Category: Gov Press Releases

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has welcomed Maria Mallaband Care Group’s decision to stop using a contract term requiring the payment of one month’s fees following the death of a resident who paid for their own care.

The move comes as part of an ongoing consumer law investigation by the CMA into fees charged by a number of care home providers, and its year-long study of the residential care home market where the CMA made clear its concerns that it is unfair to continue to charge fees for an extended period after a resident has died.

Maria Mallaband, together with its sister company, Countrywide Care Homes, operates 64 residential care homes in England and Northern Ireland. In response to intervention by the CMA, the group has agreed to amend its contract terms at these and any future care homes it operates so that fees will only be charged up to the date of death.

As part of its work, the CMA found that charging fees after death was widespread across the sector and that practices vary. In order to ensure that care homes take a consistent and lawful approach, the CMA will be publishing compliance advice for the sector as a whole. It has today launched a public consultation seeking views on its draft advice, so it can reach a final view on whether it’s fair to charge fees after death and, if so, for how long.

Michael Grenfell, Executive Director for Enforcement at the CMA, said:

It is important that care home residents, and their families, can be confident they will be fairly treated, especially during the difficult period after a family member has died.

We are pleased that the Maria Mallaband Care Group has been responsive to our concerns about fees charged after death, and has taken clear and positive steps to make changes ahead of our public consultation on such fees. We expect other care homes to make any necessary changes in line with our final views when published.

We now want to hear from families and care homes as part of our consultation.

The consultation includes a draft of the CMA’s compliance advice and will run for 4 weeks, closing on 16 February 2018. The CMA will then publish a final version of the compliance advice and a summary of the responses received.

For further information see the care home case page.

Notes for editors

1. During its market study into the UK residential care home sector, the CMA announced that it had opened an investigation into a number of care homes providers due to concerns that some of the contract terms and/or practices they use may breach consumer law. The investigation is currently focused on the requirement for fees to be paid for an extended period after a resident’s death and the charging of large, upfront fees. The CMA also made clear that if it identified serious concerns regarding potential breaches of consumer law on these, or other issues, it might decide to open further investigations.
2. In addition to these two issues, the CMA’s market study identified a number of other consumer law concerns. The CMA will consult on comprehensive consumer law compliance guidance, covering the range of concerns identified in the market study report, in Spring 2018.
3. Whilst the Maria Mallaband Care Group has co-operated and constructively engaged with the CMA, and agreed to make changes voluntarily to its previous terms and practices, it does not consider that its previous terms or policies were unfair. However, in light of the CMA’s concerns, it has decided to make changes that require fees to be paid only up to the date of death in contracts for care concluded with self-funded residents. It also confirmed that no additional charges or fees will be applied, irrespective of when the room is cleared of the resident’s possessions. These changes apply to both to the Maria Mallaband Care Group and its sister company, Countrywide Care Homes Limited and came into effect on 1 December 2017
4. The final decision on whether a term or practice infringes the law rests with the courts and no such finding has been made in this case.
5. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for enforcing consumer and competition law and carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries.
   For more information on the CMA see our homepage, or Twitter account @CMAgovuk, or Flickr, LinkedIn and Facebook pages. Sign up to our email alerts to receive updates on markets cases.
6. Enquiries should be directed to press@cma.gsi.gov.uk or 020 3738 6337.

The Business Secretary Greg Clark has today (18 January 2018) welcomed the decision by several banks to set up funds to support small businesses affected by Carillion’s insolvency.

Today, Lloyds Banking Group has launched a £50 million fund, HSBC a £100 million fund and RBS has made £75 million of assistance available.

It follows a meeting held by Greg Clark yesterday with banks where he discussed further support and advice that could be provided by the banks for small businesses affected by Carillion’s liquidation.

Greg Clark said:

I welcome this quick and positive move by banks including Lloyds, HSBC and RBS. This follows my meeting with the banks yesterday where I challenged them to see what further support they could provide for SMEs affected by Carillion’s insolvency.

It is essential that small businesses exposed are given the support they need by their lenders, and I look forward to other banks following suit.

HMRC has also outlined the support being offered to those businesses contracted to Carillion that may be concerned about their ability to pay tax. HMRC are providing practical advice and guidance to those affected through its Business Payment Support Service (BPSS).

