Category: Gov Press Releases

Alongside the leaders of France, Canada, Kenya, Niger and Jordan, the Prime Minister Theresa May asked delegates at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to join the commitment to ensuring all girls can access 12 years of quality education and learning by 2030.

Currently, 90% of primary school children in low-income countries are unable to read or write. This next generation has the potential, energy and ambition to lift themselves out of poverty and transform their countries, yet millions of children leave school without a basic education.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“By denying girls an education we deny them a voice, we deny them choice, we deny them their future.

“I am calling on everyone here to join our campaign (Girls Education Challenge). To commit to the individual, collective and governmental action that is needed to break down barriers to girls’ education.

“To increase girls’ access to schools and learning. And to ensure that every girl, in every corner of the world, can access the 12 years of education they need to unleash their potential, to embrace the opportunities before them, and to help change the world for the better.”

To tackle this crisis the Prime Minister announced nine new projects supported by UK aid that will specifically target the most vulnerable and marginalised girls.

These nine projects, which part of the second phase of the Department for International Development’s flagship Girls Education Challenge, will support more than 170,000 of the world’s most marginalised girls including up to 3,500 girls with disabilities.

The UK is a world leader on education. Over the last three years DFID has spent nearly £700 million a year on education on average through bilateral programmes. Over this time (since 2015) DFID supported 11.4 million children to gain a decent education, of which at least 5.6 million were girls.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also announced further UK aid support to help tackle the global learning crisis and better target development support.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

“Girls have the power and potential to play a transformational role in their communities, societies, economies and political institutions. Yet over 130 million girls around the world are currently missing out on school.

“To tackle this crisis and reach the most marginalised girls, we need to fully understand the current global situation and identify who is being left behind. UK aid is focused on gathering the right data to help us find out what children are learning and the progress being made.

With a quality education girls can go on to get jobs and help lift their families out of poverty, helping countries move beyond aid dependence. This is a win for the UK and a win for the developing world.”

At the UNGA event, Ms Mordaunt announced UK aid support to improve education data and analysis. This will allow a better understanding of those who are in the greatest need, and help track collective progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The data gathered through this programme will be crucial in identifying where and how to target UK aid and global support, as well as monitor the progress we are making towards the Education Goal.

This will lead to the development of policies and programmes which are better able to improve and monitor children’s learning, including marginalised groups such as girls and children with disabilities, which can be tracked and monitored effectively.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• Ms Mordaunt announced a £7.8 million worth of UK aid support to improve education data and analysis helping the UK and partners to better understand who is in most need and track collective progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The projects (in Ghana, Somali, Nepal, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Malawi) announced by the UK Prime Minister will support up to 171,723 girls including 13,146 girls with disabilities.

• Over 130 million girls around the world are missing out on school. In conflict-affected countries girls are twice as likely as boys to be out of school. Girls have the power and potential to play a transformational role in their communities, societies, economies and political institutions. In conflict-affected countries girls are twice as likely as boys to be out of school.

• In order to tackle this crisis and achieve the education Sustainable Development Goals, we need to fully understand the current global situation and where the gaps are in existing learning levels. Currently, there is insufficient data to understand who is learning and what progress is being made.

• DFID’s flagship Girls’ Education Challenge focuses on getting girls into school and learning. The first phase (GEC I) directly provided quality education for over a million marginalised girls. It has also benefited many more girls and communities through 37 different projects in 18 countries across Africa and Asia, many operating in conflict and crisis.

• At the G7, the PM pledged an additional £187 million of UK Aid funding to the second phase of the GEC, to support 427,779 girls who we have already supported into school to continue their education through primary, secondary school and training – providing them with the opportunity to get twelve years of quality education. This announcement built on the announcement made at CHOGM in April, where the PM pledged £212 million to get almost one million girls in developing countries across the Commonwealth learning. This means that in total the UK is now supporting over 1.5 million girls around the world, through the second phase of the GEC programme.

• The UK recently committed £225 million to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) for the period 2018-2020, to keep 880,000 children in school each year for three years, train 170,000 teachers and build 2,400 new classrooms. The UK has also founded and contributed £30m to Education Cannot Wait, of funds for education in emergencies.

General media queries:

Email: mediateam@dfid.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7023 0600

Follow the DFID Media office on Twitter – @DFID_Press

Karl Dunlop, Stuart Grehan and Ian Dunsford previously accepted disqualification undertakings for their management roles within the group of companies involved in the transfer of pension funds.

Stuart Greehan, Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd, agreed to a 9-year voluntary ban as a result of false and misleading statements made to encourage investors to transfer their pension pots.

