Soaring energy bills cause hospitality businesses to raise prices and cut opening hours March 23, 2022 Spiralling energy bills are forcing hospitality businesses to raise prices and cut trading hours, says a new survey from four UK trade bodies.
Explainer-in-brief: Fuel duty cuts and road taxes will drive us forward March 23, 2022 In 2011, then-Chancellor George Osborne cut fuel duty by 1p and froze it. It has stayed at 57.95p per litre ever since. Now as motorists face the second petrol crisis in five months – after crucial shortages in October last year – Rishi Sunak is expected to cut fuel duty again in his spring statement. [...]
UK ‘not protected from economic consequences’ of Russia sanctions, say MPs March 23, 2022 An influential Westminster committee has claimed the British economy is “not protected from the economic consequences” of western sanctions against Russian oil and gas, and that Rishi Sunak must bring forward help to the country’s lowest earners. A report from the Treasury Select Committee said the UK government was “right to insist” on wide-ranging sanctions [...]
British factories to launch fastest price hiking cycle on record March 22, 2022 British factories are preparing to launch the fastest price hiking cycle on record in a sign that inflation will surge even higher in the months ahead. A net balance of one in every eight UK manufacturers intend to raise prices, according to research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Products produced by factories are [...]
Energy giants face EU windfall tax March 22, 2022 Energy giants could be hit with a windfall tax from the EU - with the trading bloc weighing up a temporary levee amid high profits.
Home transactions up with market for pricey properties booming compared to pre-Covid levels March 22, 2022 Property transactions hit 96,250 last month, with big spenders buying more than before the pandemic. Transactions were up 15 per cent in February, compared to 83,450 in January, according to HMRC’s latest data on home transactions. Total sales for the first two months of the year stand at 179,900, some 18 per cent lower than [...]
Sunak resists calls to scrap tax hikes despite lower than expected borrowing March 22, 2022 The government borrowed much less than expected over the year so far, indicating Chancellor Rishi Sunak has room for giveaways at tomorrow’s spring statement. The UK borrowed nearly £26bn less than the fiscal watchdog expected in the year to February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today, freeing up some room for the Chancellor [...]
London’s councils call for share of £2.6bn levelling up fund March 22, 2022 London’s councils are calling for a slice of the £2.6bn fund earmarked for the government’s levelling up agenda to also be given to the capital in Rishi Sunak’s spring economic statement tomorrow. London Councils, an association representing all 32 of the capital’s councils, has urged Sunak to ensure that London receives from the UK Shared [...]
UK Government borrowing hits £138.4bn, less than half of amount last year March 22, 2022 Government borrowing stood at £13.1bn in February, down by £2.4bn from the same month a year earlier, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that despite the fall, this was the second highest February borrowing since monthly records began in 1993 and was still £12.8bn more than in February 2020, before [...]
Going Nuclear: Can Boris Johnson really ramp up nuclear power? March 22, 2022 Nuclear power requires a clear strategy - with an established pipeline of funding - to contribute to the UK's energy strategy.