In a sweeping enforcement operation targeting illegal employment practices, hand car washes across the UK have been fined a total of £2.9 million for employing workers without proper right-to-work documentation. The investigation, carried out by the Home Office’s Illegal Immigration Unit between July and September last year, revealed that 44 hand car washes were in…
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) marks its 20th anniversary on Friday 18 April 2025. The department was established in April 2005 through the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, combining tax administrations to reduce overlap and enhance service delivery. The creation of HMRC by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon…
Local council saves £20m in two-years · Public sector can make better use of digital and service design instead of simply top slicing resources · Range of methods incorporated such as leveraging unused software, streamlining expenditure and redesigning services Caerphilly Council has cut more than £20m in its first year of working with business consultants, Perago, with a…
Residents are raising serious concerns about the impartiality of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee (2022–2027)—a body tasked with holding the council’s decisions to account. Out of the 14 members appointed to scrutinise decisions on behalf of the public, 11 are Labour councillors, the same party that controls the council. Both…
A Welsh Conservative FOI, requesting the publication by the Welsh Government of “all correspondence between the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers with the UK Government regarding Wales-specific consequences of the winter fuel payment cut” has revealed only two letters of correspondence – neither of which were from the First Minister. The first of which was from…
The chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has said the regulator will be “working at pace” to incorporate into its revised Code of Practice the implications of this week’s Supreme Court landmark ruling on gender recognition certificates and the definition of ‘sex’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010. A revised Code…
The Supreme Court has ruled that a person with a full gender recognition certificate which recognises their gender as female, is not a “woman” for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010), and that the meaning of the word woman in the 2010 Act is “biological”. In For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish…
UK research indicates that 21% of potential holidaymakers would cancel their overnight trips if such a tax were introduced in their destination. Additionally, another 21% would reduce their spending while on holiday. Back British Holidays is calling on policymakers to reconsider proposals for tourist taxes, as new analysis suggests these levies could significantly harm local tourism economies. In…
Plans to merge Hender Junior and Hendre Infant Schools in Caerphilly have been given the final go ahead. Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet today (16th April) unanimously approved the amalgamation proposals, following a formal consultation period where no objections to the plans were raised. The merger will come into effect in September 2025. The current school…
Ascona Group founder and Chief Executive Darren Briggs has been recognised forhis long-standing work supporting the Wales Air Ambulance Charity.The 54-year-old entrepreneur from Pembrokeshire has become the first person to beappointed Business Ambassador for the lifesaving cause.Wales Air Ambulance Chief Executive, Dr Sue Barnes said: “I am delighted toannounce the appointment of Darren Briggs as…
