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News Archive


17/2/2022
Home Secretary Orders Wide-ranging Review Of Border Force
Review will cover all areas of Border Force's work, including illegal migration, customs and national security.   The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has ordered a wide-ranging, independent review of Border Force to assess its structure, powers, funding and priorities to ensure it can keep pace with rapidly evolving threats and continue to protect the border, maintain security and prevent illegal migration.  
17/2/2022
International Agencies Put Supply Chains On Notice Against CollusionThumbnail for article : International Agencies Put Supply Chains On Notice Against Collusion
A new working group of international competition authorities has put companies involved in global supply chains on notice not to collude.   The working group is made up of competition authorities from the "Five Eyes" nations: the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the United States Department of Justice, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau and the New Zealand Commerce Commission.  
16/2/2022
Consumer Price Inflation, UK: January 2022 - CPI Inflation Highest Since May 1992Thumbnail for article : Consumer Price Inflation, UK: January 2022 - CPI Inflation Highest Since May 1992
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 4.9% in the 12 months to January 2022, up from 4.8% in the 12 months to December 2021.   The largest upward contributions to the January 2022 CPIH 12-month inflation rate came from housing and household services (1.37 percentage points) and transport (1.24 percentage points, principally from motor fuels and second-hand cars).  
16/2/2022
Producer Price Inflation, UK: January 2022Thumbnail for article : Producer Price Inflation, UK: January 2022
The headline rate of output prices showed positive growth of 9.9% on the year to January 2022, up from 9.3% in December 2021.   The headline rate of input prices showed positive growth of 13.6% on the year to January 2022, down from 13.8% in December 2021.  
16/2/2022
Support For Island Crofters And FarmersThumbnail for article : Support For Island Crofters And Farmers
Funding for projects to manage the impacts of greylag geese.   Financial support will be made available to help crofters and farmers on Scotland's islands effectively manage local populations of greylag geese.  
16/2/2022
Almost 100,000 customers spread the cost of their tax bill
Almost 100,000 Self Assessment customers across the UK have used online payment plans to spread the cost of their tax bill into manageable monthly instalments since April 2021, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed.   Once a customer has filed their 2020/21 Self Assessment tax return, they can set up a Time to Pay arrangement for up to 12 months on debts up to £30,000, that they're unable to pay in full.  
16/2/2022
£200 Million Investment To Fight Zoonotic Diseases
Environment Secretary confirms £200m investment in UK's world class Animal Plant and Health Laboratory in Weybridge.   The UK's fight against zoonotic diseases, including avian flu and bovine tuberculosis received a major boost today (16 February) with the allocation of £200 million for a programme of investment into world leading research facilities.  
16/2/2022
Life At Age 14: Initial Findings From The Growing Up In Scotland StudyThumbnail for article : Life At Age 14: Initial Findings From The Growing Up In Scotland Study
Growing Up in Scotland is a longitudinal study following the lives of young people.  The report is based on data collected in 2019/20, when participants were 14 years, from 2,943 families.  
16/2/2022
Coronavirus (covid-19): Daily Data For Scotland - 16 February 2022Thumbnail for article : Coronavirus (covid-19): Daily Data For Scotland - 16 February 2022
7,449 new cases of COVID-19 reported.   16 new reported deaths of people who have tested positive.  
16/2/2022
UK House Price Index: December 2021Thumbnail for article : UK House Price Index: December 2021
UK average house prices increased by 10.8% over the year to December 2021, up from 10.7% in November 2021.   The average UK house price was £275,000 in December 2021, which is £27,000 higher than this time last year.  
16/2/2022
Conserving Scotland's Marine Environment - Two new protected sites in OrkneyThumbnail for article : Conserving Scotland's Marine Environment - Two new protected sites in Orkney
Two new protected sites in Orkney for vulnerable seabirds.   An area larger than the size of Edinburgh and Glasgow combined has been designated as marine Special Protection Areas (SPAs).  
16/2/2022
New Guidelines To Support Disabled Children To Be More Active
UK's Chief Medical Officers publish first ever guidelines on physical activity for disabled children and young people.   New guidelines to support disabled children and young people to be more active.  
16/2/2022
Earnings And Employment From Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, Uk: February 2022Thumbnail for article : Earnings And Employment From Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, Uk: February 2022
Experimental monthly estimates of payrolled employees and their pay from HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC's) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.  This is a joint release between HMRC and the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  
16/2/2022
People working from home are spending less. How much are we saving and can online stores tempt us to splash the cash? Thumbnail for article : People working from home are spending less. How much are we saving and can online stores tempt us to splash the cash?
New Government figures show over a third of us worked at least one day from home during January, and nearly half of home workers said they were spending less.  The home delivery expert ParcelHero says online retailers are best placed to tempt Brits to splash some of that saved cash.  
16/2/2022
Insults, "Sexts" And Confidential Info - How We Miscommunicate In The OfficeThumbnail for article : Insults,
Inefficient communication is a problem many businesses deal with sometimes.   The consequences of certain communication mishaps aren't just damaging to an employee's career or a businesses' reputation, but they can be downright embarrassing for everyone involved.  
16/2/2022
New Apprentices Taken On Through Highland Hero Scheme
The Northern Engineering and Welding Company (NEWCo) based in Lochaber is benefiting from taking part in The Highland Council's Highland Employment Recruitment Offer (HERO) scheme and has recently used funding support to appoint two new apprentices.   NEWCo's purpose built and well-equipped workshop in Fort William is home to a team of skilled technicians whose services are facilitated by an in-house machine shop fitted with the leading state of the art machinery.  
16/2/2022
Research Shows Mental Health Impacts Of Covid-19 On NHS Highland StaffThumbnail for article : Research Shows Mental Health Impacts Of Covid-19 On NHS Highland Staff
Research carried out by a team from the University of the Highlands and Islands and NHS Highland has examined the impact of COVID-19 on the mental wellbeing of health and social care workers in the area.   The research project received £44,581 of Scottish government funding as part of the Chief Scientist Office's call for rapid research into COVID-19 in March 2020.  
16/2/2022
HMRC February Bulletin
The February edition of the Employer Bulletin brings you all the latest HMRC updates and guidance to support employers, payroll professionals and agents.   Included in this edition are important updates on: • changes to our Employer Helpline processes • preparing for your last Full Payment Submission or Employer.  
16/2/2022
UK Government awards £10 million for vaccines research to combat potential epidemics in developing countries
22 research projects have been selected by the government's UK Vaccine Network and will help tackle viruses such as Ebola, Lassa Fever and Zika.   Research into vaccines to tackle some of the world's deadliest diseases in low and middle income countries has been backed by £10 million of UK aid funding, the government has announced today (Wednesday 16 February).  
16/2/2022
Rising Inflation Puts Britain On Course For Deepest Living Standards Squeeze In Six Decades
Commenting on the latest ONS inflation data for January, which saw CPIH inflation rise to 4.9 per cent, its highest level in 30 years, and CPI inflation rise to 5.5 per cent, Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:"Inflation continued to tick up at the start of the year, putting ever more pressure on family budgets.   "But just as it's unclear the extent to which wages will respond to these price pressures, there's also uncertainty over the level at which consumer inflation will peak as factory-gate inflation continues to rise too.