Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business (simplybusinessco.uk), one of the UK's largest providers of small business insurance, said "Naturally, the fall in inflation rates and recent news that the UK has avoided a recession is welcome, but we cannot rest on our laurels when it comes to supporting the UK's 5.5 million small businesses. "There continue to be a number of elements at play which are disproportionately harming the SME community.
The deal - the fifth offered to unions - would mean an overall increase of more than £5,000 over two years for the 70% of classroom teachers who are at the top of their main grade pay scale. It would amount to a cumulative rise of almost 30% for most teachers since January 2018 and would bring the starting salary for a fully qualified teacher - already the highest in the UK – to £37,719 after probation.
Councils need to better manage workloads and staffing levels to improve housing benefit services. Many people are waiting longer for housing benefit claims to be processed as services across Scotland's councils face rising workloads, fewer staff and high sickness absence levels.
Have you reckoned on the fact that the freeze on tax allowances will eat your take home pay increasingly for four years. This measure was announced at Autumn Statement 2022.
The move to merge the UK government's departments of trade and business has been likened by one journalist to rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship. But it is in fact a significant moment in the country's foreign and economic policy - and a tacit acknowledgement that attempts to seize Brexit "opportunities" through trade have been a failure.
Among working adults who have worked in the last seven days, 16% reported working from home only and 28% reported both working from home and travelling to work over the period September 2022 to January 2023. Workers in the highest income band, those who were educated to degree level or above, and those in professional occupations were most likely to report home only or hybrid working.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February 14th) sold 15 Prime Cattle. Prime Bullocks (4) averaged 268.6p per kg and sold to 276.0p per kg and £1,911.00 gross.
Google's parent company Alphabet has lost a hefty US$100 billion (£83 billion) or nearly a tenth of its market value after its new AI chatbot, Bard, botched an answer to a query on an ad promoting its launch. It claimed that the James Webb space telescope took the first pictures of planets outside the Earth's solar system when in fact it was the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.
Early estimates for January 2023 indicate that the number of payrolled employees rose by 2.6% compared with January 2022, a rise of 768,000 employees; the number of payrolled employees was up by 3.5% since February 2020, a rise of 1,028,000. Payrolled employment increased by 102,000 employees (0.3%) in January 2023 when compared with December 2022, though this should be treated as a provisional estimate and is likely to be revised when more data are received next month.
The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.6% in October to December 2022, 0.2 percentage points higher than the previous three-month period. The increase in employment over the latest three-month period was driven by part-time workers.
Eighteen projects aimed at boosting the space sector across the UK are to receive funding from the UK Space Agency. The £6.5 million includes support for high impact, locally led schemes and space cluster development managers to help the space sector grow across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
For the three months ending December 2022, the highest employment rate estimate in the UK was in the South West (80.3%) and the lowest was in the North East (71.0%); Scotland (76.6%) saw a record-high employment rate. The largest increase in the employment rate compared with the same period last year was in Northern Ireland, up by 3.1 percentage points, with Wales seeing the largest decrease of 2.6 percentage points.
More than £130 million has been distributed to thousands of families with disabled children since the launch of a Scottish Government benefit. The latest official figures show the families of over 54,000 children and young people were receiving Child Disability Payment in December last year.
The Fraser of Allender Institute report today on the Scottish Governments plans for NET ZERO paint gloomy picture. What was the project? We were asked to explore how the Scottish Government can better assess the impact of its spending choices on emissions and improve its carbon assessment of the Budget to support parliamentary scrutiny.
Over 1,800 workers secure 18 per cent pay increase. The long running industrial dispute involving over 1,800 bus drivers employed by Abellio in London has ended after workers accepted a greatly improved pay offer.
The 16th-century King Ferdinand of Spain sent his subjects abroad with the command: "Get gold, humanely if possible, but at all hazards, get gold." His statement rings true today. Gold remains one of the world's most expensive substances, but mining it is one of the most environmentally and socially destructive processes on the planet.
Unquestionably, it has been a challenging couple of years for the healthcare industry as the country faced the largest public health crisis in living memory. In response, the industry has swelled.
Tens of thousands of patients across England to get quicker access to life-saving tests as 19 additional community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to open this year. 92 operational CDCs have carried out an additional three million, tests, checks and scans across the country as the NHS works on the biggest ever catch-up programme.
Homegrown Scottish brand, Beira Moda is transforming perceptions of the sustainable fashion industry. Following a successful career as a fashion designer, Antoinette Fionda decided to launch her own brand in 2018 after getting frustrated with the lack of options available to environmentally minded consumers.
Small businesses and local shops are vital for the community. Not only are they recognisable places which promote regional work and talent, but they also help local economies throughout the year.