Karl Dunlop (9 years), Director of Imperial Trustee Services Ltd, and Ian Dunsford (7 years), Director of Omni Trustees Ltd, agreed to voluntarily bans for failing to act in the best interests of pension members and subsequently failing to ensure investments were adequately diverse.

And despite not formally being appointed a director of Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd, Stephen Talbot recently accepted a 9-year disqualification undertaking for failing to explain what happened to millions pounds worth of assets.

The investigation, led by the Insolvency Service, centred on the conduct of the directors connected with Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd (TWH), who helped fund two introducer firms Sycamore Crown Ltd (Sycamore) and Jackson Francis Ltd (JF).

The introducer firms cold-called members of the public, inviting them to transfer their pension pots into Self Invested Personal Pension plans (SIPPs) and pension schemes operated by Omni Trustees Ltd (Omni) and Imperial Trustee Services Ltd (Imperial), who provided trustee and administrator services for two occupational pension schemes – Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme (HRBS) and Capita Oak Pension Scheme (COPS).

However, investigators found that the introducers from both Sycamore and Jackson Francis misled clients about their expertise and experience, offering ‘guaranteed’ returns designed to encourage them to transfer their existing pension funds.

As a result, more than £39m was paid into SIPPs, over £10m into COPS and more than £8m to HRBS. Members’ funds were then largely invested in unregulated investments in storage units which ultimately did not yield the level of returns promised to members.

Ken Beasley, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service’s Public Interest Unit, said that unfortunately he has seen an increase in cases where members of the public have been persuaded to transfer their hard-earned pension pots into new schemes on the basis of unsubstantiated promises of higher returns which inevitably never materialise.

He said:

You may have seen the current campaign by the Financial Conduct Authority, where they recommend that you reject unexpected offers, especially those originating from a cold call. You should check who you are dealing with, avoid being rushed or pressured into making decisions and seek out impartial advice before going ahead with any pension transfer.

Suspicions should also be raised if you are promised high or guaranteed returns, unusual investments or complicated structures, high-pressure sales tactics, involvement of several parties, all taking a fee which significantly cuts into your pension pot, and long-term pension investments which could take years before you realise something is wrong.

Omni and Imperial are currently the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) who are inviting members of HRBS and COPS to complete a questionnaire.

Notes to editors

On 21 January 2017 The Pension Regulator appointed Dalriada Trustees Ltd as trustee of HRBS and COPS. Work is still ongoing in relation to the status and value of individual members’ pensions.

About the directors

Stephen Michael Talbot

Director of Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd (Company number: 103954) from Salford and DOB: Jan 1972

On 6 July 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stephen Michael Talbot, who whilst acting as a director of TWH despite not being formally appointed as such:

• failed to ensure that TWH maintained or delivered up adequate accounting records.
• as a result of this it has not been possible to ascertain whether payments out of the bank account of over £37 million were for a purpose connected with the business, the reason over £740k was paid out to Mr Talbot, the reason why £7.5 million (net) was paid out to a Panamanian foundation for which Mr Talbot was protector, show commissions due to or received from the company, show the nature of receipts into the company or establish the presence of any claims for the liquidator to pursue.

His ban was effective from 27 July 2018 and lasts for 9 years.

Ian Dunsford

Director of Omni Trustees Ltd (Company number: 08175702) from Barnet, Hertfordshire and DOB: Jan 1974

On 19 July 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Ian Dunsford, after he admitted that he:

• failed to ensure that Omni, as trustee of a retirement benefit scheme, had acted in the best interest of members.
• took the appointment as director despite lacking the relevant knowledge and understanding to manage a pension scheme, allowed a third party to make investment decisions, failing to ensure that the investments were sufficiently diverse.
• failed to take sufficient steps to safeguard returns on investments promised to members resulting in potential losses to the scheme of at least £560k.
• failed to take sufficient steps to prevent the transfer of £3.7 million of scheme assets to a third party outside the jurisdiction.

His ban was effective from 10 August 2017 and lasts for 7 years.

Karl Dunlop

Director of Imperial Trustee Services Ltd (Company number: 08133190) from Worcester and DOB: May 1965

On 3 July 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Karl Dunlop, after he admitted that he:

• failed to ensure that Imperial, as trustee of a retirement benefit scheme, had acted in the best interest of members.
• took the appointment as director despite lacking the relevant knowledge and understanding to manage a pension scheme
• failed to ensure that adequate accounting records had been maintained (in particular relating to member transfers in of over £4 million when he was director)
• failed to ensure that over £9m investments were sufficiently diverse
• failed to take sufficient steps to safeguard returns on investments promised to members resulting in potential losses to the scheme of at least £1.6 million.

His ban was effective from 25 July 2017 and lasts for 9 years.

