HLAS

In what is now becoming a weekly event the government has added Nigeria to the travel red list from 6 December. Currently, the majority of cases in the UK have links to overseas travel from South Africa and Nigeria, and over the past week, 21 Omicron cases reported originate from Nigeria. A temporary travel ban will therefore be introduced for all non-UK and non-Irish citizens and residents who have been in Nigeria in the last 10 days, meaning they will be refused entry into the UK. This does not apply to those who have stayed airside and only transited through [...]

All eligible adults in England aged 18 and over will be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine by the end of January. Following advice from the independent experts at the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), everyone who is currently eligible - including those aged 40 and over, health and social care workers and those at increased risk from the virus due to health conditions - will be able to book their jab from three months after their second dose, meaning an additional 7 million people over 40 are now eligible. The government and the NHS are urging younger people [...]

Do you or someone you know run an inspirational small business that fits the bill for #TheSmallAwards, then apply for the 2022 Awards. The judges will be looking for evidences of strong community engagement from small businesses whilst also looking for strong performance as an on-going business. The categories are: High Street Hero – best high street business Bricks and Clicks Award – best multi-channel small business Legacy Award – best family business Supply Chain Champion – best B2B business New Kid On The Block – best business start-up (less than 18 months) Digital Star – best digital only business [...]

Successful applicants for Horizon Europe grant awards will be guaranteed funding regardless of the outcome of the UK’s efforts to associate to Horizon Europe programme. The ongoing delays in the process of formalising the association have led to uncertainty for researchers, businesses and innovators based in the UK. To provide reassurance, the government has put in place a short-term measure to cover funding for the first wave of eligible, successful applicants to Horizon Europe, who have been unable to sign grant agreements with the EU. The funding will be delivered through UK Research and Innovation, which will publish further details [...]

Now approaching its fifth year, Space to Connect is a day-long event that gives the opportunity to meet new companies, organisations and individuals who are innovating at the forefront of the space applications sector, as well as others new to this journey. Up to 700 people are expected to attend the event, which will take place on 1 February 2022. Exhibition stands will provide the opportunity for companies to showcase the work they have been doing and speak directly to guests on the day. Space to Connect 2022 will take place online at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London, SW1P [...]

New UK-Norway trading arrangements came into effect on the 1 December 2021. It follows a joint deal signed in July with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and will bring the UK and Norway closer, creating a new services and investment relationship with lower tariffs and exclusive duty-free quotas for UK exporters. Cutting-edge digital provisions mean British firms exporting to Norway can now benefit from a limit on unnecessary paperwork. Electronic documents, contracts and signatures mean goods can move more easily across borders, saving exporters both time and money. British firms looking to set up or expand operations in Norway can now [...]

Government guidance on travel insurance has been reviewed and updated post Brexit. If you travel internationally you should buy appropriate travel insurance before you go. If you already have a travel insurance policy, check what cover it provides for coronavirus-related events, including medical treatment and travel disruption, and any planned activities such as adventure sports. If you are choosing a new policy, make sure you check how it covers these issues. If you do not have appropriate insurance before you travel, you could be liable for emergency expenses, including medical treatment, which may cost thousands of pounds. See: Foreign travel [...]

Following on from the Chancellor’s announcement in his Autumn Budget the government are consulting on a number of future changes to R&D tax relief. These include: the inclusion of licence payments for datasets and cloud computing costs for data processing and software as two new categories of qualifying expenditure; restricting relief for the cost of carrying out R&D activity subcontracted to third parties to situations where the work is performed in the UK; restricting relief for the cost of employing externally provided workers to situations where the workers are paid through a UK payroll; ensuring that all R&D claims must [...]

30 November 2021 was Tax Administration and Maintenance (TAM) Day when the government published a series of consultations and tax policy updates, summarised in a command paper, together with a number of other documents outlining proposals to modernise and improve the UK tax system over the next 10 years, in particular further digitisation of the UK tax system. See: Tax Administration and Maintenance: Autumn 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) There is still no set date for mandating Making Tax Digital (MTD) for corporation tax although it is not expected until 2026 at the earliest. HMRC have committed to providing sufficient notice [...]

HMRC have updated their guidance on repaying Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) furlough grants that have been overclaimed by employers. Employers, or their agents, must use the online service to get a unique payment reference number before they can pay HMRC back. Note that HMRC may levy a penalty if employers have overclaimed a grant and have not repaid it, and must notify HMRC by the later of: 90 days after the date you received the grant you were not entitled to 90 days after the date you received the grant that you were no longer entitled to keep because [...]