News
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JULY 2018 | 31
News
TAX CHEATS JAILED FOR A £ 1 MILLION BOGUS HOMES SCAM
A father and son teamed were captured after fleeing the country whilst on bail are now firmly behind bars serving sentences for a £ 1 million VAT tax fraud .
Both Jamie Colwell 51 , and his father Brian Cowell 76 had fled the UK hiding out in Spain . Both had failed to attend Bournemouth Court and absconded . Sentencing was carried out in their absence and a warrant was issued for their arrest . Both Jamie and Brian had been the masterminds behind a tax fraud that |
involved claiming to have spent £ 14 million building new homes that didn ’ t exist . They fraudulently claimed the VAT back totalling £ 965 , 897 but when the HMRC investigated they discovered that not a single house had ben built .
The defendants had spent the money on a luxury lifestyle that had included buying high performance
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sports cars such as a Porsche 911 . Jamie Colwell admitted to two counts of fraud to obtain payment of tax credit and was sentenced to serve five years and three months . Whilst his father pleaded guilty to one account of fraud and was sentenced to two years eight months in jail .
Richard Wilkinson , Assistant Director , Fraud Investigation
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Service , HMRC , said : “ The Colwells thought they could evade prison and use their criminal cash to fund a new life on the Costa Blanca but they were wrong . With close cooperation from our international law enforcement partners we tracked the fugitives down , so they can now look forward to jail instead .” |
NHS TRUST FINED AFTER EXPOSING PATIENTS TO LEGIONELLA RISK
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £ 300,000 after failing to control the risk to patients from exposure to legionella bacteria in its water systems .
Bristol Crown Court heard how , in July 2015 , Mr Terence Brooks , a 68-year-old patient at Bath ’ s Royal United Hospital , died from legionnaires ’ disease . Following Mr Brooks ’ death , the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE ) launched an investigation which found that the Trust had failed to put in place all the necessary precautions to minimise the risk to patients in the annex to the William Budd ward from exposure to legionella .
HSE ’ s investigation revealed that the annex to the William Budd Ward is on a separate loop of the hospital ’ s water system to that which supplies the main ward . This important fact had not been recognised by the Trust from the opening of the annex in 2009 until Mr Brooks ’ death in July 2015 . This failure meant the required temperature checks and tests for the presence of legionella bacteria in the water had not been carried out in the annex over this period .
Tests carried out after Mr Brooks ’ death revealed problems with water temperatures in the annex and legionella bacteria were found in water samples taken from outlets in all five isolation suites in the annex to the William Budd ward .
The strain of legionella bacteria which caused Mr Brooks ’ death was not the same as that found in the water system . However , HSE concluded there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the Trust for exposing patients to risks from legionella bacteria in its water systems .
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 ( 1 ) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and has been fined £ 300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £ 37,451.78 .
www . hse . gov . uk
SUBCONTRACTORS WRITE-OFF £ 2.8BN IN BAD DEBT EACH YEAR
Customer non-payment continues to hamper the growth of small subcontractors working in the UK construction sector , according to a study by specialist financial services provider Bibby Financial Services ( BFS ) and industry experts , The Vinden Partnership ( TVP ).
Findings of the Subcontracting Growth 2018 research , undertaken in the aftermath of the collapse of
Carillion , reveal that three-fifths of subcontractors ( 60 %) have suffered from bad debt in the last 12 months , with the average firm writing-off £ 16,149 each year .
Specialist Finance Director at BFS , Kash Ahmad , commented : “ Bad debt is a serious issue for many construction businesses and , across the entire sector , more than £ 2.8bn * is written-off each year , representing a significant economic leakage .
“ Bad debt occurs due to insolvency in the supply chain , protracted default or dispute and the issue is particularly challenging for smaller firms that have already footed the bill for raw material and labour costs . This places a massive strain on these businesses , sometimes even causing viable firms to fold . For many , bad debt is the hidden cost of doing business .”
Almost a fifth of subcontractors ( 17 %) said the most common reason for not receiving the full amount billed was due to a customer going out of business . A change in the scope of work part way through a project ( 8 %), queries over the quality of work ( 6 %) and disputes over contracts ( 6 %) were also among the top reasons firms would lose money .
More than two-fifths of businesses ( 44 %) said that construction contracts are difficult to understand , with less than one in ten firms ( 6 %) seeking expert advice .