If the rumours are correct, the Treasury is considering a two-year freeze in working-age benefits. Those who have been following the debate surrounding the need for a further £10 billion from the welfare bill will not find this surprising. The most recent Government statement on the issue came in the Prime Minister’s welfare speech in
Terrible events in Norway and the ongoing phone hacking scandal have kept the economy out of the media in the last couple of weeks. Coverage of the latest bail-out of Greece last week was comparatively muted, especially considering how important it is for the eurozone and, by implication, the UK. However, if the soothsayers are
Data issued yesterday by the Incomes Data Services indicated that average pay settlements over the first quarter of 2011 in the public sector were close to 0 per cent. However, pay settlements in the private sector were closer to 3 per cent. Does this mean that Policy Exchange were wrong in a recent report to
The most recent official statistics show that 5.4 million adults and 1.9 million children live in the UK’s 3.9 million workless households. Through the Universal Credit, the coalition is taking a radical approach to tackle this, but it won’t be enough. The government’s own analysis estimates that it will move 300,000 households into work. But
There were few surprises in yesterday’s Budget. As expected, it focused on growth and the majority of the policies announced had been heavily trailed in the weekend newspapers. The fiscal picture did not change much. Potential over-optimism from the Office for Budget Responsibility on inflation and the output gap aside, the Chancellor is still on
