On 20 October 2016, the government announced plans to modernise community pharmacies, improve service quality and relieve pressure on other parts of the NHS.

The government continues to recognise and value the importance of the services that community pharmacies provide.

The Department of Health and Social Care has encouraged greater use of community pharmacy by working to integrate pharmaceutical services with the rest of the NHS. The Stay Well This Winter campaign continues to advocate ‘pharmacy first’, and the Healthy Living Pharmacy framework supports community pharmacies to provide a range of services to help people stay healthy in the community.

Funding of £2.69 billion in 2016 to 2017 and £2.59 billion in 2017 to 2018 was announced in 2016. This represents a 4% reduction in funding in 2016 to 2017 and a further 3.4% in 2017 to 2018, which makes an important contribution to the sum of £22 billion of NHS efficiency savings set out in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View.

The reforms also introduced the following benefits:

• Protected access for patients through the introduction of the Pharmacy Access Scheme in areas where there are fewer pharmacies and higher health needs. Pharmacies in the scheme have been protected from the full effect of the funding reductions so that patients can continue to access the services they need.
• A simplified and more modern payment structure, phasing out the existing establishment payment, which is a fixed payment just for being there, and in doing so allowing more efficient allocation of NHS resources.
• Steps to integrate community pharmacy into urgent care pathways, including for those who need urgent repeat prescriptions and treatment for minor ailments. Patients needing urgent repeat prescription medicines are referred from NHS 111 to community pharmacies, rather than to the GP out-of-hours service. Community pharmacy has also again been commissioned to provide seasonal flu vaccinations.

There are over 11,600 community pharmacies dispensing NHS prescriptions in England. This is 1,500 more than there were 10 years ago. 88% of the population are within a 20-minute walk of a community pharmacy.

Pharmacies will continue to be trusted partners in a world-class NHS.

On 12 February 2018, at Guildford Magistrates court, Lee Grant, 38, of Eton Road, Southsea, and James Black, 29, of Heathyfields Road, Farnham were each fined £660 for fishing without a fishing licence, with costs of £127 and a victim surcharge of £66 imposed after a prosecution by the Environment Agency. The total penalty was £853 each.

Magistrates heard that on 23 September 2017, an Environment Agency enforcement officer found Lee and James fishing at Badshot Lea Ponds, Badshot Lea. A valid fishing licence is required to fish all waters in England. Neither were able to produce a valid fishing licence and were reported for that offence. James and Lee were each convicted in their absence.

David Brain, of the Environment Agency said

The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a fishing licence. We invest the money from fishing licences back into fisheries improvements, fish stocks and fishing, this is essential for the future of the sport.

The minority of anglers that fail to buy a fishing licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport. In addition fishing licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.

During 2015-16 the Environment Agency checked more than 62,000 fishing licences and prosecuted more than 1,900 anglers for rod and line offences resulting in fines and costs in excess of £500,000.

Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline, 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.

You need a valid Environment Agency Fishing Licence if you are aged 12 or over and fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England.

Junior fishing licences (aged 12-16) are now free, but you must still get a fishing licence online at www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence.

Notes:

Try fishing. There are lots of events for spring and summer 2018 listed at www.getfishing.org.uk.

All media enquiries: 0800 141 2743. Please ask for the duty press officer.

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, will visit Cardiff to meet young people from the charity Children in Wales, including some representing Wales at the Commonwealth Summit, as well as people from Commonwealth diaspora groups.

He will also visit the home of elite sport in Wales where he will go behind the scenes to see how Team Wales athletes are training to deliver medal-winning performances at the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast in April. The Minister will be hosted by Brian Davies OBE, Director of Elite Performance at Sport Wales, on a tour of the National Sports Centre in Sophia Gardens, and meet the athletes, sports science and medical staff looking to propel Team Wales to podium positions.

The UK is set to host the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April with leaders travelling in from around the globe to take part in a week-long programme of activities focusing on the Summit’s theme ‘Towards a Common Future’.

Lord Ahmad said:

The Commonwealth is a unique family of nations. Its members account for two and a half billion people. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April will focus on young people as we strive to meet the aspirations of the one billion people in Commonwealth countries under the age of 25.

From Cardiff to Canberra, from Bangor to Bangalore, if the future relevance of the Commonwealth is to be assured, it is vital that young people are involved in shaping decisions that affect their future, and that includes the young people of Wales.

I am incredibly hopeful for the future of our Commonwealth and the role Wales has to play in it.

Lord Ahmad will also meet the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones and Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport Dafydd Elis-Thomas to discuss how the Welsh Government will play a key role in plans for the Commonwealth Summit.

A team work together on computers around a desk.

Stephen Anthony Wooley and Kevin John Dursley gave disqualification undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Stephen Anthony Woolley, from Stoke on Trent, who was the director of Security and Wealth Credit Management Limited which traded as Brightsource Financial Solutions, has been banned from acting as a director for eight years from 11 January 2018.

Kevin John Dursley, from Gloucestershire, who was the director of Corders Administration Limited which handled the day to day administration of the debt management plans, has been banned for three years and six months from 21 November 2017.

Security and Wealth Credit Management Limited went into administration on 16 September 2015 with debts of £2,058,219.

The Insolvency Service’s investigation showed that Mr Woolley breached the fiduciary duties he owed to the company by failing to take adequate steps to ensure that debt management plans were properly administered by Corders Administration Limited on behalf of the company, resulting in estimated losses of between £413,657 and £2,042,007 to members of the public already in financial distress.

Corders Administration Limited went into administration on 16 September 2015. The Insolvency Service’s investigation showed that Mr Dursley failed to ensure that Corders Administration Limited adequately managed, supervised and administered debt management plans on behalf of Security and Wealth Credit Management Limited.

Its failures contributed to losses of at least £443,302 to members of the public already in financial distress.

Commenting on the disqualifications, Aldona O’Hara, Head of Insolvent Investigations, Midlands and West, said:

This is a serious case where the failures of the directors of both companies have caused distress to members of the public who were already in financial difficulty.

The Insolvency Service will look closely at any evidence of misconduct and take appropriate action where others have suffered as a result of directors’ actions, as has happened in this case

Stephen Anthony Woolley is of Stoke on Trent and his date of birth is January 1959.

Security and Wealth Credit Management Limited (CRO: 08195266) was incorporated on 29 August 2012 and traded from premises in Cheltenham under the style Brightsource Financial Solutions.

Security and Wealth Credit Management Limited went into Administration on 16 September 2015.

On 20 December 2017 Mr Woolley gave a disqualification undertaking which was accepted by the Secretary of State on 21 December 2017. The undertaking comes into effect on 11 January 2018 for a period of 8 years.

Kevin John Dursley is of Gloucestershire and his date of birth is October 1970.

Corders Administration Limited (CRO: 07715423) was incorporated on 22 July 2011 and went into Administration on 16 September 2015.

On 30 October 2017 Mr Dursley gave a disqualification undertaking which was accepted by the Secretary of State on 31 October 2017. The undertaking came into effect on 21 November 2017 for a period of 3.5 years.

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.

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

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