Author Archive
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Green Investment Bank invites private bidders
The process of transferring the UK’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) into private ownership has begun with the Government inviting private sector investors to register their interest. According to Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, the move will allow the GIB to maximise investment into green energy projects by attracting greater private sector investment, which has so ...
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Call for Evidence on T&Cs
The use of complicated and extensive Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) is under government review, Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced. Last year, research from consumer group Which? found that some of the longest T&Cs were over 38,000 words, longer than Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”! The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is now asking consumers who have experienced issues ...
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Coastal communities unveil plans for economic growth
Coastal communities across the country have unveiled plans to boost growth, jobs and prosperity. Over 11 million people live in coastal communities - from major cities to seaside villages - and the Government is supporting “local coastal community teams” to help revive towns and deliver their plans for future economic growth. Over ...
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Rural Planning Update
Housing continues to be a big area of debate not just nationally but for rural areas as well. This comes at a time when despite much Government rhetoric not enough dwellings are being built to meet forecast needs. This shortfall is of the order of 40% and therefore the weaknesses in the system are many and manifold and not solely caused by planning weaknesses or any other single issue. The Government is ...
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Fast track applications to speed up planning process
Councils will be expected to compete to process planning applications and offer fast-track application services, like those available for getting a passport, in a shake up of the planning process outlined today. Ministers want pilots to tackle the lack of incentive for councils to improve and speed-up their planning services by giving applicants the choice of whether to submit ...
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CBI downgrades GDP growth
The CBI has downgraded its GDP growth forecast for both 2016 (to 2.3%, from 2.6% in November) and 2017 (to 2.1%, down from 2.4%). The adjustment for 2016 is driven chiefly by revisions to historical data which show that momentum in the UK economy over 2015 was slightly less than previously thought. Weak productivity and wage growth, leading to a slower rise household spending, is also a factor. But while the global economic outlook is weaker, particularly ...
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Business activity rises at fastest rate for six months
Business output growth in England and Wales rose at the start of the year, with the manufacturing and service sectors jointly seeing the strongest expansion for six months, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Regional Purchasing Managers’ Index. January also saw employment levels rise, while inflationary pressures were weak due, in part, to falling global commodity prices. England’s business activity index – measuring changes in the combined output of manufacturing and services – rose from December’s ...
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Stewardship grants open for applications
England’s countryside is set to benefit from further protection as the application round opens for hedgerows and boundaries capital grants. The scheme offers up to £5,000 for farmers who want to restore boundary features, such as hedges and stone walls, to protect their local wildlife or landscape. The Forestry Commission’s woodland creation ...
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Farmers flock to take up delayed payments fund
Lloyds Banking Group says it has made an additional £120 million available in overdrafts to farmers following a delay in their annual EU subsidy payments from the Government. Each year around 100,000 farmers in the UK receive about £2 billion in EU funding via the Basic Payment Scheme. Although the “window” for these payments remains open until June 2016, many farmers expect the payments in December so that ...
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Launch of Great British Food Unit
Today has seen the launch of the Great British Food Unit which aims to support food exporters and industry growth that could create 5,000 new jobs in food and drink manufacturing. The long-term ambition of the unit is to match France and Germany, which both currently export more than double the UK in terms of the value of food ...
