Spending review: Rishi Sunak to spend extra £4.3bn on unemployment programmes November 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak will unveil a new £2.9bn unemployment scheme and £1.4bn in extra funding for Job Centre Plus at tomorrow’s comprehensive spending review. A statement from the Treasury said Sunak’s three-year Restart scheme will help 1m people find work, with those unemployed for more than 12 months to get “regular, intensive jobs support”. In 2021-2022 [...]
Covid-19: Travel quarantine restrictions to be relaxed in time for Christmas November 24, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has scrapped blanket travel quarantine restrictions in time for Christmas so that people can travel to high-risk "red list" countries to visit relatives.
Rishi Sunak’s spending review: Three things to look out for November 24, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is no stranger to the House of Commons despatch box, having delivered numerous mini-budgets since March. But tomorrow he will lay out comprehensive spending plans for the 2021-22 financial year in one of his biggest announcements yet. Although it will not cover a three-year period, as originally planned, it will show the [...]
Retirees to be hit by inflation change in Rishi Sunak spending review November 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak is set to cost investors £100bn by announcing a change to how pensions are calculated in tomorrow’s comprehensive spending review. The Telegraph reports that Sunak is considering linking pension rises to CPI instead of the retail price index, which would mean smaller yearly increases. The change would mean that 10m retirees will receive [...]
We need a British Development Bank to level-up the regions November 24, 2020 Tomorrow, chancellor Rishi Sunak will address the nation and announce the government’s National Infrastructure Strategy. While the focus has primarily been on what infrastructure investments and tax reforms might be on the horizon, there is an opportunity here to think bigger. What Britain needs is a new financing institution, like a British Development Bank, to [...]
BoE governor Andrew Bailey: No-deal Brexit worse for UK economy than Covid November 23, 2020 A no-deal Brexit would leave worse long-term economic scarring than the coronavirus, according to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.
MPs pile pressure on government to shed light on ‘dodgy’ PPE deals November 23, 2020 Around a dozen MPs have ramped up pressure on the government to offer clarity on its procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, as further details of opaque contracts continue to emerge. Stephen Timms MP has written to the government on behalf of the the Work and Pensions Committee following a damning report [...]
UK business activity shrinks as fresh lockdown hits services sector November 23, 2020 UK business activity contracted this month as the rollout of fresh lockdown measures took its toll on the services sector. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 47.4 in November, according to initial readings, down from 52.1 in October. The figures represent a five-month low and the first time since June [...]
Bubbles and baubles: UK Covid restrictions set to be lifted for Chistmas November 22, 2020 The government is set to lift Covid restrictions on Christmas eve to allow for up to four households to form holiday bubbles. People in the four-household bubble will be able to interact indoors anywhere, including in pubs and restaurants. Downing Street has reportedly been in touch with the devolved governments of Wales, Northern Ireland and [...]
Rishi Sunak set to raise taxes in spring to pay off Covid debt bill November 22, 2020 Rishi Sunak has signalled that he will raise taxes in the spring of next year to pay off the country’s Covid spending bill. The chancellor told the Sunday Times today that by spring the conutry must start “returning to sustainable public finances”, after spending more than £200bn on the Covid crisis. This year’s deficit is [...]