The annual hepatitis C 2016 report has been published today (28 July 2016), World Hepatitis Day, with latest figures suggesting improved access to treatments may be having a positive impact.

Treatment rates saw an increase of around 40% in 2015, up to 8,970 from an average of 6,400 in previous years. This is likely to be the result of access to new hepatitis C drugs that came online in 2014 to 2015, and offer improved cure rates, fewer side effects, and are easier to administer.

Public Health England (PHE) estimates that 160,000 people in England are living with hepatitis C. This virus causes inflammation of the liver, but because our livers can still operate when damaged, many people are completely unaware they have the infection.

Preliminary figures show that deaths in the UK from hepatitis C-related end stage liver disease and liver cancer fell for the first time in 2015, suggesting that drugs may be having a positive impact.

Earlier this year, the World Health Assembly adopted a Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis for the period 2016 to 2021, calling for a 10% reduction in hepatitis C deaths by 2020. We are confident that, if current progress continues, we will exceed this in the UK.

Dr Helen Harris, hepatitis C expert at PHE, who led the publication of the report, said:

It’s early days, but with more patients being tested and improved treatments, there is genuine hope that we are seeing an impact on the number of deaths from hepatitis C related end-stage liver disease and liver cancer. However it’s not enough to just treat the liver damage caused by the virus, we also need to prevent infection in the first place, and continue to highlight the importance of prevention and testing.

Many people may be unaware of their infection because they have only mild or no symptoms. If we don’t do more to identify these people, they are likely to remain unaware of their risk until they present with advanced disease. Health care professionals in primary care and other settings should therefore consider hepatitis C testing in people who may be at risk. Those most at risk are people who have ever injected drugs, had a blood transfusion before the introduction of screening of the blood supply in 1991, and people born or brought up in countries with a high prevalence of hepatitis C.

Background

1. For more information about hepatitis C, please visit Hepatitis C: guidance, data and analysis.
2. For information and support, please visit the Hepatitis C Trust website.
3. For information about liver disease, please visit the British Liver Trust website.
4. Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. It does this through world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.

Michael Joseph Bell and Gavin Rupert Kipling, directors of Digital Spark Limited, a designer, developer and implementer of digital and mobile healthcare software company have been disqualified for 20 years for falsifying accounts and manipulating bank data.

An investigation by the Insolvency Service found the two men diverted company funds to their personal bank accounts and failed to maintain accurate accounting records.

The investigation revealed that Michael Joseph Bell and Gavin Rupert Kipling, while directors of Digital Spark Limited:

• misapplied funds obtained by way of secured loans by diverting £161,800 to their personal bank accounts outside the terms and expressed purpose of those loans;
• didn’t maintain accurate accounting records, changing electronic data to obscure or hide payments to themselves, and created entries that inflated the company income
• filed inaccurate financial statements at Companies House which showed it to be solvent when it was insolvent
• obtained £109,000 from short term lenders after providing them with bank statements which had been changed to show hundreds of thousands of pounds more were held in the bank account than were in reality

The Secretary of State accepted an undertaking from Mr Bell on 25 April 2016, not to act as a director of a limited company for 11 years from 16 May 2016; whilst Mr Kipling also provided an undertaking on 13 April 2016 to not act as a director of a limited company for 9 years from 14 May 2016.

Commenting on the disqualification, Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

These are very significant bans reflecting the severity with which the Insolvency Service considers the conduct of the directors. The concealment of the withdrawal of funds by the directors, and the provision of false financial information, shows a woeful disregard for creditors’ interests with intent to deceive. This was an active scheme that required great planning and control, and took place over a long period. Major losers in this failure include NHS Trusts, as well as the general taxpayer.

The motivation of the directors was, primarily, to maintain their business. This is no excuse or defence, especially given the extent of the manipulation of data and depth of the deception. In essence they lied to get money, including to their own employee whose job it was to maintain accurate accounts.

Both Mr Bell and Mr Kipling’s conduct of Digital Sparks’ affairs fell exceedingly short of the standards of honesty expected and to preserve the integrity of the economic system, the Insolvency Service will use its powers to protect the business world, and the public purse, when director’s act in this way.

The investigation found that the company started developing a cancer care product (being an IT based diagnostic programme). Having spent an estimated £500,000 on the project it was only 80% complete and there was no confirmed market for it. The directors took out loans in order to help with cash flow.

Loans totalling £600,000 were obtained from specialist local funds, which were paid into the company’s bank account on 10 October 2012 and 11 October 2012. Between 11 October 2012 and 26 November 2012 £161,600 was transferred from the company’s bank account to the directors’ personal accounts, being £80,800.00 to each director. The moneys the directors paid to themselves, which they took on the basis of money they believe was owed to them, were outside the scope of the funding agreement and absolutely not allowable under the terms of the funding.

In April 2014, the company was approach by a 3rd party interested in a merger. Whilst conducting their due diligence it became clear that the company was insolvent. The secured lender then reviewed its position. The company was placed into administration and sold shortly thereafter as part of a pre pack administration.

