HLAS

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has launched new online tools for small organisations to help find and fix any cyber security issues. The NCSC unveiled the services to coincide with the latest phase of its Cyber Aware campaign, which is aiming to raise awareness of cyber security among the UK's small businesses, organisations, and sole traders.   With official statistics showing more than a third of small businesses suffered a cyber-attack last year, the NCSC urged them to make use of their Cyber Action Plan and Check Your Cyber Security tools. The Cyber Action Plan can be completed online in under five minutes [...]

Employers should be aware that from April 2023 several statutory payment rates increase for the 2023-24 financial year. Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental and Adoption Pay From Sunday 2 April 2023, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Bereavement Pay all increased from £156.66 to £172.48 per week. Statutory Sick Pay From Thursday 6 April 2023, Statutory Sick Pay increased from £99.35 to £109.40. The lower earnings limit remains at £123. Statutory Redundancy Payment From Thursday 6 April 2023, the Statutory Redundancy Payment was limited to £669 a week. The maximum Statutory [...]

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme runs for 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. This scheme replaces the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which supported businesses and organisations between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023. The scheme is made up of 3 different parts: The baseline discount will provide some support with energy bills for eligible non-domestic customers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland – this support will be applied automatically. The Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) discount will provide a higher level of support to businesses and organisations in eligible sectors – you will need to register to [...]

With increasing supplier prices and economic uncertainty, managing your business’s cash and understanding the flow are now vital tools in maintaining resilience and being able to adopt flexible strategies for success. Cash flows are a reflection of all the cash that is flowing in and out of a business. Owners can look at the direction of the cash flows for insights about the health of specific products or services and overall market patterns. Some types of business are more likely to run into cash flow problems, while other types appear to be more resilient. If you are a business owner, [...]

Businesses will soon be invited to apply for the UK's most prestigious business award when applications open in May. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise has been renamed following the Accession of King Charles III. The Awards will become The King’s Award for Enterprise. The King's Awards for Enterprise recognise and encourage the outstanding achievements of UK businesses in the fields of: international trade, innovation, sustainable development, and promoting opportunity through social mobility. Businesses of all sizes and from all sectors can apply. The awards are free to enter, and you can apply for more than one award. To be eligible, [...]

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Faraday Battery Challenge to invest up to £1.5 million in innovation scale-up projects. The aims of this competition are to: support an SME's research and development for the scale-up of battery technologies within the UK; support an SME to access the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) and demonstrate technologies at suitable scales to customers; increase engagement with UKBIC; move UK battery innovations from technological potential towards commercial capability; and develop and secure material and manufacturing supply chains for battery technologies in the UK. The competition closes at 11am [...]

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks, bank shares in Asia and Europe have slumped, despite the reassurances from Joe Biden. The volatility has led to speculation that the Federal Reserve will pause plans to raise interest rates, designed to halt inflation. We should remember that post 2008 there was a focus on reforming banks considered “too big to fail” and the issues right now mainly focus on medium to smaller sized banks. There is a clear message about the failure of Silicon Valley and Signature banks in that they were mainly concentrated in one sector, and they [...]

Silicon Valley Bank (UK) Ltd (SVB UK) was sold last week to HSBC for a symbolic £1.  HSBC is headquartered in London, is the largest bank in Europe and is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services institutions, serving 39 million customers globally.  Customers of SVB UK are now able to access their deposits and banking services as normal. This transaction has been facilitated by the Bank of England, in consultation with the Treasury, using powers granted by the Banking Act 2009.  The deal makes use of post-crisis banking reforms, which introduced powers to safely manage the failure [...]

The British Business Bank’s Guide to building business resilience contains impartial, practical, and actionable information and support to help smaller businesses manage their costs, boost their long-term profitability, and increase their resilience. There is guidance on everything from energy efficiency to investing in technology, included to help make your business more innovative and resilient. Other topics covered in the guide include: Foundations for growth, Managing business costs, Securing funds and controlling debt, Focusing on customers, Optimising your supply chain, and Controlling staff overheads. See: Guide to building business resilience - British Business Bank (british-business-bank.co.uk)

New data laws to cut down paperwork for businesses and reduce cookie pops-up have been introduced by the UK government. The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was first introduced last Summer and paused in September 2022 so ministers could engage in a co-design process with business leaders and data experts, ensuring that the new regime builds on the UK’s high standards for data protection and privacy and seeks to ensure data adequacy while moving away from the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of the European Union’s GDPR. Data is fundamental to fuelling economic growth in all areas of society, from unlocking medical [...]