HMRC has granted importers a one-month stay of execution from adopting a new computer system for customs declarations over concerns that too many businesses are unprepared. The existing 30-year-old regime, called Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight, or CHIEF, was due to close for import declarations on September 30. It is to be replaced […]
Wales has moved a step closer to becoming the first country in the UK to ban thin plastic single-use carrier bags, with anyone caught supplying them facing prosecution in a magistrates court and a fine. Flimsy plastic bags are included in a lengthy list of items to be prohibited if a bill put before the […]
The government has announced plans to introduce a cap on wholesale energy bills for businesses. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will see wholesale energy prices for all firms capped for six months from 1 October. Hospitals, schools and other settings such as community halls and churches will also receive the support. The further intervention in […]
Joe Biden will tell Liz Truss she must work with the EU to find a negotiated outcome to solve post-Brexit tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol, the White House has said. The US president and the Prime Minister will hold a delayed meeting in New York on Wednesday, as Ms Truss attends a United Nations […]
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, is expected to announce the creation of a network of low-tax, low-regulation investment zones in an emergency budget on Friday. Planning regulations will be relaxed in up to 12 places earmarked for this status, and taxes will be cut to incentivise investment. The announcement, which is expected to take deregulation further […]
Britain may not strike a free trade deal with the US for years, Liz Truss has admitted ahead of her first bilateral meeting with Joe Biden. The new prime minister conceded that talks were unlikely to start in the “medium term” as she travelled to New York on her first foreign trip since entering Downing […]
Almost nine in ten companies taking part in a groundbreaking trial of a four-day working week have said they are likely to extend the policy beyond the six-month test period. A survey canvassing opinions at the halfway stage of the trial found that 88 per cent of respondents said it was working well, while 86 […]
A British financial technology business run by one of the industry’s few female chief executives has raised $19 million in its first funding round. Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm known for its early bets on the likes of Airbnb, Facebook and Slack, has joined other investors in backing Sequence, a business-to-business payments […]
Sterling tumbled to a fresh 37-year low against the dollar and a 17-month trough on the euro after weaker-than-expected retail sales figures issued today. Meanwhile, the euro rose to as high as 87.66 pence, its highest level since Feb 2021, It was last up 0.39 percent at 97.52 pence. Retail sales volumes dropped 1.6 percent […]
John Lewis has again warned its staff there may not be a bonus this year, citing a “uniquely uncertain” economic outlook. In her letter to more than 70,000 partners, who own the business, chair Dame Sharon White said that a successful Christmas was more important than ever this year. “We will need a substantial strengthening […]