Michael Gove has said people “expect” council staff to be working a full five-day week, amid a row over the government telling a local authority to cease a four-day week trial.
Category: News
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
Sunak plans to drop flagship UK £11.6bn climate pledge
The government is drawing up plans to drop the UK’s flagship £11.6bn climate and nature funding pledge with the prime minster accused of betraying populations most vulnerable to global heating.
Over 450 Morrisons jobs at risk as it closes Bradford packing site
Wm Morrison, the supermarket group, is planning to close one of its produce centres in Bradford, putting more than 450 jobs at risk.
Britain is only G7 country where inflation is still rising
Britain has been singled out as currently the least successful country in the G7 at curbing inflation and one of the three worst in the wider 38-nation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
AI to boost UK economy by £400bn says Google report
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to boost Britain’s economy by £400 billion by the end of the decade, according to a report by Google.
‘More than half of UK broadband customers’ hit by connection problems
More than half of UK broadband customers have experienced problems with their connections, according to a report that says telecoms providers are adding “insult to injury” after forcing inflation-busting price rises on to their customers.
Five-year mortgage rates average 6% for first time since Truss fiasco
The average five-year, fixed-rate mortgage has topped 6 per cent for the first time since November as banks and building societies continue to push up rates.
SMEs support expansion of work visas to tackle labour shortages
With many industries facing staff shortages, just over half of small business owners surveyed want more migrant workers to come to the UK.
Two in five SMEs had to stop or pause business because of lack of finance, according to new research
Two in five SMEs have had to stop or pause an area of their business because of a lack of finance over the last couple of years.
Small business growth outpaces larger companies according to new research
The number of small businesses in the UK is growing according to new research. This bucks a trend where the UK’s larger business population has plateaued in recent years.
LGBTQ small business owners struggle to find financing
It’s not an easy time to be a small business in search of financing. For LGBTQ owners, the struggle has been even harder.
Power struggle between big banks and small businesses is widening, leaving SMEs feeling discriminated against
Nearly three-quarters of SMEs say their bank actively discriminates against them in favour of larger companies, according to new research.
MPs to investigate challenges SMEs face when seeking finance
An influential committee of MPs has launched an inquiry into the challenges faced by small businesses when seeking finance as companies come under mounting pressure from soaring borrowing costs.
Commercial vehicle output records best May since 2008
UK commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing grew 36.9% in May as 10,813 new vans, buses, trucks, coaches and taxis left British factories, according to new figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Business confidence plummets in June
The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell to -31 in June 2023, down from -6 in May, wiping out the improvements recorded since the beginning of the year.
