HLAS

From  7 February farmers and land managers can submit new applications for the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, rewarding them for their actions to protect and improve their natural environment. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier offers multi-year agreements and one-off grants for over 250 different actions farmers can take to enhance the environment alongside their farming business, from planting and maintaining new hedgerows or woodland through to restoring peatland and moorlands. The start of the application window comes after Defra announced an average increase of 10% for Countryside Stewardship revenue payment rates – covering ongoing activity such as habitat management. Capital payment rates, which [...]

Government-funded courses are now available, teaching skills such as chainsaw maintenance, coppicing, woodland management, and marketing and selling timber. The Forestry Training Fund is for people considering a change of career or those who are seeking to build and diversify their skills in forestry. The UK forestry and primary wood processing sectors support 32,000 jobs and contribute £2 billion to the economy every year, whilst secondary wood processing businesses support a further 60,000 jobs. The government has committed to increasing tree-planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares a year by the end of the Parliament to reach net zero emissions [...]

HM Treasury and the Bank of England are consulting on a potential digital pound, or central bank digital currency (CBDC). If introduced, a digital pound would be issued by the Bank of England and could be used by households and businesses for everyday payments in-store and online. It would also be interchangeable with cash and bank deposits, complementing cash. No decision has been taken at this stage to introduce a digital currency. See: The digital pound: A new form of money for households and businesses? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There have been numerous studies into the relationship between diversity and inclusion and company performance, and many of them have come to the same conclusion - diversity and inclusion is good for business. The biggest advantage of inclusive leadership is that inclusive leaders know how to unleash individual potential and create an environment where all talent can thrive and grow. The more people feel included, the more they speak up, go the extra mile, and collaborate — all of which ultimately lifts organisational performance. Inclusive leadership is emerging as a unique and critical capability helping organisations adapt to diverse customers, [...]

The Charity Commission is launching the next stage of its campaign to raise awareness of core trustee duties and guidance available as the sector faces challenges ahead. The Commission has developed a collection of short guidance on issues ranging from safeguarding people to managing conflicts of interest. Dubbed the ‘5-Minute Guides’, the collection serves as a basic toolkit for trustees who are managing the many demands of running a charity. The latest phase of the campaign, running to 16th March, aims to raise awareness of, and boost use of, the 5-minute guides. The regulator hopes this will increase knowledge and [...]

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £25 million in the best game-changing and world-leading ideas. Ideas need to be designed for swift, successful commercialisation and be genuinely new and novel, not just disruptive within their sector. All proposals must be business-focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth, and market share following project completion. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as, but not exclusively: net-zero the arts design and media. To be in scope, your proposal must [...]

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee announced on 2 February 2023 that it would increase the Bank of England base rate to 4% from 3.5%. HMRC interest rates are linked to the Bank of England base rate. As a consequence of the change in the base rate, HMRC interest rates for late payment and repayment will increase. These changes will come into effect on: 13 February 2023 for quarterly instalment payments 21 February 2023 for non-quarterly instalment payments. Late payment interest is set at base rate plus 2.5%. Repayment interest is set at base rate minus 1%, with a lower limit - [...]

The UK government has supported the recently introduced “Predictable Terms and Conditions” Bill, which will bring forward changes for tens of millions of workers across the UK. The move, which would apply to all workers and employees including agency workers, comes after a review found many workers on zero hours contracts experience ‘one-sided flexibility’. This means people across the country are currently left waiting, unable to get on with their lives in case of being called up at the last minute for a shift. With a more predictable working pattern, workers will have a guarantee of when they are required [...]

From Monday last week, households across Great Britain who don’t use mains gas for heating started to receive £200 towards their energy bills as the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme launched. Most will get the £200 AFP automatically as a credit on their electricity bill, but some customers will need to apply for the support later this month. Nearly 2 million households who use alternative energy sources such as heating oil, biomass, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to warm their homes will receive the support. The vast majority, including many homes in rural areas, will get it automatically through their electricity supplier [...]

With ever increasing supplier prices, a recent rise in interest rates, and a looming recession, 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 reflect 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 [...]