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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has recently updated its guidance on Employers’ Liability insurance – a useful reminder of the rules and risks around a business insurance that is legally required in the UK.

If you run your own company, you might have the option to take a bonus either as salary or as a dividend. But which one leaves you better off? The answer depends on several factors: how much profit your company has, your existing income, the current rates of tax and National Insurance, and whether you’re taking advantage of available allowances.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released new guidance on how to properly retire old digital systems and devices – a process known as decommissioning. The guidance is aimed at IT teams, but there are useful takeaways for any small business that uses computers, software or online systems.

Thousands of farmers in England are set to benefit from a £30 million uplift to Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) payments from January 2025. This could mean more money in your pocket for the work you’re already doing to protect the environment and maintain the countryside.

Recent initiative organised by Natural England aligns with growing research showing that time spent in nature can have profound effects on mental and physical health. But while these workshops are targeted at children and their families, the benefits of nature are just as relevant for business owners.

The recent disqualification of television personality Ant Middleton and his wife, Emilie Middleton, as company directors provides valuable lessons for business owners. Their company, Sway and Starting Limited, failed to pay over £1 million in taxes, despite receiving more than £4.5 million in income. The company eventually went into liquidation, with a significant overdrawn director’s loan account.

Construction sector businesses welcomed the announcement made by the Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister that the government will be making a £2 billion investment for the building of 18,000 new social and affordable homes. Sites available for development in Manchester and Liverpool may be the first to benefit from the funding, the majority of which will be spent in 2026/27.

The government has announced a £20 million package that will help community land trusts, housing cooperatives and other community groups to build over 2,500 new homes in the next 10 years. Some advantages of community-led housing projects include having local people locate and design new homes that meet the specific needs of their local area.

Over 100 female entrepreneurs, banking representatives, and government officials gathered in Leeds last week for an event focused on breaking down financial barriers for women-led businesses. Hosted by UK Export Finance (UKEF) and with speakers from Female Founder Finance and the Invest in Women Taskforce, the event celebrated the success of British businesswomen while exploring ways to increase access to finance and international trade opportunities.

The government has just announced that thousands of government credit cards will be cancelled as part of a crackdown on wasteful spending. With spending on these cards reportedly increasing fourfold in the last four years, it’s a reminder that keeping an eye on expenses is crucial.

The Bank of England held its regular meeting to discuss interest rates last Thursday. They voted to hold interest rates at 4.5% as had been widely expected prior to the meeting. The Bank targets an inflation rate of 2% and has already predicted that inflation will rise this year before dropping at the end of the year. However, inflation for the 12 months to January 2025 increased to 3.0% from 2.5% in December, a much higher and faster increase in inflation than had been expected.

For affected businesses there is now just a week left to submit their 2024 packaging data under the new extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) scheme. The new legislation came into force on 1st January 2025 and requires data to be submitted by 1 April 2025. Large businesses are expected to submit their July-December 2024 data, whereas small businesses must submit their January-December 2024 data in one annual submission by that date.

As part of the changes being gradually introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCT), identity verification is set to become a Companies House requirement. This is one of a number of changes that the Act is making to better protect the data held at Companies House.