The latest report from the Parker Review shows that there were 13 chief executives from an ethnic minority background leading FTSE 100 firms at the end of 2024, up from 12 in 2023. While 95 companies listed on the FTSE 100 have at least one ethnic minority director on their board, the rate was lower across FTSE 250 firms, with 82% meeting the target last year. David Tyler, chair of the Parker Review, suggested that UK companies may be starting to be “quieter” about their diversity initiatives in response to a cultural shift happening in the US. He said: “If you felt that just by having a diversity target you would be barred from bidding for US government contracts, you would be thinking a bit more about what you do.”

The number of companies on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) has fallen to its lowest level since 2001, according to data from UHY Hacker Young. The analysis shows that 71 companies have exited London’s junior stock exchange since February 2024. There are currently just 679 AIM-listed firms, marking a sharp decline from a peak of 1,694 recorded in 2007. The data also shows that the number of IPOs has fallen to the lowest level since 2008/09, with just ten logged last year. Colin Wright, partner and chairman at UHY, said: “The AIM IPO pipeline needs a jump-start,” suggesting that cutting back on regulations “could help provide that.”

The Government has announced a significant change in tax regulations for individuals with side hustles. From 2029, the threshold for filing a self-assessment tax return will rise from £1,000 to £3,000. This change is expected to benefit around 300,000 taxpayers, with an estimated 90,000 no longer needing to report their trading income to HMRC. James Murray, the Treasury Minister who chairs HMRC’s board, said: “Taking hundreds of thousands of people out of filing tax returns means less time filling out forms and more time for them to grow their side hustle,” adding that “changing the way HMRC works” will make it easier for people to “make the very most of their entrepreneurial spirit.” The new rules will apply to various activities, including selling items on platforms like Vinted and eBay, as well as creating online content. A new online form will also be introduced to simplify the declaration of cash earnings up to £3,000 for self-employed work.

An investigation by Sky News has uncovered a tax avoidance scandal involving major recruitment firms. Over two decades, the companies have been linked to schemes that misled agency workers into believing they were compliant with tax regulations. Many workers were paid through umbrella companies that disguised their income as loans to evade tax obligations. This has resulted in large tax demands from HMRC, affecting around 50,000 individuals. The Government is now taking steps to hold recruitment agencies accountable for tax compliance.

HMRC is introducing a new reward scheme for whistle-blowers who report tax evasion. The scheme will link compensation to the revenue recovered, similar to systems in the US and Canada. Currently, HMRC compensates informants on a discretionary basis, with payouts reaching nearly £978,256 in 2023/24. Andrew Park, tax investigations partner at Price Bailey, has welcomed the plan, saying current rewards are “paltry sums” that are “not much of an incentive to blow the whistle on major fraud.” While the tax office calculates that £5.5bn is lost to taxpayers and businesses exploiting weaknesses in the system every year, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, head of the Public Accounts Committee, has warned that this amount “could just be the tip of the iceberg.”

Former Work and Pensions Secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith has warned that the Government’s proposed £25bn increase in employers’ National Insurance (NI) will severely impact part-time jobs. He said: “Labour wants to talk the talk on welfare reform but what they are doing with this jobs tax is disastrous if you want to actually get people back to work.” The changes, set to take effect next month, will raise NI by 1.2% and lower the salary threshold for NI payments from £9,100 to £5,000, potentially leading to hiring freezes and job cuts.

The Government has announced that the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) will be abolished and its remit absorbed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The move comes amid concern that the financial regulatory system is overly complex, with three watchdogs – the FCA, PSR and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority. Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned that the regulatory system “has become burdensome to the point of choking off innovation, investment and growth,” and insisting that the reforms “will free businesses from that stranglehold.” Ministers say that merging the PSR into the FCA will give businesses “one port of call.” The payments regulator currently oversees systems such as those involving bank transfers and also looks to tackle fraud, excessive fees and lack of competition among banks and payment providers.

The total outstanding balance of UK residential mortgages reached a record £1,678.2bn in Q4 2024, according to the Bank of England. This surge is attributed to first-time buyers, who accounted for nearly 30% of new lending, despite facing affordability challenges. The average age of first-time buyers is now 33.5 years, with deposits averaging around £50,000, indicating that accessing homeownership is becoming increasingly difficult. The data also shows that gross mortgage advances rose to £68.8bn, marking a 30% increase from the previous year.

David Smith in the Times warns that stagnation of productivity over the past decade has severely impacted living standards and public finances, citing Office for Budget Responsibility analysis which says: “Half a per cent higher or lower annual growth in productivity would reduce or raise borrowing by around £40bn in 2028/29.” Public sector productivity has particularly suffered, with a 0.3% decline since 1997 and an 8.4% drop since 2019. Despite a rise in public sector employment, outputs have not kept pace. Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, has emphasised the need for greater efficiency, saying that “anybody can cut spending but that it requires skill to achieve genuine and lasting efficiency and productivity gains.” Mr Smith says the future of public services hinges on reviving productivity to avoid further tax increases and maintain essential services.

Research for AI platform Dataiku shows that UK businesses are leading the way when it comes to AI implementation in the workplace, outpacing European counterparts. The report shows that a gap has arisen between the UK and the EU due to regulatory concerns. While 26% of UK chief executives said they have delayed initiatives due to unclear or evolving regulation, in France this rises to 59%. The study also shows that 23% of UK CEO’s have laid out a formal road map for AI implementation for the year ahead, compared to 5% in Germany and ahead of the global average of 12%.

According to a recent study, women believe they need to earn £40,000 more than men to be considered wealthy. The survey of 2,000 adults revealed that women set their wealth threshold at £232,000, while men set it at £193,000. The study also highlighted that women associate wealth with factors like foreign holidays and smart investments. HSBC’s report indicates that nearly a third of women aim for early retirement, with eight in ten confident in achieving their financial goals. Christopher Dean from HSBC stated: “The fact that high earning women are now saving and investing more on a monthly basis than men shows that when the barrier of lower income is removed, women set and meet ambitious financial goals.”