Overseas buyers of UK exports can now access UK government-backed finance in 62 pre-approved local currencies, Minister for Investment Graham Stuart MP announced today.

The support is available through UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, and will help UK exporters compete for major overseas contracts, by allowing overseas buyers to access long-term finance in their local currency when they buy from the UK.

Graham Stuart MP said:

By giving UK exporters the flexibility to offer government-backed finance to their international customers in the currency of their choice, we are increasing the appeal of sourcing from the UK.

This world-leading offer from UK Export Finance gives buyers all over the world – from Bulgaria to Vietnam – the ability to ‘buy British, pay local.

The announcement builds on the expansion of UKEF’s local currency offering to 43 currencies in the Autumn Statement 2016, compared to fewer than 15 available in 2010.

Being able to access long-term finance is particularly beneficial for overseas buyers whose revenue and accounts are in their local currency, thereby helping to increase the competitiveness of a UK exporter’s offering.

UKEF can now offer pre-approved local currency financing in:

• Bulgarian Lev
• Colombian Peso*
• Croatian Kuna*
• Dominican Peso*
• Ghanaian Cedi*
• Jordanian Dinar*
• Kazakhstani Tenge*
• Mongolian Togrog*
• Moroccan Dirham*
• Nigerian Naira
• Pakistani Rupee*
• Panamanian Balboa
• Philippine Peso
• Romanian Leu
• Serbian Dinar*
• Sri Lankan Rupee*
• New Taiwan Dollar
• Trinidad & Tobago Dollar
• Vietnamese Dong

*Support will be approved on a case-by-case basis

Image credit: UK Parliament/CC 3.0

The Humber Hull Frontages will improve flood protection to 113,000 properties in Hull.

From 17 January if you need a basic check for a job in England and Wales, you should apply to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you need a basic check for a job in Scotland, then you should apply to Disclosure Scotland.

If you want a check for personal reasons rather than work purposes, you should apply to the relevant organisation for your area – DBS if you live in England or Wales or Disclosure Scotland if you live in Scotland.

If you are an individual applying for your own basic check you will be able to use our new online application route.

If you are an organisation applying for a basic check on behalf of an employee or someone else, you can use a ‘Responsible Organisation’ (RO) – a third party registered with DBS . A list of Responsible Organisations can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/responsible-organisations. Please note that a basic check from DBS costs £25 but some ROs will add their own fees to this cost. This amount varies depending on the service they offer.

It is important that you apply to the right organisation for your basic check, so that the correct Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) rules are applied. There is a risk of legal action if incorrect ROA rules are applied and impact a recruitment decision.

If you have any questions, please contact customerservices@dbs.gsi.gov.uk.

The purpose of this alert is to provide knowledge and prevention advice to independent schools and parents of students, in order to prevent them from falling victim to payment diversion fraud – a fraud that involves falsely creating or diverting payments. Information is based on reports made during the past month to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre.

What to look out for

Fraudsters are placing themselves in the middle of transactions between parents and schools. The fraudster contacts the parents outlining details and payment instructions for the latest school fees. Initial contact appears to primarily be made via email and often from the school’s own compromised email system.

However, the National Fraud Investigation Bureau (NFIB) has also seen instances where the email address used is similar to that of the school, for example using ‘nn’ instead of an ‘m’.

The victim then makes the required payment into the bank account, which is in the control of the fraudster. By the time the fraud has been identified, the funds have already disappeared.

In several instances there has been a strong element of manipulation to the scam, with fraudsters building trust with victims through contact by phone, email or other direct messaging. Often, the fraudulent email promises a discount for early fee payments.

Schools

• ensure all administration staff are aware of this fraud

• ensure staff are aware of cyber-protection protocols and understand NOT to open links or attachments from unexpected or suspicious emails. Doing so may compromise the school’s email system

• review password protocols and ensure those that are used are strong, as long as possible and contain a combination of letters as well as numbers and symbols

• review internal policies and procedures for managing fee payments and ensure these are communicated clearly to parents

• consider using a ‘payment gateway’ for the receipt of funds from parents

• ensure computer systems are secure and that antivirus software is up to date

• to help combat ‘typo squatting’, consider registering similar domain names

Parents

• always verify an email payment change request directly with the school, via the official, established contact details you have on file. Be alert to unexpected or notably increased fee requests

• be vigilant and always scrutinise requests to amend payment procedures. Check for inconsistencies and grammatical errors in external emails, such as a misspelt school name or a slightly different email address; these can be warning signs of fraud

• don’t be afraid to question and to verify details if being asked to make fee payments into a new bank account

If you or your school have fallen victim to payment diversion fraud, you should report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting the Action Fraud website.

If you are a charity, you should also report this to the Charity Commission as a serious incident, using the dedicated reporting facility: rsi@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk

Serious incident reporting helps the Commission to assess the volume and impact of incidents within charities and to understand the risks facing the sector as a whole; where appropriate, the Commission can also provide timely advice and guidance to a charity.

Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Charity Commission, said:

We are urging all charitable schools and parents to be alert to this. If they suspect they’ve fallen victim to payment diversion fraud, they should report this immediately to Action Fraud, and to the Commission, under its serious incident reporting regime.

By working together we will ensure these fraudsters do not prey on charities, parents and pupils in this way. Such scams not only divert precious funds away from the pupils and schools that need them, but harm public trust and confidence in the charity and education sectors more widely.

Julie Robinson, General Secretary of The Independent Schools Council, added:

Schools and fee-paying parents have been targeted by fraudsters posing as school accounts departments seeking alternative payment arrangements. We are supporting the Charity Commission in raising awareness among schools and parents, and we urge institutions to alert their stakeholders to this unlawful activity.

Ends.

Malcolm George Holmes, who was acting on behalf of the landowner, was given four weeks to clear the illegal waste at Sheepfolds Road after it was abandoned by the tenant.