Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has reported that the recent collapse of large construction firm Carillion will cost UK taxpayers an estimated £148 million.
Investigating the government’s handling of the collapse, the NAO says that its liquidation will cost UK taxpayers an estimated £148 million, although this could take years to establish the final cost, with wider costs to the economy, Carillion’s customers, staff, the supply chain and creditors also likely.
Shortly after the company posted its first profit warning on 10 July 2017, the government began contingency planning for its possible failure, which was finalised by 15 January 2018, when Carillon collapsed. When it was liquidated with debts of £1.5 billion in January, the firm had about 420 UK public sector contracts. However, since then, 11,638 Carillion workers in the UK, representing 64 per cent of its total workforce, have found new jobs. Of the rest, 2,332, 13 per cent of the total, had been made redundant and the remaining 3,000 were still employed by Carillion.
Although most services provided by Carillion continued uninterrupted after the firm's collapse, the NAO has revealed that work on some construction projects stopped, including building work on two hospitals funded by Private Finance Initiatives, with Carillion's non-government creditors unlikely to recover much of their investments. Furthermore, the company’s extensive pension liabilities, totalling £2.6 billion as of 30 June 2017, will need to be compensated through the Pension Protection Fund.
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: “When a company becomes a strategic supplier, dependencies are created beyond the scope of specific contracts. Doing a thorough job of protecting the public interest means that government needs to understand the financial health and sustainability of its major suppliers, and avoid creating relationships with those which are already weakened. The government has further to go in developing in this direction.”
Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
Located in Bromley, Japanese Knotweed Eradication Ltd has been providing solutions in the treatment and removal of Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica) for over a decade. During this time we have mastered a repertoire of methods, from herbicidal treatments to landscaping solutions, tailored to address the unique challenges our clients face with this pervasive weed.
UKREiiF has quickly become a must-attend in the industry calendar for Government departments and local authorities.
The multi-award-winning UK Construction Week (UKCW), is the UK’s biggest trade event for the built environment that connects the whole supply chain to be the catalyst for growth and positive change in the industry.
At GeoEnergy Design, we're on a mission to disrupt the traditional way heating and cooling ha
Professor Harith Alani, director of the Knowledge Management Institute at the Open University explains how AI can be used for good and bad.
Alex Lawrence, head of health & social care, techUK sets out techUK’s Five Point Plan for CareTech.