Month: September 2023

Firms have said that they were not aware of a ban in England on single-use plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays that comes into force on Sunday.
The ban does not extend to plastic containers and trays used in takeaways or for pre-packaged food in shops leading to environmental campaigners saying the new rules do not go far enough, and called the government’s approach “piecemeal”.
The government said it was the “next big step” in its “journey to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042”.
Plastic pollution takes hundreds of years to break down, harms waterways and is a source of greenhouse gases.
From Sunday, 1 October, shops, takeaways, food vendors and other hospitality businesses will no longer be able to sell single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, polystyrene cups or food containers.
It follows a similar ban in 2022 on single-use straws, stirrers and cotton buds containing plastic.
However, under an exemption to the new rules, takeaways will still be able to use plastic containers, trays and wrap.
Retailers can also continue using plastic plates, bowls and trays for pre-packaged food such as pre-filled salad bowls and ready meals.
The government said these items were classed as “packaging” and would be tackled under separate rules. These are meant to shift the costs of dealing with packaging waste away from local authorities and onto packaging producers.
Anna Diski, plastics campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “Legislating token bans on a few single-use plastic items every few years… [is] completely inadequate to the scale of the problem.
“Instead of this piecemeal approach, the government needs to address the problem at source and roll out a serious strategy to cut how much plastic is being produced.”
Meanwhile, some businesses said they were not aware of the new rules at all.
Takeaway owner Herdy Ibrahim in Leeds said: “To be honest with you I haven’t heard anything about it.”
Across the road at Fast Fried Chicken, Jalal Ali said he had just bought two weeks’ supply of polystyrene boxes and wholesalers are “still full” of packaging that will be banned from Sunday.
“I’ve been to the warehouse yesterday and they still have plastic forks and polystyrene trays like I have here,” he said.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), said: “We’ve been working with the Foodservice Packaging Association and Defra to get information together for our members but, of course, not all takeaways and restaurants are members of organisations so there will be places out there that will be learning the news today.”
In September, the British Independent Retail Association, that works with more than 6,000 independent businesses, warned some firms were unaware of, or unprepared for, the new rules.
Businesses that continue to supply banned single-use plastics after 1 October could be fined and local authorities will be carrying out inspections.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said the government had worked closely with industry over the last nine months to help it transition to greener packaging.
“This new ban will protect the environment and help to cut litter – stopping plastic pollution dirtying our streets and threatening our wildlife,” she said.
‘Special conditions’
There is backing by the public to reduce plastic waste. According to research by takeaway delivery platform Just Eat, 70% of people think the government should do more to reduce plastic use, while 73% would support a ban on plastic takeaway boxes.
Robin Clark, global director of sustainability at Just Eat, said that the UK takeaway industry used around 500 million single-use plastic boxes each year.
The firm urged the government to make sustainable packaging alternatives more widely available and affordable for businesses and consumers.
Read more:
Some firms unaware of England’s new single-use plastic ban which is just days away

On the eve of the Conservative and Labour Party Conferences, new analysis reveals the acute need for greater support to help British businesses navigate a pivotal 15 months of new rules related to international trade.
A new report from the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) finds that over 20 major policy changes will impact all British firms who trade internationally between now and the end of 2024. This makes the period even busier and more pivotal than 2021, when the EU began applying full customs requirement and checks on UK exports.
The report shows that once this period of change is navigated, it will be transformational for British businesses and allow the UK to harness the potential of the new trade deals and opportunities being explored around the world. However, to capitalise on this opportunity, firms must act now to prepare – and policymakers of all colours must work together to ensure this bedding in period is a success.
Last month the government announced its plans for a significant new approach to importing goods into Great Britain via the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM). BTOM will progressively be introduced from January 2024, and will affect borders procedures for incoming food, animal and plant products. However, IOE&IT’s analysis finds that BTOM is just the beginning, with 23 major legislative and policy changes set to affect businesses either directly or through their supply chains, delivery partners or freight forwarders.
The changes set to come into force over the coming months include the fifth release of the New Computerised Transit System, the rollout of the Electronic Trade Documents Act, the EU Import Control System 2, as well as multiple updates to the documentation, risk-based checks and health certification checks on specific products. With specific requirements and levels of understanding needed for each, IOE&IT finds that the time and support needed to implement these changes will be substantial – but that the benefits will be vast.
As the country stands on the precipice of great change in how it does business with the rest of the world, the Institute of Export & International Trade is taking this report to Party Conferences with the clear message that the business community needs support, education and clarity in order to plan properly and navigate this critical period of change successfully.
