Coronavirus: Aerospace giants lobby for Virgin Atlantic rescue deal April 1, 2020 Several members of the UK aviation sector are lobbying the government to support Virgin Atlantic with financial aid through the coronavirus crisis, Sky News reported today. Aerospace giants Airbus and Rolls-Royce have written separately to transport secretary Grant Shapps, as has UK’s biggest airport Heathrow, asking the government to “do all it can to support [...]
Coronavirus: 20 per cent of small businesses could collapse within a month April 1, 2020 Almost a fifth of all the UK’s small businesses will collapse in the next month, despite the government’s current support measures, it is feared. According to accountancy group the Corporate Finance Network, the current coronavirus lockdown measures mean that 18 per cent of all SMEs will have to close within the next four weeks, putting [...]
Coronavirus: Imagine if the state could respond like this all the time? April 1, 2020 The effort has been extraordinary. Within a few days, entire hospitals have been constructed from scratch. Vast numbers of intensive care units and ventilators have been assembled at speed. The NHS, once a byword for bureaucracy, has been swift and nimble in getting ready for the Coronavirus emergency to come. Processes that would normally have [...]
Coronavirus: CBI calls for urgent economic relief for ‘stranded middle’ businesses March 31, 2020 Support must be given to “stranded middle” businesses who are not eligible for the government’s coronavirus relief package and are at risk of going bust, according to the CBI. The government’s £330bn business interruption loan scheme is open to companies with revenue of less than £45m, while large investment grade companies can access the Bank [...]
Coronavirus: UK airports renew calls for government aid as passenger numbers plummet March 31, 2020 The UK’s aviation sector has renewed calls for the government to do more to prop it up through the coronavirus pandemic, as new figures showed that UK passenger numbers could drop by a third in 2020. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the UK is on course to see 113.5m fewer passengers pass [...]
Criminals exploit technology so why can’t law enforcement? March 31, 2020 According to Helena Wood at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the UK has been “sleepwalking” through the growth of economic crime, to a point where it is a systemic national security risk. But there is technology to take the fight to criminals. Fraud accounts for one in three of all allegations of crime and [...]
Coronavirus: Ratings agencies see demand surge as firms try for BoE cash March 31, 2020 Ratings agencies have reported a surge in demand from UK companies as firms try to secure credit ratings that would let them access the Bank of England’s coronavirus bond-buying scheme. However, a significant number of firms expressing interest do not qualify for the money, agencies said. S&P Global Ratings said it has received around 30 [...]
Don’t leave the South East behind as Britain levels up March 31, 2020 The Big Smoke dominates — our economy, our culture and our, well, pretty much everything in the UK. In Westminster, just a small corner of the behemoth that is London, life-changing decisions — for better and worse — are being made that will dramatically impact public services, businesses, and families for years to come. That [...]
Competitive sectors face the hardest hit from coronavirus March 31, 2020 The package of economic support offered by the Treasury — from a standing start — is one of the most impressive among any western country. But the cascading consequences of the coronavirus crisis mean that there are all kinds of areas where the pleas for help continue to come. Small businesses, for example, are the [...]
UK government to spend £75m on charter flights for stranded Britons March 30, 2020 The government will subsidise airlines to bring home UK nationals stuck abroad in a £75m deal. Travellers stuck in countries with no commercial flight options available will have charter flights made available “at little to no cost”, according to foreign secretary Dominic Raab. Raab announced today that British Airways, Virgin, Easy Jet, Jet 2 and [...]