An urgent review of sentencing policy has been ordered by the Prime Minister today (12 August 2019), to ensure the public are properly protected from the most dangerous criminals.

The work, to be kicked off immediately, will focus on violent and sexual offenders and whether they are serving sentences that truly reflect the severity of their crimes.

It will consider whether changes in legislation are needed to lock them up for longer – by not letting them out part-way through a sentence. It will also look at how to break the cycle of repeat offenders.

The Prime Minister has instructed the Government review team to report directly to him with recommendations this autumn.

The review will look at:

• sentencing for the most serious violent and sexual offenders
• the rules governing when and how these offenders are released
• sentencing of the most prolific offenders

This confirms a commitment made by the Prime Minister when he entered Downing Street last month.

It forms part of a Government overhaul of the criminal justice system to further protect the public – by cracking down on crime, raising prison standards, rehabilitating offenders and cutting the vicious cycle of re-offending.

Also today a further £85 million has been awarded to the Crown Prosecution Service to build capacity and manage caseloads over the next two years.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Dangerous criminals must be kept off our streets, serving the sentences they deserve – victims want to see it, the public want to see it and I want to see it.

To ensure confidence in the system, the punishment must truly fit the crime. We have all seen examples of rapists and murderers let out too soon or people offending again as soon as they’re released.

This ends now. We want them caught, locked up, punished and properly rehabilitated.

Later today the Prime Minister will host leaders from the police, probation and prison sectors to discuss how to cut crime and improve the criminal justice system.

Yesterday he announced up to £2.5 billion investment to create 10,000 extra prison places, starting with the new Full Sutton prison.

This follows announcements to recruit 20,000 new police officers over the next three years and the Home Secretary’s confirmation that all 43 police forces in England and Wales can use enhanced stop and search powers.

Today (August 12) is International Youth Day and with the theme this year being “Transforming Education”, UK EdTech company ScienceScope, is leading the way in making education more inclusive and accessible for youth across the globe.

The Somerset-based start-up which develops technology to upskill students with tools around the ‘Internet of Things’ (IOT), has been awarded an Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant thanks in part to support from the Department for International Trade (DIT). The grant will be used to implement a digital pilot scheme at schools in the Gulf region and beyond.

ScienceScope has already started making in-roads globally outside of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), such as securing a deal with the National Institute of Education in Singapore last year, which will see the company build an IoT lab on-site and provide every school in Singapore with 300 micro:bits – its flagship product, within the next three years.

To further push the company’s export ambitions, DIT has provided it with an ‘Export for Growth’ grant to support international business development activities. Initiatives like Export for Growth have played a significant role in ScienceScope’s achievements, with total exports now accounting for 90% of overall sales.

ScienceScope CEO David Crellin said:

Since meeting with DIT to discuss the grant scheme at Expo 2020 Dubai, I knew it was the right opportunity to bring our products to schools in the region. The Gulf States represents a hugely untapped market where we can offer expertise to enhance the students’ learning experience around technology.

DIT really kicked things off with the grant application, and we were ecstatic once notified of being successful.

DIT became aware of ScienceScope’s domestic success and approached the company to discuss how its education technology could be taken into schools overseas. DIT’s International Trade Advisors (ITAs) kept in regular contact with the company to explore opportunities, one being the ‘Innovation Impact Grant Programme’ from Expo Live, which supports innovative initiatives that encapsulate the spirit of Expo 2020 Dubai.

David Crellin continues:

We’re in discussion with quite a few nations about our products, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kazakhstan and parts of Malaysia which is fantastic. Our short-term ambition is to implement the Digital Maker Programme in schools across five markets within the next two years.

DIT is really focused on supporting companies like ours, and we’ve had a significant amount of support from them. Working with DIT has been invaluable as they really kick started our exporting process, and we look forward to pushing on with our international expansion plans.

The company’s Digital Maker Programme is a scheme in which educators are empowered to support students in schools to develop innovation and creativity skills and demonstrate how technology interaction can be incorporated throughout the curriculum to solve real problems.

Laura Faulkner OBE, UK Commissioner General and Project Director for the UK Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai, said:

I am delighted that not only is DIT leading the UK’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai on behalf of Government, but we are also utilising this global platform to promote leading British expertise and innovation.

ScienceScope is a fantastic example of a pioneering British business setting the bar high in its sector. The company has been incredibly successful in finding new markets and helping to develop global solutions, allowing pupils and teachers to learn and teach to their full potential.

ScienceScope is based in Downside School bear Bath, offering significant opportunities for the company to work with the students and teachers on a range of new projects. For example, in the autumn/winter term of this year, the EdTech firm will be implementing a Science and Technology project in which pupils will programme the micro:bit as a datalogger to conduct Science investigations into reaction time, sound level and cooling/heating curves.

