Day: November 3, 2017

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will reassure Welsh firms looking to export overseas that they’ll receive the government support to succeed, in a GlobalWelsh event at Tramshed Tech in Cardiff today (6 November).

Mr Cairns will be joined by John Griffiths, Technology Specialist at the Department for International Trade (DIT) to outline the support available from the UK Government to help the firms in attendance to begin their export journey.

Figures from well-known Welsh firms such as Tiny Rebel, Orchard and Doopoll are expected to join Martyn Phillips, chair of event host GlobalWelsh to learn more about the range of export support provided by DIT.

GlobalWelsh aims to build a community and network for Welsh people and businesses abroad, encouraging them to tap into shared resources and bring investment and business opportunities to fruition.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

The UK Government is determined to make sure that Welsh businesses have the tools and support at their disposal to start exporting overseas.

The Department of International Trade has already assisted hundreds of businesses in Wales with export services, with everything from market research to help attending international trade shows. It stands ready to help many more.

With 1,200 dedicated DIT staff in 109 countries worldwide, the UK Government offers a world class resource can tap into to realise their exporting ambitions. I want to see Welsh companies take full advantage of this – UK Government trade support is as much for an enterprise in Caerphilly as it is for a business in Colchester.

There are currently more than 3,800 businesses in Wales that export, with a combined value of £16 billion in the last year – an annual increase of nearly 18%.

Wales is also an attractive place for inward investment, with latest figures showing that 85 foreign direct investment projects were secured in Wales, creating 2,581 new jobs and safeguarding almost 9,000 more.

The Secretary of State for Wales has recently written to over 26,000 Welsh businesses identified as potential exporters including a copy to the Wales Export Guide.

The Wales specific guide sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. You can read the guide online here

Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are deeply concerned at the ongoing detention of human rights lawyer Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy, who was detained at Cairo airport on September 10th on his way to the UN Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances working group.

We are concerned at the detention conditions that Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy is reportedly enduring, and continue to call for transparency on prison conditions in Egypt. We call on the Egyptian authorities to ensure the freedom of civil society and the protection from torture that are enshrined in the Egyptian Constitution.

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Public Health England (PHE) today (3 November 2017) confirmed that nearly 40,000 healthcare professionals have been trained to offer quit smoking advice as part of a drive to make the NHS smoke-free by 2019. An event today in Birmingham, held by PHE, will promote the new government tobacco control plan to stop-smoking workers across the country, with a keynote address from the Public Health and Primary Care Minister, Steve Brine MP.

In support of the plan, PHE is urging all NHS frontline staff to take advantage of free online training to help them give ‘very brief advice on smoking’ (VBA). The evidence shows that giving VBA to patients makes them 68% more likely to quit if they’re offered stop smoking medication. So far, 39,447 healthcare professionals have been trained to deliver effective stop smoking advice.

The burden to the NHS in England from smoking is £2.6 billion. Last year over half a million people ended up in hospital due to a smoking attributable condition. There is an urgent need across all parts of the NHS to support people to quit to improve the health of local populations and help secure the sustainability of the NHS.

The savings to the NHS for each patient referred to stop smoking services and prescribed nicotine replacement therapy is £13.00 each year for 4 years.

NHS England is investing almost £600 million in commissioning for quality and innovation (CQUIN) schemes, including one which focuses on identifying and supporting people who smoke or who drink alcohol at higher risk levels. Under the scheme, additional funding is being made available to hospitals that help their patients to quit smoking.

PHE is encouraging all healthcare staff to undertake a 30-minute online course, provided by the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training, based around short film clips providing examples of how very brief advice can be delivered to patients; including key facts, figures and messages.

Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at PHE, said:

Every year smoking costs the NHS a staggering £2.6billion, with over half a million people ending up in hospital due to a smoking attributable condition.

Smokers respond particularly well to our advice, so as health professionals we have a duty to take every opportunity to prevent the misery and suffering we know is caused by smoking.

A smoke-free NHS is about helping smokers to quit while in the care of the NHS. It means all healthcare professionals doing what they can to encourage patients to stop, including offering on the spot support to fight cravings and banning smoking on NHS grounds.

The good news is that training for NHS staff is easily accessible and effective. Quit rates generally are also better than they have ever been. Most smokers want to quit and all healthcare staff should feel confident in having that crucial brief chat with a patient about smoking. Patients who smoke should expect to be asked whether they’d like to quit.

Public Health Minister, Steve Brine said:

Smoking rates are at their lowest ever levels but it is still our biggest preventable killer.

