for everyone. 

    It will become – as technology develops – like having a doctor in your pocket. 

    Providing you with 24 hours advice, seven days a week.

    An NHS that really is always there when you need it. 

    Booking appointments at your convenience, ordering your prescriptions, guiding you to local charities or businesses that can improve your wellbeing.  

    And perhaps most importantly, holding all healthcare data in an easily accessible, single patient record.

    Don’t underestimate how important that is. 

    I’ve been up to Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool many times, it’s a children’s hospital, it’s a brilliant hospital. 

    One of the times I was there I was on the ward, particularly young children were having heart surgery. 

    I have to tell you it was really humbling both seeing what the children were going through but also what the professional staff were doing. 

    When I went into a particular ward, I saw a two year old boy who had just had major heart surgery, it’s an incredible thing to see. 

    And I spoke to his parents who were at his bedside throughout. 

    One of the things they raised with me was the distress they felt that they had to go through every single condition that he had over and over again, whether they went to Blackpool, in Liverpool, at Alder Hey. 

    They were actually welling up telling me it’s a really difficult story for us, this is really hard. And we don’t want to keep having to repeat it, why can’t it be recorded the first time around? 

    I will remember their faces and the story they told me for a very long time. 

    But we can fix that. We can make it more accessible. We can bring this together in one place. 

    And there are other examples as well. That red book that every child gets. Why can’t that be digital? There’s no good reason. 

    And so that’s exactly what we’ll do. 

    We will turn this app into a new front door for the entire NHS. 

    A reformed, modernised and renewed – Neighbourhood Health Service. 

    That is the plan we launch today.    

    That is the change we will deliver. 

    [Political content redacted.] 

    The NHS on its feet. Facing the future. Delivering fairness and security for working people. 

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: More than 32 million annuals have been planted in the capital’s flowerbeds

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Specialists from the city economy complex have planted more than 32 million annuals in flowerbeds located in courtyards, parks and squares, on squares and embankments, as well as along key highways and central streets of the capital. In total, more than 120 different types of flowers have been planted, including petunia, begonia, coleus, marigold and cineraria. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement Petr Biryukov.

    “We have now begun planting perennials. Thanks to the phased planting of plants, the city’s flower beds will delight Muscovites and guests of the capital until late autumn,” noted Pyotr Biryukov.

    When growing plants in urban greenhouses, modern technologies are used, such as an automated seeding complex, light and fogging systems, and drip irrigation. This allows you to create a special microclimate and grow strong and healthy plants.

    Additionally, specialists harden off seedlings, thanks to which the plants feel comfortable in flowerbeds under different weather conditions.

    Get the latest news quicklyofficial telegram channel the city of Moscow.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/156228073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –