Budget 2021: UK to return to offering 0.7 per cent of national income in foreign aid October 27, 2021 True to his promise, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the UK will return to offering 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) in overseas aid over the next four years. The spending will grow from the 0.5 per cent rate it is now before the parliament’s end in 2024, earlier than the office for [...]
Budget 2021: Levy for property developers to fund removal of unsafe cladding October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reiterated plans for a levy for property developers to help create a fund to remove unsafe cladding. Speaking at the Budget, Sunak said property developers with profits over £25m will face a levy at a rate of 4 per cent. This will be used to help create a £5bn fund to [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak extends HGV road user levy until 2023 October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the HGV road user levy will be suspended until 2023. It was initially suspended until August in 2022, but this will now be extended for a further year. Speaking at the Budget, Sunak also revealed the government is freezing vehicle excise duty for HGVs. The Road Haulage Association welcomed [...]
London’s Storfund lands £300m mega-deal for ecommerce marketplace financing October 27, 2021 UK fintech Storfund, which optimises the cash cycle for merchants selling on ecommerce marketplaces, has struck a £300m debt funding deal with Fasanara Capital. It’s the latest in a string of investments by Fasanara into e-commerce lending platforms, and marks a significant step up from Storfund’s last £26.5m funding round in February, led by Union Bancaire [...]
Sir Keir Starmer tests positive for Covid and will miss the Budget October 27, 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss today’s autumn Budget. It was announced this afternoon that Starmer will miss Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) and the Budget, leaving shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves to respond to Rishi Sunak. Reeves and her deputy Bridget Phillipson met with Starmer just today, however Labour [...]
Heineken sales lower than expected after Vietnam lockdown October 27, 2021 Brewing behemoth Heineken posted a steeper than expected decline in third-quarter beer sales after coronavirus restrictions in Vietnam. Lockdown measures slashed volumes in Vietnam, one of its top three markets, by more than half. The brewer said it sold 5.1 per cent less beer on a like-for-like basis than a year earlier, with Asia-Pacific sales [...]
Over 80,000 12 to 15-year-olds book Covid-19 vaccinations in teen rollout October 27, 2021 More than 80,000 12 to 15-year-olds have booked a Covid-19 vaccination, as cases among secondary school age children remain high. Around 2.5m letters will be sent out to parents this week, which will invite them to book a jab for their child. Covid-19 vaccines were made available to the age bracket in late September, but [...]
Biden nominates permanent chair giving Democrats new FCC majority October 27, 2021 President Joe Biden announces his nominees to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including designating acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel as a permanent chair.
Government U-turns over water firms dumping sewage in English rivers October 27, 2021 The government has U-turned its decision to block legal obligations being placed on water firms dumping raw sewage into English rivers. This follows an escalating row between ministers and backbench Conservative MPs after they were told to vote down the House of Lords’ amendment to the Environment Bill. Parliament’s upper house had pushed through an [...]
How TikTok accounts lure teens into fraud October 27, 2021 When he accidentally became a money mule, “Tom” was only fourteen. A friend transferred him 250£ and asked to withdraw them in cash. Days later “Tom”’s bank closed his account, and he hasn’t been able to open a new one anywhere since. He is now sixteen and believes he has a Cifas marker – meaning [...]
