Over the last two years, Companies House has disallowed more than 800 business names for being ‘too offensive’.

Building That Fought Hitler Limited, Cambridge Cannabis Club Limited, Fancy a Bomb Ltd and Fit as Fork Ltd are among the company names that have been rejected by the executive agency and trading fund for the government.

Other names to be turned down include Go Fudge Yaself Ltd, Just Weed Ltd, Meow Meow Cooking Studio Ltd, Pandemic19 Ltd and The Great Big Corrupt Company.

However, some of these rejected names can later be approved if an adequate explanation is given.

Some words that are deemed as ‘sensitive’ have to be authorised by the Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy before an incorporation can use it in its name.

The approval list is made up of 134 words, such as benevolent, British, commission, inspectorate, licensing, parliamentary, Senedd, standards and Windsor.

Words that indicate a potential link with a government department, a devolved administration or a local authority also have to be checked.

Using certain words and phrases in a business name could be classed as a criminal offence.

Architect, building society, credit union, physician, social worker, solicitor, and surgeon are examples of words and expressions that are legally protected.

A representative for Companies House said: “It is important that the register is not abused by recording offensive names.

“We have a statutory responsibility to ensure that the names we register do not have the potential to offend. All applications are carefully considered but we will not register a name which is considered to be offensive.”

Companies House is responsible for manging the UK’s register of businesses, their executives and other stakeholders who help run the company.

1. they analyse and record business information to then make it accessible for the public.

More than 500,000 limited businesses are newly registered each year, equalling around four million in total.

Between April and June 2021, 190,639 new companies and 115,554 dissolutions were recorded in the UK.

This data highlights that the number of new incorporations has continued to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many businesses had to temporarily close.

Registrations for English and Welsh businesses take place in Cardiff, whereas Scottish and Northern Irish companies are listed in Edinburgh and Belfast.

Families are reminded that they may be able to claim for tax-free childcare costs to help pay for breakfast and after school clubs as children go back to school.

In a recent press release HMRC confirmed that Eligible families can save money on their childcare and benefit from a government top-up worth up to £2,000 every year, or up to £4,000 a year if a child is disabled. In June 2021, about 308,000 families across the UK benefited from using Tax-Free Childcare, but thousands are missing out on this opportunity.

Tax-Free Childcare is available to parents or carers who have children aged up to 11, or 17 if their child is disabled. For every £8 a parent or carer deposits into their account, they will receive a £2 top-up, up to the value of £500 every three months, or £1,000 if their child is disabled.

HMRC recognises that families’ personal circumstances have changed since March 2020 as more parents and carers are preparing to return to their workplaces. The 20% top-up is paid into the Tax-Free Childcare account and is ready to use almost instantly, meaning parents and carers can use the money towards the cost of childminders, breakfast and after school clubs, and approved play schemes.

Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders or other accredited childcare providers. Parents and carers, who are returning to work after parental leave, can apply for a Tax-Free Childcare account for that child before they need to start using it. Families can start depositing money 31 days before they return to work, maximising the potential government top-up saving.

Childcare providers can also sign up for a childcare provider account via GOV.UK to receive payments from parents and carers via the scheme.

Each eligible child requires their own Tax-Free Childcare account. If families have more than one eligible child, they will need to register an account for each child. The 20% government top-up is then applied to deposits made for each child, not household.

Account holders must confirm their details are up to date every 3 months to continue receiving the government top-up.

A government-funded Peer Networks scheme is offering support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK.

The programme, which is free to join, helps organisations tackle common business challenges through interactive action learning.

Additionally, the scheme’s trained mentors help small and medium-sized businesses handle new opportunities and build a strong support network.

Business leaders can learn from like-minded individuals on the scheme and put practical solutions into place together to overcome common issues.

Virtual workshops on the Peer Network scheme normally take place in small group sessions, but one to one mentoring and coaching is also available.

Trained facilitators are always on hand to help organisations develop and grow.

Head of Operations at Mastercall Healthcare said: “The one-to-one tutor session really helped me work on some long-standing obstacles.

“I’m so glad to have taken part and feel more confident in my own skills and attributes.”

SME leaders on the scheme can share their business concerns with fellow company owners who experience the same challenges.

Jason Thorpe, Managing Director at The Voiceover Gallery said: “By sharing experiences and issues, it enables you to step back from business, and look at things from a different perspective whilst benefitting from the experience of others that may have faced similar challenges.”

Founder and CEO at Datacentreplus, Mashukul Hoque said: “Engaging with other businesses through Peer Networks has been an invaluable experience for me.

“There is a lot to learn from other businesses, particularly in these challenging times.”

He added: “It is an opportunity to share ideas, tips and good practice that others can benefit from as well.”

Any SMEs that have been in business for at least 12 months, employ five or more staff members and make £100,000 or more in revenue can join the scheme.

The programme, which has been created by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is held at local growth hubs across the UK.

News broke in recent days that McDonalds were running out of supplies. As a direct result of these supply chain issues their iconic milk shakes are being dropped from menus together with other bottled drinks. These particular shortages will apply to outlets in England, Scotland and Wales. Supplies in Northern Ireland are holding up, so far…

Is this further evidence that the delivery driver shortage is affecting retailers’ ability to supply goods to consumers?

According to the Road Hauliers Association, 30,000 HGV driving tests were unable to proceed last year and that the driver shortage was exacerbated by changes to the rules following Brexit.

Price inflation

One consequence of supply shortages – aside from goods being unavailable – is that if demand remains high, but in limited supply, prices tend to rise. Witness the incredible price rises in basic building materials in recent months.

If these trends continue and prices for commodities start to rise inflation will rear its head.

The Bank of England are forecasting inflation at almost 4% at the start of next year. It will not require much in advance of this figure before the bank will need to increase interest rates in an attempt to take the heat out of future price increases.

It is difficult to see how these fiscal measures will impact McDonalds and many other retailers if their problem is delivery difficulties, not money supply.

What to do?

If your business is being affected by delivery problems you will be sympathetic to McDonalds’ plight.

Aside from the physical need to get goods delivered, affected businesses could consider increasing stocking levels in affected goods, if this is feasible. And then triggering reorder levels at an earlier point in the production process.

This would have the added advantage of buying at lower prices for longer production runs and keeping manufacturing costs down.

The difficulty is that firms are stripped of working capital in the past eighteen months and may be unable to find additional funding or storage space.

We may have to content ourselves with a brew to accompany our next take out. Unfortunately, the driver shortage may take longer to resolve as drivers point to bad working conditions and low pay as further issues facing their industry.

1 September 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 30 November 2020.

19 September 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 September 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 September 2021)

19 September 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 September 2021.

19 September 2021 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 September 2021 is payable by today.

1 October 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 December 2020.

19 October 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 October 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 October 2021.)

19 October 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 October 2021.

19 October 2021 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 October 2021 is payable by today.

31 October 2021 – Latest date you can file a paper version of your 2021 self-assessment tax return.