Category: Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE : Foreign Secretary address to International Crimea Platform Summit [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 August 2023.

The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly addressed the International Crimea Platform Summit 2023 via a pre-recorded video.

Thank you, President Zelenskyy, for bringing us together for this important discussion.

When you established the International Crimea Platform two years ago, the UK committed its support to this important initiative to strengthen the global response against Russia’s illegal annexation.

Our commitment to that undertaking hasn’t just endured, it has increased.

Two years ago, none of us imagined the challenges we would all now face.

But we have risen to the occasion, no one more so than the Ukrainian people.

We are more united, more determined and more emboldened than ever before.

As Crimea is a crucial part of the focus on Ukraine, it is only right that it remains at the centre of our discussions.

As with Russia’s wider presence in Ukraine, it is civilians who have had to bear the brunt in Crimea.

Houses searched, arbitrary arrests, illegal conscription, continuous abductions and reports of torture have revealed Putin’s chilling indifference to human life.

You don’t liberate a country by sending its children to re-educations camps abroad. You don’t free people by suppression, subjugation, and the curtailing of democracy.

The moral contract between Kyiv and the Kremlin is stark.

Ukraine offers democracy, Russia tyranny.

Ukraine strives to protect human rights. Russia disregards them.

Like our Ukrainian friends, the UK works tirelessly to promote and protect human rights in Crimea by supporting human rights defenders and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.

Together, we will hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses to account. Just as we will hold Putin to account for withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative – an act that deprives the world’s most vulnerable of desperately needed food and supplies.

Be in no doubt, the UK and the international community will never recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, or any Ukrainian territory, and will stand with you for as long as it takes.

Let me end by wishing Ukraine a happy Independence Day for tomorrow. Your defiance, your strength and your resilience are an inspiration to us all.

August 31, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Foreign Secretary’s meetings with China’s Foreign Minister and Vice President [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 August 2023.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has held bilateral meetings with senior Chinese government figures during his visit to Beijing.

He met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng for the second time, and Chinese Foreign Minister and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, for the third time.

The Foreign Secretary set out the UK’s approach to China, in line with his Mansion House speech and the Integrated Review Refresh – outlining the protect, align and engage pillars of the UK’s China strategy.

The Foreign Secretary was clear about the UK’s position on China’s malign cyber activity. In detailed discussions on Hong Kong, he stressed the damage caused by the Beijing-imposed National Security Law to rights and freedoms and consequently to China’s international reputation and raised the case of Jimmy Lai.

He also emphasised the importance to the international community of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. And he called for the immediate lifting of sanctions against Parliamentary colleagues. The Foreign Secretary made clear the UK’s strength of feeling about the mass incarceration of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.

The Foreign Secretary agreed with Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the importance of direct cooperation between the UK and China on the biggest global challenges, such as climate change.

He made clear the UK position on key geopolitical issues including the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in North Korea and nuclear non-proliferation.

They agreed on the potential of AI to unlock huge opportunities but stressed the need for global coordination to mitigate risks and put protections in place.

The Foreign Secretary stressed the need for open dialogue, as well as the need for constructive engagement, when this is consistent with UK interests.

August 31, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Government bans machetes and zombie knives [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Home Office on 30 August 2023.

The government has introduced a new ban on zombie-style knives and machetes that have no practical use and will give police more powers to seize knives.

Machetes and zombie-style knives with no practical use will be banned and police will have more powers to seize them in a bid to crack down on their use in devastating street violence.

Under the measures, machetes and knives that are designed to look intimidating and threatening, known as zombie-style knives, will be made illegal.

The maximum penalty for the importation, manufacturing, possession and sale of these newly proscribed weapons will also be increased from six months to two years, as will the maximum penalty for sales to under-18s.

Police will also be given new powers to seize and destroy knives found on private premises if there are reasonable grounds to believe the blade will be used in a serious crime. Previously, police could not seize knives found during a search on a property, even if they had suspicions of criminal use.

In addition, the Home Office will introduce a new offence for possession of bladed articles with the intention to endanger life or cause fear of violence, and will ask the Sentencing Council to consider amending sentencing guidelines for the possession of bladed articles and offensive weapons so these are treated more seriously than possession of a non-prohibited weapons.

