BCR Insolvency

30/05/2023

More from Croner-i Accountancy Daily - this from Sara White, Editor

More than a third of directors struck off the company register in the last 12 months have been involved in fraud related to bounce back loans paid out during the pandemic

The latest figures show that 377 company directors were banned for abuse of bounce back loans, reveals a freedom of information request to the Insolvency Service, but only four directors have gone to court to face criminal prosecutions. This was from a total of 917 director disqualifications in 2022.

Up to end December 2022 a total of £127,446.73 had been recovered through compensation orders obtained against disqualified directors related to investigations into abuse of Covid financial assistance. This is against a backdrop of total estimated bounce back loan fraud valued at £3.3bn.

Over the same period the Insolvency Service had 763 active civil investigations into company directors where Covid assistance misuse featured as a potential allegation. There were also 289 cases that have been authorised but not reached an outcome.

In addition to the civil investigations, 48 active criminal investigations into Covid assistance abuse are ongoing. A further 26 criminal cases had been given a decision to proceed but have yet to reach an outcome. However, not all of these cases involve directors, the Insolvency Service said.

30/05/2023

Thanks again to Croner-i Accountancy Daily for sharing this report by reporter Max Austin

Parents and unpaid carers are due to receive new employment rights which will grant them extra protection from redundancy while on parental or carer leave

Once in force, the Bill will ban companies from making women redundant from the moment they disclose their pregnancy until their child is 18 months old.

Under the Protection from Redundancy Act, pregnant women and new parents will be given an extension of existing redundancy protections, to help cover pregnancy and a period of time after parents return to work.

Currently, parents are only protected from redundancy while on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave.

The Neonatal Care Act gives parents whose newborn baby is admitted to neonatal care up to 12 weeks’ paid leave, in addition to other leave entitlements such as maternity and paternity leave.

The length of leave will be based on how long their baby receives neonatal care and will apply if their baby receives neonatal care for more than seven continuous days before they reach 28 days old.

The Carers’ Leave Act will give working carers up to five days of unpaid carers leave per year.

The Act will ensure that the estimated two million employees currently juggling paid employment and caring responsibilities will be protected.

The legislation has been backed by trade unions including Unison and the TUC, alongside organisations such as the CBI.

Christina McAnea, general secretary of Unison, said: ‘What new parents often need most is job security, but pregnant women and new parents are too often first in line for redundancy. This new law adds greater workplace protections to the statute book.’

Following an inquiry in November 2017, the Work and Pensions Select Committee found that employment support for carers was limited, and that carers had to choose between taking a sick day or using a day’s annual leave.

Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said: ‘This is a historic moment for unpaid carers and Carers UK’s decades-long campaign to improve working carers’ rights – we know many of them will be delighted by this new law.

‘This legislation sets us up for the future and we hope it will see employers give greater consideration to the needs of carers in their workforces.’

The government will need to introduce secondary legislation to implement these new entitlements on a date which is yet to be announced, with changes at the earliest being in 2024.

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘We know how stressful it can be for parents caring for a new-born in neonatal care, or someone who is trying to juggle work with caring responsibilities, and these additional protections will ensure they get the support they need.’

16/02/2023

NOTE FROM TED: TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storag...

26/10/2022

Thanks to Croner i Accountancy Daily for sharing this report.

Catering Bosses banned over £20k bounce back loan

An Essex-based duo have been disqualified for 16 years after falsely claiming £20,000 in bounce-back loans after exaggerating its turnover by more than seven times the actual amount

Vicki Holland and Darren Robert Trutt, joint directors of a mobile catering company, have been disqualified as directors for 16 years after using the company to wrongly take out bounce-back loans totalling £20,000.

The company, Crepe Heaven Ltd, operated as a mobile food stand and was incorporated in January 2013, according to Companies House.

The catering company was then put into liquidation in October 2021, which triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

With Trutt’s backing, Holland applied for a bounce-back loan in 2020 and stated that Crepe Heaven’s turnover for 2019 was £100,000. The company received a loan of £20,000 in August 2020 but subsequently went into liquidation in October 2021.

Investigators found that the company’s turnover in 2019 had been just over £13,000, with an income of less than £12,000. This would have entitled the company to a loan of £2,960.

Under the rules of the scheme, companies were allowed to borrow up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, up to a maximum of £50,000.

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 have 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.’

The secretary of state accepted disqualification undertakings from Holland for causing Crepe Heaven to overstate its turnover on its application for a loan, which resulted in the company receiving £17,040 more than it was entitled.

They also accepted a disqualification undertaking from Trutt for his part in allowing the company to overstate its turnover on the application.

The disqualifications are effective for 16 years from 1 November 2022, with Holland’s lasting for nine years and Trutt’s ending after seven years. It will prevent the pair from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion or formation of a company without the court’s permission.

04/05/2022

We have vacancies in BCR at all levels, from an insolvency case administrator through a manager to a JIEB qualified and experienced person looking for a great opportunity. Full training support will be given where required and competitive salaries are available for applicants, with the right experience, a can do attitude and a willingness to work hard to get their just rewards. Drop me a line or give me a call. Phil Wood.

21/09/2021

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and 'Stokie' bottle kiln enamel poppy badges are now for sale. All profits will be donated to The Royal British Legion.

Prices are as follows:
£3.50 each unboxed
£4.00 each boxed
£1.00 postage

To purchase, please contact Kelvin Chell by email: [email protected].

11/08/2021

We are mega proud to be a part of this fantastic organisation

We did it. We have crossed 250 MILLION GIVING IMPACTS 🎉Here's a video from us to simply say thank you.For all the love you have generously poured into the l...