UK Economy Over the last week the UK economy has experienced substantial changes following the Chancellor’s tax-cutting mini-budget. The pound sterling fell to $1.03:£1 on Monday (26th October) due to global markets losing confidence in the UK; however, the Bank of England stepped into the bond market on Thursday with a new programme purchasing £5bn of gilts per day for the next 13 days. As such the UK government bond markets ...

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Chancellor’s ‘Mini’ Budget On Friday, 23rd September the new chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, unveiled his substantial plan to get growth back to its historic average of 2.5% per year in a bid to lift living standards and generate more money for public services. The Budget works to reduce the tax burden on both the public and companies- representing the largest level of tax cuts since 1972. Some key features from the ...

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Today marks the first two weeks of the Rt Hon Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss premiership. A new Cabinet is now in place, consisting of both familiar and new faces. The new Government now has 2 years of work ahead, until the next general election in 2024. Since taking office, the Prime Minister has announced three key priorities for her Government. One of them being economic reform, focusing on tax cuts and ...

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The Queen’s Funeral On Monday, 19th September 2022, The Queen’s state funeral took place at Westminster Abbey in the presence of over 500 heads of state and dignitaries among the 2,000 guests. Her Majesty’s “lifelong sense of duty” was remembered as King Charles III led the televised procession behind his mother’s coffin from Westminster Hall. Afterwards, the coffin travelled to Windsor Castle for a committal ceremony with around 800 guests at ...

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We are are always curious about the challenges and possibilities our member companies are facing within their industries. This week we are happy to share updates from Edrington and Essity on their commitment to the Race to Zero. Edrington Edrington, announced that it is joining the Carbon Disclosure Project as part of it’s larger strategy towards reaching Net Zero by 2045. By joining, Edrington commits to annually reporting environmental-related data in accordance ...

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About Liz Truss The Rt Hon Liz Truss has won the race to be the new leader of the Conservative Party and from Tuesday (6th July 2022) will be the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Truss won 57% of the vote on the promise of a “bold plan” to cut taxes and tackle the energy crisis. The new leader has served as the MP for an ultra-safe seat in ...

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UK Cost of Energy UK households face a new 80% rise in energy bills from October as a typical gas and electricity bill will rise to £3,549 (from £1,971) in October 2022. Ofgem, Britain’s energy regulator, made the announcement on Friday but industry consultants now estimate that this will likely rise up to £6,600 by the Spring. The regulator also stated that the previous £15bn of government support (£400 to every ...

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PA Consulting Cyber security is a growing concern for businesses and in 2019 the average cost of a serious global breach amounted to $3.9m. A cost that is expected to rise in the future. In a recent interview , Carl Nightingale, Cyber Security Expert at PA Consulting encouraged businesses to start seriously considering investing in cyber insurance. Today, only 11% of businesses can bolster that they are adequately covered by cyber ...

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Cash Usage The sharp fall in the use of cash during the pandemic has now steadied as consumers return to their previous method of paying for goods. Debit and credit cards were used for 57% of all payments in the UK in 2021 which represents a total reversal from the 55% usage of cash in 2011. However, cash use is projected to continue to decline in the long-term to an estimated ...

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UK Economy Contracted in Q2 The UK economy, between April and June, shrunk 0.1% according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was attributed to COVID schemes (such as Test and Trace) ending, declining retail sales and reduced economic productivity caused by the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday. The UK is not officially in a recession as Q1 of 2021 delivered 0.8% YoY growth. Although, economists (including the Bank of ...

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