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Small businesses given £21.3bn in Covid local authority grants

Smaller businesses across England received £21.3bn through the Covid-19 local authority business support grants scheme, but fraud levels were high. Estimates show that an estimated £1.03bn of grants were made fraudulently, but the BEIS report does not address the fraud issue. Earlier this year, the Public Accounts Committee warned that local authorities should have made…
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Majority of businesses expect cyber security threat to increase

Two thirds (66%) of UK business leaders expect the threat from cyber criminals to increase over the next 12 months, according to the latest PwC cyber security survey The findings reinforce the concerns of UK businesses about different cyber threats, as well the potential vulnerability of their supply chains. Over the past year, a number…
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Businesses fear Christmas trading disruption

The bi-monthly survey of 500 business leaders from accountancy firm revealed that a third of businesses surveyed expect to increase the prices of their goods and services as a direct result of rising inflation with the same number concerned about increasing energy prices and a third also concerned about supply chain disruption. Overall, 80% of…
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How to improve cash flow and reduce risk

Making sure bills are paid on time is absolutely critical for any business wanting to improve cash flow and strengthen the balance sheet, explains Warwick Haycock, accounting software specialist, Access Group SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, accounting for three fifths of employment and around half of turnover in the UK private sector.…
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How dividend tax rise hits small business owners

The government’s recent announcement that it would increase both the dividend tax and National Insurance by 1.25% has been described as another blow to business owners, particularly those that are already struggling as a result of supply chain disruption, labour shortages and the ongoing impact of the pandemic. What are dividends? A dividend is a…
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A third of UK small businesses highly indebted

According to the Bank of England, a third of UK SMEs are in more than twice as much debt as before the Covid-19 pandemic. A report issued by the Bank of England revealed that the increasing level of debt among SMEs has caused the central bank to expect a rise in the number of small…
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Small businesses urged to cut carbon emissions

UK Net Zero Business Champion, Andrew Griffith MP, has sent a letter to industry sectors encouraging smaller businesses to cut emissions in half by 2030 and commit to net zero by 2050. Businesses in manufacturing, retail and technology have been targeted as part of the government’s “Business Climate Leaders” campaign, launched in advance of the…
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