CHRIS UHLMANN: Prime Minister, what’s the latest advice you have on the damage caused by this storm? PRIME MINISTER: Chris, first can I say that the people of North Queensland are in the prayers and thoughts of all Australians. They’re … read more
PRIME MINISTER: Today, we’re here with the Treasurer and the Minister for Energy to announce a new initiative to address the problem of rising electricity prices. Electricity prices for Australian households doubled during the six years of the Labor government. … read more
Brexit makes action on self-employment all the more urgent, and Britain should lead the way in supporting the self-employed, says Labour
In the wake of the triggering of Article 50, Labour held a Self-Employment Summit this morning to discuss the needs of the self-employed in the Brexit negotiations and beyond.
The Summit, the first held by Labour’s Commission on Self-Employment, was hosted by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) and attended by key stakeholders, including the TUC, the GMB, the British Chamber of Commerce, and the Co-operative Party.
John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said:
“Labour’s self-employment summit today looked at all aspects of self-employment and the gig economy, including how any changes to the tax system should be aligned with increasing support for the self-employed.
“With the number of self-employed people due to overtake public sector workers by 2018, we will develop a package of measures for self-employed people that will form a major part of Labour’s offer at the next General Election. While the Tories are prepared to attack the living standards of the self-employed, Labour are listening and will act to address the real issues they are facing.”
Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said:
“The future success of the UK economy rests squarely on the shoulders of the UK’s army of the self-employed. These are the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers, the freelancers, the strivers – and without them we simply wouldn’t have a thriving economy, just as we face Brexit.
“FSB worked with the Labour frontbench and MPs from all parties to kill off the £2bn tax hike on the self-employed. We now need a proper policy debate about future support for this critical part of the UK economy.”
Tim Roache, General Secretary of the GMB Union, said:
“Philip Hammond made a hash of his first Budget by completely failing to look the wide range of issues facing people currently classified as self-employed. This initiative from Labour comes at a crucial time when work in all its forms is increasingly unclear and uncertain.
“GMB has genuinely self-employed members but we also have plenty of members who are at a loss as to what their employment status is or have been wrongly told they are self-employed by employers hell-bent on shirking their legal and moral responsibilities.
“How many scandals and court cases do we have to see before government ministers and HMRC stop twiddling their thumbs and start taking their enforcement role seriously? It’s time that politicians grasped this nettle.”
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We’ve just published our 3-year strategic plan and this year’s business plan, so it’s a good time to take stock of what we’ve done – and what’s to come.
Through everything we’ve achieved and the significant changes in the past year, our goal remains the same. We want to get the right drivers and vehicles taxed and on the road, as simply, safely and efficiently as possible. We are continuously improving our services, getting more services online and making them even easier for our customers to use.
Looking ahead, we’re well on track with our preparations for the new vehicle tax rate changes coming in on 1 April for newly registered vehicles. We’ve been working really closely with the motor industry on this, as well as designing a new online system for motor manufacturers and dealers to use when they first register a vehicle.
Also on the horizon are more tech successes. We’re rebuilding the tachograph and tachonet services onto an open system landscape, with the aim of getting a new tacho web service live in 2018-19. We’re working on expanding the types of penalty payments that can be paid online around the same time too.
We’re also using our digital expertise to help other government departments. Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has chosen DVLA to develop a single web portal to support 3 grant schemes to encourage take-up of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV). These include the Plug-in Car Grant Scheme and a new Workplace Charge Scheme.
Finally – picking up on the customer service theme – we’re also looking to maintain the Customer Service Excellence standard and Customer Contact Association Global standard 6 which, once again, we’ve retained this year. This is something we’re very proud of, and we’re aiming for reaccreditation for the coming year.
All of this means that I continue to feel really positive about where we’re heading – lots to do for sure, but also plenty to look forward to.
read moreSharon Hodgson MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, responding to proposed sugar limits published by Public Health England, said:
“Labour supports action to tackle sugar consumption and with the refresh of the Five Year Forward View published this week there is a chance to set a really radical approach to obesity and children’s health. It should be a matter of shame that obesity affects so many children in the UK and that the circumstances of where you grow up can have such a long term effect on your health outcomes.
“There is clear clinical and public support for measures like sugar taxes which promote healthier living and can keep people fit and well for the years to come.
“Theresa May watered down the Government’s childhood obesity strategy but should be much bolder in supporting radical public health measures. Too often the Prime Minister seems happy to settle for second best for the nation’s wellbeing when she ought to position Britain at the front of the global drive for better public health.”
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