Page 20 - Uk Govt

Facing an economic crisis, is the UK turning into an emerging market?

The Truss government's two most problematic policies are the tax cuts for the wealthy and the energy subsidies

UK: TikTok may face $29 million fine over children's data protection

TikTok could face a 27 million-pound (USD 29 million) fine in the UK over a possible breach of UK data protection law by failing to protect children's privacy when they are using the video-sharing platform. The UK Information Commissioner's Office said Monday that it has issued the social media company a legal document that precedes a potential fine. It said TikTok may have processed the data of children under 13 without appropriate parental consent, and processed special category data without legal grounds to do so. The commissioner said special category data included ethnic and racial origin, political opinions, religious beliefs and sexual orientation. It also said TikTok may have failed to provide transparent, easily understood information to its users. The legal document covered the period from May 2018 to July 2020. Information Commissioner John Edwards said the body's provisional view was that TikTok fell short of providing proper data privacy protections. The body said its

UK scraps corporation tax hike, lifts cap on banker bonus to boost economy

The UK government on Friday scrapped a corporate tax hike and lifted a cap on bankers' bonuses in a contentious bid to boost the faltering economy. Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng made the announcement at Parliament as he presented a mini-budget to lawmakers. The U.K. government is expected to publish an emergency budget statement Friday outlining how it plans to slash taxes, tame soaring inflation and boost economic growth as a recession looms on the horizon. Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget, to be presented to lawmakers, is expected to scrap a planned increase in corporation tax. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who became the U.K.'s leader less than three weeks ago, has repeatedly stressed that her Conservative government's core mission is lowering taxes to drive economic growth. She declared this week that she is ready to make unpopular decisions such as boosting bankers' bonuses to attract jobs and investment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts that even though Frida

A new kingdom: What will change as King Charles III ascends to UK throne

Following the death of the monarch, her son, Prince Charles will now ascend the throne and will be called King Charles III. However, that is not the only change which will be witnessed

UK PM Truss walks the talk, caps power bills at £2,500 a year for two years

British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Thursday that her government will cap domestic energy prices for homes and businesses to ease a cost-of-living crisis that has left people and businesses across the UK facing a bleak winter. Truss told lawmakers in Parliament that the two-year energy price guarantee means average household bills will be no more than 2,500 pounds ($2,872) a year for heating and electricity. Bills had been due to rise to 3,500 pounds ($4,000) pounds a year from October, triple the cost of a year ago. Bills are skyrocketing because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the economic aftershocks of COVID-19 and Brexit. We are supporting this country through this winter and next and tackling the root causes of high prices so we are never in the same position again," Truss told lawmakers. Business and public institutions like hospitals and schools will also get support, but for six months rather than two years. The government says the cap will cut the UK's soaring ...

Family rush to be with Queen Elizabeth as doctors voice concern

Doctors say queen, 96, under medical supervision; heir to the throne Prince Charles is with queen

UK PM Liz Truss' Cabinet is diverse in makeup and solidly on the right

Liz Truss's new Cabinet is Britain's most diverse ever, with women serving as prime minister and deputy prime minister and Black and South Asian politicians filling many of the top jobs. While they come from different backgrounds, the new ministers share Truss' small-state, free-market economic views and staunch support for Britain's exit from the European Union. The government's diversity reflects years of work by the right-of-centre Conservative Party to shake its pale, male and stale image. Former Prime Minister David Cameron, who was party leader between 2005 and 2016, made a push to draft diverse candidate shortlists for winnable seats. The drive has transformed the upper tiers of a party whose 172,000-strong national membership remains overwhelmingly white and largely male. Among Tory legislators, 24 per cent are women and 6 per cent belong to ethnic minorities. The main opposition Labour Party is more diverse and gets more support from non-white voters but has yet to have

Liz Truss beats Rishi Sunak in Tory leadership race to be new UK PM

'I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply,' Truss said in a speech following the result

UK approves second 'bivalent' booster for Omicron and Covid strain

The UK health authorities on Saturday approved a second bivalent vaccine to be used as a booster vaccine to target both the Omicron and original strain of COVID-19. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the updated booster vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech was found to meet its standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. The jab targeting two coronavirus variants has been approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and above. In each dose of the booster vaccine called Comirnaty bivalent Original/Omicron, half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) targets the original virus strain and the other half (15 micrograms) targets Omicron (BA.1). The clinical trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent vaccine showed a strong immune response against the Omicron BA.1 variant as well as the original strain, said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive. Bivalent vaccines are helping us to meet the challenge of an ever-evolving virus, to help protect people against COVID-19 ...