Stuart Grehan

Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd (Company number: 08023102) and Jackson Francis Ltd Company number: 07763545) from Salford Worcester and DOB: August 1981

On 6 October 2016, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stuart Grehan, after he admitted:

• false and misleading claims had been made about Sycamore and JF’s level of expertise and experience to induce prospective investors to transfer their pension funds.
• claims were also made about the companies offering a range of investment products and ‘unbiased advice’ despite the only product actively promoted being unregulated investments in storage units which the companies had a vested interest in promoting due to the way in which they were funded.
• claims were made that a strict due diligence process was followed but there was no evidence that independent checks were carried out meaning so called ‘guaranteed’ returns were not received by pension members.

His ban was effective from 27 October 2016 and lasts for 9 years.

Disqualifications

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

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

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the charity on 16 April 2018 to look into a number of concerns including the use of the charity’s premises to support or condone terrorism.

The investigation was opened following the conviction of the charity’s Imam for six counts of encouragement of terrorism, and two counts of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation. The Commission also had concerns regarding the management and administration of the charity by its trustees and their failure to evidence their compliance with the charity’s governing document and other charity law duties.

As a result the Commission made an order, on 7 August 2018, under section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011 to appoint Jonathan Burchfield of Stone King LLP as interim manager of the charity. The interim manager has taken over the management and administration of the charity to the exclusion of the charity’s trustees.

The Commission’s investigation continues.

Notes to Editors

1. This appointment is a temporary and protective power that will be reviewed at regular intervals. It will continue until the Charity Commission makes a further Order varying or discharging it.
2. It is the Charity Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
3. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. For more information see the about us page on GOV.UK.

In his first major Commonwealth event since becoming Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt hosted a reception for the 52 Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on 25 September 2018.

Mr Hunt welcomed progress by Commonwealth countries on the commitments they made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in April.

Since CHOGM, the UK and Kenya have hosted the Global Disability Summit; Vanuatu became the first country in the world to enact a ban on a range of single-use plastics, with other states including India following suit; the Commonwealth SheTrades programme has launched in Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh and Nigeria, with over 1300 women entrepreneurs now registered.

The Foreign Secretary also announced a £1.8m UK contribution to the Commonwealth’s electoral observation programme.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said:

The Commonwealth is responding to the global challenges of today, from climate change to economic protectionism.

Five months on from the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London, the 53 countries of the Commonwealth are taking forward real action on their commitments to a fairer, more secure, more sustainable and prosperous future.

The Commonwealth is a unique organisation and a champion for the rules-based international system – but it must be seen to deliver, and then keep delivering.

The Foreign Secretary also chaired a Commonwealth Foreign Ministers meeting, where discussion included progress on the Commonwealth Blue Charter; increasing intra-Commonwealth trade; addressing cyber security threats, and reform of the Commonwealth Secretariat to ensure it is efficient and delivering for its member states.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @Jeremy_Hunt
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Paul Gilhooley (48) from Tranent, East Lothian, was the sole director of Paul Gilhooley Consultancy Ltd. The consultancy was incorporated in May 2014, with registered offices in Dublin Street, Edinburgh.

However, the consultancy entered into a difficult trading period and was advised to enter into a Creditor Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) in June 2017, after Paul Gilhooley Consultancy had ceased trading.

In a CVL, insolvency practitioners are appointed to manage the winding up of the company and require full co-operation from the directors. Despite numerous requests, however, Paul Gilhooley failed to deliver any accounting records to the insolvency practitioners.

As a result, the insolvency practitioners could not determine from June 2016 what the consultancy had been doing, the exact reasons for the insolvency or the level of payment taken by Paul Gilhooley out of the company.

The administrators were also unable to verify a significant tax debt of just over £207,000 and could not establish the consultancy’s debts, what happened to £14,000 of cash taken from the company’s bank account or verify what happened to the consultancy’s fixed assets.

On 11 September 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Paul Gilhooley, after he admitted that he failed to ensure Paul Gilhooley Consultancy Ltd maintained, preserved and /or delivered up adequate accounting records.

Effective from 2 October 2018, Paul Gilhooley is now banned for 7 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Robert Clarke, Head of Company Investigation at the Insolvency Service said:

Directors have a legal duty to maintain proper accounting records and Paul Gilhooley has paid the price for failing to do that as he be banned for a significant amount of time cannot now carry on in business other than at his own risk.

The Insolvency Service will take action against directors who do not take their obligations seriously and abuse their position of trust

Notes to editors

Paul Gilhooley is of Tranent, East Lothian and his date of birth is December 1969

Company Paul Gilhooley Consultancy Ltd (Company Reg no. SC478667).

