News Archive

12/10/2024

FCA Fines TSB £10.9m Over Treatment Of Customers In Financial Difficulty

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined TSB Bank plc (TSB) £10,910,500 for failing to ensure customers who were in arrears were treated fairly.   It also lacked suitable systems and controls to secure fair outcomes.  

12/10/2024

Scottish Government Reveals The Cuts In Budgets To Come - The Devil Is In The Details

When the Scottish Government presented their Fiscal Statement to parliament in early September, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance said that impact assessments had been done to understand the impact that the announced cuts could have on different groups.   Why the delays and hardly any mentions subsequently to these significant cuts affecting so many areas.  

12/10/2024

Embracing Strategic Energy Plans

The connections queue now stands at 722GW across transmission and distribution, a 3GW drop on last month.  Whilst this reduction is obviously welcome, there remains much to do.  

11/10/2024

 
Provisional Cereal And Oilseed Production Estimates For England 2024 - Wheat Production Drops

This release contains the first estimate of the 2024 English cereal and oilseed harvest.  Data are not yet available for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but will be included within the final production estimates for the United Kingdom in December 2024.  

11/10/2024

Employment Rights Bill A Major Step Forward In Improving Working Life For Low Earners - But It Is Far From Job Done

The package of measures included in the Employment Rights Bill should deliver a marked improvement in working conditions for millions of low earners across Britain, who are most likely to benefit from stronger protection from unfair dismissal, improved access to sick pay, and greater security in working hours.  But the job is far from done, with further work needed to flesh out key details of the new measures and then to ensure employment rights are properly enforced, the Resolution Foundation said on Thursday 10th October 2024.  

11/10/2024

A New Pro-growth UK-EU Relationship Will Require Both Closer Alignment And Managed Divergence

The new Government needs to be both pragmatic and strategic about where to pursue closer regulatory alignment with the EU, if it's to make its reset of relations with the EU a growth-boosting one, according to new Resolution Foundation briefing published 9th October 2024.   With the new Government pledging to reset its relationship with the EU, while also maintaining strict ‘red lines' on future agreements that limit its room for manoeuvre, EU-turn examines how the Starmer administration might seek to pursue ‘pro-growth' trading relations with the EU.  

11/10/2024

Some Mortgage Rates Predicted To Rise From Today

Falls in mortgage rates could come to "an abrupt halt", according to brokers, with expectations that home loan costs may rise in the coming days.   Lenders have been locked in intense competition for borrowers in recent weeks, which has led to consistent falls in the interest rates charged on new fixed mortgage deals.  

11/10/2024

Index Of Production Uk - August 2024

Monthly production output was estimated to have increased by 0.5% in August 2024; this follows a decrease of 0.7% (revised up 0.1 percentage points) in July 2024.   The monthly output increase in August 2024 resulted primarily from an increase of 1.1% in "manufacturing", supported by smaller contributing increases in "water supply and sewerage" (1.5%) and "electricity and gas" (1.2%); these rises were partially offset by a fall in “mining and quarrying” (down 4.0%).  

11/10/2024

 
GDP Monthly Estimate UK - August 2024 - Marginal Changes

Monthly real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.2% in August 2024, after showing no growth in July 2024 (unrevised from last publication).   Real GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.2% in the three months to August 2024 compared with the three months to May 2024.  

11/10/2024

Construction Output In Great Britain - August 2024

Monthly construction output is estimated to have increased by 0.4% in volume terms in August 2024; this follows a decrease of 0.4% in July 2024.   The increase in monthly output came from growth in new work (1.6%) as repair and maintenance fell by 1.0%.  

11/10/2024

 
Next Phase Of Auto-enrolment Should Focus On Flexing Pension Saving

The first decade of auto-enrolment has improved private pension coverage and boosted people's pension pots.  The Government should now make the next decade focus additionally on flexing pension savings - in order to address the different savings challenges that low, middle and higher earners face - according to major new research published on Thursday 10th October 2024 by the Resolution Foundation.  

11/10/2024

 
Uk Trade - August 2024

The value of goods imports decreased by £0.1 billion (0.2%) in August 2024, with EU imports falling and non-EU imports rising.   The value of goods exports rose by £2.9 billion (10.2%) in August 2024; exports to both EU and non-EU countries increased, after a large fall the previous month.  

11/10/2024

Employment Rights Bill In Brief

As part of the plans, the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal will be removed.   However, workers will be subject to a proposed nine-month probation period when they can still be sacked without a full process.  

11/10/2024

Is The Russian Economy Growing Or Slowing Down

Russia's economy is showing signs of slowing down after a period of high growth, Second and third quarter Growth in the construction, retail, and services sectors slowed, and industrial output was dragged down by a weak extractive sector.   Inflation Inflation continued to rise, and the central bank raised its key interest rate to 18% to combat it.  

11/10/2024

Tidalwave Of Clean Energy Investment Worth Billions Unlocked Ahead Of Investment Summit

Thousands of jobs in green industries announced as the UK Government welcomes more than £24 billion of private investment for pioneering energy projects ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14th October.   Thousands of jobs in energy sector to be created across the UK up to £24 billion worth of investment secured ahead of International Investment Summit.  

11/10/2024

Uk Climate Finance Helps Reduce More Than 105 Million Tonnes Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Globally

The UK's International Climate Finance (ICF) has helped 110 million people adapt to the effects of climate change.   Reduced or avoided over 105 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and avoided 750,000 hectares of ecosystem loss, according to official analysis released today.  

11/10/2024

Scottish Government Accounts 2023-24 - Consolidated Accounts Given Unqualified Audit Opinion

The Scottish Government accounts for the last financial year have been given an unqualified audit opinion.   In 2023-24 Ministers were required to make tough choices to navigate the "most challenging financial situation since devolution".  

11/10/2024

Solar And Wind Energy Prices Are Dropping

the price of solar and wind energy has been dropping for decades, and is now competitive with or cheaper than fossil fuels.   Solar The cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation has dropped by 88% since 2010.  

11/10/2024

New Investment Minister To Spearhead Bolstered Office For Investment

A new Minister for Investment has been appointed to head up a bolstered Office for Investment, as part of a wider Whitehall ‘shake up' to strengthen the government's offer and partnership with businesses and investors.   Former Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson OBE appointed as Minister for Investment ahead of inaugural International Investment Summit.  

11/10/2024

 
Energy Experts Appointed To Deliver Clean Power 2030 Mission

Government appoints leading industry and academic experts to the Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission to help accelerate UK's mission to decarbonise the electricity grid.   Eight energy and nature experts have been appointed to accelerate UK's mission for clean power by 2030.