The latest figures show that the government had a surplus of £15.4 billion in January. This represents the difference between the tax it receives and what it spends.
Although this is the highest level of surplus for a January since records began over 30 years ago, it is lower than the £20.5 billion that was forecast.
The Environment Agency (EA) have reported an increase in soil run-off incidents in Devon and Cornwall during January. There were 25 incidents of heavy rain carrying loose soil running from fields – almost double the number of incidents reported in January 2024. This can be bad news for farmers as crops, top soil, organic matter and nutrients are lost in run-off incidents. In addition, there are then the costs of recultivating those fields.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves met recently with major financial firms at Canary Wharf, encouraging them to invest in emerging markets to boost Britain’s economy. A key initiative launched at the meeting was the “London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt,” which aims to improve debt financing in developing countries by bringing together private sector and government stakeholders.
10 major culture projects around the UK are set to receive additional funding amounting to more than £67 million. The projects may provide a welcome boost to attracting tourism to these areas, as well as opportunities for local construction and other businesses.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) have published an insight piece based on a study carried out by technology market analyst, IDC. The study indicates that AI could help CFOs with some of their biggest challenges, but only if it is human-centred. Finance teams in businesses need to build practical applications of AI that work along with them instead of replacing them.
The Charity Commission have launched a statutory inquiry into Zlotchiv over concerns about its financial controls. It appears that irregularities in the charity’s financial management include a series of bounced cheques from the charity’s bank account alongside payments that appear to be related party payments but were not disclosed by the charity in its annual returns.
The creative industries provide about £124 billion to the UK economy, with the cultural sector supporting 666,000 jobs. However, many arts and culture related venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings are struggling. The Arts Everywhere Fund will provide additional financial support to the creative industry, particularly aimed at organisations in urgent need of financial support to stay up and running and to carry out vital infrastructure work.
A letter from the government’s Non-Domestic Rates Team to councils has confirmed the Business Rates Relief measures for 2025/26 announced at the 2024 Autumn Budget. Here’s a summary.
Inflation figures for January 2025 were released last week and showed a surprising jump to 3.0%, up from 2.5% in December. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the largest upward contribution to the change came from transport, and food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that average wages are continuing to grow faster than inflation. After adjusting for consumer price inflation (CPI), wages rose 3.4% between October and December 2024 when compared with the same period in 2023. Unemployment figures also appear to be encouraging, with the UK’s unemployment rate remaining at 4.4%.
© 2018-2024 DPC Accountants, part of the SUMER Group
. All rights reserved.
Sumer Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Disclaimer | Cookies Policy
In accordance with the disclosure requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, our professional indemnity insurers are AXA Insurance UK Plc, 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG. The territorial coverage is worldwide excluding professional business carried out from an office in the United States Of America or Canada and excludes any action for a claim brought in any court in the United States Of America or Canada. Our professional indemnity insurance does not provide cover for claims arising from referrals by DPC to promoters of tax mitigation schemes that fall in to DOTAS or the Disguised Remuneration rules.
