Business and Other Briefings
ScotGov: The first ever Scottish national portal for public contracting opportunities, Public Contracts Scotland, has been launched as part of the Scottish Government's Economic Recovery Plan. It is a free service for suppliers to have easy access to all essential information on public sector business opportunities, worth around £8bn a year in Scotland.
The project is already improving access to public business opportunities, with over 10,000 suppliers registered and information on over 700 contract notices published since the technology went live in July.
Press release ~ Public Contracts Scotland ~ CBI Scotland ~ Federation of Small Businesses (Scotland)
HMRC: Over 170,000 agents have called HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Agents Dedicated Lines (ADLs) since they started being rolled out 3 months ago. With the last line going live on 30 October, agents throughout the country will receive a more efficient telephone service from HMRC. The lines are intended for all enquiries on taxpayer specific calls about Self Assessment (for individuals and partnership matters) and Pay as you Earn (PAYE).
By ringing the number that deals with their clients' records, agents will get to speak to a well-trained adviser who can help with difficult and complex issues. And if the query cannot be answered straight away, there is an immediate escalation route to a specialist within HMRC.
HM Treasury: Britain's small and medium-sized businesses stand to benefit from up to £4bn in loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) over the next 4 years the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has claimed. As a first step towards this, UK banks have signalled their interest in securing around £1bn a year from the EIB.
Press release ~ European Investment Bank (EIB) – Help for SMEs ~ Business Support Simplification Programme ~
This brief gives guidance in relation to certain transactions involving new dwellings and whether HMRC would consider them to be abusive for VAT purposes.
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