Government to unveil new bill to help businesses adjust to social distancing measures June 22, 2020 The government is set to bring forward fresh legislation to help businesses adjust to new social distancing requirements, as the UK begins to emerge from months of lockdown. The Business and Planning Bill is set to be introduced this week and will be led by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis), the [...]
With the rest of the world distracted, China is on the march across Asia June 22, 2020 There are iron-clad geopolitical rules as to how the world works, edicts no less true because they are unknown by the vast majority of people. The vastly underrated Nicholas J. Spykman, the foremost US strategic theoretician of the twentieth century, was a primary articulator of these secret runes. As Spykman postulated, the underlying rules to [...]
Government trials new ‘no-swab’ saliva test for coronavirus June 22, 2020 A new “no-swab” coronavirus test using patients’ saliva is set to be piloted in Southampton starting this week, the government has announced. More than 14,000 GP staff, essential workers and university staff will participate in the first phase of the trial, which they will be able to complete at home using their own saliva, the [...]
Pubs and restaurants may be forced to keep register of all guests June 21, 2020 Bars, pubs and restaurants in the UK may be forced to keep a record of all visitors under new plans to reopen the hospitality industry, the health secretary said this morning. Matt Hancock told Nick Robinson on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that forcing venues to record customers’ personal details to assist track and trace [...]
Reading stabbings: Police declare incident as terrorist attack June 21, 2020 The killing of three people in a park in Reading yesterday is being treated as a terrorist attack, police have said. Six people were stabbed in Forbury Gardens in Reading last night by a lone attacker. Three people were declared dead and a further three people are currently in a critical condition in the Royal [...]
Amazon chief to oversee government website overhaul June 21, 2020 The government has reportedly recruited Amazon’s UK chief executive Doug Gurr to oversee upgrades to the gov.uk website, as millions flock online for support services during the coronavirus crisis. Gurr, who last week announced he is stepping down from Amazon after four years at the helm, will take a temporary role as an adviser to [...]
Sunak mulls VAT cut to boost economy after lockdown June 21, 2020 Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering cutting VAT rates to provide a much-needed boost to the economy after months of lockdown. The chancellor has ordered Treasury officials to draw up plans to reduce the sales tax, including a cut in the headline rate, the Sunday Times reported. Other proposals being considered include cutting employers’ national insurance, [...]
Government to roll out new measures to scrutinise foreign takeovers June 21, 2020 The government is set to introduce new measures to protect UK businesses critical to combating coronavirus from foreign takeovers. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) today set it will set out changes to the 2002 Enterprise Act tomorrow to allow the government to scrutinise foreign takeovers to ensure they do not threaten [...]
Gavin Williamson: All pupils will be back in school in September June 19, 2020 Education secretary Gavin Williamson today confirmed that all UK schoolchildren would return to the classroom in September. Speaking at today’s Downing Street press conference, Williamson said schools were vital to the UK’s plans to “rebuild and recover” after the coronavirus. He said: “We want to bring every child back, in every year group, in every [...]
Apple says government had not told it about coronavirus app plans June 19, 2020 Apple has said that it was not aware that the UK was developing an NHS contact tracing app using technology the firm built with Google. Yesterday the government announced that it was dropping its own app in favour of using the Apple/Google technology, which is already in use in countries such as Germany. However, speaking [...]