Business
No imminent change to tax-free allowance
There will be no immediate changes to cash Individual Savings Accounts (Isas), the BBC understands.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves was widely expected to announce plans to reduce the £20,000 tax-free allowance.
The move was aimed at encouraging more investment in stocks and shares, which the goverment says it will still focus on.
“Our ambition is to ensure people’s hard-earned savings are delivering the best returns and driving more investment into the UK economy,” a Treasury spokesperson said.
The Treasury is expected to continue to talk to banks, building societies and investment firms about options for reform.
An Isa is a savings or investment product that is treated differently for tax purposes.
Any returns you make from an Isa are tax-free, but there is a limit to how much money you can put in each year.
The current £20,000 annual allowance can be used in one account or spread across multiple Isa products as you wish.
Business
‘AI racism’: Company faces criticism over AI-generated job seeker videos
The videos seem realistic, but a CBC investigation revealed that they were AI-generated, created by online hiring and recruiting firm Nexa, an AI company that develops software other companies can use to recruit new hires.
“I’ll be honest, we do that for fun,” says Divy Nayyar, Nexa’s founder and CEO, according to the report. “You know, some of the videos went extremely viral.”
Nayyar described the videos as a “subconscious placement” of advertising, saying the company created the “Josh” persona as a way of connecting with young people just out of school who are looking for work.
Canadian employers appear to be showing increased interest in conducting job interviews using AI technology, according to a previous report.
‘AI racism’
However, Nexa’s campaign is highly problematic, according to experts.
Business
New government code of practice aims to stop unfair parking charges
BBC News, East Midlands
The government has launched a consultation on a new code to stop people being “unfairly penalised” by private car park operators.
It follows concerns raised by drivers including Rosey Hudson, who was asked to pay £1,906 for taking more than five minutes to pay in a car park in Derby.
The government said the new Private Parking Code of Practice “aims to create a fairer, more transparent private parking system”.
The British Parking Association, one of two trade associations that oversees the industry, has said it will work closely with the government throughout the consultation.
Local growth minister and Nottingham North and Kimberley MP Alex Norris said: “From shopping on your local high street to visiting a loved one in hospital, parking is part of everyday life. But too many people are being unfairly penalised.
“That’s why our code will tackle misleading tactics and confusing processes, bringing vital oversight and transparency to raise standards across the board.”
The previous government published a code of practice in February 2022 and it was due to come into effect by the end of 2023.
However, it was withdrawn following legal challenges launched by several parking firms.
This meant the private parking sector has been left to regulate itself, through two accredited trade associations called the British Parking Association (BPA) and International Parking Community (IPC).
Car park operators, which are members of these associations, can obtain drivers’ names and addresses from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and issue parking charge notices (PCNs) for allegedly breaching terms and conditions.
This has led to drivers being asked to pay hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds for infringements such as taking too long to pay, or keying in their vehicle registration plates incorrectly.
The government said its new measures would prevent charges caused by issues such as payment machine errors, accidental typos, or poor mobile signal.
However, the AA believes the government’s proposals do not go far enough.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy, said: “This long-awaited consultation will not please drivers and suggests that government is bending the knee to the private parking industry.”
His concerns include a £100 cap on parking charges, which is higher than the £50 previously proposed.
“We urge all drivers to complete the consultation and submit their views and experiences when dealing with private parking firms,” he said.
Statistics published by the DVLA suggest private car park operators are issuing more PCNs than ever before.
They paid the DVLA for 12.8 million keeper details in the last financial year, which is a 673% increase since 2012.
“While this partly reflects more parking spaces, the current system lacks independent oversight and sufficient transparency,” the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
“At present, operators can avoid sanctions for poor practice, leaving motorists vulnerable to unfair or incorrect charges. The new compliance framework will ensure accountability.”
Under the proposals, operators that breach the code may stop being able to get drivers’ details from the DVLA.
The eight-week consultation is due to close on 5 September and people can give their views online.
The BPA said it would work closely with the government throughout the consultation, but said the new code must allow for “proper enforcement”.
“Without proper enforcement, parking quickly becomes a free-for-all, with some people taking advantage at the expense of others,” it said in a statement.
“When spaces are misused, it’s often at the expense of those who need them most, such as disabled people, parents with young children and local residents.
“We believe parking systems must strike a balance: they should deter selfish and anti-social behaviour, but they must also be fair, proportionate, and transparent.”
Business
National Trust to cut 550 jobs after Budget pushes up costs
The National Trust has announced plans to cut 6% of its current workforce, about 550 jobs, partly blaming an inflated pay bill and tax rises introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The heritage and conservation charity said it was under “sustained cost pressures beyond our control”.
These include the increase in National Insurance contributions by employers and the National Living Wage rise from April, which the National Trust said had driven up wage costs by more than £10m a year.
The cost-cutting measures are part of a plan to find £26m worth of savings.
“Although demand and support for our work are growing with yearly increases in visitors and donations; increasing costs are outstripping this growth,” the charity said in a statement.
“Pay is the biggest part of our costs, and the recent employer’s National Insurance increase and National Living Wage rise added more than £10m to our annual wage bill.”
A 45-day consultation period with staff began on Thursday and the Trust – which currently has about 9,500 employees – said it was working with the Prospect union “to minimise compulsory redundancies”.
Prospect said though cost pressures were partly to blame, “management decisions” also contributed to the Trust’s financial woes.
The union’s deputy general secretary, Steve Thomas, said “once again it is our member who will have to pay the price”.
“Our members are custodians of the country’s cultural, historic and natural heritage – cuts of this scale risk losing institutional knowledge and skills which are vital to that mission,” he said.
The Trust is running a voluntary redundancy scheme, and is expecting that to significantly reduce compulsory redundancies, a spokeswoman said.
The job cuts will affect all staff from management down, and everyone whose job is at risk will be offered a suitable alternative where available, the spokeswoman added.
Following consultations, which will finish in mid-to-late August, the cuts will be made in the autumn.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the rise in National Insurance contributions by employers in last October’s Budget.
But the move led to strong criticism from many firms, with retailers warning that High Street job losses would be “inevitable” when coupled with other cost increases.
The hike in employer NICs is forecast to raise £25bn in revenues by the end of the parliament.
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