The purchasing company, upon reviewing the financial records of Digital Spark, noted significant discrepancies between the bank statements supplied by the company and those supplied by the bank. The statements provided by the company did not reflect its true financial position.

Further analysis showed the transactions recorded within the company’s SAGE accounting system did not show the payments made to the directors following receipt of the loan funding nor reflect the true financial position of the company and that the company was in fact insolvent.

The company had employed a Financial Controller who maintained the records but they were never given access to the bank accounts or statements, relying on the edited information supplied by the directors to update SAGE records. The directors were in control of the source data at all times.

Between May 2013 and May 2014, the Company had taken out a number of loans from payday loan type companies totalling nearly £300,000, which were personally guaranteed by both directors. The company performed weekly downloads of the transactions through the online banking facility and the entries relating to these receipts and repayments made by the Company in respect of these loans were removed. Further investigation into these loans show that the directors submitted bank statements in support of the loan applications, where relevant information regarding transaction to other similar loan companies were edited out to reflect a more positive higher account balance.

Amongst the specific examples of falsified/altered or fictitious transactions are:

• The filed year end financial statements showed the company was balance sheet solvent with net assets of £78,963 including a balance of cash at bank and in hand of £125,357 at 31 March 2013. At 31 March 2013, it actually had an overdrawn bank balance of £12,907 such that the filed accounts overstated cash at bank by £138,244 and it was insolvent with net liabilities of £18,789;
• net payments totalling of £163,100 made via bank transfers the directors were deleted from DSL’s bank statements and not recorded in its Sage records;
• Bank transfers totalling £170,000 from Digital Spark’s deposit account to its current account, which did not in reality occur were added to the bank statements, and were recorded in the company’s it’s Sage records;
• numerous transactions were recorded in SAGE records for the period after 01 April 2013 for which there are no corresponding entries in the original, unedited bank records, including funds received from HM Revenue & Customs of £105,896, net payments to trade debtors of £238,560, payments received from the directors of £41,000; receipts of net salaries of £297,126, net payments by bank transfer of £28,064; and
• the receipt and repayment of short term loans.

Amongst the applications for short term loans, resulting in £109,000 being advanced included amended bank statements showing:

• a balance of funds in the account of £173,392 when the true bank balance was £33,364;
• balance of funds held in the bank at 7 December 2013, 7 January 2014 and 7 February 2014 being overstated by £211,902, £277,323 and £311,990 respectively, when the true bank account was overdrawn by more than £18,000 on each of these dates

Digital Spark Limited was incorporated on 9 March 2010 and started trading on 10 March 2010 in the design, development and implementation of digital and mobile healthcare software. Digital Spark entered Administration on 10 July 2014. The assets realisable during the Administration, totalling £356,201, were secured resulting in total unsecured liabilities of £752,780. The major unsecured losers were HMRC and public health bodies, including NHS trusts.

Notes to editors

Digital Spark Ltd (CRO 07183436) was incorporated on 09 March 2010. It traded as a designer, developer and implementer of digital and mobile healthcare software from The Toffee Factory, Lower Steenbergs Yard, Ouseburn, Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2DF, which was also its registered office.

Digital Spark Ltd was placed into Liquidation on 10 July 2014.

Michael Joseph Bell lives in Chester-Le-Street.

Gavin Rupert Kipling lives in Darlington.

The Secretary of State accepted an undertaking from Michael Joseph Bell on 25 April 2016. The disqualification commences on 16 May 2016.

The Secretary of State accepted an undertaking from Gavin Rupert Kipling on 13 April 2016. The disqualification commences on 4 May 2016.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

In addition that person cannot act as an insolvency practitioner and there are many other restrictions are placed on disqualified directors by other regulations.

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

Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found here.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

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

All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to: Cheryl Lambert, Head of Outsourced Investigations, Investigations and Enforcement Services, The Insolvency Service, 3rd Floor, Abbey Orchard Street, London SW1P 2HT. Tel: 0207 596 6117. Email: Cheryl.Lambert@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

Amanpreet Danny Sahota of Dansah Ltd (“Dansah”) has been disqualified for 7 years for causing the company to submit false VAT returns to HM Revenue & Customs and trading Dansah to the detriment of HMRC, the majority creditor at the company’s liquidation.

Dansah commenced trading in April 2011 supplying labour via subcontractors to the construction industry.

Mr Sahota authorised VAT returns to be submitted to HMRC requesting refunds of VAT he claimed Dansah had paid to sub contractors.

The invoices he submitted to support these did not meet the standard required by HMRC with many being undated and not specifying what goods or services had purportedly been supplied. HMRC conducted an investigation into Dansah’s tax affairs and noted that the “suppliers” of the labour did not have the workforce to have conducted the work claimed by Mr Sahota.

These entities were ultimately compulsorily de-registered for VAT as ‘missing traders’ having never submitted any VAT returns themselves.

