Inline Insights

Are large online businesses paying their fair share of tax? This was the question debated on Tuesday 27 March by MPs in Westminster Hall, the small debating chamber in Parliament. 

Prime Minister Theresa May put data protection at the heart of the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU when she delivered her latest set piece Brexit speech on 2 March.

The London Assembly’s Transport Committee has today published ‘Future transport - How is London responding to technological innovation?’

The UK Government has published its long-awaited response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech yesterday to the World Economic Forum in Davos saw her repeat calls for international action to regulate aspects of the tech sector that are disrupting the established economic players and norms.

The UK Government has released a position paper stating its desire for a future customs arrangement with the EU27. The release of this paper before an agreement on the EU’s priority areas is a statement from the UK that it is determined to start talks on the issue.

This summer, Londoners will have noticed the addition of new bicycles parked in various locations across Britain’s capital. Closer inspection of these bikes reveals that they are ‘oBikes’ - a bicycle which you can unlock with an app on your phone and use at very little cost, without the need to park at docking stations. 

A key area impacting UK nationals abroad and EU nationals in the UK are the rights they will be likely to receive once the UK exits the European Union in 2019. There is still a lot of uncertainty over what these rights will be, but an inevitability is that nothing is cast in stone until final treaty is signed in March 2019.

To a rather muted fanfare, the British Government published its industrial strategy green paper last month. As far as the energy and climate change audience were concerned, in the run-up to the publication of the strategy, the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Department (BEIS) – a department still in its infancy - was essentially facing two challenges:

The clamour for clarity from the Government on its Brexit intentions has finally produced two important announcements from the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham: 

In July, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – the body that regulates loan-based and investment-based crowdfunding in the UK – launched a ‘call for input’ on the current rules applied to crowdfunding in the UK.

The concept of energy storage is not new. However, technology advancements and the increased sense of urgency in relation to decarbonisation have gradually drawn attention to the possibilities of storage.

Natural capital — a term for the earth’s natural resources and support systems that benefit human society — is the underlying focus of our environmental laws and policies. The Clean Air and (Clean) Water Acts of the US and UK are two aptly-named examples of previous policies designed to protect natural resources.

Some of the UK political instability following the EU Referendum in June is beginning to dissipate. A new Prime Minister, reshuffled Ministerial teams, and reshaped Government machinery are in place. A timetable of sorts for the next steps is beginning to form, ie. no triggering of Article 50 to commence the departure negotiations, during this calendar year, but likely early in 2017. What is still concealed in opacity is any inkling of what the UK position might be in the parallel discussions on a future economic and co-operative relationship with the EU. 

More than a week on from the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the political vacuum at the top of both main UK political parties means that the country’s policy priorities and future direction remain unclear. However, against an uncertain background, some potential implications for the Tech sector can be foreseen:

Events have moved very quickly over the weekend, and the timeline for events post the UK referendum on the EU is becoming clearer, if not yet the future scope of UK-EU relations or the eventual implications for politics, economy and business.

In the run-up to last Thursday’s EU referendum, policy direction, announcements and news flow dried up as the politicians became increasingly consumed with the debate. Following the tumultuous decision taken by the British people, this piece considers the in-tray that the Government - above all, DECC, but in addition other parts of Whitehall - needs to return to on energy and climate matters.

Last week’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set of interim recommendations on the UK retail banking sector represents the culmination of nearly two years work from the new competition regulator analysing plans for structural, market, and anti-trust reform of the industry. It is important to remember the political context which gave rise to the enquiry. 

One of the Government’s themes for the Queen’s Speech for the 2016-17 Parliamentary session is improving life chances for the British people. Through the measures on the digital economy, transport and infrastructure, the Government’s intention is to make long-term social and economic reforms the focus of the remainder of this Parliament. Whether in practice that will happen with the aftermath of the European Referendum likely to hang over UK politics for several years, and darkening economic stormclouds gathering over the economy in terms of weaker performance on growth, exports, the current account deficit and productivity, remains to be seen.

One of the key policy responses to the financial crisis which led to the Great Recession was the subsequent action taken by EU Heads of Government through the European Council in June 2009 to strengthen the regulatory system governing all financial services providers within the Single Market area. In establishing a new European Banking Authority (EBA), within a European System of Financial Supervisors, which could take decisions on the basis of majority voting, member states also adopted a trio of regulations applicable throughout the Single Market – known together as the Single Rulebook.