UK incomes have stalled since 2016, but economists aren’t blaming Brexit March 5, 2020 Incomes have stalled and inequality has risen in the UK since 2016, official figures showed today, highlighting the size of the task the government faces in “levelling up” the country. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that growth in median income stalled between the 2016-17 financial year and 2018-19, growing on average 0.4 per [...]
Next Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey: Firms should expect coronavirus help March 4, 2020 The next Bank of England governor has said Threadneedle Street and the government is likely to provide loans to small and medium-sized firms to help them deal with supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak. Andrew Bailey told MPs that coronavirus was “going to be the first most pressing issue that we face”. He added [...]
Budget 2020: What is on the pensions industry’s wish list? March 4, 2020 As Rishi Sunak, the new chancellor, prepares for his first Budget next week, the pensions industry will be watching what happens with eagle eyes. Reports have circulated that the government, emboldened by its landslide General Election win last year, could bring in sweeping changes to how some people save for retirement. Some predict that Sunak [...]
Whitehall needs ‘delivery revolution’ to avoid wasting £10bn March 4, 2020 The government will waste £10bn in its attempts to “level up” the country’s infrastructure unless it reforms project delivery, according to a leading London think tank. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce the wave of new projects in next week’s budget to fulfil the Tories’ election promise to spend £100bn on infrastructure. However, a [...]
Startups clash with watchdog over digital merger regulation March 3, 2020 British startups have been plunged into a bitter war of words with the competition watchdog as the two sides clash over how major tech mergers should be regulated. Industry body the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) has penned a scathing letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak warning that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) risked [...]
Competition watchdog risks ‘killing’ British tech firms, startups warn March 3, 2020 The UK competition watchdog risks “killing” rising British tech companies by launching lengthy investigations while global rivals are free to pull ahead, startups have warned. In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, seen by City A.M., industry body the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) said the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) “eleventh-hour interventions” risked [...]
Airline bosses say worst is yet to come as more flights cancelled on coronavirus fears March 3, 2020 Airline bosses have warned that the worst is yet to come for the industry after coronavirus fears saw passenger demand slump, with carriers cutting flights to locations round the world. Speaking at an industry conference in Brussels, outgoing IAG boss Willie Walsh said that there had been “a very significant fall-off in demand” in Italian [...]
DVLA says excuses for not paying car tax include too many chickens and looming jail time March 3, 2020 The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said today that excuses it has received for not paying vehicle tax included their van being full of chickens. The agency said that inventive excuses it had received for nonpayment included: “I’m about to start a prison sentence, so is there any way you could hang on to [...]
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson to outline UK ‘battle plan’ to combat Covid-19 outbreak March 3, 2020 Boris Johnson is set to unveil a government action plan to outline the UK’s response to a growing number of coronavirus cases across Britain. The Prime Minister will reveal a six-point plan at a Downing Street later today in which he is expected to commit to school closures and event cancellations if the spread of [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak tells EU: Stick to June timeline for City equivalence decision March 2, 2020 UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has told the European Union to stick to a June deadline to work out which parts of Britain’s financial system will be deemed equivalent after Brexit. British banks, trading platforms and insurers are hoping to be granted access to EU markets under a so-called equivalence system, under which the bloc would [...]