Overview

Climate change and development activity is making surface water management a growing challenge. Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) that are incorporated into developments can provide effective drainage as well as mitigating against new flood risk and providing an opportunity to address existing flood risk. Strategic scale studies and strategies can be used to inform planning policy requirements for SuDS.

The aim was to investigate the potential that strategic (catchment or sub-catchment) surface water management can contribute to inform the delivery of SuDS through the planning system, with the objective to:

• review the effectiveness of current strategic surface water management plans in defining requirements for SuDS

• describe advantages/disadvantages and barriers/opportunities for using strategic surface water management plans more effectively to define local planning authority SuDS requirements

• suggest how barriers might be overcome

The research identified a number of areas of improvement and presented 30 conclusions for the government to consider.

Documents

The report can be accessed on Defra’s science search page.

In a hearing at Sheffield Magistrate’s Court, Shahjan Yasmin Hussain, Chair of Trustees; Dr Shathea Zamzam, Manager; and Yorkshire Tuition Centre have admitted to running an unregistered school.

The case was heard on 5 January 2022 and is the latest successful prosecution of those running unregistered schools.

Deputy Senior District Judge, Tanweer Ikram, made a clear judgement that the defendants in charge “wanted to carry on under the radar without the requirement of regulation”.

The illegal school, Aysha Tuition Centre (ATC), was located at premises previously used by a registered private school, Oak Tree High (OTH), which had closed because it was failing to provide pupils with a good education. Ofsted inspectors found ATC was operating on the same site and employing many of the same staff as OTH to teach former pupils of the failed private school.

ATC was investigated by Ofsted’s unregistered schools taskforce during 2021. Inspectors found evidence that the setting, which claimed to be a tuition centre, was in reality providing up to 28 children with full-time education.

Ofsted Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said:

This case shows the length some people will go to side-step the law and mislead parents into believing they can provide their children with a good education.

Many of the children at this illegal school were allegedly being home educated. But in fact they were receiving all of their education at the Centre.

Cases like this are why I have long called for a register for children who are being home educated – so we can know where they are and that they’re getting a good education. We also urgently need legislation to be strengthened so that we can take strong action against illegal schools and close them down.

The sentence handed down by Judge Ikram included:

• £500 fine for Yorkshire Tuition Centre, a charitable trust which oversaw the illegal school, ATC
• Hussain and Zamzami to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work and be subject to a community order for 18 months
• £500 contribution to be paid between the 3 defendants toward the cost of the prosecution

1. Under section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (the 2008 Act), in England, a person must not conduct an independent educational institution unless it is registered. A person who conducts an unregistered independent school is guilty of a criminal offence.
2. Under section 463 of The Education Act 1996, an ‘independent school’ is defined as a school that is not maintained by a local authority, or is not a non-maintained special school, and at which full-time education is provided (a) for five or more pupils of compulsory school age or (b) for at least one pupil who is looked after by a local authority, or has a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.
3. Since January 2016, Ofsted’s unregistered schools taskforce has investigated 850 suspected unregistered schools and inspected over 400 settings.
4. Over a quarter of settings investigated were found to be alternative provision. Over a quarter were general education settings (which offer academic education, normally a range of subjects, like that typically provided by a school). Around 15% were providing religious instruction.
5. London has the highest proportion of unregistered schools’ investigations (21%) and the highest proportion of warning notices issued (20%). This is followed by the West Midlands with 13% of investigations and 15% of warning notices issued.
6. Safeguarding concerns have been found in around a third of inspected settings. Health and safety concerns have been found in around a quarter.
7. Approximately 25% of inspected settings have a faith ethos. The remaining 78% have no faith ethos, or their faith ethos is unknown. Of the settings with a faith ethos, 11% are Muslim, 6% are Jewish and 5% are Christian.
8. 114 settings of these settings have been issued with a warning notice. Over 50% of settings have changed their service to comply with the legislation. Around 20% have closed, and some have registered as independent schools.
9. Ofsted has welcomed the Department for Education’s intention to strengthen the registration requirements for unregistered schools, as well as the legislative powers for inspectors to collect evidence and interview those suspected of running them. These are important changes and Ofsted hopes that progress will be made soon.

• More than 130 countries signed up to a new global minimum tax framework in October 2021, after G7 agreed in principle during UK’s presidency

• The historic framework will ensure large international firms pay at least 15% tax rate on profits in each country in which they operate, helping to tackle avoidance and ensure a more level playing field for UK businesses

• UK shows continued leadership through acting swiftly to launch consulting on domestic implementation

Agreed by over 130 countries in October 2021, the landmark reform comes as part of a two-pillar package first agreed in principle by the G7 last June during talks chaired by the Chancellor in London.

With changes aimed to come into effect from 2023, today’s consultation will run for 12 weeks, and underlines a further achievement in the UK’s global leadership on tax reform.

The consultation seeks views on the application of the global minimum corporation tax in the UK, as well as a series of wider implementation matters, including who the rules apply to, transition rules and how firms within scope should report and pay.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said

Ensuring large multinational groups pay the right tax in the right place has been a long-standing priority for the UK.

We reached an historic agreement last October following more than a decade of talks and negotiations, and today marks another important milestone on how this will work in practice.

The Pillar 2 framework will ensure large multinational firms pay tax of at least 15% on profits in each country in which they operate, creating a more level playing field and further cracking down on tax avoidance. It will be operated on a country-by-country basis.

The OECD published detailed guidance on the Pillar 2 framework in December last year which countries will use to implement the rules in domestic law. This includes guidance on how to calculate the effective tax rate (ETR) of a group in a jurisdiction and the steps that should be taken to collect additional tax where the ETR falls below 15%.

Work continues to progress within the OECD on implementation of Pillar 1 of the October 2021 agreement, which reforms taxation rules to ensure a greater share of multinational profit is taxed in the countries in which their customers are located.

Notes to Editors

Minister for Asia, Amanda Milling, has completed a two-day visit to Cambodia to build closer ties with the country as it takes over as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2022.

Milling is the first Minister from an ASEAN Dialogue Partner to visit Cambodia since the country took over from Brunei as Chair earlier this month. She is also the first UK Minister to visit the country since the UK secured Dialogue Partner status with ASEAN in 2021.

Minister for Asia Amanda Milling said:

Cambodia will be a vital partner for the UK in 2022 as we seek an ever-closer relationship with our ASEAN friends.

Coming to Phnom Penh as my first visit of the year demonstrates our commitment to boosting ties and working with Cambodia to solve some of the region’s biggest challenges from building back better from COVID-19 to resolving the crisis in Myanmar and climate change.

The Minister held talks with senior members of the Cambodian government. She met Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who is also the new ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar, for a discussion on forging closer cooperation on shared challenges and working together to further UK-ASEAN relations.

Discussions also took place with Minister for Education Hangchuon Naron on improving girls’ education and Minister for Environment Samal Say to build on progress made at COP26 in Glasgow.

The Minister also met Dr Sok Touch, President of the Royal Academy of Cambodia and Dr Kin Phea, Director of the Institute of International Relations for a discussion on ASEAN and wider regional issues.

While in Phnom Penh, the Minister hosted a roundtable with human rights organisations, met British businesses working in the country and met opposition politician Kem Sokha.