Sam Jones’ England debut hopes in doubt as Wales skipper Sam Warburton requires surgery October 4, 2016 A potential England debut for Wasps forward Sam Jones during next month’s autumn internationals has been placed in doubt after the back row sustained an ankle injury in training yesterday. The 24-year-old was in contention to replace club-mate James Haskell, who himself is sidelined with a toe injury, but has been forced to return to [...]
Budget 2016: Government committed to disability benefit cuts as chancellor George Osborne faces potential backbench Conservative rebellion March 18, 2016 Number 10 has said it "remains committed" to cutting disability benefits this parliament, despite the prospect of a backbench rebellion over the issue. The backbench Tories claim they have the numbers to overcome the government's plans over personal independent payment changes, according to reports. Education secretary Nicky Morgan had suggested that the government would climbdown on the proposal [...]
When is the next Budget? 16 March 2016 date revealed by George Osborne December 1, 2015 The dust has only just settled on the chancellor's Autumn Statement, but there's no time to sit back and relax. The year's not even over and George Osborne has penned in the date of his next Budget in 2016: get 16 March in your diary. Osborne told parliament today the date has been set. There's little [...]
UK public finances: Still no scope to loosen the fiscal stance in the Budget next month as January public sector net borrowing shows record surplus but falls short of expectations February 19, 2016 The UK recorded the largest public finances surplus for any January since 2008, but came in below expectations, indicating no scope to loosen the country's fiscal stance in the Budget next month. In January public sector net borrowing showed a surplus of £11.2bn, data from the Office for National Statistics showed, but was short of [...]
UK housing market: Retirees turning their backs on downsizing in favour of buy-to-let investing, but they’re raiding their pensions to afford it March 4, 2016 Downsizing has fallen out of favour with older homeowners, with more and more purchasing their dream retirement property and then renting it out until they are ready to move in. According to research released today by Prudential, 20 per cent of over-55s would consider making a buy to let investment with the intention of living in it [...]
UK pensions: Waspi campaign might find itself on the backburner, as Work and Pensions Committee to discuss whether unfairness between different generations is a greater issue February 26, 2016 The Work and Pensions Committee will be hearing evidence on fairness within the pensions regime next week from none other than two former ministers. The Committee announced today that former minister of state for universities and science Lord Willetts and former pensions minister Steve Webb would be giving evidence as part of an ongoing inquiry into intergenerational fairness [...]
UK house prices: Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says government failure to confront Nimbys is fuelling the housing crisis March 2, 2016 A leading free-market think tank has accused the government of yielding to self-interested local residents at the expense of pressing ahead with major housebuilding projects. In a new report out today, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) argues that the government’s “failure to tackle the housing crisis is due to its unwillingness to confront the [...]
Buy to let investors scramble to secure home purchases before April stamp duty rise March 29, 2016 Buy to let investors are storming the housing market to beat higher taxes that will come into force in April. In February, 85 per cent of estate agents reported an increase in the number of buy to let investors looking to purchase properties, according to data released by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) released [...]
UK pension changes: Savers could shun pension pots in favour of bricks and mortar if chancellor George Osborne cuts lifetime allowance in his Budget on 16 March March 14, 2016 Middle and high income earners could turn their backs on pensions in favour of investing in property should chancellor George Osborne make further changes to the lifetime allowance at the Budget later this week, research out today has found. The study by Zurich found that a quarter (25 per cent) of all Britons would funnel their savings [...]
Budget 2016 odds: EU referendum and taxes will be George Osborne’s hot buzzwords, but what about Donald Trump? March 16, 2016 George Osborne wouldn't pass up an opportunity to talk Brexit in his Budget. Referendum is a favourite for getting a mention in the chancellor's speech on Wednesday with a 90 per cent chance of popping up and he's predicted to slip in the word tax in 95 times – that's once every 36 seconds – in the predicted 57 [...]