Category: Gov Press Releases

The Cabinet Secretary, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, has today announced that Peter Schofield, currently Director General of Finance at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary on Sir Robert Devereux’s retirement later this month.

Welcoming Peter Schofield’s appointment Sir Jeremy Heywood said:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Schofield as the new Permanent Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions. Peter has done an excellent job as Finance Director General at the department and will bring to his new role a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience. I look forward to working with him as he starts his work delivering DWP’s important mission.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Sir Robert Devereux for his excellent leadership of the department during his time as Permanent Secretary.

The Rt Hon Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said:

I look forward to welcoming Peter Schofield as DWP’s new Permanent Secretary and to working with him on ensuring we continue to deliver a welfare system that supports people when they need it, and helps them fulfil their potential – no matter who they are or where they come from.

Peter Schofield said:

DWP is a remarkable organisation – in scale, reach, ability to deliver change, and the motivation and pride of my 80,000 colleagues providing high quality support to over 22 million citizens. It is a huge honour to be given the opportunity to lead DWP and support the new Secretary of State and her ministerial team, and to build on Robert’s outstanding leadership over the last 7 years. I can’t wait to start.

This appointment has been agreed by the Prime Minister, and follows an external recruitment competition.

Peter Schofield has held the role of Finance Director General in DWP since July 2016.

Arrangements for appointing a successor to fill his previous role will be announced in due course.

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The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr and Mrs Castrinakis, disqualifying them for five years from 10 December 2017.

An Insolvency Service investigation found Mr and Mrs Castrinakis caused or allowed the company to submit inaccurate statutory VAT returns to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Mr and Mrs Castrinakis’s disqualifications follow collaboration between the Insolvency Service and HMRC.

An in depth HMRC investigation revealed that the company had failed to record all of its cash takings and had therefore under-declared the VAT due to HMRC. As a result, HMRC raised a VAT assessment of £53,332.
At liquidation the company was stated as owing in excess of £164,000 to HMRC in relation to arrears of VAT, PAYE and National Insurance contributions and Corporation Tax.

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Investigations with the Insolvency Service said:

The periods of these disqualifications sends a clear message to other company directors that tax abuse of any kind, particularly when it comes to suppression of cash takings by directors will not be tolerated.

Much of the public service is funded by the correct amount of taxes being paid. By not declaring and paying the correct amount of taxes, the public has been deprived from receiving the services it deserves from the public sector. The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action against directors so they cannot abuse limited liability provided by trading through a company.

Notes to editors

Gambino Fish Ltd (Company number 08645435) traded as Quality Fish, based in Central Parade, New Addington, Croydon.

Costas Castrinakis (date of birth July 1963) and Chrystalla Castrinakis (date of birth December 1966), and both of Thornton Heath, were directors of Gambino Fish Ltd, which was incorporated in August 2013.

Mr & Mrs Castrinakis have been disqualified for a period of 5 years each commencing from 1 December 2017.

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, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, 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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The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Robert Patrick Murphy on 17 November 2017 that he would not act as a director for a period of 14 years, commencing from 8 December 2017.

Robert Patrick Murphy was disqualified from acting as a director for a period of four years from 12 September 2011, but an investigation by the Insolvency Service discovered that despite resigning as a director of Silverview Developments his role within the company did not change.

Mr Murphy’s mother, Ellen (also know as Eileen) Rosemary Murphy was appointed as the registered director and has also now been disqualified for eight years for allowing her son to act as a director whilst disqualified.

In addition, Robert and Ellen Murphy failed to disclose to the liquidator the existence of two on-going contracts that were transferred to another company which had a future turnover of over £1million, and oversaw the diversion of funds due to Silverview Developments totalling over £45,000 to be paid to another company. Additionally, they allowed Silverview Developments to trade to the detriment of HM Revenue & Customs from May 2012 until it’s liquidation in October 2014.

Robert Clarke, Group Leader of Insolvent Investigations North, part of The Insolvency Service, said:

Directors who ignore disqualification undertakings that they have previously given, and those who provide cover for them to allow them to continue to run limited companies, will be vigorously pursued by The insolvency Service.

The length of the undertakings in this case sends a clear message to the business community that such actions will not be tolerated.

Notes to editors

Robert Murphy’s date of birth is May 1984 and he resides in Harrow, Middlesex

Eileen (aka Ellen) Murphy’s date of birth is August 1954 and she also resides in Harrow Middlesex.

Silverview Developments Ltd (CRN 07148732) was placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL) on 30 January 2014 with a deficiency as regards creditors of £394,091. The company traded as a construction company from Kenton Road, Harrow, Middlesex.