Policing Minister Chris Philp said:

One life lost to knife crime is one too many, and we must do all we can to stop the vile thugs who carry dangerous weapons from their campaign of intimidation and violence.

Zombie-style knives and machetes serve no other purpose but to inflate criminal egos and endanger lives. There is no reason to own these types of weapons.

That is why we are banning these knives and making sentencing more severe, so our communities can be reassured that this violent criminality will face the punishments they deserve, and lives will be saved.

Today’s announcement builds on the government’s action taken to take dangerous weapons off our streets, banning zombie knives in 2016 and cyclone knives in 2019.

On the back of the 2016 ban of zombie knives, some retailers continued to sell these kinds of weapons but evaded breaking the law by removing the threatening wording on the blade or handle that incites violence. Today’s announcement closes this loophole, banning these ‘zombie style’ knives and machetes that do not have this threatening writing, but are just as dangerous.

Steel Warriors Head of Operations Christian d’Ippolito said:

Steel Warriors approve of the new measures regarding the ban of machetes and certain types of knives; weapons like these should not be available to young people, they have no place in modern society and should not be glorified.

At Steel Warriors we believe that lives should be built by steel, not destroyed by it. We melt down confiscated knives and recycle them into outdoor gyms, we then provide free community classes to transform the lives of young people affected by crime, violence and social exclusion, giving them the confidence they need to create positive futures.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Knife Crime Lead, Commander Stephen Clayman, said:

Every day as police officers we see first-hand the devastating effects of these deadly weapons on the lives of individuals, particularly young people, and we must always look at what action can be taken to prevent access to knives that are used for violence, intimidation and harm.

The proposals in the consultation followed extensive collaboration between the Home Office and the NPCC National Knife Crime working group. Together, we worked to develop practical, sustainable solutions to remove these lethal weapons from our streets.

These five proposals will all offer additional robust measures to deal with those who seek to use knives for violence. Ultimately, when used appropriately, they provide a greater means to protect the public and safeguard our communities.

We look forward to working with government on the next steps for making these proposals a reality, strengthening our fight against knife crime.

Under a new definition included in these measures, a zombie-style knife is any bladed weapon over eight inches in length with a plain cutting edge and sharp pointed end that also has either a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, or multiple sharp points like spikes.

The measures come as the government responds to a public consultation launched in April this year, which carefully considered responses from individuals, manufacturers, retailers and trade organisations that rely on bladed items. Specific exemptions will be made for legitimate articles such as objects of historical importance and those that are hand-made, in order to avoid negative impacts on the antiques market and British-made industries that rely on top-end, high-value blades that are highly unlikely to end up in the hands of criminals.

The new measures are part of the government’s drive to rid communities of serious violence, and follows the removal of 100,000 knives and offensive weapons from our streets through stop and search, surrender initiatives and other targeted police action since 2019.

The government’s Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) are bringing together local partners to tackle the drivers of violence in their area by delivering early intervention and prevention programmes to divert young people away from a life of crime in the 20 areas worst affected by serious violence. They have reached over 215,000 vulnerable young people in their third year of funding alone, with the government investing £170 million into their development.

The measures will be legislated when Parliament allows.

August 31, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Offenders to be ordered to attend sentencing [August 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 30 August 2023.

Cowardly criminals who try to evade the final moment of justice will be ordered into the dock to attend their sentencing – and will face longer behind bars if they refuse to appear.
- new power for judges to order offenders to attend sentencing hearings
- offenders who refuse could be forced into the dock by prison staff or receive an extra 2 years in prison
- announcement comes on the back of a number of vile criminals refusing to face their victims in court
The reforms announced today (Wednesday 30 August) will create a new power for judges to order an offender to attend their hearings and make it clear – in law – that force can be used to make sure this happens.

The power of custody officers to use reasonable force to make criminals appear in the dock or via video link will also be enshrined in law, meaning every effort will be made for victims and their families to see justice delivered.

If a criminal continues to resist attending their sentencing despite a judge’s order, they will face an extra 2 years behind bars. This new penalty will apply in cases where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment, including serious sexual or violent crimes like murder, rape, and grievous bodily harm with intent.

The change will mean victims can look offenders in the eye and tell them of the devastating consequences of their crime as they read out their impact statement, rather than addressing an empty dock.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

It is unacceptable that some of the country’s most horrendous criminals have refused to face their victims in court. They cannot and should not be allowed to take the coward’s way out.

