Calls for at least £15bn funding for remediation works to tackle cladding crisis October 26, 2021 The government has been called on to announce more funding to tackle the cladding crisis at tomorrow’s Budget. Law firm Irwin Mitchell also called for measures including giving leaseholders up-front government funding for remediation works, with no repayment obligation. While the government has announced £5bn to address the issue so far, the sum required is [...]
Exclusive: HMRC’s capital gains tax receipts hit record £11.5bn while Budget increase looms October 26, 2021 There has been much speculation around whether Chancellor Rishi Sunak will increase capital gains tax rates during tomorrow’s budget, which could result in business owners and individuals paying significantly more when they come to sell assets. The increase looms despite HMRC receipts from CGT having risen by 62 per cent in the last five years, [...]
All public sector workers to get pay rise after partial 2021 wage freeze October 25, 2021 Millions of public sector workers are set to get a pay rise in this week’s Budget as the UK faces increasing inflation growth. The Treasury tonight said the size of the wage increase will be determined next year after it has been given recommendations from pay review bodies. Rishi Sunak froze pay for all public [...]
Minimum wage set to rise to £9.50 per hour October 25, 2021 The National Living Wage will increase from £8.91 per hour to £9.50 in the Budget this week. The 59p an hour boost means a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will see a pay rise of more than £1,000 a year. This is a 6.6 per cent increase in the minimum wage, which is [...]
Transport, research and skills: £20bn of investments announced ahead of Budget October 24, 2021 When Rishi Sunak delivers his second Budget in a year this Wednesday, there may not be many surprises left after investments totalling more than £20bn were announced over the weekend. The Chancellor will head to the Commons with a focus on levelling up transport links outside London, research and development in health, and a “skills [...]
Retail sales drop for fifth month in a row October 22, 2021 UK retail sales dropped in September for the fifth consecutive month but have bounced back from the pandemic, It marked the longest continuous stretch since records began in 1996, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes dropped by 0.2 per cent last month, following a 0.6 per cent [...]
Cascade of ‘cheerless’ economic news weighs on consumer confidence October 22, 2021 A cascade of “cheerless” news about the health of the UK economy has caused consumer confidence to plummet. Severe petrol and food shortages, compounded by soaring energy costs and wider inflationary pressures has engineered a cost of living crisis in the UK and stalled the economic recovery. As a result, consumer confidence slid to minus [...]
Close to 4m low-income households across UK are in arrears with household bills October 21, 2021 Nearly 4m British households on low incomes are estimated to be in arrears with household bills, according to new figures published this morning. Around 950,000 are thought to be in rent arrears, 1.4m are behind on council tax bills and 1.4m are behind on electricity and gas bills, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said. It looked [...]
Sunak’s budget must navigate the Catch-22 of inflation and recovery October 21, 2021 There have been some pretty bleak backdrops to budget announcements over the years. In March 2008, Alistair Darling faced the daunting task of delivering a budget while the world was in the teeth of the financial crisis. Denis Healy’s April 1979 budget was surely the worst, after the government lost a vote of confidence. The [...]
Sunak reportedly mulls cutting VAT on household energy bills to ease cost of living October 18, 2021 Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering cutting the 5 per cent rate of VAT on energy bills in a bid to cut living expenses for families this winter. Potential cuts in VAT to energy bills were touted by Vote Leave campaigners as a “Brexit dividend”, as EU rules stop countries from changing the rate, with some [...]