Business News Round Up (02/09/2024)
CBI urges Scots Gov to support business, secure economic growth
CBI Scotland is urging the Scottish government to use the forthcoming Programme for Government to support enterprise and go “full throttle” to achieve long-term sustainable economic growth. The plea follows a prolonged period of stagnating growth and high costs, though more recently the economy has been showing early signs of recovery. With the Programme for Government, the trade organisation has advised that Scots gov should work closely with UK counterparts to provide crucial momentum for Scotland’s economic recovery. Further, it must use all available levers—both dissolved and reserved—to build a more competitive, prosperous, and sustainable economy that benefits both businesses and consumers across Scotland. In a letter to the new first minister, John Swinney, CBI Scotland has called on the Scottish government to prioritise policy competitiveness and stability, to boost business investment, and seize on the opportunities available to Scottish businesses both at home and abroad.
https://www.digit.fyi/cbi-urges-scots-gov-to-support-business-secure-economic-growth/
Labour windfall tax will cost economy £13bn, trade body warns
Labour has been accused of “abandoning” Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas industry after a trade body warned the party’s windfall tax will cost the UK’s economy £13bn. According to figures published by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the UK Government’s Energy Profits Levy (EPL) would see investment in UK projects by oil and gas producers fall from an expected £14.1bn to just £2.3bn between 2025 and 2029. The report said while expected tax take from the sector would increase in the short term, a rapid fall in production triggered by the loss of investment would result in a £12bn decrease in tax receipts. The Scottish Conservatives claimed the figures showed how the windfall tax would “decimate” the industry and put tens of thousands of jobs at risk. It also comes after the UK Government decided not to challenge legal attempts to stop drilling going ahead at the Rosebank oil field.
UK businesses trim hiring and pay plans, Lloyds says
British businesses trimmed their plans for staffing and wage increases this month, according to a survey suggesting April’s increase in minimum wage is weighing on employers. With the Bank of England watching for signs that inflation pressures are abating enough for it to cut interest rates, the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer’s measure of staffing plans – or the gap between firms planning to hire and those planning cuts – fell to 27% from February’s almost two-year high of 36%. The series’ long-term average is 22%. The share of firms expecting to increase wages by 3% or more over the next 12 months fell slightly to 33% from 35%. Britain’s minimum wage will rise by nearly 10% next month, and supermarkets and other retailers that pay staff only slightly more have raised pay ahead of the increase. The BoE has said wage growth remains high despite signs of a slowdown.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-businesses-trim-hiring-pay-000828888.html
Edinburgh University gains £10.2m for sustainable software research
The Software Sustainability Institute (SSI), led by the University of Edinburgh, The Universities of Manchester and Southampton, has been awarded a record £10.2 million funding for a a new project phase from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The national initiative will seek to improve the environmental sustainability of software used in research – the newest phase aims to address the rising interest in artificial intelligence. Led by the University of Edinburgh’s EPCC (formally known as the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre), the new SSI phase will focus on how to improve equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the research software community, and address the rising interesting in AI and machine learning. For this phase, SSI is partnering with Open Life Science, a not-for-profit organisation focuses on diversifying leadership in research. It will also work with the University of Oxford in developing strategic activities that strengthen links to the arts and humanities communities.
https://www.digit.fyi/edinburgh-uni-gains-10-2m-fund-for-sustainable-software-research/