With companies in uproar over business rate increases, should the tax just be scrapped? February 20, 2017 Sancho Simmonds, a partner and scaleup lead at Smith & Williamson, says Yes. Business rates belong in another age. They are an antiquated way of taxing companies and they don’t take into account the fact we are living in a modern age. Many small companies have now been taken out of the range, but there [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron: Pubs will stay open later on 10th and 11th of June for Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday March 23, 2016 Pubs will be allowed to stay open longer on 10 and 11 June as part of nationwide celebrations marking the Queen's 90th birthday, Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed today. Downing Street said that subject to a consultation process with licensing authorities, the pub industry and community groups, pubs that are licensed to trade until 11pm will be allowed [...]
Our overly centralised tax system has exacerbated the business rates debacle February 22, 2017 Business rates may not be the most captivating subject for most City A.M. readers. But the impact of a delayed revaluation on our shops, pubs and cafes might well be. Changes affecting the £25bn a year tax that ultimately goes to pay for social care, schools, Tube trains and roads are due to come into [...]
There is now a “Come What May” beer to celebrate Theresa May’s first PMQs July 20, 2016 In the summer that brought us Brexit beers and referendum beermats, it's no surprise that ale is still political and there is now a Theresa May-themed beer to cheers with ahead of her first Prime Minister's Questions today. "Come What May", a new brew inspired by the prime minister, will be available in two pubs [...]
Brexit vote hasn’t affected sales but 21 pubs a week are still shutting August 11, 2016 The Brexit vote has not yet affected turnover at the country's watering holes, but hefty beer prices are still driving pubs to close at the "alarming" rate of 21 per week. Enterprise Inns, the UK's largest pub company, said sales rose 1.9 per cent in the 44 weeks to 30 July and the group remains [...]
Labour’s Emily Thornberry just accused Sky News of sexism after struggling to name foreign leaders on live TV September 11, 2016 Labour's shadow foreign minister Emily Thornberry has accused a Sky News presenter of sexism after being unable to name either the French foreign minister, or the South Korean president. Thornberry was being interviewed on Sky News' Murnaghan programme earlier this morning, but objected to “pub-quizzing” from host Dermot Murnaghan, who asked her to name the [...]
BIS committee chair Iain Wright declares Pubs Code Adjudicator Paul Newby should be replaced July 29, 2016 The Pubs Code Adjudicator should be replaced due to conflict of interest concerns, the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee has said today. Chair of the BIS committee, Iain Wright, has called on secretary of state Greg Clark to reopen the appointment process after concluding the current adjudicator, Paul Newby, will not be able to command the trust [...]
MPs to leave Parliament for six years while it gets a face-lift August 6, 2016 MPs are set to clear out of Parliament while it gets refurbished over a six-year period. According the The Times, politicians will be leaving their historic headquarters and moving into the Department of Health at Richmond House, where MPs will not be able to buy booze. The building is owned by financiers from the Middle East [...]
Revised version of the Pubs Code due in July, but industry is “disappointed” it won’t be backdated to original enforcement date June 15, 2016 A revised version of the Pubs Code is set to come into force in July, but pub organisations are “disappointed” that the government has refused to make the legislation apply retrospectively. The British Pub Confederation has claimed the failure to backdate the Code to its original launch date of 26 May could leave over 400 pub [...]
Theresa May has issued a cautious defence of the national living wage after businesses called on the government to moderate increases August 8, 2016 Downing Street has issued a cautious response to business demands for a delay in the implementation of the national living wage. Business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) wrote to business and energy secretary Greg Clark to call for targets for the programme to be pushed back. The national living wage is aimed at [...]