Welcome to our round up of the latest business news for our clients. Please contact us if you want to talk about how these updates affect your business. We are here to support you!
Taking Control Of Your Business
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine creating additional fiscal uncertainty in the UK and around the globe, economic growth slowed in February and, according to the Office for National Statistics, the UK economy is now only 1.5% above the pre-pandemic level in February 2020.
The pandemic put many businesses off-track in the short and medium term, but our most successful clients think long term and have a clear plan to get to where they want to be.
It is easier to get to your destination with a plan. We all know this simple truth. If you are driving from A to B, it helps to know where B is and the directions you need to take.
If you have a vision of what you want your business to look like when it is ‘complete’, then you are in a position to drive your business towards the vision and you can monitor how you are doing as you go along. If you do not have a strategic plan then you could get blown around like flotsam in the sea, ‘this way and that way’ without any control.
If we agree it is hard to accomplish anything without a plan, let’s start thinking about putting one in place. A strategic plan looks at all the things a business could do and narrows it down to the things it is actually good at doing. A strategic plan also helps you determine where to spend time, resources and money. So how do you do a strategic plan?
- Take time to review your own personal objectives – the business is there to provide you with what you want from life, do not forget this.
- Look at where you are now, your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Take external advice so you have a clear understanding of your position in the marketplace, the competition, your systems and the way you do things and what you are good at and what you are not.
- Focus on where you want to be in (say) 5 years, what you want your business to look like when it is “complete” or running profitably and successfully. Then you can determine your priorities – the big issues that you need to focus on. This is the strategic plan!
- Write down your vision and define what you must achieve and the actions you need to take. Monitor how you are doing towards your vision each month, what actions have been completed and what needs to be done to keep you moving towards your plan.
- Allocate responsibility for taking the actions.
- Monitor, review and adjust your regular activities to keep you on track towards your plan.
We have some useful tools and checklists to help you analyse where you are now, set a strategy, agree actions and monitor them. Please talk to us about how we can help you achieve your goals – we have helped many other businesses grow and succeed!
Government Investment For Energy Technologies Of The Future
The government has launched a wide-ranging £375 million package of support for innovative energy technologies with the aim of powering British homes and businesses for decades to come and strengthening the nation’s energy security.
This includes £240 million to support the production of hydrogen as a clean, low-cost energy technology, £2.5 million of funding to develop next-generation nuclear technology and a further £5 million towards research into carbon capture.
The investment will support research, development and deployment of these cutting-edge technologies and give the country the energy independence it needs, reducing reliance on expensive fossil fuels. From nuclear reactors to hydrogen for industry, power, transport and potentially heating, the government is changing the way the UK gets its energy across a range of technologies.
The British energy security strategy sets out how Great Britain will accelerate the deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen, whilst supporting the production of domestic oil and gas in the nearer term – which could see 95% of electricity being low carbon by 2030.
See: Government unveils investment for energy technologies of the future – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
UK Seafood Fund: Infrastructure Scheme
The UK Seafood Fund Infrastructure Scheme is now open for applications from those involved in fishing, processing or aquaculture, subject to certain criteria being met.
Successful applicants will be awarded a minimum of £250,000 and maximum of £5 million to invest in capability, re
newable energy and social and economic welfare.
Round one will be open for applications until 24 May 2022.
Find out more about the Scheme and how to apply: Apply for the UK Seafood Fund: Infrastructure Scheme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Government Encourages Organisations To Be Vigilant Of Cyber Threats
Businesses and charities are being urged to strengthen their cyber security practices as new figures show the frequency of cyber-attacks is increasing.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a note declaring it is not aware of any current specific cyber threats to UK organisations in relation to events around Ukraine, but is encouraging organisations to follow simple steps in its guidance to reduce the risk of falling victim to an attack.
Small businesses should adopt the Cyber Essentials scheme to protect against the most common cyber threats such as phishing attacks and use the Small Business Guide to improve cyber security practices.
Larger organisations should use the Board Toolkit to get company executives to act on cyber resilience and charities should follow the Small Charity Guide to boost cyber security operations.
HMRC Reminds Businesses To Get Ready To Move To Customs IT Platform Over The Summer
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is writing to businesses to tell them about a change to the UK’s customs systems. The letter includes information about the work under way to move to a single UK customs platform – the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) – and outlines what businesses need to do to prepare for the change, and what help and guidance is available to support them through the process. The CDS will become the UK’s single customs platform after 31 March 2023, replacing the Customs Handling Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system. Ahead of the complete closure, the import declaration function will be withdrawn on 30 September this year.
