Unregistered boaters sunk by stiff penalties in Northamptonshire

Seven boat owners in Northamptonshire have been fined a joint total of nearly £5,500 at Wellingborough Magistrates Court for not registering their vessels.

They were also ordered pay a collective total of almost £5,550 in compensation and nearly £550 in victim surcharges during the hearing on 8 June 2021.

Sam Banham of Glamis Close, Rushden, Kettering, was found guilty in his absence after the vessel ‘Omega’ was found unregistered at Willy Watt Marina on the River Nene in Northamptonshire. He was fined £920 and ordered to pay £250 in costs and £905.19 in compensation plus a victim surcharge of £92.

Robert Walters of Blackthorn Lake Marina, Station Road, Ringstead, Kettering, was also found guilty in his absence after his boat ‘Camelot’ was found unregistered at Blackthorn Lake Marina on the River Nene. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £250, compensation of £1,015.40 and a victim surcharge of £100.

Robert Todd, also of Blackthorn Lake Marina in Ringstead, was found guilty in his absence after the vessel ‘Beulah’ was found unregistered at Blackthorn Lake Marina on the River Nene. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £250, compensation of £1,015.40 and a victim surcharge £100.

Martin Neale of High Street, Scaldwell, Northampton, entered a guilty plea by post after his boat ‘Indulgence’ was found unregistered at Willy Watt Marina on the River Nene. He was fined £300 and ordered to pay costs of £250, compensation of £397.51 and a victim surcharge of £34.

Andrew MacGilliuray of Kestrel Lane, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was found guilty in his absence after his vessels ‘Big Dee II’ and ‘Xanadu’ were found unregistered at Willy Watt Marina on the River Nene. He was fined £800 and ordered to pay costs of £250, compensation of £795.02 and a victim surcharge of £80.

Clive Ely of Blackthorn Lake Marina, Station Road, Ringstead, Kettering, was found guilty in his absence after his boat Elsie was found unregistered at Blackthorn Lake Marina on the River Nene. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £250, compensation of £1,015.40 and a victim surcharge of £100.

Jonathan Butler of The Sidings, Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, pleaded guilty by post after his boat ‘Kigu’ was found unregistered at Blackthorn Lake Marina on the River Nene. He was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £250, compensation of £397.51 and a victim surcharge of £40.

Nathan Arnold, Environment Agency Waterways Team Leader, said:

We hope these penalties will serve as a reminder to all boaters that they must ensure that their vessels are properly registered at all times.

The funds generated by boat registration enable the Environment Agency to provide the services that boaters expect on the waterways.

More information about boating and waterways, including registering vessels, is available from the Environment Agency.

If you suspect a boat is illegal, please contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 or email waterways.enforcementanglian@environment-agency.gov.uk.



Welsh Secretary writes to Church leaders over Bishop’s comments

News story

Simon Hart thanks the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of Bangor for their responses after he wrote to them about comments made by the Bishop of St Davids.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart has thanked the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Bangor after they responded to his concerns over recent comments made by the Bishop of St Davids.

The Welsh Secretary wrote to Church leaders following the Bishop’s comments about Conservative Party voters, which were made on social media.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said:

I am incredibly grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Bangor for taking the trouble to respond to concerns raised about the Bishop of St Davids’ unacceptable Twitter activity.

Their comments should reassure the public – whether they are churchgoers or not – that the Church takes these concerns seriously and that there are no circumstances in which they can be justified.

We hope, and expect, that the Church will continue to engage with politicians, to challenge us and to hold us to account, but to do so in a way that avoids legitimate views being demeaned.

Read the full correspondence between the Welsh Secretary, the Archbishop and Canterbury and the Bishop of Bangor here:

Letter from the Secretary of State for Wales to the Archbishop of Canterbury (PDF, 159KB, 2 pages)

Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Secretary of State for Wales (PDF, 37.4KB, 1 page)

Letter from the Bishop of Bangor to the Secretary of State for Wales (PDF, 81.4KB, 2 pages)

Published 18 June 2021



Call for bids: British Embassy Conakry’s International Programme Fund

World news story

The British Embassy in Conakry is pleased to open a call for bids to the International Programme Fund (IPF) for projects running from July 2021 to March 2022.

