The cost of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is set to continue rising for much of the decade, despite a sweeping overhaul of the system unveiled in the government’s long-awaited schools white paper. Ministers have confirmed that education, health and care plans (EHCPs), the legally binding documents that guarantee tailored support, will gradually be scaled back for many pupils as a new system of specialist provision is introduced. However, while the...
President Donald Trump’s decision to raise US tariffs to 15 per cent has drawn sharp warnings from British business leaders, who say the move risks harming thousands of UK exporters and slowing global economic growth. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he was “effective immediately” raising the existing 10 per cent worldwide tariff on countries to the “fully allowed” 15 per cent level. The announcement followed a ruling by the US Supreme...
The government has announced a £4bn investment package aimed at transforming support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), but sector experts have cautioned that the funding risks being swallowed by mounting backlogs and growing demand. The package includes a £1.6bn Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years, which will go directly to early years settings, schools and colleges to strengthen in-class support. A further £1.8bn will fund a new “Experts at Hand” service...
The government has named former Amazon executive Doug Gurr as its preferred candidate to become permanent chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), cementing a leadership change designed to align the regulator more closely with its pro-growth agenda. Peter Kyle confirmed that Gurr, who has held the role on an interim basis since January last year, will be put forward for a full five-year term, subject to a non-binding hearing by the Commons business...
A government shutdown, big or small, is usually a front-and-center issue for lawmakers — but the most recent partial closure could be put on the back burner as Congress returns to several issues in Washington. Senate Democrats and the White House are still at odds over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the shutdown dragged into its 10th day. Neither side is budging, with the most recent concrete action coming early last week....
Improved mobile connectivity could help create 49,000 new businesses across the UK and add £6.6bn a year to the economy within a decade, according to research commissioned by VodafoneThree. The modelling, carried out by consultancy WPI Strategy, suggests that stronger and more reliable mobile coverage would unlock entrepreneurship in underserved areas, driving long-term economic growth by 2036. The findings come as VodafoneThree announced it had removed 16,500 square kilometres of mobile “not spots” by deploying...
Job vacancies in Britain have fallen to their lowest level in five years, with graduate recruitment bearing the brunt as employers contend with higher payroll costs and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Data from Adzuna show that advertised vacancies dropped to 694,940 in January, down 16 per cent year-on-year and 3 per cent compared with December. It is the first time since January 2021 that the number of vacancies has dipped below 700,000. The...
An Argyll-based manufacturing firm is targeting 20 per cent year-on-year growth in the global awards sector after investing nearly half a million pounds in new production technology. Midton, headquartered in Lochgilphead, has installed a biomass-powered autoclave as part of a £429,000 upgrade designed to increase output and improve efficiency at its foundry. The move strengthens its position as one of Europe’s leading producers of cast acrylic products and one of only a handful of specialist...
Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed a director of a new Middle Eastern-backed investment fund planning to deploy more than £1bn into luxury hospitality projects in London’s Mayfair. Evolution Investment Fund, launched in 2025 by the UAE-based Shanshal family, has acquired a leasehold interest in the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square alongside a development site near New Bond Street with full planning consent. The total capital commitment for the two projects, including development costs,...
Tracy Brabin has launched a five-day trade mission to Switzerland and Germany aimed at deepening economic ties, unlocking inward investment and creating new export opportunities for West Yorkshire firms. The mayor arrived in Zurich at the head of a 12-strong business delegation, marking the first leg of a visit that will also take in Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Stuttgart. Organised by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and supported by KPMG, the mission focuses on three priority...
