The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to increase the Bank of England base rate to 0.75% today (2 August 2018).

HMRC interest rates are linked to the Bank of England base rate and, as a consequence of the change, HMRC interest rates for late payment will be increased.

These changes will come into effect on:

• 13 August 2018 for quarterly instalment payments
• 21 August 2018 for non-quarterly instalment payments

Repayment interest rates remain unchanged.

We will update information on the interest rates for late payments shortly.

The ‘Gold Awards’ awards announced by the MOD today are for businesses and organisations who have shown outstanding support for the military community and the Armed Forces Covenant.

Employers have won awards for initiatives such as employing veterans, supporting individuals transitioning out of the armed forces into a new career, and providing flexibility for reservists.

Now in its fifth year, the MOD’s Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Awards represent the highest badge of honour available to those that employ and support those who serve, veterans, and their families.

The 50 winners have been recognised for their long-term commitment to the armed forces, with organisations from the public and private sector achieving the top grade. Each has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, and where possible, engages with the MOD’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to promote the recruitment of service leavers, as well as honouring individual pledges of support.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Tobias Ellwood said:

The breadth and diversity of this year’s winners shows how business support for the armed forces continues to flourish. Their commitment is a testament to the fantastic contribution our serving personnel, veterans and their families can make to any organisation.

We all have a role to play in ensuring that the armed forces community is not disadvantaged by service, and each of these employers is a setting an example as meaningful advocates for those protecting the nation.

The 2018 Employer Recognition Scheme Gold award winners are:

1. Alexander Mann Solutions

2. Amey

3. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

4. BNY Mellon

5. C S Hodges

6. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

7. City of London Corporation

8. City of Wolverhampton Council

9. Compass Group UK and Ireland

10. Defence Medical Welfare Service

11. Dumfries and Galloway Council

12. Durham County Council

13. East of England Ambulance Service

14. Ernst & Young (EY)

15. Forward Assist Veterans Charity

16. Future Sales Factory

17. Handy Heroes

18. ITI Network Services Ltd

19. James McVicar Printing Works

20. Kent County Council

21. Landmarc Support Services Ltd

22. Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

23. Leonardo

24. Lloyd’s of London

25. London Borough of Wandsworth (Wandsworth Council)

26. London Southbank University

27. MBDA UK

28. Newcastle City Council

29. Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

30. NHS Hastings and Rother CCG and NHS Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford CCG

31. NHS Orkney

32. Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

33. Northumberland County Council

34. Portsmouth City Council

35. Raytheon Systems Limited

36. The Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

37. Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust

38. Sage

39. SaluteMyJob

40. SGN

41. SkillForce

42. South Tyneside Council

43. Sovini

44. Standard Life Aberdeen Plc

45. Stoll

46. Swansea Council

47. University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

48. University of Lincoln

49. University of South Wales

50. WYG

Martin Jones, CEO of the Parole Board, gave a speech at “Parole: Law, Policy and Practice in 2018”, an event hosted by Cambridge University on 2 July 2018.

His speech, “Improving independence, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness”, focussed on how the Parole Board has changed since it started in 1968, where the Parole Board is today, and where it should be aiming to be in the future.

He recognised that statistics are not enough on their own to give the public confidence in the Parole Board, despite another record breaking year in 2017/18:

“Looking forward we want to be more transparent than ever before; about our decision making; our performance and areas where we need to improve.”

His speech was part of an event co-hosted by the Centre for Criminal Justice and Centre for Public Law to discuss the Ministry of Justice public consultation into the law, policy and procedure relating to parole.

Books from GLD’s library have made their way across the globe to Kenya, after being donated to the charity Book Aid International.

Over the last 9 months, 3,500 volumes of legal materials have been sent to the charity. The donated books are no longer needed by Government Lawyers as they have been superseded by new online versions via subscription services.

Commenting on the donation, Treasury Solicitor Jonathan Jones said:

I am very pleased that our legal books have been sent in to such a worthwhile charity, and they have been put to good use thousands of miles away.

We’ve also sent other books and journals to the Supreme Court, Royal Courts of Justice and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office library. I am glad that we are able to share our knowledge base with law students and those who just want to know more about law, around the world.

Giorgia Cerruti the Book Provision Manager for Book Aid International said:

We so often get requests for law books, and do not receive enough donations to cater for the high demand, so GLD’s donations are really vital for so many of our partners.

The books are amazing! The Kenya National Library Service is opening a new central library branch, and these books will be great to help start a legal section there. So as you see, we’ll put them to very good use!

