News

For many small and medium-sized business owners, bookkeeping, payroll and VAT returns are seen as a necessary part of their routine. These tasks are essential, but in terms of shaping your business, they can only tell you what has already happened.

The Autumn Budget will be delivered on 26 November, but the Chancellor’s recent speech in Liverpool gave us some useful hints about what could be on the table.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its latest monitoring report on fuel prices, highlighting increases in both pump prices and retailer margins.

The government has announced its plan to introduce a new digital ID scheme, which will become the standard way to complete Right to Work checks by the end of the current Parliament.

Amazon is set to close all 19 of its UK Amazon Fresh grocery stores less than five years after launching the till-free sites in London. Five of the stores may be converted into Whole Foods outlets, another grocery brand owned by Amazon.

From next year, Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) firms will need to work within a stricter regulatory framework. Following last year’s consultation, the government has now laid legislation before Parliament to bring BNPL under formal regulation, aiming to end what’s been called the “wild west” of unregulated borrowing.

The UK government has agreed a new trade deal with the European Union, aimed at making it easier to do business across the Channel. This follows recent agreements with the US and India and is being presented as part of a wider effort to support jobs and help businesses grow.

Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week, and to mark the occasion, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a free online learning module to help employers better understand and manage work-related stress in their teams.