· DCMS CSR Settlement
There are indications that DCMS’s internal allocation of the funds they have been allocated by Treasury through the Comprehensive Spending Review progress has ended by announcement of new funding for projects by the Department over the last couple of days. These include:
- The £560m National Youth Guarantee scheme announced today which comprises:
- A Youth Investment Fund which will deliver up to 300 new and refurbished youth facilities in the most deprived parts of England
- Funding will tackle youth group waiting lists and offer The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to all state secondary schools in England
- Funding for the National Citizen Service to ensure thousands more young people are ‘world ready and work ready’
- £50m to support creative businesses – comprising:
- £21m to deliver a multi-year UK Global Screen Fund
- £8.4m for the UK Games Fund
- £18.4m for an expansion of the Creative Scale-Up programme, to support the fastest growing creative businesses across the country.
So the outcome of the DMO review and VB’s funding settlement should be announced soon
· Consultation On Consumer Protection In The Aviation Sector
DfT Have just published a new consultation on strengthening consumer protection for passengers. The proposals in the consultation document include;
- Making it mandatory for Airlines to be members of an Alternative Dispute Resolution service
- Changing the way compensation for cancelled/delayed domestic flights is calculated
- Removing the need for supplementary fees and special declarations for wheelchairs and mobility equipment to support accessibility
The consultation is open until 27th March 2022
· Kickstart Scheme Closes For Completing Grant Agreements
Yesterday was the deadline for businesses involved in the Kickstart Scheme to complete and return their grant agreement. The next two deadlines that businesses need to be aware of are:
- Any person employed under the scheme has to start work before 31 March 2022
- Businesses need to inform DWP that anyone employed under the scheme has started work before 30 April 2022
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/kickstart-scheme-closure
· NHS COVID Pass For International Travel
The guidance on international travel has been updated to reflect that, from 3 February 2002, Covid Passes will be available for children over the age of 12 in order to travel abroad.
To get an NHS COVID Pass, children will have to register for an NHS login. From 3 February, once they have logged into the NHS COVID Pass service and clicked on ‘Travel’, they will be asked to prove their identity. They can do this themselves (or a parent or guardian can help them).
The child will need to:
- register for an NHS login using their own email address and enter their details as recorded at the GP
- take a photo of their photo ID (such as their passport)
- record a short video of their face saying the 4 digits as shown on screen (this is to provide a physical match to their photo ID)
Once the child has submitted this information to prove their identity, it will then be checked to ensure a correct match to their NHS record. This usually takes a few hours, but during busy periods may take a few days meaning that it should be done well in advance of international travel.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-covid-pass
BREXIT Tourism Alliance Update – 1 February
- Benefits of Brexit
The government has published their benefits of Brexit document. It lists the 50% reduction in air passenger duty in 2023–24 as a benefit to domestic tourism and the Hospitality Strategy as a benefit to inbound tourism but oddly there is no mention of the Tourism Recovery Plan or the wider benefits of the UK tourism industry.