Category: 0 Reviewed

On 4 January 2016 John Thomas Hanbury was appointed a director of Crownsbury Limited, before the company operated a payroll processing bureau, which it had not done prior to his appointment.

However, the company entered into Administration on 18 July 2016 and the Insolvency Service’s subsequent investigation found that between 4 January and 18 July 2016, John Hanbury failed to ensure Crownsbury maintained and/or preserved adequate accounting records.

He also failed to deliver adequate accounting records to the Joint Administrators when required to do so. As a result, it has not been possible to verify what the company’s income and expenditure was after 3 May 2016 – the date its bank account was closed.

Further investigations found that it was not possible to determine the reason for receipts totalling £7,849 received between 24 March 2016 and 8 April 2016 into Crownsbury’s bank account from a connected company, of which John Hanbury is a director, as well as determining the reason for a receipt of £520,000 into Crownsbury’s bank account on 15 April 2016.

There were numerous other payments out of the company’s bank account for which no proper explanation or verification could be found.

As a result, on 7 August 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from John Hanbury, after he did not dispute that he failed to ensure the company maintained and/or preserved, or alternatively following administration, deliver up adequate accounting records to the Joint Administrators.

His ban is effective from 28 August 2018 and lasts for 7 years.

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

Directors have a duty to ensure their companies maintain proper accounting records, and, following insolvency, deliver them to the office-holder in the interests of fairness and transparency.

Without a full account of transactions it is impossible to determine whether a director has discharged his duties properly, or is using a lack of documentation as a cloak for impropriety.

Notes to editors

John Thomas Hanbury is of Shipley, West Yorkshire and his date of birth is June 1958.

Crownsbury Limited was incorporated on 30 March 2001 (Company Reg no. 04191092).

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.

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Lee Smith (42) appeared at Liverpool Court on Thursday 20 September where he also received a 28-week suspended prison sentence, as well as being ordered to perform 250 hours unpaid work and pay prosecution costs of £8,901.

The court heard that Lee Smith was a director of Smith Waste and Recycling (SWR), based in Warrington, before the company entered into a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in November 2014.

Independent insolvency practitioners were appointed to take charge of liquidating the company. But Lee Smith failed to share adequate accounting records despite several requests from both the insolvency practitioners and later, investigators from the Insolvency Service.

Failure to deliver information requested by the liquidator while winding up a company is evidence of misconduct and in Lee Smith’s case, it would have helped explain the whereabouts of funds from SWR’s accounts totalling more than £517,000.

Investigators were unable to explain cash withdrawals from SWR’s bank accounts over the course of a year between September 2013 and September 2014 totalling just over £430,000 and whether they represented genuine business expenditures.

Due to Lee Smith’s lack of co-operation, investigators were also unable to explain more than £86,000 worth of transfers between January and October 2014 made to the accounts of two companies connected to Lee Smith, as well as his remuneration and what were the company’s assets and liabilities at liquidation.

At an earlier court hearing on 24 July 2018 at Wirral Magistrates’ Court Lee Smith pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in the course of winding up and another count for failing to keep accounting records.

Arwel Jones, Director of Criminal Enforcement for the Insolvency Service, said:

Lee Smith’s behaviour throughout the liquidation has been highly unacceptable. Failing to deliver any form of company records means that his creditors are at risk of losing a significant amount of money.

A seven year disqualification order handed down by the courts is a significant ban, which should serve as a deterrent to those directors who fail to conduct their business affairs in accordance with the law.

Notes to editors

Smith Waste and Recycling Limited (Company number: 08404331) had their registered offices in Dow Schofield Watts Business Recovery Llp, 7400 Daresbury Park, Daresbury, Warrington, WA4 4BS.

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

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

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

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

• UK calls for third of world’s oceans to be safeguarded by 2030
• Current global targets for protected areas to treble under ambitious plans
• Marine protection top of agenda at UN General Assembly in New York

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has today called for a third of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030.

Globally, less than 10 per cent of the world’s seas are currently designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – one of the most important ways to protect precious sea life and habitats from damaging activity.

Now, the UK is backing ambitious calls to treble internationally-agreed targets for protected areas, meaning 30 per cent of the world’s seas would be safeguarded as MPAs by 2030.

