News

Cabinet reshuffle and new government departments

Rishi Sunak PM has today announced a cabinet reshuffle with new Secretaries of State appointments as follows:

Kemi Badenoch becomes Sectretary of State for Business and Trade
Lucy Frazer is Secretary…


DVLA industrial action on 1st Feb

Industrial action on Wednesday 1 February is likely to result in delays in getting through to DVLA’s contact centre. They have suggested people should avoid trying to contact them on…


Details of government’s new plan for smart electric vehicle charging revealed

The government’s new plan sets out steps to unlock the potential of smart electric vehicle (EV) charging, including allowing motorists to power their homes using the electricity stored in their…


Government announces new energy support scheme for businesses

The Government has announced a new energy support scheme for businesses, effective from the 1 April when the current support scheme ends.  Full details are available in the Government announcement.


Single use plates and cutlery to be banned in England

Single-use items like plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays will be banned in England, the government confirmed in January.

DEFRA says the ban will come into effect in October 2023…


Food inflation jumps upwards again

Fresh food prices at British supermarkets in early December were 15% higher than a year earlier, the biggest annual increase since at least 2005 when records started, figures from trade…


Chemicals in recycling – important research focussing on WEEE, construction and furniture

Defra has commissioned WRAP (The Waste and Resource Action Programme) to undertake a piece of research into the information needs of suppliers. The research is to better understand how chemicals…


Major boost for tourism in North East

North East England will pilot a new £2.25 million scheme to restructure tourism boards

DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) has announced that the North East has been…


Food prices up by a fifth in a year

The CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index (FPI) has just been released for the year to October 2022.  The research company says that the Index has “continued its relentless upward march…


Prices rise to 41-year high

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on how fast prices are rising has been released. Inflation reached a 41-year high, with price rises of 11.1% in…