Business News Round Up (07/11/2025)
Scottish government reveals plan to reach net zero targets by 2045
The Scottish government has announced its strategy to move towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. A draft climate action plan includes targets to decarbonise building heat systems, phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, increase woodland planting and accelerate peatland restoration. Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin told MSPs that Scotland was already being affected by flooding, heatwaves and wildfires, and that parliament had to act. Opposition MSPs, however, accused ministers of regurgitating old ideas and providing a lack of detail. The draft plan, which will face further scrutiny from parliament, sets out the government’s strategy until 2040 – five years before Holyrood ministers say they will effectively eliminate greenhouse gases. The strategy recommits Scotland to phasing out new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, and sets the target of “decarbonising” heating in buildings by 2045, which would include a switch away from gas boilers or systems using oil.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30v97m59dyo
Bank holds interest rate to await path of inflation
The Bank of England voted by the narrowest of majorities to maintain borrowing costs at 4%, the first pause since August 2024 and denying the Chancellor a pre-Budget boost. However, four of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee wanted to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.75% and there were hints from Governor Andrew Bailey of a cut next month. The vote tipped in favour of no change was influenced by stubborn Inflation, which at 3.8% is almost twice the Bank’s 2% target, though the committee judged it to have peaked. It said progress in bringing down inflation is being made via an easing of pay growth and services price inflation, but also by subdued economic growth and slack in the labour market.
Windfall tax ‘puts UK energy security at risk’, industry warns
Government policy is putting the UK’s domestic gas production and energy transition at risk, a major energy infrastructure company has warned. The warning comes as local MPs and senior industry figures held a roundtable meeting on Thursday, organised by trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and hosted at Kellas Midstream’s Central Area Transmission System (CATS) gas terminal near Middlesbrough, where around 25% of the UK’s supply of North Sea gas comes ashore. The discussion included David Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK, which represents more than 400 offshore energy producers and supply chain companies; Nathan Morgan, chief executive of Kellas Midstream; and concerned local MPs, local authority, trade body, and related industry representatives. Almost 4,500 jobs on Teesside are in the offshore energy sector or its supply chains, according to data compiled for OEUK.
UK tech start-ups are falling behind on gender diversity
UK scale-ups are failing to adequately prioritise board-level gender diversity, according to a new study from global growth consultancy Think & Grow. The research shows that while 94% of UK board members believe that it is essential to have a diverse mix of people on a company board, women hold just 18% of board roles across the UK’s fastest growing technology scale-ups. Additionally, more than a third (36%) of these companies have no board-level female representation at all. The findings highlight a disconnect between how companies within the UK’s fast-growing tech ecosystem think about diversity, and how they put this into practice. These findings are taken from Think & Grow’s latest report, published this week, Breaking and Remaking the Next Generation of High-impact Boards.
https://www.digit.fyi/uk-tech-startups-are-falling-behind-on-gender-diversity