In cooperation with the British Council office in Tashkent, the British Embassy in Turkmenistan is pleased to send, for the first time ever, a delegation from the creative sectors of Turkmenistan to attend the upcoming Creative Central Asia Forum 2019 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 22-23 November 2019. We received a high number of good quality candidates, from which Her Majesty’s Ambassador (HMA) Mr Hugh Philpott chose the best team to represent Turkmenistan at such an important regional event. The team will comprise of several people from renowned Turkmen companies, such as Turkmen Tranzit, Akylly Tilsimat, Caspy Creative Agency and Belli Creative Studios, and creative individuals from the creative industries.

Creative Central Asia Forum was founded in 2017 to stimulate a new type of leadership conversation between the UK and Central Asia, a conversation focused on the cultural and creative economy. This international conference and networking series was designed to build an influential and engaged leadership network whose members would start to drive forward the development of the region’s “new economies” through new partnerships and collaborative action with the UK in the intervening period between conferences.

After a reception at the residence, Ambassador Hugh Philpott wished every success to the team to present Turkmenistan at a high level and contribute to the development of the formation of cultural and creative economy in Turkmenistan

Published 1 November 2019

Nutrizen Wellness Limited, based in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, was wound up in the public interest on 31 October 2019 in the High Court of Justice in Manchester before District Judge Richmond. The Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator of the company.

The court heard that Nutrizen Wellness was incorporated in December 2014 and used telemarketing techniques to sell health supplements.

The Insolvency Service began confidential investigations into the company when it received complaints that the company was mis-selling health supplements to the elderly.

The court was told that the company had already been investigated once before by Trading Standards. That investigation had resulted in remedial action being required of the company, particularly addressing the overselling of their products and false and misleading claims, among other things.

Insolvency Service investigators found that the company was purchasing consumer data of individuals aged 65 and over and then cold-calling them from third-party call centres in Goa, India.

Health supplements were then sold to these individuals at significant mark-ups. One product, which retails on the high street for £2, was sold by Nutrizen for between £30–£40.

One 88-year-old customer identified by investigators spent over £700 on supplements in just 19 days. This went against an undertaking the company had agreed with Trading Standards to limit sales to £300 in a single transaction, as two purchases exceeded that amount.

Investigators also uncovered discrepancies with Nutrizen Wellness’s VAT affairs, as the turnover evident in their bank account was £250,000 higher than the amount declared to HMRC. In addition to this, Nutrizen Wellness had transferred 80% of its sales revenues out of the country to the India-based call centres.

Scott Crighton, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

Nutrizen Wellness deliberately and unconscionably targeted the elderly, pushing their products at astronomical levels of mark-up. They also underreported the true level of their income to HMRC, failing to pay the appropriate levels of VAT.

We are pleased the courts recognise this behaviour is totally unacceptable and have shut down their activities to prevent anyone else falling victim to their practices.

All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to: Official Receiver’s Office (Birmingham), PO Box 16654, Birmingham B2 2BJ, quoting CIB 58473.

Nutrizen Wellness Ltd (09338682).

The petition was presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Further information about live company investigations is available here.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available here.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Owing to essential works to our telephony system there will be periods of disruption when customers will be unable to contact the Official Receiver’s office on Friday, 1 November 2019.

Customers are advised to call back on Monday. If you have an urgent need to contact the Official Receiver please call our enquiry line.

Telephone lines will reopen on Monday 4 November at 9am.

We apologise for inconvenience this temporary disruption of service my cause.

Published 1 November 2019

The EnAble Fund for Elected Office helps cover disability-related expenses in elections for example, British Sign Language Interpreters, Assistive Technology, or taxi fares where other modes of transport are not appropriate.

The interim fund is available until 2020 and has already supported candidates in this year’s local elections. It will also support candidates in next year’s Police and Crime Commissioner elections and retrospective support is available for candidates who stood in the European Parliamentary Elections in May this year.

For more information please contact Disability Rights UK, who are administering the scheme:

Website: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/enablefund

Telephone: 0330 995 0400 and select Option1

E-mail: enablefund@disabilityrightsuk.org

Published 1 November 2019

The Nuclear Decommissioning Space Data Challenge will encourage smaller businesses and university start-ups to research and develop satellite-enabled technologies that could help support the UK’s nuclear decommissioning efforts.

The UK has unrivalled expertise in nuclear decommissioning, cleaning up the environment, boosting the economy and delivering highly-skilled jobs.

The Space Data Challenge is looking for innovative new ideas that could support:

• Rooftop Inspections – remote sensing of difficult to access, potentially dangerous environments
• Building Site Plan Updates – regular and automated updates of building layouts
• Bulk Container identification – using satellite imagery to count containers and monitor them
• On-site Traffic Management – identifying vehicles on sites and where they are parked

The winning concept or prototype will receive specialist space and business development support worth £10,000 from the Satellite Applications Catapult, sponsored by the NDA, to help the product to market.

The Space Data Challenge is part of the UK Space Agency’s Space for Smarter Government Programme which aims to increase the use of space technologies in the public sector to improve policy making and efficiency.

Emily Gravestock, Head of Applications Strategy at the UK Space Agency said:

The Space for Smarter Government Programme is a fantastic opportunity for public sector organisations to access satellite imagery to explore the art of the possible with their colleagues.

This partnership with the NDA is a great example of how this data can be used in a novel way, with the potential to support one of the most important environmental restoration projects in the world.

Sara Huntingdon, NDA’s Head of Innovation said:

Remote monitoring is just one example of the uses of satellite technology that could benefit the nuclear sector,

There are so many opportunities here which we could explore, and I’m absolutely delighted that the NDA is the very first public sector organisation to collaborate with the UK Space Agency on this challenge.

The deadline for proposals is midday 16 December. Applicants who are successful in the first stage will be invited to pitch their ideas “Dragons’ Den” style to a judging panel of representatives from the UK Space Agency and the NDA Group.

Melanie Brownridge, NDA Technology and Innovation Director said:

We’re committed to encouraging the development of ideas for decommissioning, and to working with other industrial sectors on the exchange or adaptation of technologies.

We’ve welcomed the UK Space Agency to our NDA supply chain events for the last 2 years, so are really pleased to embark on a more structured collaborative initiative.