Commenting on this analysis, Marco Forgione, Director General of The Institute of Export & International Trade, said: “The UK’s international trade community is on the launchpad of great change. Such a raft of new measures in so short a period of time is almost unheard of. This presents an enormous opportunity for Britain to reap the benefits of the new trade deals and partnerships we are pursuing around the world. But we need businesses and policymakers pulling together in the same direction.
“From cutting red tape to our new digital borders, these changes are undoubtedly a cause for excitement. But with so much change, there is naturally going to be some apprehension amongst business owners. This is understandable, and there will be a bedding in period – but the potential benefits if we can navigate this period successfully are profound. The digitalisation of UK trade has the potential to add £25bn to the country’s GDP. But that potential cannot be realised without certainty and support. Businesses need to feel confident that they can not only navigate these changes, but that they have sufficient time to prepare so stock levels, deliveries and suppliers aren’t negatively impacted.
“My message to our leaders at Party Conferences this season is clear, 2024 is going to see profound change in how we trade with the rest of the world. We can longer take for granted that businesses are fully aware of all the changes coming into force. It is essential there are no more delays and that we work together to give our business community the best chance to succeed. We have a golden opportunity here for British business to flourish – but they can only reap the rewards of efficient new border systems and trade deals if they are armed with the right skills and knowledge in plenty of time.”
Read more:
Political leaders urged to support businesses navigate ‘seismic’ period promising transformational benefits for international trade

UK households are facing an average tax rise of £3,500 a year by the next election, the country’s leading economics thinktank has said – the biggest increase over a parliament on records dating back more than 70 years.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that on current forecasts the Conservatives were on track to raise £100bn more annually by 2024 than if taxes as a share of national income had stayed the same as in 2019.
In a damaging report for Rishi Sunak as the Tory party faces growing internal divisions over the issue, the thinktank said tax revenue was on track to amount to about 37% of national income in 2024, up from about 33% four years ago.
Compared with a world in which that shift had not occurred, the IFS said this amounted to an additional £100bn a year for the exchequer – the equivalent to about £3,500 more per household, although some would pay more and others less.
Meanwhile, Sunak is preparing to head to Manchester this weekend for one of the most challenging Tory party annual conferences in years. He is under pressure from rightwing MPs and supporters of his predecessor Liz Truss to launch a package of pre-election tax giveaways.
However Jeremy Hunt has already said that little room for tax cuts if he wants to meet the government’s self-imposed targets for the public finances without renewed cuts to public spending.
In analysis that is likely to stoke fresh Tory infighting, the IFS said no parliament had presided over a bigger increase in taxes than the current one – led by three Conservative prime ministers – on records dating back to 1951.
Before the 2019 general election, the Conservatives claimed Labour’s spending plans under Jeremy Corbyn would mean an additional £2,400 bill for every taxpayer in Britain.
Under Keir Starmer, Labour has seized on rising tax levels as evidence of the Tories’ failure to grow the economy, arguing the government is in a bind of its own making, as sluggish economic growth brings in less income for the exchequer to fund public services.
Aiming to demonstrate economic competence before the next election, the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has ruled out introducing a wealth tax or putting up the top rate of income tax. However, Labour faces its own internal pressures to overhaul taxation to fund the repair of austerity-starved public services while also tackling entrenched inequalities.
In separate research published on Friday, a report from the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the innovation charity Nesta’s UK 2040 Options programme warned stark wealth inequalities were holding Britain back.
Arguing that changes to wealth tax were a “no-brainer”, the report found total wealth for the richest 10% of people in the UK had grown 25 times faster than for the poorest 30% between 2006 and 2020.
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, said the Tories had crashed the economy, with the public paying the price. “This is the same party which promised not to raise people’s taxes and is now taxing families through the nose,” she said.
The IFS said a series of taxation-raising measures had fuelled the record growth in tax revenue as a share of national income. Highlighting decisions Sunak took during his time as chancellor, the thinktank pointed to a rise in the headline rate of corporation tax from 19% to 25%, the energy profits levy and the freezing of various income tax and national insurance thresholds.
Ben Zaranko, a senior research economist at IFS, said that while high by historical standards, the UK’s tax take as a share of national income was still “fairly middling” compared with other developed countries.
Even if the government decided to announce tax cuts in the run-up to the next election, there would still be “no world in which this parliament, or indeed the period since Rishi Sunak became prime minister”, turned out to be “anything other than a tax-raising one”, Zaranko said.
