Government news and archive

UK government introduces reforms to apprenticeship system

The UK government has announced a 725 million pound reform package for the apprenticeship system as it looks to address youth unemployment and push for economic growth. Among the initiatives to be carried out under the Growth and Skills Levy will be a 140 million pound pilot programme in which regional Mayors can connect young people,...

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Business

New report finds Leicester garment exploitation claims overstated

A new review presented to UK Parliament has found that allegations of worker exploitation and modern slavery in Leicester’s garment sector were not supported by evidence from formal investigations. The report, ‘Lessons Learned from Operation Tacit’, published in November 2025 by the director of labour market enforcement, Margaret Beels, suggests...

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Go Outdoors among companies fined for underpaying staff

Go Outdoors has been named as one of the nearly 500 employers to be fined by the UK government for failing to pay staff National Minimum Wage. The Lancashire-headquartered retailer was targeted as part of a wider government crackdown on companies underpaying their employees, contributing to wider efforts to overhaul workers’ rights in the UK....

Retail

UK Conservatives pledge to scrap business rates for high street retailers

The UK’s Conservative party has said they would abolish business rates for high street businesses, including retailers and pubs, if they were to win the next election. During a conference in Manchester, shadow chancellor Mel Stride said “the burden of Labour’s tax rises” have been "simply too much to bear”. Stride further claimed that 89,000...

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Fashion

Making sense of UKIPO's design law consultation: Key areas of reform

Are you involved in or affected by UK design laws? Do you have views on the current design registration and protection regime? Now is your chance to make a difference! On 4 September 2025, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) launched a major consultation on potentially significant reforms to the UK’s designs framework. This was...

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Business

400 of Britain’s largest shops at risk, BRC warn

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is warning that 400 large-format stores, from department stores to supermarkets, are at risk of closure if the Government forces them into its proposed higher business rates tax band. New research from the BRC reveals that large stores would be at risk if they are included in the Government’s new business...

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UK government launches consultation to reform IP protection for design sector

The UK government has launched a new comprehensive consultation to explore potential reforms for the region’s design sector, with a particular focus on modernising intellectual property (IP) protection in a post-Brexit landscape. With this, the government said it is seeking expertise from the UK’s design community, from independent creators to...

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UK government mulls ban of ‘forever chemicals’ in school uniforms

New amendments to the UK’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill could see PFAS – otherwise known as ‘forever chemicals’ – banned from use in school uniforms. The bill is currently in the committee stage in the House of Lords, and intends to introduce new regulation on everything from the cost of uniforms to the number of branded items a school...

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BRC responds to Employment Rights Bill roadmap

The British Retail Consortium has welcomed the publication of the Employment Rights Bill Roadmap by the government on July 1, which sets out the timelines for measures in the Bill aimed at boosting rights for half of all UK workers and providing certainty to employers. The government states the Bill will raise living standards across the country...

Retail

UK retailers welcome two billion pound funding for police

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlined a more than two billion pound increase in police spending as part of the government’s latest two trillion pound Spending Review. Reeves outlined the plans during a speech on June 11, in which she said the funding reflected a 2.3 percent per year increase in police spending power “to protect our people, our...

Retail

‘Deeply concerning’: UK Valuation Office Agency to be scrapped

The UK government has announced plans to scrap its Valuation Office Agency (VOA), its arm responsible for valuing properties for council tax and business rates. By April 2026, the division will instead be brought under the wing of its parent department HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). While in its current format, the VOA aids in the collection of...

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Business rates reform absent from spring statement: concerns for retailers

In her first spring statement and second budget as UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves presented a plan aimed at kick-starting the country’s faltering economy. In her statement on Wednesday, the UK’s first female Chancellor admitted that “growth is still not where it should be” but nonetheless reiterated the government's decision to raise the National...