Opinion-in-brief: The government can’t get a grip on migration December 22, 2022 Yesterday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman had the chance to reiterate her commitment to protecting the country’s borders while reducing the asylum applications backlog in front of the Lords justice and home affairs committee. She was grilled about the avenues available to Afghan refugees, particularly women. The questioning was all the more poignant given that on [...]
Watch Zelensky channel Churchill in rousing speech to Congress: ‘Ukraine will never surrender’ December 22, 2022 Ukraine’s president channeled the words of Sir Winston Churchill in a rousing speech to US Congress, saying his country ” will never surrender” against Russia. In an address to US lawmakers he wished them a “happy, victorious new year” while repeatedly asking America for more funding and weapons. Appearing in his now trademark military sweater, [...]
Deloitte fined £1.25m over failings in building supplies firm’s audit December 22, 2022 The UK’s accounting watchdog today fined Deloitte and one of its senior auditors over failures in auditing the accounts of building products manufacturer SIG plc. Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) fined the Big Four accountancy firm £1.25m, discounted to £906,250 for admissions and early disposal, over its failure to apply sufficient professional scepticism in auditing [...]
UK economy contracts by more than first thought in third quarter as it heads for recession December 22, 2022 The UK economy contracted by more than first thought in the third quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) dropping by a higher revised amount. GDP fell by a revised 0.3 per cent, compared to an initial estimation of a 0.2 per cent decline, fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed on Thursday. It [...]
As winter tightens its grip, businesses can’t afford to ignore the disability pay gap a second longer December 22, 2022 If a job description had mentioned that you would have had to work the final 54 days of this year unpaid, you would have likely turned it down. But this is the reality that people with disabilities in the UK have been facing in 2022. The disability pay gap works out to the equivalent of [...]
Sometimes, size matters: what smaller cities can learn from London’s ever-expanding infrastructure December 22, 2022 I’m not saying news travels slowly up North, but it took me until this week to finally travel on The Elizabeth Line. The train was noticeably cleaner and nicer than the older trains that I had been on for the first part of my journey, and the sheer breadth of stations that the line serves [...]
Half of UK firms find trading with EU difficult post-Brexit, says new survey December 21, 2022 More than half of UK businesses who trade overseas are finding it difficult to trade goods with the EU post-Brexit, according to a new survey. A new poll from the British Chambers of Commerce found that 56 per cent of firms “face difficulties adapting to the new rules for trading goods” with the EU and [...]
Brits need more information for heat pump roll-out, says energy specialist December 21, 2022 Brits need to be shown more details about heat pumps and their potential cost-saving benefits, says Energy Systems Catapult.
Campaigners warn hiking rail fares could push people away from train travel December 21, 2022 Even a below inflation increase in rail fares could put people off travelling by train altogether, according to campaigners. Norman Baker, director of external affairs at advocacy group Campaign for Better Transport, told City A.M. that any increase to ticket prices will come “as a further blow to long-suffering passengers” after months “of cancellations and [...]
Venture capital to play major role in European private equity December 21, 2022 Go big or go home, there is no time to be risk-averse as venture capital investments are set to play a major role in European deal values throughout 2023. The venture capital (VC) game was primarily played in the US however, since 2013 the European asset class has grown from €60bn (£52.6bn) assets under management [...]
