Mohammed Abdul Subhan (47), from West Bromwich, started a self-employment catering business called Thania Spice in 2016 before incorporating Zara Spice Limited, which traded as a restaurant from Bilston Street in Dudley.

In 2020 Mohammed Subhan focussed his attention back to his self-employment business. But by March 2022, Mohammed Subhan could not pay his debts and applied for his own bankruptcy.

The Official Receiver was appointed as his Trustee before uncovering Mohammed Subhan had abused £70,000 worth of loans.

Mohammed Subhan declared that the self-employed business Thania Spice had a turnover of £200,000 and secured the maximum £50,000 Bounce Back Loan. But Mohammed Subhan’s actual turnover was closer to £3,000 to £4,000 in 2019, which would have not made him eligible for the government backed loan.

The caterer also failed to use all the money for the benefit of the business, contrary to the terms of the Bounce Back scheme, having withdrawn the funds in cash.

Further enquiries by the Official Receiver found that when the government loan ran out in November 2021, Mohammed Subhan inflated his income and applied for two further loans worth £20,000 – despite being insolvent.

Mohammed Subhan withdrew more than half the funds in cash and used £13,500 for non-essential expenditure.

Due to the risks he posed to creditors, the Official Receiver sought to impose additional bankruptcy restrictions against Mohammed Subhan.

On 27 October, Mohammed Subhan had his 11-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking accepted by the Secretary of State. His bankruptcy undertaking means he is limited to what credit he can access, as well as not being able to act as a company director without the permission of the court.

Deputy Official Receiver, Karen Fox, said:

Throughout our enquiries, Mohammed Subhan failed to provide adequate evidence of what he used the loans on, whether it benefited the business or that he had any reasonable expectation of repaying the loans back.

He posed a significant risk to creditors and 11 years of restrictions will severely curtail Mohammed Subhan’s ability to abuse his future lenders.

Mohammed Abdul Subhan is from West Bromwich and his date of birth is March 1975

Details of his 11-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking 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.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Mohammed Abdul Subhan (47), from West Bromwich, started a self-employment catering business called Thania Spice in 2016 before incorporating Zara Spice Limited, which traded as a restaurant from Bilston Street in Dudley.

In 2020 Mohammed Subhan focussed his attention back to his self-employment business. But by March 2022, Mohammed Subhan could not pay his debts and applied for his own bankruptcy.

The Official Receiver was appointed as his Trustee before uncovering Mohammed Subhan had abused £70,000 worth of loans.

Mohammed Subhan declared that the self-employed business Thania Spice had a turnover of £200,000 and secured the maximum £50,000 Bounce Back Loan. But Mohammed Subhan’s actual turnover was closer to £3,000 to £4,000 in 2019, which would have not made him eligible for the government backed loan.

The caterer also failed to use all the money for the benefit of the business, contrary to the terms of the Bounce Back scheme, having withdrawn the funds in cash.

Further enquiries by the Official Receiver found that when the government loan ran out in November 2021, Mohammed Subhan inflated his income and applied for two further loans worth £20,000 – despite being insolvent.

Mohammed Subhan withdrew more than half the funds in cash and used £13,500 for non-essential expenditure.

Due to the risks he posed to creditors, the Official Receiver sought to impose additional bankruptcy restrictions against Mohammed Subhan.

On 27 October, Mohammed Subhan had his 11-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking accepted by the Secretary of State. His bankruptcy undertaking means he is limited to what credit he can access, as well as not being able to act as a company director without the permission of the court.

Deputy Official Receiver, Karen Fox, said:

Throughout our enquiries, Mohammed Subhan failed to provide adequate evidence of what he used the loans on, whether it benefited the business or that he had any reasonable expectation of repaying the loans back.

He posed a significant risk to creditors and 11 years of restrictions will severely curtail Mohammed Subhan’s ability to abuse his future lenders.

Mohammed Abdul Subhan is from West Bromwich and his date of birth is March 1975

Details of his 11-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking 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.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Building upon a successful intake of apprentices this year, the Forestry Commission has announced it will reopen its Woodland Officer programme in 2023, the first-of-its-kind apprenticeship initiative to foster a growing, highly skilled and diverse workforce within the forestry sector.

The Development Woodland Officer programme offers a three-year, paid development opportunity for passionate individuals from all backgrounds looking to kickstart their careers in forestry. It aims to grow and upskill the forestry sector workforce and is open to school leavers, graduates or anyone looking for a change in career direction. The programme supports jobs and opportunities in rural communities and helps increase capacity to meet tree planting and forest management needs to deliver the Government’s tree planting and woodland creation ambitions over the coming years.

Following in the footsteps of the original cohort, Development Woodland Officers will benefit from academic studies in forestry management at the University of Cumbria, practical experience in Forestry Commission area teams across England, and nine months of wider sector placements to further build their skills and experience, enhancing future employment prospects.