Book Aid International work with partners around the world, to ensure that books reach the communities who have the greatest difficulty accessing reading material. In 2017, the charity sent books to 20 countries – including South Sudan, Sierre Leone, and Syrian refugees in Lebanon among others. GLD have worked with Book Aid International since 2005.

A new publication which details the allocation of the government’s increasing investment in research and innovation, highlighting the government’s ambition for public and private sector investment in R&D to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027, was announced today (Thursday 2 August) by Science Minister Sam Gyimah.

The newly published Allocations Booklet highlights the biggest ever increase in public research and development (R&D) funding for 40 years, allowing scientists and researchers to continue pushing the boundaries of knowledge through the modern Industrial Strategy.

Recent examples of government-funded innovative programmes include breakthroughs in developing battery technologies for the future, and creating a new state of the art polar research ship that will facilitate world-leading and internationally collaborative research.

The Booklet also includes details of how increases in public R&D funding have been allocated to:

• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• the UK Space Agency
• National Academies
• Public Sector Research Establishments
• and other programmes.

It also includes details of year-on-year increases in R&D across a wide range of areas, including the National Productivity Investment Fund, Official Development Assistance and science infrastructure across the UK.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

We want the UK to lead on new ideas and technologies and have committed to supporting our businesses and world-leading innovators by taking measures to ensure 2.4% of GDP will be spent on research and development by 2027.

The publication of the Allocations Booklet spells out how we will ensure the benefits of this funding is felt across the science, research and innovation landscape; paving the way for disruptive businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers to flourish, boosting our economy and creating the high-value jobs of tomorrow.

The government’s commitment to reach the target of 2.4% of GDP being spent on R&D by 2027 was announced as part of the launch of the Industrial Strategy White Paper, reinforcing the UK’s commitment to our world-leading science, research and innovation sectors providing them with the necessary support to go from strength to strength.

The booklet includes the most recent allocations for a number of programmes funded and managed by UKRI, including the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). UKRI is a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.

UKRI Chief Finance Officer and Deputy CEO Ian Kenyon said:

UK Research and Innovation is committed to providing the best environment for research and innovation to flourish, and ensuring that the UK’s world-leading knowledge economy is harnessed to address the significant societal and industrial challenges we face both domestically and globally.

The government has recognised these challenges, and by committing significant additional funding to research and innovation is providing us with the resources we need to get on with the job at hand.

UK Research and Innovation will now focus on investing every pound of our allocations wisely, while we push the frontiers of human knowledge and create tangible economic, cultural and social impact through the activities that we fund.

UKRI’s mission is illustrated by a range of recent projects. These include

• the RRS Sir David Attenborough, a 129m-long polar research ship which will deliver world-leading research to help tackle the environmental challenges of our age, including climate change and protecting our oceans
• the UK’s ongoing leading role in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory project to detect gravitational waves, which led to the award of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics
• the Knowledge Exchange Hubs which successfully stimulated greater collaboration between excellent arts and humanities research and the creative industries.

A total of £1.7 billion has been committed to the first 2 waves of the ISCF, which is designed to develop UK industries that are fit for the future, driving progress in technologies where the UK can become a world-leader in their research and commercialisation. Investments so far include:

• the Faraday Challenge, to drive the development of new battery technologies
• 4 Hubs developing robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies for use in challenging and hazardous environments
• and a range of projects stimulating the development and manufacture of novel medicines for patients.

A number of other ISCF projects will be announced in the coming months, and challenges for the third wave of the ISCF are currently being considered.

1. Read The Allocations Booklet

2. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish across the UK. Comprising 9 councils, it aims to maximise the contribution of each of its component parts, working individually and collectively. It works with its many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.

3. The booklet sets out the budget allocations to UKRI and other funding streams managed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The focus on UKRI means this is not intended to be a complete picture of R&D managed across government or the department as some R&D budgets reside elsewhere.

4. The National Productivity Investment Fund established as part of the Autumn Statement 2016 and expanded at Autumn Budget 2017, adds £31 billion across government in high-value investment from 2017-18 to 2021-22. The £7 billion of this apportioned to research and innovation funding is split between themes and includes funding for innovation and research: Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund; and other programmes such as research talent. The £7 billion investment is made up of the £4.7 billion detailed within the Allocations Booklet and the remaining £2.3 billion to be allocated in 2021-22.

5. Allocations for 2020-2021 onwards will be made following the Spending Review.