We appreciate that not that many of you will necessarily be eligible for this scheme, but we believe it is important that as many people as possible should be made aware of it because Government initiatives come and go, and do not necessarily seem to be widely publicised.

Applications for this scheme open on 1 October but there is a short window only to 30 November, and if you do qualify, potential savings appear to be substantial.

If you think this is relevant to you, please do not hesitate to contact us and if you need help with the application, we will be pleased to put you in touch with one of our UK200 Group Prime Partners.

Who could qualify?
A business must:
Be registered at Companies House with a relevant eligible SIC code
Operate within an eligible manufacturing sector
Manufacture an eligible product in Great Britain
Use at least 33 MWh of grid supplied electricity annually at the relevant manufacturing site
The electricity threshold is perhaps lower than many businesses might expect. 33,000 kWh a year does not necessarily mean a large factory or a particularly energy-intensive business. A relatively small manufacturing workshop running machinery, compressors, extraction and other production equipment could potentially exceed that level.

In practical terms, BICS is most worth looking at for manufacturers with meaningful electricity usage whose products fall within the Government's eligible manufacturing categories. The greater the electricity consumption and the proportion of the site dedicated to eligible manufacturing, the greater the potential benefit.

The products themselves are particularly important. The eligible list covers goods produced across the Government's manufacturing frontier and foundational industries.

This includes areas such as aerospace, automotive, batteries, clean energy, defence and digital technologies, but also much more traditional manufacturing. Metals and metal products, chemicals, glass and ceramics, paper and packaging, machinery and industrial equipment, electrical components and a wide range of other manufactured goods can potentially fall within the eligible product categories.

It is therefore worth looking beyond the SIC code alone and considering what the business actually manufactures. SIC codes can sometimes be historic or may no longer accurately reflect a company's current activities, so in some cases they may need to be updated to properly reflect what the business does.

How much support is available?
BICS does not provide an exemption from the entire electricity bill. Instead, eligible businesses receive an exemption from certain policy costs included within their electricity charges, covering the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariff and Capacity Market.

The level of exemption depends on how much of the electricity used at each manufacturing site relates to eligible production:
25% or less attributable to eligible manufacturing – no exemption
More than 25% but below 50% – 50% exemption from these policy costs
50% or more – 100% exemption from these policy costs

At the highest level of support, Government estimates the BICS exemptions could reduce a manufacturer's overall electricity bill by up to 25%, with the exemptions worth approximately £35 to £40 per MWh.

To put that into context, a manufacturer consuming 2,000 MWh annually at the 100% exemption level could potentially receive annualised support of around £70,000 to £80,000 once all of the relevant BICS exemptions are fully in effect.

The first application window is particularly important

The application window is fairly short, it opens on 1 October and closes on 30 November 2026.

Businesses entering the scheme could also receive an additional payment in 2027, calculated by reference to the support they would have received had BICS been operating from April 2026.

There is another reason to look at eligibility early. Once a BICS application has been submitted, it cannot be amended, so it is important to get the eligibility position, product classifications, electricity calculations and supporting evidence right first time.

WHAT IS CHANGING?
• More detailed accounts will be filed
Small companies and micro-entities will be required to file a profit and loss account alongside the balance sheet.

• Your sensitive information can remain private
Following strong opposition from the business community — a campaign we were proud to support — companies will be able to opt out of publishing their profit and loss account on the public register. This is a significant and welcome outcome, preserving confidentiality while still meeting regulatory requirements.

• Abridged accounts will be removed
The option to file abridged accounts will be abolished, moving all companies towards a more standardised format.

• Digital filing becomes mandatory for everyone
All companies will need to file accounts using approved software. This is already how we operate, so our clients will not need to change their processes.

WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE

For many businesses, these changes will involve new systems, new processes and additional complexity. However, for clients of The Martlet Partnership:

There is no change to how your accounts are currently filed.

You are already compliant with digital filing requirements.

We will ensure you meet the updated disclosure rules without additional burden.

The main practical change will be that more financial information is submitted to Companies House — but with continued control over what is made public.

HOW WE WILL SUPPORT YOU
At The Martlet Partnership, our role is to make these changes straightforward and stress-free:

We will continue to handle all filings on your behalf, as we do now.

We will ensure full compliance with the new requirements.

We will advise on the opt-out of profit and loss publication, where appropriate.

We will keep you informed with clear, practical guidance.

We will deal with the detail, so you can focus on running your business.

OUR VIEW
We welcome the Government’s decision to allow businesses to keep profit and loss accounts off the public register, helping to protect commercially sensitive information. We are proud to have supported the wider professional and business community in pushing for this outcome.

