Chancellor Philip Hammond has been accused of hitting entrepreneurs and freelancers in the pocket in this week’s Spring Budget after he announced National Insurance increases for the self-employed. The Chancellor announced he is raising National Insurance (NI) bills for self-employed workers by 1% to 10% from April 2018 and...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, described Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget as “underwhelming” but warned there were some measures that will make firms nervous. These included the National Insurance increase for the self-employed – which it feared could dampen entrepreneurship – and the impact of business rate...
Business organisation the CBI’s director-general Carolyn Fairbairn described today’s Budget as a “breakthrough for skills”. She said: “There has never been a more important time for the UK to sit at the global top table of technical education for young people. “Firms will be looking for ongoing partnership with...
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced new funding to help the UK compete in science and innovation in his spring Budget, including: £300m for research talent, including 1,000 PhD places for STEM subjects £270m for robots, driverless cars and biotech £16m for a 5G mobile technology hub £200m for fibre broadband
Aardman Animation’s latest commissioned work for the BBC is out of this world – a pulp fiction-style film for BBC Radio 4 to accompany its season of programmes about Mars. Narrated by William Shatner – Star Trek’s Captain Kirk – the three-minute short is described by its creator Danny...
Butcombe Brewing has revealed the new strapline Truth In Every Taste as part of a rebranding designed to boost commercial growth and appeal to new audiences. The brewer, founded in 1978 and based in Wrington, near Bristol, is expanding its brewing operation and embarking on a growth programme which...
Post-millennials will bring energy, fresh ideas and new ways of working to the PR industry, a workshop staged by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) South West heard. But traditional writing skills will remain just as important despite new methods of communicating, attendees were told. The event on...
Renowned digital agency awards body Wirehive is opening its top 100 league table to South West agencies in recognition of the high standard of digital creativity across the region. Known for celebrating the best digital work across the Southern counties outside London, Wirehive 100 is expanding to agencies in...
Bristol-based ethical design and gift website Decorator’s Notebook has doubled its sales after expanding its range of homeware and textiles products. The ethical design website, which supports 21 social enterprise projects, sells home accessories, jewellery, pottery, textiles and furniture produced in Kenya, India, Morocco, Peru, Kashmir and Tunisia. Customers...
The West of England’s TV and film sector is thriving. BBC Bristol, Aardman Animations and The Bottle Yard Studios are just a few of the region’s high-profile names, together with a plethora of independent production companies across the region which have a major impact on the UK’s creative output....
Each fortnight Creative Business News gives a prominent member of the region’s creative sector the chance to reflect on their career, their work and their ambitions by answering 10 questions about themselves. Name: Michael Jenkins Job title: Director, producer and editor Current company: 8th Sense Media Age: 29 My...
An ambitious vision to build on Bristol’s international profile to create investment, funding and other global opportunities has been drawn up by the city council and Mayor Marvin Rees. It aims to draw on Bristol’s growing world-class sectors such as digital, creative and renewables and capitalise on the innovation...
Classical singer-turned-Bristol media agency boss Ian Stockley was today appointed as the new chief executive of Bath Festivals as it prepares for its new flagship festival of music and literature for the city. Ian, pictured, was initially a trustee of Bath Festivals, then chaired the strategic advisory group looking at the future...
