on 29th April 2024 Humza Yousaf SNP First minister of Scotland announced he is standing down. The announcement last week that he was ending the Bute House agreement with the Green Party started the slide to the end.
There has been a surge in numbers of people claiming disability benefits since the pandemic and projections show this is continuing, Consultation published on 29 April on proposals to move away from fixed cash benefit system towards tailored support. Comes as over 2.6 million people of working age now receiving PIP with monthly new claims almost doubling since 2019.
The UK's official trade figures for Q4 2023 have been released, and they reveal the UK’s goods exports to the EU slumped from £196.7bn in 2022 to £186bn last year. The international delivery expert ParcelHero says new post-Brexit charges and red tape are likely to further damage UK goods exports this year.
Millions of workers checking payslips from today 30 April 2024 will see a tax cut As the economy turns a corner, the government is rewarding hard work, with over £900 a year boost for typical worker. Marks another step in long-term ambition to end unfair double tax on work; There are 27 million employees in the UK, and tomorrow (Tuesday 30 April) millions of them on monthly salaries will wake up with a little more cash in their pockets, as the government's Spring Budget cut to National Insurance appears in April’s pay-packets.
"The government's announcement was misleading and opaque and does nobody any favours." Paul Johnson writes for the Times. Last week the prime minister committed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income by 2030.
The Bank of England has released the latest mortgage lending statistics. Individuals borrowed, on net, £0.3 billion of mortgage debt in March, compared to £1.6 billion in February.
Probably the biggest challenge to understanding how the economics of governments really works comes from the need to understand that governments of the sort we have in the UK are not funded by taxes. They are funded by central bank money creation.
In March, UK non-financial businesses (PNFCs and public corporations) repaid, on net, £1.1 billion of loans from banks and building societies (including overdrafts), compared with £2.8 billion of net repayments in February. Within this measure, large non-financial businesses repaid £0.7 billion in March, compared to £2.2 billion of repayments in February.
The accounts of large companies in the UK are complete works of fiction. Now, I don't make that claim lightly.
From today, Monday 29 April 2024, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will no longer be issuing paper certificates for heavy vehicles (HGV/PSVs, Trailers) that have passed their annual test. Certificates will be able to be viewed, downloaded and printed freely from the MOT History Service (MOTH) throughout the year.
On 25 April 2024 it was announced that the Scottish Government Cabinet had agreed to end the Scottish Government's formal co-operation agreement with the Scottish Green Parliamentary Party (often referred to as the ‘Bute House agreement') with immediate effect. This blog considers the cooperation agreement, the circumstances which led to it being ended and what this may mean for government in Scotland.
Hi folks, Crispin here, one of the editors at Unearthed. I'm writing to let you know about an investigation we've just published.
An article from spice-spotlight.scot. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently published the final report of its market study into housebuilding in England, Wales and Scotland.
From today, regulations enforcing consumer protections against hacking and cyber-attacks will take effect, mandating that internet-connected smart devices meet minimum-security standards by law. World-first laws protecting UK consumers and businesses from hacking and cyber-attacks take effect today (29 april 2024).
The Big Issue magazine has outlined its view of the affects of the UK governments proposed changes for claimants. Forecasts show that the DWP's disability benefit cuts will not have the intended results of pushing people into work.
The Institute for Government has set out the legal position regarding the Vote of No Confidence and likelihood of an election. The Scottish government has been plunged into crisis by the dissolution of the cooperation agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens following disputes over climate and gender policy.
Secretary of State for Wales-led Transition Board agrees broad support plan for those affected by Tata's move to greener steel. On Thursday 25th April 2024 the Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board met to agree the way forward to release funds to help the thousands affected by Tata's decision to move to greener steel-making at its Port Talbot plant.
From the tax year 2018 to 2019, the Scottish Government introduced 2 new Income Tax bands, as well as increasing the rates for 2 of the existing bands. As a result, Scottish taxpayers on higher incomes experienced an increase in the proportion of income which is paid in tax, whilst taxpayers on lower incomes experienced a decrease in the proportion of income which is paid in tax.
Almost 100,000 workplace training places have been delivered in the past year for jobseekers, smashing the Government's 80,000 annual target, new data has revealed. Record number of workplace training places have been delivered this year helping boost jobseeker skills and the economy.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Cardigan Bay will support the US military as it builds a new temporary pier to deliver aid directly into Gaza. Royal Navy support ship RFA Cardigan Bay is sailing from Cyprus to provide support to an international effort to build a temporary pier to allow delivery of humanitarian aid directly from the sea.