A new United Kingdom-wide guide outlining how our forests and woodlands can reduce the damaging effects and financial impact of flooding on vulnerable communities has been published today (Tuesday 25 October) by the Forestry Commission, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Forestry and Northern Ireland Forest Service.

Woodlands can play a key role in flood mitigation and make an important contribution to reducing downstream flood risk. Tree planting can significantly affect the volume, pathway and timing of surface run-off, slowing and reducing flood peaks, while management operations such as cultivation, drainage, road construction and harvesting can have the opposite effect if not appropriately managed.

Produced by Forest Research, the new Practice Guide provides advice to landowners, forest and woodland managers, planners, practitioners and flooding authorities on how forests and woodlands can make a positive contribution to natural flood management and play a stronger role in flood mitigation.

Advice includes:

• How to identify whether downstream communities are vulnerable to flooding and if so, modify the design of the woodland to enhance the flood benefit.
• How to amend the scale, timing and type of woodland operations to minimise the impact of flood risk and flood run-off.
• Where and how to use leaky dams to slow flood flows.

Applying this guidance will assist land managers and forestry practitioners in meeting the requirements of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and will help deliver a more sustainable and integrated approach to managing flood risk – reducing the damaging effects and financial impacts of future floods on downstream communities.

Richard Stanford, Forestry Commission Chief Executive, said:

Our woodlands and forests play a key role in reducing the peaks in water flow. This helps to protect communities across the UK vulnerable to flooding from their devastating impacts.

This new Practice Guide will enable the forestry sector to harness the benefits of tree growing to reduce the risk of flooding, while ensuring that management operations do not increase peak flows. It will promote working with natural processes to deliver a more sustainable, catchment-based approach to managing flood risk to benefit communities across the UK.

Dominic Driver, Natural Resources Wales’ Head of Land Stewardship, said:

Helping to prevent flooding is one of the many benefits of planting trees and creating new woodlands, but we also recognise that inappropriate forest management can risk environmental harm and reduce the well-being benefits that we derive from water.

The UK Forestry Standard helps us ensure sustainable forest management in Wales, and this practice guide will help contribute to that. We will now be integrating this practice guide to our work in managing and regulating forestry activities.

A wide range of organisations are responsible for managing flood risk across the United Kingdom and rely on partnership working to help protect affected communities and assets from flooding. Implementing the guidance as described will enable foresters to meet UKFS requirements and guidelines, and in so doing, make a positive contribution to reducing flood flows and the damaging effects of flooding.

By playing a stronger role in flood mitigation, it will also help the forest sector increase the resilience of downstream communities likely to be impacted by more frequent flooding due to climate change.

The new UKFS Practice Guide can be downloaded free of charge from the Forest Research website. Printed copies will also be available to order shortly.

Prime Minister Liz Truss’s statement on leaving Downing Street

It has been a huge honour to be Prime Minister of this great country.

In particular, to lead the nation in mourning the death of Her Late Majesty The Queen after 70 years of service,

and welcoming the accession of His Majesty King Charles III.

In just a short period, this government has acted urgently and decisively on the side of hardworking families and businesses.

We reversed the National Insurance increase.

We helped millions of households with their energy bills and helped thousands of businesses avoid bankruptcy.

We are taking back our energy independence…

…so we are never again beholden to global market fluctuations or malign foreign powers.

From my time as Prime Minister, I am more convinced than ever we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.

As the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

We simply cannot afford to be a low growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth…

and where there are huge divides between different parts of our country.

We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently.

This means delivering more freedom for our own citizens and restoring power in democratic institutions.

It means lower taxes, so people keep more of the money they earn.

It means delivering growth that will lead to more job security, higher wages and greater opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

Democracies must be able to deliver for their own people…

We must be able to outcompete autocratic regimes, where power lies in the hands of a few.

And now more than ever we must support Ukraine in their brave fight against Putin’s aggression.

Ukraine must prevail.

And we must continue to strengthen our nation’s defences.

That is what I have been striving to achieve… and I wish Rishi Sunak every success, for the good of our country.

I want to thank Hugh, Frances, Liberty, my family and friends, and all the team at No10 for their love, friendship and support.

I also want to thank my protection team.

I look forward to spending more time in my constituency, and continuing to serve South West Norfolk from the backbenches.

Our country continues to battle through a storm.

But I believe in Britain.

I believe in the British people.

And I know that brighter days lie ahead.

• Importers must apply to be registered as an approved trader under new scheme
• Scheme ensures rescue animals can be rehomed whilst national biosecurity is still protected

The Government has today (25th October 2022)  announced a new ‘Approved Importers scheme’ for pet imports from currently higher risk countries. It is being introduced to replace the temporary ban on commercial imports, including rescue animals, from Belarus, Poland, Romania and Ukraine, and allow for safer movements to resume.