This follows action outlined by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to address concerns set out earlier this week.

The unique 70 metre long tapestry that depicts the 1066 Norman Conquest of Britain will be put on public display in 2022.

The exhibition has been announced to coincide with the UK-France summit taking place this week. The loan of the Tapestry will form part of a wider cultural exchange taking place between Britain and France over the next four years and marks a key milestone in the celebration of our shared history.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Our shared history is reflected in the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK in 2022, the first time it will be on British soil in more than 900 years.

The loan of the Tapestry will form part of a wider cultural exchange taking place between Britain and France over the next four years.

I am honoured at the loan of such a precious piece of our shared history which yet again underscores the closeness of the UK-France relationship.

DCMS Secretary, Matt Hancock said:

France and Britain are global cultural leaders with a millennium long recorded history. The Bayeux Tapestry is a fundamental symbol of our history as neighbours. It’s arrival in the UK is a tribute to the strength of our relationship now and in the future.

We are committed to opening up the UK to the best culture and history the world has to offer. This year Liverpool will welcome the Terracotta Warriors from ancient China and we look forward to hosting the Bayeux Tapestry.

The UK is home to some of the leading museums in the world and by showcasing works of national and international interest we will ensure that the UK remains a go to destination for the arts and culture.

The tapestry was created in the UK in the eleventh century, shortly after the Battle of Hastings and has been on display in various locations in France since its completion. The Tapestry is now part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register and depicts the Battle which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne in 1066.

The Tapestry will come to the UK while its current home, the Bayeux Museum, undergoes refurbishment in 2022. Further details of the exhibition, including exact dates and locations will be released in due course.

On 9 January prominent human rights activist Oyub Titiev, the Director of Russian NGO Memorial’s office in Chechnya, was detained by the Chechen authorities. He was subsequently charged with the illegal acquisition and storage of narcotics. Although significant doubts have been raised about the legitimacy of these allegations, a local court has remanded him in custody until 9 March. Overnight on 16 January Memorial’s office in Ingushetia – a neighbouring republic in the North Caucasus – was destroyed by an arson attack.

Sir Alan Duncan said:

The decision of the Chechen authorities to charge Oyub Titiev, the Director of Russian human rights NGO Memorial’s office in Chechnya, and remand him in custody until 9 March, is extremely concerning. Since his arrest, Mr Titiev’s family has also faced harassment and threats which have forced them to flee the region. This is yet another example of the restrictions on freedom within Russia which I raised in Moscow in December.

I was appalled to also hear that Memorial’s office in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia has been destroyed by an arson attack overnight. This is clearly another attempt to disrupt and intimidate Memorial and other NGOs working on crucial human rights issues in the North Caucasus region of Russia. The Russian Government must urgently investigate this attack and hold those responsible to account.

The Chechen authorities must ensure the safety of Mr Titiev and allow him the right to a fair trial, and immediately cease the intimidation, harassment and detention of individuals and groups advocating such fundamental freedoms.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan on Twitter @AlanDuncanMP and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

The Defence Secretary has joined the Prime Minister, Chancellor, Foreign Secretary and other members of the Cabinet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for the 2018 UK-France Summit.

The two countries are the only European powers with the ability and political will to deploy and sustain significant military force. A number of initiatives have been announced at the Summit to strengthen UK-France cooperation, building on the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties.

The measures agreed between the UK and France today will include:

• President Macron has agreed to further French support to the UK-led enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Estonia in 2019, which will help to deter Russian aggression towards NATO Allies and bolster the security of NATO’s Eastern flank.
• The UK will deploy RAF Chinook helicopters to Mali to provide logistical support the French counter-terrorism mission there. This will increase British logistical support to France’s Operation BARKHANE, which up to now has been limited to RAF strategic air transport flights. The UK already supports the UN mission in Mali, along with military support to UN missions in South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. British military personnel are also training the Nigerian armed forces in countering the threat from Boko Haram.
• The creation of a UK-France Defence Ministerial Council, creating a permanent and regular forum in which UK and French Defence cooperation can be discussed by the two Defence Ministers
• Agreement between the UK and France on the importance of the ability of the UK’s defence industry to continue to be able to engage in European defence research and capability development programmes
• The UK will work with France and other European partners to support the development of the proposed European Intervention Initiative (EII). The EII will be a defence cooperation framework that aims to improve operational planning and coordination of military deployments among European partners with meaningful capabilities. The EII will be separate from the EU, and will be complementary to existing NATO, EU and JEF military structures and initiatives.
• Confirmation that the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force, CJEF, will be fully operational by 2020 and able to carry out a full range of complex and demanding expeditionary military combat operations on land, in the air and at sea; or to provide peace-keeping, disaster relief or humanitarian assistance.

