Blogs from Larking Gowen

Mental health first aider, James Lay, discusses how he, and co-host, Mark Curtis, have put mental health at the heart of one of their latest Impromptu Business Chats. The blog includes links to useful resources.

The phrase “if anything should happen to me…” is a very common euphemism. Frankly, the first word should be “when” not “if”. COVID-19 has concentrated the minds of many on their own mortality and may be a timely reminder that will planning is really something which, by definition, cannot be put off forever.

In my previous article I discussed the The Agriculture Bill, its keys elements and the rejected amendments. The Agriculture Bill is the biggest piece of legislation for the farming and agribusiness industry for a generation.

As the reports surface of the UK economy contracting by over 20% in a single quarter, with over 600,000 job losses already and the furlough scheme soon to end, you’d be forgiven for having a conservative outlook on business right now.

Under the original furlough scheme, it was not permissible for employees to carry out any work while on furlough (with certain exceptions for training).

Recent months have seen undivided government attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst this remains at the forefront of the country’s mind, there are important decisions being made for the agricultural industry in the form of the Agricultural Bill (The Bill), Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) and the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). 

The prospect for the future of farming looks, at best, somewhat cloudy at the moment. Faced with the proposed reduction in Basic Payments and the disruption caused by Coronavirus, many businesses will currently be looking at their landholdings with a view to tightening their belts (if they’re not doing so, they probably should be).

HMRC have announced that the Extra Statutory Concession (ESC) which exempts employer provided living accommodation from being a taxable benefit when made available to a ‘representative occupier’, will be withdrawn from 6 April 2021.

There has of course been a huge increase in employees working from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The employer may have closed their premises, or employees may be following advice to self-isolate.

A recent report from Mark-to-Market titled ‘April 2020 valuation barometer’ painted a positive picture in terms of deal volumes and values achieved across the UK mergers and acquisition markets (M&A) for the period 1 January to 31 March 2020 (Q1).

Whilst the Government has communicated the support available for businesses and the self-employed, for many, navigating the numerous assistance packages available can be a confusing and stressful experience.