Potential changes to the council tax system that could see those in the highest value properties asked to pay more if they can afford to have been published. A joint consultation with COSLA is seeking views on plans to increase the amount paid by people in bands E, F, G and H.
The Chancellor will launch his 'Mansion House Reforms' this evening (Monday 10 July) which could increase pensions by over a £1,000 a year in retirement for an average earner who saves over the course of a career. Chancellor to outline reforms to boost pensions and increase investment in British businesses.
Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers his first Mansion House speech on the evening of Monday 10 July. My Lord Mayor, Governor, Ladies and Gentlemen - it is an honour to be with you at the Mansion House tonight.
From August, China is to restrict exports of gallium and germanium, two critical elements for making semiconductor chips. With China dominating the supply of both elements, exporters will now need special licences to get them out of the country.
New regulations mean farmers will be able to challenge prices and more easily raise concerns with supply contracts, helping ensure they receive a fair price. The government has today (11 July 2023) outlined more detail on regulations set to come into force later this year which will ensure supply contracts in the dairy sector are fair and transparent, with farmers being paid a fair price for their produce.
The free HMRC app can be used to renew tax credits and update personal details. Almost 28,000 customers have used the HMRC app to renew their annual tax credits claim, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can reveal.
Drones and high-altitude aircraft could boost connectivity in remote areas and support emergency services, following new government funding. Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Chloe Smith announced the £20 million funding from the UK Space Agency - the biggest investment into these types of services to date - to support the development of future telecommunications technologies and aerial connectivity projects, which would be used onboard drones or high-altitude platforms to provide wireless coverage.
Record-breaking attendance for IEEE Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE). The UK and Oxford will become the epicentre of the global fusion community this week as hundreds of scientists and engineers gather to progress fusion energy powerplant development.
A new funding scheme has been launched offering up to £20 million in grants to support local authorities, universities and arm's-length external organisations decarbonise their buildings. Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund will replace the existing Scottish Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme, which has been running since 2006 and offered zero interest loans for energy efficiency improvement projects.
The Insolvency Service has today launched a new online information hub to support company directors. The hub hosts guidance and information on a range of business themes commonly faced by companies and aims to help company directors to push their business forward by being more aware of potential pitfalls.
Solace and Senior Managers of Solace Scotland, in collaboration with the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), have published a report ‘Housing in Scotland. Current Context and Preparing for the Future' which details their assessment of the housing emergency in Scotland and the steps needed to address it.
Bees' Needs Week launches for 2023, encouraging everyone to protect pollinators. Bees' Needs Week (10 - 17 July) is back with a call for the public to take five simple steps to help boost bee numbers and monitor pollinators in their local green spaces.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023 has caused significant economic and environmental damage. Approximately 100,000 people were evacuated or displaced over a large area, equivalent to the size of Switzerland, affecting regions from Kryvyi Rih in the north to Melitopol in the east and the Crimean Peninsula in the south.
The UK picked a bad year to have a political crisis in 2022. The markets were already jittery because the global economy was struggling to recover from COVID.
Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy King's College London writing for The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) looks at the evidence for the damage to the UK economy caused by BREXT. Two-thirds of the British public think Brexit has damaged the economy, while even among Leave voters only one in five think the impact has been positive.
Early experimental data and analysis on economic activity and social change in the UK. These real-time indicators are created using rapid response surveys, novel data sources and experimental methods.
The Office for National Statistics looks at how people spend their time. After sleep and rest, adults in the UK spent an average of 3 hours and 44 minutes each day on entertainment, socialising, and other free time activities in March 2023 (including 2 hours and 16 minutes watching television); this was less than the average of 4 hours and 30 minutes in March 2020.
Annual estimates of the number of foreign-owned businesses, turnover and approximate gross value added (aGVA) in the UK non-financial business economy for 2021 and revised estimates for 2020, from the Annual Business Survey (ABS). There were 2.5 million businesses operating in the UK non-financial business economy in 2021, of which 1.4% (36,724) were foreign-owned.
Finding new drugs - called "drug discovery" - is an expensive and time-consuming task. But a type of artificial intelligence called machine learning can massively accelerate the process and do the job for a fraction of the price.
Peace not Pollution edited by Christian Gollier Dominic Rohner is a big read for anyone interested in the economics and climate and the green transition required to save the planet. 237 Page and it can be downloaded free of charge at the link at the bottom of this page.
