News Archive
24/3/2022
Government support for the cost of living
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, but the government has taken action to support families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help.24/3/2022
Temporary Cut To Fuel Duty
The Government is cutting fuel duty for petrol and diesel by 5 pence per litre across the whole of the UK for 12 months, taking effect from 6pm on the 23rd March 2022. Unique circumstances globally, including the war in Ukraine, have pushed pump prices up to unprecedented levels.24/3/2022
UK Government Spring Statement Tax Plan
My vision for a lower tax economy As part of Spring Statement 2022 I set out the government's Tax Plan. This three-part plan to strengthen our economy covers the remainder of the Parliament.24/3/2022
Jam Tomorrow - Mini-budget Is A Mixed Bag For SME Businesses
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has delivered a ‘jam tomorrow' budget for Britain’s thousands of SME businesses, says the international delivery specialist ParcelHero. ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘There’s no doubt that some of the measures the Chancellor has announced will eventually make consumers more comfortable about spending money again.24/3/2022
Coronavirus (covid-19): Daily Data For Scotland - 24 March 2022 - Deaths In Scotland Higher Again
13,564 new cases of COVID-19 reported. 50 new reported deaths of people who have tested positive.24/3/2022
Chancellor announces tax cuts to support families with cost of living
The Chancellor delivered a Spring Statement today that puts billions of pounds back into the pockets of hard-working people - unveiling a new Tax Plan to ease the rising cost of living and to deliver the biggest cut to personal taxes in a quarter of a century. Chancellor announces tax cut for nearly 30 million UK workers through rise in National Insurance thresholds - saving the typical employee over £330 in the year from July.
24/3/2022
Labour responds to Rishi Sunak's Spring Budget
Labour's shadow chancellor has responded to Rishi Sunak's Spring Budget announcement. Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has hit out at Rishi Sunak’s Spring Budget announcement for not supporting those living in poverty.24/3/2022
Relief For Workers Will Quickly Evaporate
Dr Gordon Fletcher, retail and business expert at the University of Salford Business School, said the challenges being faced in the UK economy now were being felt before the war in Ukraine began. He said: "Reductions in the fuel duty and possibly in income tax as well as an increase in the NIC threshold appear to give some relief to workers.24/3/2022
Scottish Secretary Responds To Chancellor's Spring Statement
Alister Jack welcomes measures to ease the rising cost of living, cut tax for lower earners and reduce fuel duty. Commenting on today's Spring Statement, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: Measures announced by the Chancellor will help address the big issues facing people in Scotland and right across the UK.
24/3/2022
Spring Statement 2022 - An initial response from IFS researchers 
Spring Statement 2022 - An initial response from IFS researchers Weds 23 March 2022. IFS Director Paul Johnson form the Institute for fiscal Studies said: "There are two paradoxes at the heart of today's statement.
24/3/2022
Sharp Jump In Inflation Offers Foretaste Of The Huge Income Squeeze Coming This Year
Commenting on the latest ONS Prices data, which showed that CPI inflation increased by 6.2 per cent in February. Thisis up from 5.5 per cent in January, while CPIH increased by 5.5 per cent, Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:"Another sharp rise in inflation last month offers a foretaste of the huge income squeeze coming this year, with inflation likely to hit at least 8 per cent this spring - which could be the highest it's been in 40 years – along with a second spike this autumn.24/3/2022
System Pressures Due to Covid Remain Across NHS Highland
There continues to be high levels of COVID-19 across the Highlands and Argyll and Bute and we are therefore continuing to experience significant system pressures across the Board area. There are also extremely high numbers of inpatients with COVD-19 being cared for in our hospitals and there are a number of outbreaks within some of our hospitals and across care home settings.24/3/2022
Urgent - Events Industry Support Fund 3 - Event Recovery - Closes 31 March
Applications will open at 12pm on 24 March 2022 and close at 5pm on 31 March 2022. What does this involve? The application form will be available from Thursday 24 March, with guidance available now.24/3/2022
Overview Of The March 2022 Economic And Fiscal Outlook By the OBR
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) casts its beady eye over the Spring Statement by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Two years since the start of the pandemic, this Economic and fiscal outlook (EFO) is presented against the backdrop of another unfolding global shock.
24/3/2022
Biggest Fall In Living Standards In Any Single Financial Year Since ONS Records Began In 1956-57
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The rise in inflation to a 40-year high this year is expected to reduce real household disposable incomes (RHDI) on a per-person basis by 2.2 per cent in 2022-23, the biggest fall in living standards in any single financial year since ONS records began in 1956-57 (Chart F).a The underlying source of the reduction in disposable incomes comes from several sources.24/3/2022
Urgent - Omicron Business Support Fund - Tourism Recovery - Fund Closes At 5pm On 30 March 2022
What does this involve? The fund is now open. This fund supports businesses which were not eligible to receive previous COVID-19 recovery funding through the 6 original tourism funds available in 2021.24/3/2022
Lack Of Support For Low-income Families Will See 1.3 Million People Pushed Into Absolute Poverty Next Year
In his Spring Statement, the Chancellor promised to support families through the cost of living crisis today, and to cut their taxes in the future. But his failure to deliver on both of these means that absolute poverty is expected to rise by 1.3 million people next year, while only one-in-eight workers will see actually see their tax bills fall by the end of the parliament, according to the Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of Spring Statement 2022 today (Thursday 24 March 2022).24/3/2022
Spring Statement Looked At By Fraser of Allender Institute
This was not the set of measures that many people had expected or hoped for. 2022 is set to see the biggest single-year fall in real household disposable income since records began in the late 1950s, according to the OBR.
24/3/2022
The Spring Statement - Briefly from HMRC
The Chancellor made his annual Spring Statement speech on23 March where he set out the Government's tax plan to support the UK economy, businesses and families in both the short and the medium term. Key measures the Chancellor announced as part of the plan include a range things.23/3/2022
