Treasury set to reject City coronavirus loan refinance plan September 4, 2020 The Treasury is reportedly set to reject a City of London plan for a new state-owned organisation that would refinance the billions of pounds of emergency coronavirus loans lent to UK companies. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to rebuff plans put forward by a group led by trade body The City UK and audit firm [...]
Logistics groups call for ‘urgent’ meeting with government over Brexit border disruption September 4, 2020 The UK’s leading logistics and customs groups have called for “urgent” meetings with ministers to discuss Brexit border issues over their fears the supply chain “will be severely disrupted”. Eight groups called for an “urgent roundtable meeting” with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, chancellor Rishi Sunak and Transport secretary Grant Shapps. “Our concern is so [...]
Covid-19 does not prove the case for Scottish independence — if anything it does the opposite September 4, 2020 Scotland has had a “good” pandemic. Nicola Sturgeon has excelled. The incompetence of the government south of the border proves once and for all that an independent Scotland would flourish. Or so the Scottish Nationalists will tell you. And it seems to be working. While Boris Johnson was hospitalised and convalescing after his own brush [...]
More than 100m meals eaten through Eat Out to Help Out scheme September 4, 2020 More than 100m meals were eaten in August as a part of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme for a total cost to the Treasury of £522m. The latest figures show there was a large uptick in take up of the scheme in the final two weeks of August, after 35m meals were [...]
The City View: Rachel Cunliffe on post-Covid politics September 4, 2020 Today Andy Silvester is joined by City A.M.’s very own Rachel Cunliffe as they take a whirlwind tour around post(ish)-Covid politics. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS They start in Scotland where the SNP are doing their best to move the conversation on from their handling of the pandemic to another independence debate, whereas in [...]
English coronavirus cases jump to highest level since end of May September 3, 2020 Coronavirus cases in England have jumped to the highest level since the end of May, increasing fears of a second wave. According to the latest government figures, 6,732 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England between 20 August and 26 August. The jump is an increase of six per cent compared to the previous [...]
Government needs clearer ‘back to work’ message, says senior Tory MP September 3, 2020 The government has to give clearer and more consistent advice on people going back to their workplaces, according to a prominent Tory backbencher. Sir Graham Brady, who is chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, said the message coming from ministers was unclear and that people needed “common sense advice”. The government was due [...]
Reluctance to seek medical care risks storing up another public health crisis September 3, 2020 Are people in Britain getting the healthcare they need? The sad answer, after six months of intense pandemic response, is that far too many are not. Some of that is down to the public’s own choice to avoid seeking medical advice. In May, a poll conducted by IPSOS for the Health Foundation showed almost half [...]
UK trials mass Covid-19 testing programme September 3, 2020 The UK is putting £500m into trials of rapid Covid-19 tests and into population-testing for the disease, the Department of Health said today. Health minister Matt Hancock has said he hopes mass testing using faster Covid-19 tests can be rolled out towards the end of the year, adding that they are key to restoring freedoms [...]
How dare the government turn on the self-employed now September 3, 2020 Twice this week, reports have emerged that the Treasury is considering drastic tax hikes on the self-employed: first, increases in corporation tax (hitting the UK’s 715,000 sole directors of limited companies), and second, the equalisation of self-employed and employee National Insurance Contributions. The justification? The support the self-employed got during coronavirus. Given how many people [...]