Businesses in York and North Yorkshire can now apply for a share of a £600,000 grant scheme aimed at supporting international trade.

The programme, called “Get Exporting,” is part of a wider £5 million Business Innovation Fund overseen by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. It’s the second export-specific scheme in the region, following a previous initiative that issued £200,000 in grants and contributed to over £15 million in global sales.

Applications are currently open. A series of in-person advisory events will take place across the region in October, including stops in Tadcaster, Harrogate, Whitby, Malton, York, Catterick and Skipton. These will be staffed by representatives from the Growth Hub and the Department for Business and Trade.

The Get Exporting fund sits alongside other streams in the Business Innovation Fund focused on startups, sector growth, and upcoming initiatives on funding access and product development.

This latest fund complements three other regional programmes launched earlier this year: £10 million for high street regeneration, £7 million for carbon reduction projects, and £2.3 million for workforce development. All are backed by mayoral challenge funding.

A new survey by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society reveals that confidence among farmers is deteriorating, with 65% concerned about the long-term viability of their businesses. Just 30% expressed confidence in their financial outlook over the next year, and only 24% reported being in a stronger position than a year ago.

The findings, based on 400 responses following the UK Government’s Spring Statement, point to mounting pressure from rising input costs, tax and subsidy changes, policy uncertainty, succession issues, and squeezed profitability. These concerns are prompting the Society to reassess its support strategies for the farming sector.

Despite these challenges, farmers identified key areas of opportunity, including strong livestock prices, renewable energy, business diversification, generational input, and direct-to-consumer sales models.

Wellbeing is also a growing concern: 30% rated their mental health as poor or not good, and 36% said it had worsened over the past year. However, 72% said they would seek help if needed.

The Society has responded with a series of practical support initiatives. These include four business viability workshops attended by 300 farmers, mental health and first aid training for over 40 businesses, and targeted programmes for older and younger farmers. Its Goodall Agri-Development Pathway is now in its second year, helping early-career farmers build leadership and commercial skills.

The upcoming Great Yorkshire Show (8–11 July) will showcase British agriculture and provide a networking and knowledge-sharing platform. Key events will address profitability and wellbeing, and the Society will use the occasion to engage policymakers. Approximately 140,000 attendees are expected, with 8,500 animals exhibited and an expanded innovation zone highlighting the future of farming.

The Society, which reinvests £500,000 annually into farming support, continues to run initiatives including networking events, a small grants scheme, and discounted farmer tickets to facilitate industry participation.

A proposed £14bn overhaul of Yorkshire’s ageing rail network aims to transform transport infrastructure across the region and unlock billions in economic value for businesses and local authorities.

The investment plan, developed by former home secretary Lord Blunkett and endorsed by the mayors of West, South, and North Yorkshire, calls for expanded station capacity at Leeds, Sheffield, and York, the creation of a new mainline station in Rotherham, and a through-station in Bradford to improve cross-regional connectivity. The proposal also includes full electrification of the Leeds–Sheffield line and increased service frequency to areas such as Scarborough, the Esk Valley, and Wakefield’s Five Towns.

The program’s first phase would require £2.4bn in government funding by 2030. An additional £2.5bn is earmarked for new and renewed tram infrastructure across West and South Yorkshire.

The review estimates the investment could add £20bn to the region’s economy over the next decade, create approximately 83,000 new jobs, and support the development of over 200,000 new homes—factors that could benefit businesses through improved workforce mobility, logistics, and growth opportunities.

This coordinated push by the region’s Labour mayors comes ahead of the Treasury’s upcoming infrastructure spending review. Instead of competing for funds individually, the mayors promote a unified regional case under the “White Rose” banner to attract central government backing.

The Department for Transport confirmed reviewing the proposals and reiterated its commitment to northern transport investment. Ongoing projects include the Transpennine Route Upgrade and planning work on Northern Powerhouse Rail. The department has also provided £200m to support West Yorkshire’s mass transit development and prioritised funding to scope a new Rotherham station and renew South Yorkshire’s Supertram network.

The proposed rail upgrades align with broader goals to decentralise transport planning and give local leaders a formal role in shaping the rail network under the upcoming Great British Railways governance structure.

Burberry is cutting 1,700 jobs globally as part of a major cost-saving initiative, with approximately 150 roles at its Castleford manufacturing site in West Yorkshire set to be affected. The reductions follow the company’s £66 million annual loss and are concentrated mainly in the UK, where Burberry’s operational base and most of its workforce are located.

The Castleford redundancies are linked to the planned elimination of night shifts at Coronation Mills on Albion Street. The Wakefield Council has confirmed it will provide support to impacted employees. The council is also seeking further details from Burberry regarding the redundancy process and its plans for local operations.

The job losses are part of Burberry’s strategy to double its annual cost savings target to £100 million by the 2027 financial year. While head office staff in London and Leeds will bear the brunt of the reductions, factory-level changes such as rota reorganisations are underway.

Earlier this year, Burberry received planning approval for an upgrade to the Castleford site, but the announced job cuts now cast uncertainty over the scale of its future operations there. The site is a significant employer in the region, making this development notable for stakeholders in local employment and UK manufacturing supply chains.

Vet-AI’s automated veterinary triage tool has outperformed OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in clinical testing, positioning the UK-based startup as a key player in AI-powered animal healthcare.

In a blind assessment conducted in April 2025, independent veterinarians reviewed 48 simulated chat transcripts between pet owners and three AI systems: Vet-AI’s proprietary model, Gemini 2.0, and ChatGPT 4.0. Each response was evaluated for clinical accuracy, triage effectiveness, and qualitative factors such as factual reliability, safety, empathy, and clarity.

Vet-AI’s model achieved 81% clinical accuracy, ahead of Gemini’s 69% and ChatGPT’s 50%. On triage accuracy, the model’s ability to stop escalation at the appropriate time, Vet-AI also led with 81%, compared to Gemini’s 75% and ChatGPT’s 56%.

The performance edge is attributed to Vet-AI’s domain-specific training. The model is built on over 400,000 UK veterinary video consultations and draws on more than four billion data points. It continues to be updated in real time with feedback from veterinary professionals.

The company positions this tool as part of a broader strategy to make veterinary care more affordable and accessible at scale, especially for pet owners facing limitations in accessing traditional clinics.