Hospitality boss warns 660,000 jobs lost before second lockdown pushed sector into ‘intensive care’ November 17, 2020 Around 660,000 hospitality jobs were lost this year before the second coronavirus lockdown was implemented, the industry trade body told MPs today The pandemic had already wiped out 20 per cent of jobs in the sector, which was previously the third biggest employer in the country, by the end of September, UK Hospitality boss Kate [...]
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds extends public olive branch to City of London November 17, 2020 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has today made overtures to the City of London, telling a virtual conference that Labour wants to work with the financial services sector and prevent it from “turning inwards…[and] eschewing responsibility”. Dodds, speaking at a virtual conference for the TheCityUK advocacy group, said Labour understood the value the sector has to [...]
Hospitality supplier Johnson Service Group axes 1,500 jobs November 17, 2020 Johnson Service Group, a provider of workwear and hotel and restaurant linens, has announced it will shrink its headcount by around 1,500 jobs this year, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the hospitality sector sweeps through the supply chain. The Cheshire-based firm said its hotel, restaurant and catering (HRC) division had been badly [...]
Rishi Sunak ‘pushing’ for cut in UK’s aid budget in spending review November 17, 2020 The Treasury is reportedly pushing Number 10 to slash the UK's annual foreign aid budget of 0.7 per cent of gross national income
Swissport axes 3,000 jobs after ‘refusing’ to access furlough scheme November 17, 2020 Baggage handler Swissport is making 3,000 employees redundant after refusing to put them on furlough, according to a leading union. There was a wave of redundancies ahead of the 31 December deadline for the furlough scheme, which sees the government pay 80 per cent of employees’ wages. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak belatedly extended the scheme [...]
Relax, the EU needs a last-minute equivalence deal with the City too November 17, 2020 How do things look when it comes to financial services post-Brexit? At first glance, not good. Despite chancellor Rishi Sunak stating that the UK would grant the EU access to its markets, Brussels is claiming it will only allow the City access to European markets if it is “in the EU’s interests”. With less than [...]
Government must shield, not sacrifice, financial services in Brexit negotiations November 16, 2020 The health and success of London’s financial businesses is pivotal to the national interest. Banks and other financial institutions that operate out of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf play a vital role in financing businesses, start-ups and critical infrastructure projects in every corner of the UK.
What are free ports and what are the economic benefits? November 16, 2020 This morning the Treasury announced that the bidding process for the creation of up to 10 new “free ports” in the UK had opened. The first of these sites are expected to begin operating in 2021, in the hope of boosting international trade after Brexit. But what are “free ports” and why is the government [...]
HMRC criminal actions against rich individuals jump 40% in 2019/20 November 16, 2020 The number of arrests, dawn raids or interviews carried out by HMRC in respect of corporate and high net worth individuals jumped 40% last year. Criminal actions launched by HMRC’s Offshore Corporate and Wealth (OCW) unit increased to 70 in the 2019/20 tax year, up from 50 in 2018/19, according to a freedom of information [...]
Rishi Sunak considers new UK road pricing scheme to plug £40bn black hole November 16, 2020 Plans to charge motorists to use the UK’s roads are being considered by chancellor Rishi Sunak in a bid to claw back £40bn in tax revenues lost by switching to electric cars. Sunak has been given the new Treasury proposal in light of Boris Johnson’s plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel [...]