This will build on the UK’s global leadership in protecting the marine environment – with over 200,000 square miles of Britain’s coastline already protected and recent proposals for 41 new Marine Conservation Zones marking the most significant expansion of the ‘Blue Belt’ to date.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

Protection of our oceans is a global challenge which requires global action. The UK has already safeguarded vast swathes of precious marine habitats, but we must go further.

Only by working together can we protect our shared home and ensure our marine life continues to be a source of awe and wonder for future generations.

The UK’s ambitious calls also coincide with the United Nations General Assembly, where countries have gathered in New York to discuss protection for our oceans.

While there, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey will call on other nations to push for the global target of 30 per cent of oceans designated as MPAs by 2030.

Speaking from New York, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

It is only by working with our counterparts internationally that we can truly bring about global change.

I am delighted to be in New York this week to look at how we can build on the progress made on marine protection and protect the world’s oceans for future generations.

Currently, global targets for marine protected areas are set by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, with parties agreeing to protect 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.

The UK will join almost 200 other countries in November in Egypt to begin negotiations on a new global target, and while here will push to treble the current figure to 30 per cent by 2030.

This approach would see a third of the world’s oceans protected. As is the case now, MPAs will consist of a range of management measures.

Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan said:

The UK and our Overseas Territories are working together to establish a Blue Belt of marine protection for over four million square kilometres of British waters by 2020, protecting and sustainably managing our oceans for future generations.

It is imperative that we act now to save our ocean from unsustainable activities and protect its unique ecosystems which we still know so little about. This 30 percent global target to improve ocean management and protection is both ambitious and achievable and we encourage our international partners to take action now.

Back home, 36 per cent of England’s waters are already safeguarded as MPAs – with the government’s recent proposals for 41 new Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) representing the most significant expansion of the Blue Belt yet.

The proposed new MCZs span more than 12,000 square kilometres, protecting species such as the short snouted seahorse, stalked jellyfish and peacock’s tail seaweed.

Across its overseas territories as a whole, the UK has pledged to safeguard over four million square kilometres of ocean by 2020. The Government will also publish an international ocean strategy before the end of the year setting out further action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.

This commitment to marine protection forms a key part of the 25 Year Environment Plan, an ambitious roadmap for a greener future.

The government has introduced one of the world’s strongest bans on microbeads to protect our oceans and 13 billion fewer bags have been distributed thanks to the Government’s 5p plastic bag charge.

In a further drive to clean up our seas, the Government has also set out ambitious plans to end the sale of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds and introduce a deposit return scheme, subject to consultation later this year.

• Science Minister Sam Gyimah has visited Boston, Houston and Washington DC marking one year on from the signing of the landmark science and technology accord
• following his return, he confirmed a new fact-finding mission to Texas for UK businesses and academics to open up opportunities to the UK Life Sciences sector
• during the visit, the minister met with leading academic institutions, innovative businesses and tech disruptors to learn first-hand how the US supports innovation

Marking one year on from the UK signing a landmark Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement with the US, Science Minister Sam Gyimah has visited Boston, Houston and Washington DC to meet disruptive businesses, hear from innovators and announce a further research partnership in medical technology.

The minister confirmed a winter fact-finding mission with UK experts from the life sciences sector set to visit Texas to seek out opportunities for global innovation. Both the UK and Texas have a stellar reputation in the life sciences and the US state is home to America’s leading cancer hospital. During the November visit, businesses and academics will explore new access to US markets for more UK innovators.

A total of 17% of UK research and development investment is financed from abroad, and the modern Industrial Strategy commits to keeping the UK connected to other leading international sources of ideas and learn about advances being made around the world.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

Science has no borders. By collaborating with our US colleagues, we are pooling our power to find the answers to the biggest science questions of today and making the most of the inventions of tomorrow.

Building on our reputation as a global force in science is at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy and we will continue to learn with and from international innovators to push new boundaries.

The minister used the opportunity to learn how leading academic and business partnerships between the UK and the US are commercialising technology. One example being the partnership between the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, which is developing research programmes to generate new ideas and encourage entrepreneurship that improve productivity and competitiveness.

