News

Mar 03, 2021 - Budget 2021: key points at a glance

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled the contents of his Budget in the House of Commons today 3 March 2021.

Setting out the government's tax and spending plans for the year ahead, he announced new measures to help business and jobs through the pandemic and to support the UK's long-term economic recovery and a series of tax-raising plans to help rebalance the public finances.

Measures to support business are outlined in more detail below, including a further extension of the furlough scheme; grants for the self-employed; restart grants for the most hard-hit business sectors; an extension of the ...

Mar 02, 2021 - Lengthy absences from the UK can put EU settled status at risk

For most people, the EU Settlement Scheme has largely lived up to its government billing as generous and straightforward, but confusion over permitted absences is likely to cause some European residents trouble down the line.

People with pre-settled status, in particular, need to be aware of the absence rules. If they have been outside the UK for more than six months in any 12-month period, they will now only be able to upgrade to settled status if they returned to the UK before 31 December 2020.  

People who already have settled status, or have clocked up the necessary five years and intend t...

Mar 02, 2021 - Covid: How many people get self-isolation payments?

About two-thirds of people in England and Wales trying to access the £500 self-isolation support payment are being rejected, according to figures obtained by BBC Reality Check.

The government announced the payment in September 2020, saying it would "ensure that those on low incomes are able to self-isolate without worry about their finances".

It estimated just under 4 million people would be eligible.

The government's scientific advisors, Sage, have warned repeatedly that concerns over money could lead to people breaking the rules on self-isolation.

If a person tests positive for coronavirus o...

Feb 26, 2021 - Lack of legal advice for migrants in prison ruled “discriminatory”

The High Court in SM v Lord Chancellor [2021] EWHC 418 (Admin) has held that free legal advice must be made available to immigration detainees held in prisons, bringing access to lawyers into line with the legal advice scheme operating in immigration removal centres (“IRCs”).

In a significant loss for the Legal Aid Agency, the court held that detainees in prison suffered discriminatory treatment due to obstacles in getting legal advice that is exempt from legal aid eligibility rules, available as of right to those in IRCs. The court held that the lack of equivalent treatment was unjustifiable ...

Feb 25, 2021 - UK 'needs a wake-up call' over fintech investment.

The UK risks losing its dominance in financial services - unless the government backs one of its most important export industries.

That's according to a major new report on arguably the UK's most globally influential sector: Fintech - the combination of finance and technology.

Ron Kalifa, the chairman of upstart-turned-giant Worldpay was tasked with drafting a report on how the UK could (and should) reinforce its leading position in financial innovation by accelerating investment in fintech.

While the UK continues to beat European competition in attracting new investment, he reported an uncomf...

Feb 24, 2021 - Fraudsters stepped up efforts in new year, HMRC figures show

Scam attempts by fraudsters masquerading as the UK's tax authority surged as potential victims completed tax returns while staying at home.

Con-artists attempted to take advantage of the self-assessment filing deadline at the end of January to flood people with fake texts, emails and calls.

They posed as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials and attempted to steal personal financial details.

Phone scam reports to HMRC tripled compared with December, it said.

There were a total of 33,053 reports in January, in addition to 46,210 phishing emails, and 26,643 suspicious text messages during the ...

Feb 24, 2021 - Waiting times for visa applications made in the UK

In typical Home Office fashion, years after it should have been issued, we now have some generic guidance on visa decision waiting times for applications inside the UK. Until now, we only ever had waiting times for applications outside the UK.

The standard processing time for most applications is eight weeks, with faster processing times for Start-up and Health and Care visas (three weeks). There are longer processing times (six months) for settlement applicants and those making No Time Limit applications to replace their biometric residence permit.

Experience shows that eight weeks is perhaps...

Feb 23, 2021 - UK unemployment rate rises to 5.1%

The unemployment rate has risen to its highest level in almost five years, with younger workers bearing the brunt of the job losses, the official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

The UK's jobless rate rose to 5.1% in the three months to December, with the number of people on company payrolls down 726,000 on pre-pandemic levels.

Almost three-fifths of these were younger than 25 years.

There were, however, some early signs of stabilisation in the jobs market.

ONS said there was a small increase in the numbers of employees paid through payroll over the past couple of mo...

Feb 23, 2021 - Upper Tribunal guidance on credible documentary evidence

The Upper Tribunal in QC (verification of documents; Mibanga duty) China [2021] UKUT 33 (IAC) has given useful guidance on how to approach documentary evidence submitted by asylum appellants. 

The tribunal has also clarified the circumstances in which Home Office must make enquiries to verify an appellant’s documentary evidence before rejecting it as false (a ‘verification obligation’). In cases where the verification obligation arises, but the Home Office doesn’t do anything to verify the document’s authenticity, any complaints about whether the document is genuine will be ignored by the trib...

Feb 22, 2021 - 1000 EU financial firms plan to open UK offices

About 1,000 EU finance firms are eyeing up opening offices in the UK for the first time, according to financial consultancy Bovill.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the firm found that 1,500 money managers, payment firms and insurers have applied for permission to continue operating in the UK after Brexit.

Around two-thirds had no prior physical operations in Britain, it said. It suggests London "is set to remain a key global financial centre".

"Many of these European firms will be opening offices for the first time, which is good news for UK professional advice firms across multiple ...

← Prev Next →