Family-owned and owner-managed businesses across the UK continue to struggle with recruitment due to a shortage of skilled candidates, according to Armstrong Watson’s latest annual survey. The report, based on 858 responses from companies across multiple sectors, highlights persistent challenges in finding suitable staff, particularly in rural areas.

Around a third of firms described recruitment as “very difficult”, with many pointing to a lack of qualified applicants. While Yorkshire performed better than most regions, with 26% reporting severe hiring issues, businesses there have focused on referral incentives, flexible working, and improved recruitment processes to strengthen retention.

Across the UK, only half of employers offer salary sacrifice schemes, despite their benefits for structuring pay and reducing tax costs. Many appear to be delaying changes until after the Autumn Budget.

Nearly half of Yorkshire businesses are already engaging with artificial intelligence, either using or exploring AI to streamline operations, figures that exceed national averages. Nationally, companies are also addressing labour shortages by raising wages and expanding apprenticeship programmes.

Rising costs remain the top concern for the next three years, followed by regulatory uncertainty and workforce gaps. Many firms are tightening investment plans, with 22% not seeking new finance and almost half relying on personal or retained capital to fund operations.

Succession planning is emerging as a key issue. Eighteen per cent of owners plan to exit their business within two years, and although over 40% see family or senior management as their successors, most have not yet formalised these discussions. Only a third intend to pass their business to family members, suggesting a gradual shift in succession models.

Platform Housing Group has joined the Homes for Nature campaign, an industry initiative developed by the Future Homes Hub to promote biodiversity in new housing developments.

The campaign encourages homebuilders to include wildlife-supportive features such as bird nesting bricks and hedgehog highways as standard in all new planning applications from September 2024 to 2030. Platform Housing will integrate at least one nesting brick or box per property and hedgehog highways linking gardens and green areas across its new sites.

The group also plans to exceed the initiative’s core requirements through biodiversity training for staff and by adding bat roosts, insect bricks, sustainable drainage systems and pollinator-friendly landscaping where possible. These measures form part of a wider sustainability strategy designed to embed ecological design into construction and planning.

Lianne Taylor, Director of Sustainability, said: “At Platform, we’re committed to shaping communities where both people and nature can flourish. By joining the Homes for Nature initiative, our development teams are embedding wildlife friendly elements from the very earliest stages, from integrating bird nesting bricks and hedgehog highways into site design, planting one new tree for every new home we build and incorporating pollinator friendly landscaping. This ensures every new home contributes meaningfully to nature recovery and sets a new standard in sustainable, considerate development.”

Homes for Nature complements Biodiversity Net Gain regulations, which require developers to deliver a minimum 10 per cent increase in biodiversity. More than 28 major homebuilders have signed up to the campaign, which is expected to add over 300,000 bird nesting features nationwide in the coming years.

As a member of the Future Homes Hub, Platform Housing will work with partners including the RSPB, Action for Swifts, Hedgehog Street and the NHBC to develop guidance and ensure consistent adoption of wildlife-friendly practices across the industry.

Energy companies Centrica and National Gas have completed the UK’s first live hydrogen blending trial, marking a milestone in the country’s push to decarbonise its energy system. A 2% blend of green hydrogen was injected into the national gas grid and supplied to the Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire, where it was used to generate electricity for the power network.

Previous hydrogen blending tests in the UK had been limited to decommissioned gas network sections, making this the first instance of hydrogen being used in an operational setting. The trial demonstrated that existing infrastructure can accommodate low-level hydrogen blends without compromising grid reliability or safety.

The initiative supports wider efforts to integrate hydrogen into the national energy mix, reducing emissions from power generation and hard-to-abate industrial sectors. Green hydrogen, produced from renewable electricity through electrolysis, is viewed as a key pathway to achieving net-zero targets.

Centrica and National Gas are now advocating for regulatory approval to allow up to 5% hydrogen blends in the national transmission system. The companies said the move would encourage private investment, strengthen energy security, and create new opportunities for the UK’s industrial regions.

Derbyshire County Council has voted to oppose the development of solar farms and battery storage projects on agricultural land. The motion, brought forward by the council’s Reform UK leadership, extends across the entire county following an amendment from Conservative councillors.

The decision is largely symbolic, as the county council does not have direct authority over most planning applications for such schemes, which are typically handled by district and borough councils. However, the vote signals growing political resistance to large-scale renewable developments in rural areas.

The motion was prompted by several proposed solar projects in South Derbyshire. Supporters of the measure argued that farmland should remain productive and that rural landscapes should be protected from industrialisation.

The move comes as national leaders continue to promote solar energy as a key part of the UK’s net zero strategy, citing its role in reducing energy costs and boosting independence from imported fuels.

According to HMRC data, two-thirds of the UK’s imported solar panels in 2024 came from China. Recent research by Lancaster University indicated that solar farms can reduce plant growth and soil quality, although measures such as adjusting panel height or spacing could mitigate these effects.

The National Farmers Union has previously said that using lower-grade farmland for solar installations can provide farmers with valuable diversification opportunities.