Category: News & Trending

On 23 March 2022, the UK government announced in its Spring Statement 2022 that National Insurance thresholds would increase for the 2022 to 2023 tax year. This means employees and self-employed people will pay National Insurance contributions on less of their income or profits. For a table on the different types of National Insurance (the amount people...

The Government has responded to a consultation on Brexit-related problems for specialist hauliers when taking equipment for events into Europe.  Government has agreed to introduce dual registration to help specialist events hauliers who undertake journeys between the UK and the EU. This means that hauliers will be able to: have their vehicles exempted from paying...

Media reports suggest that a global shortage of lithium, a crucial component of electric vehicle batteries, has pushed prices to record levels, threatening to put the brakes on affordable all-electric cars. According to Forbes, there are plenty of lithium reserves around the world to make the batteries needed to support the renewable energy transition. The...

Drivers are set to take an estimated 16.8m separate leisure trips by car this May Day bank holiday, the highest number since 2016, according to RAC research. The RAC expects bank holiday Monday to see the largest number of individual leisure journeys – 3.3m – followed by tomorrow (Saturday) with 3m and Sunday with 2.6m....

The British Government has chosen to scrap a controversial EU law which could have required a wider range of vehicles beyond cars and motorbikes to have motor insurance.  Golf buggies, ride-on lawnmowers and quad bikes could have come in scope, and it would have applied to vehicles on private land. The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill, which...

Government has announced, following consultation, new measures are being introduced to “shield online consumers from rip-offs”. This includes tackling fake online reviews by making it clearly illegal to pay someone to write or host them. To strengthen the enforcement of consumer protections, the government is to give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enhanced powers...

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that face coverings will no longer be mandatory after 18 April (Easter Monday) in certain public places, including shops and licenced hospitality settings.  She said: “In recent weeks we have seen steady progress as we move back to a greater sense of normality and a more sustainable way of...

VisitEngland’s Easter Trip-Tracker survey, published this week, shows that 7.4 million Brits are definitely planning an overnight holiday trip in the UK for the Easter weekend, bringing an estimated £1.8 billion boost to the economy. This is on par with the pre-COVID Trip-Tracker figures for Easter 2019, which were the highest since this survey began...

The economy: The UK economy is forecast to grow by 3.8% this year followed by 1.8% in 2023 (sharply down from previous predictions) and then 2.1% and 1.8% in the following two years. Inflation will average 7.4% this year before dropping to 4% in 2023 and 1.5% in 2024. The unemployment rate will be 4.5% this year, dropping...

A consultation has opened on the draft terms of reference for the public inquiry into the Government’s response to the Covid pandemic in all four UK regions. This is to identify the lessons to be learned and inform the UK’s preparations for future pandemics. Of particular interest is that the inquiry will look at: how...