That’s why we are giving judges the power to order vile offenders to attend their sentencing hearings, with those who refuse facing being forced into the dock or spending longer behind bars.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk KC, said:

Every time a cowardly criminal hides from justice by refusing to appear in the dock for their sentencing it is another insult to their victims and their families.

Our reforms will give judges the power to order offenders to come to court to hear the impact of their crimes directly from victims, so that they begin their sentences with society’s condemnation ringing in their ears.

The change in the law follows the tireless campaigning of Farah Naz and Cheryl Korbel, alongside others like Ayse Hussein and Jebina Islam all of whom were denied the opportunity to see their loved ones’ killers face justice.

In August last year, Thomas Cashman shot dead 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the daughter of Cheryl Korbel, in her own home and callously chose not to hear the impact her death had on her family at his sentencing.

In June the same year, Jordan McSweeney sexually assaulted and murdered Zara Aleena but decided he could not bear to listen to the details of his crime being repeated in court.

Judges will have the discretion to use these new powers as they see fit to ensure justice is done. This could include not ordering offenders to attend in cases where it is expected that they will cause significant disruption which would distress victims and their families.

Legislation to introduce these changes will be set out in due course.
August 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Over £3.5 million funding from Government to reduce the impact of offshore windfarms on UK Air Defence [August 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 30 August 2023.

Two projects have been awarded funding to develop windfarm mitigating prototypes and new funding announced to help the government accurately model the effectiveness of the different solutions.
- The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and DASA has awarded £3.2 million in funding to minimise the impact of offshore windfarms on UK Air Defence.
- The funding will be used to help develop prototype demonstrations of windfarm mitigating technologies such as new materials and sensor technology.
- A further competition has also launched today, with up to £500,000 in funding available for innovators with expertise in modelling and testing the effectiveness of different mitigation technologies.
Another significant boost to the UK’s renewable energy expansion has been delivered today, with fresh multi-million-pound Government funding and the launch of a new competition driving the move to minimise the impact of offshore windfarms on UK Air Defence surveillance.

Funding worth £3.2 million has been awarded by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), to two projects aiming to demonstrate technologies which can mitigate offshore windfarms’ impacts and their interference on defence radar.

Alongside this a new £500,000 competition has been launched which will help companies find solutions to accurately model and test the effectiveness of these technologies.

This will help ensure the UK remains on course to reach its ambition of 50GW in offshore wind by 2030, whilst supporting and co-existing with our air defence capabilities.

The Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence: Phase 3 Programme is funded by the government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) and is undertaken in partnership with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), and DASA.

Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said:

“Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown us how important it is to power more of Britain from Britain.”

“Our offshore wind capability plays a huge role in delivering our energy security, with world’s four largest offshore windfarms in UK waters.”

“But with the war raging on, we need to make sure our energy security and our national security remain fully compatible.”

“This funding will ensure our offshore wind works alongside our latest air defence technologies – boosting our defences through our military, and by delivering home-grown energy for our homes and businesses.”

The first winner of the funding today is LiveLink Aerospace, a Hampshire-based aerospace company, who have been awarded up to £1.3 million in funding.

Their project will address the challenge of radar clutter caused by the rotating blades of wind turbines, which can degrade the performance of air defence radars and surveillance systems.

The firm’s work comprises of developing a series of small low-cost and robust passive air defence sensors, which do not emit any signals themselves, and therefore do not interfere with the radar returns from wind turbines.

The second winner is Trelleborg, an engineering firm based in Nottinghamshire, which has been awarded up to £1.8 million in grant funding to deliver a project on the use of advanced materials in wind turbines to tackle radar interference. Trelleborg will use its existing expertise in manufacturing and engineering of stealth materials to deliver next-generation wind blades which will cause less interference with radars.

Key dates and funding

Also announced today, is up to £500,000 in funding now available for Stream 2 of Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence: Phase 3.This phase seeks to provide funding for innovators with expertise in modelling and testing the effectiveness of different mitigation technologies, with the end goal of producing the best technology through the right combination of radar, materials and mapping software.

The deadline to submit a proposal is midday 24 October 2023 (BST).Read to full competition document to submit a proposal.

The Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence Programme

As part of the UK’s renewable energy supply to achieve Net Zero goals, offshore wind energy will be essential. However, the installation of offshore windfarms may cause detrimental effects on the quality of data gathered from surveillance radars, which are crucial for the UK’s air defence detection capability.

The Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence programme has been addressing this challenge area for several years. After the successful completion of Phase 1 and Phase 2, Stream 1 of Phase 3 was launched earlier this year. The primary objective of Stream 1 is to support prototype demonstration of the technologies that could mitigate the impact of windfarms on UK Air Defence.

Stream 2 aims to find innovative solutions that can accurately model and test the effectiveness of different mitigation technologies.

Wing Commander Kevin Walton, Co-Chair of the Ministry of Defence/Offshore Wind Industry Council Air Defence Mitigation Task Force said:

“The MOD is playing an active role in the UK’s efforts to build a greener, net-zero future.

“Offshore wind will play a central part in meeting our nation’s renewable energy needs and ensuring energy security for the UK. Complementing existing RAF work to mitigate the impacts of large-scale offshore windfarms on our current radars and the previous phases of this competition, this 2nd stream of Phase 3 of the innovation competition will play an important part in helping us to find the right combination of future solutions that will enable the long-term co-existence of windfarms and the UK’s air surveillance radars.”

Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence Programme: Phase 3 – Stream 2

To support the decision making on further development of windfarm mitigation technologies, it is necessary to develop a model which can be used to objectively compare the funded solutions, determine their effectiveness in reducing the impact of proposed offshore windfarm developments and predict the consequences and benefits of combining solutions together.

For this competition, we are seeking models that can help assess the performance of different windfarm mitigation technologies to inform future policy decisions. The model should be able to assess the technologies and combinations against a set of specific metrics, data, and different scenarios.

Example scenarios include:
- Several military jets crossing over a windfarm
- A fast jet performing a turn over a windfarm
- A supersonic fast jet traversing a windfarm at high/low altitude
Example metrics include:
- Percentage of time over a windfarm that the target remains tracked
- Time to re-establish tracking if lost
- Delay of any tracking.
Read the full competition document for a more detailed breakdown of the competition’s requirements.
August 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Government teams up with sport stars to launch new physical activity drive [August 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 30 August 2023.

The Government will join forces with former sports stars, health professionals and fitness experts to help an additional 3.5 million adults and children get physically active by 2030, as part of a major national activity drive.
- New sports strategy sets national participation targets of an additional 2.5 million adults and 1 million children active by 2030
- New taskforce, led by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, Sports Minister Stuart Andrew and former England Rugby Union international Ugo Monye, to drive strategy forward and track progress on these goals
- Announcement builds upon unprecedented government funding for grassroots sport facilities and opening up access to school sport across the country
The Government will join forces with former sports stars, health professionals and fitness experts to help an additional 3.5 million adults and children get physically active by 2030, as part of a major national activity drive.

Appointed by the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary, the new National Physical Activity Taskforce will be led by the Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer, Sports Minister Stuart Andrew and former England Rugby Union international Ugo Monye as an independent co-chair.

It comes as part of the Government’s new sport strategy published today. ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’ sets out a blueprint to improve the nation’s health and fitness, enhance corporate governance in the sport sector and make it more resilient to future challenges at elite and grassroots level.

The new participation targets – to have over 2.5 million more active adults and over 1 million more active children by 2030 – are intended to reach people of all ages and backgrounds, and meet the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidance that:
- Adults should aim to carry out at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week
- Children should aim to carry out at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day
Figures from the Sport England Active Lives Survey indicate that 25% of adults are currently deemed to be ‘inactive’ in England, with over 11 million doing less than 30 minutes of activity in total a week. Meanwhile figures indicate that 53% of children and young people are not meeting the CMO’s guidance of at least 60 minutes of activity a day – with 23% being fairly active, but 30% doing less than 30 minutes a day.

NHS statistics from 2021-2022 indicate that almost a quarter (23%) of year 6 children were obese in England, an increase of 3% from 2018-19, the last figures recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – making a national activity drive all the more important.

