The Renters’ Rights Bill returned to Parliament for debate last week and included some new changes. A new rule is proposed that will cap advance rent payments at one month’s rent. Currently, there is no limit on the upfront rent a landlord can ask for. This is being used to exploit potential tenants in some places and particularly disadvantages renters on lower incomes.
The new digital markets competition regime came into force on 1 January 2025 and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now launched its first investigation on Google under its new powers. Under the new digital markets competition regime, the CMA can designate certain businesses as having strategic market status (SMS) in relation to a particular digital activity.
The UK Government has announced a £7 million funding initiative aimed at helping small businesses enhance their productivity and efficiency through artificial intelligence (AI).
This funding, distributed across 120 projects, is part of the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Technology Missions Fund.
Small businesses across the UK are invited to enter the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards, which celebrate exceptional achievements in international trade. The awards are open for entries until 9 March and provide a platform for SMEs to showcase their success in exporting British goods and services across the globe.
Businesses are facing rising wage costs in 2025. As a result, many businesses are looking at whether price increases could help them manage the financial impact without losing customers. High Street retailer Next recently announced a price increase of 1% on some clothing items to help offset an anticipated £73 million rise in staff wages and taxes. Their strategy and decisions provide some useful lessons.
With the 31 January Self-Assessment tax return filing deadline fast approaching, HM Revenue and Customs issued a press release last week noting that 5.4 million taxpayers are yet to complete their return. Apparently more than 24,800 people filed their return on New Year’s Day, while a further 38,000 had filed theirs on 31 December. 310 filed their returns between 11pm and midnight.
Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set out its initial plans for the new digital markets competition regime. The regime is designed to support the UK’s tech sector and has its legal footing in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The Act received royal assent in May 2024 but came into force on 1 January 2025.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to bring benefits across many industries, including healthcare diagnostics and consumer technology. However, as its applications expand, so do concerns about its accuracy and potential for misuse. Two recent examples—the use of AI in detecting ovarian cancer and its controversial implementation in summarising news—illustrate both the transformative potential and the risks of AI.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds co-chaired the first meeting of a new Steel Council last week. The Steel Council’s purpose is to help secure the long-term future of steelmaking in the UK. The new Council will feature regular meetings with trade union leaders, industry experts, devolved government representatives, trade associations and steel sector leaders such as CEOs from Tata Steel and British Steel.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) have announced the suspension of two business rates agents. These are Rateable Value Experts and Re-Rates UK. The VOA have not specified the exact reasons for the suspension and have simply said that they are investigating a potentially serious breach of their agent standards.
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