News Archive
23/4/2024
NDA Group Establishes Innovative Partnership To Manage Asbestos Waste At Legacy Nuclear Sites
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), in collaboration with its subsidiary Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), has awarded two contracts to establish an innovative partnership for the enhanced management of asbestos waste. The Asbestos Innovation Partnership (AIP) will work with the NDA, NWS and the supply chain, to test and develop new solutions to treat asbestos waste, helping to deliver efficiencies and enable more effective waste management.
23/4/2024
Recent Trends In And The Outlook For Health-related Benefits
Recipients of and spending on health-related benefits have risen rapidly since the start of the pandemic, posing a serious challenge for policymakers. Individuals in the UK with health conditions may be entitled to two types of benefits - incapacity benefits (for those whose condition prevents them from working) and disability benefits (to help with extra living costs arising from the disability).
23/4/2024
New Rules Introduced To Increase International Sales Of Premium Scottish Salmon
New rules have been agreed that will enable Scottish farmers to sell more prestigious ‘Label Rouge' salmon in France and other European markets. The French quality mark, which comes with a stringent set of standards, has been updated to allow farmers to implement modern solutions to improve salmon health and welfare while maintaining the taste and quality the fish is known for.
23/4/2024
Pm To Announce Largest-ever Military Aid Package To Ukraine On Visit To Poland
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce the largest-ever military aid package to Ukraine on his visit to Poland. PM to travel to Poland and Germany to cement security, trade and diplomatic ties with key European allies.
23/4/2024
Teachers To Get Up To £6000 Extra To Teach Vital Subjects In England
The incentive is backed by £200 million investment to support schools and colleges attract and retain the excellent teachers they need in vital subjects. From September, up to £6000 will be available for teachers working in key STEM and technical subjects such as maths, construction and engineering, as well as early years education, as part of the government's drive to recruit and retain the best staff, the Department for Education announced.23/4/2024
Rwanda Bill To Become Law In Major Illegal Migration Milestone
Final phase of implementing the flagship policy to commence, marking a crucial step in the global response to illegal migration. UK government efforts to stop the boats and tackle illegal migration took a major step forward, after the Safety of Rwanda Bill completed its passage through Parliament overnight, Monday 22 April. The Bill's passing means the government can enter the final phase of operational planning to get flights off the ground to Rwanda, pioneering a new response to the global challenge of illegal migration. Robust operational plans are in place to ensure a first flight to Rwanda can be delivered within 10-12 weeks, with multiple flights set to take off after this.23/4/2024
Who Are The Wealthy? - Richard Murphy
Who are the wealthy?. There can be no precise definitions, but there are plenty of clues that can be used when setting out to create a fair tax system.
22/4/2024
Scottish Businesses Look To The Future After Tough Start To 2024
Scottish businesses have delivered their top priorities for any future UK government, according to the latest Addleshaw Goddard Scottish Business Monitor (SBM) report. The survey of around 400 firms from across the economy found that "delivering long-term economic growth" was top of the wishlist, selected by 72% of businesses, followed by "tackling labour and skills shortages" (45%), "reducing UK business taxes" (43%), and "investing more on infrastructure" (39%).
22/4/2024
Climate Change 2030 Targets - Focusing On The How Of Policymaking
On Thursday, the Scottish Government announced the 2030 climate change target is "out of reach". So, what went wrong? In 2022, we undertook research commissioned by ClimateXChange for the Joint Budget Review between the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament on matters related to climate change.22/4/2024
Unit Cost And Hope - Increased NHS Resilience Through Tech-enabled Transformation
The pace of advances in the biological and data sciences continues to accelerate, having direct impact on the daily lives of most people on the planet. These twin scientific revolutions have accelerated innovations in healthcare, which is great news for patients.
22/4/2024
Ban On Wet Wipes Containing Plastic
The supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic will be banned across the UK following overwhelming support during public consultation, with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals. Measures have been set out in a joint response by all four UK nations published today (Monday April 22), including a transition period for businesses to help them prepare.
22/4/2024
Another New Tax - Powers Secured To Introduce Building Safety Levy
A tax on developers to raise funds to help fix building safety issues will be considered in Scotland under powers secured from the UK Government. The proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy would apply to the construction of new residential buildings, mirroring measures being introduced in England through the Building Safety Act passed by the UK Parliament.22/4/2024
£8 Million Funding Boost For AI To Make Boats Smarter
Organisations can apply for the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund to use AI for projects that make UK waters safer, operations smoother and air cleaner. government launches £8 million Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund to drive maritime innovation and harness the benefits of AI to boost productivity.
22/4/2024
Spending As Much As Other Countries But Taxing Less Is Unlikely To Be Sustainable
How do the UK's levels of tax and spend compare with other advanced economies?. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its new medium-term forecast for the world economy and the outlook for the public finances of individual countries.
22/4/2024
Why Is There No Capital Gains Tax Charge On Houses?
Why is there no capital gains tax charge on private houses in the UK? It's a question that's entirely fair to ask because we've all got so used to the fact that people who own their own homes don't pay capital gains tax when they sell them. We just think it's normal, but it is in fact a tax exemption and it is an incredibly costly exemption - the second most costly exemption in the entire UK tax system In fact, costing in excess of £30 billion a year in the estimate of HM Revenue and Customs.
22/4/2024
Tiktok Fears Point To Larger Problem - Poor Media Literacy In The Social Media Age
The U.S. government moved closer to banning the video social media app TikTok after the House of Representatives attached the measure to an emergency spending bill on Apr.
22/4/2024
The UKs Missing Companies
There are millions of companies in the UK that do not report what they are doing to HM Revenue & Customs, and we have no idea if they file proper accounts with Companies House. Why are we tolerating a situation where fraud could be rife when it would be so easy to end this abuse? .
21/4/2024
Bitcoin Is Halving Again - What Does That Mean For The Cryptocurrency And The Market?
Bitcoin, the largest and most talked about digital asset, has been on a rollercoaster of a ride since its launch in January 2009. With a market capitalisation that reached a high of more than US$1.4 trillion (£1.125 trillion) this February and volatile swings since, bitcoin has attracted lots of attention recently.
21/4/2024
Five Things Our Research Uncovered When We Recreated 16th Century Beer And Barrels
It's true that our 16th-century ancestors drank much more than Irish people do today. But why they did so and what their beer was like are questions shrouded in myth.
21/4/2024