We now have strong laws helping people to quit and we need the NHS and its incredible staff to commit to a smokefree NHS. By making this powerful statement, the NHS can lead the way, drive down smoking rates even further and provide the best support to the 1 in 4 patients who are smokers. Our new Tobacco Control Plan is aiming for the first ever smokefree generation and the NHS has a huge role to play in that.

There has never been a better time for people to quit and for healthcare professionals to discuss quitting with their patients. The ban on attractive branding on packs, together with better and more quitting options including e-cigarettes, stricter controls on smoking in public and supportive campaigns like PHE’s Stoptober have all contributed to successful quit attempts in the first 6 months of this year being at a record high, with almost 20% remaining smokefree a year after quitting.

Background

1. Total smoking-related burden to the NHS is estimated at £2.6 billion: GP visits – £794 million; practice nurse visits – £111.7 million; prescriptions – £144.8 million; outpatient visits – £696.6 million; hospital admissions – £851.6 million

2. VBA:
   PHE has commissioned online training on delivering brief advice on smoking from the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training and this is available free of charge for all health care professionals.
3. Smoking prevalence figures:
   In 2016, 15.5% of adults in England aged 18+ smoke, down from 19.9% in 2010; In 2000, 26.8% of adults aged 16+ were smokers. Prevalence since 2010 has fallen most in younger age groups:see the data.
4. PHE’s Tobacco Control Profiles:
   See local smoking prevalence figures and additional local data.
5. The national CQUIN scheme 2017 to 2019:
   No.9 Preventing ill health by risky behaviours – alcohol and tobacco The risky behaviours CQUIN focuses on identifying and influencing inpatients who are increasing or higher risk drinkers by providing brief advice; and to identify and influence inpatients who smoke to make a quit attempt. It applies to community and mental health trusts in 2017 to 2018 and extends to acute trusts in 2018 to 2019.
6. A smokefree NHS:
   The NHS next steps on the five year forward view states that all NHS estates will become smoke-free by 2019 to 2020.
7. Standardised tobacco packaging Cochrane Review:

• one national study of Australian adult smoker cohorts (5441 participants) found that quit attempts increased from 20.2% prior to the introduction of standardised packaging to 26.6% one year post-implementation
• there was also evidence that standardised packs were less attractive to those who did not smoke, making it less likely that they would start
• second study of calls to quitlines provides indirect support for this finding, with a 78% increase observed in the number of calls to the New South Wales online service after the implementation of standardised packaging
• tobacco in standardised packs was also generally perceived as worse-tasting and lower quality than tobacco in branded packs; standardised packaging also appeared to reduce misperceptions that some cigarettes are less harmful than others, but only when dark colours were used for the uniform colour of the pack

The Department for International Development (DFID) held its first supplier engagement event today (Friday 3 November 2017) to help local businesses in the Midlands make the most of opportunities to deliver UK aid, following the International Development Secretary Priti Patel’s fundamental review of how DFID works with suppliers.

The Minister of State for International Development, Lord Bates, encouraged representatives of over 50 businesses from across the Midlands to compete for DFID business and bring their local expertise and skills to help the poorest people across the world.

By working with DFID, local Midlands businesses will support Global Britain and in turn create jobs for the local economy.

As a result of a review of DFID’s work with suppliers, the Department is cutting red tape to boost competition and open up DFID’s market to new businesses including small enterprises in the UK and the world’s poorest countries. We are also stopping so-called “bid candy” practices, by which large suppliers include smaller businesses to win bids, but then drop them from the contract.

DFID is running regional supplier engagement events – with the first Open for Business event held in collaboration with the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership in Austin Court, Birmingham – to simplify the application process for DFID contracts to help potential suppliers.

Minister of State for International Development, Lord Bates, said:

The Department for International Development is committed to using the world-leading expertise of British businesses to tackle some of the greatest humanitarian and development challenges the world has ever faced.

I have spoken today with business representatives who want to help deliver UK aid to achieve the best results that UK taxpayers and the world’s poorest deserve through the unique skills and expertise the Midlands has to offer.

Ensuring that DFID delivers value for money is a cornerstone of the International Development Secretary’s agenda – boosting competition and making it easier than ever for new and smaller businesses to work with us through events like this show we are making significant progress.

Saqib Bhatti, Director for Growing Businesses and representing SMEs at Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said:

The West Midlands’ LEPs are committed to helping the 160,000 companies in our region to compete and thrive. Today is an important step to equipping this area’s suppliers with the information they need to bid for new business opportunities across the world.

We look forward to working with DFID to continue the region’s strong economic growth.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. In December 2016, the International Development Secretary Priti Patel announced a fundamental review of DFID’s management of its contracted suppliers, to ensure greater value for money for taxpayers in the Midlands and across the country. Further information can be found here.

