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23.03.2021 - UK launching four regional trade hubs to boost exports

The government is creating four regional trade and investment hubs to boost economic growth across the UK.

Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss said on Tuesday that the hubs would be located in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Darlington.

The aim is to boost exports by providing localised advice from export and investment specialists to firms.

The government says the new hubs will provide support and advice to help regional businesses to access major trade markets and boost exports, as part its efforts to boost pandemic recovery.

"I'm determined to use UK trade policy to benefit...

23.03.2021 - Jobless crisis shows signs of easing but under-25s hit hard

The number of workers on company payrolls in the UK climbed by almost 200,000 in the three months to February, amid signs that the jobs market may be stabilising.

However, the number on payrolls is still 693,000 lower than last February, before Covid lockdown measures began.

It comes amid growing optimism that the vaccine rollout will lead to a faster-than-expected economic recovery.

The official unemployment rate now stands at 5%, down from 5.1% before.

Sam Beckett, head of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics, told the BBC's Today programme there was still a lot of uncer...

23.03.2021 - Belarusian man in “limbo” since 2003 wins permission to remain in landmark case

In R (AM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (legal “limbo”) [2021] UKUT 62 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal considered the extraordinary case of a Belarusian man who had been in the UK on immigration bail since 2003.

The fundamental question for the tribunal: where removal cannot be effected, does there come a point where permission to remain in the UK must be granted?

Background

AM arrived in the UK in January 1998 and claimed asylum. His application was refused.

According to the determination, AM provided misleading personal information about himself such that the Belarusian authorities r...

23.03.2021 - Tax policies and consultations Spring 2021

The UK Government published a number of tax-related consultations and calls for evidence on 23 March 2021 on a range of tax administration and tax policy areas.

These measures are designed to help shape the next steps in delivering the Government’s 10-year tax administration strategy and will take forward policy development across a range of important tax issues, including business rates and environmental taxes, as well as a range of simplification measures.

Key announcements and publications are as follows:

  • A call for evidence on our Tax Administration Framework – exploring how to make t...

22.03.2021 - Three win appeals against losing British citizenship

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) has allowed the appeals of three people who were deprived of their British citizenship following allegations that they had travelled to Syria and posed a threat to national security. The case is C3, C4 & C7 v Secretary of State for the Home Department (SC/167/2020, SC/168/2020 and SC/171/2020).

Statelessness and dual nationality

While the Home Secretary does have the power to deprive people of their citizenship if she believes it to be conducive to the public good — section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 — she cannot do so if it woul...

19.03.2021 - Supreme Court reiterates that a refugee cannot be removed until claim is assessed

The Supreme Court has reiterated that — for now — UK law prohibits removal of a person “who can be understood to seek refugee status” and who has an outstanding asylum claim or appeal. The case is G v G [2021] UKSC 9 and involved a child whose mother was seeking asylum in the UK but whose father had brought international child abduction proceedings under the Hague Convention.

It is a timely judgment, given ongoing drip-fed leaks to the media about the idea of “offshore processing” of asylum claims. A careful reading reveals both the strengths and weaknesses of the regime for refugee protection...

19.03.2021 - When does having a partner disqualify you from keeping a parent visa?

The Upper Tribunal in R (Waleed Ahmad Khattak) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (“eligible to apply”- LTR – “partner”) [2021] UKUT 63 (IAC) has provided helpful clarification on when having a partner can disqualify someone from getting permission to remain in the UK as a parent of a child under Appendix FM. The effect of the decision is that a relatively new relationship will not necessarily force a family migrant out of the parent route and into the partner route.

The parent of a child route

The relevant rule on eligibility for limited leave to remain as a parent says:

E-LTRPT.2.3...

19.03.2021 - Immigration judges asked to please read all the paperwork

The powers that be at the Upper Tribunal have given us five new reported decisions this week, at least one of which could really have been an email. The official headnote to SYR (PTA; electronic materials) Iraq [2021] UKUT 64 (IAC) reads:

As paper is increasingly replaced by electronic forms of communication, it is particularly important that judges engaged in the permission to appeal process, whether at First-tier or Upper Tribunal level, satisfy themselves that they have the requisite materials before them in order to make a proper decision on permission. Accordingly, a judge should not gran...

18.03.2021 - UK government borrowing hits February record as virus impact continues.

Government borrowing levels continued to set new records last month, reflecting the cost of supporting the UK's economy during the pandemic.

The government borrowed £19.1bn in February, the highest figure for that month since records began in 1993.

Measures such as furlough payments have hit government finances hard.

However, February's borrowing figure - the difference between spending and tax income - was not as high as some economists had forecast.

Borrowing for the financial year to date - between April and February - has now reached £278.8bn, the Office for National Statistics said, a rec...

18.03.2021 - Economic outlook 'unusually uncertain' despite 'rapid' vaccine rollout

The outlook for the UK economy remains "unusually uncertain" despite the rapid rollout of the vaccine programme, the Bank of England has said.

It said there were reasons to be optimistic, including a smaller-than-expected drop in growth in January and the extension of the furlough scheme, but the recovery still depended on the "evolution of the pandemic" and measures to protect public health.

It came as the Bank held interest rates at historic lows of 0.1%.

According to official figures, the UK economy shrank by 2.9% in January amid the third lockdown, as restaurants and non-essential shops we...

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