LOOKING AHEAD
The rules do not take effect until April 2028, and most of the groundwork is already in place for our clients. For you, this is not a disruption — it is simply a continuation of the robust, compliant approach we already take on your behalf.

If you would like to discuss how these changes affect your business, please do get in touch.

This is the first increase since April 2011, and is massively overdue, but nonetheless has now finally been dealt with by the Government.
 
As a reminder, 55p per mile is the maximum that can be paid for the first 10,000 miles of business mileage to employees who use their own vehicle, be it a car or van, in connection with their employment or claimed by self-employed people. It is a not a requirement to pay the 55p, and if mileage payments are made to employees in a lesser amount, they can claim tax relief on the difference.
 
The 25p per mile over 10,000 miles remains unchanged, as does the motorbike rate.
 
There are a number of targeted measures in yesterday’s announcement, one of the headline announcements being a cut in the VAT rate on children’s meals from 20% to 5% across the summer holiday. It will be interesting to see how many businesses show a notable increase in the number of children’s meals served during this period!

If you have any queries relating to how to claim the business mileage rate, please do not hesitate to contact us.
 

If you are a sole trader, there is the joy of MTD to subscribe to, meaning that instead of doing one tax return a year, you will now do five.
 
For company owners, there has been the deep joy of having to obtain a Personal Identification Code, without which you can no longer file documents for your company, and which Companies House have been relentlessly pursuing, whilst making it as difficult and awkward as possible for people to obtain in many cases.
 
From the start of the new tax year, there is then new legislation relating to Statutory Sick Pay, which means that employees are now entitled to Statutory Sick Pay from day one of absence. This will mean that even if a member of staff is off sick for just one day, that person will have to be paid and you cannot recover the SSP from the Government.
 
All employers need to be aware of this because if you fail to pay a member of staff who if off sick, then it is very likely they will know their own rights!
 
Attached is a document with some details analysis of how the impact of this legislation will affect employers.

Nevertheless, there will be a 2% increase to dividend tax which effectively means that business owners who keep their income below the higher rate of tax have seen an increase in their effective tax rates, when taking their companies and their dividends combined, from 26% three years ago to 36% plus next year.

We will be looking at strategies of how to extract profits from companies which once again will need to be revised for the 26/27 tax year in due course.

There are also likely to be changes to private landlords’ strategy in relation to residential property, either by an increase in rent to reflect the additional tax or perhaps an increase in the use of small companies to shelter residential portfolios.

There is a lot of small detail to digest within the full analysis and we have not had time to assimilate all of it yet but, if you have any queries as to how changes in legislation might affect you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We conduct this business confidence survey from time to time to understand confidence levels and the views of businesses on their outlook. The findings provide us with insights to develop appropriate support for businesses and individuals.
 
We are conducting this survey in collaboration with other members firms of the UK200Group, the UK’s leading professional organisation of chartered accountants and law firms, of which we are a member.
 
This means we will capture feedback from businesses from right across the UK which we can use to help develop and shape support to help businesses like yours.
 
The survey will only take 1-2 minutes of your time to participate. It contains just 4 short questions.
 
Please take a moment to participate by clicking the link below.

If you are a sole trader, there is the joy of MTD to subscribe to, meaning that instead of doing one tax return a year, you will now do five.
 
For company owners, there has been the deep joy of having to obtain a Personal Identification Code, without which you can no longer file documents for your company, and which Companies House have been relentlessly pursuing, whilst making it as difficult and awkward as possible for people to obtain in many cases.
 
From the start of the new tax year, there is then new legislation relating to Statutory Sick Pay, which means that employees are now entitled to Statutory Sick Pay from day one of absence. This will mean that even if a member of staff is off sick for just one day, that person will have to be paid and you cannot recover the SSP from the Government.
 
All employers need to be aware of this because if you fail to pay a member of staff who if off sick, then it is very likely they will know their own rights!
 
Attached is a document with some details analysis of how the impact of this legislation will affect employers.

Nevertheless, there will be a 2% increase to dividend tax which effectively means that business owners who keep their income below the higher rate of tax have seen an increase in their effective tax rates, when taking their companies and their dividends combined, from 26% three years ago to 36% plus next year.

We will be looking at strategies of how to extract profits from companies which once again will need to be revised for the 26/27 tax year in due course.

There are also likely to be changes to private landlords’ strategy in relation to residential property, either by an increase in rent to reflect the additional tax or perhaps an increase in the use of small companies to shelter residential portfolios.

