Samaritans are to launch a new veterans support helpline, backed by more than half a million pounds of government funding, to provide peer-to-peer emotional support to veterans.

The new helpline is one of more than 50 projects announced today from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs Afghanistan Veterans’ Fund, totalling £5million.

Around £150k is being provided to RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, who will improve the wellbeing of veterans through volunteering with Afghans who now live in the UK, including Afghans who worked with the UK military and were evacuated during Operation Pitting.

Other projects include:

• Providing veterans in Scotland with opportunities to engage with mindfulness and recovery in nature, through the charity Mindfulness Scotland

• Encouraging veterans to connect with one another through sports such as rugby, golf, climbing and horse riding.

• Increasing access to assistance dogs for veterans struggling with their mental health in England to assistance dogs to help alleviate symptoms and triggers of PTSD.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Leo Docherty said:

We are forever grateful to those who served in Afghanistan and members of the Afghan community who worked with them. Their courage and commitment to this country will never be forgotten.

This targeted funding for charities across the country will ensure that, regardless of location, those who have served and their families can access services easily.

The Afghanistan Veterans’ Fund was announced by the Prime Minister last year, following the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The fund supports the Afghanistan veteran cohort with help adjusting to civilian life.

The fund, which is being distributed by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, will also increase dedicated support mechanisms for young veterans and their families. The £5 million boost will also help increase the user friendliness and accessibility of services, better signposting veterans to the range of state and charitable services available to them.

The Samaritans project will see volunteers from the military community trained to provide peer-to-peer support by the charity, to encourage improved mental resilience and wellbeing in the armed forces community.

Chief Executive Officer of Samaritans Julie Bentley said:

Samaritans is proud to be supporting our Armed Forces community, many of whom have put their physical and mental health on the line to serve their country, with the creation of a new dedicated support service for military veterans.

Sadly, we know from calls to our helpline that veterans consistently make up over 70% of the calls from the military community, and that they are almost twice as likely to report suicidal thoughts compared with the general population.

That’s why it’s so important that veterans facing a crisis can easily access support and contact a trained veteran volunteer to help improve their wellbeing.

Chief Executive Officer of RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity Alistair Halliday said:

The funding from the OVA will enable RFEA The Forces Employment Charity to deliver vital support. We will be working with UK Veterans to support Afghan people who are arriving in the UK and who worked alongside our UK Armed Forces during the 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan.

The aim of our programme will be to enable those arriving from Afghanistan to access employment providing financial independence and inclusion in UK society. The sustained links that we will create between UK veterans, many of whom served in the Afghanistan conflict, and those arriving from Afghanistan will create long-term benefit for both groups”.

Notes to editors

Details on the recipients of the Afghanistan Veterans’ Fund can be found here

A Norfolk landowner has been imprisoned for 8 months for storing and burning waste illegally at a site in Outwell, near Downham Market. Despite repeated warnings from the Environment Agency.

Trevor Sieley, 63, of Langhorns Lane, Outwell, was also ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay £10 for breaching a suspended sentence order during the hearing at Norwich Crown Court on 6 April 2022.

In addition, he was served a court order requiring him to remove all waste from the site by 30 June 2023. He also needs to provide the Environment Agency with all paperwork by 7 July 2023.

Sieley pleaded guilty to storing and disposing of waste without an environmental permit. The waste included agricultural vehicles and equipment from his former contracting business, plus scrap metal, which he planned to sell. He also disposed of commercial waste for family and friends. Some of which he burned, and acknowledged that his actions had saved them from paying for the correct disposal of the waste.

The court heard that Sieley’s burning of waste would have produced fumes that would be harmful to human health and adversely affect the environment. A number of residential buildings and businesses, other than those of Sieley, lay some 200 metres away.

Environment Agency officers attended the site on 7 occasions and observed the charred remains of general rubbish, some of it shredded. This included plastics and metals, as well as hazardous items such as a vehicle engine and a television. These had been burned in a specially constructed ‘bund’ or pit. The presence of an excavator suggested a large amount of waste had been stored and burned.

