Month: February 2018

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Press release: Partners work together on day of action along Norfolk river

Following complaints over several months from Norfolk Broads residents living along the River Yare in Norwich about illegal fishing, littering and general anti-social behaviour, Environment Agency Fisheries Enforcement Officer Nick Beardmore took action. He raised the matter with partners including Norfolk Police and the Broads Authority at the monthly Norfolk Police Broadsbeat Partnership meeting.

As a result a multi-agency day of action was arranged for the Heron Island area, led by the Norfolk Police Broadsbeat team. The day saw new information signs installed, a big clean-up of the area and rod licence checks carried out.

Nick Beardmore said:

The residents were overwhelmed with the support they received and I want to thank everyone who joined us on the day, which was a real success. Hopefully the problems encountered in the past won’t be repeated.

Norfolk Police Broadsbeat officers Derek Rutter, Martin Chapman, Paul Bassham and Amy Barrell used 2 police boats to transport everyone over to the island and carry out hi-visibility patrols along the Rivers Wensum and Yare. They also explained their role to the cadets, who were split into 3 groups and rotated throughout the day.

Broadsbeat officer PC Paul Bassham said:

It was recognised that if we didn’t all pull together to tackle the emerging issues, the problems would continue to escalate once the weather turned warmer. This would take up valuable resource time and make life miserable for residents around Heron Island.

PC Barrell co-ordinated the follow-up response, supervising North Norfolk and Broadlands Police Cadets, and Officers Tina Wright, Peter Davison, Andy Mason and Ian Kennedy while they cleared the area and installed the new signs. The team worked alongside Broads Authority Rangers, local residents, a tree surgeon and the Environment Agency throughout the day.

Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader Lesley Robertson said:

Working together in this way means we can pool our resources and tackle a number of issues at the same time. I am very pleased that local residents felt supported and urge anyone with information about illegal fishing activities to report it to our 24-hour Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

For updates and pictures, follow us on Twitter @EnvAgencyAnglia @Broadsbeat @BroadsAuth

Link: Press release: Partners work together on day of action along Norfolk river
Source: Environment Agency

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Press release: New government backed advisory panel commits to help eradicate rough sleeping

Leading experts from homelessness charities and local government met for the first time today as part of the government’s new rough sleeping advisory panel and committed to work together to help eliminate rough sleeping within a decade.

The new panel chaired by Homelessness Minister Heather Wheeler will help develop the national rough sleeping strategy to halve rough sleeping over the course of the Parliament and eliminate it altogether by 2027.

Made up of experts, charities and local government, the panel will draw on their considerable experience and individual successes to support the upcoming Ministerial Taskforce. This will bring together ministers from key departments to provide a cross-government approach to preventing rough sleeping and homelessness.

The panel members agreed key priority areas including what works best in terms of prevention such as housing-led approaches and the most effective ways of intervening with someone already experiencing rough sleeping.

Following the first panel meeting, Heather Wheeler said:

We cannot accept rough sleeping as a stubborn problem that will always be with us.

That’s why we are providing over £1 billion of funding, supporting those who are homeless and rough sleeping and bringing in the most ambitious legislation in decades that will mean people get the support they need earlier.

Tackling homelessness is complex, but no one should ever have to sleep rough.

The new panel is clear we need to act swiftly to realise our shared determination to help the most vulnerable in society and eliminate rough sleeping for good.

The panel will meet monthly and will report back to the Taskforce in the summer with a series of recommendations.

Among the key themes the panel will pursue are:

  • Prevention activity to stop people from rough sleeping in the first place.
  • Programmes and interventions to target both the drivers of rough sleeping and support vulnerable people at risk of rough sleeping.
  • Recovery and long-term support to help people maintain sustainable tenancies.
  • The role of wider society, business, the voluntary sector and the general public to tackle street culture.
  • Better data and clearer accountability to ensure the right structures are in place at the local and national level.

Government action to date on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping

  • As part of the £1 billion,of funding we are providing £315 million to local authorities for their work on homelessness, and an additional £402 million in Flexible Homelessness Support Grant funding, which local authorities can use to work more strategically to prevent and tackle homelessness pressures in their areas.
  • Government has also provided funding for the ‘No Second Night Out’ approach which identifies new rough sleepers and helps them off the streets immediately. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has funded its national roll-out through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund and most local authorities have committed to the programme.
  • Announced £28 million for 3 Housing First pilots in Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands. The pilots will support long-term rough sleepers off the streets and help them to end their homelessness. Individuals will be provided with stable, affordable accommodation and intensive wrap-around support. This will to help them recover from complex health issues, for example substance abuse and mental health difficulties and sustain their tenancies.
  • Government is investing £9 billion to build more social housing, including council homes. This government is committed to fixing the broken housing market and our Housing White Paper sets out measures to do just that.
Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel

Members of the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel

Chair

  • Heather Wheeler, Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Homelessness sector

  • Jon Sparkes, CEO Crisis
  • Polly Neate, CEO Shelter
  • Jeremy Swain, CEO Thames Reach
  • Howard Sinclair, CEO St Mungos
  • Jean Templeton, CEO St Basil’s
  • Rick Henderson, CEO Homeless Link