At about 07:26 hrs on Thursday 1 August 2019, train 1B26, the Edinburgh portion of the 23:36 hrs ‘Lowland Sleeper’ service from London Euston, failed to stop as scheduled at Edinburgh Waverley station. It was brought to a stand approximately 650 metres beyond its intended stopping point. There was no damage or any injuries as a consequence of the incident. However, the outcome could potentially have been much worse, had it led to a collision with another train.

The train comprised eight Mark 5 coaches hauled by a Class 92 electric locomotive that had been attached at Carstairs. On the approach to Edinburgh the driver discovered that his train’s braking performance was well below normal. The RAIB’s preliminary investigation indicates that he had no control of the brakes on the coaches because a brake pipe isolating valve was in the closed position when the train left Carstairs station. This meant that the only effective brakes on the train as it approached Edinburgh were those on the locomotive, which were insufficient to maintain control of the train. The train was brought to a stand by the operation of an emergency device in one of the coaches by the Train Manager, which caused the train brakes to apply.

The RAIB’s investigation will identify the sequence of events that led to the incident and will include consideration of:

• how the isolating valve came to be closed at Carstairs;
• the preparation of the train at Carstairs, including the attachment of the locomotive and testing of the train’s brakes;
• how the train was driven;
• the suitability of relevant procedures and working practices;
• the design and approval of the brake system fitted to the Mark 5 coaches; and
• any relevant underlying management or organisational factors.

The train operator issued a safety alert to the industry on 5 August 2019 (NIR 3350/224) reminding railway staff of the importance of carrying out the brake continuity test after all other train preparation activities.

Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry, the Office of Rail and Road.

We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.

You can subscribe to automated emails notifying you when we publish our reports.

From Monday 7 October 2019, you can visit our new London office in Westminster.

Our new office will continue to fully meet the needs of our business and customers. We’ll offer the same registration and search services as our current London office.

Factoring companies purchase invoices from a business as a way of providing credit. It is common practice for the company director to personally guarantee all funds advanced.

Deborah Mary Fisher (50) of Spalding, Lincolnshire was the director of NJ Transport Limited, a haulier based in Weston Hills.

Over two years between January 2016 and March 2018 she caused NJ Transport to submit false invoices to a factoring company totalling £425,500. The factoring company realised the invoices were false when NJ Transport was preparing to enter Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in March 2018.

When the factoring company tried to recoup money from Deborah Fisher personally under her guarantor agreement, she declared herself bankrupt in May 2018.

Londoners Marcus Grose (52), of Enfield, and Dominic Worley (54), of Feltham, were directors of National Electrical Wholesale Limited. Incorporated in 2004, the company sold electrical goods to trade customers.

When National Electrical Wholesale experienced cashflow difficulties in June 2015, Marcus Grose and Dominic Worley caused the company to submit false invoices to a factoring company to secure credit.

Over the next 18 months, the electrical wholesale company submitted £550,000 worth of invoices from a total of 44 false debtors. The factoring company, however, uncovered the dishonesty when it queried some of National Electrical Wholesale’s invoices.

All three directors have been disqualified and are banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the formation, promotion or management of a company without permission of the court.

Deborah Fisher signed a 9-year disqualification undertaking, while Marcus Grose and Dominic Worley have each been banned for 10 years.

Other recent examples of director disqualifications as a result of factoring abuse include Adrian Kurt Seymour Venni, who was disqualified for 9 years after he caused his company, Anthill Plant Hire Limited, to submit false invoices worth over £1.3 million to a factor.

In January 2019, Terence Coventry was also disqualified for 7 years after he caused his company, Alliance Traffic Services Limited to submit false invoices worth £177,000 to a factoring company.

David Brooks, Group Leader of Insolvent Investigations for the Insolvency Service, said:

Factoring companies provide a vital service to companies experiencing cashflow difficulties, alleviating short term financial problems and allowing them to continue trading. These directors grossly abused this service.

The disqualifications will severely curtail their activities for many years to come.

NJ Transport Limited (Company registration number: 04146521)

Deborah Mary Fisher is of Spalding, Lincolnshire and her date of birth is February 1969. Her ban is effective from 5 August 2019

National Electrical Wholesale Limited (Company registration number: 05028353)

Marcus Grose is of Enfield and his date of birth is August 1967. His ban is effective from 5 July 2019.

Dominic John Worley is of Feltham and his date of birth is April 1965. His ban is effective from 22 July 2019.

Anthill Plant Hire Limited (Company registration number: 08045048)

Adrian Kurt Seymour Venni is of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and his date of birth is January 1968.

Alliance Traffic Service (Company Reg No: 09090168)

Terence Coventry is of Gainsborough and his date of birth is July 1979.

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 restrictions.

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

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