He added: “This is not, for the most part, a direct consequence of the pandemic. Rather, it reflects decisions to increase government spending, in part driven by demographic change, pressures on the health service and some unwinding of austerity.
“It is likely that this parliament will mark a decisive and permanent shift to a higher-tax economy.”
A spokesperson for the Treasury said that “despite needing to take the difficult decisions to restore public finances” after the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK’s ratio of tax to gross domestic product would still remain lower than any major European economy.
“Driving down inflation is the most effective tax cut we can deliver right now, which is why we are sticking to our plan to halve it, rather than making it worse by borrowing money to fund tax cuts.”
Read more:
UK households face tax rise of £3,500 a year by next election, thinktank IFS finds

Ensuring websites create conversion rich opportunities is just one of RapidSpike’s three core offerings
A tech entrepreneur for more than 20 years, Gav Winter has previously founded two major technology consultancies, Gav is an award-winning entrepreneur and leader, and an expert in high-growth strategy. Today he is CEO of next-generation website monitoring company, RapidSpike.
RapidSpike is a next-generation website monitoring platform revolutionising website reliability, performance, and security. As the only solution to capture these three critical aspects of website health, the result is continually optimised customer journeys, greater website resilience, and more conversions – crucial for high-volume businesses transacting online.
Gav takes time out of his busy schedule to share his secrets of success with Business Matters …
What type of businesses do you work with?
The nature of what we do means we can work with pretty much any brand that has online-critical processes – from retail, travel, and gaming to healthcare, policing, and government.
What problem does your company solve?
The web is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year and organisations need to maximise performance, reliability, accessibility, and security if they’re going to lead from the front, enhance the customer experience, and develop genuine brand loyalty.
As such, more than simply website uptime needs to be monitored for businesses to be successful online and create conversion-rich opportunities in today’s digital-first world. Customers now expect websites to perform at a more sophisticated level than ever before.
If you fail, customers will find somewhere else to fulfil what they’re looking for. In today’s world, even marginal gains of 0.1% faster speeds can represent millions of pounds of extra revenue for the UK’s largest brands.
What is your USP?
It must be the depth of data and insight we can provide. RapidSpike knows what it’s good at – and we start in our lane, but it do it really, really well. Let’s face it, websites are rich with just about every statistic under the sun, but we extract the relevant information and understand how to convert it into tangible areas for improvement.
What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?
Underpinning the company is a sense of responsiveness. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, how big or small the client, or the relative size of the problem, we must be responsive as people, colleagues, partners, and a platform – it’s fundamental to the success of our business.
I wouldn’t say I’ve had them challenged as such, because people join RapidSpike to help our customers do business better. It’s something we’re all incredibly passionate about, and we were all a part of outlining what it is RapidSpike stands for – which I think is important to the long-term future of our organisation.
How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?
For me, it’s about having a willingness to learn, a ‘can-do’ work ethic and a positive mindset. We’re incredibly honest from the very first interaction with a colleague – as we believe alignment works both ways.
An initial telephone interview acts as more of a temperature check, before we conduct the ’16 personalities test’ to see if the candidate’s personality and skills fit the role we’re looking for – as we’re keen to find differences within the team.
Only once we’re sure of a personality and skillset match would we move to an interview. Even then, we start the conversation by encouraging candidates to forget the nerves and not try to answer a question if they don’t know it – as they can learn. Instead, we’d rather spend the time figuring out if we’d both like to work alongside each other.
Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?
We’re completely flexible. Arguably, I’d say we were ‘digital first’ with the only stipulation being that we meet, face-to-face, for collaborative sessions when needed. While there are no rules on the time spent in the office, as a team, there’s an appetite to introduce two set ‘people work’ days per week, whereby we meet somewhere as a team – be it HQ, a coffee shop, or even in a park.
Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?
I think it boils down to three simple but fundamental things, communication, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Caring what other people think makes a big difference.
If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?
Create a ThinkTank which brings together actual business leaders from across the UK at varying stages of their careers. Personally, I believe it would be helpful if MPs had experience in the areas they are given to manage too – it shouldn’t simply be the ‘old boys’ club’.
What is your attitude towards your competitors?
They’re a source of inspiration. You can pick up a lot from competitors, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that. Not only can they feed you with ideas, but you can learn from their mistakes too.
Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?
We’re very much focused on growth. Of course, we have many of the same worries as other organisations across the country, with the rising cost of doing business – but it creates an opportunity too, because people want to future-proof their digital real estate. We’re working hard to raise further investment, but for now at least, we’re sustainable as we are.
