HLAS

Motorists can opt for digital vehicle tax reminders rather than having to wait for a paper reminder to drop through their letter box. The change comes as part of DVLA’s new Driver and vehicles account service, which was launched on GOV.UK last week. The new service, which allows motorists to easily access their driver and vehicle information in one place, has been launched as a public beta and DVLA are asking motorists to provide feedback to help develop the service. The Driver and vehicles account is easy-to-use, secure, and it takes around 5 minutes to sign up. Once an account has been [...]

The UK government has a webpage with guidance to help businesses identify and prepare for the hazards and threats that may disrupt their operations. Being more prepared and resilient could give a competitive advantage to your business. The actions you take to make your business resilient will depend on your circumstances and the risks you are comfortable taking. Having assessed these, only you can decide how much time, and possibly money, you want to invest in increasing your resilience. These suggested actions will help you get started: Do a business resilience health check to help you understand how to make [...]

With continuing inflation in the UK, many of us and our businesses have been put “off track” in the short to medium term. The Bank of England recently increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.25 per cent. The rise was as expected by economists in view of the latest data showing annual inflation at 7.9 per cent in June which is four times higher than the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target. Inflation is a problem for most of us. Savers find that the value of their cash is being rapidly eroded. At 10% [...]

A further £10 million is being made available to cattle farmers in England to help them replace ageing cattle buildings with state-of-the-art facilities, Defra has announced. As set out in guidance published last week, the Animal Health and Welfare Infrastructure Grant will allocate awards to farmers ranging from £15,000 to £500,000, prioritising new and upgraded calf housing which will improve livestock conditions and help boost farmers’ productivity and profitability. Through this grant, cattle farmers can access funding for roof-top solar panels on calf housing buildings, fulfilling a key commitment made by the Prime Minister at the Farm to Fork Summit earlier this [...]

In 2022, Defra announced that payments would be made in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period. Around 50% of the overall payment is being made now with the remaining balance expected from December. Payments are up to 50% of the total annual BPS payment and will hopefully help farmers impacted by price rises throughout the industry with their summer season cash flow. The RPA expects the vast majority of farmers to be paid on time, though there will be a small number of farmers whose claims will require additional checks which will take longer to process. [...]

More than 7 billion plastic bags have been prevented from blighting our streets and countryside thanks to the single-use carrier bag charge, new figures announced last month show. A 5p charge was first introduced in supermarkets in 2015. Since then, usage at the main retailers – Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose – has dropped by more than 98%. The average person in England now buys just two single-use carrier bags a year from these businesses, compared with around 140 in 2014 before the charge was introduced. The number of single-use carrier bags reported [...]

The changes to the Alcohol Duty structure and the new reliefs took effect on 1‌‌‌ ‌‌August 2023. These include: A new alcohol Duty system: standardised Alcohol Duty bands for all types of alcoholic products. There are new duty rates based on alcohol by volume (ABV) for all products; A Small Producer Relief: which reforms and extends the relief previously enjoyed by small breweries, to producers of all alcoholic products under 8.5% ABV; A reduced rate for draught products also known as Draught Relief, which reduces the tax due on draught alcoholic products under 8.5% ABV, packaged in containers of at [...]

Innovate UK will work with The Department for Transport (DfT) to invest up to £34 million in innovation projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. These will be to develop and deploy real-world operational demonstrations of clean maritime solutions as well as carry out innovative feasibility studies and pre-deployment trials. The Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) Round 4 is part of a suite of interventions launched by the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE). UK SHORE aims to transform the UK into a global leader in the design and manufacturing of clean maritime technology. Your proposal must [...]

A new government scheme to help ship buyers access finance to buy UK-built vessels and upgrade existing ones has been launched. Through the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS) the government will act as a guarantor for lenders, unlocking credit for maritime firms. It could help to boost the UK shipbuilding industry and drive growth in areas such as Liverpool, Plymouth, the Solent, Rosyth, Clydebank, and Belfast. The SCGS could create new jobs and contribute to the economy, according to government estimates based on the demand for commercial shipbuilding in the UK. The scheme also forms part of the Government’s £4 [...]

HM Land Registry has launched a new initiative to help new conveyancing staff get to grips with the practices and processes involved in lodging high-quality applications, right from the word go. Comprising a varied range of basic training materials, ‘HM Land Registry Essentials’ is a self-service training package aimed at helping new staff, as well as more experienced colleagues wanting an opportunity to refresh their knowledge. The training package includes a mix of short videos, on-demand webinars, flowcharts, and guidance covering some of the most common issues facing new starters in the sector. These include how to calculate certain Scale [...]