The government has announced changes to its pensions offer for NHS staff, which it claims are an improvement designed to protect low-paid employees, but which unions claim is a tax on middle-earners. Last week up to two million public sector workers went on strike over the government’s plan to increase the amount they will have [...]
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more public sector job losses are being axed than originally forecast. The employers group said 610,000 jobs in the sector will be lost between 2010/11 and 2015/16 – one third more than the 410,000 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) originally predicted. The group is [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing rose last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing came in at a higher than expected £15.9 billion in August – a rise of £1.9 billion from a year ago and represented the highest for the month of August [...]
UK pay settlement levels are stable, according to the latest analysis from employment research specialist, Incomes Data Services (IDS). The average settlement for the three months to the end of July stood at 2.5%, having remained constant since January, and with pay settlements in manufacturing continuing to lead the way, typically at 2.9%. In addition, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector borrowing rose last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing rose to £14 billion last month compared with £13.6 billion June 2010. The figure was higher than analysts’ expectations and was attributed to a fall in income tax receipts. The figure [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector borrowing fell slightly last month. According to the ONS, public sector borrowing fell to £15.15 billion last month compared with £16.46 billion in May last year. The figure was lower than analysts’ expectations of £15.75 billion and was attributed to an increase in [...]
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS), which is Britain’s largest civil service union, has said 290,000 of its members will take strike action later this month, protesting against pension reforms. They will join hundreds of thousands of teachers, meaning around 750,000 public sector workers will strike at the end of the month. The co-ordinated action [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment fell further in the three months to March. The ONS said unemployment fell by 36,000 in the three month period to 2.46 million. The latest figures means the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.7% from 7.8% in February. In the meantime, the number of [...]
Recovery of the UK economy is to remain sluggish, with GDP growing by 1.4% in 2011 and by 2% in 2012, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicts. Growth this year will be constrained by government spending cuts and a squeeze on household finances resulting from higher taxes and rising inflation. According [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing switched to a surplus in January – boosted by a sharp increase in income tax receipts and corporation tax inflows. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing registered a surplus of £3.735 billion – representing the biggest surplus since July [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment rose in the three months to December. The ONS said unemployment grew by 44,000 in the three month period to 2.49 million. The latest figures means the unemployment rate is unchanged from last month at 7.9% – in line with forecasts. In the meantime, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed public sector net borrowing totalled £15.3 billion in December – lower than forecasts of £18.1 billion and a fall from November‘s record high. However, it was slightly above December 2009′s total of £14.3 billion. The fall was attributed to the cost of Government support for Royal [...]
Think tank, the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), has warned that “unemployment will reach new highs for this economic downturn.” Its gloomy assessment comes as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK unemployment rose in the three months to November. The ONS said unemployment grew by 49,000 in the three month period [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment rose in the three months to November. The ONS said unemployment grew by 49,000 in the three month period to 2.498 million. The latest figures means the unemployment rate is unchanged from last month at 7.9% – in line with forecasts. In the meantime, [...]
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has provided a gloomy assessment for UK unemployment, suggesting it could hit a 17-year high of 2.7 million next year. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show UK unemployment at just over the 2.5 million mark – at a rate of 7.9%. However, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed public sector net borrowing totalled £23.3 billion in November – a record high for the month. Not only did it exceed the monthly record of £21.1 billion that was set in December 2009 – it represented the highest level since monthly records began in 1993. The [...]
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), which was established in May, has today revised its growth forecast for the UK for the 2010 year. The independent body, which was set up by the coalition Government to assess the state of public finances, has lifted its economic growth forecast from 1.2% to 1.8% – slightly higher [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed public sector net borrowing totalled £10.3 billion in October – a record high for the month. However, the figure was roughly in line with expectations of a £9.6 billion figure but is up from the £10.1 billion in October last year. The increase comes despite a [...]
Banking giant HSBC is proposing to raise the basic salaries of its senior investment bankers, in an attempt to beat the crackdown on bonus payouts. However, the move is likely to trigger unrest among the public sector, which is faced with savage cuts, as the Government attempts to bring down the budget deficit. Furthermore, the [...]
A report by the BBC has revealed that Britain’s biggest banks are understood to be in talks about reducing the amount they receive in bonuses. Bonuses have been a major issue for some time now and have sparked public outrage since many argued that excessive bankers’ bonuses reward the risk-taking culture that led to the [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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