Read more:
Secrets of Success: RapidSpike CEO, Gav Winter

Parents of nursery and primary school-age children are facing more than £600 of extra childcare costs a month, a study has found, as employers demand staff spend more days in the office.
More than half of parents said they had come under increasing pressure to increase time spent at their desks, in response to a survey by the flexible childcare provider Pebble.
The move by employers to issue new return-to-office mandates in recent months is resulting in higher childcare costs equating to an average of an additional £664 every month, according to a survey of 2,000 parents.
Employers were found on average to be asking their staff to return to their desks for an additional two days each week, putting pressure on family finances amid the cost of living crisis.
Sarah (not her real name) works in financial services in Scotland, and is struggling with the cost and logistics of childcare after her employer ordered all staff back to the office for four days a week, up from the previous three-day mandate.
“Nobody is happy about it, never mind working parents. It doesn’t make sense as the evidence shows working from home is very productive, while the extra time with the family was a no-brainer,” she said.
Sarah and her husband live in a rural area with no family nearby and limited childcare availability, the cost of which she described as “horrendous”. She is now looking for a job offering more home working.
“People reckon the company is going in the direction of five days in the office and I just can’t do that with the many years ahead of me with children in primary school,” she said.
Two in five parents told Pebble, which enables ad hoc bookings at nurseries and other childcare locations, they were struggling to afford additional childcare costs. Half of those surveyed said they expected to quit their current roles in order to find jobs offering more remote working.
Meanwhile, more than a third of parents surveyed said they had already changed jobs to avoid office time.
Large corporates have started to call an end to the more flexible working patterns which followed the pandemic, led by big tech firms including Amazon, Google and Meta, and banks including Citigroup and Lloyds.
Since the end of the summer, Lloyds has been encouraging staff back to their desks, and it currently expects workers to attend for two days a week.
Under a new flexible working policy, the lender said it was offering compressed working arrangements to parents and carers, with the option to squeeze a five-day working week into four.
However, one Lloyds employee, who did not want to give their name, complained of a lack of flexibility.
“I have to work Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the office, which are not days I would have chosen due to childcare reasons, and I have to work 9-5,” they said.
They claimed this was causing worry about what to do once their child starts school next year: “Having to work in the office means I will have to pay for breakfast club, and after-school club, but this still doesn’t cover the time it will take for me to commute. I’m at a loss as to what I can do.”
Some parents may have benefited from reduced childcare costs when they were required to work from home during the pandemic, but many are now struggling to find adequate and affordable care, according to Lance Beare, the chief executive of Pebble.
“We’ve seen increases in fees – due to cost of living pressures – and of course some childcare settings have closed due to the increased financial pressures,” he said.
“Forced office rollbacks means the pressure is on for parents to secure fixed provision and to commit to higher fees consistently.”
The impact of rising childcare costs was highlighted by the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, which surveyed more than 11,800 parents.
It found that families with an annual household income under £50,000 were being hit the hardest, prompting a fifth of parents in such households to leave the workforce.
Almost two-thirds (61%) of parents with children under five said they or their partner had reduced their working hours as a result of childcare costs.
Meanwhile, 41% said childcare fees had risen by between 5% and 10% in the past 10 months, and a further 14% said their nursery fees had gone up by more than 10%.
Read more:
Childcare costs ‘soaring by £600-plus a month’ as staff are make office return

A government credit guarantee has allowed Teesside stainless steel alloy inventor and manufacturer Paralloy to secure up to £26 million of a Santander UK bank guarantee facility to support the continued growth of its export business.
Announced on National Manufacturing Day, the guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF) – the government’s export credit agency – allows Santander UK to overwrite a previous facility and increase the amount of facility available to Paralloy from £17 million to £26 million.
The previous facility enabled Paralloy to offer bonds on its contracts, assuring potential buyers that orders would be fulfilled even in times of market uncertainty. The newly agreed package means that the manufacturer can issue £9 million more in bank guarantees than before. This will allow Paralloy to pursue an even greater range of high-value export contracts and enter new markets, partly because the funding will help the business procure inputs whose prices have risen sharply amid global economic challenges.
Thanks in part to this facility, the company anticipates creating 75 new jobs by 2024, giving a boost to local, high-skilled jobs. This is UKEF’s second guarantee issued to Paralloy through its General Export Facility (GEF), the first of which helped Paralloy create more than 100 new jobs and drive export growth up by more than £30 million.
Launched by UKEF in 2021, the GEF product provides exporters with access to flexible financing. Now available through nine financial institutions, it provided support worth £325 million to UK exporters in 2022-23, making it UKEF’s most popular product.
