Latest News & Events
Productivity amongst small businesses ‘held back by poor broadband’ December 19, 2018
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that productivity amongst UK small firms is ‘still being held back’ by poor broadband and mobile coverage. The FSB’s warning comes in response to Ofcom’s annual Connected Nations report, which revealed that, while the availability of superfast broadband has increased, only 90% of small businesses are able
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Report suggests HMRC ‘treating taxpayers unfairly’ December 12, 2018
A report published by the Economic Affairs Committee has suggested that HMRC is ‘treating taxpayers unfairly’, and has called for the Revenue’s tax avoidance and evasion powers to be reviewed. The Committee stated that HMRC is failing to ‘discriminate effectively’ in regard to the full range of behaviours and circumstances it classes as tax avoidance.
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Confidence amongst small businesses ‘falls to seven-year low’ December 12, 2018
Confidence amongst UK small businesses has ‘fallen to its lowest point since 2011’, the quarterly Small Business Index (SBI) published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has revealed. The SBI currently stands at -9.9 – which, according to the FSB, reflects a ‘level of pessimism not seen since the aftermath of the financial crash’.
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‘Bad payment practices lead to SME failures’, report suggests December 12, 2018
A new report published by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee has highlighted how ‘bad payment practices’ have led to the ‘failure’ of many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The government’s Prompt Payment Code, which was created to address poor payment practices, has ‘too often’ been ‘ineffective’, according to the Committee. A ‘statutory
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‘Improve employees’ digital skills via apprenticeships’, organisation urges employers December 6, 2018
Research carried out by not-for-profit organisation The 5% Club has suggested that apprenticeships or training schemes could help to improve employees’ digital skills. The research found that fewer than 2% of employers feel confident that their employees are well-placed to take advantage of new developments in technology. 78% of The 5% Club’s members believe that
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