Category Archives: Money

Sunak should expand free childcare to tackle workforce shortages, says CBI

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Business group says as much as £9bn of investment is needed to improve system

Rishi Sunak should funnel billions of pounds into free childcare to help get more parents into work to tackle acute workforce shortages, according to Britain’s leading business group.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the government urgently needed to announce extra funding and changes to childcare and early years support, arguing that a more accessible and affordable system was an immediate economic priority.

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Stop UK mobile and broadband firms ‘lining their pockets’, urge consumer experts

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Companies facing backlash amid warning of mid-contract price rises of up to 17% during cost of living crisis

Britain’s telecoms regulator is being urged to intervene over concerns that mobile and broadband operators are “lining their pockets” with £2.2bn of above-inflation price rises during the cost of living crisis.

While ministers have urged employees to show pay restraint, the mobile phone and broadband firms are facing a consumer backlash as they announce record price increases.

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Scams: FCA blocks more than 10,000 ads from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

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Financial watchdog warns over rise of ‘fin-fluencers’ targeting younger people on social media

More than 10,000 misleading financial promotions and scams aimed at consumers via social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok have been identified and targeted by the financial watchdog during the past year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the use of social media marketing channels and the rise of so-called “fin-fluencers” – particularly directing investment products at younger age groups – exploded last year, resulting in a record number of takedown notices and alerts.

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Weaker economy, higher inflation: Bank of England’s dilemma

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Differing experts have urged the Monetary Policy Committee to both cut interest rates and to raise them

Turn up. Take the temperature of the economy. Raise interest rates. That’s the been the pattern from the responsible technocrats at the Bank of England for more than a year now – and they show no sign of stopping.

Between the depths of the global financial crisis in March 2009 and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, interest rates were changed only five times, and three of those were in response to unexpected shocks: one after the Brexit vote in 2016, and two at the arrival of the pandemic in 2020. There was one period of more than seven years when interest rates were pegged at 0.5%.

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Gulf royals own more than £1bn of UK property via tax havens

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New government register shows how offshore jurisdictions used for ownership of nearly 200 properties including hotels and country estates

The royal families of Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar own more than £1bn of UK property via offshore jurisdictions, such as Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian can reveal.

Nearly 200 properties, including hotels, London mansions and country estates, belong to a few small but super-rich dynasties, according to analysis of a new government register that reveals who is behind offshore companies that own UK property.

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Poorest in UK have £40 a month less to spare than a year ago, study finds

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Richest have gained similar amount over same period, reflecting differing impacts of inflation

The UK’s least affluent households have almost £40 a month less spare cash than they did a year ago while the richest have gained a similar sum in the same period, according to figures exposing how inflation has hit the poorest the hardest.

The wealthiest 20% of households had £36 a month more in discretionary income in December compared with a year before, as they enjoyed record earnings growth which offset rising energy and food bills, analysts at Retail Economics found.

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Energy suppliers to be investigated over Britons forced on to prepayment meters

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Ofgem could look to take legal action if companies are not taking proper care of vulnerable households

Energy companies are to be investigated by the regulator Ofgem after the number of households struggling with their bills being forced on to prepayment meters has increased sharply.

Ofgem could consider taking legal action if it determines that the rise in the number of homes being forced on to prepayment meters is proven to show companies are not taking proper due care of vulnerable households.

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Lloyds and Halifax to close 40 bank branches in England and Wales

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Full list of site closures, which will start in April and carry on through into June this year

Lloyds and Halifax have become the latest high street banks to announce a series of branch closures across England and Wales.

Lloyds Banking Group, which owns both banks, is to close 18 Halifax sites and 22 Lloyds branches, starting in April and through into June this year.

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UK energy bills to fall to about £2,200 from July as wholesale gas costs drop

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Mild weather in Europe reduces gas demand but bills will remain higher than 2021 energy price cap

Annual energy bills are expected to fall to about £2,200 from July in a fillip for the government and households struggling with ballooning costs.

The energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has predicted that, excluding government subsidies, typical annual household energy bills will have fallen from £4,279 now to £3,208 from April, and then will ease to roughly £2,200 for the remainder of the year.

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Energy bills: calls for ‘social tariff’ when UK government support ends

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Charities and non-profit bodies urge Jeremy Hunt to introduce discount tariff from April 2024

Jeremy Hunt is facing calls for a “social energy tariff” providing cheaper gas and electricity for low income households to be introduced when government support ends next year.

In an open letter to the chancellor, 95 charities and non-profit organisations have urged the government to move quickly to legislate for a change in energy bills for “those in greatest need to ensure they are able to live in their homes comfortably”.

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UK private renters could save billions if energy efficiency minimum is raised

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Bill payers stand to collectively save billions if minimum standard raised to a C rating, research suggests

Raising the minimum standard of energy efficiency to a C rating for privately rented homes would save bill payers about £570 a year, research has found.

