News Centre

Almost three quarters of SMEs in the UK reported experiencing a security breach over the past year, according to the latest Government Security Breaches Survey.

Almost half of all SMEs in the UK said they do not believe they are at risk of becoming the victims of cyber-crime, according to a new survey. This could put them at serious risk if they fail to take adequate steps to protect themselves against attacks.

New sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter, health and safety and food safety offences have now come into force. The Sentencing Council’s Definitive Guideline for the Sentencing of Health and Safety, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene offences took effect from February 1 and could see the steepest fines rise up to £20 million.

As the tail end of Storm Jonas is followed closely by Storm Gertrude, more UK businesses are braced for disruption. Rain, high winds and flooding have all hit the headlines in recent weeks but despite the effects they can have on small businesses, many remain under-insured.

Parliament has debated plans to fully digitise the tax-reporting process for small businesses and the self-employed. The debate was triggered by an e-petition titled “Scrap plans forcing self-employed and small business to do four tax returns yearly”, which received more than 100,000 votes of support.