It’s part of the 30Days30Ways National Preparedness Month campaign which sees the North East Flood Engagement Team share vital messages about what to do in a flood on their twitter page @FloodawareNE.

The campaign and leaflet will kick start a series of events through winter around flood and weather warnings, Flood Wardens and flood history to raise awareness of why communities need to be ready to ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’ in the event of flooding.

Co-ordinated by partner organisations through Local Resilience Forums, 30Days30Ways is aimed at empowering people to build household and community preparedness and resilience in a world increasingly impacted by climate change – the biggest challenge we face today – and other risks.

Taryn Al-mashgari, Flood Resilience Advisor in the North East, said:

It’s vital that people have the information they need to be prepared for a flood so we’re launching the leaflet and linking in with the 30Days30Ways campaign in September ahead of the onset of winter to get this important advice out.

We want to make sure communities have access to reliable information to help them understand, prepare for and recover from flooding.

From our work with communities, we know how devastating it is to be flooded and the impact it has on lives and livelihoods, so we’re working hard to raise awareness of how to plan for such events.

The launch of the ‘What to do in a flood’ leaflet in the North East explains in simple terms with illustrations the practical steps people can take now and includes:

• Before a flood: create a personal flood plan, sign up to receive Environment Agency flood warnings and Met Office weather warnings
• During a flood: Stay out of flood water, get your emergency grab bag full of essentials and don’t use electricals
• After a flood: Talk about how you feel and work together with your community

The leaflet, which was funded by the Northumbria Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC), is also full of useful links where people can get more information. It’s part of a series of new leaflets which help people to understand their flood risk and what they can do to prepare and keep safe.

New flood strategy launched

The Environment Agency’s new National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England, which was launched in July, has community resilience at its core. It sets out a vision of a nation ready for, and resilient to, flooding and coastal change and includes expanding the flood warning service, increased investment in natural flood management, and use of property flood resilience measures.

The strategy was published on the same day the government announced details of the £5.2billion that will be spent on flood protection between 2021 and 2027, alongside a further £200million for innovative resilience measures in 25 areas, as reforms to the FloodRe insurance programme.

It’s important residents check their flood risk and sign up to receive free flood warnings.

Energy Trends and Energy Prices publications are published today 24 September 2020 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The publications cover new data for the second quarter of 2020 (April to June). Energy Trends covers statistics on energy production and consumption, in total and by fuel, and provides an analysis of the year on year changes. Energy Prices covers prices to domestic and industrial consumers, prices of oil products and comparisons of international fuel prices.

Michael John Stanley recently received a 14-year Bankruptcy Restriction Order (BRO) from the court. He is now banned from running limited companies and must disclose his status when he attempts to secure £500 or more in credit.

The court heard that for 9 years between January 2010 and February 2019 Michael Stanley, from Maidstone Kent, operated a betting syndicate, which started out as a hobby, under the trading name Layezy Betting Syndicate.

The syndicate’s original members were family and friends and the scheme would bet on their behalf, earning profits on horses identified by Michael Stanley’s system.

In 2012, the scheme expanded to accept more members beyond just family and friends and over the syndicate’s lifespan, received at least £40.3 million from more than 6,000 members.

The syndicate used at least £1 million to place bets and of the remaining £39 million, Michael Stanley used £27.4 million to make payments to members so it would appear they were earning profits on the syndicate’s success.

These payments, however, did not represent winnings but were made up of payments received by new members. Members were unaware of the deception as they received false information regarding their positions and this was despite Michael Stanley operating a portal allowing members to view their accounts and deposits were performing.

Michael Stanley used various bank accounts he had set-up to collect syndicate members’ money to purchase 23 horses totalling £1.6 million. He also caused the syndicate to make payments totalling at least £780,000 to third parties.

The syndicate suddenly closed in February 2019 following reports in the media and Michael Stanley’s misconduct was uncovered by the Official Receiver after he applied for his own bankruptcy.

Creditors in Michael Stanley’s bankruptcy have made claims which total £53.4 million in respect of monies they have paid over to the syndicate, and £158.7 million on a reported profit basis.

Due to the size of Michael Stanley’ debts and the risk he posed to creditors, the Official Receiver applied to increase the period of his bankruptcy restrictions.

On Tuesday 8 September, ICC Judge Prentis handed down the 14-year BRO to Michael Stanley. He did not attend the hearing at the High Court.

Deputy Official Receiver Barry Gould said:

Throughout the syndicate’s existence, Michael Stanley acted in a duplicitous manner. For nearly a decade, he duped his members into thinking they were making profits on their bets but in reality, the money received was secured from new members joining the syndicate and not on the scheme’s success.

The court recognised the severity of Michael Stanley’s misconduct and he will now have to comply with 14 more years of bankruptcy restrictions, which will not only severely curtail his activities but also protect members of the public and lenders in the future.

Philip Duffy and Allan Graham of Duff and Phelps have been appointed as Michael Stanley’s trustees in bankruptcy. People who have invested in the Layezy Racing Owners Club should contact the trustees via Layezyinvestors@duffandphelps.com to register as a creditor.

Michael Stanley is from Maidstone Kent and his September 1956.

Details of Michael Stanley’s BRO is available on the Individual Insolvency Register.

Bankruptcy restrictions are wide ranging. The effects are the same whether you are subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or to an undertaking. Guidance on the main statutory consequences flowing from a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking.

Information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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