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Riot aftermath: what you can do to help

by
10th Aug 2011
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Now that the dust appears to have settled from UK-wide rioting, AccountingWEB members have looking at the practical effects on businesses.

Advice offered within Any Answers has ranged from insurance issues to making a claim under the Riot Act, as well as finding new finance and support.

The Association of British Insurers has suggested that generally, these events will be covered, however many clients have been informed by their insurers that civil disturbances are not covered by their policies.

Perhaps the main thing that accountants can help with is advising their clients to make sure their insurance policy covers everything that their stock is correctly valued. One AccountingWEB member said her client had made this mistake and their stock was undervalued by 50%. This client had gone for another cheaper insurer, but hadn’t compared like-for-like.

AccountingWEB members also noted that the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 is still in force and allows you to lodge a claim against the Police Authorities for riot damage. You have 14 days to lodge the claim from the date of damage and at must be least 12 people must be involved in the disturbance for it to be classed as a riot.

The act applies to any house, shop or building which has been damaged, or had its contents damaged, by "any persons riotously and tumultuously assembled together ".

A special form, attached to the back of the 1921 statutory Instrument must be used - with thanks to Sarah Douglas for bringing the link to our attention.

AccountingWEB sister title BusinessZone.co.uk, with the backing of the ACCA and Business Link, has also listed offers of help for small businesses affected by the riots. If you can help riot-affected businesses, join in here using the following hashtag: #BizCleanUp.

Some of the top offers so far include:

  • "I can offer telephone or email support to any small business affected by the riots - whether that's just listening or providing advice/signposting service to other support as necessary. It's not hands-on practical, but it's free and I hope it will help in some small way." @beindemand
  • "We are offering people affected a free month's line rental on VoIP to help them remote work" @GradwellTweets
  • "A month's free recruitment services for any business affected who needs extra staff" @wewant2work
  • "The Forum of Private Business is working with its underwriters to provide independent assessments of appropriate cover relating to incidents of civil disobedience to any affected business. If you are unsure if your insurance will cover damages to your business, please call our helpline on 0845 130 1722 for further assistance."

The recent events have prompted us also to look back at our business continuity handbook to help accountants and their clients plan for unthinkable situations like this week's riots. Take a look at a range of previous articles on the topic of business continuity.

Replies (9)

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By Robert Lovell
11th Aug 2011 15:58

HMRC extends helping hand

HMRC has announced a helpline number (0845 366 1207) for businesses and individuals adversely affected by the recent civil disorder.

According to the Revenue the helpline is available to provide “comprehensive advice and deal sympathetically with problems currently faced by businesses and individuals.”

In particular, HMRC will:

agree payment schedules with those who are unable to pay their tax bills due to short-term financial difficultiesdiscuss practical solutions where businesses and individuals cannot meet their other obligations to HMRC – for instance, their records have been lost or destroyed in the disturbances

HMRC will review any penalties imposed and withhold additional surcharges that would normally be triggered by missed deadlines.

The Civil Disorder helpline will be available from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

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By Caber Feidh
12th Aug 2011 16:17

Riot (Damages) Act claims

Did I hear the Prime Minister say in Parliament that the period for lodging Riot (Damages) Act claims had been extended from 14 days to 42 days?

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By louise ross
12th Aug 2011 16:52

Riot damages

Yes, see Direct Gov website which will provide claim forms shortly.  I blogged earlier today on the reaction from various bodies - ACAS,banks and Companies House are also prepared to be sympathetic/flexible if e.g. documents are lost or short term finance is needed.

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By [email protected]
15th Aug 2011 17:07

no comment

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Replying to User deleted:
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By Caber Feidh
14th Aug 2011 01:16

There is no current alternative

southsands wrote:

Best thing that could happen is for Nick Clegg to pull out of coalition and force a general election.

This advice does not appear to have any relevance to the question of what accountants can do to help in the riots' aftermath.

Nick Clegg will not pull out of the coalition in the foreseeable future because all the opinion polls show that his party would then lose most of its seats. If there was a General Election there would be the risk of returning to power the party that put the country in its current parlous position. That position includes leaving us with a minority of youngsters who are ill-educated, ill-disciplined and unemployable. But only a minority - almost all the youngsters I encounter are courteous and industrious. The proposed cuts are not an excuse for the riots because, stringent or not, they have only started to be implemented.

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Replying to DotasScandalDotOrg:
By [email protected]
15th Aug 2011 17:08

No comment

no comment

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Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
14th Aug 2011 14:12

@southsands

I don't think the riots have anything to do with foreigners let in to work or indeed budget cuts but everything to do with bad attitudes / lack of respect / bad education within certain sections of society.  The sad fact is that our own unemployed seem to have been unwilling or unable to do the necessary work that the half million or so Eastern Europeans came to do.

Apart from possibly the initial riot, none of the subsequent riots seem to have been "political".  They seem to have been opportunistic looting by quickly assembled groups of people that believed the police had lost control and that there would be little chance of getting caught.

If you are struggling with bad debts then the simple solution is to get clients to pay partly or even wholly in advance or pay by standing order / direct debit, like plenty of other accountants on this forum do.

Many potential clients also want my time for less than I am willing to work for.  I politely decline and concentrate on the good quality clients that are prepared to pay.

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By ssyddall
15th Aug 2011 12:04

Riots (so called)

The events of last week were not "riots" as in protests or as Wiki defined.

This was naked anarchy a la Mad Max and the prepertrators could not articulate adequately why they were doing it (not that many could actually "articulate" anyway).

Not having a job, beacuse "the foreign workers stole them" or "the bankers stole their future" or not "having respect" (a two way street, I thought) makes it ok to literally kick someone to death, does it? Or rob another, after he's had his skull caved in?

I have acted for recruitment and labour providors, whose first hand experience is they can only get non UK workers to do a lot of jobs the indigenous population feel is beneath them. Also that the average non UK worker does actually have a work ethic.

Lastly, on cuts - as accountants, we should all know if income is insufficient and expenses are too high, it has to come from somewhere - in the case of Labour, borrowing. Cuts ARE needed, unless we wish to join Greece and Ireland, the US and likely Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Get real!

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By RogerMT
16th Aug 2011 16:06

England = UK? I think not!

To be fair to our friends in Scotland, Wales & NI the riots were "England wide" not "UK wide".

As far as the topic goes, will HMRC now desist from using heavy handed private debt collectors in affected areas?

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