During the trip the minister met:

• LearnLaunch and its member community to learn about the emerging Education Technology in Boston
• aerospace start-ups in Houston and NASA’s senior leaders at the Johnson Space Centre and in DC to promote UK investment in aerospace and to highlight our ambitions for the UK space sector
• the Challenger Education Centre about how we can work together to use space to inspire and challenge more young people to take up stem subjects
• National Institutes for Standards and Technology (NIST) where he discussed the vital role that science and technological standards play in supporting US innovation

• UK to protect up to 800,000 people in fragile and conflict-affected parts of Africa by providing families with alternative livelihood opportunities and protecting children from exploitation.

• Support for Prime Minister’s Call to Action from international community underlined by endorsement from 77 states, increasing from 37 this time last year.

• UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia commit to eradicating modern slavery from global supply chains.

The UK will continue to lead the fight against modern slavery at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), galvanising international action to stamp out this vicious scourge and launching a range of projects to tackle child slavery across Africa and Asia.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt will today [Monday 24 September] announce new protections for vulnerable children at risk of falling prey to traffickers. A UK backed project with UNICEF will provide up to 400,000 girls and boys in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan at risk of slavery with birth registration documents and other measures to shelter them from forced labour and underage marriage.

The UK will commit extra support, taking the UK spend to over £200 million, to help create jobs, strengthen law enforcement and improve recruitment practices so people do not become victims. It will also provide vital protections for those who do. UK aid is working to wipe out slavery, which costs the UK’s economy an estimated £4.3 billion a year, and prevent onward trafficking to the UK’s shores.

Speaking ahead of the meeting in New York, Ms Mordaunt said:

“From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, the insidious virus of modern slavery is infiltrating all aspects of our daily life without us even realising. Not only does it have a huge cost to the global and the UK’s economy, it is a shameful stain on our global conscience that must be eradicated for good.

“No one nation can banish this borderless crime alone. The international community must collaborate to dismantle predatory trafficking networks, support victims, strengthen justice systems and create sustainable alternative livelihoods.”

The UK alongside the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia will build on the success of the Prime Minister’s Global Call to Action, with four new principles for governments across the globe, designed to tackle modern slavery in global supply chains. As a collective the UK along with the other countries recognise the leveraging potential of their combined purchasing power – totaling more than $600bn – to significantly prevent forced labour in public and private sector supply chains, a crime which entraps an estimated 25 million people worldwide.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins, added:

“Denying people their freedom and basic human rights through modern slavery is a global tragedy. We as governments, businesses and citizens must do all we can to stop it.

“The UK and our partners are going further, showing leadership and setting out these new principles designed to drive out slavery from the supply chains which we will all benefit from.”

The UK’s leading stance sends a strong message that those doing business with the UK are required to act responsibly. With more than 60 per cent of forced labour victims in the private economy, Ms Mordaunt will also insist businesses step up efforts to eradicate the scourge of slavery from their supply chains. By galvanising their support, the UK hopes to enhance transparency and drive out modern slavery from the global economy.

In the year since the Prime Minister Theresa May launched the global Call to Action, 77 states have now endorsed it. This has increased from the 37 who joined last year. Today Ms Mordaunt will rally remaining members to do the right thing and join the global fight to eradicate these crimes which entrap over 40 million victims worldwide.

As children make up a quarter of modern slavery victims our additional support will:

• Equip up to 400,000 vulnerable people in conflict ravaged parts of Africa with skills training and alternative livelihood opportunities. Our support will improve law enforcement
and assist conflict-affected families in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• Tackle the worst forms of child labour through a major new programme across six countries in Asia. Working in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation and the Institute of Development Studies, UK support will reduce the vulnerability of children to forced labour in hazardous industries such as agriculture and clamp down on the trafficking of children into commercial sex work. Interventions that tackle the drivers of child labour will be rolled out including cash transfer support for families affected.

• Educate children against the perils of trafficking, assist social workers and help reintegrate victims back into society along dangerous trafficking and migratory routes in east Africa. As well as support to Africa and Asia to tackle trafficking at source, we are continuing to shine a spotlight on this crime domestically:

• We are doing more than ever to catch and convict offenders. The UK is transforming the law enforcement and criminal justice response to these crimes, resulting in almost 900 active police investigations in 2018 compared to 188 in 2016.

• The UK is significantly increasing support for identified victims, particularly children and is rolling out Independent Child Trafficking Advocates across the UK to help them to rebuild their lives.