Other invoices submitted by Mr Sahota claiming refunds of VAT paid, were issued by another limited company of which Mr Sahota was the sole director. This company was never registered for VAT, Mr Sahota stated it was dormant and had never traded. Despite this Mr Sahota was content to present these to HMRC in an attempt to falsely reclaim VAT.

HMRC’s investigation determined that Dansah had used its own work force to fulfil its client’s requirements without verifying those labourers on the CIS system which gave rise to further tax. Mr Sahota did not appeal HMRCs findings.

Commenting on the disqualification, Andrew Stanley, Official Receiver Chatham at The Insolvency Service, said:

Mr Sahota deliberately mislead HMRC in an attempt to avoid Dansah paying tax and attempted to reclaim tax that Dansah hadn’t paid. Mr Sahota has abused the tax regime; disqualifying him as a director upholds the integrity of the insolvency and taxation regimes and also acts as a deterrent to others from repeating such misconduct in the future.

Notes to editor

Mr Sahota’s date of birth is 27 April 1988 and he resides in Gravesend, Kent.

Dansah Ltd (CRO No. 07482260) was incorporated on 5 January 2011 and traded from Kent providing labour services.

Mr Sahota was a director from 5 January 2011 to liquidation. The Company was subject to a winding up order on 9 January 2015 on a petition presented by HM Revenue and Customs. At liquidation it had an estimated deficiency of £365,196.

On 4 May 2016, the Secretary of State accepted a Disqualification Undertaking from Mr Sahota, effective from 25 May 2016, for a period of 7 years. The matters of unfitness, which Mr Sahota did not dispute in the Disqualification Undertaking, were that:

Between 8 February 2012 and 21 May 2013 I caused Dansah Limited (“Dansah”) to submit false VAT returns to HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”). During this period and up to 9 February 2015, or its cessation of trade, I also caused Dansah to trade to the detriment of HMRC, the majority creditor at liquidation. As a result, at liquidation HMRC have issued a claim totalling £348,196, comprising VAT of £189,239, Corporation Tax (“CT”) of £56,000, Regulation 13 Determinations of £11,002 and penalties, surcharges and interest totalling £91,955.

VAT

• Dansah submitted VAT returns for months ending December 2011 to December 2012, February and March 2013 claiming £15,865.33 was owed to HMRC; claiming a refund of £10,714.64.
• In the absence of returns being submitted for the months ended January 2013 and April to September 2013, HMRC raised assessments.
• As a result of an investigation conducted by HMRC they established that Dansah had under-declared the amount of VAT it owed and the central assessments raised by HMRC were also under estimated.
• Consequently HMRC recalculated the VAT returns and central assessments, disallowing the claimed refunds and computed that the actual amount of VAT owed was £197,225.13 for the period from September 2011 to September 2013.
• Total payments of £7,986.16 were received towards the VAT debt.

CT

• In the absence of any CT returns being submitted, HMRC raised assessments for CT for the periods ending 31/03/12 and 31/03/13 totalling £56,000.

Regulation 13 Determinations

• As a consequence of HMRC’s investigation they determined that Dansah supplied and paid its own self employed labourers without deducting CIS payments. Consequently HMRC raised Regulation 13 Determinations for the years ended 05/04/12 and 05/04/13 totalling £150,432. HMRC allocated £139,430 of CIS deductions made by Dansah’s clients to this debt resulting in a deficit of £11,002.

Comparative Treatment

• At liquidation Dansah had liabilities totalling £365,196, these comprised of £348,196 claimed by HMRC and £17,000 claimed by me.
• Dansah’s bank statements show that between 8 February 2012 and 9 February 2015, £922,846.51 was received and £927,314.72 was expended of which £9,086.16 was paid to HMRC.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

In addition that person cannot act as an insolvency practitioner and there are many other restrictions are placed on disqualified directors by other regulations.

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

Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found here.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

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

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy today releases 4 key publications: the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2016, UK Energy in Brief, Energy Flow Chart, and Energy Consumption in the United Kingdom providing detailed analysis of production, transformation and consumption of energy in 2015.

Statistical press release: Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2016

PDF, 132KB, 10 pages

Colin Allars, YJB CEO, said:

“The Inspection finds that staff at Newcastle YOT are committed to supporting the children and young people in their care but that more needs to be done to reduce reoffending and improve the effectiveness of governance and partnership arrangements.

“YJB will continue to support the YOT and to challenge the robustness of its leadership to tackle the issues which will ensure interventions are more effective in addressing the poor reoffending performance.”

Background

Read the inspection report on the HM Inspectorate of Probations website.

The figures also show the unemployment rate for people aged over 50 has dropped to 3.3%, the lowest level since 2009. There are over 1.1 million people working beyond age 65.

Many businesses already recognise the value of older workers. For example, Barclays’ ‘Bolder Apprentices’ scheme creates opportunities for people wanting to start a new career in later life. Other firms, such as hospitality firm Whitbread, are also seeking the skills and knowledge of older workers.

