Category: Gov Press Releases

Two years ago the UK voted to leave the EU, triggering the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) to help businesses export, attract investment, negotiate market access and free trade deals, and champion global free trade.

In that time, the department has seen exports grow by an average of £7 billion per month for the last 23 months with DIT actively helping firms secure more than £70 billion worth of export wins. During that same period, DIT has overseen a boom in total trade which has grown 15.7% to a record-breaking £2,381.8 billion.

Jobs have been created across the country with DIT figures showing that 4,337 investment projects were recorded over the last 2 financial years, creating 151,194 new jobs and safeguarding 47,735. This amounts to nearly 1,500 new jobs per week.

Two years on and DIT is also nearing the completion of a capability building programme ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU. In that time, the department has grown from some 2,500 people at inception to around 3,500 people now – more than 500 of whom work in DIT’s specialist trade policy group.

More recently, there have been significant additions to the senior leadership team and changes to how DIT operates, with 9 new Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioners to lead the trade and investment business across the world and new Directors-General for Exports and Investment with decades of experience at the world’s biggest banks.

All this work will ensure that DIT is able deliver on the government’s ambition to build a truly global Britain operating the UK’s first independent trade policy in more than 40 years.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

The UK has always been an outward-facing, trading nation and as we move towards our departure from the European Union, our priority is to establish the UK as a fully independent member of the international trading system and pursue trade agreements with new friends and old allies.

Since its creation 2 years ago, the Department for International Trade has formed strong global trading relationships, begun the process of establishing Britain’s independent seat at the table, supported British businesses to export to new markets, and set out the strategic direction for exports and investment post-Brexit.

We have come a long way in a short space of time, and I look forward to seeing this work reach fruition, as we exit the European Union.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP said:

As we celebrate our second anniversary, there are many great achievements which reflect the dedication and hard work of my international economic department. After 150 years, DIT has reconstituted a Board of Trade for the 21st century, we have developed export and investment strategies; and have begun legislating for our trading future by taking the Trade Bill through Parliament.

We have succeeded in ensuring continued record export performance which has seen the trade deficit narrow by £3.9 billion in the year to May 2018, and made sure the UK remains the number one destination for inward investment in Europe.

Permanent Secretary Antonia Romeo commented:

The department published its flagship piece of legislation, the Trade Bill, currently in Parliament, established a new approach to foreign direct investment and outward direct investment and we are shortly to publish our Export Strategy.

As we reach our second anniversary, I am proud of the significant progress the department has made.

Second Permanent Secretary and Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser, Crawford Falconer said:

This department has become the hometown stadium for a fantastic team of dedicated professionals, that have already built a formidable trade policy machine from the ground up. It’s nothing less than a privilege to be adopted by it.

Earlier this year, DIT launched the International Trade Profession, a government profession designed to build trade expertise across the civil service, in the UK and overseas, maximising opportunities for the UK with an independent trade policy. I look forward to heading up this exciting new profession and helping to develop a new wave of trade talent.

Since DIT started 2 years ago

ENDS

Background

• The Department for International Trade Annual Report and Accounts 2017 to 2018 can be found at: gov.uk
• Export and total trade figures measured over 23-month period between July 2016 to May 2018 and comparable to the prior 23 months to May 2016. Trade deficit figures measured over the latest available 12-month period between June 2017 and May 2018 and comparable to the prior 12 months to May 2017.
• Export wins figures consolidated over 2 year period, where there has been a change to methodology and validation. In 2016/17 there was no systematic validation in place, but in 2017/18 2 new processes were introduced to deliver a proportionate but robust validation approach.
• £70 million export win figure is measured from April 2016 to March 2018.

For further information

• Contact the DIT Media Team on 020 7215 2000 or email newsdesk@trade.gov.uk
• Follow us: @tradegovuk or visit gov.uk/dit

Due to launch in August 2020 the UK-built rover is part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission which will look at how Mars has evolved and whether there may be conditions for life.

The ExoMars rover will be the first of its kind to travel across the Martian surface and drill down to determine if evidence of life is buried underground, protected from the destructive radiation that impinges the surface today. It will collect samples and analyse them with next-generation instruments, many designed by British engineers.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

“Exploring the surface of another planet is what many scientists and researchers dream of and now a British-built rover will travel the surface of Mars to answer some fundamental questions, and the public can be part of this exciting new chapter by naming the rover. We want creative and bold entries – I’ll start the ball rolling with Rover McRoverface!

