HLAS

A new government pilot, the High Street Accelerators programme, will be trialling efforts to regenerate high streets in 10 areas across England. The idea is that communities will work in partnership with local authorities and businesses to tackle problems such as empty shops, anti-social behaviour and a lack of foot traffic on the high street. The 10 selected areas will each receive an initial £237,000 to kickstart their partnerships. However, they can also apply for a share of a further pot totalling £5 million to improve green spaces and pleasant socialising environments for residents. Over the next 2 years this [...]

HMRC announced that 4,757 taxpayers filed their Self Assessment tax return on Christmas Day. This added to 8,876 being filed on Christmas Eve and a further 12,136 being filed on Boxing Day. Apparently, the peak time was between 12 and 1pm on Boxing Day when HMRC received 1,121 returns. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Director General for Customer Services, used the opportunity to encourage all to file their return in good time when he said: "Our Christmas Day filers proved that there is no time like the present to get started on Self Assessment ... There's no need to delay, getting it [...]

Home England is providing development loans from £250,000 to £10 million to housebuilders based in England that are finding it difficult to borrow from traditional lenders. Whether building for sale or rent, the loans can be used to cover the development costs. Community-led housing projects, serviced plots for custom and self-builders, off-site manufacturing, new builders, and groups of small firms working together can all access this financing. Home England state that their flexible approach, along with their in-depth knowledge of the housing sector, put them in a good position to help businesses deliver homes. The Fund is available to UK-registered [...]

This winter has been one of the mildest on record so far, but there is still time for a cold snap, and this often raises questions about whether it is too cold to work. In fact, this question is one of the most popular topics on the HSE website. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations puts a requirement on employers to provide a reasonable indoor temperature in the workplace. Clearly this will depend on what work is being done and the environmental conditions, but for an indoor workplace, the minimum temperature should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius. [...]

Businesses across the UK are to receive new support in unlocking the full potential of AI within their workforce. As part of the UK government's National AI Strategy, The Alan Turing Institute is developing guidance designed to empower businesses and individuals to embrace AI. They published a draft version of the new guidance last month and held a brief public consultation inviting feedback from employers and training providers. According to The Alan Turing Institute, this document is "the first step towards developing a full framework, which aims to support employers, employees, and training providers to identify upskilling routes and understand [...]

The government has set a pathway towards all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2035. This zero emission vehicle mandate became law on 3 January 2024. The press release marking the commencement of the new laws comments that the UK now has the most ambitious regulatory framework for the switch to electric vehicles of any country in the world. The mandate is expected to help the car industry and manufacturers to have certainty and be able to safeguard jobs. Originally the ban on new diesel and petrol cars was set to come into force in 2030, however this [...]

Looking back at 2023, we have been amazed at the resilient way our clients have handled the uncertain economy. You have demonstrated to us how we can all be flexible and readily adapt to a change in circumstances! We hope that by this time next year we all will be looking back on a more settled 2024. However, we have to admit that uncertainty is an inevitable part of business life. With this in mind, for January, we are encouraging all clients to take time to prepare a 2024 Strategic Plan. A plan that will set you on a course [...]

At this time of year, we think about New Year’s resolutions. It is also a good time to start planning your tax affairs before the end of the tax year on 5th April. An obvious tax planning point would be to maximise your ISA allowances for the 2023/24 tax year (currently £20,000 each). You might also want to consider increasing your pension savings before 5 April 2024, as the unused annual pension allowance from 2020/21 lapses after three years. Many of us get together with the family at Christmas and that prompts us to think about making or updating our [...]

The chancellor’s announcement of a 2% cut in national insurance contributions (NICs) for employees applies to payments on or after 6 January 2024. That doesn’t allow much time to update payroll software, particularly with the Christmas holidays in between. Note that for employees other than directors, NIC is not calculated on a cumulative basis so, where over-deductions are made, the error is not automatically corrected in later months.

At the top of the New Year to do list for many individuals is to make or update their Will. Many think this is something to leave until later in life, but it is important to get things in place once property is acquired or when children come along. In the absence of a will there are statutory rules which dictate how your assets are distributed on death. Those statutory intestacy rules may not be tax efficient, and you might to want to make specific provision in your Will for your unmarried partner or for the guardianship of your children. [...]