April 2022 News and Blogs

Conventional wisdom would state that the current stormy conditions are not the right time to start a business. Overall spending is way down and the “Plan B” safety net of “always being able to quickly get back into employment” may not be so straight forward as it once was. I get it. But that’s not the whole story, is it? We’re seeing that these COVID-19 times are generating more entrepreneurial opportunities than we’ve seen for...

Following the success of the first ever Innovation and Diversification Wales event in 2019, this is a day out with a difference, a day no farmer or forester will want to miss! When: 15 June 2022 Where: Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys, LD2 3SY An international line-up of keynote speakers and presenters will share their experiences and views, offering one-to-one surgeries, workshops and seminars on agri-related topics including: Innovation – more efficient ways...

Spar has launched a £100,000 Community Cashback scheme that will give grants to local charities as well as voluntary and community groups. Spar customers can apply for a grant for an organisation or charity they feel would benefit from the funding. Do you know an organisation that deserves funding? Apply here by sharing the exceptional contribution they have made to the local community and what the grant would be put towards and they could receive...

Since launching the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) Employment and Skills Plan 2019-22 in 2019 there has been a huge change in the way people work and the types of jobs on offer. However, more importantly there has been a significant change in the skills now required by industry to drive forward their businesses in a post pandemic world. The turbulent times over the last two years has meant that many new skills have been identified...

The UK will celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 70th anniversary as monarch with a blockbuster weekend of celebrations. The May Bank Holiday Weekend will be moved to Thursday 2 June and an additional Bank Holiday on Friday 3 June will see a four-day weekend to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. A Jubilee medal will be created and awarded to public services workers. Related content: UK bank holidays - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Platinum Jubilee Royal...

It has been over one year since the off payroll working rules (IR35) changed in the private and voluntary sectors. Some organisations who engage contractors in those sectors who didn’t need to apply the rules for 2021-22 as they didn’t meet the size conditions — may now need to apply the rules. Make sure you check the Employment Status Manual for whether the rules apply to your business every year. This is particularly true if...

Grants of up to £3,000 are available to enable rural pub owners, licensees, and local communities to work together to help support and sustain local services in Wales, Scotland and England. Pub is the Hub’s Community Services Fund will assist projects which support the needs of local communities by using pubs to offer a new service or replace a service that has already been lost, such as a local shop, library, post office or community...

The UK has announced new measures to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia by removing all tariffs covered by the existing UK-Ukraine trade deal. The measures include: UK to cut tariffs on all goods from Ukraine to zero under the UK-Ukraine FTA, providing much-needed economic support. New export ban on products and technology that Russia could use to repress the people of Ukraine. Tariff measures are part of broad UK economic support to Ukraine...

A new law will help UK firms do business while maintaining strong protections for consumers, will come into effect on 1 June 2022 the UK government has announced. Currently, the UK has retained EU rules that exempt businesses from competition law in certain circumstances. The UK government has received expert advice from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which recommended a new, bespoke competition law exemption for the UK, replacing the retained EU rules, which...

Across the globe, young people are stepping up to innovation challenges, using their energy and ingenuity, their curiosity and creativity to steer a course towards a better future. This year, the World Intellectual Property Day 2022’s theme focuses on IP and Youth innovating for a Better Future. Find out how young inventors, creators and entrepreneurs can use intellectual property (IP) rights to achieve their goals, generate income, create jobs, tackle local and global challenges and...