Employment Minister Damian Hinds said:

It is clear that people over 50 aren’t slowing down or getting ready for retirement. I want to see businesses supporting this momentum while also reaping the benefits of the skills and expertise these older people can bring to the workplace.

People in later life are increasingly looking to stay in work and it is important that more businesses look for ways to support them.

Supporting older workers

The government is committed to supporting older workers. We have abolished the default retirement age, and extended the right to request flexible working to all employees. This means that older workers now have more choice about how and when they retire. We will continue to challenge people’s outdated perceptions, and to actively promote the business case and benefits of employing older workers.

Further help is available through the New Enterprise Allowance which enables entrepreneurs to set up their own businesses with the help of Jobcentre Plus. One in 5 businesses launched through the scheme was established by someone aged over 50.

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 3267 5144

Follow DWP on:

• Twitter – www.twitter.com/dwppressoffice
• Facebook – www.facebook.com/dwp
• LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/dwp
• YouTube – www.youtube.com/dwp

33-year-old Steven Peter Marriott of Broxholme Gardens, Lincoln, operating as Marriott’s Removals, was handed the penalty by Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 27 July. The court found that he’d broken the law by depositing and storing waste without the required environmental permit.

Magistrates heard the waste was discovered by Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue in November 2014 on a field Mr Marriott was renting off Ryland Road, near Dunholme.

The Environment Agency was alerted and officers found more than 200 tyres, along with TV sets, fridge and freezer units, building rubble, oil containers, a lead acid battery and other items on the site.

Officers advised Mr Marriott that he was committing an offence by carrying out waste operations at the site without an environmental permit. He was told to stop operating and remove all the waste from the field.

During the investigation, also it came to light that Mr Marriott was not a registered waste carrier, so he was advised of the relevant requirements.

In an interview with officers, Mr Marriott admitted depositing the waste but said he was unaware he was breaking the law. Over a period of months, he stated that he would remove the waste – however, Environment Agency officers found there had been no change on multiple return visits.

An enforcement notice was served in May 2015, requiring all the waste to be removed within a month, but it was still there when environment officers visited in June 2015.

Marriott was found guilty of breaching the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. He was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay a contribution to costs of £1,500 plus a victim surcharge of £120.

Debbie Sylvester, Enforcement Team Leader at the Environment Agency, said:

We regulate waste activities to make sure the environment and local communities are protected from potentially harmful substances, smell and litter from waste sites.

We’d remind all companies that move or store waste that they must have the correct permits – and we will take action against those that don’t.

Unregulated waste can be an eyesore and can be dangerous to the environment and human health. More information on environmental permitting is available on our website here.

Ends

Notes to editors:

Charge: Between 16 November 2014 and 17 March 2016, on land off Ryland Road, Dunholme, Lincolnshire at National Grid Reference TF 01946 79675, you did operate a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the deposit and storage of waste, without being authorised by an environmental permit granted under Regulation 13 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. Contrary to Regulation 12(1)(a) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

The court heard that at the time of the offence the cost of a standard environmental permit for this type of operation, provided the correct infrastructure was in place, would be a minimum of £1,630 application fee and £2,490 per year subsistence fee.

The independent review of the process for assessing university research and allocating public funding has been published by Lord Stern today (28 July 2016), outlining proposals to protect and strengthen the UK’s leadership in world-class research.

President of the British Academy Lord Nicholas Stern was commissioned by the government to carry out the review of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) to ensure future university research funding is allocated more efficiently, offers greater rewards for excellent research and reduces the administrative burden on institutions.

The REF is run every 5 to 6 years and requires UK universities that conduct research to submit their top research papers, demonstrating the impact of their work, for assessment. The results of the REF are then used to inform the allocation of government funding to universities for research.

Stern’s review of the Research Excellence Framework - Building on Success and Learning from Experience sets out proposals including:

• to count all research active staff in the REF but varying the number of pieces they might submit - currently higher education (HE) institutions select the staff that will be included and this innovation will ease pressure and encourage academics to research new areas or on a longer time-scale
• widening and deepening the notion of research “impact” to include influence on public engagement, culture and on teaching, avoiding distortions of research choices and careers
• introducing a new institutional level assessment to foster greater cohesiveness between academics and reward collaboration on interdisciplinary activities

The report also highlights that the REF should continue to support excellence wherever it is found.

Responding to the review, Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said:

Lord Stern recognises the advantage that our world class research base brings to the UK and the key role our universities play in delivering high-quality teaching, driving productivity and economic growth.

I would like to thank Lord Stern and his steering group for their considered insights and recommendations which clearly set out how we can build on the strengths of previous assessments and reduce the burdens on academics to ensure we retain our global leadership in ground-breaking research.

The REF is a UK-wide process and the government will now work with the devolved administrations and the higher education funding bodies to consider the detail of the recommendations before formally responding. A full consultation on the next REF will be published later this year.