• Thanks to our world leading legislation, thousands of businesses have published modern slavery statements and companies have changed practices that were driving demand for modern slavery.

• In July, the UK Government announced an independent review of its landmark Modern Slavery Act to ensure our world-first legislation keeps in step with this evolving crime.

Notes to Editors:

• A year ago, the Prime Minister launched a global Call to Action to eliminate the borderless scourge of forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, while doubling the UK’s aid spending on modern slavery to £150 million. Just one year on, 77 states have endorsed this Call to Action and the UK has gone above and beyond its original commitment, increasing UK aid support by over a third to £200m, to tackle the root causes of slavery in key source and transit countries across Africa and Asia.

• The economic and social costs of modern slavery report estimates that it costs the UK up to £4.3 billion a year. Each instance of the crime is estimated to cost around £330,000, including the cost of support, lost earnings and law enforcement but most significantly the physical and emotional harms suffered by individuals, who are often exploited over months and sometimes years.

• The Prime Minister emphasised on her recent Africa visit, the UK will work in partnership with the Nigerian government to tackle slavery in key trafficking hotspots. With Nigeria as the fifth largest source country for trafficking into the UK, our support will prevent exploitation in the region and combat slavery here at home.

• As part of its spending increase, the UK will launch several programmes to tackle child slavery across Africa and Asia. This includes:

o £10 million UK aid package to protect up to 400,000 boys and girls at risk of slavery in the Horn of Africa and along dangerous migratory routes in Sudan and Ethiopia. Partnering with UNICEF, UK support will provide birth registration services so children can legally prove their identity and be sheltered from forced labour, military service and underage marriage. Our support will also educate children against the perils of trafficking, assist social workers and help reintegrate victims back into society.

o £12 million package to equip up to 400,000 vulnerable people in conflict ravaged parts of Africa with skills training and alternative livelihood opportunities. Our support will educate children on the disguised risks of trafficking, improve law enforcement and support conflict-affected families in countries such as the DRC.

o £26 million aid package to tackle the worst forms of child labour through a major new programme across six Asian countries. Working in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation and the IDS, UK support will reduce the vulnerability of children to bonded labour in hazardous industries like agriculture and clamp down on children being trafficked into commercial sex work. Evidence-based interventions that tackle the drivers of child labour will be rolled out, such as social protection and cash transfer support for families affected.

• £5 million programme to scale up our work with the Government of Bangladesh to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in the country. Our support will help build an evidence base of what works and pilot innovative approaches to protect the most vulnerable, initially focusing on tea estates, domestic work and hazardous industrial work in Sylhet.

• The United Kingdom and the United States of America along with Canada, New Zealand and Australia will today announce they have agreed four new international principles which will provide a practical framework for governments to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery in global supply chains. This group of five countries will meet annually to coordinate their efforts.

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• Record £15.6 million of underpayment identified for more than 200,000 workers
• Employers fined unprecedented £14 million for not meeting legal obligations
• More than 600 employers named in 2017/18 as part of ‘naming’ rounds
• Ramped up efforts by HMRC to crackdown on underpayment and boost compliance

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) achieved record enforcement results this year, identifying £15.6million of underpayments.

The number of workers identified as underpaid was double that in 2016/17 and the highest number since the National Minimum Wage came into force.

In every case, the government instructs employers to repay their workers and enforces the return of the missing cash.

The rise in cases follows increased efforts by HMRC to promote compliance and improve employer awareness of the minimum wage.

Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst, said:

We are dedicated to stopping underpayment of the minimum wage. Employers must recognise their responsibilities and pay their workers the money they are entitled to.

The UK’s lowest paid workers have had the fastest wage growth in 20 years thanks to the National Living Wage and today’s figures serve as a reminder to all employers to check they are getting their workers’ pay right.

Over the past year, 56 employers took advantage of a HMRC pilot scheme where employers were encouraged to come forward outside of an investigation. This resulted in nearly £250,000 in arrears being declared for just under 700 workers.

The year also set a new record for penalties issued by the government, with £14 million in fines issued to employers.

More than 600 employers who were found to have underpaid their workers the minimum wage were named in 2017/18. This is the largest number in any single year since the scheme began in 2014.