UK's outgoing PM Johnson pledges millions to fund new nuclear plant

Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday pledged 700 million pounds (USD 810 million) of government funding for a planned new nuclear power plant as part of a drive to improve the UK's energy security. Johnson said the spike in global gas prices driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine showed why more nuclear generation capacity was needed in the UK. The plant, called Sizewell C, is located on eastern England's Suffolk coast. French energy company EDF, which will partly fund the project, has said it can generate low-carbon electricity for at least 60 years when the project is complete. The plant will reportedly cost about 20 billion pounds (USD 23 billion). Britain's government gave the greenlight for the plant in July, and talks about how to fund it are ongoing. Yes, nuclear always looks relatively expensive to build and to run, Johnson said in his final major policy speech as prime minister. But look at what's happening today, look at the results of Putin's war.

Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal faces more UK scrutiny amid concerns

Microsoft's plan to buy video game company Activision Blizzard faced a potential setback on Thursday after British regulators said their antitrust inquiry needed to take a closer look at the blockbuster deal after identifying competition concerns. The Competition and Markets Authority said it was worried the USD 69 billion deal would hurt rivals by restricting their access to Activision Blizzard games. It also worried that the combined company would stifle competition in the emerging cloud gaming market. The authority gave both companies five days to come up with proposals to address its concerns, otherwise it would escalate its investigation with more scrutiny. The watchdog had opened an initial inquiry in July to assess whether the deal would result in a substantial lessening of competition in the United Kingdom. The all-cash deal is set to be the largest in the history of the tech industry. It would give Microsoft, maker of the Xbox console and gaming system, control of popular

Indian students to the UK start getting priority and super priority visas

Under the Priority Visa service, the UK government decides on the student's visa application within five days. Under the Super Priority service, it is granted by the end of next working day

UK's Liz Truss considers 5% cut in VAT if she becomes PM: Report

The govt has been facing growing calls to provide immediate financial support to households struggling with squeezed budgets as energy bills jump 80% to an average of 3,549 pounds a year from Oct

UK to announce new support measures for population in September: Johnson

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that the government will announce new measures to support the population next month amid the pressure of rising energy bills

Wipro bags deal from UK government treasury, to deliver service integration

IT company Wipro Limited has bagged a multi-year contract to deliver service integration and management services to the UK government treasury. The service will enable seamless integration of IT services across multi-functional suppliers and partners, enhancing the user experience across HMT and its arm's length bodies, according to a statement on Thursday. Wipro and Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT) will collaborate to enable end-to-end SIAM (Service Integration And Management) services, from strategy, design, and implementation to running business-as-usual services such as day-to-day coordination of service integration across HMT's vendors. "I am looking forward to working with Wipro in shaping and delivering the next generation of IT services at HM Treasury. This new partnership will support the department by improving end-to-end IT services by delivering more responsive services for our users," HM Treasury Chief Information Officer Huw Stephens said. Manager Director for UK and Irel

Tata Steel Europe: A tale of 2 plants and their transition to green future

Both the Netherlands and UK facilities have turned around but the transition to a green steel future may differ

Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss? Tories shouldn't write off 'Trussonomics' yet

According to a recent YouGov poll, 62% of them want Truss for leader, giving her a colossal 24-point advantage over Sunak

UK Parliament panel warns against rushing India FTA to meet Diwali deadline

A UK parliamentary panel warned the government against accepting a poor deal to rush things through simply to meet a deadline set for the completion of a free trade agreement (FTA) with India.

Rishi Sunak's tax affairs back in spotlight in UK race to succeed Johnson

Sunak's tax arrangements were in the spotlight once again as he sought to position himself as the only candidate who could beat Labour leader Keir Starmer at the next general election

UK inflation surges to new 40-year high of 9.4% amid rising fuel prices

Inflation in the United Kingdom has accelerated to a new 40-year high, driven by rising food and fuel prices that are contributing to a cost-of-living crisis