Suppliers could be charged for luring new customers under fresh Ofgem intervention February 16, 2022 Energy suppliers could be forced to pay a levy when acquiring new customers, under freshly announced time-limited measures unveiled by Ofgem. The regulator has intervened further in the energy industry, with the introduction of the market stabilisation charge. It will mean that when suppliers attract customers from an existing energy firm, they will have to [...]
Museums struggle to get people through the door with visitors still 50 per cent lower than pre-pandemic February 16, 2022 The number of people visiting museums is still 50 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, as iconic sites struggle to get visitors back through the door. According to data from the Department for Digital, Culture, Music and Sport released today, there were a total of five million visits to the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries between [...]
Inflation nears 30-year high as consumer price index climbs to 5.5 per cent February 16, 2022 UK inflation has remained at a near 30-year high after rising further in January as Britain remains in the grip of a tightening cost-of-living squeeze, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation reached 5.5 per cent in January, up from 5.4 per cent in December and [...]
Letters: Will someone let the dogs out to get the Covid fraudsters? February 15, 2022 [Re: HMRC inertia to claw back stolen furlough money to leave taxpayers with £4bn bill, Feb11] The report that taxpayers will be forced to shoulder a £4bn burden as a result of HMRC failing to collect the money is frankly preposterous. Every time this is brought up Rishi Sunak claims it was as a result [...]
Sadiq Khan to create £90m City Hall green bond programme February 15, 2022 Sadiq Khan will issue City Hall green bonds as a part of a £90m programme intended to boost the UK’s investment in green infrastructure. The new programme, which will be in the mayor of London’s £16bn+ 2021-22 Budget, will see £86m spent on the green bond programme and a further £4m spent on developing “high-impact [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Love you, love you not: the new China-UK relationship February 14, 2022 In a bid to snuggle up to China’s economy, Boris Johnson has tasked the department for international trade to hold the first high-ministerial talks with Beijing since 2018. Rishi Sunak has moved to restart the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, also cancelled in 2019. The timing of these decisions is a bit baffling, given that [...]
Pensioners face biggest loss in spending power for nearly 50 years February 12, 2022 British pensioners will suffer the greatest loss in spending power since in nearly 50 years, following Sunak's decision to halt the triple lock.
UK economy records highest expansion since WW2 February 11, 2022 The UK economy has registered the highest expansion since 1946, growing 7.5 per cent in 2021 despite an Omicron-induced slump registered in December. According to ONS figures, the economy was recovering strongly following a 9.4 per cent collapse in 2020 but was hit with a 0.2 per cent bump in December. Retail and hospitality were [...]
Labour’s business spokesperson backs easing of EU’s Solvency II insurance regulation February 10, 2022 Labour’s shadow business secretary has said he is in favour of scrapping the EU’s Solvency II directive post-Brexit in a bid to free up insurance firms to plow tens of billions of pounds into the British economy. Jonathan Reynolds said today at a UK Finance event that there was “an argument, not for deregulation, but [...]
Openreach adds 4000 new jobs to boost broadband February 10, 2022 Openreach announced it will create and fill more than 4,000 jobs during 2022 – including around 3,000 apprenticeships – as it continues to invest billions of pounds into its broadband network, people and training. The new recruits will be based throughout the UK, working to build and connect customers to boost the company’s Full Fibre [...]