Business
AstraZeneca pauses £200m Cambridge investment
Mitchell LabiakBusiness reporter and
Simon JackBusiness editor
Getty ImagesAstraZeneca has paused plans to invest £200m at a Cambridge research site in a fresh blow to the UK pharmaceutical industry.
The project, which was set to create 1,000 jobs, was announced in March 2024 by the previous government alongside another project in Liverpool, which was shelved in January.
Friday’s announcement comes after US pharmaceutical giant Merck scrapped a £1bn UK expansion, blaming a lack of government investment, and as President Donald Trump pressures pharmaceutical firms to invest more in the US.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson said: “We constantly reassess the investment needs of our company and can confirm our expansion in Cambridge is paused.”
Over the last 10 years, UK spending on medicines has fallen from 15% of the NHS budget to 9%, while the rest of the developed world spends between 14% and 20%.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies have been looking to invest in the US following Trump’s threats of sky-high tariffs on drug imports.
In July, AstraZeneca said it would invest $50bn (£36.9bn) in the US on “medicines manufacturing and R&D [research and development]”.
Earlier this week Merck, which had already begun construction on a site in London’s King’s Cross which was due to be completed by 2027, said it no longer planned to occupy it.
The multi-national business, known as MSD in Europe, said it would move its life sciences research to the US and cut UK jobs, blaming successive governments for undervaluing innovative medicines.
Getty ImagesAstraZeneca’s announcement on Friday means none of the £650m UK investment trumpeted by the last government will currently happen.
The paused Cambridge project would have been an expansion of its existing Discovery Centre, which already hosts 2,300 researchers and scientists.
The stoppage comes after it scrapped plans to invest £450m in expanding a vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside in January, blaming a reduction in government support.
It said at the time that after “protracted” talks, a number of factors influenced the move, including “the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the previous government’s proposal”.
Successive UK governments have pointed to life sciences as one of its most successful industries.
Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the sector was “crucial for the country’s health, wealth and resilience” while Chancellor Rachel Reeves said AstraZeneca was one of the UK’s “great companies” days before it scrapped its Liverpool expansion.
The wait is finally over for over 1 crore central government employees and pensioners. The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has officially approved the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). The Commission is expected to submit its recommendations within 18 months from the date of its formation. (Image: AI-Generated)
The Central Pay Commission is set up every few years to review and revise salary structures, retirement benefits, and service conditions. (Image: AI-Generated)
Historically, a new Pay Commission is implemented roughly every 10 years. (Image: AI-Generated)
The salary hike depends largely on the fitment factor, which is a multiplier used to calculate the revised basic pay. In the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor was 2.57, raising the minimum basic salary from Rs 6,000 to Rs 18,000. (Image: AI-Generated)
For the 8th Pay Commission, different fitment factors are being considered. Here’s how they could impact salaries: if the fitment factor is set at 1.83, the basic salary could rise from Rs 18,000 to around Rs 32,940. A slightly higher factor of 1.86 would increase it to Rs 33,480. However, if the government applies a more generous fitment factor of 2.47, the revised basic pay could reach Rs 44,460. These figures help illustrate how significantly the fitment factor influences salary revisions under the Pay Commission. (File Photo)
Gross salary includes Basic Pay, Dearness Allowance (DA) – linked to inflation, revised twice a year, and House Rent Allowance (HRA) – based on city category (30% for metro cities, 20% for Tier-2 cities, and 10% for Tier-3 cities). (Image: AI-Generated)
Let’s calculate the gross salary using a fitment factor of 2.47 and assuming: Basic Pay: Rs 44,460; DA: Rs 0 (for simplicity); HRA (30% for metro): Rs 13,338. The New Gross Salary = Basic Pay + DA + HRA, which is 44,460 + 0 + 13,338 = Rs 57,798. (Image: AI-Generated)
Business
Aadhaar Card Update: Is Aadhaar A Proof Of Date Of Birth Or Citizenship? Govt Issues Clarification
New Delhi: The Ministry of Communications has issued a latest circular on clarification on the Properties and Usage of Aadhaar by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
The three-point clarification was issues regarding the properties and permissible usage of the Aadhaar number and related documents.
UIDAI said that an Aadhaar number may be used for establishing the identity of the Aadhaar number holder subject to authentication or offline verification.
Further, Aadhaar number or the authentication thereof, is not a proof of citizenship or domicile in respect of Aadhaar number holder.
UIDAI also added that Aadhaar number is not a proof of date of birth and hence, must not be used for establishing the date of birth of the Aadhaar number holder conclusively.
Members of the NASUWT union are set to be balloted on industrial action over class contact time.
The union accused the Scottish Government of failing to meet the SNP manifesto commitment ahead of the 2021 election of reducing contact time by one-and-a-half hours per week.
Announcing the move, NASUWT national official for Scotland Mike Corbett said teachers are “arguably worse off in terms of workload” than before the last election.
“The commitment on class contact time was a recognition by the Scottish Government that additional time away from the classroom was necessary to give teachers sufficient time and space to plan, prepare and assess pupils’ work in order to help students achieve their best and raise attainment.
“Since 2024 we’ve had agreements to work ‘at pace’ and the establishment of working groups by the Scottish Government and Cosla to make meaningful progress on class contact time reduction.
“But the reality is that teachers today are arguably worse off in terms of their workloads and working hours than they were in 2021 when this commitment was first made.
“A reduction in class contact time is as needed now, if not more so, than in 2021.
“It is regrettable that we have been forced to declare a trade dispute and move to a ballot in order to try to force the Government to give teachers the working conditions it itself acknowledges they require to do the job effectively.”
The union’s general secretary Matt Wrack said it had “exhausted all avenues” to reduce contact time, adding: “Where ministers and employers continue to fail our teachers, we will stand up for their right to working conditions which would enable them to deliver the highest quality of learning for our children and young people.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers have been clear that reducing class contact will help support the time and space necessary for teachers, to allow them to drive improvement and reform in our schools and improve outcomes for their pupils.
“We are committed to working with teaching unions and Cosla to agree our approach to delivering a reduction in class contact time at pace.
“That is why we are providing local authorities with increased funding of £186.5 million to restore teacher numbers – this additional funding was agreed to by local government on the understanding that they make ‘meaningful progress’ with reducing class contact.
“Ministers respect union members’ right to withdraw their labour, but are disappointed that the NASUWT has taken this action while these constructive discussions are ongoing.”
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8th Pay Commission Update: What Government Employees Can Expect
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