Latest news with #OBEs
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'You don't look like someone who gets an MBE'
Disabled people should be more fairly recognised in the honours system as part of the government's push to make awards reach a wider range of people, says Carly Jones, an advocate for the rights of autistic women and girls. But she tells BBC News she has seen firsthand how people's attitudes need to change, including after she was appointed MBE in 2018. Carly remembers being at a doctors' surgery where there was a call for a Miss Emby. "We're all looking round and I said: 'Is it Jones MBE'?" realising the award had been mistaken for a surname. "You don't look like the sort of person who would have one," Carly was told. "I don't know what that meant," says Carly, who campaigns to help women with autism in education, employment and health services. Not only was Carly appointed MBE, she's on one of the honours committees that decides who else should receive an award, such as knighthoods, CBEs, MBEs and OBEs, in the New Year and King's Birthday Honours. As a disabled woman herself, she wants to make sure the charity and community work of people with disabilities isn't overlooked and taken for granted. An important part of that is to encourage more people to put forward nominations. Are top honours winners too posh and too southern? How does the UK honours system work? Gareth Southgate, Stephen Fry and Olympians lead New Year Honours list "Everyone knows someone who deserves an honour," says Carly, who wants to "challenge the myth that this is a system for the elite". In terms of the honours committee, she says: "We can only look at what's put in front of us." There is also a concern, she says, that people shouldn't think that someone has received an award just because of a disability - "because that would devalue the system". There is scrutiny to make sure that those receiving awards of all types have personally worked very hard for good causes. "It can't just be someone who donates a million pounds and then gets a knighthood," she says. Carly, who wasn't diagnosed with autism until she was an adult, experienced homelessness and lived in a hostel, and she wants the honours to reflect those who have come from a difficult position but have made a big difference helping others. The Cabinet Office says the number of people with mental and physical disabilities receiving awards has been increasing over the past decade - from 6.3% of recipients in the New Year Honours in 2015 to 15% in the list for 2025. These were not broken down by type or level of award, but overall it is the highest number to date of disabled award winners. It's a positive sign in the push for the honours to be more representative, but it is still below the proportion of people with disabilities, with the 2021 census figures suggesting almost 18% of people in England and Wales had a disability. Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said he was "delighted to see more disabled people rightly recognised and celebrated for their remarkable achievements". But the government has accepted there are wider problems with many groups being under-represented in the honours - in terms of geography and social class - particularly in the higher awards, such as knighthoods, damehoods and CBEs. An independent chair is going to be recruited to improve diversity and outreach within the honours process - and Carly says they will be checking through all levels of awards. It follows a BBC analysis revealing that in the most recent New Year Honours only 6% of higher awards went to people in the north of England and 4% to people from working-class backgrounds. The most recent New Year Honours had been presented as recognising "unsung heroes" and "community champions". But in practice the higher awards were heavily skewed towards people from wealthier backgrounds, particularly in London and the south-east. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he wants the honours system to be "properly diverse and reflective of UK society". Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'You don't look like someone who gets an MBE'
Disabled people should be more fairly recognised in the honours system as part of the government's push to make awards reach a wider range of people, says Carly Jones, an advocate for the rights of autistic women and girls. But she tells BBC News she has seen firsthand how people's attitudes need to change, including after she was appointed MBE in 2018. Carly remembers being at a doctors' surgery where there was a call for a Miss Emby. "We're all looking round and I said: 'Is it Jones MBE'?" realising the award had been mistaken for a surname. "You don't look like the sort of person who would have one," Carly was told. "I don't know what that meant," says Carly, who campaigns to help women with autism in education, employment and health services. Not only was Carly appointed MBE, she's on one of the honours committees that decides who else should receive an award, such as knighthoods, CBEs, MBEs and OBEs, in the New Year and King's Birthday Honours. As a disabled woman herself, she wants to make sure the charity and community work of people with disabilities isn't overlooked and taken for granted. An important part of that is to encourage more people to put forward nominations. Are top honours winners too posh and too southern? How does the UK honours system work? Gareth Southgate, Stephen Fry and Olympians lead New Year Honours list "Everyone knows someone who deserves an honour," says Carly, who wants to "challenge the myth that this is a system for the elite". In terms of the honours committee, she says: "We can only look at what's put in front of us." There is also a concern, she says, that people shouldn't think that someone has received an award just because of a disability - "because that would devalue the system". There is scrutiny to make sure that those receiving awards of all types have personally worked very hard for good causes. "It can't just be someone who donates a million pounds and then gets a knighthood," she says. Carly, who wasn't diagnosed with autism until she was an adult, experienced homelessness and lived in a hostel, and she wants the honours to reflect those who have come from a difficult position but have made a big difference helping others. The Cabinet Office says the number of people with mental and physical disabilities receiving awards has been increasing over the past decade - from 6.3% of recipients in the New Year Honours in 2015 to 15% in the list for 2025. These were not broken down by type or level of award, but overall it is the highest number to date of disabled award winners. It's a positive sign in the push for the honours to be more representative, but it is still below the proportion of people with disabilities, with the 2021 census figures suggesting almost 18% of people in England and Wales had a disability. Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said he was "delighted to see more disabled people rightly recognised and celebrated for their remarkable achievements". But the government has accepted there are wider problems with many groups being under-represented in the honours - in terms of geography and social class - particularly in the higher awards, such as knighthoods, damehoods and CBEs. An independent chair is going to be recruited to improve diversity and outreach within the honours process - and Carly says they will be checking through all levels of awards. It follows a BBC analysis revealing that in the most recent New Year Honours only 6% of higher awards went to people in the north of England and 4% to people from working-class backgrounds. The most recent New Year Honours had been presented as recognising "unsung heroes" and "community champions". But in practice the higher awards were heavily skewed towards people from wealthier backgrounds, particularly in London and the south-east. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he wants the honours system to be "properly diverse and reflective of UK society". Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