This would amount to annual savings totalling £1.75bn across the UK, according to the thinktank E3G in a report called Cutting Energy Bills and Raising Standards for Private Renters.

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Hopes of sharp fall in household energy bills as HSBC cuts gas price forecast

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Bank slashes predicted 2023 European wholesale price by 30% as mild weather reduces demand

HSBC has slashed its forecasts for future wholesale gas prices in response to mild weather in Europe – raising hopes of a sharp decline in household energy bills.

The bank cut its 2023 forecasts for the price of gas traded in Europe by about 30% and its forecast for 2024 by 20%.

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Call to end forced installation of UK prepayment meters after millions suffer without power

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Report shows 3.2m people disconnected last year as they ran out of credit

Ministers are being urged to stop the forced installation of prepayment meters after revelations that 3.2 million people – the equivalent of one person every 10 seconds – were left with cold and dark homes last year as they ran out of credit.

As energy prices surged this winter, suppliers have stepped up the use of court warrants to force their way into homes to install prepayment meters, with some magistrates approving hundreds of applications at a time. For homes with smart meters, the change can be made remotely without even needing a warrant.

Rhiannon, a single parent with a baby who suffers from depression, fell behind on her payments after she separated with her partner. Her landlord allowed her supplier access to fit a prepayment meter. She has resorted to warming baby milk at her GP’s surgery and staying warm in her dad’s car.

Rona uses a wheelchair and lives with her daughter who has special educational needs. She is reliant on family to go to the Post Office to top up and was left without heating, lighting or means to make food over Christmas.

Alice, a woman with a lung condition who was moved on to a prepayment meter due to debt and couldn’t afford to top up. Her supplier told her she could not be helped again because she had been helped before, but being cut off prevents her charging her breathing machine.

Andy, a diabetic who was moved on to a prepayment meter and left without power for a week despite needing to keep his insulin in the fridge.

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Energy bill support for UK businesses to be cut by Jeremy Hunt

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New scheme for companies, charities and public sector organisations to offer discount on wholesale prices

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is poised to announce a cut to the financial support offered to businesses to help with their energy bills.

A new scheme to provide support for businesses, charities and public sector organisations at a less generous level than the current scheme is expected to be presented in the House of Commons on Monday.

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Average UK house price falls for fourth month in a row, says Halifax

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Figure of £281,272 comes as property values drop by 1.5% in December, after 2.4% decline in November

The average UK house price fell for the fourth month in a row in December, according to Halifax, with experts expecting a further slowdown amid a long recession.

Property values decreased by 1.5% in December, the lender’s monthly index revealed, after a 2.4% drop in November, a 0.4% decrease in October and a 0.1% dip in September.

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FTSE 100 bosses paid more in three days than average UK worker for whole year

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CEOs pass milestone nine working hours earlier than last year, with pay up 39% on January 2022

The bosses of Britain’s biggest companies will have made more money in 2023 by Thursday afternoon than the average UK worker will earn in the entire year, according to analysis of vast pay gaps amid strike action and the cost of living crisis.

The High Pay Centre, a thinktank that campaigns for fairer pay for workers, said that by 2pm on the third working day of the year, a FTSE 100 chief executive will have been paid more on an hourly basis than a UK worker’s annual salary, based on median average remuneration figures for both groups.

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Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study

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People with disabilities more likely to cut back on energy use and food, Resolution Foundation says

Disabled people in the UK are much more likely to struggle to heat their homes and cut back on food this winter, according to a report highlighting “massive” income gaps amid the cost of living squeeze.

Research from the Resolution Foundation found people with disabilities had an available amount to spend that was about 44% lower than that of other working-age adults, exposing them hugely to the rising cost of essentials.

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Why are wholesale gas prices falling and will it cut UK bills?

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Falls could lower cost of government subsidies and reduce risk of power cuts this winter

Economic forecasters could be forgiven for reading the outlook for 2023 through their fingers as strikes, cost of living pressures and a potential global recession paint a gloomy picture. But wholesale gas prices have offered a sliver of optimism, with a sharp fall in recent days. Here’s why they are tumbling – and what it means for consumers.

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UK house prices fall for fourth month in a row, the longest run since 2008

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Annual growth rate cools in December and average price of property drops to £262,068, says Nationwide

Property prices in the UK fell for the fourth month in a row in December, the longest run of declines since 2008, according to Nationwide.

Annual house price growth also slowed sharply as the year drew to a close, to the lowest rate since mid-2020, with all regions of the country affected, according to the building society’s monthly survey.

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Bank branches ‘still vital’ as squeezed UK households seek cash and advice

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Quarter of consumers more likely to visit branches amid struggles with surging energy, food and housing costs, finds KPMG survey

Cost of living pressures have increased the number of customers relying on bank branches to help manage their squeezed budgets, research shows.

While the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online-only banking, particularly during lockdowns, research from the accountancy firm KPMG showed a quarter of UK consumers were more likely to visit bank branches now that households were grappling with surging energy, food and housing costs.

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