2. This is the first of a number of engagement events DFID will be running across the country, as we want to demystify the process of bidding for work with DFID and help them identify ideas and programmes that they can deliver.

3. The Supplier Review makes it easier than ever for businesses like these to bid to work with us. We have simplified the processes for contract applications which will benefit businesses like those here today.

4. UK aid is untied. Over 80% of DFID’s work is delivered through British-registered businesses reflecting the expertise and international competitiveness of the UK marketplace.

5. As a demonstration of the important work DFID has been undertaking in recent months, the Department has been awarded the 2017 Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Annual Award for ‘Best Contribution to the Reputation of the Procurement Profession’.

The companies, Right Corp Limited and Curve Point Limited, operated a website which offered a binary options trading online platform to members of the public.

The website described binary options as being the simplest form of trading, which allows to a trader to place a trade predicting whether an asset will rise or fall over a desired time duration. If the trade is correct, the website stated that the trader will receive the pre-set pay out, but if the trade is incorrect, the trader will only lose the funds placed on that particular trade.

The role of the provisional liquidator is to protect assets in the possession or under the control of the companies pending the determination of the petitions. The provisional liquidator also has the power to investigate the affairs of the companies insofar as it is necessary to protect assets including any third party, or trust monies, or assets in the possession of, or under the control of the companies.

It is understood that clients of the companies have been contacted by individuals who are claiming to be acting on behalf of the “liquidator” of Right Corp Limited. These clients are told that if they were prepared to pay a further amount of money to the purported liquidator, they would be able to recover the sums that they had invested in the companies. Any individual contacted in this manner is advised not to make any such payment and to contact the Official Receiver whose details are given below.

The case is now subject to High Court action and no further information will be made available until petitions to wind up the companies are heard in the High Court on 27 February 2018.

Notes to editors

The two companies are:

Right Corp Limited (company number 09815405) – Registered Office: Flat 524, 103 Blackwall Way, London, E14 9RF

Curve Point Limited (Registered in the Marshall Islands) – Registered Office:Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands.

The petitions were presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Official Receiver was appointed as provisional liquidator of the companies on 11 October 2017 by Mr Justice Marcus Smith a Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Further information about live company investigations is available here

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, 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.

The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit (South), The Insolvency Service, 2nd Floor, 4 Abbey Orchard Street, London WC1B 3SS.
Tel: 020 7637 6404 Email: piu.or@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk

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Xefro Trade Ltd sold its products on the basis of misrepresentations made in promotional material and an investigation by the Insolvency Service found the company misled the public and failed to install systems safely. The company was wound up on 17 October 2017.

The heating system itself was not fit for sale and was described as a “defective and dangerous” product. In some cases he company failed to deliver systems at all despite receiving advance payments.

Potential customers were given comparisons between their current heating systems and the potential savings, suggesting that the Xefro graphene coated radiators could reduce the cost of heating a house by 75% and save 2.05 tonnes of carbon per system per year.

The company falsely stated that these claims had been verified by independent tests but in fact, the cost of operating the Xefro system was more than double and produced almost twice the amount of CO2 emissions of a conventional heating system over a 24 hour period.

The enquiry showed that a number of the company’s customers paid deposits of between £100 and £4,000 for the Xefro heaters but that they were either not delivered or, if delivered, were never installed.

Many of those customers who did receive their systems complained about poor workmanship, failure to comply with promised delivery dates or to install the system correctly once delivered. They then found that the 20 year performance guarantee was worthless as they were unable to contact the company and the guarantees were not underwritten by an insurance company.

Alex Deane, Chief Investigator, in Companies Investigations of the Insolvency Service said:

Companies that don’t deliver on their promises and make misleading claims should be aware that the Insolvency Service can and will investigate and, if necessary, apply to Court to close them down.

Notes to Editors

Xefro Trade Ltd was incorporated on 30 January 2015, registration number 09413716. Its registered office is at The Quadrant, Green Lane, Heywood, Manchester OL10 1NG. The company’s directors were Martin Benson, Michael Drogan (until 30 June 2016) and Peter Nabridnyj (until 25 June 2015).

The winding-up order was pronounced by Deputy District Judge Watkin on 17 October 2017 in the High Court, with Lucy Wilson-Barnes appearing for the Secretary of State and no representation for the company.

The petition to Wind-up the company was presented to the High Court on 2 August 2017, under the provisions of Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 following confidential enquiries by Company Investigation under Section 447 Companies Act 1985, as amended. The winding-up order was made on 17 October 2017Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Further information about live company investigations is available here

All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 2nd Floor, 3 Piccadilly Place, London Road, Manchester, M1 3BN. Tel: 0161 234 8531 Email: piu.north@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk

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