Tim Reid, CEO of UKEF, said: “Working alongside Santander UK, we have increased our support for Paralloy, helping it further develop its export business and support highly skilled jobs in Teesside.
“This facility expansion shows that support which we offer through our General Export Facility is versatile and open to manufacturers in every corner of the UK who want to sell to the world.”
Founded more than 90 years ago, Billingham-based Paralloy produces patented stainless steel and nickel alloy castings used in high temperature furnaces and exports its products to more than 40 countries. Key markets include North America, Europe and the Middle East.
Paralloy supplies an industrial customer base which includes producers of blue hydrogen, direct reduction of iron used in steel manufacturing and Ethylene, as well as components for industrial gas turbines and defence.
Robert McGowan, CEO of Paralloy, said: “Getting hold of the funding to cover facilities and bonds is difficult as it ties up capital that can be used to invest in growing the company. UKEF General Export Facility – both this expansion and the original funding which it replaces – has been a gamechanger.
“It’s a vital tool that has enabled us to fuel the growth of our export sales, increase our investments, win bigger contracts and employ more people.”
Mark Ling, Head of Trade Finance & Supplier Finance at Santander UK said: “We are delighted to continue supporting Paralloy’s export journey alongside the support from UKEF. The General Export Facility offers crucial support to UK businesses, and we are pleased to work with UKEF to provide this funding to Paralloy and a growing number of other companies to help fulfil their international growth ambitions.”
Read more:
Teesside stainless steel firm grows business with £26M export finance package

The UK government has disbanded the independent advisory board of its Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) without any announcement amid a wider push to position the UK as a global leader in AI governance.
Launched in June 2018 to drive a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and other data-driven technologies, the original remit the CDEI’s multi-disciplinary advisory board was to “anticipate gaps in the governance landscape, agree and set out best practice to guide ethical and innovative uses of data, and advise government on the need for specific policy or regulatory action”.
Since then, the centre has largely been focused on developing practical guidance for how organisations in both the public and private sectors can manage their AI technologies in an ethical way, which includes, for example, publishing an algorithmic transparency standard for all public sector bodies in November 2021 and a portfolio of AI assurance techniques in June 2023.
The decision comes ahead of the global AI safety summit being held in the UK in November and while the advisory board’s webpage notes it was officially closed on 9 September 2023, Future News said that the government updated the page in such a way that no email alerts were sent to those subscribed to the topic.
Speaking anonymously with Recorded Future, former advisory board members explained how the government attitude to the body shifted over time as it cycled through four different prime ministers and seven secretaries of state since board members were first appointed in November 2018.
“At our inception, there was a question over whether we would be moved out of government and put on a statutory footing, or be an arm’s-length body, and the assumption was that was where we were headed,” said the official, adding the CDEI was instead brought entirely under the purview of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) earlier in 2023.
“They weren’t invested in what we were doing. That was part of a wider malaise where the Office for AI was also struggling to gain any traction with the government, and it had whitepapers delayed and delayed and delayed.”
The former board member further added there was also very little political will to get public sector bodies to buy into the CDEI’s work, noting for example that the algorithmic transparency standard published in November 2021 has not been widely adopted and was not promoted by the government in its March 2023 AI whitepaper (which set out its governance proposals for the technology): “I was really quite surprised and disappointed by that.”
Speaking with Computer Weekly on condition of anonymity, the same former board member added they were informed of the boards disbanding in August: “The reason given was that DSIT had decided to take a more flexible approach to consulting advisers, picking from a pool of external people, rather than having a formal advisory board.
“There was certainly an option for the board to continue. In the current environment, with so much interest in the regulation and oversight of the use of AI and data, the existing expertise on the advisory board could have contributed much more.”
However, they were clear that CDEI staff “have always worked extremely professionally with the advisory board, taking account of its advice and ensuring that the board was kept apprised of ongoing projects”.
Neil Lawrence, a professor of machine learning at the university of Cambridge and interim chair of the advisory board, also told Recorded Future that while he had “strong suspicions” about the advisory board being disbanded, “there was no conversation with me” prior to the decision being made.
In early September 2023, for example, just before the advisory board webpage was quietly changed, the government announced it had appointed figures from industry, academia and national security to the advisory board of its rebranded Frontier AI Taskforce (previously it was the AI Foundation Model Taskforce).
The stated goal of the £100m Taskforce is to promote AI safety, and it will have a particular focus on assessing “frontier” systems that pose significant risks to public safety and global security.
