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The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have announced an introduction to Active Cyber Defence 2.0. Because NCSC is part of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) it has access to unique information that can help it to supplement the commercial market in providing defences against cyber attacks.

As anticipated, the Bank of England reduced their base interest rate on August 1 from 5.25% to 5%. The decision was a close call, with a majority of five to four voting in favour of the cut. The Monetary Policy Report that accompanies the decision explains that while higher interest rates have helped return inflation to the Bank’s target of 2% and allowed them to make this cut, they are expecting a temporary increase to 2.75% later this year.

The government made changes last week to the remit for the Low Pay Commission (LPC) that will mean it takes the cost of living into account when recommending minimum wage rates. The LPC have also been instructed to narrow the gap between the minimum wage rate for 18-20 year olds and the National Living Wage.

The previous government included plans to end non-domiciled tax status at the Spring Budget and replace it with a 4-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime. The new government have now announced their intention to continue with these plans, while ending some advantages for existing non-domiciled individuals.

Draft legislation has now been published for the government’s plan to end the VAT exemption for private school fees. The government is also legislating to remove private schools from being eligible for business rates charitable rates relief. Because business rates policy is devolved, the business rates policy change will only affect private schools in England. VAT policy, however, is reserved and so the VAT changes will affect private schools across the UK.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has issued a warning for businesses to beware of unsolicited payment requests. There has been a recent upsurge in these bogus requests being reported. The unsolicited request may ask for payment for trademarks, designs or patent services. Following payment, the ‘services’ may not be provided, or may not have any benefit to the payer.

The widely reported IT outage in July caused significant disruption worldwide. In this case the fault was essentially due to a bug in a security update rather than a cyber-attack, but it demonstrated the vulnerability of networks. The government announced its plan during the King’s Speech to introduce a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.

The government have announced an overhaul of the housing planning system, with all councils in England being given new, mandatory housing targets. The targets are being set to allow for achieving the new government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million more homes. The reforms include making brownfield development much easier to grant. Councils will also need to review their green belt land if necessary and identify and prioritise ‘grey belt’ land.

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced a significant review aimed at enhancing pension investments, increasing pension pots, and reducing waste in the pensions system. The review was highlighted in the King’s Speech, confirming a new Pensions Bill that could significantly benefit UK pensioners and the broader economy.

The recently released Insolvency Service’s 2023-24 Annual Report and Accounts provides some interesting information on how the Service is doing in tackling Covid loan abuse. The report identifies that 831 directors have been disqualified for abusing Covid loans. 22 criminal prosecutions have been carried out, and efforts have been made towards recovering nearly £3 million for the taxpayer.

The King’s Speech detailed proposals for a number of areas of new legislation that are likely to affect small employers. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) subsequently reported that nine-in-ten employers surveyed by them had said they have concerns that the costs and risks associated with employing people would be increasing.

On Friday 19th July there were significant IT outages affecting businesses across the globe. The outage primarily affected businesses that use security software from a company called CrowdStrike. A recent update to their antivirus software contained an error that caused issues in the systems of many of the world’s leading businesses.

Losing a job can be a very challenging and stressful experience. However, if your employer has become insolvent and cannot pay you money that you are owed this adds even further to your stress. If you are in this situation, the latest Annual Report from the Insolvency Service highlights some important information about the support available that may be available to you through the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS).

The new Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will come into force on 26 October 2024. This Act will bring in a new positive legal obligation on employers for them to take reasonable steps to protect their workers from sexual harassment. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has powers to take enforcement action where an employer fails to meet its duties under the act.