As part of this new strategy, the expert taskforce will advise on how to deliver on these targets, challenge how ambitions are being delivered and hold the Government, National Governing Bodies, the physical activity sector and schools to account for delivering the targets at both the national and local level.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:

As Culture Secretary I want to increase opportunities for everyone to find the sport or activity that they love, which will help them be healthy and happy. Whether that’s playing with friends on the basketball court, getting on your bike or working out in your living room we want everybody to find a sport or physical activity for them.

Our new taskforce, jointly led with Ugo Monye, will work across government and the sports industry to turn these ambitious targets into a reality, helping to break down barriers to help people enjoy the benefits of getting active.

Through our support for school sports and our continuing investment of millions of pounds in facilities in local communities across the country we are making sure that people have welcoming and accessible places where they can get active.

National Physical Activity Taskforce co-chair and former England Rugby Union international Ugo Monye said:

As a former international player and dad to young children, I know the importance of instilling the benefits of sport and physical activity.

It is clear that a major effort is needed to get Britain moving and boost our national health. I’m determined to use my experience and drive forward this ambitious strategy.

It is the first sport strategy to be published since 2015, and builds upon the Government’s record investment of almost £400 million in grassroots facilities, including in multi-sport facilities, swimming pools and park tennis courts, to ensure communities across the country have access to high quality, safe facilities.

This is alongside investment of over £600 million for school sport and PE over the next two years, with a focus on making it clear that girls have the same access as boys, building on the success of the Lionesses at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 last year and in their recent FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 campaign.

The strategy also sets the vision for the future of the sector in the country.

In recent years, the responsibilities of sport governing bodies around integrity issues, such as misconduct (including bullying, discrimination and safeguarding issues), doping and corruption, have highlighted concerns on how some athletes have been treated, the mechanisms for raising complaints and how disputes are resolved at elite and grassroots level.

The Government is clear that sport needs to be a welcoming, inclusive and fair environment that participants and their parents or guardians can have confidence in.

In light of this, a call for evidence is being launched today on current experiences of how issues and concerns in sport across the UK are dealt with in the sector, and how these could be strengthened. The call for evidence is open to participants in sport, parents and guardians, coaches, athlete support personnel, sports governing bodies, academics and other relevant stakeholders.

Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said:

It is vital that everyone participating in sport feels safe and secure. We want to ensure that we have the strongest possible systems for addressing sport integrity issues and that we remain at the forefront of global efforts around fairness and inclusion in sport.

UK Sport and Sport England have taken significant steps to improve safeguarding including the revision of protections for children. The Government has also strengthened positions of trust legislation to now include sports coaches.

I urge everyone with relevant experiences to contribute to this call for evidence process.

The new sport strategy also seeks to ensure that the sector moves towards a more sustainable future, both financially and environmentally.

DCMS will support the sector to attract additional forms of investment to help the sector continue to grow and thrive, including new sports and areas with significant growth potential, such as women’s sport. The department will also highlight best practice, examples of good governance, and work with the tech sector to identify innovative solutions to help increase participation and physical activity.

It follows the Government providing more than £1 billion in financial support to the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department will also continue to work with UK Sport, host cities and sporting bodies to bid for, and successfully host, major sporting events that deliver significant socio-economic benefit across the UK, to maintain our world-leading track record in this area. DCMS will commission additional analysis of the economic value of these events to support future decision making. It follows the recent success of England hosting UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the Rugby League World Cup.

The Government’s Gold Framework guidance has been updated to help DCMS and UK Sport work successfully with the sector to keep bringing the world’s biggest and best major sporting events to the UK. It comes at a time when the UK and Ireland are bidding to host UEFA EURO 2028, with a decision due later this year.

These events are a core element of the Government’s strategy to not only provide significant benefits across the country, but inspire people to get more active, and create the next generation of sports stars.

DCMS will also champion the importance of the sector prioritising the development of its own environmental sustainability initiatives and encourage the sharing of best practice from across sport and physical activity.

This is expected to help the sector to deliver on UK Sport’s goal for high-performance sport to be having a net positive impact on the environment by 2040, and for sport national governing bodies to have reduced their emissions by 50% by 2030.
August 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Appointments made to the Natural England Board [August 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 30 August 2023.

Extensions and reappointments of board members at Natural England, the government’s statutory advisor on nature conservation.
Defra Ministers have reappointed Kim Shillinglaw and Peter Unwin and extended the appointments of Rosamund Blomfield-Smith and Kerry ten Kate as Natural England Board Members.

