Gas prices hit a five-year high, just a day after three more suppliers go bust – CityAM : CityAM September 30, 2021 Gas prices have hit a five-year high today, a day after the UK’s gas crisis pushed three more suppliers to collapse. UK contracts for next month rose above 238p per therm, while wider European natural gas and power prices also touched new records. It comes as Rishi Sunak is set to announce £500m in grants [...]
Sunak to unveil £500m grants to ease cost of living for UK’s poorest September 30, 2021 Rishi Sunak is set to announce £500m in grants to help the country’s poorest during the current cost of living crisis the UK is facing. The chancellor is expected to announce in his Tory party conference speech next week that it will be put in place to help households cope with costs over what is [...]
Sunak should slash taxes at budget to protect recovery, urges taxpayers’ lobby group September 30, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak should slash taxes at the budget to prevent the UK’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis running out of steam. That’s according to the chief of the top lobby group for taxpayers, who warned looming tax hikes will hit hardworking families and businesses and cause the recovery to “fall flat”. John O’Connell, [...]
Furlough ends today: 1m Brits in limbo as thousands of firms face bankruptcy September 30, 2021 Uncertainty looms for the future of almost one million furloughed Brits as the government’s £70bn support programme ends today, after helping out millions of workers across the UK over the last 18 months. Economists have warned that although many may find work in recovering sectors such as hospitality and travel, there is also likely to [...]
Labour goes into bat for the City of London in future trade deals September 28, 2021 Labour is calling for the government to include more provisions for financial services in the UK’s post-Brexit trade deals, with one shadow cabinet minister praising the “tremendous work” of the City during Covid. Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry said at a fringe event at the Labour conference that the economic crisis would have been [...]
End of furlough: ‘Time for the UK economy to put its big girl pants on’ September 27, 2021 This week, the government’s £70bn furlough support scheme comes to an end. The end of the Job Retention Scheme, or furlough, will force organisations to make decisions regarding the future of furloughed employees. City A.M. sought the views of a number of small business owners about whether now is the correct time to remove the [...]
‘Triple-whammy’ of inflation, energy bills and tax rises to eat into household budgets September 26, 2021 Incoming budget pressures over the next six months could squeeze the budgets of many Brits. In fact, a “triple-whammy” may leave low income families more than £1,000 worse off annually, according to a think tank. Inflation, rising energy bills and the looming health and social care tax could leave households worse off even after increases [...]
Government to scale up nuclear power production after ‘years of dithering’ September 26, 2021 The government will back a rapid expansion of the UK’s nuclear energy production after “years of dithering” as the energy crisis prompts it to strengthen the country’s electricity supply. Ministers are understood to have zeroed in on nuclear energy as a means to helping the government achieve its net zero target by 2050, according to [...]
Takeaways threatened: Customers may pay extra £2bn after tax hike September 24, 2021 Consumers could end up paying an extra £2bn for takeaways, ahead of rises in VAT, the British Takeaway Campaign has warned. VAT for hospitality is to rise to 12.5 per cent next month, ahead of another hike up to 20 per cent in March next year, to the frustration of beleaguered food bosses. Takeaway operators [...]
ONS: Seven in 10 workers are back in the office as September surge acclerates September 24, 2021 Seven in 10 workers in the UK are back in the office as the September surge back to pre-pandemic working practices accelerates, according to official figures. 70.1 per cent of workers are back at their normal place of work, research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows. The figures come as usage of Transport [...]