In this edition’s eNews, we look at a scam warning to pensioners who need to repay their Winter Fuel Payments, a plea on skills planning for Gen Z, HMRC’s latest guidance for employers, and government efforts to reunite young people with their Child Trust Funds. There are also warnings for the government on the negative impact of business rates and the UK’s economic security to update you on.
- Pensioners urged to be alert to Winter Fuel Payment scams
- Skills planning ‘vital’ to better engage Gen Z in workplace
- Latest guidance for employers
- Government boosts efforts to help young people find their Child Trust Funds
- Business rates system a major brake on UK investment and competitiveness
- UK’s economic security at risk
Pensioners urged to be alert to Winter Fuel Payment scams
HMRC is warning pensioners to be on high alert for scams as the recovery of Winter Fuel Payments begins this month.
Almost two million people are expected to repay their winter 2025 payment due to their annual income being more than £35,000.
HMRC saw more than 25,000 Winter Fuel Payment scam referrals over the last 12 months. It is warning that scammers may now use the recovery process to target this group.
For most, the payment will be recovered through a change to their PAYE tax code from April 2026 with no need to contact HMRC.
For those in self assessment who file online, the payment should be pre-populated in their 2025/26 tax return. Customers should check and add it manually if it is not shown. Paper filers will need to add it on their tax return.
This applies across the UK – including in Scotland, where the payment is known as the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment and in Northern Ireland, where payments were made by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. In all cases, recovery is handled by HMRC.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said:
‘Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters, emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC and trick people into giving them money.
‘I’d encourage anyone who’s unsure to use our online tool at GOV.UK to check whether and how their payment will be recovered – there’s no need to call us.’
Internet link: HMRC press release
Skills planning ‘vital’ to better engage Gen Z in workplace
Skills planning is ‘vital’ to better engaging Generation Z with the workplace, says the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The report analysed Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) and found that they have engaged thousands of people and employers in the training and education that firms require.
However, the business group also found that the ‘fragmented’ nature of funding and a limited scope to target young people has led to a range of opportunities being missed.
A number of prospects have been identified to unlock potential, the BCC said.
These include a lack of influence in education for under-16s, opportunities to replicate the system for business support and more effective engagement with young people.
Kate Shoesmith, Director of Policy at the BCC, said:
‘LSIPs have been really successful – involving thousands of businesses, training providers and learners over the past four years, to deliver great employment outcomes.
‘But with almost one million Gen Zs not in employment, education or training, earlier intervention is essential to connect young people to the world of work.
‘The longer they are allowed to drift away from employment the harder it becomes. By linking the government’s Youth Guarantee scheme to ERBs who have strategic oversight of their local economies, a pathway into work can be created.
‘The tools required to do this already exist through LSIPs. It is just a matter of giving them the long-term funding and authority to make it happen.’
Internet link: BCC website
Latest guidance for employers
HMRC has published the latest issue of the Employer Bulletin. The April issue has information on various topics, including:
- Reminder of key dates and processes for reporting benefits in kind (BiKs).
- Real Time Information submission problems — Incorrect handling of Payroll ID.
- Removal of the tax relief for non-reimbursed homeworking expenses.
- The official rate of interest from 6 April 2026.
- The ‘Tell ABAB’ survey 2026.
- Statutory Sick Pay changes — what employers need to know.
Internet link: GOV.UK
‘The message from business is clear: delay is a luxury the UK can’t afford. The Prime Minister must act now, match the pace of our competitors, and put economic security at the heart of our national growth strategy.’
Internet link: BCC website
Government boosts efforts to help young people find their Child Trust Funds
The government will contact thousands of young people about forgotten Child Trust Funds (CTFs) in a bid to reunite account holders with their accounts that are now worth £2,200 on average.
CTFs were introduced by the government in 2005 and applied to children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011.
The government is now undertaking an extensive awareness campaign urging young people to locate their CTFs through the free ‘Find My Child Trust Fund’ service on GOV.UK.
Many young people are unaware they have a CTF and over 750,000 accounts are unclaimed. The government says it is determined to act so every young person that has a CTF is aware of how to access it.
In order to build on existing efforts, HMRC will be writing to all 21-year-olds whose accounts remain unclaimed to make them aware they have a CTF.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Rigby, said:
‘Hundreds of thousands of young people in this country don’t know they have a CTF, let alone how to access it. Some will have a couple of thousand pounds sat there that would really help them as they begin adult life.
‘I’m determined that those who have CTFs are made aware they have this money.
‘Together, we will ensure funds from these Child Trust Funds can be accessed by young people to help give them the best start to adult life.’
Internet link: HM Treasury website
Business rates system a major brake on UK investment and competitiveness
The UK’s business rates system is acting as a major brake on investment, productivity and economic growth, warns the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
Almost a third of the 700 firms surveyed said that the system has played a significant role in cancelling, reducing or delaying planned investment in their property.
The CBI says that for the second consecutive year, the UK has the highest property tax levels in the OECD, with property tax as a share of GDP four times higher than Germany.
Businesses say that the level of their business rates bills and the system’s unpredictability, complexity and ‘cliff edges’ are undermining confidence and deterring investment, it adds.
The CBI is urging governments at a national and devolved level to deliver fundamental reform to boost competitiveness and support long-term investment across the UK.
Louise Hellem, Chief Economist at the CBI, said:
‘Business rates are no longer just a cost of doing business – they’re a major tax on ambition and one that effectively penalises investment.
When a single refurbishment can trigger a 40% increase in rateable value, or a £1 change can move a firm from one band to another and add £39,000 to their bill, the system is clearly not fit for purpose in a competitive, modern economy. Reform of the business rates system is no longer a ‘nice to do’, it’s an economic necessity.’
Internet link: CBI website
UK’s economic security at risk
The government must prioritise the UK’s economic security, after 10 years of geopolitical shocks have repeatedly damaged growth, says the British Chambers of Commerce.
Businesses in the UK have been left permanently bruised by the Pandemic, Brexit, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, supply chain chaos and US tariffs.
The business group sets out urgent steps needed to secure vital manufacturing inputs and stop British competitiveness declining in an increasingly unstable world.
It says the Prime Minister must take cross-government responsibility for protecting the UK economy from external crises after years of neglect by successive governments.
The BCC argues that keeping the UK’s position as a major trading nation depends on secure access to key inputs such as energy, steel, semiconductors and growth minerals. Demand for some materials is set to rise massively over the next decade, and domestic production cannot meet future needs.
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said:
‘Over the past decade, British businesses have weathered some of the toughest economic shocks we’ve faced in the past 100 years. Through sheer resilience and ingenuity, they have kept trading in an increasingly unpredictable global environment.
‘But it’s clear that this is not enough. The UK’s inadequate economic security has become a drag on growth, competitiveness and national strength; yet it is still not given the focus and urgency it demands.
‘The message from business is clear: delay is a luxury the UK can’t afford. The Prime Minister must act now, match the pace of our competitors, and put economic security at the heart of our national growth strategy.’
Internet link: BCC website
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