A company has been fined £800,000 following the death of a fish farmer in the Scottish Highlands. Clive Hendry had been working on a salmon farm operated by Mowi Scotland Ltd when, in an attempt to move from a workboat to a barge, he suffered crush injuries, fell into the sea and drowned.
The Insolvency Service has been at the forefront of Government action to clamp down on individuals and companies who abused the financial support given to businesses during the pandemic. In 2022-2023, we used our civil and criminal enforcement powers to disqualify over 450 directors who abused the COVID-19 support scheme, as part of our ongoing work to track down pandemic fraudsters.
Even more community projects will be able to apply for UK Government's expanded £150 million Community Ownership Fund. More community projects are set to benefit from funding to rescue prized local assets, such as sports clubs, music venues and historic buildings, as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities launches the third round of its £150 million Community Ownership Fund (Friday 12 May 2023.
Return to pre-pandemic advice for health and social care. People in health and social care settings will no longer be advised to wear facemasks from Tuesday (16 May 2023).
GAD has analysed the LGPS gender pension gap. This report provides a first overview of how pensions in the LGPS were impacted by gender as of 31 March 2020.
The Defence Secretary The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP made a statement to Parliament updating members on the UK's continued programme of military aid to Ukraine, including long-range precision strike capability. Today, I want to update the House on Russia's attacks on civilians and critical national infrastructure in Ukraine.
Rising interest rates mean monthly payments on some mortgages, loans and credit cards will go up - though some people will earn more money on their savings. Households will be stuck with higher food prices for longer.
At a meeting of the Highland Council (Thursday 11 May 2023) members have agreed to put forward a bid for up to £50m of UK government funding towards the cost of providing a new electric ferry to operate across the Corran Narrows in Lochaber. The MV Corran and her replacement the MV Maid of Glencoul are still out of service waiting for parts to be fitted and repairs completed.
The screen industry across Scotland has seen a boom in recent years and the Highland region has helped drive this growth. Recent figures collated indicate that 2022 was a record year for Highland with direct spend in the area reaching over £3M, from a range of national and international productions.
Equipmake, the UK developer and manufacturer of best-in-class electrification products for battery-electric vehicle drivetrains, is showcasing its state-of-the-art coach repower technology at ITT Hub, Farnborough, which can provide pure electric ranges up to 250 miles. Entirely scalable and modular, Equipmake's Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED), can be applied to any coach from single to double-decker, with bespoke systems tailored to specific customer requirements.
An estimated 20,000 additional people will become eligible for additional help to buy healthy foods when income thresholds are removed for Best Start Foods payments. The Scottish Government benefit provides help to pregnant women or their partners as well as families with children aged up to three years old, so they can buy healthy food, milk or baby formula.
The Bank of England is approaching the end of the largest tightening cycle since Norman Lamont was hiking rates to keep Britain in the ERM, but it says further rate rises may be needed if high inflation is proves to be stickier than expected, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the Bank's latest Monetary Policy Report (MPR). The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased the base rate for the 12th successive time to 4.5 per cent - and suggested that a further rise may be needed, as inflation proving harder to bring down than previously forecast.
The UK's first system drawing heat from deep underground to provide low-cost heating for nearly 4,000 homes is one of 7 innovative projects backed by government funding. 7 state-of-the-art heat network projects across England awarded government funding.
Credit and debit card spending soared during the first week of May and was also up 5% against the same week last year. And if you think you're paying considerably more for some items than you did in 2022, then the home delivery expert ParcelHero says ‘hard cheese’ - literally.
Changes to residency conditions to be introduced for 2023-24 academic year. Eligibility for free student tuition support in Scotland will be extended to cover a wider range of immigration statuses under new proposals.
Measures will increase transparency and maintain public trust. Proposed legislation to update and strengthen charity law has passed its first parliamentary stage.
Soldiers at five Army barracks are set to benefit from new single living accommodation under a £1.2bn programme to modernise and improve the Army estate. Contracts for 491 new bedspaces have been announced under the Army's Single Living Accommodation (SLA) Programme, which is investing £1.2bn to deliver 8,500 SLA bedspaces over the next 10 years.
Monthly real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have fallen by 0.3% in March 2023, after showing no growth in February 2023 (unrevised from our previous publication). Looking at the broader picture, GDP grew by 0.1% in the three months to March 2023.
HMRC interest rates for late payments will be revised following the Bank of England interest rate rise to 4.5%. The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee announced on 11 May 2023 to increase the Bank of England base rate to 4.5% from 4.25%.
The value of goods imports decreased by £1.4 billion (2.8%) in March 2023; after removing the effect of inflation, imports of goods fell by £0.8 billion (2.1%). The value of goods exports decreased by £0.7 billion (2.3%) in March 2023; after removing the effect of inflation, exports of goods fell by £0.7 billion (2.7%).
