HLAS

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is urging tech startups to join the fight against ransomware. Companies with ideas to protect small businesses from ransomware are offered a chance to develop them further with leading cyber security experts. The companies can apply to join NCSC For Startups, a programme in which they collaborate with experts to develop, adapt and test their products. The programme was launched last year by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - a part of GCHQ - and the innovation company Plexal. The programme's aim is to bring together innovative startups with NCSC technical expertise to solve [...]

From April, employers will be obliged to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers, as well as employees, who may be exposed to health and safety risks at work. An amendment to the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, will come into force on 6 April 2022. Organisations will need to undertake a risk assessment to establish whether a worker requires PPE to carry out their work tasks. If they do, the employer will need to carry out a PPE suitability assessment and provide protective equipment or clothing to them free of charge, as they do for employees. Organisations [...]

A company might have a great product or service but without a business growth strategy to help it define, articulate and communicate where it is going, it may not grow at all! A growth strategy starts with identifying and accessing opportunities within your market. The strategy addresses how your company is going to evolve to meet the challenges of today and in the future. A growth strategy gives your company purpose, and it answers questions about your long-term plans. Having a growth strategy is important because it keeps your company working towards goals that go beyond what is happening in [...]

A new drive to encourage farmers and landowners across England to plant and manage more trees has been launched. Woodland creation offers a profitable way for farmers and landowners to boost their business as well as deliver environmental benefits, alongside food production. The Forestry Commission and Defra are drawing attention to the attractive grant schemes and free specialist advice available through a new campaign. The grant schemes will help land managers diversify their business, with the potential to receive a grant of over £10,000 for every hectare of new woodland created. Woodland creation is one of the options that farmers [...]

More than £31 million of UK government funding, matched by more than £30 million of industry funding for the development of innovative floating offshore wind technologies has been announced by the UK government. Floating offshore wind projects will receive the public and private investment to develop new technologies that will enable turbines to be located in the windiest parts around the UK’s coastline. Research will focus on areas such as how turbines are moored to the seabed, undersea cabling and developing foundation solutions. The UK government has announced 11 successful projects that will each be awarded up to £10 million [...]

The government is to lay a bill in parliament to extend HS2 from Crewe up to Manchester and beyond. This is a new phase of the £96 billion commitment in the Integrated Rail Plan to deliver faster and better journeys across the North. New High Speed stations will also be built at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, making way for new lines to Leeds and Liverpool, as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail. If approved, the High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill will allow HS2 to continue its journey from Crewe to Manchester, creating a new transport spine across the North with [...]

HSE remind employers that they must provide the right facilities for everyone in their workplace, including people with disabilities. You must have: welfare facilities – the right number of toilets and washbasins, drinking water and having somewhere to rest and eat meals a healthy working environment – a clean workplace with a reasonable working temperature, good ventilation, suitable lighting and the right amount of space and seating a safe workplace – well-maintained equipment, with no obstructions in floors and traffic routes, and windows that can be easily opened and cleaned See: Have the right workplace facilities - Overview - HSE [...]

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs has revealed plans to transform the waste industry in the UK, making it easier to crack down on illegal exports and on waste crime. The government is consulting on a digital waste tracking service. The tracking service would make it mandatory for those handling waste to record information about what happens to it, from the point it is produced to the point it is reused, recycled, or disposed. The consultation closes on 15 April 2022. See:  Introduction of mandatory digital waste tracking - Defra - Citizen Space

HMRC have recently updated their internal VAT manual to clarify the “place of supply” rules for services. This is one of the most complex areas of VAT legislation and of course the rules changed significantly since the UK left the EU. The country where a supply is deemed to be made is called the ‘place of supply’ and is the place where it is liable to VAT, if any. These rules are necessary to ensure that VAT, where payable, is paid only in the correct country and to avoid the possibility of supplies being taxed more than once or not [...]

The costs of keeping the country running through covid were huge and inflation is expected to add to the country’s debt. The Office for Budget Responsibility has indicated that the treasury will need to find £45bn in interest, before even thinking about paying off the debt itself. As taxpayers we will be providing the extra cash! From April, the Chancellor is not directly increasing the rates of income tax we pay, he is freezing the thresholds at which basic and higher rates of income tax are paid from April 2022 to April 2026, effectively increasing the amount we actually pay [...]