EU referendum: Lloyds Banking Group chairman says UK-EU relationship is unsustainable and Brexit wouldn’t hurt the economy October 14, 2015 Lloyds Banking Group chairman Lord Blackwell has called the UK-EU relationship “increasingly unsustainable”. Speaking in the House of Lords yesterday, the Conservative Peer advocated for “significant change in the current treaty arrangements”. “The current position of the UK, bound by the same treaties and institutions, may become increasingly unsustainable,” he told peers. “I don’t agree [...]
PMQs today: Prime Minister David Cameron joins chancellor George Osborne in asking Labour MPs to back government’s fiscal charter October 14, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron used today's Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) to attack the Labour party over its U-turn on the government's so-called fiscal charter. Cameron confronted Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at least four times about the party's last-minute switch to opposing the charter, which will require future governments to maintain a surplus – but Corbyn refused to reply directly to Prime [...]
Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority open consultation to improve financial advice October 13, 2015 The Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have opened a consultation into what can be done to improve people’s access to financial advice. Financial advisers and members of the public have until just before Christmas to tell the government and the regulator what they think should be done differently, they said yesterday. The FCA has faced criticism in [...]
Local planning authorities say they don’t have the resources to give planning permission on time October 13, 2015 Property firms have welcomed the government’s new housing and planning bill, as a survey out today exposes the inefficiencies of the current planning system. Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday that local authorities will have to produce local plans for new homes in their area within the next two years – or the national government [...]
UK Green Investment Bank says it has raised £818m for offshore wind farms October 13, 2015 The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has so far raised £818m for its offshore wind fund, the government-owned bank announced today. The bank said that it had executed a second close on new commitments of £355m for the offshore wind fund, bringing the total amount raised to £818m after a £463m initial close earlier this [...]
Builders warn UK skills shortages could halt housebuilding and new infrastructure October 12, 2015 A leading industry group has said that a skills crisis in the building industry threatens to undermine the government’s housebuilding initiatives. According to a new report from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), 60 per cent of small construction firms say they are struggling to hire bricklayers, compared to 49 per cent just three months ago.The [...]
Why don’t investors care about women on boards? October 12, 2015 Less than a quarter of institutional investors have said that they believe gender diversity on management boards is important, according to a new survey out today. Hermes Investment management’s annual Responsible Capitalism survey found that only 23 per cent of institutional decision-makers said that they placed importance on gender diversity at the board level, despite [...]
Facebook will be scrutinised by MPs over corporation tax October 12, 2015 Members of an influential parliamentary committee will be looking into Facebook, after it was revealed that the social media giant paid just £4,327 in corporation tax last year. Meg Hillier, the MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch who recently took the reins of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has confirmed that backbenchers on the committee will talk [...]
EU referendum: Lord Stuart Rose launches Britain Stronger in Europe “In” campaign October 12, 2015 The campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, Britain Stronger in Europe, has launched this morning at an event in east London. Business figures took a leading role in this morning's event, which included a campaign video featuring Easyjet chief executive Carolyn McCall saying, "Everything is easier because of Europe." Led by former Marks & Spencer [...]
London house prices are costing the capital’s economy £1bn each year – CEBR October 12, 2015 Soaring house prices and rocketing rents are costing London’s economy over £1bn each year, according to a new report out today. The study – published by a new campaign to increase London’s housing supply called “Fifty Thousand Homes” – says employers across multiple sectors are facing more competition and staff retention problems as a result [...]