Notes to editors:

1. Building on Success and Learning from Experience: an Independent Review of the Research Excellence Framework is published online.
2. The review was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Autumn Statement 2015.
3. Lord Nicholas Stern is the President of the British Academy and IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics. He undertook this review on a personal basis.
4. Lord Stern was supported by a high-level steering group of academic experts, and an advisory group drawn from across the HE sector and including representatives from the devolved administrations. A call for evidence drew over 300 responses from across the sector.
5. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is an exercise that takes place every 5 to 6 years to assess the quality of research produced from UK universities.
6. The results of the REF are used by higher education funding bodies across the UK to inform the allocation of annual quality-related (QR) research funding to individual higher education institutions. This is the university block grant, which for English universities is allocated from the £4.7 billion science and research budget and amounted to circa £1.6 billion in 2015 to 2016.
7. The remainder of the £4.7 billion science and research budget funds, for example, competitive grants awarded by the research councils.

In April 2015, the government introduced the most significant pension reforms for a generation, giving people who’ve worked hard and saved their entire lives the ability to access their savings how and when they want.

Today (28 July 2016) new HMRC figures show more and more people are taking advantage of the new freedoms, with 159,000 people having accessed £1.7 billion flexibly from their pension pots since April this year. This take the total value of payments to over £6 billion across 772,000 payments since the launch of the pension freedoms.

People accessing their pensions are also benefitting from the government’s free and impartial pension’s guidance service, Pension Wise, which has already had over 2.7 million visits to the website and nearly 75,000 appointments to date. Pension Wise was set up to ensure consumer have the right information they need to make informed decisions.

The government has also announced plans to protect consumers by capping early exit fees, allowing earlier access to Pension Wise guidance, and working with industry to introduce a pensions dashboard.

In April 2015, the government introduced the most significant pension reforms for a generation, giving people who’ve worked hard and saved their entire lives the ability to access their savings how and when they want.

The government is extending the popular freedoms even further, giving millions more people the ability to sell income from their annuities from April 2017, subject to agreement from their annuity provider.

The government believe that keeping their annuity incomes will be the best option for the majority of people, however, people should have the right to make the decision that is best for them. Pension Wise will have a key role to play in giving people information and guidance to make their decision.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said:

It’s only right that people should have a choice over what they do with their money and today’s figures show that pension freedoms continue to be a popular choice.

Our pension reforms have already given hundreds of thousands of people access and responsibility over their hard-earned savings and we will continue to make sure that the pension freedoms work well for everyone.

We will work with our partners, such as Pension Wise and the Department for Work and Pensions, to ensure consumers are protected and that there is clear information to help people understand their options.

The Charity Commission (’the commission’) today published a report of its inquiry into funds raised for charitable purposes in the name of Mr Adeel Ul-Huq. On 10 February 2016 the commission made a public statement following his conviction for terrorist offences.

The commission opened its inquiry on 15 April 2014 following engagement with the North East Counter Terrorism Unit.

The commission took action to protect charitable funds donated to assist those affected by the Syria Crisis and to ensure that those funds were applied by registered charities. As a result of the commission’s action funds totalling £4,195.26 were used by 2 registered charities to provide aid which included food parcels and hygiene kits. Now that these funds have been applied the commission is able to report on the findings of its inquiry and the actions taken.

The commission’s inquiry identified misconduct and mismanagement and a risk to property which resulted in the exercise of its regulatory powers to protect charitable funds, direct their application and remove Mr Ul-Haq as a charity trustee. The consequence of which is that he is disqualified in law from acting as a trustee in the future without a waiver from the commission or the court.

Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Charity Commission, said:

Our findings and conclusions illustrate the seriousness with which the commission takes the abuse of charities and charitable funds, particularly where there are concerns that these may be used for terrorist purposes, and that it will take action to protect and safeguard charitable funds and property whilst working collaboratively with the police and other partners where such concerns exist.

For the donating public, our message remains that this should not put you off giving to charity, but that you donate safely. Check if someone asking for funds is collecting for a registered charity and ensure that you are confident about what the funds will be spent on. Anyone can check whether a charity is registered before they give and see who its trustees are, what activities they carry out and whether they are compliant with filing their legal documents by using our online register of charities.

The full report is available on GOV.UK.

Ends

PR 44/16

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our online register.
3. Details of how the commission reports on its regulatory work can be found on GOV.UK.
4. Funds raised for charitable purposes in England and Wales, even if they are not raised by a charity, fall within the commission’s regulatory jurisdiction.
5. The commission publishes safer giving advice for the public so that they can be confident their donations are going to legitimate charities.

Overview

Tax-Free Childcare is a new government scheme to help working parents with the cost of childcare.

Parents will be able to open an online account, which they can use to pay for childcare from a registered provider.

For every £8 a parent pays in, the government will pay in extra £2. Parents can receive up to £2,000 per child, per year, towards their childcare costs, or £4,000 for disabled children.

The scheme will be available for children up to the age of 12, or 17 for children with disabilities.

To qualify, parents will have to be in work, and each earning at least £115 a week and not more than £100,000 per year.