“The ExoMars mission showcases the very best of the UK’s world-leading robotics expertise and this mission will inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and space enthusiasts to be part of the journey as the UK continues to reach for the stars. We are truly entering the new Great British Space Age.”

The competition was unveiled by British ESA astronaut Tim Peake at the Farnborough International Airshow today (Friday 20th July). Tim Peake said:

“Mars is a fascinating destination, a place where humans will one day work alongside robots to gather new knowledge and search for life in our Solar System.

“The ExoMars rover is a vital part of this journey of exploration and we’re asking you to become part of this exciting mission and name the rover that will scout the Martian surface.”

The UK is the second largest European contributor to the ExoMars mission, behind Italy, having invested €287 million in the mission and £14 million on the instruments.

Airbus Defence and Space is leading the build of the rover while the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory is leading on a key instrument known as the PanCam, a high resolution 3D camera which will be used to look at the terrain and rocks to try to detect signs of life.

Leicester University and Teledyne e2v are involved in work on the Raman Spectrometer with STFC RAL Space processing the data it delivers. ExoMars will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth.

The rover, which is due to land on Mars in March 2021, uses solar panels to generate the required electrical power, and is designed to survive the cold Martian nights with the help of batteries and heater units.

Another part of the ExoMars mission, the Trace Gas Orbiter, is already at Mars, looking for atmospheric gases that may be linked to active geological or biological processes.

In 2014 more than 4,000 people responded to a call to name Tim Peake’s 6-month mission to the International Space Station, with Principia being chosen as the winner. The name referred to Isaac Newton’s world-changing three-part text on physics, Naturalis Principia Mathematica, describing the principal laws of motion and gravity.

The Holiday Makers is a summer-long campaign to get kids making, inventing and having fun in the Year of Engineering. The campaign is supported by organisations such across the country, including the UK Space Agency, and there are lots of ways for families to get involved over the summer holidays, from free activities that kids can do at home, to events across the country and weekly challenges from partners like the Science Museum.

Engineering makes a major contribution to our economy, from driving advances in healthcare and communication to supporting our growing space industry, but the sector faces a major skills gap and lack of diversity – there is annual shortage of 20,000 engineering graduates each year, only 12% of the engineering workforce is female, and less than 8% comes from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background.

As well as the honour of naming the rover the winner of the competition will receive a tour for four people of the Airbus facility in Stevenage where the Mars rover is being built.

View the competition terms and conditions.

Providing registration numbers and mock driving licences for production companies is one of the services DVLA carries out that people may not know about.

Over the years DVLA has assisted production companies by issuing mock licences for use in a scene. These include Emmerdale (ITV), EastEnders (BBC) and Hatton Garden (ITV).

DVLA has also supplied registration numbers for use by the Grand Tour (Amazon Prime), Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV) and major Hollywood pictures such as Transformers.

DVLA also provided registration numbers for magazine shoots, adverts and programmes including Hollyoaks (Channel 4), Vera (ITV), Shetland (BBC One) and Rownd a Rownd (S4C).

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations Sales Manager, said:

While we may not get our name included in the credits, we’re proud to have helped so many production companies over the years find their perfect registration number.

Our personalised registrations website helps motorists find their perfect number every day. And with prices starting from £250 you don’t need a studio’s budget to make your car stand out.

Notes to editors

Follow DVLA Personalised Registrations on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and information.

A new travel programme at Sellafield has resulted in 500 fewer cars using site car parks.

Sellafield Ltd introduced a raft of new travel to work options in February this year.

These included park and ride bus services and direct commuter coaches.

Estimates have indicated that since then traffic accessing the site has reduced by 500 vehicles a day.
Building on that success, the company is launching the next phase of its travel improvements on Monday, 23 July 2018.

These include:

• a requirement for vehicles entering the site to have 3 or more occupants
• minimum occupancy of 2 people or more for vehicles using the off-site Yottenfews car park
• a new car sharing database

The measures supplement existing park and ride schemes in:

• Workington,
• Cockermouth
• Whitehaven
• Egremont
• Gosforth

This also includes direct coaches from north and south of the Sellafield site.

A shuttle service between satellite offices and the main site runs every 15 minutes.

Steve Bostock, Sellafield Ltd site director said:

I want to thank everyone who has embraced these changes.

These changes are necessary for us to deliver our mission of making Sellafield safer, sooner.

To clear space for future decommissioning projects, we needed to remove 1,300 parking spots on the site.

We’re doing it in phases to give people time to adjust and to ensure we balance the needs of the business.

I’m delighted at the success so far. We’re already seeing genuine benefits for people who work on the site and the local community.

