The Desk
Politics
Westminster, Whitehall and the policy decisions shaping contracting.
93 ARTICLES
2000–2025
DESK / POLITICS
2000–2025
DESK / POLITICS
2025
- 26 MAR 2025Spring Statement leaves IR35 alone as HMRC lines up a £1bn compliance pushRachel Reeves ruled out fresh tax rises on 26 March, but a hardened HMRC enforcement drive and a lower Making Tax Digital threshold shifted the…READ →
- 26 FEB 2025MPs tell Reeves the loan charge review is drawn too narrowly to reach contractorsThe government's new inquiry examines only how contractors settle, not whether they should have to, and cross-party MPs want to know why.READ →
2024
- 17 DEC 2024National Insurance Bill clears the Commons, and umbrella contractors will absorb the riseA tax framed as a levy on employers lands, in practice, on the take-home pay of contractors working through umbrellas or inside IR35.READ →
- 30 OCT 2024Reeves lifts employer NIC to 15% and shifts umbrella PAYE liability onto agenciesThe Autumn Budget squeezed umbrella workers' take-home pay while redrawing who carries the tax risk in the contractor supply chain.READ →
- 27 AUG 2024Starmer's 'painful' Budget warning puts contractor dividends and CGT in the frameThe Prime Minister's 27 August garden speech spared income tax, NI and VAT, and in doing so told company-based contractors exactly where the Budget…READ →
2005
- 15 NOV 2005Key report shows UK is IT 'underachiever'A Government IT report that was supposed to form the crux of last month's e-summit showed the UK lagging behind competitors.READ →
2004
- 6 FEB 2004What's the e-Envoy got to do with IT?Full of good ideas and tall promises at their grandiose introductions, our appointed e-leaders pledge to fight the good fight to boost UK IT for all.READ →
2003
- 13 NOV 2003Making big brother pay: ID card opportunitiesThe UK ID card scheme will include basic personal information, a digital photo and a "biometric" which can include facial recognition, iris scans and…READ →
- 12 MAR 2003Snooping plan updates are not enough, campaigners sayThe Government says snooping plans allowing public bodies unfettered access to citizens' confidential communications have been curbed under new…READ →
- 11 FEB 2003Senator overwhelmed by IT support for outsourcing banA New Jersey Senator backing a Bill to halt the export of US public sector jobs has received support from thousands of jobless IT professionals.READ →
2002
- 6 DEC 2002Key report shows UK is IT 'underachiever'A Government IT report that was supposed to form the crux of last month's e-summit showed the UK lagging behind competitors.READ →
- 21 NOV 2002World's e-Envoys come together in Londone-Envoys representing nine of the world's major ICT-player countries gathered this week to compare strategies at the UK's first London e-summit.READ →
- 30 AUG 2002e-Government must fit public's needs, MPs warnThe Public Accounts Committee has warned £10 billion could be wasted if the Government cannot tailor online services to meet the practical needs of…READ →
- 28 AUG 2002Newsflash: FTV list pulledThe IT skills shortage list, operated by Work Permits UK, the Government agency that issues visas and work permits to fast track visa workers, has…READ →
- 12 AUG 2002UK tax re-classification threat to self-employedAttempts by the Inland Revenue to re-classify casual and irregular workers as employees will mean big increases in National Insurance contribution…READ →
- 29 JUL 2002Small firms lagging on internet marketing, DTI study findsA PricewaterhouseCoopers study for the DTI finds small companies trailing larger rivals in marketing themselves online, despite rising e-commerce…READ →
- 25 JUL 2002Ditching Microsoft? Government swaps 'lock-in' software for open sourceThe Government has announced a new software policy entitled 'Open Source Software: Use within Government' to avoid product 'lock-ins' and lessen…READ →
- 19 JUL 2002Consultation begins on Agency Workers' DirectiveThe Department of Trade and Industry has launched a 16-week consultation period over the controversial Agency Workers' Directive to measure the…READ →
- 8 JUL 2002Government on track to meet e-targets despite bad press, says surveyOver a third of local authorities have said they will have 50-100 per cent of their services online by the end of 2002, ahead of the 2005 deadline…READ →
- 26 JUN 2002Parliamentary Committee calls for compulsory contractors' codeThe Public Administration Select Committee, the Parliamentary Committee for the civil service, has called for tough new contract terms for public…READ →
- 21 JUN 2002The Minister for Small Business aka the 'Come-back Kid'In our final piece on Nigel Griffiths, the Small Business Minister, we look at the Minister himself and his attitudes and past experiences leading up…READ →
- 20 JUN 2002What place for contractors in the future UK flexible workforce?In our fourth interview over issues affecting UK contractors with Nigel Griffiths, the Minister for Small Business, UKTECH asks what the Minister…READ →
- 20 JUN 2002IT literati slammed brakes on Blunkett's RIP Act amendmentsDavid Blunkett, the Home Secretary, suspended the adoption of a controversial statutory Order within the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000…READ →
- 18 JUN 2002Barriers to business: Where does IR35 rank with the Minister for Small Business?In the second part of our interview series with Nigel Griffiths, the Minister for Small Business, UKTECH explores the main barriers to setting up and…READ →