HLAS

Mr Shakar Habib, director at Vista Training Solutions Limited, has been given a six-year ban following the discovery of significant financial irregularities. The company, in collaboration with other partner organisations, worked to help students find apprenticeships across London and received most of its funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). Mr Habib served as sole director of the company from November 2015 through to the company's abrupt liquidation in February 2020. The company liquidated with a debt due to ESFA of more than £2.5 million. A subsequent investigation, jointly conducted by the Insolvency Service and ESFA, found that [...]

Storm Henk caused widespread flooding and damage across England during the first few days of 2024, affecting households and businesses alike. Following this, the government has announced that financial support is available to eligible areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding. In these eligible areas, the following help will be made available to significantly affected and eligible businesses: 100% business rates relief for at least 3 months; Up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant that can be applied for by small-to-medium sized businesses to help quickly return to business as usual; £5,000 from the Property Flood Resilience [...]

Innovate UK, a part of UK Research and Innovation, are aiming to invest up to £1 million in projects that will support developing and manufacturing needle free technologies to administer medicine. The funding is available for feasibility studies that investigate the technologies enabling administering medicine without needles. A grant funding request must be between £50,000 and £100,000 and needs to show how the project will improve the productivity, competitiveness and growth for at least one UK micro, small or medium sized enterprise involved in the project. The deadline for applications is 11am on 14 February 2024. Further details about what [...]

Innovate UK BridgeAI is funding an online training course to help businesses and organisations explore digital, data-driven and AI technologies. The training course is designed with decision-makers in mind, in businesses and organisations of any size in agriculture, creative industries, construction, and transportation. It will help you decide what your organisation needs and put together an action plan for making your business digital ready. This introductory-level series will explain why and how to implement AI to best benefit your business. There are five sessions that can be taken individually or as a series. The sessions include: Making data work for [...]

For food or drink producers, the Guild of Fine Food's Great Taste awards can be an excellent way to promote products and get them noticed by more consumers. Entries for the 2024 awards have now started. According to the Guild, winning a Great Taste award encourages confidence and commercial success for small businesses, as well as motivating your team and generating greater awareness for products. Entering also provides an opportunity to get cost-effective feedback from industry experts since each entry will be given constructive feedback, regardless of whether the produce gets an award. A panel of over 500 experts will [...]

Many of us make resolutions in January to try and reduce work-related stress and improve our wellbeing. But they can quickly fall by the wayside once we get back into the swing of work and running our business. Are there any simple practical steps you could take to improve your wellbeing and that of your staff in 2024? Set boundaries Technology has brought many gains in productivity and efficiency, but it has also meant that we are more connected to work than ever. Being constantly available can make it difficult to switch off and may lead to feelings of burnout. [...]

Arculus Ltd, a cyber security consultancy, has been tasked by the UK government to lead a pilot project that is aimed at helping directors of UK organisations in managing their cyber security risks. The government are looking to improve the cyber resilience of organisations and this project will help inform policy that can help with this. Arculus is actively seeking participants from organisations of all sizes and sectors. They are looking for directors, non-executive directors, and senior leaders who are responsible for managing cyber security risks in their organisations. This could include heads of departments, business owners, or charity trustees. [...]

The deadline for filing Self Assessment tax returns and paying tax bills for the 2022/23 tax year is Wednesday 31 January 2024 at 11:59pm. HM Revenue and Customs is encouraging taxpayers to get their tax return filed as early as possible so that they can know how much tax they owe and be ready to make the payment by 31 January. Support is available for taxpayers that are unable to pay in full. However, failing to file and pay tax by the deadline will result in penalties and interest. If you need any help with filing your Self Assessment tax [...]

Coming into force from 1 January 2024, the Working Time Regulations, as amended by The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023, introduced reforms that simplify holiday pay and entitlements. Following Brexit, any European laws that were retained in the UK automatically expired on December 31 unless legislation was brought in to keep them. The Employment Rights Regulations 2023 do just that and are applicable across the UK. As well as reinstating some EU laws, these regulations make several changes to existing laws. These reforms include changes that affect rates of holiday pay and annual leave. They also [...]