Annual business population statistics show that there are now 5.4m businesses in the UK but there’s still concerns about the high proportion of businesses that do not employ. SMEs are now responsible for 15.6m jobs, an increase in the last year from 15.2 million in the UK and historical trends indicate that they are likely to create […]

Difficulty obtaining finance and a general skills shortage risk undermining Britain’s start-up entrepreneurs, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has warned today. The recent survey carried out by the the IoD 99 network – which is made up of more than 650 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 – suggests that of all that were surveyed […]

The Government is publishing the UK’s first ever National Space Policy – which it says will firmly place the UK on the global stage for future space programmes. The new policy sets out the Government’s vision to capture a greater share of the world’s thriving space market. Working across the UK in partnership with the […]

A historic new global climate agreement has been struck at the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris. For the first time ever 195 countries, including the world’s largest emitters, have now committed to act together to combat climate change and be held equally accountable. The deal sets out a clear long-term goal of […]

Investments made by the Mayor have delivered 1,600 new jobs, attracted £150 million of additional funding and are generating £3 million per year to support essential services. A report to the Cabinet outlines the benefits of Mayor Joe Anderson’s ‘Invest to Earn’ strategy since 2012, which has seen the Liverpool City Council put money into […]

A £3.9m EU backed initiative to help business owners and managers gain new leadership and management skills has been announced by Finance and Government Business Minister, Jane Hutt. Led by Swansea University in partnership with Bangor University, the ION Leadership project is backed with £2.7m from the European Social Fund to raise skills and drive […]

The second Capacity Market auction has successfully concluded, securing capacity for 2019/20. The auction attracted enough bidders to secure the capacity needed at a competitive price for consumers – 46.354GW at a price of £18/kW. The second Capacity Market auction has successfully concluded, securing electricity generating capacity for 2019/20. The auction attracted enough bidders to […]

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has launched a new set of local data summaries, covering 39 local areas. A series of new publications from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) aim to make it simpler and easier to find and access the local data produced by UKCES. The 39 sub-regional […]

HS2 Ltd has published a shortlist of firms in the running to win a share of £900m of preparatory work ahead of the start of major civil engineering on the first stage of the project, between London and the West Midlands. The enabling works contracts cover a range of activities including utility diversions, ecology surveys, […]