Tax-Free Childcare scheme launch to parents

Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. The scheme will be rolled out gradually to families, with parents of the youngest children able to apply first.

Parents will be able to apply for all their children at the same time, when their youngest child becomes eligible. All eligible parents will be able to join the scheme by the end of 2017

Childcare Providers

Use the information below to get ready to sign up to Tax-Free Childcare.

You’ll need to sign up to receive payments from parents

In September and October 2016, we’ll be sending letters to regulated and approved childcare providers across the UK, asking you to sign up online for Tax-Free Childcare.

You’ll be able to sign up online as soon as you receive your invitation.

You must be a regulated or approved childcare provider to receive Tax-Free Childcare

Only childcare providers registered with a regulator (such as Ofsted) can receive Tax-Free Childcare payments.

Registration can take up to 12 weeks so, if you aren’t registered, register now so that your customers can pay you using Tax-Free Childcare. For registration timelines, please check the appropriate regulators website.

Check that your regulator has your current address

You’ll only receive an invitation to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare if your regulator has your current address, so check that this is up to date.

Please also make sure your regulator has your current email address as this will help us if we need to contact you.

Parents will be able to see if you’ve signed up for Tax-Free Childcare

Once you sign up, you’ll appear on our new digital tool which lets parents search for childcare providers signed up for Tax-Free Childcare.

Be ready for Tax-Free Childcare

If you’re running a business, you’ll need your 10-digit Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare. This is the number that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) gave you when you first told HMRC that you were working for yourself.

You can find your UTR on any HMRC communications, for example, your tax return or your payment reminder.

If you can’t find your UTR number, HMRC can send this number to your address. For more information call 0300 200 3410.

If you’re a nanny, you’ll need your National Insurance number to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare. You can find this on your payslip, P60, or letters from HMRC about tax, pensions and benefits.

Making Tax-Free Childcare payments will be easy

When you sign-up, you’ll need to tell us your bank details. Parents will then be able to send you payments directly from their Tax-Free Childcare accounts to your bank account (via BACS).

Each child will have a Tax-Free Childcare reference number. Parents can let you know their reference number to help you identify their payments.

Looking forward

More information about Tax-Free Childcare will be available later this year.

Drivers will benefit from more reliable journey times in Gloucester during the busiest periods, as a major upgrade to the Elmbridge Court roundabout is given the go-ahead today, 28 July 2016.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is providing more than £9 million towards the scheme which is designed to reduce congestion at one of Gloucestershire’s busiest junctions, improve safety, and improve public transport links between Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Providing funding to boost local business and help deliver better journeys for road users is a key part of the government’s long-term economic plan.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said:

We are delivering better journeys for people across Gloucester. This much-needed work will help cut congestion and deliver a boost to business, create jobs and improve the local economy.

It will also help connections between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

The scheme will see the construction of a new straight on lane through the roundabout – a so-called “hamburger” arrangement. A section of the A40 will be widened to provide a separate bus lane running parallel to the existing westbound carriageway.

Funding is being provided to the council through the government’s Local Growth Fund to improve the road networks in the area.

This scheme follows the 2014 upgrades to the adjacent Wall’s and ‘C&G’ roundabouts, for which the DfT provided £2.19 million through Local Pinch Point funding, that have already significantly cut journey times for drivers.

Works are scheduled to start shortly with completion scheduled for August 2017.

The total cost of the full scheme is £14.512 million, with the department providing £9.07 million.

This month’s Price Paid Data includes details of more than 82,500 residential and commercial land and property sales in England and Wales lodged for registration in June 2016.

Of the 82,530 sales lodged for registration:

• 60,249 were freehold
• 9,000 were newly built
• just over 28,600 sales took place in June 2016
• 442 were residential sales in June 2016 in England and Wales for £1 million and over
• 283 were residential sales in June 2016 in London for £1 million and over.

Number of sales lodged for registration by property type

The most expensive residential sale in June 2016 was of a terraced property in the City of Westminster, London for £16.9m. The cheapest residential sale in June 2016 was of a terraced property in Bishop Auckland, County Durham for £12,500.

The most expensive commercial sale in June 2016 was also in the City of Westminster, London for £65m. The cheapest commercial sale in June 2016 was in Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire for £1,000.

Access the full dataset.

Notes to editors

1. Price Paid Data (PPD) is published at 11am on the 20th working day of each month. The July dataset will be published on Friday 26 August 2016.

2. Price Paid Data is property price data for all land and property sales in England and Wales that are lodged with us for registration in that month, subject to exclusions

3. The following information is available for each property:
   
   • the full address
   • the price paid
   • the date of transfer
   • the property type
   • whether it is new build or not
   • whether it is freehold or leasehold

4. Price Paid Data can be downloaded in txt, csv format and in a machine readable format as linked data. It is available for anyone to examine and re-use free of charge under the Open General Licence (OGL).