Commenting on the how the disbanding of the CDEI advisory board will affect UK AI governance going forward, the former advisory board members said: “The existential risks seem to be the current focus, at least in the PM’s office. You could say that it’s easy to focus on future ‘existential’ risks as it avoids having to consider the detail of what is happening now and take action.
“It’s hard to decide what to do about current uses of AI as this involves investigating the details of the technology and how it integrates with human decision-making. It also involves thinking about public sector policies and how AI is being used to implement them. This can raise tricky issues.
“I hope the CDEI will continue and that the expertise that they have built up will be made front and centre of ongoing efforts to identify the real potential and risks of AI, and what the appropriate governance responses should be.”
Responding to Computer Weekly’s request for comment, a DSIT spokesperson said: “The CDEI Advisory Board was appointed on a fixed term basis and with its work evolving to keep pace with rapid developments in data and AI, we are now tapping into a broader group of expertise from across the department beyond a formal board structure.
“This will ensure a diverse range of opinion and insight, including from former board members, can continue to inform its work and support government’s AI and innovation priorities.”
On 26 September, a number of former advisory board members – including Lawrence, Martin Hosken, Marion Oswald and Mimi Zou – published a blog with reflections on their time at the CDEI.
“During my time on the Advisory Board, CDEI has initiated world-leading, cutting-edge projects including AI Assurance, UK-US PETs prize challenges, Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard, the Fairness Innovation Challenge, among many others,” said Zou.
“Moving forward, I have no doubt that CDEI will continue to be a leading actor in delivering the UK’s strategic priorities in the trustworthy use of data and AI and responsible innovation. I look forward to supporting this important mission for many years to come.”
The CDEI itself said: “The CDEI Advisory Board has played an important role in helping us to deliver this crucial agenda. Their expertise and insight have been invaluable in helping to set the direction of and deliver on our programmes of work around responsible data access, AI assurance and algorithmic transparency.
“As the board’s terms have now ended, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank the board for supporting some of our key projects during their time.”
Reflecting widespread interest in AI regulation and governance, a number of Parliamentary inquiries have been launched in the last year to investigate various aspects of the technology.
This includes an inquiry into an inquiry into AI governance launched in October 2022; an inquiry into autonomous weapons system launched January 2023; another into generative AI launched in July 2023; and yet another into large language models launched in September 2023.
A Lords inquiry into the use of artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies by UK police concluded in March 2022 that the tech is being deployed by law enforcement bodies without a thorough examination of their efficacy or outcomes, and that those in charge of those deployments are essentially “making it up as they go along”.

Natalie Cramp, CEO of data company, Profusion, said:  “It’s deeply disappointing that the Government has taken the decision to disband the independent AI and data ethics advisory board. It’s another indication that the Government simply doesn’t have a coherent strategy towards data and AI, nor does it have strong stakeholder engagement on this topic. In November the UK is set to hold a global summit on AI safety which is an ideal opportunity to position the UK in a leading role to define how AI can develop. However, when compared to the progress the US and Europe have made towards creating and debating AI legislation, the UK is far behind. The reality is that AI will become one of the defining technologies of the next few decades. Without well-thought-out rules that govern its development we risk, at best, wasting this opportunity to do a lot of good, and at worst, creating an environment where damaging and undesirable uses of AI thrive. This could lead to us regressing to a more unequal society.

“It’s particularly worrying that the Government has disbanded the advisory board because data ethics is a critical part of legislating a fast-moving technology like AI. When we put this move into the context of the failure to finalise a replacement of GDPR seven years after it was announced it would be scrapped, the ongoing issues around the Online Safety Bill, and the failure to introduce any wide-ranging AI regulations, it paints a picture of a Government that does not seem to have a strategy towards regulating and cultivating innovation. I hope that the AI safety summit does help to focus minds and results in the threat and opportunity of AI being taken more seriously, however, data ethics is broader than just AI which leaves questions on how the Government is going to progress this without the advisory board. The establishment of DSIT was very positive but we need real engagement and transparency with the sector, including SMEs, and the public. Concrete action is needed now before it is too late.”
Read more:
UK government quietly disbands AI ethics advisory board just months before hosting global conference

Five Labour mayors have urged Rishi Sunak not to scrap, delay or scale back HS2 as it would “leave swathes of the north with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose”.
Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham, Tracy Brabin, Oliver Coppard and Steve Rotheram say they have been “inundated” with concerns from constituents about the potential “economic damage that will result from any decision not to proceed with HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in full”.
