Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: I am deeply saddened to hear that Liu Xiaobo has passed away. He was a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and a lifelong campaigner for democracy, human rights and peace. His death is a huge loss and our hearts go out to… read more
The report shows that HMRC brought in an additional £29 billion by cracking down on the minority of individuals and businesses who try to not pay the tax they owe, while improving customer service for all taxpayers.
Jon Thompson, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, HMRC, said:
In the last year, we have generated £28.9 billion of compliance yield, billions of pounds that would have otherwise been lost to the UK through avoidance, evasion and organised crime but will now be spent on public services. That’s around £1,000 for every household in the UK. We have also strengthened our grip on the minority who deliberately try to cheat the system and continue to pursue those who refuse to pay what they owe, on behalf of the honest majority. The message is clear to those who try to not pay their fair and legal share: there is nowhere left to hide.
Edward Troup, Executive Chair and Permanent Secretary, HMRC, said:
Our ability to collect the money required to fund the UK’s public services is, of course, the ultimate yardstick by which we will be measured, but the public rightly judge us on the quality of service we provide to the overwhelming majority of people in the UK who are honest and pay the right amount of tax on time. Our continued focus on giving our customers the service level they deserve is paying dividends. There are now quick and simple online tools to allow people to deal with their taxes or tax credits anywhere, anytime and the best phone service in years for those wanting to call us.
In the last financial year HMRC surpassed expectations and exceeded targets across the board, but investment in supporting the vast majority of honest taxpayers to pay their tax and access services, has paid particular dividends. New online services are making it easier for customers to get advice and support, such as completing their Self Assessment, and has led to record numbers going digital.
And for customers still wishing to contact HMRC on the phone, they can now do so seven days a week, getting through in just four minutes on average.
HMRC’s focus on making sure the minority of people who try to get away with paying less than their fair and legal share has meant record additional revenues from avoidance, evasion and organised crime. And continued progress on developing increasingly sophisticated and world-leading techniques will further close this net, making it harder than ever to get away with tax dodging.
The report shows that HMRC:
The Prime Minister welcomed King Felipe VI of Spain to Downing Street this afternoon, as part of the Spanish State Visit to the UK. She said that the UK was delighted to be hosting the visit, and to have this historic opportunity to celebrate our longstanding partnership and our shared values and interests.
The Prime Minister welcomed the King’s warm speech in Parliament yesterday, in which he reiterated the friendship between our two countries, and she agreed that the UK and Spain enjoy an incredibly strong relationship.
They discussed the close links between our people, who live, work, study and holiday in each other’s country. The Prime Minister welcomed the valuable contribution that the many Spaniards who have made Britain their home make daily to our economy and society. And she paid tribute to the heroism of Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverría who was killed in last month’s appalling act of terror at London Bridge as he rushed to help someone who was being attacked.
Their talks also touched on a range of areas on which the UK and Spain work closely together to ensure the security and prosperity of our people, including trade and investment, defence, science and innovation, and on the world stage.
The Prime Minister highlighted the scale of Spanish investment in the UK as a sign of the depth of our commercial ties. They agreed on the importance of standing up for free trade, and also highlighted the significance of our close cooperation on security and counterterrorism.
On Brexit, the Prime Minister said that we will seek a new, deep and special partnership with the whole EU as we leave, and that we are committed to ensuring we strengthen the bilateral ties between our two countries. She said we have made it a priority in the negotiations to guarantee the status of Spanish and other EU citizens living in the UK as part of a reciprocal deal that also provides the same certainty for UK citizens living in Spain and other EU countries.
They agreed that while our relationship may be rooted deeply in our past, it is just as important for our future as it has been in our history, and the friendship between our nations will continue to go from strength to strength in the years ahead.
read moreYorkshire Water has been fined £600,000 for polluting a Staithes watercourse with sewage that had leaked out from a poorly-maintained storage tank.
The company was sentenced on Thursday 13 July at Leeds Crown Court, after admitting one charge of causing a water discharge activity into Dales Beck, at Dalehouse, without an environmental permit.
The pollution originated from the firm’s Hinderwell Waste Water Treatment Works in July 2015. It had leaked from a poorly-maintained, rusting sludge storage tank, which had holes in it.
Richard Bradley, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court that the sewage had a significant impact on the quality of the water in the beck. The watercourse, which passes through a caravan park, was discoloured and had a foul odour. Up to 100 dead fish were seen, and water quality tests revealed high levels of ammonia and low dissolved oxygen levels.
Downstream, the pollution incident affected water quality in Staithes Harbour, which was a designated bathing water at the time. An ‘abnormal situation’ was declared for 17 days during the peak holiday season and Scarborough Council erected signs advising the public not to enter the water.
Yorkshire Water initially blamed works at the nearby Potash Mine for the water discolouration, but four days after the spill they used dye testing to trace the source back to the treatment works.
Sewage sludge could clearly be seen in the yard near the tank, and from there it had entered Dales Beck via a small ditch below the Sewage Works. Yorkshire Water did not immediately clean up the yard because it believed the sludge was contained on the site and would be recirculated back into its treatment process. However, the firm’s own site user manual stated that the site drainage is not sealed. This was not picked up by the company and the sewage was in fact discharging into the watercourse.
The court heard that, as well as causing the pollution, Yorkshire Water also failed to act quickly in cleaning it up. In August, the Environment Agency asked the firm to provide a plan for how it was going to clean up the mess, but no reply was received. After further visits and correspondence, the company was still cleaning sewage sludge from the water on 19 October, some three months after the incident.
In sentencing, His Honour Judge Khokhar said the company had been reckless, rather than just negligent.
Claire Campbell, environmental planning specialist at the Environment Agency, said after the hearing:
This case demonstrates how important it is that water companies and wider industries maintain their equipment and facilities to a high standard in order to protect the environment. This pollution incident had a significant impact on the ecology of the watercourse, as well as an impact on the amenity of a caravan park and Staithes beach.
In mitigation, Yorkshire Water told the court that it had invested in measures to prevent the incident recurring. A gully guard had been installed to contain any future spillages within the site, and an alarm had been installed on the sludge tank. The tank has now been replaced.
The company was also ordered to pay £28,078.10 in legal costs.
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