Under a new safeguarding declaration, anyone commercially importing dogs, cats and ferrets into Great Britain from the previously suspended countries can now apply for Approved Importer status with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) from 29th October 2022.

In order to be approved, importers must be based or have representation in the UK, have no record of serious non-compliances in the last 12 months, and share with APHA the details of the transporter and the registered premises from where the animals originate from.

The UK Government is absolutely committed to protecting our biosecurity and public health, particularly ensuring we retain our long-held freedom from rabies and tapeworm. The new regulations will allow rescue organisations to resume activities, while still complying with our strict animal health and biosecurity standards.

The move is being taken as an increasing number of people are choosing to import pets from abroad with the hope of rehoming them, unaware of the associated health and welfare risks.

Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss said:

Commercial imports, including rescue animals are often of unknown background and disease status.

Under the Government’s new scheme, tighter controls will mean approved importers must arrive through designated points of entry and share all relevant health certificates, documents and blood tests before arrival to allow for more rigorous checks to take place. This will help protect animal and human health.

Biosecurity Minister, Lord Benyon said:

We are committed to ensuring safe commercial pet movements including rescues can continue and stopping those which carry too great a biosecurity risk.

The new scheme means we can safely lift the temporary suspension and allow only for safe movements from Animal and Plant Health Agency approved importers, helping to ensure we maintain our biosecurity standards and our vital rabies free status.

We are aware of serious non-compliance in movements, exacerbated by the present crisis in Ukraine. The scheme will remain in place until the Government is satisfied risks have reduced enough to allow controls to be lifted.

This measure only applies to commercial imports including rescue animals and it does not change the Government support for pets travelling Approved Importer status is not required for those commercially importing cats, dogs and ferrets that originated from countries other than those specified.

Before legally importing animals into Great Britain, Approved Importers are required to:

• Notify APHA details of the planned movement including place of origin, name of transporter, destination of animals, the planned route and carrier at least 7 days prior to arrival
• Upload all relevant export health certificates and blood tests 2 days before arrival. This is to allow more rigorous checks to take place
• Note that imports arriving from or via the EU by rail or car must arrive at Dover or Folkestone, only on Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm. Animals travelling by air must enter Great Britain at a Border Control Post. (Edinburgh, London Gatwick or London Heathrow).

Vicki Holland, 47 and Darren Robert Trutt, 51, both from Harlow in Essex have been disqualified for a total 16 years after falsely claiming a £20,000 Bounce Back Loan (BBL)

Vicki Holland and Darren Trutt were directors of Crepe Heaven Ltd, which was incorporated in 2013 and ran as a mobile catering company until it went into liquidation in October 2021.

With Trutt’s backing, Holland applied for a Bounce Back Loan for Crepe Heaven in 2020. BBLs were government-backed loans designed to support businesses through the Covid pandemic. Under the rules of the scheme, companies were allowed to borrow up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, up to a maximum of a £50,000.

In the application for the loan, Holland stated that Crepe Heaven’s turnover for 2019 was £100,000. The company a received a BBL payment of £20,000 in August 2020, but subsequently went into liquidation in October 2021. At the point of liquidation, its debts were almost £21,000, including the full amount of the loan.

The liquidation triggered an Insolvency Service investigation, which discovered that Crepe Heaven’s turnover in 2019 had been just over £13,000, rather than the £100,000 claimed, with income of less than £12,000. This would have entitled the company to a BBL of £2,960.

The Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Vicki Holland for causing Crepe Heaven to overstate its turnover on its application for a BBL resulting in Crepe Heaven Ltd receiving £17,040 more than it was entitled.

The Secretary of State also accepted a disqualification undertaking from Darren Robert Trutt for his part in allowing Crepe Heaven to overstate its turnover on the BBL application.

Both directors’ bans begin on 1 November 2022, with Holland’s lasting for 9 years and Trutt’s ending after 7 years.

The disqualification undertakings prevent the pair from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

The liquidator has recovered £5,000 from the directors as a final settlement.

Martin Gitner, Deputy Head of Insolvent Investigation, said

Bounce back loans were introduced to help viable businesses through the most testing of times, providing them with the financial support during the pandemic to protect jobs and return to prosperity.

The conduct of Vicki Holland and Darren Trutt fell extremely short of the standards required of company directors and they been removed from the corporate arena for a significant amount of time. Their bans should serve as a clear warning that if you abuse Government support schemes you should expect to be caught and punished.

Vicki Holland’s date of birth is April 1975

Darren Robert Trutt’s date of birth is May 1971

Both are of Harlow in Essex.

Company: Crepe Heaven Limited (Company Reg no. 08358343)

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 restrictions.

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

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