5. Price Paid Data includes Standard Price Paid Data (SPPD) for single residential property sales at full market value and Additional Price Paid Data (APPD) for transactions previously excluded from SPPD such as:
   
   • transfers to a non-private individual, for example a company, corporate body or business
   • transfers under a power of sale (repossessions)
   • buy-to-lets (where they can be identified by a mortgage)
     The information available for each property will indicate whether it is APPD or SPPD and the record’s status - addition/change/deletion (A/C/D).

6. The Price Paid Data report builder allows users to build bespoke reports using the data http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ppd. Reports can be based on location, estate type, price paid or property type over a defined period of time.

7. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been open to public inspection since 1990.
8. With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing over 24 million titles, Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.
9. For further information visit Land Registry website.
10. Follow us:
    
    • Twitter @LandRegGov
    • our blog
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook

Contact

The Maritime Indirect Fire System (MIFS) will be integrated onto the Type 26 Global Combat Ships, currently being designed by BAE Systems. MIFS includes the 5-inch, 62-calibre Mark 45 Naval Gun System, which is already in service with other NATO nations, including the US and Spanish navies.

Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin said:

Our growing defence budget means we can invest in a cutting edge weapon system for the Royal Navy’s next generation Global Combat Ship at the best value for taxpayers.

Along with sustaining highly skilled jobs across the country, this new contract underlines our commitment and demonstrates continued momentum in the programme.

The new contract covers the design and manufacture of the first three guns, as well as a training system and ammunition, and will sustain 43 skilled UK jobs.

BAE Systems, Weapon Systems and Munitions, based in the US, will lead on the work to bring the weapons system into service, with subcontractor work being undertaken by:

• BAE Maritime Services Frimley & Broad Oak to develop, supply and integrate MIFS gunfire control;
• BAE Munitions Glascoed, which is carrying out the UK ammunition qualification and;
• BAE Weapons Systems Barrow, which is supporting the UK equipment safety cases.

This type of cutting-edge gun is not currently manufactured in the UK, and the USA’s BAE Systems, Weapon Systems and Munitions, offered a proven system at the best value for money solution for the UK taxpayer.

Deliveries of the gun to the UK are expected to begin in 2020.

The Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, has confirmed 5 new appointments to the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC):

• Carl Emmerson
• Dominic Morris
• Charlotte Pickles
• Liz Sayce
• Victoria Todd

Existing committee member, Chris Goulden, has also been appointed for a second term.

The appointments were made following open competition. The new members will start their 5-year terms on 1 August 2016.

Lord Freud said:

I am delighted to welcome the 5 new members to the Social Security Advisory Committee, and to welcome Chris Goulden back for a second term. They will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience which will enrich further the advice that the committee provides to the ministerial team at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Paul Gray, SSAC chair, said:

These appointments bring a wide-range of expertise and skills to the committee, and I am looking forward to working with them on a range of issues that affect some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

At the same time we are losing a number of valued and highly-respected colleagues as their terms expire. I would like to place on record my thanks to John Andrews, Adele Baumgardt, John Ditch, Matthew Oakley and Nicola Smith for their excellent contributions to our work over recent years.

About the committee

The Social Security Advisory Committee is an independent statutory body established in 1980. It provides advice to the Secretary of State on proposals for the amendment of secondary legislation and on general social security matters as required.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments regulates all appointments made by the Secretary of State to SSAC. All such appointments are made in accordance with the Code of Practice published by the commissioner. The code is based on 3 core principles – merit, openness and fairness.

SSAC members receive a daily fee of £256.80, for a time commitment of 2 to 3 days a month. The appointments are for a period of 5 years.

About the new members

Carl Emmerson

Carl is Deputy Director for Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Chris Goulden

Chris is Deputy Director of Policy and Research at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and existing member of the Social Security Advisory Committee.

Dominic Morris

Dominic is non-executive governor of a residential special school, Director of Coneygar Consulting Limited a company advising the Department for International Development (DFID), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on reconstruction programmes in conflict zones.

Charlotte Pickles

Charlotte is Deputy Director and Head of Research at the Reform think tank.

Liz Sayce OBE

Liz is Chief Executive of Disability Rights UK.

Victoria Todd

Victoria is senior technical manager for the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Contact the committee

On 16 February 2016, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (Acadia), through its subsidiary Partnerships in Care (PiC), acquired the entire issued shared capital of Priory Group No. 1 Ltd (Priory).

On 14 July 2016 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that this could lead to a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) in 21 overlaps across 5 mental healthcare services provided by both companies to NHS organisations and local authorities in England and Wales.

The CMA therefore said that the merger would be referred for an in-depth phase 2 investigation unless Acadia was able to offer undertakings which address the CMA’s competition concerns.

Acadia has now offered undertakings to address the CMA’s concerns by offering to sell either Priory or PiC hospitals in the affected areas to an up-front buyer, to be approved by the CMA.

The CMA considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings offered, or a modified version of them, might be acceptable and will formally consult on the undertakings shortly.

