December 24th, 2020 by Paul Younger At the last minute, a Brexit deal has been struck between the EU and UK. Full details are yet to emerge with the document being around 2000 pages. The detail will be key to discovering what has changed for UK citizens and businesses.
Both sides have compromised on issues such as fishing and the level playing field. However, it’s notable that the UK will be impacted more by the changes with more red tape and being classed as a third country by the much larger EU trading bloc. To put it bluntly, UK citizens have lost far more than EU citizens but that was always going to be the case.
October 16th, 2020 by Paul Younger Negotiations between the EU and UK have been breaking down for weeks and today Boris Johnson told the country to prepare for an Australian-type deal. In real language, that’s no deal.
Boris Johnson had previously said in September 2019 that failure to get a deal would be a “failure of statecraft”, and by his own words, this is a failure.
Boris Johnson had set a deadline for negotiations to conclude yesterday, 15 October. Despite the deadline passing, EU member states have now agreed that Michel Barnier can continue the discussions with the UK over the next two weeks.
However, there are still two sticking points preventing a deal, state aid, and fishing. As it stands, both sides in the negotiations appear to be standing their ground. The EU has stuck to its negotiating position despite the UK expecting them to blink first.
Update: 3PM GMT
June 12th, 2020 by Loadedinc During the current COVID-19 crisis the UK economy has plunged 20% due to the lockdown. Today the Conservatives officially announced they will not seek a transition period extension.
The UK will leave the EU on 1 Jan 2021 which could now damage the economy further as the country tries to get through the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 19th, 2020 by Loadedinc The government has now detailed their immigration policy which will come into effect January 2021. The system is a new points-based system. A total of 70 points is required to be eligible to apply; some characteristics are tradeable and are detailed in the table below.
We accept the MAC’s recommendation on salary thresholds, including to lower the general salary threshold from £30,000 to £25,600. Migrants will still need to be paid the higher of the specific salary threshold for their occupation, known as the ‘going rate’, and the general salary threshold. However, as set out below, under the points-based system for skilled workers, applicants will be able to ‘trade’ characteristics such as their specific job offer and qualifications against a lower salary. There will continue to be different arrangements for a small number of occupations where the salary threshold will be based on published pay scales. We will set the requirements for new entrants 30% lower than the rate for experienced workers in any occupation and only use the base salary (and not the allowances or pension contributions) to determine whether the salary threshold is met. Additionally, in line with the MAC’s recommendations, we will not introduce regional salary thresholds or different arrangements for different parts of the UK.
Source.
| Characteristics | Tradeable | Points |
| Offer of job by approved sponsor | No | 20 |
| Job at appropriate skill level | No | 20 |
| Speaks English at required level | No | 10 |
| Salary of £20,480 (minimum) – £23,039 | Yes | 0 |
| Salary of £23,040 – £25,599 | Yes | 10 |
| Salary of £25,600 or above | Yes | 20 |
| Job in a shortage occupation (as designated by the MAC) | Yes | 20 |
| Education qualification: PhD in subject relevant to the job | Yes | 10 |
| Education qualification: PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job | Yes | 20 |
February 13th, 2020 by Loadedinc The EU blacklists tax haven the Cayman Islands following the UK departure from the EU.
Blacklisted countries face additional hurdles in accessing EU funds and European companies must take additional compliance measures if they do business in the territories
The decision will be seen as a shot across the bows of the UK ahead of negotiations on the future relationship with the bloc. ~ The Guardian.