Mayors

  • Andy Street, Conservative Mayor for West Midlands
  • Andy Burnham, Labour Mayor for Greater Manchester Combined Authority
  • James Murray, London Deputy Mayor for London Housing and Residential Development

Local government and Housing Federation

  • David Orr, CEO National Housing Federation
  • Mark Lloyd, CEO Local Government Association
  • Mark Meehan, Director of Housing for Croydon and Chair of the London Council Housing Needs group
  • Gillian Douglas, Bristol City Council
  • Cathy Hadfield, Cornwall Council

International expert

  • Peter Fredriksson, advisor on Housing First to the Finnish Government

Sector experts

  • Lord John Bird, founder of the Big Issue
  • Brooks Newmark, previous Minister for Civil Society

Background

Terms of reference

The government aims to halve rough sleeping over the course of the Parliament and eliminate it altogether by 2027.

The Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Heather Wheeler, will chair the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel which will support government to produce a national rough sleeping strategy. The strategy will take action to reduce rough sleeping now, and ensure the structures are in place to eliminate rough sleeping by 2027.

Over the coming months the Advisory Panel will:

  • meet with the Minister for Housing and Homelessness on a regular basis to advise on how we can reduce the numbers sleeping rough
  • support the senior Ministerial Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce
  • support the rough sleeping team in MHCLG to develop and test policy options
  • test approaches, share feedback, best practice and studies from across the sector to inform policy development

Rough Sleeping is a chronic issue and the Advisory Panel will consider a wide range of interventions to ensure we take action now. The Panel will also look at how the government can embed integrated systems in the long term to ensure that no one has to sleep rough. The review will take into account the experiences and successes of previous interventions, and highlight good practice.

The following lines of inquiry will be pursued:

  • Prevention activity to stop people from rough sleeping in the first place.
  • Programmes and interventions to target both the drivers of rough sleeping and support vulnerable people at risk of rough sleeping.
  • Recovery and long-term support to help people maintain sustainable tenancies.
  • The role of wider society, business, the voluntary sector and the general public to tackle street culture.
  • Better data and clearer accountability to ensure the right structures are in place at the local and national level.

Office address and general enquiries

2 Marsham Street

London
SW1P 4DF

Media enquiries

Social media – MHCLG

Twitter – https://twitter.com/mhclg
Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhclg
LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/company/mhclg


Link: Press release: New government backed advisory panel commits to help eradicate rough sleeping
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Brighton woman imprisoned for laundering £1.4m as part of family fake sex drug operation

A woman has been sentenced today following a long running investigation into the sale of counterfeit and unlicensed drugs which convicted 12 individuals in 2015. The defendant received a prison sentence of 2 years and 3 months.

The medicines, which were sold predominantly over the internet, have an estimated value of £11 million with a suggested annual turnover in excess of £3 million.

She facilitated payments for the purchase of unlicensed erectile dysfunction medicines and claims that she received 10% of the ‘earnings’ laundered through her account but was unaware that the money was for the unlicensed medicine, Kamagra.

Samples of the products were found to contain potent, active medicinal ingredients with potential serious side effects and are classified as prescription only. Supply without medical supervision is dangerous as the contents of unlicensed medicines are unknown and untested.

Alastair Jeffrey, MHRA Head of Enforcement said:

Selling medicines outside of the regulated supply chain is a serious criminal offence. If you buy medicines online, you are potentially trusting a criminal to look after your health”.

Always seek professional help and visit your GP if you are ill. These criminals are motivated by greed and have no concern about your welfare.

MHRA is currently running the #FakeMeds campaign to warn people against buying potentially dangerous or useless unlicensed medicines sold by illegal online suppliers.

Visit www.gov.uk/fakemeds for tips on buying medicines safely online and how to avoid unscrupulous sites.

Link: Press release: Brighton woman imprisoned for laundering £1.4m as part of family fake sex drug operation
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: JD.com commits £2 billion to bring UK products to Chinese consumers

From luxury British couture and tea, to chocolate, beauty products, home appliances and other items, UK products have gained popularity in China in recent years. To meet this growing demand,JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has announced plans to sell £2 billion of UK goods to Chinese consumers in the next 2-3 years.

The agreement signed today between JD.com and the British Government’s Department of International Trade (DIT), is focused on making it easier for British companies to access the China market via JD.

“Many British brands recognise the huge potential of China’s enormous e-commerce market” said Richard Burn, Director-General of DIT China. “JD truly understands what Chinese consumers want and has the resources to help British brands ensure success in the region. We’re looking forward to working with JD to bring more British brands to China in the future.”

Prime Minister Theresa May, who is on her first official state visit to China since becoming Prime Minister, met with JD Chairman and CEO Richard Liu at the Residence of the British Ambassador to China. Among the topics Liu and May discussed were JD’s plans to help more UK brands reach JD’s 266 million customers.