The CMA now has until 23 September 2016 to decide whether to accept Acadia’s proposed undertakings or refer the merger for a phase 2 investigation, with the possibility of extending this time frame to 18 November if needed.

Information relating to this investigation can be found on the case page.

Enquiries should be directed to Neil Kernohan (neil.kernohan@cma.gsi.gov.uk, 0203 738 6170).

Gareth Epps, who previously held a senior community relations role at Crossrail, will investigate any matters that have not reached a satisfactory conclusion through HS2 Ltd’s complaints process.

Mr Epps has been appointed to the role of interim Construction Commissioner by an independent panel. He will provide independent, impartial decisions as well as advice on how to make a complaint.

Having spent nine years at Crossrail developing and implementing community processes and with ten years’ experience as a local authority councillor, Mr Epps has extensive experience dealing with public interest issues relating to large infrastructure projects.

He set up and implemented community liaison panel meetings to ensure a regular dialogue between the project and local communities.

His main functions will include:

• Ensuring that people affected by HS2 know who the Construction Commissioner is and what they do

• Mediating in unresolved disputes between HS2 Ltd and individuals or bodies, including claims under the Small Claims Scheme

• Monitoring complaints and providing reports marking trends and providing advice on how to reduce the instance of complaints where possible.

Simon Kirby, HS2 Ltd Chief Executive, said:

We recognise that people will be affected by the construction of the line and are thoroughly committed to ensuring that those people are treated fairly and all practicable measures are taken to minimise disruption.

Improving our approach to affected communities is at the very top of our priority list. We are continuously striving to refine our complaints handling and improve community engagement. The appointment of a Construction Commissioner is a key part of that process.

We have recently made improvements to our complaints procedure and we aim to respond to any complaint in a fair and timely fashion but it is important that people can have their issue considered by an impartial party if they don’t feel it’s been satisfactorily resolved.

Gareth Epps, Independent Construction Commissioner, said:

I’m looking forward to taking up this post. HS2 will be one of the largest infrastructure projects the UK has ever seen.

Urban and rural communities will see construction and while HS2 Ltd and its contractors will take steps to minimise disruption, it is important that residents and businesses along the route know they can seek fair and independent resolution of complaints if necessary.

Following Royal Assent of the project, an independent body of project stakeholders will determine the full terms of reference and agree on a permanent appointment.

The Business Banking Insight (BBI) aims to help over 5 million UK businesses to identify which bank is best for them and get the best possible service.

The survey, as originally announced by the government in 2013, aims to improve competition and choice in the banking sector for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

The new and improved BBI website, which has been launched today (28 July 2016), will provide SMEs with a clear and credible way to judge how their bank compares to its competitors.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said:

The new interactive BBI website will allow businesses to identify the banks that are best able to provide the support and services they need to grow.

Not only is it a great tool for Britain’s SMEs, it will allow Britain’s banks to see what their customers really think of their performance and allow them to target areas for improvement.

Mike Cherry, National Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said:

The BBI is an invaluable resource for small businesses and provides them with ratings on financial products and services as judged by their peers. It’s independent, free to use and regularly surveys over 20,000 SMEs across a broad range of sectors.

The AAIB is sending a team to investigate an aircraft accident at Turweston in Buckinghamshire

On Thursday 28 July the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, visited Paris to meet French Foreign Minister Ayrault. Their discussion focused on the strong bilateral relationship and cooperation on defence, counter-terrorism, Daesh, Libya, Syria and Nigeria.

In a press conference afterwards, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I’m pleased to be here in France today. This is my first bilateral European visit as the UK’s Foreign Secretary. Our two nations have a unique relationship going back many centuries, and at this moment the relationship becomes even more important.

I want to express my gratitude to Jean-Marc for welcoming me to Paris at such a difficult moment for his nation. The UK stands in solidarity with France. The threats we face are the same and we use the same values to reply to it. We will continue to do so.

Today, we discussed our co-operation across this and many different areas.

Mr Ayrault and I agreed Daesh poses a direct threat to both our countries, as we have seen this week. We are clear that Daesh does not represent Islam. With France the UK is playing a leading role in the Global Coalition committed to defeating them, and we will win.

In Libya we are continuing to support the Government of National Accord and they are making progress. And in Syria, France and the UK will continue to work through international forums to find a political solution and a continuation of the Cessation of Hostilities.

I was pleased to advise Jean-Marc that the UK also remains committed to supporting Nigeria and its neighbours in this fight against Boko Haram. We are providing intelligence, military and development support, including training and advice for Nigerian armed forces and £32m over the next three years in humanitarian support.

Our relationship is also about those issues close to home, including management of our common border. We share a commitment to Le Touquet agreement and I strongly welcome our close cooperation.

I hope I have been clear that, while the UK has voted to leave the EU, we are not leaving Europe. We will want to be closer than ever to our allies, especially France, in the years to come.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Ayrault again. We have already started to develop a close, co-operative relationship and long may that continue while we face many challenges ahead, together, as friends and allies.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
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