The Desk
Politics
Westminster, Whitehall and the policy decisions shaping contracting.
93 ARTICLES
2000–2025
DESK / POLITICS
2000–2025
DESK / POLITICS
- 20 MAY 2001Treasury to offer tax cuts for entrepreneursChancellor Gordon Brown has announced that the Treasury will offer tax cuts to entrepreneurs who wish to start their own businesses or become…READ →
- 14 MAY 2001Labour says repeal of IR35 would cost £1 billion per yearLabour has accused the Conservatives' election manifesto of including 'grossly irresponsible' tax and spending pledges which would 'jeopardise the…READ →
- 20 APR 2001Home Secretary launches cybercrime crack squadHome Secretary, Jack Straw has launched a cybercrime crack squad to clamp down on organised online crime and to make the UK a safe haven to do…READ →
- 20 APR 2001Revenue sends complaint to Mail on Sunday following IR35 storyNick Montagu, Chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue, has issued a formal response to an article in the Mail on Sunday (8th April) which said…READ →
- 18 APR 2001Primarolo steers around IR35 ‘employee benefits’ issuePaymaster General Dawn Primarolo has responded to questions in Parliament regarding IR35 saying "the Inland Revenue will review the guidance material…READ →
- 27 MAR 2001UKTECH Exclusive: Ken Livingstone speaks out against IR35Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has added his support to fighting IR35, telling UKTECH, "It is a 'withholding tax', hampering the innovation…READ →
- 22 MAR 2001IR35 architect Sarah Walker defends the tax as review endsAs the judicial review closed, the Revenue's lead civil servant behind IR35, Sarah Walker, gave a rare interview defending the Government's reasons…READ →
- 12 MAR 2001Government begins defence of IR35 on the eve of Judicial ReviewOn the eve of PCG's judicial review against the Government, the Labour Party has published a story on its website entitled 'Why is Labour introducing…READ →
- 23 FEB 2001New review procedure to end high profile Government IT disastersThe Treasury has announced that the Office of Government Commerce's Gateway Review Process procedure will be applied to all future public sector IT…READ →
- 23 FEB 2001PQ reveals origins of ‘Fast-Track’ imported IT professionalsThe top 10 countries whose IT professionals have been drafted in to the UK to fill the national skills shortage over the past year has been released…READ →
- 22 FEB 2001Tories launch website to deregulate ‘Red Tape Britain’Sir Paul Judge, Chairman of the Conservative Deregulation Taskforce, has launched sillyregs.com to get feedback on what's really strangling Britain's…READ →
- 13 FEB 2001Government pledges to back self-employed and review regulationIn a recent speech the Prime Minister called for Ministers to devise policies to back the country's self-employed.READ →
- 12 FEB 2001Cabinet Office Minister writes first UKTECH Conference PaperGraham Stringer MP, the Cabinet Office's Parliamentary Secretary, has written the first Conference Paper to be placed in the UKTECH Conference Hall…READ →
- 11 FEB 2001Contractor legislation may change: Advocate General adds supportBECTU, the entertainment union, has received a major boost to its groundbreaking legal proceedings against the Government's policy on paid annual…READ →
- 22 JAN 2001Government's 'temp to perm' quarantine debate intensifiesA heated exchange of letters (copied to the Interviewer magazine) between Alan Johnson - Minister for Competitiveness and Tory MP Ian Bruce has…READ →
- 19 JAN 2001Byers opens Marconi's $50m Delhi plant on Asia trade tripTrade Secretary Stephen Byers has opened Marconi's new $50 million Delhi plant as two ministers tour Asia to promote UK e-commerce links.READ →
- 15 JAN 2001Start-ups forced registration may not mean "fairness for all"Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo's scheme to make start-up businesses and the self-employed register with the Revenue immediately or face a £100 fine…READ →
- 5 JAN 2001Inland Revenue offers bonus to 'increase efficiency through IT'The Inland Revenue has announced that it will offer small businesses a £50 bonus for filling in tax returns electronically.READ →
- 4 JAN 2001Is the 'online' government 'offline'?A Cabinet Office website launched to publicise its e-government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) and 'Modernising Government' White Paper has 14…READ →
- 14 DEC 2000Dawn Primarolo stays tight-lipped about IR35 legal costsPaymaster General Dawn Primarolo has refused to disclose the amount that taxpayers could pay in legal costs over the IR35 challenge brought by the…READ →
- 8 DEC 2000IR admits it's being hit by skilled IT shortageThe Inland Revenue itself is beginning to experience what contractors have been warning for many months: that industry, commerce and the Government…READ →