The countries’ strong defence ties were symbolised at the summit by a flypast from a Typhoon and a Rafale jet and French and British cadets joining attendees to witness the Guard of Honour.

Using specially designed shoebox-sized satellites known as CubeSats, scientists will be able to study the Earth’s upper atmosphere and find out how it impacts on radio frequencies through space.

Dr Mike O’Callaghan, Space Programme Manager at Dstl, said:

We’re trying to find out how the ionosphere might affect us when we communicate. For example, are signals weaker during specific space weather conditions? It’s important to understand the effects and how it might impact our communications around the world, specifically with military operations.

The Wideband Ionospheric Sounder CubeSat Experiment (WISCER) project builds on work carried out by Dstl and the University of Birmingham, which was partly funded by the UK Space Agency. It forms part of a joint programme with the Naval Research Laboratory in the United States (US). Plans are now in place to launch two CubeSat satellites during 2020/21, each with a UK and a US payload.

The UK payload will contain a WISCER antenna and waveform generator that will transmit a signal to a bespoke ground signal receiver, assessing the impact of the ionosphere on the signal. The US payload will measure how electron density changes with altitude. The collaboration offers the opportunity to generate data cost effectively, with both countries potentially sharing results.

Dr O’Callaghan added:

Space is a global endeavour and collaboration is absolutely critical to delivering the WISCER project. We’re excited to be launching the project and will be looking at initial results once in orbit.

video

Here in the UK, Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a contract for £1.5 million to build the WISCER payload and ground signal receiver. Ben Olivier, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, said:

We are delighted to have been selected by Dstl to contribute to this important project, which will ultimately improve the understanding of operating in the space environment. Working with key partners Oxford Space Systems and Teledyne Defence & Space, we will deliver a complete experiment package including mission system engineering.

Since my appointment as Secretary of State I have had a number of discussions on the way forward to restore
the Northern Ireland Executive and other political institutions under the Belfast Agreement.

What has quickly become clear to me is that time is short and one last opportunity to reach agreement remains.

Without agreement we will be facing a set of political consequences that will represent a significant setback to the progress made since the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998, almost twenty years ago.

Over the past eight months the political parties, particularly the DUP and Sinn Fein, have made progress in closing the gaps existing between them on a range of difficult issues that have prevented the formation of an Executive.

The gaps are narrow, but there are still significant differences to overcome.

I also want to emphasise the role played by the SDLP, Alliance and the UUP who have made an active and positive contribution to making political progress.

Based on my conversations so far, I believe it is possible to reach agreement.

All of the parties have expressed their commitment to the restoration of the Executive.

They have indicated to me directly their willingness to engage in a constructive manner to try to reach agreement.

A short, intense set of political talks to restore the Executive will therefore commence next Wednesday [24 January 2018].

These will involve the five main parties, the UK Government and the Irish Government in accordance with the well-established three-stranded approach.

Initially, these talks will focus on gaining clarity of understanding on the progress that was made over the last seven months on a range of issues, including formation of the Executive and what are known as legacy issues.

Progress must be swift.

It is clear that Northern Ireland needs strong devolved government and political leadership. The people of Northern Ireland cannot continue to have their public services suffer by the lack of an Executive and without Ministers making the key policy and budget decisions.

Without an Executive, Northern Ireland’s voice on critical issues will not be heard as strongly.

I will be updating Parliament in Westminster no later than 7 February on progress.

Without rapid progress, the UK Government will face significant decisions.

These include setting a budget for 2018/19, the future of MLA pay, the prospect of a further election (which I continue to keep under review) and ultimately other arrangements to ensure that Northern Ireland is able to benefit from the good government that its people both need and deserve.

My clear focus now, however, must be to see devolution restored, an Executive established and the progress that Northern Ireland has made over the past two decades continue.

And that is what I intend to do in the coming weeks.