Kim Shillinglaw and Peter Unwin have been reappointed for a second term of three years from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2026. Rosamund Blomfield-Smith and Kerry ten Kate’s appointments have been extended for nine months from 1 June 2023 to 29 February 2024.

Board members play an important role in providing leadership for the organisation, ensuring the delivery of Natural England’s mission to build partnerships for Nature recovery, in support of the Environmental Improvement Plan. This includes setting strategy and direction, agreeing objectives, overseeing performance and taking important decisions such as designations.

These appointments have all been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments published by the Cabinet Office. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.

Natural England plays a key role in delivering the government’s environmental priorities. Its purpose is to ensure the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations.

Biographies:

Kate Shillinglaw

Kim has led the commercial transformation of businesses as Director of Factual at EndemolShine, modernised TV channels as Controller of BBC2 and BBC4, and initiated content from Stargazing Live to Blue Planet II as Head of Science and Natural History Commissioning.

She chaired the BBC’s Commercial Income and Factual Boards, advised organisations from the Royal Institution to the Science Museum and been a Trustee of NESTA and the Raspberry Pi Foundation. She is co-chair of the National Nature Reserves Steering Group.

Peter Unwin

Peter Unwin is an ex-civil servant with 10 years Board level experience as Director General at Defra and DCLG and a spell as acting Permanent Secretary at Defra. He worked across a wide range of policy areas, including the natural environment, climate change, agriculture, local government and planning.

After leaving the Civil Service in 2015 he spent four years as Chief Executive of the Whitehall & Industry Group, an independent charity promoting leadership development and understanding between government, industry and the not-for-profit sector.

Peter was awarded a CB for services to the environment in 2011 and is a member of the Aldersgate Group.

Rosamund Blomfield-Smith

Rosamund Blomfield-Smith spent 30 years in the City, latterly as a director of both Rothschilds and ING Barings, but since 2003 has been non-executive.

She has served on many boards, including Thames Water and Hartpury Agricultural College and was until recently chairman of Museum of London Archaeology and a member of Ofgem’s Challenge Group.

She is also a Trustee of the Jo Cox Foundation.

Kerry ten Kate

Kerry ten Kate is an independent consultant, advising governments, companies, banks and civil society organisations on how best to integrate the natural environment into economic decision-making.

She is a trustee of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, where she chairs the Conservation Committee and a non-executive board member at Finance Earth. She is a member of the Aldersgate Group and Conservation Fellow at the Zoological Society of London.

She is a former member of the Natural Capital Committee.
August 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Director, Aleksander Staskiewicz, who illegally took out a Bounce Back Loan jailed for eight months [August 2023]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 30 August 2023.

Aleksander Staskiewicz overstated his company turnover in order to secure the taxpayer-backed funds.

Aleksander Staskiewicz, 35, from Southampton, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment at Southampton Crown Court on 17 August 2023, for offences contrary to the Fraud Act 2006 and the Companies Act 2006.

Staskiewicz applied for a £20,000 Bounce Back Loan in May 2020 when the country was in lockdown. However, his company Think Gas Ltd had already been in financial difficulty before the pandemic had struck, and he had considered closing it down.

Instead, he overstated his company’s turnover in his application for the government funding and withdrew £19,600 the day after the loan was deposited in the company account. The day after this, he applied to close down his company by having it struck off from the Companies House register.

The striking-off application to dissolve a company makes clear that creditors, such as a bank with an outstanding loan, should be notified within seven days of applying to close the business, and that failure to notify interested parties is a criminal offence. Staskiewicz did not inform his bank.

The company’s affairs were investigated by the Insolvency Service after counter-fraud systems flagged the likelihood that fraud had occurred.

Attempting to avoid a custodial sentence, Staskiewicz told the court that he hoped to repay the loan money back within 12 months. However, he had made no effort to repay the loan in the past three years.

Peter Fulham – Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Aleksander Staskiewicz thought he could abuse the rules to exploit a scheme, backed by taxpayers, specifically designed to help businesses get through the pandemic.

He now has a criminal conviction as a consequence of his actions. We will not hesitate to prosecute such cases.

Background

Aleksander Staskiewicz is of Southampton. His date of birth is July 1988.

