Philip Hammond chooses to splash the cash in his Budget rather than pay down the deficit October 29, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond declared “austerity is coming to an end” as he unveiled a raft of spending increases and tax cuts on Monday. Hammond used better-than-expected tax revenues of £12bn to pour extra cash into the NHS and bring forward by a year an increase in the 40p tax threshold to £50,000. The new level will [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Budget contained tricks and treats for your personal finances October 31, 2018 The move of this year’s Autumn Budget to Monday this week rather than its traditional Wednesday slot was ostensibly to give MPs more time to debate the chancellor’s proposals before the House of Commons rises for recess on 6 November. But presumably Philip Hammond also hoped to avoid some Halloween-themed headlines, which he himself alluded to [...]
Ofgem is set to cap energy bills September 6, 2018 Households stand to save up to £120 a year following the introduction of a proposed cap on energy bills. Energy regulator Ofgem plans to cap tariffs at £1,136, saving 11m households around £75, and £120 for those on the most expensive gas and electricity deals. Read more: Eurozone producer price inflation spikes due to [...]
A year on from Carillion: 12 months that brought outsourcing to its knees January 15, 2019 On the anniversary of Carillion’s dramatic collapse, two more public sector outsourcing giants, Interserve and Kier Group, are up against the ropes. In the intervening 12 months, outsourcers have lurched from one crisis to another, with profit warnings, massive project failures and revelations of systemic late payment of suppliers. City A.M. charts a year which [...]
Budget 2018: Austerity killed off – if a Brexit horror show is avoided October 31, 2018 The 2018 Budget was brought forward this year to avoid a nightmare clash with the Brexit negotiations. It was clear from the Chancellor’s speech that he was keen to avoid a ghoulish backlash from any controversial announcements. Indeed, the majority of policy measures unearthed had been leaked to the press beforehand, leaving Philip Hammond with [...]
TSB gave business customers 1,500 free Android smartphones to replace card readers prior to IT meltdown May 22, 2018 Under-fire lender TSB handed out around 1,500 free Android smartphones to business banking customers – ones which were rendered almost useless amid the lender’s calamitous IT upgrade. Firms were offered free phones to replace card readers as part of TSB’s planned lift-out from legacy Lloyds Bank systems. TSB wrote to businesses informing them card readers [...]
Goldman Sachs International reveals large gender pay gap as spotlight focuses on City pay disparity March 16, 2018 Goldman Sachs International has revealed it pays female employees in the UK an average of 36.4 per cent less than male colleagues as the spotlight focuses on financial services pay disparity in the City. As well as a median pay gap of 36.4 per cent, which reflects the difference between the midpoints in the ranges [...]
Ryanair to roll out Brexit clause in tickets later this year as it says uncertainty hasn’t affected bookings yet January 31, 2018 Ryanair confirmed today it will add a “Brexit clause” to tickets going on sale from September for 2019, as the uncertainty continued over arrangements for airlines after Britain leaves the European Union. Ryanair said tickets for its 2019 summer flights will include a clause explaining flights are “subject to the regulatory environment allowing this flight [...]
Thames Tideway Tunnel: Digging deep to avoid the next big stink June 19, 2016 When asked to think of major infrastructure projects taking place in London, the first to come to mind for many will be Crossrail. But there is another transformational infrastructure development taking place beneath our feet that will arguably change London over the next century more than any single train line ever could and which, for [...]
Government to force councils to reveal empty properties as part of housing push February 3, 2016 Local authorities are to be forced to publicly disclose all the properties they own as part of government plans to make better use of public sector land and build more homes. Speaking at the Government Property Conference this morning, Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock said that through the Housing and Planning Bill councils will be [...]