There is a lot of small detail to digest within the full analysis and we have not had time to assimilate all of it yet but, if you have any queries as to how changes in legislation might affect you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We conduct this business confidence survey from time to time to understand confidence levels and the views of businesses on their outlook. The findings provide us with insights to develop appropriate support for businesses and individuals.
 
We are conducting this survey in collaboration with other members firms of the UK200Group, the UK’s leading professional organisation of chartered accountants and law firms, of which we are a member.
 
This means we will capture feedback from businesses from right across the UK which we can use to help develop and shape support to help businesses like yours.
 
The survey will only take 1-2 minutes of your time to participate. It contains just 4 short questions.
 
Please take a moment to participate by clicking the link below.

If you are a sole trader, there is the joy of MTD to subscribe to, meaning that instead of doing one tax return a year, you will now do five.
 
For company owners, there has been the deep joy of having to obtain a Personal Identification Code, without which you can no longer file documents for your company, and which Companies House have been relentlessly pursuing, whilst making it as difficult and awkward as possible for people to obtain in many cases.
 
From the start of the new tax year, there is then new legislation relating to Statutory Sick Pay, which means that employees are now entitled to Statutory Sick Pay from day one of absence. This will mean that even if a member of staff is off sick for just one day, that person will have to be paid and you cannot recover the SSP from the Government.
 
All employers need to be aware of this because if you fail to pay a member of staff who if off sick, then it is very likely they will know their own rights!
 
Attached is a document with some details analysis of how the impact of this legislation will affect employers.

Nevertheless, there will be a 2% increase to dividend tax which effectively means that business owners who keep their income below the higher rate of tax have seen an increase in their effective tax rates, when taking their companies and their dividends combined, from 26% three years ago to 36% plus next year.

We will be looking at strategies of how to extract profits from companies which once again will need to be revised for the 26/27 tax year in due course.

There are also likely to be changes to private landlords’ strategy in relation to residential property, either by an increase in rent to reflect the additional tax or perhaps an increase in the use of small companies to shelter residential portfolios.

There is a lot of small detail to digest within the full analysis and we have not had time to assimilate all of it yet but, if you have any queries as to how changes in legislation might affect you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We conduct this business confidence survey from time to time to understand confidence levels and the views of businesses on their outlook. The findings provide us with insights to develop appropriate support for businesses and individuals.
 
We are conducting this survey in collaboration with other members firms of the UK200Group, the UK’s leading professional organisation of chartered accountants and law firms, of which we are a member.
 
This means we will capture feedback from businesses from right across the UK which we can use to help develop and shape support to help businesses like yours.
 
The survey will only take 1-2 minutes of your time to participate. It contains just 4 short questions.
 
Please take a moment to participate by clicking the link below.

If you are a sole trader, there is the joy of MTD to subscribe to, meaning that instead of doing one tax return a year, you will now do five.
 
For company owners, there has been the deep joy of having to obtain a Personal Identification Code, without which you can no longer file documents for your company, and which Companies House have been relentlessly pursuing, whilst making it as difficult and awkward as possible for people to obtain in many cases.
 
From the start of the new tax year, there is then new legislation relating to Statutory Sick Pay, which means that employees are now entitled to Statutory Sick Pay from day one of absence. This will mean that even if a member of staff is off sick for just one day, that person will have to be paid and you cannot recover the SSP from the Government.
 
All employers need to be aware of this because if you fail to pay a member of staff who if off sick, then it is very likely they will know their own rights!
 
Attached is a document with some details analysis of how the impact of this legislation will affect employers.

Nevertheless, there will be a 2% increase to dividend tax which effectively means that business owners who keep their income below the higher rate of tax have seen an increase in their effective tax rates, when taking their companies and their dividends combined, from 26% three years ago to 36% plus next year.

We will be looking at strategies of how to extract profits from companies which once again will need to be revised for the 26/27 tax year in due course.

There are also likely to be changes to private landlords’ strategy in relation to residential property, either by an increase in rent to reflect the additional tax or perhaps an increase in the use of small companies to shelter residential portfolios.

There is a lot of small detail to digest within the full analysis and we have not had time to assimilate all of it yet but, if you have any queries as to how changes in legislation might affect you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We conduct this business confidence survey from time to time to understand confidence levels and the views of businesses on their outlook. The findings provide us with insights to develop appropriate support for businesses and individuals.
 
We are conducting this survey in collaboration with other members firms of the UK200Group, the UK’s leading professional organisation of chartered accountants and law firms, of which we are a member.
 
This means we will capture feedback from businesses from right across the UK which we can use to help develop and shape support to help businesses like yours.
 
The survey will only take 1-2 minutes of your time to participate. It contains just 4 short questions.
 
Please take a moment to participate by clicking the link below.