The United Kingdom remains committed to a stable and prosperous Guinea by supporting human rights and civil society, good governance, open societies and encouraging a business climate conducive to investment.

All project bids must aim to promote, protect, and improve human rights, economic development and the rule of law in Guinea. Issues on which we welcome bids include – but are not limited to:

  • the impact of COVID-19, good governance, sustainable economic development
  • human rights and open societies, freedom of the press
  • women empowerment and women’s rights, girls’ rights and education, gender-based violence, youth entrepreneurship
  • the mining sector, agriculture and climate change (COP26)

Selection criteria

Bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • project impact: delivering sustainable, meaningful change and a direct impact on the living conditions of beneficiaries
  • project viability: including the capacity of implementing organisation to deliver outcomes
  • project design: there must be clear links between the proposed activity and the project outcomes
  • risk management: robust analysis of key risks, and a plan of action to manage and mitigate those risks
  • value for money: including the number of direct beneficiaries and the scale of achievable outcomes

We draw your attention to the below key points:

  • the project proposal should include detailed schedule of activities to be carried out, specifying objectives, indicator, and expected results. This must include the deliverables, the stakeholders, the cost and the duration (start and end) of the execution of the deliverables
  • a detailed activity budget must be completed
  • projects must be completed by 31 March 2022
  • proposals should not exceed 200,000,000 GNF

Process

Proposals must be submitted using the attached forms only (Project Proposal Form up to £10k (ODT, 65KB), Project Proposal Form above £10k (ODT, 73.5KB) and Activity Based Budget Template (ODS, 10.2KB)). Note that project proposals in English are strongly encouraged.

Attachments

Guidance

Published 18 June 2021



Ongoing industrial action at DVLA

News story

How ongoing industrial action at DVLA will affect the processing of paper applications and contacting us.

Ongoing industrial action will directly affect DVLA’s services. There will be delays in processing paper applications. Please do not phone to chase up your application during this time as we are dealing with all paper applications as quickly as possible and in the order in which they are received.

Our online services are available and are the quickest and easiest way to deal with us. For information and to access our services, go to www.gov.uk/browse/driving

Published 18 June 2021



Education Secretary selects preferred candidate for new Ofqual Chief Regulator

The Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has named Dr Jo Saxton as his preferred candidate to be the next Ofqual Chief Regulator today (18 June), following approval by the Prime Minister.

Dr Saxton will now go on to attend a pre-appointment hearing before the Education Select Committee on 6 July.

Ofqual is the independent regulator for qualifications, exams and assessments in England. It maintains standards and public confidence in GCSE, A and AS levels, as well as vocational and technical qualifications.

Dr Saxton has been selected for the role following an open recruitment competition and assessment process led by a panel, conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

If appointed, she would be due to take over from the interim Chief Regulator Simon Lebus from September.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

I look forward to welcoming Jo Saxton to the role, whose wealth of experience makes her the ideal candidate to lead such an important organisation.

With a deep understanding of the education system and Ofqual, she will play a vital part in upholding standards and confidence in our exams and qualifications.

I am also grateful to Simon for his work as interim Chief this year, helping the organisation to navigate the pandemic’s challenges.

Dr Saxton’s previous experience includes serving as CEO of Turner Schools Academy Trust and CEO of Future Academies Trust. Prior to working with academies and schools, she taught and examined at universities in England and the United States.

More recently she has been a policy adviser at the Department for Education working on a range of policies from academy expansion to qualifications.

Dr Saxton is also a former trustee of The Brilliant Club and New Schools Network.

The Chief Regulator’s role is to ensure Ofqual carries out the board’s strategy and has the needed resources in place, develop policies and programmes, and maintain stakeholder relationships.

Following her pre-appointment hearing, the Education Select Committee will publish their recommendations. The Education Secretary will consider their recommendation before deciding on the final appointment which is then submitted to The Queen in Council for approval.