Tag: Labour Party conference

Starmer confirms Aberdeen to host Great British Energy HQ

2 smaller sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow

  • Prime Minister confirms Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, a world-leader in engineering and infrastructure
  • Edinburgh and Glasgow will host 2 smaller sites, maximising skills and expertise across Scotland
  • the move will kickstart plans for the new publicly-owned company to ‘drive investment in clean home-grown energy, creating jobs and supporting growth across the UK’

Aberdeen has been named the new home of Great British Energy, drawing on the city’s world-leading engineering expertise to kickstart a UK-wide clean energy revolution.

As the location of the new headquarters, Aberdeen will be at the heart of the company’s plans to scale up clean homegrown power to boost energy independence, create skilled jobs across the UK and to support economic growth.

Two additional sites will open in Edinburgh and Glasgow, once Great British Energy is up and running, to benefit from local skills and expertise. The company will be initially located in government buildings across the cities, while permanent bases are established.

This marks the next step to kickstart Great British Energy, as part of its mission to become a clean energy superpower. An interim Chief Executive will soon to be appointed to take the lead on launching the new company and building its Aberdeen base – along with the start-up Chair Juergen Maier, former CEO of Siemens UK.

Within the first weeks of the new government, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband took immediate action to introduce the Great British Energy Bill to Parliament and – along with the Prime Minister – confirm a new partnership with The Crown Estate, to help accelerate new offshore wind farms.

The company – owned by the British people, for the British people – will attract private investment in the UK’s clean homegrown power, backed by £8.3 billion in government funding over this Parliament.

The move forms part of the government’s plans to support clean energy in the North Sea, ensuring Aberdeen continues to thrive as Scotland’s clean energy capital.

The UK Government recently announced the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and continues to progress technologies like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen – as well as ensuring that oil and gas is used for decades to come as part of a fair and balanced transition away from fossil fuels.

Chancellor unveils package to deliver new government’s agenda

  • 750 schools with primary aged pupils funded for breakfast club pilot to run from April 2025
  • New Industrial Strategy to be published in spring
  • Decision to write off over £640 million in written off Covid PPE contracts reversed
  • HMRC to consult on e-invoicing for businesses and government departments

The Chancellor yesterday unveiled a package of measures to deliver on the agenda of the new government including a breakfast club pilot for 750 schools with primary aged pupils, new powers for the Covid Corruption Commissioner, e-invoicing to support business and the next steps on the Labour government’s industrial strategy.

School Breakfast Club Pilot

The Chancellor announced that up to 750 schools with primary aged pupils will be invited to take part in a £7 million breakfast club pilot. The funding will allow these schools to run free breakfast clubs for their pupils in the summer term (April-July 2025).

The Department for Education will work with the schools selected as part of the pilot to understand how breakfast clubs can be delivered to meet the needs of schools, parents and pupils when the programme is rolled out nationally.

This will help reduce the number of students at schools with primary aged pupils starting the school day hungry and ensure children come to school ready to learn. It will also support the government’s aim to tackle child poverty by addressing rising food insecurity among children.

Covid Corruption Commissioner

Reeves also announced a block on any Covid-era PPE contract being abandoned or waived until it has been assessed by the new Covid Corruption Commissioner, whom will be appointed in October. 

The decision will affect £647 million of Covid PPE contracts where contract recovery was previously earmarked to be waived. 

It follows action already in motion to cut government waste and curb unnecessary spending. In her statement to Parliament in July, the Chancellor pledged to halve government consultancy spend from 2025-26, with savings targets of £550 million this financial year and a further £680 million in the next already announced.

Excessive use of ministerial travel by aeroplane and helicopter is also being cutdown, with confirmation that a military contract for a helicopter also used for VIP trips, is not being renewed at the end of the year as previously announced.

Industrial Strategy

The Chancellor also today announced that the Industrial Strategy will be at the heart of the government’s mission to grow the economy, unlock investment and make every part of the country better off. It will focus on delivering long-term change to the economy by making Britain a clean energy superpower and accelerating to net zero, breaking down barriers to regional growth, and building a secure and resilient economy.

A green paper will be published around Budget in October outlining the long-term sectoral growth and priority industries of the government, ahead of the final strategy published in the spring of 2025 following a consultation with business.

HMRC package

Chancellor Reeves also outlined a package of reforms to improve the UK’s tax system to help fix the foundations of the UK economy.

As part of the package, HMRC will soon launch a consultation on electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) to promote its wider use across UK businesses and government departments.

The introduction of e-invoicing can significantly reduce administrative tasks, improve cash flow, boost productivity, introduce automation, and reduce errors in tax returns – all helping to close the tax gap. The consultation will gather input from businesses on how HMRC can support investment in and encourage e-invoicing uptake.

The Chancellor also announced that Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray, the minister responsible for the UK’s tax system, has become the Chair of the HMRC Board. This is to help oversee the implementation of his three strategic priorities for HMRC; closing the tax gap, modernising and reforming, and improving customer service.

It was also announced that a new Digital Transformation Roadmap, aimed to be published in Spring 2025, will set out HMRC’s vision to be a digital first organisation underpinned by customer insight. The Roadmap will include measures to ensure digital inclusion and support for customers who cannot yet interact digitally.

There was a further update that new staff are expected to join HMRC’s training programme in November as 200 additional offer letters have been issued as part of the 450 letters already sent. This is part of HMRC’s plans to recruit an additional 5,000 compliance staff to help close the tax gap.