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

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

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

The Minister said:

This event was an excellent and welcome opportunity to deepen our already strong collaboration with Pacific Island partners. The UK is doubling our diplomatic presence in the Pacific through the opening of High Commissions in Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, underlining our deep commitment to the region.

With Pacific leaders today, I discussed work to strengthen climate resilience. This is an immediate priority for the Pacific, but is not just a Pacific issue – it is a global issue, which requires a global response. The UK is at the forefront of this, helping to secure a long-term sustainable future for the region. We talked about clean oceans, where the UK is a committed co-Chair – with Vanuatu – of the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance.

We also discussed the UK’s determination to boost trade with the Pacific nations, in order to support the creation of sustainable economies, based not on aid or loans but on investment and exports.

Finally, I underlined our commitment to helping Pacific nations achieve their international objectives through successful engagement in multilateral fora, including the UN.

Mr Hunt discussed a range of issues relating to the bilateral relationship, particularly the ongoing cases of a number of detained British-Iranian dual nationals.

Following his meeting with Foreign Minister Zarif, Mr Hunt said:

I today made clear to my Iranian counterpart that it is absolutely essential that the Iranian government takes rapid action in relation to the cases of a number of detained dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

I again pressed for Nazanin’s swift release – she deserves to be back at home with her family.

Yesterday (Monday 24 September), in a separate meeting of foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, France, Russia, China, Iran, and the EU High Representative, Mr Hunt urged Iran to continue to comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and expressed the UK’s firm commitment to the deal.

Following his discussions on the Iran nuclear deal, the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

The UK remains committed to the Iran nuclear deal, which is critical for global security. We will continue to ensure the deal is upheld, and Iran must do the same.

The Foreign Secretary also took the opportunity to offer his personal condolences for the terrorist attack in Ahvaz over the weekend, which he condemned unreservedly.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @Jeremy_Hunt
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

The UK is leading international efforts to develop an urgent action plan to tackle malnutrition in Yemen, Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt announced in New York today (Tuesday) at the United Nations General Assembly.

With 7.4 million Yemenis on the brink of malnutrition, a coordinated response is needed to prevent the food crisis worsening.

Today, Minister Burt chaired a ‘Call to Action’ event bringing together agencies from the United Nations, Non-Governmental Organisations and donors to make a series of commitments to help millions of malnourished Yemenis over the next three years.

These commitments include:

• reducing cases of severe and moderate malnutrition through the detection and early treatment of all children under five and pregnant and lactating women;
• reversing chronic malnutrition prevalence, and in the long-term reducing chronic malnutrition annually by at least 50,000 children;
• increasing breastfeeding rates, whilst also providing food supplements (such as folic acid and iron) to children under five, adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women;
• providing children under two and pregnant and lactating women with extra food rations in areas most at risk of famine; and
• developing more robust monitoring mechanisms and referral services to help agencies better understand and target malnutrition cases.

Speaking from New York, Minister Burt said:

The UK is deeply concerned about the food security crisis in Yemen – the largest in the world, with nearly 8.4 million people not knowing where their next meal is coming from. Children are often the worst affected, with malnourished children being 12 times more likely to die from disease.

This is entirely preventable, which is why today the UK has brought together UN agencies, donors and NGOs to work smarter and more efficiently to save Yemeni lives.

UK aid is helping to meet the immediate food needs of 2.5 million Yemenis this year, as well as treating children with severe acute malnutrition and providing safe water, shelter, and emergency livelihoods across the country.

The UK has been clear that the way forward remains a political solution, and is committed to helping the UN Envoy end this conflict which has brought severe pain and suffering to the Yemeni people.

Notes to editors

• The UK’s £170m in aid this financial year (2018/19) will meet the immediate food needs of 2.5 million Yemenis, as well as treating children with severe acute malnutrition and providing safe water, shelter, and emergency livelihoods across the country. The UK is the fourth largest donor overall to Yemen this year.
• According to the United Nations, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is the worst in the world, with the largest number of people at risk of starvation in the world. Rapidly rising food and fuel prices, the depreciating Yemeni riyal and the fact that non-payment of public sector salaries in many parts of the country for over two years makes it increasingly difficult for Yemenis to buy food and meet their other basic needs. At least 1.8 million children and 1.1 million pregnant or breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished, including over 400,000 children under age five who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
• The root causes of chronic and acute malnutrition and the factors leading to it are complex. The current conflict creates conditions where malnutrition can take hold, exacerbated by poverty, constrained development, low socioeconomic status, and other social circumstances. Women and young girls and boys suffer disproportionately. Countries with high levels of malnutrition lose as much as 10 percent national GDP year-on-year.