The regional mayors issued a shared statement to express dismay at the prospect of the UK government scrapping the rail project’s northern leg, ahead of a collective meeting on Wednesday.
The cabinet minister Lucy Frazer, when asked if they would listen to the mayors’ plea not to cut the rail project further, said the prime minister and chancellor “listen to a wide variety of voices”.
Frazer, the culture secretary, told Sky News: “I’m sure the prime minister and the chancellor listen to a wide variety of voices. But as you will know, it’s the responsibility of the government to keep all projects under consideration. And that’s what the chancellor is doing. He is, as he does on all matters which are spending billions of pounds of taxpayers’ funding, looking at a whole range of projects to make sure that they are value for money.”
Asked whether HS2 would run to Manchester, she said: “Well, that is a decision, as you know, for the chancellor, not for me.”
The mayors’ joint statement said: “Investment in transport infrastructure is a huge driver of economic growth – creating jobs, increasing productivity and opening up new business opportunities. HS2 and NPR will deliver this right across our regions.
“This government has said repeatedly that it is committed to levelling up in the midlands and north. Failure to deliver HS2 and NPR will leave swathes of the north with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose and cause huge economic damage in London and the south, where construction of the line has already begun.”
The five mayors urged the Northern Powerhouse Rail project to be delivered in full to ensure “not only north-south but west-east connectivity between Liverpool and Hull, via Manchester airport”, which they say must be non-negotiable.
The five-way statement added: “The UK does not need a new line that only goes from Birmingham to Old Oak Common, which is six miles from central London.
“This does nothing for the north of England. The full Y-shaped HS2 plan was designed to deliver economic benefit right across the country not only between the north and London but between Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham. All of these gains look set to be lost if media reports this week are to be believed.”
Sunak has faced a political backlash over reports he is considering axing the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 amid soaring costs.
Government sources briefed the Times on Monday that the prime minister may offer to fund an underground rail station in Manchester as part of a package of transport investment in the north aimed at winning the support of Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester.
Such a compromise would mean phase 2 – taking in a Birmingham to Manchester leg – would be delayed by up to seven years.
On Tuesday, John Stevenson, chair of the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs, has signalled they may be open to a compromise in which the second phase of HS2 would be delayed for several years.
“At the end of the day, we think HS2 is important for the country. But our east-west connectivity, I think, would be a higher priority,” he said.
A number of senior Tories, including the former chancellor George Osborne and the ex-deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine, have said scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2 would be a “gross act of vandalism” and an abandonment of the north and Midlands.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, Khan said: “Over recent days we have seen a justifiably horrified reaction from businesses and communities across our regions concerned about the economic damage that a decision not to proceed with HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full will cause.”
Read more:
Labour mayors urge Sunak not to scrap, delay or scale back HS2

Employing staff in other countries is incredibly challenging, enter Teamed …
Antony Vallee founded Teamed to simplify the process of building teams – no matter where they are based in the world. Through their own legal entities and global infrastructure, they manage all HR, Compliance, Payroll, and Tax matters for remote talent anywhere in the world. Today their fully distributed team is helping businesses hire top talent across 75+ countries, empowering companies and employees to embrace the benefits and opportunities that come with global employment.
Combining automation and human expertise, they aim to provide both employees and employers with the best experience. No mean feat! Antony takes some time to share his story with Business Matters …
What type of businesses do you work with?

Businesses that put the employee at the forefront of their hiring processes choose to work with Teamed.
Imagine this: you are being relocated from the United States to Spain. You would have plenty of questions about changes in holiday allowances, sick pay, and tax. Your new contract could also mean there are alterations in your salary, notice period, and benefits — and not having someone to talk through what these changes mean for you could be incredibly frustrating and cause a damaging relationship with your employer.
At Teamed, we ensure both employees and employers are aligned, have all the information they need, and most importantly have a point of contact they can go to with any queries they may have. We onboard all new employees virtually over a conference call and will provide ongoing support throughout their employment.
By combining this service-led approach with best-of-breed technology to automate processes,  we are able to provide the best experiences for employees and employers across the globe.
What is your USP?
Teamed is democratising global employment opportunities by making it easier than ever to hire, pay and fully support a global workforce. We’re building a market-leading experience for employers and employees by combining our unique technology with human expertise.

100% compliant. Hire talent anywhere in the world with full compliance guaranteed.
Speed: Hire and onboard talent within hours, not weeks.
100% customer retention. We’re a service-led solution you can count on.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?
