Organised crime gangs defrauded £367m from Covid support schemes August 22, 2022 Almost £400m was stolen from the UK government’s Covid support schemes by organised crime gangs, according to new figures released by Whitehall. Figures released by HM Revenue and Customs, after a Freedom of Information request by law firm Pinsent Masons, showed £367m was stolen from initiatives like the furlough scheme and Eat to Help Out. [...]
Johnson green lights £30bn Sizewell C nuclear power station August 21, 2022 Boris Johnson has given the green light to a new £30bn nuclear power station in Suffolk in the final weeks of his premiership. Johnson and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi approved funding for the construction of two new reactors, known as Sizewell C, despite the Prime Minister vowing to not make decisions in this transitional period. Zahawi’s [...]
Ministers consider plans to bail out businesses facing energy price spikes August 21, 2022 The government is considering plans to bail out businesses this year as they face soaring energy prices over autumn and winter. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is drawing up different options for the next Prime Minister to consider when they are sworn in next month. The Sunday Times reports that measures such as VAT and business rates [...]
Truss vows to slash taxes for SMEs and to unleash ‘business revolution’ August 21, 2022 Liz Truss has promised to slash taxes for British SMEs and unleash a “business revolution” in the UK if she is crowned Prime Minister next month. Truss said that her government would “back business to deliver” and “stop putting so much red tape, so much tax on business”. The foreign secretary told The Sun On [...]
Soaring energy bills could plunge Britain into a ‘humanitarian crisis,’ NHS leaders warn August 19, 2022 NHS leaders have warned that soaring energy bills could plunge the UK into a “humanitarian crisis” by driving a surge in hospital admissions. The heads of NHS trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland called on the government limit price hikes and offer greater financial support to prevent a “public health emergency”. The NHS chiefs [...]
UK government to launch overseas hiring spree to fill Brexit care sector labour shortages August 19, 2022 The UK government is seeking to hire thousands of overseas workers to fill 160,000 vacancies in the UK’s care sector. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is exploring ways to make it easier for workers form countries including India and the Philippines to work in the UK’s social care sector, The Times reported. [...]
Government blocks Hong Kong takeover of electronics specialist August 18, 2022 The proposed takeover of an electronic design company by a Hong Kong firm has been blocked by the Government over national security concerns.
Watch: Rishi Sunak claims McDonald’s wrap is his kids’ go-to order… despite it being removed in 2020 August 18, 2022 Rishi Sunak claimed a McDonald’s wrap is a favourite order at the fast-food giant when with his kids, despite it not having been on the menu for two years. The former chancellor, who is trailing in the Tory leadership race by 32-points to frontrunner Liz Truss, spoke about his struggles with modern technology after previously [...]
A City super-regulator’s benefits are not immediately obvious August 18, 2022 The greatest compliment a football fan can ever give a referee is that they ‘let the game flow’ and try to avoid blowing their whistle except when absolutely necessary. Financial regulators sit broadly within the same definition. So it is with some regret that just a few years after we went through a post-crisis reorganisation [...]
Mick Lynch: Rail unions can still afford months more strikes August 18, 2022 Rail unions can afford to go on strike for months more and there will be a “wave of solidarity” across the labour movement this year, according to the chief of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). RMT general secretary Mick Lynch today said his members were “completely committed” to strike action [...]