BBC News
18-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Honours system 'should not ignore disabled'
Disabled people should be more fairly recognised in the honours system as part of the government's push to make awards reach a wider range of people, says Carly Jones, an advocate for the rights of autistic women and she tells BBC News she has seen firsthand how people's attitudes need to change, including after she was appointed MBE in remembers being at a doctors' surgery where there was a call for a Miss Emby. "We're all looking round and I said: 'Is it Jones MBE'?" realising the award had been mistaken for a surname."You don't look like the sort of person who would have one," Carly was told."I don't know what that meant," says Carly, who campaigns to help women with autism in education, employment and health only was Carly appointed MBE, she's on one of the honours committees that decides who else should receive an award, such as knighthoods, CBEs, MBEs and OBEs, in the New Year and King's Birthday a disabled woman herself, she wants to make sure the charity and community work of people with disabilities isn't overlooked and taken for important part of that is to encourage more people to put forward nominations. "Everyone knows someone who deserves an honour," says Carly, who wants to "challenge the myth that this is a system for the elite". In terms of the honours committee, she says: "We can only look at what's put in front of us."There is also a concern, she says, that people shouldn't think that someone has received an award just because of a disability - "because that would devalue the system".There is scrutiny to make sure that those receiving awards of all types have personally worked very hard for good causes. "It can't just be someone who donates a million pounds and then gets a knighthood," she who wasn't diagnosed with autism until she was an adult, experienced homelessness and lived in a hostel, and she wants the honours to reflect those who have come from a difficult position but have made a big difference helping Cabinet Office says the number of people with mental and physical disabilities receiving awards has been increasing over the past decade - from 6.3% of recipients in the New Year Honours in 2015 to 15% in the list for were not broken down by type or level of award, but overall it is the highest number to date of disabled award a positive sign in the push for the honours to be more representative, but it is still below the proportion of people with disabilities, with the 2021 census figures suggesting almost 18% of people in England and Wales had a Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said he was "delighted to see more disabled people rightly recognised and celebrated for their remarkable achievements".But the government has accepted there are wider problems with many groups being under-represented in the honours - in terms of geography and social class - particularly in the higher awards, such as knighthoods, damehoods and independent chair is going to be recruited to improve diversity and outreach within the honours process - and Carly says they will be checking through all levels of follows a BBC analysis revealing that in the most recent New Year Honours only 6% of higher awards went to people in the north of England and 4% to people from working-class most recent New Year Honours had been presented as recognising "unsung heroes" and "community champions". But in practice the higher awards were heavily skewed towards people from wealthier backgrounds, particularly in London and the Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he wants the honours system to be "properly diverse and reflective of UK society". Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
Express Tribune
16-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
UK EY investigated over post office audits tied to Horizon scandal
Listen to article The UK's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into Big Four accounting firm EY over its audits of the Post Office during the height of the Horizon IT scandal between March 2015 and March 2018. The probe will focus on whether EY complied with auditing standards, specifically in relation to the now-discredited Horizon computer system, developed by Fujitsu, which led to the wrongful conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters. "The FRC has commenced an investigation into EY's audits of Post Office Limited for the financial years ended March 2015 to March 2018," the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday. EY said it would cooperate fully with the investigation and added that it takes its auditing responsibilities 'extremely seriously.' The Post Office declined to comment. The Horizon system became central to what has been described as the UK's worst miscarriage of justice, with over 900 sub-postmasters accused of fraud and theft based on faulty system data. Many were prosecuted directly by the Post Office. The FRC said its investigation will not examine issues raised during recent public hearings, which did not specifically cover EY's audits. However, the regulator will look into the role of statutory auditors in the context of financial reporting and potential risks flagged during their reviews. In evidence heard last year, EY had reportedly warned the Post Office's then-chair Alice Perkins as early as 2011 that Horizon posed 'a real risk' and questioned whether the system 'captures data accurately'. That warning was not escalated internally, the inquiry was told. The latest development comes as campaigners Lee Castleton, Seema Misra, and Chris Head, who were among those wrongfully accused, were awarded OBEs at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EY faces investigation over Post Office Horizon audit
Accounting giant EY is being investigated over its audits of the Post Office in relation to the Horizon scandal from March 2015 to March 2018. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK's accounting regulator, said it will check whether EY met its standards "with particular reference to matters related to the Horizon IT system". The software developed by Fujitsu was at the heart of the Post Office scandal that saw hundreds of postmasters wrongly convicted. EY said it takes its responsibilities "extremely seriously" and will be "fully cooperating" with the FRC. The Post Office declined to comment. The FRC said the recent public hearings carried out as a broader inquiry into the Horizon scandal did not cover EY's audits of the Post Office, so will not be covered by its investigation. One of the unanswered questions of the Post Office inquiry is where all the money wrongly taken from victims of the Horizon scandal actually went. The FRC wants to focus specifically on the role of statutory auditors - people legally required to review the financial statements of a company - in meeting the auditing standards of that time. The announcement comes as subpostmaster campaigners Lee Castleton, Seema Misra and Chris Head will be made OBEs at Windsor castle on Wednesday. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system. It has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015. Why were hundreds of Post Office workers wrongly prosecuted? Oldest Post Office scandal victim rejects higher payout as 'still not good enough'
