DEBATE: Has enforced working from home during the coronavirus pandemic benefited women in the workplace? September 9, 2020 For the City A.M. debate, Sheree Atcheson and Angelica Reyes Froment consider how work from home rules have impacted women. Sheree Atcheson, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Peakon, says NO The notion that the coronavirus pandemic has given women the flexibility they yearn for is completely false. Thanks to entrenched gender norms, women [...]
On coronavirus, governments have been the most irrational of us all September 9, 2020 Decisions, whether by individuals, companies or governments, are often made with imperfect and incomplete information. This is so obvious as to hardly seem worth stating. But for well over a century economic theory assumed that decisions were made with complete information. Economists knew full well that this was not always the case. The problem was [...]
The creative sector is vital to London – we must save it before it is too late September 8, 2020 Save our arts. That is the rallying call. It is a worthy one. The UK’s creative sector is a dynamic part of the economy, but it has been among the areas hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis and looks likely to recover last. While areas like retail and housing are rebounding solidly, the arts are prevented [...]
Rishi Sunak can afford to be bold on pension reform in his autumn statement September 8, 2020 Rishi Sunak’s summer economic statement was essentially an exercise in positivity. The update, given by the chancellor two months ago, was mainly focused on helping Britain emerge from the coronavirus pandemic in decent shape. However, as with the various virus-related schemes announced in his spring Budget, his new initiatives to kickstart the economy come at [...]
TfL commissioner Andy Byford: Getting the capital moving again September 8, 2020 Andy Byford, London’s transport commissioner, outlines what he has been doing to make TfL services ready for people to use them again. I started my career at London Underground in 1989, and through the last few decades I’ve worked for transport organisations all over the world – America, Australia, Canada. All different, but in each [...]
Financial services trade talks with Switzerland may be a template for post-Brexit success September 8, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic might have left us with a mountain to climb, but our nation’s economic recovery can be accelerated by one of our greatest trading assets: the UK’s financial services sector. As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Insurance and Financial Services – and a former insurance broker – I know first-hand how [...]
Let’s hope tough new rules on children’s online data collection deliver, and give parents peace of mind September 8, 2020 From today, our children’s online privacy is protected by default. Literally. New rules will force companies to give children and young people automatic specific privacy protections. That’s 76 days, according to research, that neither you or they have to spend reading all those terms and conditions. Thankfully, from now on, the so-called Age Appropriate Design [...]
Shaun Bailey: London deserves better than the mayor’s message of doom September 8, 2020 Tube use is down 70 per cent. High streets are empty. Only 17 per cent of people are back in offices. These are unprecedented times for London. So you’d think the mayor of London would have a plan to get people back to their offices safely and securely. You’d think he would be innovative, like [...]
Worried about furlough fraud? Now is the time to check your claims September 7, 2020 When Covid-19 struck, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) introduced the furlough scheme at remarkable speed to help people and businesses through the pandemic. But when claims are made in a rush – and under huge pressure – mistakes are inevitable. Also, sadly, when a recession hits the likelihood of fraud tends to increase. That is [...]
DEBATE: Is criticism of the government plan for digital ID cards justified? September 7, 2020 Is criticism of the government plan to spend money on digital ID cards justified? Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, says YES. When Theresa May scrapped Blairite plans for national ID cards in 2010, she warned that they would “increase state control over law abiding people”. And yet, this is what the Johnson [...]