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Welcome to the DPC round up of the latest business news for our clients for 10th February 2025
Please contact us if you want to talk with out team of experienced Stoke-on-Trent accountants about how these updates affect your business. We are here to support you!
THIS WEEK…
Starting a business in the UK is an exciting venture, but it comes with financial, tax, and accounting responsibilities that you must navigate effectively. Understanding what you will need to do from the outset will help make sure that you don’t miss anything, avoid unnecessary costs, and position your new business for success.
In this article , DPC Accountants look at some key areas to those starting out should focus on:
The Bank of England reduced their base rate to 4.5% last week, as had been widely expected in the days leading up to the decision.
The decision was made by a 7-2 majority. The minority of two members were looking for the rate to be reduced to 4.25%.
In announcing their decision, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) outlined their thoughts on the economy. We look at some of the highlights.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have revealed that 37,000 people have plugged gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record since last April, boosting the amount of State Pension they will receive when they reach retirement age.
The amount of State Pension you will receive is based on how many completed years you have in your NI record. Currently it is possible to review your record going back to 2006, and where there is a gap, you can contribute to plug the gap and ensure that you maximise the amount of State Pension that will be available to you.
When it comes to disposing of computer equipment, how do you make sure that any storage media – hard drives, SSDs, flash drives and so forth – can’t be read by unauthorised users or have the data recovered?
These days practically every electronic item contains some form of electronic storage media. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reports that there have even been examples where several gigabytes of sensitive documents were retrieved from decommissioned photocopiers and printers.
The NCSC has reviewed and republished guidance on sanitising and disposing of storage media. Here’s a brief review of some of the key points.
The Charity Commission has issued a warning reminder to large, incorporated charities about changes to the law on preventing fraud. A new failure to prevent fraud offence will come into force on 1 September 2025 for all large organisations, including charities.
This new offence is introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and will affect large, incorporated charities that meet two of the following three criteria; More than 250 employees; more than £36m of income and more than £18m in total assets.
Following the recent run of storms and wet weather, the government has announced that £2.65 billion will be spent over the next two years to build, maintain and repair flood defences.
Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency, so flood defences are becoming increasingly important in protecting both homes and businesses. The funding will also help protect farmland, which has also suffered in the recent storms.
Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell said: “The impact of flooding on our communities will only become greater as climate change brings more extreme weather, like Storms Bert, Conall and Eowyn.” He also expressed his commitment to delivering on the vital projects that are needed across the country.
Legislation was laid before Parliament last week confirming that the new National Living Wage and new Minimum Wage rates will take effect from 1 April 2025.
While many businesses are feeling and have expressed concern about the increases, the sight of the legislation suggests that no reprieve is in sight.
As a reminder, the National Living Wage will increase to £12.21 from 1 April. This is a 6.7% increase and will be worth £1,400 a year to an eligible full-time worker.
The National Minimum Wage for 18-20 year olds will increase to £10.00 an hour. For an eligible full-time worker, this will work out to an extra £2,500 a year.
February saw changes for the alcohol industry come into force that particularly affected winemakers.
A temporary easement has been in place for wine that has treated wines with an alcohol by volume (abv) between 11.5% and 14.5% as if their abv was 12.5%. It was announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget that the easement would end on 1 February 2025.
There have been calls to make the easement permanent, however the government has confirmed that the easement would end as planned.
This means that the wine duty for all wine will now be based on its alcoholic strength. The duty rate changes at each 0.5% abv, meaning that there are now 30 different payable amounts replacing the single rate under the easement. Wines with an abv below 11.5% and above 14.5% were already being taxed by strength and this will continue.
Pemberton Timber Frame Ltd from Kent has been fined and ordered to pay costs following an avoidable injury to one of its workers.
The company manufactures timber frame structures for the construction industry. One of its workers was operating a panel saw and was asked to perform a rip cut on a length of timber, i.e. cut down its thickness. This meant he tried to pass the timber through the panel saw multiple times because the timber was thicker than the blade could cut in one pass.
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