Day: August 29, 2018

Delroy Anthony Roberts (50), from Birmingham, was a director of three debt management companies: Haydon Associates Debt Management Consultants Limited, Sterling Financial Security Limited and Clear View Finance Limited.

He was appointed a director of each of the companies, between January 2012 and March 2013, and all three held approved licences to provide consumer credit activities. However, during Delroy Roberts’ tenure the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received several complaints.

Customers had a range of grievances, including not receiving updates about changes to their debt plans and despite making regular payments, the money they owed to their creditors didn’t go down. At the same time, creditors were not paid the full amount and on occasions, they were not paid at all.

The majority of these complaints were upheld and as a result, the three companies were ordered by the FOS to refund the customers. But while some were refunded, other customers were not.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also issued warnings to Delroy Roberts but he failed to ensure the three companies adhered to regulated guidance, the companies did not provide written statements to customers setting out their debt positions and they also failed to provide information about customers to the FCA.

The three companies entered into liquidation in December 2015 following the issues with the FCA, as well as experiencing financial difficulties. Not only did existing customers leave the three companies but Delroy Roberts had also agreed with the FCA that the debt management companies would not enter into any new contractual arrangements and as a result, had not generated any new income.

In July 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Delroy Roberts after he did not dispute that he had failed to ensure that the three debt management companies complied with requirements by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Effective from 6 August 2018, Delroy Roberts is now banned for 12 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Anthea Simpson, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

People who turn to debt management companies are often in need of urgent help with no-where else to turn to but Delroy Roberts failed to provide an adequate service to his customers.

Delroy Roberts is banned from running companies for over a decade and this should send a clear warning to other directors that if they run a business in a way that is detrimental to either its customers or its creditors then we will take strong action against them.

Notes to editors

Mr Roberts is of Birmingham and his date of birth is 29 July 1968

Company numbers:

• Sterling Financial Security Limited – 05456199
• Clear View Finance Limited – 07098691
• Haydon Associates Debt Management Consultants Limited – 04725109

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

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

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

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 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

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The Prime Minister has recommitted to supporting countries on the front line of instability, in order to tackle poverty and to build a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future for all.

She announced that the UK will expand its diplomatic presence in the Sahel, opening two new embassies in Chad and Niger and increasing the UK footprint across the region. The two new embassies will replace existing offices in Chad and Niger. The UK will also have a much larger presence at the embassy in Mali.

In one of Africa’s most fragile regions, we are increasing our support for African countries’ efforts to tackle the underlying drivers of instability and conflict. The expansion will see the UK step up diplomatic, defence and development engagement in the region, creating new partnerships and opportunities and reducing potential threats to UK and European security.

Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

We must not allow instability across the Sahel, exacerbated by regional conflicts, to continue to hold back development and to spill over into the rest of Africa or into Europe. Strengthening Britain’s presence in Chad, Niger, and Mali will allow us to work more closely with our partners in the region to create new opportunities and tackle together the challenges posed by instability, poverty, and irregular migration.

The Prime Minister made the announcement during a 3-day trip (28 to 31 August) to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya alongside Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin and Trade Minister George Hollingbery.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Harriett Baldwin on Twitter @hbaldwin
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

The PCA’s initial analysis of the first reports submitted by the pub companies highlighted three key themes:

• the small number of Market Rent Only (MRO) tenancies agreed
• the high number of tenancies subject to forfeiture, seizure or abandonment
• the use of legal notices to oppose the renewal of tied tenancies on their existing terms.

Mr Newby said: “The information submitted by the pub companies and the monthly MRO data being published by them confirm the picture suggested by earlier PCA research. It is a picture of tied pub tenants experiencing what they perceive to be significant barriers to exercising their MRO option in a timely and straightforward fashion.

“I have written to the pub companies and this will be the focus of the next round of bi-lateral meetings with each CEO in October. I want to get behind these figures and know what is driving the high rate of tenant departures, including the extent to which tenant churn may be preventing them from exercising their rights under the Code.

“Additionally, all tied pub tenants who have received a MRO proposal will shortly be asked to complete a PCA questionnaire setting out their experiences of the MRO process and its outcome. I will use this information and the responses from the pub companies to target further interventions to secure tenants’ access to MRO.”

The PCA also wants to examine whether the new rules on pre-entry information, training and business plans introduced under the Code are having the intended effect of ensuring that people taking on a tied tenancy are fully prepared and supported to succeed.

And he will be looking in detail at cases where pub companies have issued notices under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (LTA) 1954 to oppose the granting of a new tenancy to an existing tied pub tenant for any evidence of links between tenants requesting MRO and LTA proceedings to take possession.

