On 1 January 2016, revised EU public procurement thresholds come into force in the UK. Public sector procurements with an estimated value in excess of these thresholds are legally required to follow the European procurement process, which was transposed into
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said the budget deficit is still too high, and greater efforts are needed, through reducing current public spending and generating sufficient tax receipts. The comments follow the public sector finance figures for November 2015, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In November 2015, public sector net […]
The Chancellor George Osborne confirmed government support for the UK film industry through film tax relief had reached £251m this year, generating over £1bn worth of direct investment in the UK in the last year alone. This is the most generous support ever provided by the government, reaping huge returns for the UK through a […]
The Department for Transport confirmed it has officially signed the Northern franchise nine-year contract with Arriva Rail North Ltd and the TransPennine Express franchise seven-year contract with First Trans Pennine Express Limited. The deals provide an unprecedented package of improvements, bringing about the biggest transformation to rail journeys in the north of England and Scotland […]
A contract worth £4.7m will see improvements take place in Essex providing smoother and safer journeys for drivers. Improvements on the M11 and A120 have moved a step closer with the appointment of a contractor for the scheme. Interserve Construction Ltd on behalf of Highways England will be carrying out a package of works on […]
Renewables are now the single largest contributor to electricity generation in Scotland at a record 38 per cent of total output – higher than both nuclear (33 per cent) and fossil fuels (28 per cent) for the first time, statistics have revealed. Renewable sources delivered 49.7% of gross electricity consumption in 2014 – up from […]
Skills shortages are continuing to bite with firms identifying this as the top threat to the UK’s attractiveness as a place to do business for the second year running, according to the latest CBI/Accenture Employment Trends Survey. The annual survey – in its 18th year, and with 342 respondents employing nearly 1m employees – found […]
Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has strengthened its leadership team and improved how it is run, following action taken by Monitor. The trust, which provides a range of community and mental health service to patients from over 200 sites, has made fundamental changes to the way the organisation is structured giving clinicians more control over […]
New changes have been announced to stop highly paid bosses getting to keep generous exit payments when they leave one organisation only to join another. Tens of thousands of highly paid public sector bosses are to be forced to pay back their golden goodbyes, or exit payments, if they return to the sector within a […]
The Chancellor George Osborne has appointed Phil Graham as CEO of the National Infrastructure Commission. Mr Graham joins the National Infrastructure Commission from the Department for Transport, where he has worked on many of the UK’s most important infrastructure projects. Phil Graham led the development of the government’s high speed rail strategy, as well as […]
