Features - Page 155

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told Conservative MPs to expect tax rises in the next Budget, but reassured that will not constitute “a horror show of tax” with “no end in sight” as the government deals with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on public finances.

After months of disruption, children are returning to the classroom this month as schools begin to reopen. This year’s ‘Back to School’ message is somewhat different to previous years, considering all the new procedures and advice on how children will need to adjust to the new normal.

For any aspiring leader, an effective strategy to improve one’s leadership skills is to actively listen to their team members and target audiences to encourage stronger communication and greater cohesion. For Zeenat Jeewa, the CEO of the Asian People’s Disability Alliance [APDA], listening to her workforce, staff, volunteers and those who benefit from her organisation’s services is an integral part of her own leadership style. Speaking on the Leaders Council podcast, Jeewa emphasises the need for leaders to positively engage with those around them, while prime minister Boris Johnson faces criticism for refusing to meet with campaigners representing families bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rishi Sunak is battling to try and restore confidence in the economy, while at the same time some of his backbench Tory colleagues seem to be losing confidence in him. Meanwhile, in news that might prove inspirational for business leaders facing up to our current economic difficulties, we look at how Steve Jones and his firm EAP recovered from the recession in 2008.

In his first appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions since July, Boris Johnson has defended his government’s decision-making after being pressed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over a series of U-turns in policy.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic coming as a challenging and sensitive time for so many people in the UK and wider world, a silver lining that has come about through the crisis in this country is a true sense of national unity, where all citizens have been pulling together in support of the NHS and many have contributed toward providing vital services to vulnerable people in their communities.

London based online market research agency FlyResearch has been issuing weekly polls to its research panel of over 3000 people throughout the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, in order to project how the outbreak and the implementing of social distancing has been impacting the daily life of UK citizens. This week, managing partner Greg Ward discusses the findings from the 22nd wave of the Covid-19 tracker survey with the Leaders Council, published on August 27 and sourced from data collected on August 21.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has told the Telegraph that he is considering plans for a “short delay” to next summer’s GCSE and A-Level exams to allow for more teaching time and give pupils an opportunity to catch up with their studies.

Brown McFarlane administrator Katy Bloor saved the life of her colleague Duncan Nicolson after he went into cardiac arrest after slumping at his desk

mGage, a leading global mobile messaging provider, has today launched the first-of-its-kind solution to bring Mobile Payments within the Rich Communication Services (RCS) channel.

Alamo Group recently announced that its second quarter profits fell by 37 per cent compared to last year as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, but the impact was offset by a $51.5 million reduction in debt and a 5.3 per cent backlog reduction compared to the second quarter of 2019.

The Derwent Group has this month completed a £300,000 refurbishment project at Lancaster Business Park’s office space, prompting Ascentis, one of its current occupants, to renew its lease on its premises there.

For Joanne Tyler, owner and director of Essex-based legal firm Tyler Law, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented the most significant challenge of her career, putting her nigh twenty years of expertise in the legal sector to the ultimate test. Yet, from March to now, Tyler has shrugged off the initial fear of uncertainty and is now looking forward to a positive future for both her and the firm.

August has been an uplifting month for Talent Artistic Group [TAG]. Having been buoyed by news in mid-August that indoor theatres, music and performance venues will be able to resume with socially distanced audiences, the company has been handed the further boost of supporting one of its large tourism clients, Haven, as it relaunched its live indoor entertainment offering.