The number of UK brands on JD.com has doubled over the last two years, with sales in 2017 growing 100% year-on-year. World famous brands Dyson, Clark’s, Johnnie Walker and Lipton are among the brands that have been popular with JD consumers. Over the past three years, Dyson sales on JD have increased by over 60 times.

In order to push even greater sales of British goods, JD will launch special campaigns for seasonal products and undertake other activities to give brands more opportunities to reach Chinese consumers. JD will kick off with a 24-hour “Celebrate Britain” sales promotion for UK products this April to introduce the “Best of Britain” to Chinese customers.

Link: Press release: JD.com commits £2 billion to bring UK products to Chinese consumers
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: PM meeting with President Xi: 1 February 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

Prime Minister Theresa May today met with President Xi during her three-day official visit to China.

President Xi said that, step by step, China and the UK had elevated our relationship and he looked forward to further building on its success. The President quoted William Shakespeare, stating that: ‘What’s past is prologue.’

The PM said that, once Britain leaves the EU, we will be free to strike our own trade deals and pointed to the joint trade and investment review which will now take place as the first step towards delivering ambitious future trade arrangements.

President Xi said China’s markets would be further opened to the UK, including in sectors such as beef, dairy and other agricultural goods.

The PM and the President said the UK and China would hold further discussions on how best they can cooperate on the Belt and Road initiative, which offers significant opportunities to deliver further prosperity and sustainable development across Asia and the wider world. The PM and President spoke of the importance of international standards and transparency to ensure the initiative’s success.

The PM said it had so far been a very successful trip for the business delegation which had accompanied her to China, with deals worth at least £9bn expected to be signed.

The President and the PM discussed their shared commitment to protecting the environment, including their support for the Paris climate change agreement and determination to tackle the ivory and illegal wildlife trades.

The PM said the world had a collective responsibility to tackle plastic pollution on behalf of future generations. She pointed to the work which was being done in China to remove plastic particles from the Yangtzse river to stop them from flowing into the ocean.

The two leaders discussed North Korea and their shared determination to bring to an end DPRK’s illegal nuclear activity, agreeing denuclearisation was the objective.

They discussed Hong Kong, and reiterated the importance of and their commitment to “One Country, Two Systems”.

As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, they also discussed the importance of the Rules-Based International System.

The PM and President agreed the importance of having frank conversations in areas where the two countries do not see eye to eye, and looked forward to further deepening their ties in the ‘golden era’, including in areas such as culture and education.

Link: Press release: PM meeting with President Xi: 1 February 2018
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: On-time Self Assessment returns break the record again

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has once again surpassed its record of completed tax returns with a huge 10.7 million customers submitting theirs before the 31 January 2018 deadline.

Proving increasingly popular with its handy tips and helpful advice, the department’s online service was used by 9.9 million customers – meaning more than 92.5% of total returns were completed online.

There were 758,707 people who completed their return on the last day before the deadline and the most popular hour for customers to hit submit was from 4pm to 5pm on 31 January with 60,596 returns received (1,010 per minute, 17 per second).

Thousands of customers avoided any penalties at the last minute as 30,348 customers completed their returns from 11pm to 11:59pm yesterday.

HMRC handled 195,260 calls over the course of the day but waiting times were kept at just 3 minutes and 6 seconds, meaning that hundreds of thousands of customers got the extra support they needed to meet the deadline.

Angela MacDonald, Director General for Customer Services, thanked customers for meeting the deadline and said:

It’s really fantastic to see that each year, more and more Self Assessment customers are getting ahead of the game and submitting their tax return before the 31 January deadline. But we’re not complacent, we want the number missing the deadline to be zero, and we’ll continue to adapt the process to make it easier and simpler for all our customers until every return is in on time and without avoidable errors.

If you’re one of the small number that missed the deadline, please submit your return now to avoid further penalties. We really don’t want penalties, we just want tax returns.

For anyone who still has not submitted their return, help and advice is available on GOV.UK or from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310 (open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 4pm on Saturday).

Background

Self Assessment summary:

  • 11,433,349 Self Assessment returns were due
  • 10,687,761 returns were received by midnight on 31 January (93.5% of total issued)
  • Around 745,588 Self Assessment returns are still outstanding
  • 9,916,430 returns were filed online (92.8%)
  • 771,331 returns were filed on paper (7.22%)
  • more than 4,852,744 returns were received online in January 2018 (44.8% of total received)
  • 1,290,948 returns were received on 30 and 31 January (26.6 % of total returns received in January)
  • busiest hour: 4pm to 5pm on 31 January – 60,596 returns received (1,010 per minute; 17 per second)
  • 389,849 payments transactions were handled on 31 January

Penalties

The penalties for late tax returns are:

  • an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time
  • after 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900
  • after 6 months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater
  • after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater

There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months.

Media contacts

Press enquiries only, please contact:

  • Patrick O’Brien: phone 03000 585 024, or email: Patrick.o’brien@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
  • Thomas Channon: phone 03000 585 020, or email: Thomas.channon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
  • out of hours: phone 07860 359544
  • follow HMRC Press Office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice

Link: Press release: On-time Self Assessment returns break the record again
Source: Gov Press Releases