To help businesses and agents prepare for the CDS, HMRC has published some key steps traders can follow.
Allow Up To Ten Weeks To Apply For A British Passport
People are being urged not to leave their application for a British passport to the last minute, with demand at an all-time high. Since April 2021, HM Passport Office has been advising people to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their passport. This remains the case.
Due to COVID-19, HM Passport Office saw a significant drop in the number of people applying for passports, with over 5 million people delaying their applications throughout 2020 and 2021.
But with international travel returning to normal, more and more people are applying for a new passport.
While there are urgent services for people who need their passport more quickly, appointment availability is limited. People are therefore strongly advised to apply early and help ensure that their business or holiday plans go smoothly.
See: Allow up to ten weeks to apply for a British passport – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Agreement With Major Developers To Fund Building Safety Repairs In Tall Buildings
The government has revealed a wide-ranging agreement that will see industry contribute £5 billion to address the building safety scandal.
Under the new agreement, which will become legally enforceable, over 35 of the UK’s biggest homebuilders have pledged to fix all buildings 11 metres and higher that they have played a role in developing in the last 30 years.
For the companies yet to make the pledge, the Secretary of State has also confirmed that there is little time left for them to sign up, and that those who continue to refuse will face consequences if they fail to do so.
The new scheme will be funded through an extension to the Building Safety Levy that will be chargeable on all new residential buildings in England. This is expected to raise up to an additional estimated £3 billion over ten years from developers and ensure no leaseholder in medium-rise buildings faces crippling bills, even when their developer cannot be traced.
New proposed laws, announced in February under the Building Safety Bill, will ensure qualifying leaseholders are protected from the costs of historical building safety defects, including total protection against cladding costs.
See: Agreement with major developers to fund building safety repairs – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Government Competition For Rail Innovation
The government has made £7.6 million available for cutting-edge technology to help transform rail travel.
In partnership with Innovate UK, this year’s competition will award up to £7.6 million to projects creating cutting-edge ideas that are striving towards transforming rail travel for passengers and decarbonising the network.
The competition officially opens to applicants on 20 April 2022 and closes on 8 June 2022, with bids welcome from organisations of all sizes for projects creating a greener, more cost-effective and passenger-focused railway. The year’s competition is focusing on technologies that improve the industry’s cost efficiency and network performance to support a more reliable railway for passengers and improving rail freight.
See: Government pledges £7.6 million for rail innovation – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
National Insurance Relief When Hiring Veterans
Under a new scheme, businesses hiring military veterans can save thousands of pounds in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs). From 6 April 2022, employers do not have to pay NICs for veterans in their first year of civilian employment after leaving the armed forces.
Businesses are also able to claim this relief retrospectively for any qualifying employees who they employed in the last 12 months.
The relief is available to all employers of veterans, regardless of when the veteran left the regular armed forces, providing that they have not been employed in a civilian capacity since leaving service. The relief will be available to all qualifying veterans each time they leave HM Armed Forces.
Health And Safety Executive (HSE) Safety Climate Tool
The HSE’s Safety Climate Tool has been carefully designed by scientists to assess the attitudes of individuals within an organisation towards health and safety issues.
The Safety Climate Tool delivers an objective measure of an organisation’s safety culture – the ‘way things are done’ in an organisation when it comes to health and safety. This is a significant starting point for any organisation to continually improve and raise standards.
Businesses can use the simple online questionnaire to explore employees’ attitudes and perceptions in key areas of health and safety, while guaranteeing anonymity.
Once the survey has been completed, it generates a comprehensive report and provides guidance that will help improve the organisation’s safety culture.
See: Safety Climate Tool (SCT) (hse.gov.uk)
Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards
Small to medium sized start-ups selling an innovative physical product to consumers, can apply for Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards for a chance to win €100,000 and more.
Eligible businesses are:
- Registered in an EEA (European Economic Area) country, the UK or Switzerland.
- Selling a physical product to consumers, not to other businesses.
- The brand owner of the product entered.
- Small or medium sized – employing fewer than 250 employees and having total annual turnover of less than €50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million at the time of entry.
The closing date to apply is 29 May 2022.
Their judging panel will pick one overall winner and the top twenty highly commended brands as finalists. The best start-up will also be announced from each of the countries with the most entries.
See: Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards
Digital Growth Grant
The government has launched a new competition to boost the growth of innovative tech start-ups and scale-ups across the country.
The £12.09 million Digital Growth Grant will focus on opening up access to skills training and advice and providing support services to the digital and tech sector over two years.
