Mr Brown, 68, of Cirencester in Gloucestershire provided a disqualification undertaking for 6 years from 3 March 2011, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills regarding a previous company, Richard Brown Homes Limited (RBH). RBH, which built new homes for residential purposes, entered liquidation on 10 June 2009.

Despite knowledge of the restrictions he was subject to, Mr. Brown continued to act as a director of Door Stores (Swindon) Limited (Door Stores), a retailer of doors and related fixtures, without leave of the Court, in breach of the restrictions.

An investigation by the Insolvency Service also found that Door Stores traded to the detriment of HMRC, who were owed £198,942 at liquidation.

Mr Brown has now given a director disqualification undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for 11 years, which prevents him from managing or controlling a company without leave of the court until 2027.

Mr Brown’s co directors Richard Edward Brown (33) and Alan Roche (52) the de jure directors, have each given disqualification undertakings for 3 years and 6 months for causing Door Stores to trade to the detriment of HMRC.

Commenting on the disqualification, Sue Macleod, Chief Investigator at The Insolvency Service, said:

This result should make it very clear to disqualified directors who ignore their disqualification undertakings and continue to act as directors that they will be vigorously pursued by the Insolvency Service.

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

The Insolvency Service will also take action against directors who cause or allow a company to trade to the detriment of HMRC.

Notes to editors

Door Stores (Swindon) Limited (CRO No. 05887116) was incorporated on 26 July 2006. The company traded from its registered office, Unit 5, Headlands Trading Estate, Headlands Grove, Swindon, SN2 7JG.

Richard David Brown was a formally appointed director between 26 July 2006 and 1 December 2008. He is of Cirencester and his date of birth is December 1948.

Richard Edward Brown was appointed as a director on 1 December 2008. He is of Swindon and his date of birth is October 1983.

Alan Roche was appointed as a director on 27 June 2014. He is of Swindon and his date of birth is September 1964.

The company went into liquidation on 7 August 2015. On 12 December 2016 the Secretary of State accepted an undertaking from Mr Brown, effective from 2 January 2017, for a period of 11 years. On 7 March 2017 the Secretary of State accepted an undertaking from Richard Edward Brown, effective from 28 March 2017 for a period of 3 years and 6 months. On 2 December 2016 the Secretary of State accepted an undertaking from Alan Roche, effective from 23 December 2016, for a period of 3 years and 6 months.

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

In addition that person cannot act as an insolvency practitioner and there are many other restrictions are placed on disqualified directors by other regulations. Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions is available.

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 authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, 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.

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

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: * Twitter * [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/3226944?trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2Cidx%3A2-2-5%2CtarId%3A1437038215788%2Ctas%3Ainsolvency%20service ) * [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcLiLoFYKt6sLLafxk1AplQ

Biography

Oona began her career in the Ministry of Defence where her roles included Director of Communications during the 1999 Kosovo campaign and Director General for Organisational Change across MoD. After senior executive roles in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Local Government Organisation she became Chief Executive of the South East England Development Agency in 2011. She also chaired the Nations and Regions Group (South East) for the 2012 London Olympic Games Organising Committee. Among other current roles Oona is a Trustee of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.

Further information

For more information about the Office for Nuclear Regulation see: www.onr.org.uk.

Three million households across the country, including lone parents and those on the lowest incomes, are set to keep more of what they earn due to a £700 million boost to Universal Credit.

From today the taper rate, the rate at which a Universal Credit payment reduces as someone moves into work, will be lowered from 65p to 63p. The change means that some households could benefit by £425 a year.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Damian Green, said:

Creating a welfare system that rewards work is central to our plan to build a fairer Britain for all. We want everyone to be able to get on and support their families. That’s why through Universal Credit, when people start work they keep more of every pound they earn.

This complements the support that work coaches are already offering to help people progress in their jobs, to take on more hours and earn more money, by making sure it always pays to be in work.

Universal Credit replaces 6 benefits with a monthly payment that gradually reduces as earnings increase, making sure people are better off in work. Evidence shows people are also moving into jobs faster and staying in work longer than under the old system.

The new taper rate comes into force on 10 April for those claiming Universal Credit.

A couple with 2 children earning £30,000 a year could benefit by £425 a year.

Universal Credit replaces Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, working and child tax credit and Housing Benefit. Claimants receive their Universal Credit in a monthly payment.

The new taper rate means a Universal Credit award is reduced by 63p for every £1 a claimant earns over their work allowance (compared to 65p previously).

Universal Credit is available for all new claims from single jobseekers, wherever they are in Great Britain. Nearly 15,000 new claims are made every week.

In May 2016 we started the expansion of Universal Credit to a wider range of claimants. In July 2017 we will increase roll-out to around 30 jobcentres a month.

Current Work Allowance is £397 per month if your Universal Credit payment does not include housing support, or £192 per month if it does include housing support.

The reduced Universal Credit taper rate was announced in the Autumn 2016 budget.

See Universal Credit at Work (December 2015) for evidence showing that people are moving into jobs faster and staying in work longer than under the old system.

Media enquiries for this press release – 0203 267 5122

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Considerable progress has been made in preparing for the HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial that was announced by NHS England and PHE last December as a major extension to the national HIV prevention programme. The trial, called the PrEP Impact Trial, will include at least 10,000 participants over the next 3 years and will answer key outstanding questions on the extent of need, uptake and duration of use of PrEP in the setting of sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics in England. Our aim is to have the trial started by the summer of 2017.

The trial protocol is complete, trial participant eligibility criteria have been endorsed by experts in the field and by community representatives, and independent peer review has been conducted. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been consulted about trial categorisation and a relevant opinion received. Submission for ethics committee approval is imminent.

STI clinic attendees considered to be at high risk of acquiring HIV will be eligible to participate in the trial. Heterosexual and transgender individuals and gay men will be clinically risk-assessed as part of combination prevention and those at high risk offered PrEP. To ensure equity of access across the country, the trial sites will include as many as possible of the over 200 level-3 STI clinics.

A number of STI clinics have expressed an interest in joining the trial. Site participation standards are being finalised and all level-3 STI clinics will be written to in the next 2 weeks enquiring about capacity, willingness to meet the standards and to be a trial site. The likely trial site and per-participant costs are being assessed prior to detailed discussion with the trial management team which will include STI service provider representation.

PHE’s Prevention Innovation Fund in 2017 to 2018 is seeking proposals that will address knowledge, awareness and understanding of PrEP and other PrEP related questions, especially in currently under-served populations in the community (e.g. higher-risk heterosexuals, black and minority ethnic group gay men and transgender communities). To register interest in the fund please send an email with your name, email address and organisation name to hiv.prevention@phe.gov.uk.

PrEP drug supply will be paid for and secured by NHS England. Competitive procurement has begun and all relevant supplier-manufacturers have been written to. A market engagement meeting is scheduled for later in April as part of this process.

Overarching governance arrangements, in the form of a PrEP Programme Oversight Board with joint leadership from PHE and NHS England, is in place to support the trial and to use the findings to prepare for a subsequent PrEP programme. Membership includes the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH).