HLAS

Plans to boost nature recovery and safeguard England’s national parks for future generations have been set out by Environment Secretary George Eustice. The proposals, which will be subject to consultation, are set out in the Government’s response to Julian Glover’s independent Landscapes Review which looked at whether the protections for National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) are still fit for purpose. The Government’s response sets out changes to increase access to nature and ensure protected landscapes can deliver more for climate, nature, people and places for the next 70 years and beyond. A new national landscapes partnership will bring [...]

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched a new programme to help develop innovative technologies to produce hydrogen, a clean energy source, from sustainable biomass and waste. The Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme is funded through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s. BECCS technology can uniquely offer the ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as the CO2 absorbed during the growth of the sustainable biomass and the organic content found in waste can then be permanently [...]

HMRC is developing the system for tax checks that will apply to renewals of taxi driver and scrap metal site licences, among others, in England and Wales. The check will be integrated into the licencing application and agents will not be able to complete it on behalf of clients. From April 2022, the renewal of certain licences in the transport and scrap metal sectors will require the applicant to complete a tax check with HMRC. When renewing their licences, applicants will need to complete a basic online check to confirm they are registered for tax if they need to be. [...]

Japan is embracing 5G and is expected to become the leading force in cellular technology by 2026. With this Innovate UK-funded Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP), this is your chance to showcase your business to Japan's game-changing cellular technology business ecosystem, with a four-day market visit. Up to 15 ambitious UK businesses will be selected to explore the growth opportunities in this market, and an exclusive chance to connect with innovation collaborators, partners and those like-minded. This initiative is relevant for businesses that focus on the diversification of the UK's 5G ecosystem, including enhanced cybersecurity, speed of deployment and a [...]

The Government is introducing legislation to allow people to use video-conferencing technology for the witnessing of wills being made. The legislation recognises that: An increasing number of people have sought to make wills during the Covid 19 pandemic, but for people shielding or self-isolating it is extremely challenging to follow the normal legalities of making a will - namely it being witnessed by two people. In response to this The law (the Wills Act 1837) will be amended to state that whilst this legislation is in force, the ‘presence’ of those making and witnessing wills includes a virtual presence, via [...]

The Police CyberAlarm is a free tool to help your business understand and monitor malicious cyber activity. Police CyberAlarm acts as a “CCTV camera” monitoring the traffic seen by your businesses’ connection to the internet. It will detect and provide regular reports of suspected malicious activity, enabling your business to minimise your vulnerabilities. Once you become a ‘Police CyberAlarm’ member, you install a ‘CyberAlarm Virtual Server’ on your system, which will be used to collect and process traffic logs identifying suspicious activity from your firewall/internet gateway. What are the benefits to my business? regular reporting identify your business vulnerabilities business [...]

The UK government’s Levelling Up white paper has set out the blueprint to expand opportunities across the United Kingdom. The UK government has set 12 new missions to drive change to people’s lives by spreading opportunity and reversing geographical inequalities. Leaders across the UK will be asked to find new ways to collaborate and learn from each other’s successes as the UK faces common challenges. One example is a Silicon Valley-style ‘Innovation Accelerator’ for Glasgow to create quality new jobs and boost regional economies. See: UK Government sets out blueprint to transform UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  

The government’s housing delivery agency helps to build homes across England and encourage innovation, both in the kind of homes that are built and the way they are delivered. They do this in two ways: by providing development finance to small and medium house builders by providing infrastructure funding to support developers, master developers and landowners The housing delivery agency will continue to provide investment directly to developers, in the form of loans, and to specialist lenders. Loans can start from £250,000, with house builders typically borrowing between £2 million and £5 million. Development finance is designed to support small and medium [...]

Innovate UK's Small Business Research Initiative competition will assist in integrating climate and environmental factors into financial services. Organisations can apply for a share of up to £1.5 million inclusive of VAT. This competition will fund projects that bring climate and environmental risk analytics into the everyday practices of financial services. These risks include: physical risks to supply chains and property as posed by increasingly common natural disasters litigation risk where businesses are liable for their contribution to damages to nature transition risk whereby socioeconomic or political shifts toward net zero undermine non-aligned investments The competition will fund companies to [...]

Innovate UK is inviting applications for their Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) to Taiwan from companies developing new technologies to address challenges in: smart healthcare smart mobility intelligent buildings and housing new energy solutions future education direct citizen engagement urban infrastructure and planning Taiwan is an excellent testbed for future cities innovations and this programme will enable you to find potential collaborators and improve your company's value proposition to international partners and investors. The programme, delivered by Innovate UK EDGE, consists of: a preparation phase a 5-day innovation visit focused on Smart Cities a post-visit exploitation workshop follow-up support from [...]