Sarah has more than 20 years’ experience working in legal services and handling child protection issues for local government in Kent and Berkshire. She will be joining OSPT from a role at Reading Borough Council.
Sarah will take up this post from 4 July 2019.
The UK and Korea have today (Monday 10 June) signed a statement noting their agreement for a Free Trade Agreement that will allow business to keep trading freely after Brexit.
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox signed the joint statement in Seoul with Korean Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-Hee.
This marks the end of formal trade discussions and the UK-Korea Free Trade Agreement will be subject to final checks before it is formally signed.
The news has been welcomed by businesses including Diageo and Clifford Chance, who say it will help them to keep trading without disruption and continue increasing their presence in Korea.
The agreement allows businesses to continue to trade on preferential terms with Korea. In 2018, around 99% of British exports to Korea were eligible to be exported tariff free.
Trading on these terms rather than on World Trade Organization terms will deliver significant savings and help to safeguard British jobs.
This will help to strengthen further the trading relationship between the UK and Korea, which was worth £14.6 billion last year and has increased by an average of 12% per year since the EU-Korea Free Trade agreement was signed in 2011.
The value of trade between the UK and Korea has more than doubled since the EU-Korea agreement was applied in 2011. Providing continuity in our trading relationship will allow businesses in the UK and Korea to keep trading without any additional barriers, which will help us further increase trade in the years ahead.
As we face growing global economic headwinds, our strong trading relationship will be crucial in driving economic growth and supporting jobs throughout the UK and Korea.
Demand for British products in Korea continues to grow rapidly and exports have increased by an average of 18% per year since 2011.
Some of the fastest growing exports include sales of British cars which increased by a third to £943m in 2018.
Diageo warmly welcomes the news of a South Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement. The free flow of international trade is vital to Diageo as it gives us the opportunity to reach more consumers and markets.
South Korea is an important export market for Diageo and for Scotch whisky. We recognise and applaud the efforts of both sides in making substantive progress in trade negotiations and look forward to enhanced bilateral ties that support the future growth of trade in goods, services and cultural exchanges.
We are pleased to hear the news of a trade deal which will allow for firms such as ours to maintain our local presence, supporting our longstanding Korean clients on international law matters and disputes.
Korea is home to some of the world’s most dynamic and important international companies. This agreement will not only benefit those companies but also international companies and organisations doing business in the country.
Scotch Whisky is a global success story, with more than 1.2bn bottles exported last year.
Our export success is based on free trade and open markets. By reducing tariffs and other trade barriers, Scotland’s national drink can continue to increase its global reach, in turn creating jobs and investment across the UK.
This agreement removes the prospect of tariffs being reintroduced in South Korea – an important market for Scotch Whisky worth £70 million in shipment value in 2018.
Korea is one of the most significant markets covered by existing EU trade agreements and once the agreement is signed, the UK will have secured agreements with countries that account for 63% of trade currently covered by EU agreements for which the UK is seeking continuity. That has moved from 28% three months ago. Work is continuing intensively on remaining agreements.
This is another significant achievement in the Government’s efforts to seek continuity for our existing EU trade agreements, providing certainty for business, consumers and investors.
While in Korea, Dr Fox will also visit Samsung to discuss its research and development on 5G mobile technology.
Edward Swindells (44) is a Lincolnshire auctioneer, valuer and insolvency consultant, who acted for Acquisition 3957865 Ltd – formerly known as Maestermyn (Marine) Ltd – between January and March 2017, in the sale of a number of canal boats.
He sold the assets for over £100,000, despite knowing they were under the control of joint administrators appointed to the company Acquisition 3957865.
The money from the sale of the boats was then passed to a third party, despite promises to the joint administrators that the funds would be passed to them, and could not be recovered.
As a result, the joint administrators applied to court to have Edward Swindells made personally liable for the money and, once that was granted, petitioned for his bankruptcy, which was ordered in October 2017.
Bankrupts are normally discharged from their restrictions 12 months after they are made bankrupt but due to the seriousness of Edward Swindells’ misconduct, the Official Receiver applied for further sanctions through the courts.
An eight-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Order was handed down by Judge Dagnall in the County Court at Central London on 12 April 2019. Edward Swindells did not attend the hearing.
Restrictions imposed on him include being unable to borrow more than £500 without telling a lender that he is subject to extended restrictions, or acting as a director of a company without the court’s permission.
Ken Beasley, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service, said:
Eight years of extended bankruptcy restrictions is a significant ban and serves as a warning to others tempted to circumvent insolvency legislation.
