Taxpayer to hand over £150bn to Bank of England to cover QE losses July 25, 2023 Taxpayers will have to foot a £150bn bill to cover cumulative losses on the Bank of England’s bond buying scheme over the coming decade, a new projection has claimed today. The Treasury is forecast to inject hundreds of billions of pounds into the central bank’s balance sheet to make up for a shortfall in its [...]
Sunak vows to meet one million new homes promise amid shortfall warnings July 24, 2023 Rishi Sunak has vowed his government will meet a Conservative manifesto pledge to build one million new homes before the end of this parliament. The Prime Minister made the promise ahead of a speech by housing and levelling up secretary Michael Gove on measures to slash red tape on loft conversions and extensions. It comes [...]
Monarchy’s funding recalculated after boost to Crown Estate’s revenue from wind farm deals July 20, 2023 The Sovereign Grant – which is used to fund the monarchy’s official duties – will make up just 12 per cent of the Crown Estate’s net profits next year, down from 25 per cent, the Treasury has announced. The change has been introduced following a significant boost in the Crown Estate’s profits from offshore wind [...]
Some civil servants work from home 60 per cent of the week, new data shows July 20, 2023 Civil servants working on supporting the UK’s businesses were at their desks for just 40 per cent of the second week in July, government figures have revealed. Staff at the former Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department came into the office for two fifths of the time during the week beginning Monday 10 July, [...]
Smart Pension snaps up £750m peer as government calls for consolidation grow July 17, 2023 Top workplace pension firm Smart Pension has snapped up a peer with some £750m under management as pressure from the government grows for faster consolidation in the sector.
Sunak accepts six per cent public sector pay rises but warns it ‘will cost all of you as taxpayers’ July 13, 2023 Government has accepted recommendations for millions of public sector workers to receive pay rises of six per cent or more, Rishi Sunak has announced. The prime minister said today reports from independent pay bodies calling for public sector pay rises of between five and 6.5 per cent for millions of medics, teachers and civil servants [...]
Jeremy Hunt on track to ‘obliterate’ fiscal rules as OBR warns of much higher debt bill July 13, 2023 Jeremy Hunt is on track to blow out his financial goals due to the Bank of England hiking interest rates aggressively to bring down sticky inflation, according to new forecasts out today from the UK’s spending watchdog. Payments to investors who have purchased UK government debt are poised to rise more than £90bn above what [...]
Truss suggests mini-budget may have paid off in the long-term July 12, 2023 Liz Truss appeared to suggest her mini-budget may have paid off long-term as her new taskforce warned the UK risks lagging behind other nations unless it tackles stagnation. Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister likened sluggish growth in recent years to a “boiling a frog situation” as she attended an event to launch the Growth Commission. Members [...]
Jeremy Hunt unveils plans to boost pension funds’ investment July 10, 2023 Jeremy Hunt is set to announce hotly-anticipated plans to supercharge pension funds to invest in high-growth sectors and boost British businesses. The Chancellor will spell out his plans today to encourage schemes to invest cash in infrastructure, startups and green tech – in a bid to rocket power the UK’s growth while avoiding adding to [...]
Hunt downplays tax cuts odds, conceding calming inflation is tougher than feared July 8, 2023 Tax cuts was growing less likely as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt signalled the pledge to halve inflation was proving harder than expected.