Boris Johnson asked to apologise for care home deaths comments July 7, 2020 Boris Johnson has come under fire for appearing to try to blame care homes for the high numbers of coronavirus deaths they have suffered. The Prime Minister has been asked to apologise for the comments, which were labelled as “clumsy and cowardly” by the head of a social care charity. Johnson made the comments yesterday [...]
Workers forced to pay extra tax for coronavirus tests July 7, 2020 Workers will be forced to pay income tax on coronavirus tests if their employers order them, it has been revealed. Newly released documents from the Treasury show that employees will face a “taxable benefit in kind” when their employers order the tests, meaning they are treated as extra workplace benefits. As workplaces will have to [...]
Brexit: David Frost and Michel Barnier to have Downing Street dinner July 7, 2020 The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost will have dinner with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier at 10 Downing Street tonight in the lead-up to the next round of trade talks. A Downing Street spokesperson said the two men would meet tonight in an informal setting to discuss some of the negotiations’ most difficult sticking [...]
Pandemic sees Plus500 revenue surge in lockdown July 7, 2020 Contracts for difference firm Plus500 had a record number of active customers in the first half of 2020, leading to an almost fourfold increase in revenue. The trading update also revealed that Plus500 has hired David Zruia will be the company’s permanent chief executive after holding the role on an interim basis since April. The Israel-based [...]
Former Tory PM advisers call for government to spend big on coronavirus recovery July 6, 2020 A group of former economic advisers to a string of Tory prime ministers and chancellors have called for a swathe of jobs programmes and fiscal spending to aid the UK’s economic recovery. The group called for £30bn investment into high growth firms, a new retraining fund, a doubling of further education funding and tax reform. [...]
Rishi Sunak to announce £111m for traineeship programme July 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce next week that the government will provide £111m in funding to triple the number of 16-24 year old trainees in England. Sunak will use his summer economic statement on Wednesday to announce the extension of the programme, which will see participants receive maths, English and CV writing training in addition [...]
Government to announce £1.57bn support for UK arts and culture industries July 5, 2020 The UK’s arts, heritage and culture industries will benefit from a £1.57bn support package to protect them against the coronavirus downturn. Boris Johnson will announce the new package tomorrow, which will provide funding for thousands of galleries, museums, venues, theatres, historic palaces and independent cinemas. The package will include a £1.15bn pot of support for [...]
Robert Jenrick faces fresh questions over new planning row July 5, 2020 Under fire housing secretary Robert Jenrick has been plunged into a potential new controversy over a planning approval called up by the government just after he was appointed to cabinet. Quinn Estates had an application for a 675-home housing development in Kent taken over by the government last August from Swale Borough Council, after the [...]
Rishi Sunak considers £500 hand out to every adult July 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering plans to hand £500 to every adult and £250 to every child in the country to spend on sectors worst affected by the coronavirus crisis. The plans, which have been drawn up by left-leaning think tank the Resolution Foundation, would see people handed vouchers to spend on sectors such as [...]
Matt Hancock praises behaviour of ‘vast majority’ on ‘super Saturday’ July 5, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock has lauded the behaviour of the “vast majority” of people in England who went out to celebrate the reopening of pubs and restaurants yesterday. Scenes of city centres busy with revellers were captured across England yesterday in what was widely dubbed as “super Saturday”. Concerns were raised by some that social [...]
