If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publiccorrespondence@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
Data on the difference in employees’ average earnings from April 2019 to March 2020.
News story
The agreement will help UK-Swiss efforts to tackle cross-border crime.
A new Police Cooperation Agreement between the UK and Switzerland has been signed which will further intensify joint UK-Swiss efforts to tackle crime.
The agreement was co-signed by UK Security Minister James Brokenshire and Swiss Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter in a virtual signature ceremony today (15 December 2020).
It builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by UK and Swiss Ministers in July 2019, which signalled the shared intention to explore more formal arrangements in order to further enhance co-operation between law enforcement partners in the future.
This agreement will facilitate the exchange of information and intelligence in order to assist investigations and tackle crime. It also commits the UK and Switzerland to undertake a range of activity together to strengthen joint capacity to combat crime, terrorism and corruption.
This is part of a wider suite of bilateral agreements agreed after the UK’s exit of the EU to maintain and strengthen the UK’s close links with Switzerland after the Transition Period.
Security Minister James Brokenshire said:
The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority. Switzerland is an important crime and policing partner and we will use this agreement as a foundation through which to explore further enhancing our law enforcement and criminal justice co-operation.
By streamlining information flows between our countries, it will help to equip UK law enforcement with the tools they need to combat all forms of serious crime and terrorism.
Swiss Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter said:
Switzerland greatly appreciates the cooperation between our two countries. The UK is particularly active and experienced in fighting terrorism. The exchange of information is in our mutual interests, for the security of British and Swiss citizens.
Published 15 December 2020
Lee Davis (55), of Blyth, Northumberland, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday (11 December) before Judge Prince where he was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for 12 months.
The court heard that Lee Davis was declared bankrupt in April 2016 following a petition by the tax authorities having failed to pay taxes he owed.
A month before bankruptcy, however, Lee Davis received more than £33,000 in inheritance from his father’s estate. Lee Davis then transferred half of the funds to his wife and paid other creditors he owed, without repaying the tax authorities.
The offence came to light when the Official Receiver examined Lee Davis’ records and uncovered that he had failed to declare all his assets, including the inheritance.
The Official Receiver established that months after his bankruptcy, Lee Davis obtained a £1,900 loan from a pawnbroker in Newcastle upon Tyne without disclosing that he was a bankrupt.
Due to the risk Lee Davis posed to creditors, in 2017 the Official Receiver successfully secured a 5-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Order in the County Court at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
He pleaded guilty to three charges.
Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Lee Davis claimed he did not know he had to tell the Official Receiver about money he had already received and instead hid more than £33,000 that should have gone to the creditors he owed.
“This sentence should act as a warning for others who are considering bankruptcy from hiding or disposing of their assets and that such offences are viewed as serious by the courts and the Insolvency Service.”
Notes to editors
Lee Davis is of Blyth and his date of birth is September 1965
Lee Davis pleaded guilty to the following charges on 11 December 2020:
Between the 4th March 2016 and 6th April 2016, being a bankrupt, in the period of five years ending with the commencement of the bankruptcy, you made or caused to be made transfers of your property, namely the monies you received from the probate of the estate of Robert Thomas Davis.
Between the 9th November 2016 and 16th November 2017, obtained credit up to the sum of £1,900.00 from Newcastle Jewellery Company Ltd without informing The Newcastle Jewellery Company Ltd that he was an un discharged bankrupt.
On 15th April 2016, being a bankrupt, you made a material omission in a statement made under section 291 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in relation to your affairs, in that you failed to disclose the monies received from the probate of the estate of Robert Thomas Davis.
You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:
Press release
Joint statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights between the UK Government and European Commission via video conference
The fourth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights was held today, co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and the European Commission. A number of EU Member States were also in attendance. The Committee has been established by the Withdrawal Agreement to monitor the implementation and application of the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement, which protects EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, including their family members.
The UK and the EU exchanged updates on the implementation of the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement, in readiness for the end of the transition period and considering the impact of Covid-19. The updates also included discussion covering specific topics such as social security coordination, in particular for people in ‘triangular situations’ involving the EU, UK and the EFTA States, and frontier workers.
The EU and the UK exchanged on the importance of clear communication and comprehensive support to vulnerable citizens or those hard to reach. They also considered the second joint report on the issuance of residence documents, used to monitor the progress of residency systems in the UK and the EU as well as providing statistics covering the number of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU who have secured their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement or applied for a new residence document, where an application for a new residence status is not required.
External representatives from ‘British in Europe’, representing UK nationals in the EU and ‘the3million’, representing EU citizens in the UK, were invited to present their views to the Committee and exchange views, in conformity with the rules of procedure of the Specialised Committee.
The UK and the EU have worked intensively throughout the transition period to implement the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement and remain committed to continue working closely, through the Specialised Committee, during the grace period until 30 June 2021 and beyond.
Published 15 December 2020