Category Archives: Money

Pension pot amount needed for ‘basic’ retirement rises 60% in three years

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Research shows ‘alarming’ rise in essential living costs during retirement, with low-paid workers worst affected

The average pension pot needed for a “basic” retirement has risen by almost 60% in three years, according to research that highlights how the UK cost of living crisis has left many workers fearing they will never be able to retire.

The study from the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the Living Wage Foundation found that a number of price rises across housing, energy, food and transport had helped “significantly” increase the cost of securing an adequate income in retirement.

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European Commission to examine Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’

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Review follows UK competition watchdog’s announcement of ‘urgent review’ into Oasis concert tickets fiasco

Ticketmaster’s ability to raise the price of concert tickets based on demand is being scrutinised by the European Commission, the Guardian has learned, as the UK’s competition watchdog launches an “urgent review” into the Oasis concerts fiasco.

The US-owned ticketing giant has been told it may have breached laws in the UK and Europe for inflating the price of some Oasis tickets from £135 to £350, leaving many fans devastated.

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Starmer criticises Labour MP over tenants’ complaints of mould and ants

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PM says ‘it’s unacceptable’ when asked about Jas Athwal allegations but adds MP is ‘taking action to put it right’

Keir Starmer has criticised a Labour MP who has been accused of renting out flats with black mould and ant infestations, calling the conditions “unacceptable”.

The prime minister addressed the accusations against Jas Athwal, the MP for Ilford South, on Monday after a report by the BBC quoted several of his tenants complaining about the conditions in the properties they rented from him. One said there were ants “everywhere”, adding: “They are on my kid’s body and on their clothes.”

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Branded UK school uniforms cost more than double high-street prices, analysis reveals

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The Children’s Society urges schools and government to ensure ‘undue financial strain’ is not placed on families

Parents are routinely paying more than double the price for branded school uniforms compared with similar items offered by supermarkets and high-street stores, an analysis by the Observer reveals.

Despite government guidance to reduce costs, the analysis shows that parents who are required by state schools to buy clothing featuring official school logos are still paying significantly more than for unbranded blazers, jumpers, ties and sports kit.

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Thames Water lobbied Whitehall to press Ofwat on allowing higher bills

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Exclusive: Debt-ridden company also warned officials of ‘chilling effect’ of any renationalisation

Thames Water has lobbied the government to intervene with the regulator to allow it to charge far higher bills, the Guardian can reveal.

Advisers and board members of the beleaguered water company are understood to have met Whitehall officials in recent weeks to say that allowing it to be temporarily renationalised would have a “chilling effect” on the entire UK’s appeal to international investors, sources familiar with the discussions told the Guardian.

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Housing market at its strongest since Truss mini-budget aftermath

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House prices grew at annual rate of 2.4% in August, the fastest since December 2022, Nationwide figures show

The UK housing market is at its strongest since the aftermath of Liz Truss’s infamous mini-budget that sent borrowing costs soaring, according to the latest figures.

Nationwide said house prices grew at an annual rate of 2.4% in August, up from 2.1% in July and the fastest rate since December 2022.

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‘Hold them captive’: Australian billionaire boss aims to end staff going out for coffee

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Chris Ellison, of Perth-based mining firm Mineral Resources, has already banned working from home

A billionaire mining boss who has already banned home working has said he does not want staff to step out of the office for coffee either.

Chris Ellison, the managing director of Mineral Resources, said the industry could not afford to continue down the path of flexible working, and that his company was investing in amenities at the firm’s head office in Perth, Western Australia, to keep people from leaving the building.

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Thames Water says without steep bill increase it’s ‘neither financeable nor investible’

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Debt-laden company tells Ofwat if it cannot charge customers 59% more, it ‘would prevent company turnaround and recovery’

Thames Water has said it will be unable to recover from its funding crisis if it is blocked from charging customers significantly more, as it proposed to pile an extra £228 a year on to household bills.

The debt-laden company said the increase to bills that has been proposed by the industry regulator, Ofwat, leaves its activities “neither financeable nor investible”.

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Keir Starmer warns of tough times ahead to fix ‘Tory ruins’

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Labour leader tells working people rot left by Conservatives is so much worse than imagined and improvement won’t happen overnight

British people will have to endure even worse economic and social ­pressures in the months to come as the Labour government takes “unpopular decisions” to rebuild the country from “rubble and ruin” left by the Tories, Keir Starmer will warn this week.

With the prime minister under mounting pressure from within his own party to help people struggling with rising fuel payments and millions of families in poverty, Starmer will strike a defiant note against those demanding U-turns from his ministers, saying “tough choices” will have to be made before any recovery is possible.

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Which benefits are available to vulnerable people under Labour?

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As the winter fuel allowance is scrapped for many pensioners, we outline some other key benefits

• Millions facing ‘cruel winter’ without fuel payments, Labour MPs warn

Labour backbenchers are warning that millions of vulnerable people will face a “cruel winter” amid rising energy prices and a reduction in benefits, including the removal of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

Keir Starmer’s government has promised to improve conditions for those most in need, with a commitment to “reduce and alleviate” child poverty and end the “moral scar” of food banks. And while Labour sees economic growth and creating more reliable and well-paid jobs as crucial to achieving these aims, it cannot ignore a number of pressing and often interrelated problems in the social security and benefits system.

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Millions facing ‘cruel winter’ without fuel payments, Labour MPs warn

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Backbenchers say end to support schemes would be ‘wrong measure’ that ignores struggle of poorest households

• Which benefits are available to vulnerable people?

Millions of vulnerable people face a “cruel winter” owing to a combination of rising energy costs and government cuts to welfare schemes, Labour MPs and campaigners have warned, as Keir Starmer comes under pressure to extend key financial support programmes.

Labour backbenchers are calling on the prime minister to reverse or mitigate the government’s decision to end winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and to extend the household support fund (HSF), which is due to run out in September.

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AGL breached rules 16,000 times in wrongly taking welfare money from hundreds of people, court rules

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Landmark federal court judgment could trigger proceedings against three other energy retailers

AGL breached Australian energy rules more than 16,000 times through its use of the government-run Centrepay system to wrongly take welfare money from almost 500 people years after they ceased being customers, a court has ruled.

The landmark federal court judgment could trigger proceedings against three other energy retailers, which were referred to the regulator following a Guardian investigation into failures of the Centrepay system.

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Average annual energy bill to rise by 9.5% to £1,717 in Great Britain from October

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Campaigners fear increase by £149 in energy price cap by Ofgem will put more pressure on households

Households will begin the run-up to winter with a sharp increase in their energy bills after the industry regulator increased its cap on energy prices by 9.5% from October.

Under the new price cap, the average annual energy bill will rise to £1,717 a year for gas and electricity, up £149 from its current level of £1,568, which has been in place since July.

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Social housing rents to rise as part of UK push to build affordable homes

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Rachel Reeves works on plan for 10-year formula to give councils and housing associations certainty

Social housing rents will rise by more than inflation over the next decade as part of UK government plans to boost affordable housebuilding and shore up the finances of struggling landlords.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is working on plans to introduce a 10-year formula to calculate social rent on homes that will result in rents increasing every year by the rate of the consumer prices index – which is now 2.2% – plus 1%, removing an existing cap on rises.

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First £1 coin featuring King Charles III enters circulation

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Design with bees on reverse, part of collection inspired by plants and animals, was voted people’s favourite

The first £1 coin bearing the official portrait of King Charles III has entered general circulation as part of a collection inspired by plants and animals found across the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The latest design, featuring two bees, has been issued to Post Offices and banks, with nearly 3m coins making their way into tills and pockets.

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Interest rate cut fuels immediate upturn in UK property market

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Figures from Rightmove show inquiries to estate agents since 1 August up 19% compared with a year ago

The first Bank of England rate cut in four years has triggered an immediate upturn in the UK property market, as cheaper mortgages prompt interest among buyers and drive up house prices.

Figures from the property website Rightmove show the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale since 1 August jumped by 19% compared with the same time a year ago. Contacts in July were up 11% on the previous year.

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Vets extend strike in first industrial action to hit Britain’s pet-care sector

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Staff at a practice in Wales have accused its private-equity-backed owner of poor pay and overcharging customers

Staff working at a chain of commercial vet surgeries have extended their strike, accusing their private-equity-backed owner of underpaying workers and overcharging pet owners as part of the first industrial action to hit the veterinary sector in the UK.

Unionised vets, nurses and support staff at Valley Vets in south Wales, which is owned by one of the largest veterinary corporations in the country, VetPartners, decided last week to stay out until the end of the month, in the latest move in an increasingly bitter dispute.

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Former Sunak adviser urges Labour to introduce wealth tax on housing

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The economist behind the Covid furlough scheme has called for ‘unfair’ council tax and stamp duty to be axed

Council tax and stamp duty are “unfair and unpopular” taxes that should be abolished, says the economist who devised the Covid furlough scheme.

Tim Leunig, who has advised a series of cabinet ministers, including Rishi Sunak during his prime ministership, said it was time for a new and radical approach that would axe the two taxes and replace them with proportional levies.

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‘Kafkaesque’: bank blocks cash transfer, saying it could be an AI scam

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Starling’s fraud team repeatedly refused to allow UK man to send £12,800 to friend in Austria, then froze account

An Edinburgh academic has accused Starling bank’s fraud team of behaving like officers in a police state after they repeatedly refused to allow him to send a €15,000 (£12,800) payment to a friend in Austria, then froze his account when he complained about their “absurd demands”.

John MacInnes, a professor emeritus of sociology and statistics, says he has been left astonished by his treatment by staff at the challenger bank.

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Tory donor Lycamobile handed winding-up order from HMRC amid tax dispute

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Pay-as-you-go simcard seller often filed late returns, had accounts queried by auditors and was embroiled in eight-year VAT battle

Lycamobile, a telecoms company that has given more than £2m to the Conservative party, has been issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs, amid a long-running VAT dispute.

The company, founded by businessman Allirajah Subaskaran in 2006, sells pay-as-you-go sim cards that are popular with low-paid workers wanting to make cheap phone calls to family overseas, as well as in the UK.

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