Sieley was served a notice by the Environment Agency in September 2019, ordering him to clear the site. However, subsequent visits showed he was continuing to bring waste onto the property and burn it. He had taken no action to clear the site.

Prosecuting for the Environment Agency, solicitor Sarah Dunne told the court that the Environment Agency had made every possible effort to work with Sieley. He had been given the chance to put things right but, at every turn had been “met with obfuscation and contempt.”

He evaded repeated attempts by Environment Agency officers to discuss the matter with him. A warrant for Environment Agency officers to enter the site was issued in December 2019.

Defending barrister John Farmer told the court that Sieley had done his “inadequate best” to clear the site. However, His Honour Judge Shaw described Sieley as “arrogant” and told him: “You are someone who thinks the criminal law doesn’t apply to you. You haven’t just not made it better, you have made it worse.”

Judge Shaw pointed out that he had breached environmental laws since 2008. Notching up 2 previous sets of environmental convictions and being made subject to a suspended sentence for permitting the cultivation of cannabis at the same site.

The judge also observed that the 2 year Covid lockdown had given Sieley ample opportunity to clear the site yet he continued to accept more waste. He continued to frustrate Environment Agency’s efforts to discuss the matter with him.

Phil Henderson, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency, said:

Storing and burning waste in this way saved the cost of legal disposal and put the environment at real risk. Mr Sieley was able to operate at a commercial advantage and undermine his lawful competitors.

We welcome this sentence which sends a powerful message to anyone in Mr Sieley’s position that waste crime will not pay.

The offences took place between 29 July 2019 and 17 December 2019.

Sieley was prosecuted under regulations 12(1)(a) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

During March, there were five new detentions of a foreign flagged vessel in a UK port.

1. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) publishes details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month.

2. The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.

3. Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. When a ship is found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of their deficiencies are so serious, they have to be rectified before departure, then the ship will be detained.

4. All deficiencies should be rectified or in agreed class/ flag condition before departure.

Notes on the list of detentions:

• Full details of the ship: The accompanying detention list shows ship’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number which does not change throughout the ship’s life and uniquely identifies it. It also shows the ship’s name and flag state at the time of its inspection.
• Company: The company shown in the vessel’s Safety Management Certificate (SMC) or if there is no SMC, then the party otherwise believed to be responsible for the operation of the ship at the time of inspection.
• Classification society: The list shows the classification society responsible for classification of the ship only.
• Recognised organisation: Responsible for conducting the statutory surveys and issuing statutory certificates on behalf of the flag state.
• White (WL), grey (GL) and black lists (BL) are issued by the Paris MoU on 01 July each year and shows the performance of flag state.
• Deficiencies: The deficiencies listed are the ones which were detainable. Further details of other deficiencies can be provided on request.

SHIPS DETAINED IN MARCH 2022

Vessel Name: GRIT CEMENT IV

GT: 9299

IMO: 9331830

Flag: Panama (white list)

Company: Sirios Shipmanagement Corp

Classification society: RINA Services S.p.A

Recognised organisation: RINA Services S.p.A

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: RINA Services S.p.A

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: RINA Services S.p.A

Date and place of detention: 3rd March 2022 at Immingham

Summary: Twelve deficiencies with five grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
07112 – Emergency escape breathing device and disposition	Inoperative	Yes
07125 – Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)	Lack of familiarity	Yes
03108 – Ventilators, air pipes, casings	Not as required	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
04118 – Enclosed space entry and rescue drills	Lack of knowledge	Yes

This vessel was released 6th March 2022

Vessel Name: STELLAR ALAZANI

GT: 17027

IMO: 9708265

Flag: Liberia (white list)

Company: Marine Trans Bureau Ltd

Classification society: NKK

Recognised organisation: NKK, BV

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: BV

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: NKK

Date and place of detention: 8th March 2022 at Greenock

Summary: Nine deficiencies with three grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
11101 – Lifeboats	Damaged	Yes
18204 – Non-payment of wages	Non-payment of wages	Yes
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Expired	Yes

This vessel was released 28th March 2022

Vessel Name: IVORY GULL

GT: 19992

IMO: 9475715

Flag: Liberia (white list)

Company: Roswell Navigation Corp

Classification society: NKK

Recognised organisation: NKK

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: NKK

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: NKK

Date and place of detention: 22nd March 2022 at London

Summary: Twenty-nine deficiencies with six grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions	Not as required	Yes
11123 – Emergency equipment for 2-way comm	Not as required	Yes
11112 – Launching arrangements for survival craft	Not as required	Yes
11124 – Embarkation arrangements for survival craft	Not properly maintained	Yes
07115 – Fire-dampers	Not as required	Yes
07125 – Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)	Lack of training	Yes

This vessel was released 28th March 2022

Vessel Name: EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY

GT: 20646

IMO: 9208394

Flag: Bahamas (white list)

Company: P&O Ferries Holdings Ltd

Classification society: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Lloyds Register

Date and place of detention: 25th March 2022 at Larne

Summary: Thirty one deficiencies with seven grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01326 – Stability information booklet	Missing	Yes
10199 – Other (navigation)	Other	Yes
04108 – Muster list	Incomplete	Yes
05118 – Operation of GMDSS equipment	Lack of familiarity	Yes
01222 – Doc. evidence for personnel on passenger ships	Entries missing	Yes
01140 – Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (part I and II)	Not as required	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was still detained 31st March 2022

Vessel Name: PRIDE OF KENT

GT: 30635

IMO: 9015266

Flag: Cyprus (white list)

Company: P&O Ferries Holdings Ltd

Classification society: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Lloyds Register

Date and place of detention: 28th March 2022 at Dover

Summary: Twenty-five deficiencies with eight grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01706 – Fire detection and alarm system	Not as required	Yes
13108 – Operation of Machinery	Lack of Familiarity	Yes
07125 – Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)	Lack of training	Yes
13104 – Bilge equipment arrangements	Not as required	Yes
11106 – Fast rescue boats	Inoperative	Yes
18420 – Cleanliness of engine room	Not as required	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions	Not as Required	Yes

This vessel was still detained 31st March 2022

DETENTIONS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS

Vessel Name: POSEIDON

GT: 1412

IMO: 7363217

Flag: Iceland (Not listed)

Company: Neptune EHF

Classification society: NA

Recognised organisation: NA

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: DNV-GL

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: N/A (SMC issued by Flag)

Date and place of detention: 19th July 2018 at Hull

Summary: Ten deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
02106 – Hull damage impairing seaworthiness	Holed	Yes
07113 – Fire Pumps	Insufficient Pressure	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 31st March 2022

Vessel Name: TECOIL POLARIS

GT: 1814

IMO No: 8883290

Flag: Russian Federation (White list)

Company: Tecoil Shipping Ltd

Classification society: RMRS

Recognised organisation: RMRS

Recognised organisation for ISM DOC: RMRS

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: RMRS

Date and place of detention: 6th June 2018 at Immingham

Summary: Twenty-seven deficiencies with six grounds for detentions

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
10104 – Gyro compass	Inoperative	Yes
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Not as required	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
11104 – Rescue boats	Not properly maintained	Yes
11101 – Lifeboats	Not ready for use	Yes
01117 – International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP)	Invalid	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 31st March 2022

Vessel Name: CIEN PORCIENTO

GT: 106.

IMO No: 8944446.

Flag: Sweden (White list)

Company: Open Window Inc.

Classification society: Unclassed.

Recognised organisation: Not applicable.

Recognised organisation for ISM DOC: Not applicable.

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Not applicable

Date and place of detention: 4 March 2010, Lowestoft

Summary: Thirty deficiencies including seven grounds for detention

This vessel was still detained on 31st March 2022

Notes to Editors

• The MCA is a partner in the Sea Vision UK campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the sea and maritime activities. Sea Vision promotes the importance and economic value of the sector and works to highlight the exciting range of activities and career opportunities available to young people within the UK growing maritime sector.

• Follow us on Twitter: @MCA_media

For further information please contact Maritime and Coastguard Agency Press Office, on: +44 (0) 2380 329 401 Press releases and further information about the agency is available here.

Stephen Joseph John Mason, 45, from Edinburgh has been disqualified as a director for six years.

He was director of Angel Contracting Ltd, a recruitment agency specialising in providing contractors to the construction industry. The company was incorporated in 2017 but went into liquidation two years later.

At this point the Insolvency Practitioner made repeated requests for the company’s accounts and other records, in order to carry out their statutory duties to determine whether there was any misconduct that had led to the company’s failure and debts.

The records were not forthcoming and the subsequent Insolvency Service investigation therefore could not whether expenditure of nearly £5.5 million from the company’s bank account was legitimate business spending. The investigation identified £16,500 paid to an unknown individual, cash withdrawals totalling nearly £6,000 and £3,000 in cheque payments.

Similarly, it was not possible to confirm that the income, also of nearly £5.5 million, recorded in the company’s bank account, was from genuine business sales.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stephen Mason after he accepted failing to maintain or preserve adequate accounting records. His ban commences on 4 April 2022.

The disqualification undertaking prevents him from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at The Insolvency Service said:

Companies are under a legal duty to account for their income and expenditure and fulfilling that duty is a key component of the role of a director; there is no place in the corporate arena for those who neglect their responsibilities in this area.

All too often the lack of records to explain transactions is used to cover up other, more serious misconduct and we cannot determine whether that was the case at Angel Contracting, a fact which is reflected in the lengthy ban now in place.

Notes to editors

Stephen Joseph John Mason is of Edinburgh and his date of birth is October 1976.

Angel Contracting Limited company number – SC577815

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.

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

Contact Press Office

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Penny James and Nimesh Patel have today (Thursday 14 April) been confirmed as co-chairs of the government-backed FTSE Women Leaders Review, which monitors women’s representation in leadership positions at the UK’s biggest companies.

Following on from the highly successful Hampton-Alexander and Davies Reviews, the FTSE Women Leaders Review urges companies to continue raising their game on gender diversity and open up opportunities to everyone.

Penny James is CEO of Direct Line Group, which encompasses well-known British brands including Churchill and Green Flag, as well as Senior Independent Director at Hargreaves Lansdown. Before joining Direct Line, Penny held a number of senior roles in the insurance industry.

Nimesh Patel is CFO of Spirax-Sarco Engineering, a FTSE 100 company based in the South-West of the UK, having previously served in the same role for the De Beers Group. Nimesh is also a Trustee of ReachOut, a mentoring charity for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

Companies are more profitable and prosperous when they embrace the talents of the whole population. That’s why we want to ensure everyone, whatever their background, has equal opportunity to succeed and achieve on merit.

While our voluntary, business-led approach has opened up more senior opportunities for women, there’s always room for improvement.

Penny and Nimesh, with their impressive track records at the highest levels of business, will be perfectly placed to help continue to champion women in the boardroom.

Denise Wilson, who was instrumental to the success of the previous Hampton-Alexander Review, will continue as Chief Executive, bringing with her extensive knowledge and experience that will be invaluable in this next phase.

Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, said:

I welcome the appointment of the new co-chairs and the recommendations of the FTSE Women Leaders Review. Increasing the representation of women at senior levels is not only the mark of forward-thinking organisations, it’s just good business sense.

We will shortly put forward a range of measures to advance equality for women at work, increasing opportunity, and tackling the issues that are holding women back as we look to ensure that everyone can reach their full potential.

CEO of Direct Line, Penny James, said:

I believe that if you are in a position to effect change you should so I was glad to accept this tremendous opportunity. The case for increasing women’s representation on boards and in senior leadership is well known and it’s now time to build on the advances, remove barriers to progression and drive further change. I look forward to working alongside Nimesh, Denise Wilson, the Review’s CEO who has led the work so successfully, and the Review’s supporters to advocate for and encourage business to deliver on its recommendations and provide transparency on progress.

CFO of Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Nimesh Patel, said:

It’s an honour to help lead the next phase of this Review which will not only seek to increase the gender representation in the boardroom and in Leadership teams, but will help break the bias, ensuring that there are more women in key senior roles. I’m looking forward to working alongside Penny and Denise to promote the empowerment needed to create a more equal set of opportunities across UK businesses.

Over the last 10 years, the government’s unique voluntary approach to improving women’s representation – without the use of mandatory quotas – has proven successful.

In February, the FTSE Women Leaders Review published its first report setting out the state of women’s representation on boards as of the end of 2021. It found that the UK had climbed to second in the international rankings for women’s representation on boards at FTSE 100 level, with almost 40% of UK FTSE 100 board positions now held by women, compared with 12.5% just 10 years ago.

The Review has also set out important new recommendations to encourage British companies to build on this progress including:

• the voluntary target for FTSE 350 Boards and for leadership teams is increased to a minimum of 40% women’s representation by the end of 2025
• FTSE 350 companies to have at least one woman in the Chair, Senior Independent Director role on the Board and/or one woman in the Chief Executive Officer or Finance Director role by the end of 2025
• extending the scope of the FTSE Women Leaders Review beyond FTSE 350 companies to include the largest 50 private companies in the UK by sales

Background

The FTSE Women Leaders Review is an independent, business-led framework supported by the government, which sets recommendations for Britain’s largest companies to improve the representation of Women on FTSE 350 Boards and in FTSE 350 Leadership positions. It is sponsored by KPMG and Lloyds Banking Group.

The FTSE Women Leaders Review tracks progress on 24,000 Board and Leadership roles and builds on the excellent work of both the Hampton-Alexander and Davies Reviews over the last 10 years. The previous 33% target set in 2016, for Women on Boards was met in the aggregate for the FTSE 350 at the end of 2020, with the number of Women in Leadership just falling short of the target.

Women on Boards – 2021 Progress

Source – BoardEx, 10 January 2022

1. Reported numbers for Women on Boards of FTSE 350, as of 10 January 2022 show:

• FTSE 100 is at 39.1%
• FTSE 250 is at 36.8%
• FTSE 350 is at 37.6%

2. The number of women in the Chair role has increased to 48 across the FTSE 350, up from 39 in 2020.

3. The UK FTSE 100 is in 2nd place when compared internationally to 11 countries also working hard to improve the gender balance on the boards of public listed companies. This is up from 5th place in 2020 and the highest ranking since tracking began.

4. There are 4 companies in FTSE 350 with a women CEO and Chair duo, as of 10 January 2022:

• Admiral Group Plc
• Severn Trent Plc
• Pennon Group Plc
• Direct Line Insurance Group Plc

Note: This will increase to 5 companies in April 2022 as Taylor Wimpey recently announced (7 February 2022) a new female CEO appointment.

5. The number of FTSE 350 Boards that have met or exceeded the previous 33% target has increased to 278 Boards, up from 220 in 2020.

6. The number of FTSE 350 Boards that have met or exceeded the new 40% target is 141, 49 boards in the FTSE 100 and 92 in the FTSE 250.

Women in Leadership – 2021 Progress

Source – FTSE Women Leaders Portal, 31 October 2021

7. Reported numbers for Women in Leadership (defined as the Executive Committee & Direct Reports to the Executive Committee on a combined basis), as of 31 October 2021 show:

• FTSE 100 is at 32.5%
• FTSE 250 is at 30.7%
• FTSE 350 is at 31.5%

8. The number of All-Male Executive Committees in the FTSE 350 has decreased again in the last year to 16, down from 28 in 2020. Source: FTSE Women Leaders data collection portal.

The new recommendations

9. There are 4 new recommendations that were announced in February 2022 to fuel further progress in this next phase:

• the voluntary target for FTSE 350 Boards and for FTSE 350 Leadership teams is increased to a minimum of 40% women’s representation by the end of 2025
• FTSE 350 companies should have at least one woman in the Chair, Senior Independent Director role on the Board and/or one woman in the Chief Executive Officer or Finance Director role by the end of 2025
• key stakeholders should continue to set best-practice guidelines or use alternative mechanisms to encourage any FTSE 350 Board that has not yet achieved the previous 33% target for the end of 2020, to do so
• the scope of the Review is extended beyond FTSE 350 companies to include the largest 50 private companies in the UK by sales

10. For further information, read the full FTSE Women Leaders Review report or contact us on info@ftsewomenleaders.com or ftsewomenleaders@beis.gov.uk.