Upon completion of the programme, successful graduates will earn a Professional Forester Apprenticeship (equivalent to Level 6), a BSc (Hons) in Forest Management and the potential to gain Chartered Forester status with the Institute of Chartered Foresters. Forestry Commission are also working with other employers in the sector to open up more opportunities for apprentices to join this programme

Forestry Commission Chief Executive, Richard Stanford said:

The Development Woodland Officer programme is an exciting career pathway into forestry in general and the Forestry Commission in particular. The programme offers a wide range of forestry and silvicultural experiences to build knowledge across the entire forestry sector.

I have seen first-hand the success of this programme, our current students are thriving though a unique mix of hands-on experience and academic studies as well as being in paid employment. I encourage people from all backgrounds and abilities interested in a rewarding career in forestry to apply.

Gareth Biggins, Development Woodland Officer Apprentice:

I joined the DWO programme in 2022, having worked in the rail industry for 15 years. I wanted to make a career change into forestry for some time and the programme offers a great way to achieve this while working to protect and expand our woodlands.

Since joining I have acquired new skills, knowledge and experience and have enjoyed the opportunity to work towards a degree level qualification alongside on the job training and interaction with colleagues from across the forestry sector.

Dr Helen Manns, Director, Institute of Science and Environment, University of Cumbria, said:

We are thrilled that our first forestry apprentices are immersing themselves in this trailblazing professional programme. As a university, it is our mission to address higher level and industry skills needs and we do this collaboratively with employers and partners, co-creating programmes like the Professional Forester degree-level apprenticeship, ​enabling us to help to grow, upskill and diversify the workforce of sectors including forestry.

​We are delighted that we can help the Forestry Commission ​with an apprenticeship programme that supports their Development Woodland Officer Programme, ​working alongside them and ​other partners in our shared ambitions to expand ​the long-term capacity of the sector and to deliver national ambitions for a skilled workforce in the coming years.

Louise Simpson, Executive Director, Institute of Chartered Foresters, said:

The Development Woodland Officer apprenticeship is an exciting new route into the industry. The demand for the programme is a clear indication of how important a role degree level apprenticeship will play in bringing new people into the sector.

Today’s announcement forms part of the England Trees Action Plan, which set out plans to treble tree planting rates in England during this Parliament, funded through £650 million from the Nature for Climate Fund. It also forms part of wider Government action to create new green jobs across the country and boost the economy.

The first cohort of 19 Officers started in September this year. Up to 45 Development Woodland Officer positions will be created over the next three years. In addition to these Officers, the programme will also train further students from the Woodland Trust and National Trust, who will join the Forestry Commission Programme to expand their knowledge and experience within the Forestry sector.

The Forestry Commission are also interested in working with partners within the sector to develop the offer on an ongoing basis. If you would like to find out more about the Development Woodland Officer programme or the Professional Forester Apprenticeship, are considering offering apprenticeship positions or would like to offer support with work placements, please contact: DWOenquiries@forestrycommission.gov.uk

The CMA has written publicly to Barclays after the bank failed to send a reminder to customers of payment protection insurance (PPI) policies.

Under the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) PPI order, PPI providers must send annual reminders to customers that set out clearly the cost of their policy, the type of cover they have and remind them of their right to cancel. Barclays breached the order by failing to send reminders to up to 1,306 of its former Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance policy holders between 2014 and 2017.

These customers, who held both a mortgage and an associated PPI policy with Barclays, had moved house and notified Barclays of their new address. Barclays failed to act properly on this information, with affected customers not receiving reminders.

Barclays only discovered this breach in late 2021. Failure to provide these reminders meant that customers may have kept their policies for longer than they needed or stopped checking for cheaper or better alternatives, and this may have cost them money.

The payout, of up to £1m is made up of refunds and goodwill payments, and comes after Barclays reported the breach to the CMA in October 2021, which it is required to do under the PPI order.

Adam Land, Senior Director of Remedies, Business and Financial Analysis at the CMA, said:

Barclays will pay customers up to £1 million after breaching the CMA’s PPI Order. That’s an average payment of around £750 per customer, which is particularly important as the cost-of-living crisis bites. We will now work with Barclays to ensure these payments are made to customers.

It’s important that all PPI providers take notice – we won’t hesitate to take action, as we have done here, if customers have lost out.

The CMA cannot currently impose financial penalties on businesses for breaches of this kind but has called for the power to do so.

Imposing fines would allow the CMA to take quicker and stronger action against companies that break the law. It would also allow the CMA to increase the deterrent effect of its enforcement and help ensure businesses take the obligations which the CMA imposes on them seriously for the benefit of UK consumers.

1. This is not the first time Barclays has breached the order. Find out more about previous breaches and the CMA’s enforcement here

2. We refer to ‘up to’ 1,306 customers because Barclays is still investigating the breach and may find that a small number of these 1,306 customers have in fact received the information they should have done.

3. The CMA does not currently have the power to impose financial penalties for breaches of this kind. The CMA has called for such powers in order to increase incentives for businesses to comply with market and merger remedies. The Government is set to consult on whether the CMA will be given such powers.

4. The CMA’s public letter to Barclays ensures that the bank will contact all customers with a PPI policy, who were affected by the most recent breach, and make payouts to compensate for the missing reminders

5. These breaches will also be logged on the CMA’s register of breaches, which records all breaches of market and merger remedies and is updated quarterly with the next update being January.

6. For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk