Tag Archives: HM Government

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a new statutory inquiry into Fadak Media Broadcasts, registered charity number 1165143. The investigation was opened on 24 August 2017.

The charity has objects to advance the Islamic religion, to advance the education of the public in the Islamic religion, and to promote religious harmony.

On 4 August 2017 the Commission received a serious incident report from the charity in regards to suspicion of significant unauthorised payments from within the charity. The report has raised serious regulatory concerns about the management and administration of the charity, and whether the trustees have sufficient oversight of the charity’s finances.

An inquiry has therefore been opened to assess whether:

• the trustees have exercised sufficient oversight and control of the charity’s assets and whether there is any ongoing risk to charitable assets

• the trustees are capable of discharging their legal duties and responsibilities in relation to the financial and general governance of the charity, including oversight of the charity’s staff

• there has been any misappropriation of the charity’s assets and if so whether it is in the interest of the charity to pursue restitution

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our online charity search tool
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the Commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.

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Investment consultants advise many pension funds on investment strategies, asset allocation and fund manager selection. As well as giving advice, some investment consultants also manage investments on behalf of the pension scheme (“fiduciary management”). A number of investment consultants also advise employers on the design of pensions and operate them via in-house “master trust” arrangements.

Following its recent market study into the asset management sector, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has concluded that it has reasonable grounds to suspect there are features of the sector which prevent, restrict or distort competition.

The FCA estimates that the 12 largest investment consultants advise on around £1.6 trillion of assets. They found:

• signs that the buyers of investment consultancy may not be best placed to judge quality or value for money of the service they receive

• evidence of the biggest firms holding a large share of the market

• barriers to expansion restricting smaller, newer consultants from developing their business

• some potential conflicts of interest relating to the other services offered by a number of firms

The FCA has now referred investment consultancy and fiduciary management services in the UK for examination by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA’s independent investigation will determine whether there are any adverse effects on competition in this sector. If any are found, it will decide whether – and if so, what – remedial action should be taken to address these.

During its investigation, the CMA will gather a large amount of information on the market, including running a bespoke market survey. It will engage with key participants and it will undertake significant economic analysis before coming to its conclusions.

Requests for information have today been sent to the main companies involved to allow this work to begin. An issues statement setting out the proposed focus of the investigation and potential remedies – in the event that an adverse effect on competition is found – will also be published shortly, and all responses to this will be welcomed.

Information on how any organisation or individual can submit their views, together with supporting evidence, to the CMA can be found on the case page.

The CMA will shortly appoint independent panel members to the Group and publish a timetable setting out a schedule for the various stages of the investigation. The appointed Group act as the decision makers and are chosen from the CMA’s panel members, who come from a variety of backgrounds, including economics, law, accountancy and/or business.

The CMA will conclude the investigation by March 2019.

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New data published by Public Health England (PHE) today (14 September 2017) shows a wide variation of premature mortality rates from liver disease across England.

Liver disease is almost entirely preventable with the major risk factors, alcohol, obesity and Hepatitis B and C, accounting for up to 90% of cases. The atlas will help health professionals to allocate their resources to improve patient outcomes.

The atlas shows premature mortality rates – dying before the age of 75 – ranged from 3.9 per 100,000 in South Norfolk clinical commissioning group (CCG) to 30.1 per 100,000 in Blackpool CCG, a 7.7 fold difference.

The atlas paints a mixed picture, with 10 indicators showing improvements including a reduction of premature deaths and fewer alcohol-specific hospital admissions for under 18s.

Nine of the indicators have become worse over time, including a doubling of hospital admission rates for cirrhosis from 54.8 per 100,000 to 108.4 per 100,000 people over the past decade. This indicator also varies significantly across the country with an 8.5 fold variation across CCGs and this gap has widened over the past decade.

Liver disease is responsible for almost 12% of deaths in men aged 40 to 49 years and is now the fourth most common cause of ‘years of life lost’ in people aged under 75, after heart disease and lung cancer.

Professor Julia Verne, Head of Clinical Epidemiology at PHE said:

Chronic liver disease is a silent killer of young adults, creeping up and showing itself when it’s often too late. However, around 90% of liver disease is preventable.

We hope local health professionals will make the most of this rich data source to inform how they reduce the burden of liver disease in their areas.

The atlas also lays bare the impact of the stark health inequalities in England. Inequality plays a role in the significant variation in risk factors of liver disease – excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, and hepatitis B and C.

For example, there is a 7.4 fold difference in the rate of alcohol-specific hospital admissions across the country, with the majority of the higher rates being clustered in the more deprived areas. Also, in the most deprived fifth of the country, people with liver disease die 9 years earlier than those in the most affluent fifth.

These data will underline the importance of developing a strategy to tackle the rising burden of liver disease, especially in younger adults and even children. Liver disease can take 20 years to show up as symptoms.

The atlas is made up of 39 indicators, 19 of which show trend data over time. It shows the degree of variation across the country, a national figure for comparison and commentary providing options for action and a list of evidence based resources for local health systems to improve.

For further information contact PHE:

Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. It does this through world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.

The 2nd Atlas of Variation in risk factors and healthcare for liver disease in England will be published on the PHE fingertips website.

The 2nd Atlas of Variation in risk factors and healthcare for liver disease in England has been prepared in partnership with a wide range of organisations:

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Aaron, T/Sergeant in Operations, based in Berkshire, has successfully completed marathons in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.

He said:

It started in 2008 when my New Year’s resolution was to run a marathon having never run any long distance before. I ended up choosing a cross country marathon, which I completed in 3:49:00, vowing afterwards never to do a marathon again!

For the next couple of years I ran a couple of 10k races and half marathons, before gaining entry into the London Marathon in 2011. My aim was to go sub 3 hours for the first time and I achieved this with a time of 2:56:15.

I then found out about the World Marathon Majors, with my aim being to complete each marathon in under three hours. I completed Berlin in 2012 in 2:56:30, which got me a qualifying time for Boston in 2013.

After running Boston in 2:57:55 I had mixed emotions due to the bombings that took place there that year. Thankfully I was at my hotel with my wife, Micayla, when it all unfolded.

In 2014 I went to Chicago, where I managed to knock 10 minutes off my best time, completing it in 2:46:59. The following year was New York, in which I ran 2:47:44, deciding after that to run London again in 2016 to try to better my previous time. I crossed the line in 2:36:55, knocking ten minutes off my personal best, set in Chicago, and 20 minutes off my first London time.

The final race of the majors challenge was Tokyo in February 2017. I qualified as a semi-elite athlete, thanks to the time I set in London. I ran a personal best in 2:33:47 which I was very happy with, considering I didn’t adjust to the time difference and had very little sleep.

Going forward I am representing the MDP at the Police Sport UK 10 mile race this month (September) as part of my training for the Frankfurt marathon in October.

Aaron thanked Assistant Chief Constable Operations, Paul McLaughlin, for his support and the help of the MDP Sports Fund with entry fees, as well as the support he has received from his wife, family and work colleagues.

Congratulating Aaron, Mr McLaughlin commented:

I’m absolutely delighted with his fantastic and overwhelming achievement, which is clearly down to his dedication and the support he has had from family, friends and colleagues.

At a time when the force is driving through the necessary fitness level requirement to meet our role profiles in MDP, what Aaron has demonstrated is where officers could possibly take their personal health and fitness through sheer dedication.

T/CC Andy Adams commented:

Wow, what a fantastic achievement! We take officer fitness very seriously in MDP, striving continually to raise fitness standards to fulfil our vital role in guarding the nation’s defences: Aaron’s commitment and determination is an example to us all.

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In the first week since Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean, the British Red Cross appeal has raised over £1.3 million.

The public has donated over £650,000 since the British Red Cross appeal was launched on 6 September and the UK government is doubling any public donations made. For every £1 given, another £1 will be matched, up to £3 million.

One of the most destructive hurricanes in the region’s recent history, Irma has impacted communities in more than a dozen Caribbean nations and Island territories, destroying or severely damaging thousands of buildings, and claiming at least 40 lives. It is estimated that more than 1.2 million people have been affected.

The Red Cross are providing drinking water, family hygiene kits, blankets, tarpaulins, and other emergency supplies across the islands.

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said:

We are overwhelmed by the British public’s generosity in helping us respond to those affected by the devastating Hurricane Irma. We are on the ground providing people with urgent access to clean water and shelter now.

Communities will take years to recover from the destruction of this hurricane. Unfortunately, there will be no quick solutions. The Red Cross will be there to support them every step of the way.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

Hurricane Irma has left devastation across the Caribbean and Overseas Territories. Once again, Britain has acted without hesitation and UK aid funded food, water, emergency healthcare and shelter kits are being delivered to those affected right now.

In times of crises, at home or abroad, the overwhelming generosity of the British people provides hope where there is despair, and by matching pound for pound public donations to the British Red Cross Appeal, the government will double the difference Britons can make to the lives of those affected by Hurricane Irma.

To donate to the British Red Cross Hurricane Irma appeal please visit: www.redcross.org.uk/Irma

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