This year, the social care, retail, commercial warehousing and gig economy sectors have been prioritised by HMRC for enforcement of the minimum wage. This is alongside employment agencies, apprentices and migrant workers. These sectors are where non-compliance with National Minimum Wage is believed to be more widespread.

Penny Ciniewicz, HMRC Director General of Customer Compliance, said:

HMRC is committed to ensuring that workers receive the wages they are legally entitled to, irrespective of their employer’s size or business sector, and today’s figures highlight our success over the last year.

If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 in confidence or submit a query online through our complaints form.

Low Pay Commission Chairman Bryan Sanderson said:

All workers are entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage, so it is good to see increased focus on enforcement bearing fruit and securing more arrears for more workers.

Awareness of the minimum wage is vital for workers and employers alike, and strong enforcement is critical to its success.

Funding for minimum wage enforcement has reached record levels, rising to £26.3 million in 2018/19 from £20 million in 2016/17.

For more information about your pay, or if you think you might be being underpaid, get advice and guidance at www.gov.uk/checkyourpay. Workers can also seek advice from workplace experts Acas.

Notes to editors

1. The report can be found here: National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage: government evidence on compliance and enforcement, 2018.

2. Details of the 2017/18 businesses named in the government’s naming scheme can be found here:

• £1.7m back pay identified for a record 16,000 workers as 260 employers are named and shamed for underpaying minimum wage rates
• Nearly 180 employers named and shamed for underpaying thousands of minimum wage workers
• Record 22,400 minimum wage workers to receive millions in backpay

3. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arrears of wages to the worker at current minimum wage rates and face financial penalties of up to 200% of arrears, capped at £20,000 per worker.

4. National Living and Minimum Wage rates:

Date	25 and over	21 to 24	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2018	£7.83	£7.38	£5.90	£4.20	£3.70

Five organisations in England have been awarded £489,050 from a new government start-up fund to help people who have taken lengthy career breaks to care for others get back into work, the Minister for Women Victoria Atkins announced today (22 September).

In the UK, nine out of ten potential returners are women. Studies have shown that time out of work and fewer years of full-time work are two of the reasons women struggle to progress at work – contributing towards the gender pay gap.

The five grant recipients from a £1.5 million government start-up fund will support parents and carers back into the workplace through training, refreshing skills and facilitating work placements.

They will also work directly with 79 employers from a range of sectors including law, finance, tech, retail, communications, advertising and marketing.

Minister for Women Victoria Atkins said:

For too long, taking time out of work to care for others has cut short careers and brilliant, talented women are unable to re-enter industries which will not support them to return. This is a huge loss not only to those individuals, but to our economy and businesses all over the country.

We are investing in returners to work – giving them the opportunity to refresh and grow their skills and encouraging employers to change their outdated recruitment processes. By taking action on this issue we can grow the economy and achieve true equality in our workplaces.

McKinsey research found that if women stay in the labour market, work in more productive sectors and work longer hours, there is the potential for £150 billion to be added to the annual GDP in 2025.

This pilot funding will demonstrate to companies that government means business – and inspire them to take their own steps to encourage returners with a vast array of skills back into the jobs market.

The support will help people with caring responsibilities from across the country to return to work – boosting the economy and helping to tackle the gender pay gap.

Launched on 4 March 2018, the government guaranteed £1.5 million to get people with caring responsibilities back into work. £1,010,950 more funding will be awarded this autumn.

Notes to editors:

Winning organisations:

Changing Lives: £95,000

Changing Lives is a national charity that provides specialist support to vulnerable people and families. With our grant they will help 80 returners in the North East who have complex needs such as: homelessness, sexual exploitation, addictions, mental and physical health problems, long-term unemployment and poverty.

Women Returners: £110,000

Women Returners is a social consultancy supporting returners. They are the established experts in this area, have supported over 50 employers to develop their own returner programmes and developed our Best Practice guidance.

Our grant will allow them to support 100 returners through workshops and training in the legal sector in the North West and Leeds. They will also reform the recruitment and support practices of 12 law firms to enable them to target returners in the future.

St Helens Chamber: £187,000

St Helen’s Chamber is a chamber of commerce that places emphasis in the role the private sector can play in supporting the broader community, particularly in an area of high unemployment.

