The Government has today announced its acceptance of the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations on the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW). The rates which will apply from 1 April 2025 are as follows: NMW Rate Increase (£) Percentage increase National Living Wage (21 and over) £12.21 £0.77 6.7 18-20 Year Old Rate £10.00 £1.40 16.3 16-17 Year Old Rate £7.55 £1.15 18.0 Apprentice Rate £7.55 £1.15 18.0 Accommodation Offset £10.66 £0.67 6.7 The LPC’s recommendations meet the remit set by the Government. The recommended NLW rate is expected to equal two-thirds of…
Author: HM Government
Staines magistrates’ court had a busy day on 22 October as 14 owners were sentenced to pay more than £18,000 for failing to register their boats for use on the River Thames. Environment Agency enforcement officers discovered these vessels during spot checks in December 2023 at Penton Hook Marina in Surrey. The inspection showed unacceptably high levels of registration evasion with a quarter of the boats in the marina, around 125 vessels, failing to have been registered. Every boat-owner was traced and given ample warning and opportunity to register their boats correctly. The court was told that all owners had…
single bus fares to be capped at £3 until the end of 2025, ensuring services remain affordable and supporting travel in rural areas and towns fare cap extension comes on top of nearly £925 million invested to deliver high quality services and protect vital bus routes up and down the country part of government plans to end the postcode lottery of bus services, ensure access to opportunities and deliver growth Millions of people will enjoy better bus services as the government invests over £1 billion to protect vital bus routes and cap bus fares, particularly in rural communities and towns…
Prime Minister will say government’s first Budget will fix the foundations to deliver on the promise of change. Keir Starmer will reject austerity, chaos and decline in favour of economic stability, investment and reform. He will pledge ‘better days are ahead’ with an economic plan that will rebuild Britain and deliver sustainable, long-term investment to put more money in people’s pockets and deliver stronger public services. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will today (Monday 28 October) pledge that his government’s first Budget will put Britain on a new path, one that chooses long-term growth to put more money in working people’s…
“We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom, express our grave concern over legislation currently under consideration by the Israeli Knesset, aimed at revoking the privileges and immunities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East [UNRWA], forbidding any contact between Israeli state entities, officials and UNRWA, and prohibiting any UNRWA presence within Israel. “UNRWA provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and throughout the region. Without its work, the provision of…
£1.4 billion allocated for school rebuilding, reaffirming the government’s commitment to improve the school estate. Funding will form a packet of measures to break down barriers to opportunity, so every child has the chance to succeed in life. Improving opportunities for our children and young people will be a key feature of the Chancellor’s first Budget, including £1.4 billion to rebuild crumbling schools. The investment to rebuild school buildings, alongside funding for children’s social care, breakfast clubs and early years childcare reflect the government’s commitment to putting education back at the forefront of national life, breaking down the barriers to…
A housing package announced today will deliver up to 5,000 new affordable social homes with £500 million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme. This brings total investment in housing supply to over £5 billion and supports the delivery of 33,000 new homes through £128 million for housing projects across the country. Meanwhile, the stock of social housing will be increased through a new 5-year social housing rent settlement that will give the sector more long-term certainty on funding and allow them to invest in tens of thousands of new homes. The existing stock will also be protected…
Introduction I’ll begin by saying a bit about my career up until this point. I started out as a consultant, had a varied career in government both in the UK and overseas, went back to consultancy, and then I came back to the public sector in my current role – to oversee the UK’s merger control regime, and as a member of the CMA board. I’ve advised some of the largest companies on the globe through some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals, with both positive and negative outcomes for those clients. I’d like to start with the…
Good afternoon. It’s a great pleasure to be with you all today. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. I would like to extend my thanks to John McGrane and Paul Lynam for your very kind invitation and sharing my congratulations to Marie Doyle on her recent appointment as President of this wonderful organisation. Now, many people in Britain might assume that the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce has a long and distinguished history. It is certainly distinguished but it’s not very long, having been founded only in 2011. But it feels to me and I’m sure to you much older, such is…
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) would like to invite any interested parties, including academia, manufacturers of cosmetic products, producers of the substances concerned and consumer associations to submit any scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of the following cosmetic ingredients. Any scientific data submitted for the safety assessment must include all relevant elements as prescribed in the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety Notes of Guidance for the Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients and Their Safety Evaluation. Note: The Scientific Advisory Group on Chemical Safety (SAG-CS) will use 70 kg as their default bodyweight assumption for adults in…