Think Gas Ltd – Company No. 10638031

Staskiewicz pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court on 20 July 2023 to the following specific offences:

Fraud by misrepresentation contrary to sections 1 and 2 Fraud Act 2006 – eight months
Failure to notify creditor of a strike off application contrary to section 1006 Companies Act 2006] – eight months
To be served concurrently making overall sentence of eight months.

August 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Housing estate pollution sanction sees environment charity get funding boost from Keepmoat Homes [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Environment Agency on 30 August 2023.

Keepmoat Homes Ltd, a company that specialises in building residential housing and which owns the site at Heron’s Reach near Bradford, will donate £100,000, while Applebridge Construction Limited, which were contracted by Keepmoat Homes for the first phase of the development, will donate £35,000.

An investigation by the Environment Agency found that Pitty Beck was polluted a number of times between October 2016 and November 2018 while construction was underway.

The companies submitted Enforcement Undertakings to the Environment Agency, which have now been accepted.

An Enforcement Undertaking is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals to make amends for their offending, and usually includes a donation to an environmental charity to carry out improvements in the local area.

On 13 October 2016 Keepmoat Homes reported pollution from its site, and an Environment Agency officer confirmed that silty water was running from the site and into the beck. The same happened on numerous occasions over subsequent months. The company did not have an environmental permit to allow for treated water to be discharged into the beck.

The company obtained this permit in October 2017. This allowed the discharge of water from one outlet at a maximum rate of no more than 40mg/l of suspended solids. Only days later, a discharge containing 555 mg/l entered the beck from a different outlet, followed by the first of several permit breaches from the permitted outlet containing more than the allowed concentration of suspended solids.

As part of the requirements of the Enforcement Undertaking, Keepmoat Homes revised its surface water management plan for the site, constructed urban drainage ponds, purchased a siltbuster and gulley bags to remove sediment from the water leaving site and improved its inspection and monitoring regime.

Applebridge Construction employed a full time health and safety manager, reviewed and updated its environmental management system and delivered bespoke training to staff.

Environment Agency Area Environment Manager Ben Hocking said:

Housing construction companies – like all companies carrying out any major development work – have a responsibility to ensure their work does not impact on the environment and we will take action when pollution occurs.

While we will always take forward prosecutions in appropriate cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.

They allow polluters to restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving their training and procedures.

Water Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Companies that damage our natural environment must be held to account and enforcement action like this ensures polluters pay and help clean up our rivers and waterways.

Our Plan for Water is delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement right across the water sector.

Aire Rivers Trust will use the donations on the monitoring and prevention of pollution on Bradford Beck, a ‘pocket park’ proposal at Bradford Beck and restoring habitats in the catchment, including some wetlands at Pitty Beck.

Bradford-based environmental charity the Aire Rivers Trust will use the donations on the monitoring and prevention of pollution on Bradford Beck, and to restore riverside habitats across the catchment. The charity works to improve the River Aire for both wildlife and local communities.

Simon Watts, Operations Manager at the Aire Rivers Trust, said:

We’re pleased to see money from polluters being spent on restoring Bradford’s streams and river. We believe the work it will fund will create a lasting impact on the health of the beck that runs through the heart of Bradford.

August 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Families urged to boost their back-to-school budget with Tax-Free Childcare [August 2023]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 30 August 2023.

With the new school term starting, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding families to open a Tax-Free Childcare account today to save up to £2,000 per child on their yearly childcare bills.

Families can use their Tax-Free Childcare account to pay for any approved childcare including holiday clubs, breakfast and after school clubs, child minders and nurseries.

The scheme provides working families, with children up to the age of 11, or 16 if their child has a disability, up to £2,000 a year per child or £4,000 a year if their child is disabled. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account, families automatically receive the government top up of £2. Families can save up to £500 every 3 months for each child or £1,000 if their child is disabled.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

Starting back to school and arranging childcare for the term ahead can be costly for working families. Tax-Free Childcare offers financial help so families can save on the cost of childcare. Search Tax-Free Childcare on GOV.UK and sign up online today.

Opening a Tax-Free Childcare account online is straightforward and can be done in about 20 minutes. Money can be deposited at any time, 365 days a year, to be used straight away or left in the account and used whenever it is needed. Unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time.

August 30, 2023