Edward Swindells’ date of birth is May 1975 and he is from Brant Broughton, Lincolnshire.
Acquisition 3957865 Limited (formerly known as Maestermyn (Marine) Ltd) – Company Number 01183711.
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 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.
You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:
A major milestone has been reached as construction work gets underway on the Environment Agency’s York Flood Alleviation Scheme, in partnership with City of York Council.
Contractors have started preparing to raise and improve flood defences from Westgate Apartments to the Park Inn hotel on North Street. This section of the flood defence scheme will also see the floodgate under Lendal Bridge increased in height. A site compound has started being constructed on Tanner Row opposite the Maltings pub.
The work forms part of the £45 million York Flood Alleviation Scheme which will better protect 2,000 properties across the city by 2021.
Project manager Richard Lever, of the Environment Agency, said:
It is great news that we’re now on the ground working to better protect York, its residents and businesses from flooding.
The flood wall along North Street has previously come close to overtopping and needs increasing in height to cope with rising flood heights and the effects of climate change.
In both 2000 and 2015 the river levels were close to the top of the wall so sandbags were used to increase the defence height.
If we don’t carry out this work there is also a risk that flood water might flow round the end of the existing defences, finding a path through the War Memorial Gardens and the York City Rowing Club boathouse to flood properties on Rougier Street and Wellington Row, as well as cutting off Station Road.
Cllr Andrew Waller, Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning, said:
City of York Council is working closely with the Environment Agency on these schemes. Protecting people’s homes and businesses is an absolute priority so we can defend the city in the future.
The work will consist of:
The section of Leeman Road used as a coach stop, adjacent to Memorial Gardens, will be closed for the duration of the work. The work at Memorial Gardens is expected to be complete in time for the Remembrance Sunday service.
Access will remain open on the road next to Westgate apartments, to the Esplanade car park and along Wellington Row to the rowing club. Traffic lights will be used to manage traffic along North Street and Wellington Row during the wall-raising work and a banksman will manage traffic to and from the site.
Work on the Lendal Bridge flood gates will take place on one gate at a time so access will not be impeded until testing is carried out, where it will be closed for approximately four days.
The work will take place in two parts; the construction of the new wall and embankment in War Memorial Gardens, and the raising of North Street flood wall and Lendal Bridge flood gate.
While the majority of work will only take place in daytime hours, night working is expected in a short section, near the junction of Leeman Road and Station Avenue. Further construction work is expected to start between Water End and Scarborough Bridge, at the back of St Peter’s School, in the coming months.
The Environment Agency will continue working with City of York Council between now and 2021 to carry out a major programme of flood defence upgrades within the city. Initial ideas were identified within the York 5 Year Plan, published in November 2016.
For further details email yorkfloodplan@environment-agency.gov.uk or visit:
Global tech companies announce plans for £1.2 billion investment into the UK, highlighting the strength of the UK tech industry.
Tech companies across the globe have backed the UK with investment of more than £1.2 billion, the Prime Minister will announce today (Monday 10 June).
Speaking at London Tech Week, the Prime Minister will make a number of ambitious commitments that will ensure the UK remains the largest tech hub in Europe.
These include:
The Prime Minister is expected to say on the British tech sector:
Already we are one of the best places in the world to start and grow a tech business. British Tech is growing over one and a half times faster than the rest of the economy, adding more than one hundred and thirty billion pounds to our economy every year…
But if we are going to maintain our position as a global leader, our challenge is how we develop British Tech and make it even better. We want this to be the place everyone thinks of – and comes to – first when they want to develop their world changing tech ideas. This is a challenge shared between industry and Government…
Today as we sit on the cusp of the next great industrial revolution, we have the opportunity to work together and ensure that the advances we see transform our world for the better, and for the benefit of everyone. Government will back you all the way.
Later today, the Prime Minister will host a roundtable for leading tech companies, including Microsoft UK, Google and Monzo, where they will discuss opportunities to fully harness the power of technology to enhance competitiveness, boost the economy and tackle societal challenges.
This comes as thirteen businesses choose to invest in the UK as the top destination for tech innovation and talent. These include plans for a £1 billion investment by VMware over the next five years; a £12 million investment by Mastek in a new digital skills programme for graduates in Leeds; and a £150 million investment in a new data centre by Markley Group which will create 200 jobs.
New data by Dealroom and Tech Nation released today shows to date the UK has produced 72 tech companies worth $1 billion, substantially higher than any other country in Europe, and outlines that tech start-ups have raised a record $4.8 billion in venture capital investment over the first five months of 2019.
Companies announcing plans for investment today include:
Business roundtable attendees: