International aid budget is slashed by £1bn November 29, 2011 GEORGE Osborne has slashed more than £1bn from the UK’s aid budget to prop up other balances for capital spending. Yesterday the chancellor announced nearly £1.2bn will be taken from the department for international development. Planned increases in the department’s budget will be trimmed by £380m this year, £265m next year and £525m the following [...]
Workers to suffer falling real pay until late 2013 November 29, 2011 THE SQUEEZE on earnings will not stop until 2013, which means consumption will do little to help an economic recovery, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts published yesterday. Once inflation is taken into account, real earnings fell by 2.3 per cent in 2011 – “a post-war record”, said OBR boss Robert Chote. Consumption [...]
FACT CHECKER | WITH TIM WALLACE November 29, 2011 “Because of lower market interest rates we have secured for Britain debt interest payments are forecast to be £22bn less than predicted,” said George Osborne yesterday – a “safe haven dividend”. There are two key claims here – that low rates do save £22bn; and his policies secured those low rates. Firstly, the level of [...]
Hiring by business will outweigh public cuts November 29, 2011 PUBLIC sector job losses are unlikely to cause higher unemployment between now and 2017, the government said yesterday, as it expects hiring by businesses to outweigh cuts. The private sector is expected to create 1.7m new jobs by 2017, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), enough to mop up the 710,000 job losses [...]
Youth job plan may hit older workers November 29, 2011 YOUNG jobseekers are to receive £1bn of extra help over the next five years from George Osborne’s new “youth contract” – but the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) believes the measure will fail to bring down overall joblessness. Those aged between 18 and 24 will get more time with advisers at Jobcentre Plus, will sign [...]
2011 borrowing total up £11bn on revised growth November 29, 2011 THE UK will have to up its borrowing targets this year on reduced forecasts, Treasury figures out yesterday revealed. Gilt issuance will now hit £178.9bn for 2011/12, up £11.4bn on April’s estimates. More shorter-dated Treasury bills will also be issued, with an extra £2.4bn taking the total to £63.2bn. The proportion issued at each maturity is [...]
A shot in the arm for road and rail work November 29, 2011 THE TREASURY is to team up with pension funds in an attempt to kick-start the economy with a £30bn investment in Britain’s infrastructure. George Osborne said the government is targeting £20bn of investment from insurers, pension funds and infrastructure fund managers, and two groups have already signed a memo of understanding. The chancellor said a [...]
ANALYSIS l SOME OF THE PROJECTS November 29, 2011 SCOTLAND ■ Rail, roads, local transport, water, flood and waste powers all devolved Edinburgh: Super-connected city funding NORTHERN IRELAND ■ Transport, energy, water, flood and waste powers all devolved ■ Belfast: Super-connected city funding NORTH WEST ■ Mersey Gateway Bridge ■ Manchester Cross City Bus ■ Reinstating Todmorden Curve WEST MIDLANDS ■ Evesham Bridge Maintenance [...]
Some relief for commuters after rail fare hikes are scaled back for a year November 29, 2011 COMMUTERS were given some relief from looming price hikes, as the chancellor pledged to cap fare rises at 6.2 per cent in January. George Osborne said rail fares would rise at one per cent above the retail price index measure of inflation, down from the three per cent previously announced. He said the government “recognises [...]
Fuel tax break for drivers but air passengers left out November 29, 2011 MOTORISTS were one of the winning groups in Osborne’s speech, being told that fuel duty will be frozen in January and a planned rise pushed back to August. In a move intended to give relief to households who have a car as a necessity rather than a luxury, the chancellor said a 3.02p hike has [...]