We’ve stayed true to our values since Teamed was founded in 2020. We have a remote, globally distributed team that works together to achieve our joint mission to enable anyone, anywhere, to access exciting career opportunities, addressing the growing demand for remote working.
Break down barriers: We act to make opportunities equally accessible, so that those with skills and ambition are not held back. Merit should be rewarded equally across boundaries.
Do what’s right: No shortcuts. No short wins. Just a solid commitment to do right by each other, and by each and every customer we serve. Because the best reputations are those that precede you.
Here today, here tomorrow: Being an owner-managed business means we’re in it for the long term. We know our success depends on being accountable, responsible and performance-obsessed.
Show backbone: We choose the courageous route to success. Sometimes that means saying no and stepping away, while staying true to our pursuit of socially responsible success. When it’s right to, we step up.
Good can always be better: Creativity is in our genes. So is the quest for constant innovation and improvement. Every day is another chance for us to be the best at what we do.
How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?
We hire global teams that are empowered to work when, where, and how they want. We currently employ people across 8 countries and we plan to expand our global footprint as we continue to increase our headcount in 2023.
Our values are clearly communicated to all employees and candidates and equity, diversity, and inclusion is embedded into our recruitment process.
I firmly believe that building a team that reflects the values of the company is the foundation for success, as it ensures that everyone is working towards a common goal and operating with a shared set of principles.
Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?
One of my top priorities is empowering our employees to work in the way that best enables them to achieve optimal outcomes. I believe that when people are given the freedom and support to do their best work, amazing things can happen.
Teamed has a remote-first environment. In today’s world, more and more people are looking for flexible work arrangements that allow them to balance their professional and personal lives. By embracing a remote-first approach, we are able to attract top talent from all over the world and create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. It also allows our team members to work from wherever they feel most comfortable and productive, which can help them achieve better work-life balance and overall well-being.
Of course, we also recognise that remote work isn’t for everyone, and we have co-working resources  in place to ensure that everyone has the support and environment they need to be successful, no matter where they are located. But overall, I believe that a remote-first environment is essential for building a strong, innovative, and resilient team that can adapt to change and succeed in today’s fast-paced business world.
Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

A service-led approach that is complemented by technology is at the core of everything we do. By putting the needs of our end users at the centre, we are able to create a more personalised and seamless experience that meets their unique needs and preferences.
This approach not only helps us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, but it also leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, when we combine this service-led approach with the right technology, we are able to create even greater efficiencies and value for our customers. For example, by using automation and data analytics, we can better understand our customers’ needs and tailor our services to meet those needs in real time.
Overall, I believe that a service-led approach that is complemented by technology is essential for building strong, long-term relationships with our end users and driving the success of our company.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?
As we transition from remote working to work-from-anywhere, we would like governments around the world to embrace the new world of working by easing the regulations around working visas and tax rules.
It is positive to see some countries with a lack of work opportunities facilitating regulations around remote working. This can bring an enormous amount of value so all their regions remain populated with employed people paying their taxes and spending locally.
What is your attitude towards your competitors?
While some of our competitors have prioritised rapid growth over everything else, we at Teamed know that this approach can come at the cost of customer satisfaction. That’s why we currently boast 100% customer retention and, as we scale, we remain laser-focused on keeping the needs and preferences of our customers front and centre.
Dealing with global payroll can be complex and it is essential that any concerns or questions are promptly and effectively addressed. Paying multiple employees in multiple currencies with different exchange rates, personalised bonuses, annual leave, and commission structures can be challenging— and are not always easily modified with the self-service model some competitors offer. By providing a service-led approach that is complemented by technology, Teamed puts the customer at the centre, so employees and employers receive the highest quality support and guidance.
By doing so, we are able to create a better, more personalised experience for our employees and employers and build strong, long-term relationships. This customer-centric approach sets us apart in the market and positions us for sustainable, long-term success.
Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?
We’re changing the world of work. We believe that everyone should have access to equal career opportunities, no matter where they live. That’s why Teamed’s mission is to enable anyone, anywhere, to access the best career opportunities, addressing the growing demand for remote working.
Our recent £2.5M seed round investment will empower Teamed to accelerate the development of global operations, advance its unique technology, and fund a recruitment drive for senior roles. In addition, it will allow Teamed to continue to deliver a market-leading customer experience and keep the company on track to achieve a predicted five-fold growth in 2023.
We look forward to pushing ahead with our plans to accelerate our growth and begin executing our ambitious product roadmap to build a new, more democratic, world of work.
Read more:
Secrets of Success: Antony Vallee, Co-Founder and CEO – Teamed