First ever recruitment round opens to find National Leaders of Further Education

The department is doubling the funding that primary schools receive to improve the quality of their PE and sport provision from £160 million to £320 million a year, and today (Tuesday 24 October) we have published details of the individual allocations at school level. We have also published our funding guidance for this scheme alongside case studies showing how some schools have delivered a real impact for pupils through sports and physical activity.

The PE and Sport Premium is part of a series of programmes led by the department to improve healthy lifestyles among pupils and tackle childhood obesity. As part of the Childhood Obesity Plan, we are working with other departments and agencies – including the Department of Health and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – to make sure children are healthy and active.

Minister for Children and Families Robert Goodwill said:

We want to make sure all children have a healthy and active lifestyle and it’s vital that we encourage this in our classrooms. That’s why we have doubled the Primary PE and Sport Premium to £320 million per year to improve the quality of PE and sport in our schools. I’m also pleased that more pupils will benefit from our new £100 million Healthy Pupil Capital Fund, which will help improve facilities, such as sports halls and playgrounds.

Public Health Minister Steve Brine said:

Investing in school facilities such as sports halls, playgrounds, kitchens and dining facilities will undoubtedly make a significant difference to children’s health across the country. The school environment is critical in shaping a healthy lifestyle, which is why we are using the money from the soft drinks industry levy to double the PE and sport premium. This is another positive outcome from our world leading Childhood Obesity Plan.

Healthy eating, physical activity and sport not only help tackle childhood obesity, but can also have a positive impact on pupils’ behaviour, attendance, concentration and attainment, helping children to reach their potential.

The government is delivering a series of actions to improve children’s health. Alongside the doubled PE and Sport Premium, we are investing £100 million through the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund to facilitate improvements to children’s physical and mental health by increasing and improving access to and use of relevant facilities, such as kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms and sports facilities.

As part of our wider programme of work, we are also investing a further £26 million in breakfast clubs. This money will encourage innovation and kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in at least 1,500 schools, with a focus on increasing provision for disadvantaged pupils in Opportunity Areas.

New steps will be taken to deal with litter louts and those few who mindlessly throw rubbish from their vehicles, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey announced today.

Cleaning up our streets and countryside currently costs the taxpayer almost £800 million a year and so maximum on-the-spot fines for dropping litter will almost double from April next year – from the current limit of £80 to £150 – in order to deter and punish the anti-social minority who continue to drop rubbish.

In future councils will also be able to impose these fines on the owners of vehicles from which litter is thrown, even if it was discarded by someone else. The government is clear these fines should not be abused simply as a means of raising money, so guidance on how fines should be applied will be issued to councils.

Environment minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Littering blights our communities, spoils our countryside and taxpayers’ money is wasted cleaning it up.

Throwing rubbish from a vehicle is just as unacceptable as dropping it in the street and we will tackle this antisocial behaviour by hitting litter louts in the pocket.

These new fines will make sure the perpetrators, not the local community, bear the cost of keeping our streets and roads clean.

Today’s announcement means that:

• From April next year, the maximum on-the-spot fine local authorities can issue for dropping litter will nearly double, from £80 to £150. The minimum fine will increase from £50 to £65, while the default fine will increase from £75 to £100.
• For the first time, local authorities will also be able to apply these penalties for littering to vehicle owners if it can be proved litter was thrown from their car – even if it was discarded by somebody else.

The changes to fines for littering follow a public consultation as part of the launch of England’s first ever Litter Strategy in April 2017. These new findings showed the vast majority of respondents were in favour of increasing on-the-spot fines.

More than 85% were in favour of increasing fixed penalties for littering, while local authorities agreed that new penalties to tackle littering from cars would help to improve environmental quality in their area. The government is today confirming that it will proceed with these measures, with legislation introduced by the end of this year and the new fines in place by April next year, subject to parliamentary approval.

The government is clear however that councils must not abuse the power to impose fines. Councils should take into account local circumstances, like local ability to pay, when setting the level for these fines. Government guidance will be issued around the turn of the year to ensure the new powers are used in a fair and proportionate way by local authorities.

The sole registered director of AS Diamonds Limited in Arlington Court, Stevenage, has been disqualified from acting as a company director for six years failing to provide adequate company records, whilst also treating HMRC detrimentally in comparison to other creditors.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted an undertaking from Gary Wright effective from 11 October 2017.

Although Gary Wright provided some accounting records to the liquidator they were inadequate and it was not possible in particular to verify the purpose of payments to himself of over £160,000 as well as cash withdrawals of £40,000 and the validity of a supplier invoice to the value of £33,000.

During the period of trading, Gary Wright caused AS Diamonds Limited to treat HMRC detrimentally in comparison to other creditors. Although AS Diamonds Limited charged VAT on its sales invoices, no VAT returns were ever submitted and HMRC therefore duly issued assessments totaling £123,922. An analysis of the company’s bank account revealed that in excess of £490,000 was paid out, of which, nothing was paid to HMRC in respect of its accruing VAT debt.

Additionally, during the period 11 December to 22 December 2014, £49,967 was transferred to Gary Wright’s personal bank account which was to the detriment of creditors in general.

Commenting on the disqualification, David Brooks, a Chief Investigator with the Insolvency Service said:

The period of this disqualification contained within the undertaking signed by Gary Wright sends a clear message to other company directors.

Company directors have a statutory duty under the Companies Act to keep adequate company records which should amongst other things satisfactorily explain payments.

Further, much of the public service is funded by the correct amount of taxes being paid. By not declaring and paying the correct amount of taxes, Gary Wright has ultimately deprived the public services and the public from receiving the services it deserves. The Insolvency Service therefore will not hesitate to remove them from the business environment in order to protect the public.

Gary Wright, 37 – date of birth, December 1980, was a registered director of AS Diamonds Limited (Company No. 08514671), which was incorporated in May 2013 and traded as a wholesaler of watches and jewellery from Arlington Court, Stevenage.

Gary Wright, of Stevenage, has been disqualified for 6 years from 11 October 2017.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions. The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Salahuddin Sahibzada and Muhammad Anjum have each been disqualified for six years having given disqualification undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, which commenced on 25 September 2017 and 3 October 2017, respectively.

Mr Sahibzada and Mr Anjum were the directors of New Lahore Express Limited, and on 18 April 2016 Home Office Immigration Enforcement Officers discovered that the company was employing five illegal workers.

The company went into liquidation on 17 August 2016 owing creditors £90,973. A penalty of £30,000 was imposed by the Home Office Immigration and Enforcement on 29 June 2016 for employing illegal workers which remained unpaid.

Commenting on the disqualification, Martin Gitner, Deputy Head of Investigations, West Midlands stated:

Illegal workers are not protected under employment law, and as well as cheating legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities these employers defraud the tax payer and undercut honest competitors.

The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, makes employers responsible for preventing illegal workers in the UK. To comply with the law, a company must check and be able to prove documents have been checked prior to recruitment that show a person is entitled to work.

The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences and this should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to take on illegal staff.

Mr Salahuddin Sahibzada resides in Eastbourne and his date of birth is August 1973.

Mr Muhammad Anjum resides in Southend On Sea and his date of birth January 1963.

New Lahore Express Limited (CRO No. 06800253) was incorporated on 23 January 2009.

New Lahore Express Limited traded from 265 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6AH and its registered office was at the same address.

Mr Sahibzada was a director from 29 September 2009 to the date of liquidation.

Mr Anjum was a director from 14 May 2014 to the date of liquidation.

The Company went to creditors voluntary liquidation on 17 August 2016 with as estimated deficiency of £90,973.

On 4 September 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr Sahibzada, effective from 25 September 2017, for a period of 6 years.

On 12 September 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr Anjum, effective from 3 October 2017, for a period of 6 years.

Following a visit from Home Office Immigration Officers in April 2016, a breach was discovered, New Lahore Express Limited was issued with a penalty notice in the sum of £30,000 which remained outstanding at the date of liquidation.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies. The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: