Homes for Ukraine scheme: Less than 10 per cent of visa applications approved March 31, 2022 Less than one tenth of visa applications have been approved through the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme, it has been revealed. The Home Office said it is “moving as quickly as possible” to make the process more efficient, as the UK handed out just 2,700 passes through its initiative, according to The Times. The programme pairs [...]
Lord Nash steps down paving the way for new lead Whitehall director March 30, 2022 The government lead non-executive director resigned from his post yesterday. Lord Nash, who was appointed to the role by the Prime Minister in July 2020 for a three-year term, will be replaced in his Whitehall role by ex-director of Barclays Bank UK Michael Jary, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. Insiders said yesterday that Michael [...]
Randox delays release of audited results amid concerns over Covid procurement process March 30, 2022 Covid test maker Randox has delayed release of its audited results amid mounting scrutiny over the government’s decision to award it contracts worth almost £777m. The delay to publication comes after the UK’s public spending watchdog said the government failed to document the procurement process that led to Randox being awarded 22 government contracts for [...]
Government releases £150m bus funding package March 1, 2022 The government has released the £150m final tranche of pandemic-related support for buses and light railway services. Part of a £2bn package set up by the government during the pandemic, the funding is expected to run until October 2022, helping more than 160 operators with services. “The funding I’ve announced today will ensure millions of [...]
Public sector debt climbs to record £2.32 trillion: 94.9 per cent of Britain’s GDP February 22, 2022 Government borrowing hit a surplus of £2.9 billion in January, reversing a £2.5 billion deficit in the same month a year earlier, according to official figures published this morning. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector borrowing from the end of March to December was £138.5 billion – the second highest since records [...]
Serious Fraud Office property raids fall to zero February 21, 2022 The Serious Fraud Office did not undertake a single property raid last year, according to its response to an FOI request.
No 10 liaises with Australia’s Macquarie Group over £10bn investment February 6, 2022 No 10 is in talks with Australian financial services group Macquarie over a possible £10bn investment in the UK’s infrastructure – the largest investment ever made by a foreign company. Downing Street officials have been negotiating with the bank’s management for the past few weeks, Sky News has learnt, to divide the £10bn between existing [...]
Ministry of Justice to move 2,000 jobs out of London by 2030 February 2, 2022 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is set to move 2,000 jobs out of London by 2030, by setting up seven new regional offices. The plan to open seven new offices in Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Cardiff, Ipswich and Brighton, comes as part of government plans to “level up” the country and tackle regional inequality. [...]
UK reaches new agreement with CO2 industry to ensure continued supplies February 1, 2022 The carbon dioxide industry has reached an agreement to ensure UK businesses have continued access to sustainable supplies.
Companies House to close two ageing online portals in push to make web services more accessible January 25, 2022 Companies House has confirmed that it will close two of its online web portals, with a view to focusing on its main web service. In a statement, Companies House said it would be closing its Companies House Direct (CHD) and WebCHeck services, as it urged users to use its Find and update company information service [...]