Recorded benefits so far:

• 500 fewer cars using on-site car parks
• 300 fewer cars a day using the off-site Yottenfews car park, compared with June 2017
• 9,500 journeys on the direct commuter coaches in June 2018 alone
• 120 people a day using the Gosforth park and ride and commuter routes

For more information contact Ruth Hutchison: +44 (0)19467 86227, ruth.hutchison@sellafieldsites.com

Martin Baker was the sole director of C.J.M Tiling Limited (CJMT), which was incorporated in 2007 and traded as a construction company in Cradley Heath, West Midlands.

On 3 December 2015 and 4 March 2016, HMRC made unannounced visits to CJMT and identified the construction company had under-declared its VAT liabilities by failing to disclose all its sales.

Furthermore, an additional bank account was identified in which sales income was deposited. HMRC raised an officer’s assessment for additional VAT liabilities of £205,262 for the period June 2012 to December 2015, as well as applying civil penalties of £90,146 to the company.

CJMT later entered liquidation on 26 January 2017 owing £469,673 to creditors, including at least £344,221 for VAT, and following the company’s liquidation, the Insolvency Service carried out its own investigations, leading to Martin Baker’s disqualification.

On 21 May 2018, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from, Martin Baker, effective from 11 June 2018, for a period of 7 years.

In giving the undertaking, Martin Baker admitted that he failed to ensure the company declared its true VAT liabilities on returns submitted to HMRC between June 2012 to December 2015, by failing to disclose all its sales.

Martin Baker further admitted that a second company bank account was not disclosed to HMRC. This resulted in under-declarations of VAT due, as a consequence of which penalties were raised.

His ban means Martin Baker cannot promote, manage, or be a director of a limited company.

Commenting on the disqualification, Jane Knight, deputy head of insolvency investigations for the Insolvency Service, said:

Under-declaration of the VAT due by a company deprives the exchequer of the monies needed to provide public services.

In co-operation with HMRC, the Insolvency Service will not hesitate to investigate such misconduct with disqualification as a director the likely outcome.

Notes to editors

C.J.M Tiling Limited (Company Reg No. 06318407) was incorporated on 19 July 2007 and traded from 213 Halesowen Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 6HE. Martin Baker was appointed as a director from 19 July 2007 to 26 January 2017, the date of liquidation.

Martin Baker is of Oldbury, in the West Midlands and his date of birth is April 1968.

The matters of unfitness, which Mr Baker did not dispute in his disqualification undertaking, were that:

I failed to ensure that C.J.M. Tiling Limited (CJM) declared its true Value Added Tax (VAT) liabilities on returns submitted to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) between the quarters ended 30th June 2012 to 31st December 2015, by failing to disclose all its sales. In addition a second bank account was not disclosed to HMRC. This resulted in under-declarations of VAT due over this period of at least £205,262 and as a consequence penalties of £90,146 were raised.

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

Four men have today had their sentences increased after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, personally presented their cases to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

Simon O’Donnell, Thomas Stokes, Edward Stokes, and Daniel Doherty were part of a puppy-farming conspiracy thought to have raised around £2 million. O’Donnell, Thomas Stokes and Edward Stokes were involved in importing farmed puppies from abroad; while Doherty, a vet who practised in West London, provided them with misleading welfare documents, including immunisation certificates, which were used to reassure the people who bought the puppies.

Many of the supposedly healthy puppies sold by this group became unwell, leaving their owners with significant veterinary bills, or even the traumatic decision of whether to have them euthanised.

O’Donnell, Doherty, and Thomas Stokes were originally sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in May, Edward Stokes in June. O’Donnell and Thomas Stokes both received 3 years’ imprisonment. Edward Stokes received 2 years’ imprisonment suspended for two years, as well as conditions of 200 hours unpaid work and 15 days rehabilitation activity. Doherty received 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months, as well as a requirement of 80 hours unpaid work.

Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased all 4 sentences. Thomas Stokes’ sentence was increased to 4 years 8 months, and O’Donnell’s sentenced was increased to 4 years imprisonment.

The other 2 offenders have now been given immediate prison terms. E Stokes had his suspended sentence increased to 4 years 8 months imprisonment, Doherty’s suspended sentence was increased to 3 years 6 months imprisonment.

Commenting on the sentencing increases, the Solicitor General said:

This group not only subjected thousands of puppies to atrocious living conditions, but also caused immense distress to families who had to watch their new pets suffer from serious illness. I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has today agreed to increase all 4 sentences, and hope this will bring some comfort to the victims of their crimes.