The Code requires pub companies to provide the PCA with an annual compliance report which provides detailed and accurate accounts of how they have complied with their obligations under the Code, of any breaches raised or alleged by tied pub tenants and the steps taken as a consequence, as well as what the pub companies have done to ensure compliance with the Code.

The PCA required pub companies to submit information relating to the status of their tied estates, the management of their tied agreements, the conduct of their tied rent assessments and handling of MRO requests as well as the impact of proceedings under the LTA.

Notes to editors:

1. The compliance reports cover the period from the introduction of the Pubs Code on 21 July 2016 to 31 March 2018.
2. Full statement from the PCA including compliance reports are available at www.gov.uk/pca
3. Any queries should be directed to office@pubscodeadjudicator.gov.uk

• Government to invest £92 million of Brexit readiness money on plans for independent satellite system
• 18-month study will look at the design and development of UK programme
• This will inform the decision to create the system as an alternative to Galileo
• The UK Space Agency will lead the work with full support from the Ministry of Defence

The money has been allocated from the £3 billion Brexit readiness fund announced at last year’s Budget and will be rolled out over the coming months.

Satellite navigation systems like GPS are increasingly important for commercial, military and other critical applications, from guiding aircraft, ships and emergency services to helping millions of people find their way on car journeys. A recent government study estimated that sustained disruption to satellite navigation would cost the UK economy £1 billion per day.

The government has been clear that the UK wants to remain involved in the Galileo programme, and is negotiating with the European Commission to this end.

But without the assurance that UK industry can collaborate on an equal basis now and in the future, and without access to the necessary security-related information to rely on Galileo for military functions such as missile guidance, the UK would be obliged to end its participation in the project.

The UK Space Agency is leading this phase of the work to look at options for a British Global Navigation Satellite System, which would fully meet UK security requirements and support the UK’s sovereign space and cryptography sectors. This significant new investment will develop specific technical proposals with the Ministry of Defence playing a full role in support.

The 18-month engineering, design and development project will deliver a detailed technical assessment and schedule of a UK global positioning system.

This would provide both civilian and encrypted signals and be compatible with the US GPS system.

UK industry has been instrumental in developing Galileo technology and encryption, and this experience will be used in developing the alternative, with a number of multi-million-pound contracts available for British space companies.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

“Britain is a world leader in the space industry and satellites. We are investing in an alternative option to Galileo to ensure our future security needs are met using the UK’s world-leading space sector.

“Our position on Galileo has been consistent and clear. We have repeatedly highlighted the specialist expertise we bring to the project and the risks in time delays and cost increases that the European Commission is taking by excluding UK industry.

“Britain has the skills, expertise and commitment to create our own sovereign satellite system and I am determined that we take full advantage of the opportunities this brings, backed by our modern Industrial Strategy.”

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

“The danger space poses as a new front for warfare is one of my personal priorities, and it is absolutely right that we waste no time in going it alone if we need an independent satellite system to combat those emerging threats. This alternative system and the UK’s very first Defence Space Strategy which I will launch later this year will be a further boost to military skills, our innovative businesses and our genuinely world-leading role which has seen us make such a key contribution to Galileo.”

Dr Graham Turnock, CEO of UK Space Agency said:

“We remain confident in the strength of our space sector and look forward to working in partnership with them on the exciting prospect of a national satellite navigation system.”

Even if the decision was taken not to create a UK independent satellite system and the UK remained a full member of Galileo post-Brexit, this work would support UK jobs and expertise in areas including spacecraft and antenna design, satellite control systems, cryptography and cyber security. It will also support the UK’s growing space sector.

Growing space sector

Britain’s space industry is going from strength to strength. Last week (22 August) the European Space Agency’s (ESA) revolutionary British-built wind measuring spacecraft Aeolus was launched. The spacecraft was built by Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage and other British businesses provided critical elements to the mission, including a camera, software and propulsion systems.

At the Farnborough International Airshow in July, the government committed £31.5m to support the development of a spaceport in Sutherland in Scotland and commercial operations from the site, which could be the first in Europe and will see rockets lift off from UK soil.

Horizontal launch sites also have significant potential in a future UK spaceflight market, which could attract companies from all over the world to invest in Britain. Sites such as Newquay, Glasgow Prestwick and Snowdonia will be boosted by an additional £2m fund to grow their sub-orbital flight, satellite launch and spaceplane ambitions.

Low cost access to space is important for the UK’s thriving space sector which builds more small satellites than any other country, with Glasgow building more than any other city in Europe.

The UK Space Agency is driving the growth of the space sector as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy with major initiatives including the £99m National Space Test Facility at Harwell, and the UK continues to be a leading member of ESA, which is independent of the EU.