UK companies need to be more productive to support National Living Wage but businesses don’t have a clue how to achieve that, finds new research February 24, 2016 Businesses are painfully aware of the need to pick up productivity to support the National Living Wage (NLW), but it turns out they have no idea where to start, according to research released today. The study, carried out by the Resolution Foundation and the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), continues on from an [...]
Financial Conduct Authority does not know if it is protecting consumers from mis-selling in the financial services sector, says National Audit Office report February 24, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is unable show that its actions are effective in reducing mis-selling to consumers, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The report, which was released today, discovered that the information the watchdog holds is not suitable for showing a link between its actions and complaints. For example, from [...]
One dead and five construction workers in hospital while three remaing missing following incident at Didcot Power Station during demolition in Oxfordshire February 23, 2016 Emergency services are currently attending an incident at Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire, which has left one dead while five construction workers are in hospital, and three are missing. Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service area manager Mat Carlile, who is on the scene, said: “I can confirm search operations are in progress and that there has been one fatality, [...]
Council spending on CCTV equipment cut in half over space of three years, but campaign group warns that a surveillance spending storm could be on the way February 23, 2016 It may always feel like somebody's watching you and you have no privacy, but you're probably less likely to be caught on CCTV than you were a few years ago. According to a report released today by civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, local authorities reduced the number of CCTV cameras they have by 12.5 per [...]
Drax Group share price falls as company slashes final dividend while profits for year ended December 2015 tumble February 23, 2016 Share price in Drax Group dropped today after the energy company cut its dividend and reported a sharp drop in profits. The company reported a profit before tax for the year ended December 2015 of £59m, down from £166m the year before. The electrical power company also announced it would be shelling out just 0.6p [...]
Provident Financial share price up as lender announces boost to profits for year ended December 2015 February 23, 2016 Share price in Provident Financial rose this morning as the company announced a boost to its profits for the year ended December 2015. The lender, which has over 2m customers, reported statutory profits before tax of £273.6m, up 21.8 per cent compared with £224.6m the year before. Shares rose after the results were announced, trading up 2.8 per cent [...]
Government has poor grasp on fraud levels and the information it holds is incomplete, warns National Audit Office report February 23, 2016 Government lacks the right information to accurately detect and monitor levels of fraud, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The report, which was released today and focuses on fraud at central government expenditure level, warned that, with the exception of details on tax credit and benefit fraud, information collected by the [...]
New stamp duty land tax extra three per cent charge could hit parents who want to help their children get onto the property ladder, tax experts warn February 23, 2016 If you're currently saving to give your son or daughter a helping hand onto the property ladder, you might find you need to put aside a little bit more than you bargained for to cover tax charges. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) yesterday cautioned that the additional three per cent charge on stamp duty [...]
