The move came as Mr Johnson announced that schools in England will close from Friday until further notice for most pupils. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland announced closures earlier today. Mr Johnson said the move was ‘to apply more downward pressure on the curve’ as the number of confirmed UK cases rose to 2,626. The death toll has now risen by 32 to 104.

Yesterday it emerged that officials had been talking to exam boards for weeks about the potential disruption to GCSE and A-level exams. The move was welcomed by the National Education Union, who had been lobbying for school closures. Joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: ‘We welcome the clarity that SATs, GCSE, AS- and A-Level exams are to be cancelled. ‘This offers some degree of reassurance to teachers, their students and parents. ‘We note that, at this time of emergency, the Government has decided that teacher assessment is indeed a good method of giving reliable information about young people’s progress and achievements. ‘We will return to that when this crisis is over.’

Source from: Metro UK

【非英國居民額外2% 物業印花稅】

有意投資英國物業嘅香港人請注意! 英國財政大臣Rishi Sunak剛於3月11日公佈了2020預算案建議向非英國居民徵收額外2%印花稅/土地稅 (Stamp Duty Land Tax), 新措施將於2021年4月生效。

現時香港人如無持有任何物業, 購買英國物業需繳付0-12%印花稅，如在英國境內境外任何地方已持有物業，印花稅則提升至3-15%。今次再向非英國居民徵收額外2% 印花稅，就增加了香港投資者的購入成本。然而英國物業價格於2020年首兩月持續上升，倫敦地區租金屢創新高。英磅匯率近日亦回調了一些，處於一個較低水平。相信精明嘅香港投資者會趁新措施未生效前趕搭尾班車。

報導連結:
The Sun 
Financial Times
Manchester Evening News

BNO平權法案日前在英國下議院獲首讀通過，意味BNO持有人的待遇將來或可能有望得到提高。

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英國已在本年1月31日正式脫離歐盟，當局隨即在2月公布之前已提及的移民政策修改，並計劃於明年1月1日實施。短短一個月已經將工作簽證改革，脫歐後看來英國的移民政策還會繼續轉，計劃移民英國的你準備好隨時要趕尾班車未？

修改要點
1. 英國重掌移民要求的大權；
2. 歐盟國成員及非歐盟國成員申請人劃一准則；
3. 針對高收入、高技術的方向實施「計分制」；
4. 取消低技術勞工移民方案；
5. 英國會按勞動市場轉變將繼續修改移民方案；
6. 學生簽證將需以「計分制」評估，而家庭團聚簽證暫未會納入「計分制」。

「計分制」重點
1. 合資格僱主聘請通知；
2. 資歷架構達第3級 RQF3（A-Level）；
3. 英語會話技術；
4. 標準薪金門檻下降至年薪25,600英磅 (個別行業可略有不同)；
a. 具相關行業的PhD資歷薪金門檻可下降至23,040英磅；
b. 屬英國人手短缺行業薪金門檻可進一步下降至20,480英磅；
c. 具STEM行業的PhD資歷薪金門檻可下降至20,480英磅。

Photo Illustration: GETTY IMAGES/CNN