News Archive
19/8/2024
A Double Whammy Of Winter Fuel Payment Cuts And Scrapping A Planned Cap On Social Care Costs Is Set To Hit Older People
Before the general election, former prime minister Rishi Sunak was asked on TV why he "hated pensioners". After her recent speech in parliament, the same question might be directed at Chancellor Rachel Reeves.19/8/2024
Millions Now Survive Cancer - But Face Discrimination When Trying To Access Loans And Insurance
Cancer is no longer a death sentence. Across Europe, around 20 million people are now living beyond their disease.19/8/2024
Putting The Brakes On Spending By Scottish Government And A Gentle Uptick In Inflation
In a week that saw the release of GERS - usually a big day in the calendar - it is perhaps surprising that neither of the two stories dominating the economic news in Scotland is related to it. Instead, all eyes were on Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Shona Robison's letter to ministerial colleagues stopping any ‘non-essential' spending in the year 2024-25, and on the inflation release that saw the rate creeping back above the 2% target.19/8/2024
Holiday Let Deals Rise But Challenges Lay Ahead - New Tax Rules
Buy-to-let landlords will find the choice of holiday let deals is on the rise. According to analysis by Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, the rise in choice is promising, but other challenges lay ahead.19/8/2024
NDA Invests £30million In Cutting Edge Research And Innovation
NDA awards contracts totalling £30million to drive innovation and research into new nuclear decommissioning techniques. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has awarded contracts totalling £30million to drive innovation and research into new techniques to deliver safe, sustainable and cost-effective decommissioning.
19/8/2024
If Scotland Was A Business It Would Now Be Heading For Bust
Brian Wilson writing in the Scotsman on the growing Scottish deficit that has been somewhat hidden over the last 10 years but is now coming out from the SNP shadows. The SNP see an "emergency" in public expenditure which has been a decade in the making, writes Brian Wilson.19/8/2024
July's Sporting Winners - Alcaraz, Spain And... Online Sales!
July was a big month for sport, including the Euros and Wimbledon. Another winner was e-commerce, says the home delivery expert Parcelhero.18/8/2024
We Need To Reform Inheritance Tax Now If Rising Inequality Is To Be Tackled
Richard Murphy writes in his blog about the need to reform Inheritance Tx and that so far the Labour Government has said nothing. In response to a Financial Times article on the "Great Wealth Transfer" that will happen in the next decade as Boomers start to die in larger numbers, I argue that the current inheritance tax system reinforces inequality.18/8/2024
UK Space Command Successfully Launches First Military Satellite 
Cutting-edge new satellite launched by UK Space Command to provide crucial space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. A UK satellite to support military operations successfully launched into space last night.
18/8/2024
Banana Apocalypse, Part 2 - A Genomicist Explains The Tricky Genetics Of The Fungus Devastating Bananas Worldwide
Did you know that the bananas you eat today are not the same type as the ones people were eating a few generations ago?. The banana you might have had with your breakfast today is a variety called the Cavendish banana, while the one that was in grocery stores up to the 1950s was a variety called Gros Michel, which was wiped out by a disease called Fusarium wilt of banana, or FWB.
18/8/2024
Lower Oil And Gas Prices Hit Scotland's Underlying Public Finances In 2023-24
The Institute for Fiscal Studies report (14 August 2024) shows how dwindling income from oil and gas is impacting on Scottish Government finances. Scotland's notional fiscal deficit rose by £4.7 billion (2% of GDP) in 2023-24, as lower oil and gas prices hit North Sea revenues.18/8/2024
15-16-year Olds Are More Likely To Be Receiving A Disability Benefit Than Adults Under The Age Of 52 - But One-in-four Suddenly Stop Claiming As They Approach Adulthood
The number of children aged under 16 who have a disability has increased by almost half a million over the past decade, and disability is most prevalent among older children. But around one-in-four who claim disability benefits then stop as they approach adulthood, causing a major income shock at a critical stage of their lives, according to new Resolution Foundation research published Saturday 17 August 2024.18/8/2024
Cheapflation And The Rise Of Inflation Inequality
The Institute for Fiscal Studies report Cheapflation and the rise of inflation inequality looks at the problems. Using household scanner data for fast-moving consumer goods, we show that this was accompanied by historically high rates of inflation inequality.18/8/2024
The National Debt Need Never Be Repaid
The national debt is widely misunderstood. The reality is that this is not a burden.
18/8/2024
There's Nothing In A Tax Haven
I keep hearing people say that we need to get the money back from tax havens. That, though, is not necessary.
17/8/2024
What Makes Work Meaningful?
Many people are willing to earn less money in order to do more meaningful work. But so far researchers haven't pinned down what meaningfulness is.16/8/2024
Policy Makers Will Look Through Small Headline Rise To Welcome Sharp Fall In Services Inflation
The rise in CPI inflation last month was less than both the Bank of England and markets were expecting. Both are instead more likely to focus on the sharp fall in services inflation, which shows that domestic price pressures are easing, the Resolution Foundation said this week.16/8/2024
Pay Growth Slows Slowly As Jobs Market Cools Down
RF warns official data is under-estimating UK's real level of employment. Real pay growth is slowing amid further signs that the labour market is cooling, while new Resolution Foundation analysis shows that while official data is under-estimating the UK's real level of employment and blind-siding policy makers in the process, it said this week.16/8/2024
Cheaper Grocery Products Rose In Price Much Faster Than More Expensive Products Between 2021 And 2023
New IFS research shows that the prices of cheaper brands of food, drink and other grocery products rose much faster than more expensive varieties. Prices rose at historically high rates over the period 2021-2023, with the overall CPI rising by 15.7% and food and drink prices rising by 28.4% between September 2021 and September 2023.16/8/2024