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, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, 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

Mr Gareth Ward has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in succession to Mr Giles Lever, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Ward will take up his appointment in July 2018.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Gareth Edward Ward

Married to: Olena Ward

Children: Two

2013 – present FCO, Head of China Department

2010 – 2013 St Petersburg, Her Majesty’s Consul General

2007 – 2010 Beijing, First Secretary, Head of Foreign and Security Policy Team

2004 – 2006 FCO, Section Head for Justice and Home Affairs, Europe Directorate

2003 – 2004 FCO, Section Head for Germany and Austria, Europe Directorate

1998 – 2002 Moscow, Second Secretary Development

1996 – 1997 FCO, Desk Officer for Hungary and Bulgaria

1996 Joined FCO

Further information

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

The Charity Commission can announce that its annual public meeting will take place on 23 January 2018. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge will speak at the event at the Royal Institution in London.

The meeting will be chaired by William Shawcross, Chairman of the Commission, who will open the meeting before inviting His Royal Highness to deliver the keynote speech.

Attendees will also hear from the regulator’s new Chief Executive, Helen Stephenson, about the Commission’s work over the last year and plans for the coming months. This will be followed by an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of Helen and the executive team.

The meeting will take place during the morning at the Royal Institution and is an important part of the Commission’s commitment to public accountability and transparency.

Spaces for the meeting are very limited. To register your interest in attending please email publicmeetings@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk including your name and the organisation that you are a representative of. Confirmation of a place, along with the exact timings, will follow via email. Attendees will also be required to bring photo ID.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP will be in Salisbury today to see what is being done to tackle hate crime.

Hate crime is when someone is targeted because of their actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability, it is a criminal offence and the law provides additional penalties for such crimes.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Area of Wessex has the highest conviction rates in the country for hate crime prosecutions, with 90.1% of hate crimes prosecuted in Dorset, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire during 2016-2017 resulting in a conviction.

The Area’s conviction rates have improved in all strands of hate crime, demonstrating how seriously prosecutors take cases where there is hostility based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.

The Solicitor will visit the CPS Wessex at Salisbury Law Courts to discuss its efforts to prosecute hate crime offences.

While in the region, the Solicitor will attend the Area’s Hate Crime Scrutiny and Involvement Panel. Panel members include volunteers from community groups and key colleagues from the CPS Criminal Justice partner agencies, who support prosecutors in CPS Wessex to identify and adopt best practices reviewing hate crime cases where victims have suffered prejudice or hostility.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP said:

One incident of hate crime is one too many and those responsible need to be brought to justice. I’d like to thank CPS Wessex for the fantastic job it’s doing to tackle hate crime in the region.

Victims need to report these crimes and feel that they will be taken seriously if we are to stamp this out, so it’s encouraging to see the work happening to train prosecutors in case handling. This has no doubt contributed to improving the conviction rate and the CPS’ service to victims.

The CPS rolled out a training programme in 2016 to all prosecutors on Disability Hate Crime that saw the conviction rate increased by 5.7%, to 86.4% for Disability Hate Crime cases prosecuted in Wessex. The Area has plans to deliver new training packages in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Organisations that wish to become or grow as Public Service Mutuals can now apply for a share of up to £1.7 million in funding, Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, announced today.

A total of £1.2 million will be available to create new Mutuals, or strengthen existing ones, by providing access to advice across areas including legal, financial, marketing, human resources and business planning.

The remaining £500,000 will be used to pilot support programmes such as partnership working to help Mutuals collaborate with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and others to broaden the service they offer. A mentoring scheme will also allow newly-formed Mutuals to benefit from one-to-one experienced advice and support, as well as a peer support network which will bring aspiring Mutuals together to share their experiences, challenges and successes.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

Mutuals are run under the influence of employees to support the delivery of public services and we want to help them thrive.

This £1.7m funding will deliver training, support programmes and mentoring to expand the high quality services Mutuals provide to communities across the country.

This round of funding will be available until March 2020 and follows the £572k that was awarded in 2017 to support Mutuals.

Organisations can check if they are eligible for funding by contacting the Mutuals Team at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on: mutuals@culture.gov.uk.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

*To apply for support from this programme you must currently, or intend to, fulfil our definition of a Public Service Mutual, which is an organisation that:
i) has left the public sector (also known as ‘spinning out’)
ii) continues to deliver public services and aims to have a positive social impact
iii) has a significant degree of staff influence or control in the way it is run

*If you’re an existing mutual, you must be in your first five years of operation, or delivering your original or extended contract which has not been retendered, or both.

*You must be able to demonstrate how support from this programme will help your organisation grow or diversify its operations

*All applicants will be required to demonstrate their commitment to their project and the mutual model by providing matched funding, in cash, towards the support needed

*For more information on eligibility and support expectations, please contact mutuals@culture.gov.uk.