Our grant will support them to engage 120 returners through career coaching using a pop-up classroom. They will equally engage employers in the local area to identify suitable job opportunities and broker recruitment.

Creative Equals: £65,000

Creative Equals is an organisation supporting returners in the creative sector. Our grant will allow them to run workshops for 30 returners and support them into roles with 15 employers that will have their recruitment and support practices reformed.

Back2businessship delivered by f1 Recruitment: £32,000

Back2businessship has a track record of getting returners back to work in the marketing, PR and communications sectors. This includes career changers, parents, carers, returners and flexible workers. With our grant and match-funding from our Employer Company Ambassadors, back2businessship will work with 25 employers in the Thames Valley, including SMEs, to target job opportunities for 40 returners in the technology, FinTech and financial services sector.

Quotes from winners

Stephen Bell, OBE, Changing Lives CEO, said:

We are delighted to have been successful in securing funding from the Returner’s Fund. Here at Changing Lives we are dedicated to supporting those with multiple and complex needs to overcome the barriers they face. This fund will allow us to develop our Employment Services to empower women to move back into employment and fulfil their potential.

Ali Hannan, Creative Equals Founder and CEO, said:

We are so honoured to receive this fund, which will mean we can build more bridges back to work for creative women. It will mean we can scale up our returnship programme to accelerate the number of senior women, as currently only about 14% of Creative Directors in the UK are women, and just 1-2% are BAME women.

Without women curating, editing and director advertising and media, we believe work often fails to resonate with our powerful audience of female consumers (women make 85% of all purchasing decisions, yet 55%% of mothers feel advertisers don’t understand them).

At the moment, with out-dated portfolios, a biased recruitment sector, and a CV-gap, returning mothers find it difficult to regain their place on the career ladder.

In partnership with progressive agencies and companies in the sector who are committed to inclusion and diversity, we hope this will rebuild careers, close the sector gender pay gap (up to 45% in some advertising agencies) and reshape the future of advertising to reflect the audiences we serve.

Julianne Miles, Women Returners Managing Director, said:

We are delighted that this government funding will enable us to kick-start a much-needed initiative to enable legal professionals to resume their careers at a suitable level after an extended career break.

Women Returners, in partnership with The Law Society, will pilot Law Returners, a cross-company returnship in Manchester and Leeds in early 2019. The aim is to create a sustainable business-led model to apply across other regions.

Following the rapid growth of returnships in sectors such as financial services, telecoms and construction, we are excited to be extending a concept with proven success into the law sector in Northern England.

Liz Nottingham, founder of Back2businessship and Amanda Fone, co-founder Back2businessship and CEO of Delivery Partner f1 recruitment & search ltd, said:

Back2businessship has been committed to helping women get back to their careers in marketing and communications since 2014.

We are thrilled that the funding from the Government Equalities Office (GEO), which will be match-funded by local corporate employers, including Oracle, will help us take our programme for marketing and comms returners to Reading and the M3/M4 corridor with a focus on the technology, FinTech , telecommunications and financial services sectors.

The Back2businessship programme not only re-orientates our returners back to the workplace but helps them find paid contract and permanent work as an outcome. Our hugely popular speed dating event will showcase the calibre and standard of our returners to local businesses.

Tracy Mawson, St Helen’s Chamber Deputy Chief Executive, said:

Local businesses tell us that difficulties in recruiting staff is holding back their growth and making them reluctant to create new jobs.

We are delighted that through this project, we will be able to work with returners – in our view a valuable and untapped resource in the local labour market.

We are very excited about the prospect of supporting both businesses and returners to create new job opportunities.

Further information

• A further £1 million of funding will be awarded later in the year.
• The government is committed to building a society where gender has no bearing on a person’s pay or opportunity, and is encouraging employers to take targeted actions to close the gaps in their organisations. Greater support for potential returners, combined with increased provision of flexible working and shared parental leave, are part of a range of measures that can eliminate inequality in the workplace.
• Returners are defined as people with existing work experience who have taken an extended career break for caring or other reasons and who are either economically inactive or now working in lower paid, temporary or part-time work or in home businesses or freelance roles.
• Returner Programmes are programmes targeted at people returning to work after a long break (typically 2 years or more). There are many forms of returner programme, including return to practice and retraining programmes.
• For more details, please call the GEO press office on: 0207 023 0600