A spokesperson for the Insolvency Service said:

The Official Receiver is very pleased with the level of support shown by Carillion’s private sector service customers. Over the past 48 hours all of the company’s private sector service customers have been contacted to determine their ongoing needs.

Over 90% of these customers have indicated that they want Carillion to continue providing services in the interim until new suppliers can be found and will provide funding which enables the Official Receiver to retain the employees working on those contracts.

Work has paused on construction sites, pending decisions as to how and if they will be restarted.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP

Mark Benfield was originally sentenced to 4 years in prison on the 13 October last year when his case was heard at Portsmouth Crown Court. The Court of Appeal has increased his sentence to 8 years and 6 months, which includes 1 year on licence.

The abuse started after the victim’s 6th birthday, when Benfield was 18, and didn’t stop until 1984, 6 years later. During this period, the victim was sexually assaulted in her foster home a number of times by the offender.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

“This is a tragic case where the victim was made to feel unsafe in their own home, blighting many precious years of childhood.

“I welcome the Court’s decision and hope that the increased sentence brings some comfort and long awaited closure to the victim.”

Published 17 January 2018

Brill Power battery packs, taken at Innovate 2017. By Adam Gasson.

A violent teenager who threatened to throw a toddler out of a window has been sent to a young offenders’ institute after Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Joshua Ingram, 18, launched an attack on his ex-girlfriend and her 2 year old son after the toddler agitated him. Ingram who was staying at his ex-girlfriend’s house lost his temper with the child and started swearing. The child’s mother carried the boy into another room; however, when she passed Ingram on the landing he shoved the child’s head into the wall sufficiently hard to cause a bang.

Ingram then started to damage property in the living room before following her upstairs and taking her phone so she could not call the police. He then lunged towards the child in an attempt to try to grab him. He threatened to throw the child down the stairs and against a wall. The child was screaming and his mother was lying on top of him on his bed trying to shield him from attack.

The offender also had a vegetable knife and threatened repeatedly to kill the mother and child. He threw the knife to the floor with such force that it broke. He then grabbed the child again and placed a pillow over the mothers head and told the child that he was going to kill her.

Ingram originally received 2 years detention in a young offenders institution suspended for 2 years last October at Grimsby Crown Court. The Court of Appeal agreed that this was too lenient and increased his sentence to 3 years in a young offenders’ institute.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

This young man’s violent temper left a defenceless child and mother fearing for their lives. The original sentence failed to take proper account of the seriousness of the offence. I’m pleased the court has seen fit to impose an immediate custodial sentence and I hope it brings some comfort to the victim.

Fishermen whose licences have been monitored over the last two years following Defra’s latent capacity (capping) exercise should now fish to the limits as set out in their current licence until further notice.

In 2015 Defra carried out an exercise to address latent capacity in the under 10m English fishing fleet.

A number of fishermen had their finfish licence capped at 350kgs and/or had their shellfish permit temporarily suspended. This exercise included an appeals process. Some appeals were successful but subject to a monitoring period of 2 two years.

This period for monitoring drew to an end in most cases on 31 December 2017. Defra officials will be seeking to review this policy in 2018.

The MMO previously updated the relevant section of its website with this information in early January 2018.

If you have questions about this contact the Defra Helpline on 0345 933 5577 or email fisheriesreform@defra.gsi.gov.uk.