Pensioners to hand over bank statements in government benefits crackdown August 26, 2026 Pensioners will have to hand over their bank statements to the government as part of its crackdown on the ballooning benefits system. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is preparing to inform pensioners they will need to provide bank statements as part of its review into Pension Credit claims, I News first reported. The [...]
‘We’d love an apprentice – but the government has made it too expensive’ August 26, 2026 Small companies around Britain are facing a cost of business crisis. Bowers & Jones, an award-winning manufacturing firm, tells City AM that changes to the minimum wage have priced it out of employing apprentices. When Jane Somerville led a management buyout of her manufacturing firm and shifted its entire factory across the West Midlands in [...]
State pension set to pile pain on next generation of taxpayers, Healey warned August 26, 2026 The state pension is set to be the main driver of tax for the next generation of taxpayers, a Labour-linked think tank has warned in a paper that urged Chancellor John Healey to levy higher charges on wealth rather than income. New research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the former employer of [...]
Jenrick pledges reform for small businesses August 25, 2026 Reform UK’s economics chief Robert Jenrick has billed a package of tax and red tape reforms for small businesses as the “biggest plan” presented in a decade. A week before the party’s conference in Birmingham, Jenrick has hailed a number of flagship policies designed to appeal to bosses employing fewer than 50 employees. The party [...]
City leaders weigh employment policy alternatives to non-competes August 25, 2026 City businesses are expecting non-compete agreements to become less effective, looking instead to alternatives such as deferred bonus payments or share incentive plans to keep employees on board. In 2025, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) launched a consultation to consider restrictions on non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The consultation closed for feedback in [...]
Can the Capital Access Window finally revive AIM? August 25, 2026 August is usually a sleepy time for capital markets. Investors head off on their summer jaunts, firms take a breath after a frenzy of results in late July and advisors start mapping out back-to-school plans for September. Not so in the world of regulation. This year, Britain’s watchdogs have introduced what could prove one of [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 jumps in best streak since May; Vistry, Melrose lead risers August 25, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The blue-chip index jumped on Tuesday to extend its best winning streak since May. Melrose Industries led the FTSE 100 after the completion of a probe into a chemical incident in California, while Vistry gained 18 per cent on the FTSE 250 after winning cash in [...]
An overly complicated tax system is holding the UK back August 25, 2026 Tax simplification should be integral to the government’s growth agenda, writes BDO head of tax Adam Frais.
Top business group urges Healey to cut NICs to ‘solve Neets crisis’ August 25, 2026 One of Britain’s most influential business bodies has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut taxes for employers at the Budget in order to “solve” the crisis facing Neets, who are young people not in employment, education or training. In a report published on Tuesday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said Britain’s youth unemployment crisis [...]
The UN treaty that’s been incentivising Britain’s blockers since 1998 August 24, 2026 Leaving the Aarhus Convention would make it easier to build homes, roads, reservoirs, railways and companies, writes Tom Willerton-Gartside.