Ada Ventures, the VC firm which backs breakthrough ideas, is set to become the first investor in Europe to directly support founders in their portfolio with the cost of childcare. The decision was sparked by a Treasury-led review into female entrepreneurship led by Dame Alison Rose. It found that primary care responsibilities remained the biggest […]
Businesses have been warned about excessively snooping into their workers’ activities and to make sure that any surveillance is legal, transparent and fair. New guidance issued to companies by the data watchdog states that while some monitoring of staff is allowed, it should not be so heavy-handed that it invades their privacy. The Information Commissioner’s […]
Apple is set to hire more artificial intelligence (AI) staff in the UK Tim Cook has announced. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, replied to a question about AI ans jobs in the UK by the PA news agency: “We’re hiring in that area, yes, and so I do expect [investment] to increase.” Big Tech has cut […]
In a surprising turn of events, Dame Sharon White, the CEO of John Lewis, has announced her resignation from the company. After just three years at the helm, Dame Sharon has decided to step down, leaving behind a legacy of notable achievements and a company facing unprecedented challenges. Dame Sharon White‘s tenure at John Lewis […]
In a speech to the Conservative party conference in Manchester Jeremy Hunt has laid out his key themes for the coming year. Firstly he said he wanted to reduce the number of officials working in government by 66,000, saving a billion pounds a year. Hunt said it was part of a wider productivity drive and […]
The northern leg of the HS2 line is set to be scrapped the government are about to formally announce. Rumours had been circling for weeks that the high-speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester was going to be axed by the prime minister and chancellor due to soaring costs. But even the reports led to […]
Almost nine in 10 voters who intend to switch their support from Conservative to Labour candidates in the next general election believe that “green growth” is important for the future of Britain’s economy, according to a poll. Carried out by pollsters Opinium, the survey found that 82% of all respondents backed the growth of Britain’s […]
Firms have said that they were not aware of a ban in England on single-use plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays that comes into force on Sunday. The ban does not extend to plastic containers and trays used in takeaways or for pre-packaged food in shops leading to environmental campaigners saying the new rules do […]
UK households are facing an average tax rise of £3,500 a year by the next election, the country’s leading economics thinktank has said – the biggest increase over a parliament on records dating back more than 70 years. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that on current forecasts the Conservatives were on track to […]
Mortgage approvals fell to the lowest level in six months in August as prospective homeowners stayed away from the property market and average mortgage costs approached 5 per cent. Data from the Bank of England showed that the number of new mortgages approved in August, an indicator of future borrowing, dropped from 49,500 to 45,000, […]