Refugees in the UK receive entrepreneurship support as part of pilot scheme June 15, 2021 The Home Office, alongside The National Lottery Community Fund, has offered business startup training to 112 refugees in a year-long pilot entrepreneurship-support programme confirmed today. The programme, overseen by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, has funded four local business support organisations which trained up the refugees. The success of the pilot has helped three of the [...]
Pension transfer scam crackdown risks delaying thousands of transfers May 14, 2021 The government tabled proposals to tackle pension scheme fraud today, but it could risk blocking or delaying thousands of legitimate transfers, AJ Bell’s chief executive has warned. The plans outlined by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could push providers to ask people transferring to a pension scheme not on the government-approved ‘safe destination’ [...]
Serco wins new jobseekers contract worth £350m April 27, 2021 Serco has this morning announced a £350m contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help find unemployed people new jobs. Shares in the firm rose 3.0 per cent on the back of the announcement. The FTSE 250 services provider will run the West central and Wales contracts for the “Restart” programme, which [...]
Tech firms need to grasp the chance to change their hiring January 30, 2021 The year 2020 will be remembered for a lot of reasons. It was, obviously, a challenging year, with many facing furlough and redundancies, as scores of businesses were forced to close their doors. The pandemic has hit the economy hard, and the UK’s jobs crisis is worsening each month. Worryingly, young people are the most [...]
Investment managers urged to join government’s Kickstart scheme October 15, 2020 Investment managers are being urged to support young people with work placements amid the pandemic. Investment 20/20, part of the Investment Association, is calling on the industry to provide placements for 16-24 year olds on university credit, as it announces a new initiative in support of the government’s Kickstart scheme. Last month the government urged [...]
Universal Credit boss promises improved payment delivery for new claimants April 15, 2020 A higher proportion of new benefits claimants will receive their payment on time than before the coronavirus outbreak, according to the boss of Universal Credit. In normal times, 87 per cent of new Universal Credit claimants get their first payment on time, which is after five weeks from applying, according to figures from the Department [...]
PM backs Priti Patel following fresh allegations March 4, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is “sticking by” home secretary Priti Patel, in the wake of fresh allegations of bullying. Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions today, Johnson said any claims would “of course” be investigated. But he praised Patel as an “outstanding” home secretary who was “delivering change”. She is currently facing the [...]
Exclusive: Pensions minister demands simpler workplace pension statements November 1, 2019 Long, confusing workplace pension statements could be a thing of the past if a government initiative, set to be unveiled today, comes to fruition. Pensions minister Guy Opperman wants pension providers to be clearer and more concise about savers’ pension prospects, and will today warn that he will legislate if he does not see change [...]
Whitehall pressed on pension superfunds regulation October 7, 2019 The government is facing fresh doubts over legal protections for defined benefit pension schemes, as so-called superfunds angle to swallow them up. In a recent letter, pensions minister Guy Opperman was unable to say for sure that rules for pension superfunds would be in an upcoming pensions bill. The letter came in response to the [...]
Defeat for women in landmark state pension legal fight October 3, 2019 Millions of women face the prospect of retiring later or surviving on less, after campaigners lost a significant legal battle against the government over increases to the state pension age. Nearly 4m women born in the 1950s were hit by the government’s decision to bring the retirement age for them up from 60 to 65, [...]