A key focus of the funding will be improving regional support networks for start-ups, which the government hopes will spread the benefits of the country’s world-leading tech industry across the UK. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will run the competition this summer and the successful bidder will receive funding from 1 April 2023.
See: Digital Growth Grant – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Commercial Rent Code Of Practice
There is a revised code of practice for commercial relationships between landlords and tenants, replacing the previous code published in November 2021.
This code of practice aligns with the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022, outlining what is statutory for those within its scope and how the arbitration process provided for in the Act will work.
The code can still be used by any business to help them resolve rent disputes even if they fall outside of scope of the new legislation, providing further guidance on how parties should negotiate.
See: Commercial rent code of practice following the COVID-19 pandemic – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
£227 Million To Support Wales’ Rural Economy And Natural Environment
The Welsh Government is making £227 million available over the next three years to support the resilience of Wales’ rural economy and our natural environment.
This allocation of funding responds to the ending of the EU Rural Development Programme (RDP), which will close in 2023. It will ensure continuity of support for important actions previously funded under the RDP.
Funding, which will be available to support farmers, foresters, land managers and associated rural sectors will be delivered across six themes:
- farm scale land management; on-farm sustainable land management actions to enhance natural resources, such as encouraging the growing of crops which provide an environmental benefit like protein crops
- on farm environmental improvements; including enhancing fuel, feed and nutrient efficiency, embedding circular economy approaches and encouraging the use of renewable energy
- on farm efficiency and diversification; supporting farm efficiencies through investment in new technology and equipment and to enable opportunities for agricultural diversification
- landscape scale land management; delivering nature based solutions at a landscape scale, through a multi-sectoral collaborative approach
- woodland and forestry; supporting our commitment of 43,000 hectares of woodland creation by 2030 and supporting the creation of a timber based industrial strategy
- food and farming supply chains; creating a strong and vibrant Welsh food and drink industry with a global reputation for excellence with one of the most environmentally and socially responsible supply chains in the world
See: £227m to support Wales’ rural economy towards a greener and more sustainable future | GOV.WALES
£380m To Help Tackle The Cost-Of-Living Crisis In Wales
With the Office for Budget Responsibility stating that 2022-2023 will see the biggest fall in living standards in the UK since records began and as the National Insurance rise and the energy price cap lift push people further into hardship, Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt and Minister for Finance and Local Government, Rebecca Evans, have set out the package of support that the Welsh Government have developed to help the most vulnerable in society and called for more action from the UK Government.
See: £380m to help tackle the Cost-of-Living crisis in Wales | GOV.WALES
£4.5 Million Funding For Flexible Skills Programme
The Welsh Government is providing £4.5 million to develop the skills-base of businesses and create a Welsh workforce ready to capitalise on future economic opportunities, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.
The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP), which started in 2015, provides targeted skills interventions alongside existing programmes, or where Welsh Government support is required for a specific business project.
The programme operates on a co-investment basis which means employers have to match fund Welsh Government support; this will see a total of £9 million invested in the Welsh economy.
See: Economy Minister announces £4.5 million funding for Flexible Skills Programme | GOV.WALES
Apprenticeship Awards 2022
Apprenticeship Awards Cymru rewards individuals, learning providers, and employers who have excelled in contributing to the development of the Welsh Government’s Employability and Apprenticeship Programmes across Wales.
Organised by the Welsh Government and supported by the National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW), these awards showcase and celebrate the achievements of those who have exceeded expectations and shown a dynamic approach to training, demonstrated initiative and enterprise, innovation and creativity, and shown an understanding of, and commitment to, the improvement of skills development for the Welsh economy.
The Awards offer individuals and organisations the chance to be recognised and rewarded for their commitment, hard work, achievements and success in the Welsh Government’s Employability and Apprenticeship Programmes. The closing for entries is 20 May 2022.
See: Apprenticeship Awards Cymru | GOV.WALES
Welsh Business Secures £2 Million Export Contract
Children in Thailand will soon be crawling over Welsh-made soft play centres as a Wrexham-based manufacturer secures a £2 million export contract with UK government help.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has been working with Global Attractions to help them expand to the far corners of the Earth and boost British business.
The contract is the company’s largest ever contract and is expected to help create local jobs as we build back stronger from the pandemic.
Global Attractions is the latest UK company to benefit from UKEF support. Last year, UKEF provided £12.3 billion for over 550 companies, which is estimated to have supported over 100,000 UK jobs directly and in the supply chain – showing how effective UKEF is in delivering for the country.
See: Welsh business secures £2 million export contract – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
