News Category
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Watchdog sets out workplace pensions reforms
Small firms due to embark on auto-enrolment need to be aware of recent reforms regarding defined contribution (DC) workplace pensions set out this week by The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR). In its recent market study, the OFT found that some employers were failing to assess value for money when choosing a pension scheme for their staff and that some existing old and high-charging contract and bundled-trust schemes may not be ...
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New generation offshore wind turbines up and running
Energy Minister, Greg Barker, has opened a new extension to the Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm that will see the first demonstration in UK waters of the next generation of offshore wind turbines. The turbines, made by Siemens and installed by DONG Energy, have been designed specifically to be used at sea and have the potential to significantly cut costs. According to the Minister, many turbines currently installed off the UK coastline are variations on turbines designed ...
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Shale gas development won’t be at expense of climate change
Secretary of State, Edward Davey, today made the case for the exploration of shale gas in the UK, in line with the nation's climate change targets. In a speech to the Royal Society, Mr Davey said that if shale gas could be developed in an economically viable and environmentally friendly way, it would benefit the UK - increasing energy security while providing more jobs and tax revenues. The minister was responding to the findings of a new ...
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Specialist planning court to boost UK business
In a move aimed at supporting the recovery of the UK economy, a specialist planning court has been proposed by Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, to help ensure crucial development projects don't get mired in unnecessary legal delay. The new “planning chamber” is one of a package of proposals designed to speed up the judicial review process and drive out meritless cases which clog up courts and slow the progress of legitimate applications. The “planning chamber” would see ...
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Farm regulations to be simplified
The Government is proposing to make farm inspections better targeted, so that farmers who consistently demonstrate high standards will be inspected less. In efforts to reduce the burden of regulation, ministers are also proposing to introduce a new IT system for all funding under the Common Agricultural Policy in England by 2015. They are also looking at how to make it easier to move livestock by having the same requirements for all livestock, so that people who farm ...
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Skills shortage threatens SME growth
Thousands of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK are suffering a skills gap in the workforce which they fear could stunt growth, limit competitiveness and dent future profits, according to a new report from Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking. The study shows that six out of ten SMEs believe there is a shortage of skills amongst their workers and a quarter of these feel that there are gaps in sales and marketing skills. One in five ...
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Gangmaster ordered to pay £45,000 compensation
Unlicensed gangmaster, Christopher James Blakeney, of Conock, Devizes, has been handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years and has been ordered to pay £45,000 in direct compensation to the workers he supplied illegally. The Wiltshire-based recruitment consultant systematically exploited around 60 Filipino workers and illegally supplied them to dairy farms across the UK. However, the chief executive of the Gangmaster Licensing Authority (GLA), Paul Broadbent, says the sentence imposed does not "fit the crime", given ...
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Four charged in alleged bio fuel fraud
An investigation by the Serious Fraud Office has resulted in four men connected to Sustainable AgroEnergy plc being charged with offences of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish false information. The alleged offences relate to the promotion and selling of bio fuel investment products to UK investors, with the value of the alleged fraud around £23 million. The men, all British nationals, are: Gary Lloyd West (age 52) of Hertfordshire, the former director ...
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Tougher penalties for irresponsible dog owners
As part of government plans to clamp down on dangerous dogs, the public are being given the chance to have their say about whether dog owners should be given harsher sentences when their dogs attack and cause serious or fatal injuries. Sixteen people have been fatally attacked since 2005 but the owners of dangerously out of control dogs can only be sent to jail for a maximum of two years. Those with strong views on the subject ...
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UK home to world’s second-largest offshore wind farm
The world's second-largest offshore wind farm has been officially opened with plans for the installation to double in size by 2017. Located off the Suffolk coast, Greater Gabbard has 140 turbines and cost £1.3 billion to complete. It can generate enough clean electricity to power over half a million homes and plans are already in place for the wind farm to double in size by 2017. Energy and Business Minister, Michael Fallon, comments: “The UK leads the world ...
