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CIC Regulator’s telephones technical fault
Customers are able to leave a voicemail message but we are unable to call back at present. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused during this disruption.
We ask that all enquiries are sent to cicregulator@companieshouse.gov.uk and we will respond within 24-48 hours.
We are hoping the telephone service will be back up and running shortly and will keep you updated via this page and @CICRegulator.
Published 15 March 2018
We are aware of a traveller who has returned from Brazil with yellow fever. Yellow fever does not pass from person to person, you usually only get infected by being bitten by a mosquito that carries the virus. Such mosquitoes are not found in the UK and so there is no risk to public health here.
There is a risk of yellow fever transmission in parts of the tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa and South and Central America (including Trinidad). It does not occur in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific Islands.
A highly effective vaccine is available for people travelling to areas where yellow fever transmission is reported or where yellow fever vaccination is a condition of entry under the International Health Regulations (2005). Vaccines should be administered at least 10 days prior to travel and provides lifelong protection. The vaccine can only be administered in registered yellow fever vaccination centres; a list of yellow fever vaccination centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is available on the Yellow Fever Zone website. For travellers in Scotland, details of centres can be found on the Health Protection Scotland website.
If you’re travelling to an area where yellow fever transmission is reported, you should try to avoid mosquito bites, even if you’ve been vaccinated. This includes wearing loose-fitting clothing with long sleeves and trousers; wearing insect repellent on exposed areas of the skin, and using mosquito nets while sleeping. Mosquitoes can also spread other serious illnesses, such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika.
There has been a surge of human cases of yellow fever in Brazil since December 2017. Other cases of yellow fever in unvaccinated travellers who travelled to risk areas in Brazil have also been reported recently. This resurgence of yellow fever virus circulation in Brazil highlights the importance of seeking pre-travel advice and, if appropriate, vaccination before travelling to Brazil even if you didn’t need vaccine previously.
If you have recently returned from Brazil and have any symptoms, such as fever or flu-like illness, you should seek medical advice and make sure your doctor knows your travel history.
Improvements to application and billing processes are set to be made on 20 March 2018.
Changes are being made to make it easier to apply and bill for criminal legal aid work to reduce the number of rejected applications.
The improvements will be made on 20 March 2018 and affect:
Help buttons and guidance notes added to help providers see the information required before financial assessments can be carried out.
New fields to allow providers to explain client’s circumstances in more detail, e.g. when the client’s outgoings exceed their income.
Additional tick boxes added to help explain why a client may not be declaring any income e.g. “living with parents”, “living on the streets” and “supported by friends”
We hope these changes will make it easier for providers to see the information we need to process your applications quickly and easily.
This should reduce the number of rejected applications and save time and money for both providers and the Legal Aid Agency.
Please refer to the guidance document for more information.
Legal aid crime eForm guidance – to view supporting guidance
Published 15 March 2018
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The International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, and Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, have issued a statement to mark seven years of the Syria conflict.
Today the Syria crisis enters its eighth year. It has become one of the longest and bloodiest wars in recent history. The impact on Syrians, above all civilians, has been devastating with an estimated 400,000 dead and 13 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
The Asad regime and those who back it bear overwhelming responsibility for the destruction of the country, its infrastructure and the lives of its people.
Despite promises of de-escalation, the violence continues and the civilian death toll continues to rise. Last month the UK supported UN Security Council Resolution 2401 calling for a ceasefire. Yet in Eastern Ghouta – which Russia itself declared to be a de-escalation area – the regime, with Russian support, has continued to bombard and besiege the population, turning it into a hell on earth. Over 1,100 people are estimated to have been killed there since 18 February alone.
We find it utterly abhorrent that the regime is using food and medical supplies as a weapon of war. Civilians continue to be deliberately and indiscriminately targeted by military strikes, and despite promises made by Russia to ensure Syria would abandon all of its chemical weapons in 2013, international investigators have confirmed that the regime has since used chemical weapons in four separate attacks – which Russia has gone to great lengths to conceal. The UK is committed to ensuring that all those responsible for chemical weapons use and other violations of international law in this conflict are held to account.
The UK has always been at the forefront of the response to the crisis. More than 13 million people in Syria and in neighbouring countries are still in need of assistance. We will continue to help innocent people survive the toughest situations imaginable and, ultimately, help them to rebuild their lives.
The suffering will only end when there is a political solution to the conflict. We will continue to use our position on the UN Security Council to pursue this, as well as to unlock humanitarian access and protect civilians. The UN is ready to mediate a settlement. The opposition have declared their readiness for negotiations without preconditions. But the regime continues to obstruct progress. The international community must commit to a ceasefire and a political process that ends this conflict for good.