HLAS

Almost 100,000 tax-payers have paid £121 million using the HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) app since April 2023, taking advantage of the new way to pay their Self-Assessment tax bill. Latest figures from HMRC reveal that between April and September 2023, 97,365 taxpayers used the app to settle their tax bill for the 2022 to 2023 tax year – more than 3 times the £34.6 million paid by 36,467 taxpayers during the same period last year. Tax-payers have been able to pay their Self-Assessment tax bill via the free and secure HMRC app since February 2022 and there is a YouTube video demonstrating how to make a [...]

A further £74 million is being made available to help farmers invest in improved slurry infrastructure to tackle water pollution, improve air quality, and make better use of organic nutrients, the government announced last week. Applications are now open for the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant which forms part of a total £200 million being invested in infrastructure and equipment to tackle agricultural pollution from slurry over the agricultural transition period. The second round has more than double the funding on offer than the first round of the scheme to help meet increased demand. Based on feedback from farmers, several [...]

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week unveiled the government’s tax and spending plans in the Autumn Statement. He started his speech by saying that there were 110 measures to “Help grow the British economy”. Growth is better than expected this year according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), although they state the impact of the Autumn Statement on output growth will be “modest”. They state that the economy recovered more fully from the pandemic and weathered the energy shock better than expected, but they expect inflation to remain higher for longer, taking until the second quarter of 2025 to return [...]

UK Export Finance (UKEF) and South Korea’s export credit agency Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure) have helped SeAH Wind UK to secure £367 million in Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC UK financing to build the world’s largest wind monopile manufacturing facility. The financing will secure inward investment which will create 750 jobs in Teesside and ensures construction of the world’s largest wind monopile factory in Redcar. Issuing its first ever ‘Invest-to-Export’ loan guarantee to secure overseas investment in British industry, UKEF together with K-Sure has ensured that SeAH Wind UK can fund the construction project – worth almost £500 million. [...]

As part of the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, the Alan Turing Institute is hosting a series of free virtual courses that will look at relating the concepts of ethical artificial intelligence (AI) principles into the systems design process. The first course is open to applications from small and medium businesses in the creative industries only. The 'Operationalising ethics in AI in creative industries' live training course will consist of two sessions taking place online on: Thursday 7 December 2023 (10am - 1pm), and Thursday 14 December 2023 (10am - 1pm). Participants will engage with real-world case studies and provocative thought [...]

The UK’s electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme has officially opened for Qatari nationals who, from today, need one to travel to the UK. This demonstrates the UK government’s delivery in transforming and digitising the UK border, enabling an increasingly seamless customer experience in the future for the millions of legitimate visitors who come to the UK. Qataris have been able to apply for their ETA since 25 October 2023, with most doing so using the mobile app, which allows for a simple and fast application. Nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan will need an [...]

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill is set to introduce a new targeted and proportionate regulatory regime to address concerns around competition in the digital industry while ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places to invest in and innovate new technology. At the heart of the Bill is a new approach to digital market regulation, allowing the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to intervene quickly and flexibly to promote competition. Amendments to the Bill recently proposed by the Government will maintain the appeals process for all regulatory decisions (except fines) on the basis of judicial review principles. This will mean that [...]

As winter takes hold, you can find helpful advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on keeping people as comfortable as possible when working in the cold. The guidance has been refreshed to make it easier to find and understand advice on how to protect workers in both low and high temperatures. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require employers to provide a reasonable indoor temperature in the workplace. The guidance explains how you can assess the risks to workers and put controls in place to protect them. There is a workplace temperature checklist to help you carry out a basic [...]

The Met Office have some practical advice and information on what to do to stay safe in the snow. When there is a snow warning in place the guidance covers: What to do if you need to drive somewhere; 2. Driving safely in snow; 3. Thinking ahead and acting now so you can cope if cut off; 4. Staying safe if you are cut off; and 5. What you can do in a power cut See: 5 tips for staying safe in snow - Met Office

Working capital finance solutions offer businesses the opportunity to improve cash flow. The world of commercial finance and asset based lending (ABL) is complex and expansive with products, terminology and contractual interpretation varying from lender-to-lender. The Benefits of arranging Working Capital are: Up to 90% of outstanding invoice value can be advanced within 24 hours; Flexible lending – funding increases in line with your growth (UK and Export); Confidentiality – lenders can offer a completely confidential service – your customers need not know you have a facility in place; Lenders allow you to manage your funding at all times; Sector-specific [...]