London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time) at the Chamber, City Hall London

• Mayor and other leading business firms write to Chancellor the Exchequer Philip Hammond, urging him to protect businesses from increases.
• London Business facing 45 per cent rise in rate in their bills this April and 7,500 businesses are expected to close down.
• Business rates are a property tax set by the Government based on the assumed annual rental value on the open market of business properties as estimated by the national Valuation Office.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today warned that some businesses in London could be forced to close down if the Government ploughs ahead with plans to increase the business rates bill by as much as 45 per cent this year for many of the capital’s ratepayers.

He has described the Government’s misguided business rates hike, together with the uncertainty caused by Brexit, as a “double whammy for business in London.” Business ratepayers will begin to receive their new bills from early March.

London’s businesses are facing a £900 million business rate hike as a result of the revaluation which will fund an equivalent tax cut for the rest of the country. That figure could eventually rise to £1.1bn.

Three quarters of businesses who responded to the FSB survey said that business rates was the single biggest issue affecting their business, while 27 per cent said they are considering closing for good.

The reduction in the tax free dividend allowance from £5,000 to £2,000 with effect from 2018 was an unexpected hit to owner manager businesses that had only just started making use of this tax free allowance. The method will strike the smaller businesses which utilise the dividend exemption to pay family members.

The rise in National insurance (NI) for the self-employed are the class 4 NI by 1% from next April 2018 to 10% and an additional 1% the following year 2019 to 11%. This is an attack on smaller businesses that run with a higher level of risk than limited companies. The Government is enhancing to level the playing the mediator between owners managed business structures and employed individuals

R & D continues to be a Government supported tax relief that will help business innovate in a competitive way, recently announced to enhance certainty around claims and reduce the administrative burden, but details are yet to be released

• Chancellor Philip Hammond has expressed his thought on the Andrew Marr Show that the UK needs to dwell more in training and up skilled job is to enhance the future of the young people.
• Technical skills and Education had been neglected for too long says: by the Association of College chief executive David Hughes.
• This £500m will boost for the raising the quality and status of workplace skills.
• Hammond told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, “If your bank increases your credit card  limit I don’t think you will feel obliged to out and spend every last penny of it immediately.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hammond expressed his thought towards the 2017 Budget by training young people, the £500m will boost the increase the quality and status of workplace skills.

“I regard my job as a chancellor as making sure that the economy is resilient, that we have over “.

The Treasury will also announce in the Budget it is setting aside £500 a year to boost skills training for 16 to 19-years-old

Dubbed T-levels, the Government claims it is the most significant shake up in the 16 education since the introduction of a level 70 years ago.

Under his budget, thousands of qualification will be replaced by 15 “T-Level” Training routes specific to different industries, from finance and accounting to engineering and manufacturing.

A wide-ranging reform of technical education will see the current 13,000 separate qualifications replaced with “15 world-class routes” better suited to business needs.

The investment, from 2019, is also aimed at boosting Britain’s productivity levels and will see the amount of training for 16 to 19-year-olds on technical routes increase by more than 50% to over 900 hours a year.

Some young Lambeth unskilled youths were interviewed about the vocational training is to encourage them to engage on skilled training job.

Mike 21, explained why he could not engage in skilled job training ever since, he said it was due to lack of sponsorship funds. A female 19, withheld name, expressed her profound gratitude the Chancellor towards the new development on vocational training scheme.