INFRASTRUCTURE WORK AT A GLANCE November 29, 2011 ● NORTHERN LINE EXTENSION Plans to extend the Northern Line were given a boost by the chancellor, who said the government will support work to extend the line to Battersea. Also, providing a developer can be found by April 2013, it will consider allowing the Mayor of London to borrow against future tax takings to [...]
UK gets broadband boost November 29, 2011 George Osborne yesterday announced plans to build a superfast broadband network spanning 10 cities across the UK. The chancellor said £100m in extra funds will be made available to ensure the UK is not left behind by rapidly developing countries like Brazil and China. London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh will be included in the plans [...]
Banks, businesses and unions give their views on the Autumn Statement November 29, 2011 THE BRITISH BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION The BBA is the leading trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector, speaking for over 200 member banks DIRECTOR GENERAL ANGELA KNIGHT “This Autumn Statement makes a serious addition to the large sums already being lent to the business community by the banks. With the Eurozone crisis putting [...]
Chancellor gives industry £250m to mitigate climate change taxes November 29, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT is handing £250m of compensation to energy-intensive companies, as it seeks to offset the impact of billions of pounds worth of new green taxes, the chancellor announced yesterday. As first revealed in City A.M. last month, George Osborne agreed to hand the compensation to firms who use lots of energy, after they warned [...]
Government announces an end to stamp duty holiday November 29, 2011 THE CHANCELLOR was accused of dealing a blow to first-time buyers yesterday after announcing that the government would not be extending the stamp duty holiday beyond next March. In his Autumn Statement yesterday, George Osborne said that duty land tax relief “has been ineffective” in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market. [...]
Schools win extra £1.2bn in new funds November 29, 2011 MICHAEL Gove, the education secretary, was the biggest winner from yesterday’s Autumn Statement, after he received an extra £1.2bn for his schools budget. The chancellor announced £600m to fund an extra 100 “free schools”, which are run independently by private groups or parents and do not have to answer to the local authority. Part of the [...]
Osborne gets an ‘A’ for moving fiscal goalposts November 29, 2011 IT is a common joke that some tests are impossible to fail – the driving theory exam, for instance, or an A-Level in General Studies. You would expect George Osborne’s fiscal mandate to be slightly more taxing. But you’d be wrong. Because the chancellor’s two fiscal targets test very little, save for his ability to [...]
Trust in the Tinkerer of the Exchequer November 29, 2011 IT WAS a motley crew of beneficiaries the Tinkerer of the Exchequer ushered into the first class cabins of HMS Treasury yesterday. Satellites, waste facilities, broadband networks, supercomputers, world-bleating (beating?) animal health labs, the Kettering Bypass, small shops, the A453 link… “They’re all going to be improved!” the Tinkerer brayed, as he furiously rearranged the [...]
Balls: economy in tatters after growth plans are proved a truly colossal failure November 29, 2011 SHADOW chancellor Ed Balls yesterday called George Osborne’s plans for the UK economy a “truly colossal failure”, and claimed the country will have to borrow £158bn more than the government planned a year ago. Responding to the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Balls told a raucous House of Commons: “After 18 months in office the verdict is [...]
Reforms to employment regulations will go ahead November 29, 2011 GEORGE Osborne yesterday reiterated the government’s plans to reform employment laws, including doubling the time before an employee can bring an unfair dismissal claim and introducing fees for tribunals. First announced in April’s budget, the Chancellor said the changes would help firms that are “afraid to hire new staff because of their fear about the [...]
