With a blanket of snow covering parts of Northern England this morning, gas and electricity bills are uppermost in many people’s minds. A new report by Which? says that millions of people are paying ‘way over the odds’ for their energy. According to the consumer group, only a tiny fraction of the cuts in energy costs have been passed onto customers by the big six firms. Which? says that people who change their supplier could save about £400 on their annual bill. Meanwhile, the Competition and Markets Authority is expected to announce next week that it has scrapped plans to introduce a wide-ranging price cap on energy bills after fierce lobbying from the big six suppliers.
Also on the theme of energy, the government’s infrastructure adviser has laid out plans for a so-called ‘smart energy’ revolution with more cables linking the National Grid to mainland Europe. The National Infrastructure Commission wants the UK to store more energy from renewable energy sources and says fridges, freezers and washing machines could play a part. Some people believe this will lead to home appliances being linked to the web. It would mean that, at times of peak demand, a computer would contact a smart freezer to ask if power can be switched off for a few minutes. In return, consumers would be rewarded with a credit on their energy bill.
Looking ahead to the Budget later this month, the Chancellor is under pressure to rule out radical changes to pensions. George Osborne is thought to be favouring ISA-style pensions in his plans to overhaul the pensions system. This would see pension savings taxed before they reach the pensions pot and tax-free at withdrawal. Today he comes under fire from within the government, with Ros Altmann, the pensions minister, cautioning against an overhaul of the system.
Over at HM Revenue & Customs, officials have been criticised for ‘failing to tell taxpayers of key changes to savings taxes’ by a House of Lords committee. And leading insurance companies are under the spotlight after the Financial Conduct Authority, the City watchdog, found that customers may have been unaware of life insurance exit fees.
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement by Ryanair of a 28 per cent rise in traffic growth to 7.4 million customers in February, Budget airline Easyjet said this morning that passenger numbers increased by nearly 10 per cent in February to 4.9 million.
If you missed it yesterday, lenders appear to be divided on what is happening to house prices. In its February House Price Index, Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, said the average price of a house in the UK rose by 0.3 per cent in February to £196,930 while Halifax reported a 1.4 per cent fall over the month, with the average price dropping to £209,495.
On the agenda for today is the annual Great Manchester Business Conference, taking place in the North West. Topics under discussion include HS2 and funding for small businesses.
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