Financial news

• Rachel Reeves has promised not to raise taxes, so how can she fill budget coffers?

  26-10-2024 20:06
  
  Chancellor said to be planning measures including raising employer NI contributions and capital gains tax rates. We consider the likelihood of each and the potential for a rowDuring the general election campaign, Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal studies repeatedly accused both main parties of indulging in a “conspiracy of silence” over their economic policies. Neither Labour nor the Tories would admit, he complained, that if they won they would have to announce huge tax rises
  
  Read more

• ‘This is personal’: Reeves reveals her motivation and relishes moment in history

  26-10-2024 19:59
  
  Driven by memories of a childhood under the Tories, the chancellor prepares to deliver a budget she hopes will be seismic in its scopeRachel Reeves is clear about the motivation driving Wednesday’s budget, which she believes will be a transformational moment for Britain – her childhood growing up in south London under the Tories.“For me, this is really personal,” she says. “I joined the Labour party in the first place because of the state of schools in the 80s and 9
  
  Read more

• ‘An existential threat’: anger over UK government plans to allow AI firms to scrape content

  26-10-2024 18:58
  
  BBC among those opposing plan that would see AI models trained on content from publishers and artists by defaultMinisters are facing a major backlash over plans that would allow artificial intelligence companies to scrape content from publishers and artists, amid claims that the government risks “giving in” to the tech giants.The BBC is among the organisations opposing a plan that would allow tech companies to train artificial intelligence models using online content by default, unle
  
  Read more

• Thousands are fined by HMRC even though they don’t owe any UK tax

  26-10-2024 17:00
  Campaigners call for reform after more than 83,000 low earners are hit by HMRC penaltiesTens of thousands of people who earn too little to pay tax are still receiving hundreds of pounds in fines for failing to file a tax return on time, according to new data seen by the Observer.More than 83,000 people earning less than the threshold were issued with a £100 penalty by the tax authorities in 2021-22. Only 17,000 of those fines were later cancelled on appeal. By contrast, only 20,000 people
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Revealed: water firms in England ‘passed’ pollution tests that were never carried out

  26-10-2024 16:18
  Self-monitoring regime will change to plug loophole that allowed failing sewage plants to pass pollution checksWater firms “passed” thousands of pollution tests under a self-monitoring regime … yet the tests were never even conducted, the Observer can reveal. The water firms’ own operational data for sewage plants across the country reveals how outflows of effluent had stopped – in some cases for just a few hours – on days that samples were supposed to be tak
  
  Read more

• Everything I’ve learned as a beauty columnist about the products that actually work, from £17 body cream to LED masks

  26-10-2024 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Overwhelmed by the number of products on sale? Tempted to try a time-saving trick? Our beauty columnist shares her expert tips on what works – and what to swerve
  • 50 best beauty bargains for under £20I’ve been writing about beauty for almost two decades, and in that time my ardent pursuit of hacks and game-changing advice has had two goals: to make my routine faster, and to get a better overall effect.Over the last few years, my weekly columns for the Guardian have taken
  
  Read more

• Chancellor pledges extra £500m for social homes in budget

  26-10-2024 12:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Treasury plans £5bn total investment in housing supply and reduction in discounts under right-to-buy schemeThe Treasury has announced an extra £500m for social homes in the budget, in what appears to be a compromise with the housing department, led by Angela Rayner, over the scale of ambition required in the sector.The promise of an additional £500m for the government’s affordable homes programme (AHP) is intended to add up to 5,000 extra social homes. The Treasury said i
  
  Read more

• What is the most efficient way to use central heating? Your energy questions answered

  26-10-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the clocks go back, our experts answer queries about gas and electricity use, be it for drying clothes, doing the washing up or sorting out the heatingSave £100 or more by switching energy tariffs, say expertsThe clocks change this weekend, and suddenly there will be no escaping the fact winter is coming. The return of darker, colder nights also means that keeping energy costs down becomes a priority for many Britons.Although energy bills have eased from recent highs, the latest price c
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Martin Lewis blasts 'life threatening' axe as makes six budget demands from Rachel Reeves

  26-10-2024 10:04 via express.co.uk
  
  The MoneySavingExpert founder wants to see a number of changes across benefits, taxes and the cost of living
  
  Read more

• UK has just ONE pensions success story in 50 years - now Labour will destroy it

  26-10-2024 09:36 via express.co.uk
  
  The British pension system is a litany of failure. For five decades, meddling politicians have triggered one scandal after another. Now it's Labour's turn.
  
  Read more

• Save £100 or more by switching energy tariffs, say experts

  26-10-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Price cap set by Great Britain’s regulator rose to £1,717 a year this month but there are cheaper fixed dealsYour energy questions answeredThere are plenty of fixed energy deals that are cheaper than the current Ofgem price cap, so now is a good time to lock into a lower tariff before the start of winter.That was the message from some energy experts this week. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Homeowners overpaying for ten services they could save hundreds on with simple changes

  26-10-2024 07:05 via express.co.uk
  
  A new study has revealed that UK households could save hundreds of pounds a year by reviewing their budgets and making simple changes to their outgoings.
  
  Read more

• Brits over-charged £44 million by the taxman on pension withdrawals

  26-10-2024 04:47 via express.co.uk
  
  Some 12,331 people overpaid tax for the three-month period with the average sum involved put at £3,691.
  
  Read more

• MoneySavingExpert reveals 4 easyJet hacks to flying as cheaply as possible

  26-10-2024 04:00 via express.co.uk
  
  Martin Lewis has revealed the cheapest ways to fly with one of the most popular airlines in the UK.
  
  Read more

• Update on £750 one-off payment for DWP PIP claimants

  26-10-2024 03:19 via express.co.uk
  
  The Motability Scheme is available to those in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of PIP and DLA - and there's a bonus some may not be aware of
  
  Read more

• DWP claimants can access interest-free loans up to £812 this winter

  26-10-2024 02:20 via express.co.uk
  
  The DWP offers a Budgeting Advance loan to help people who are struggling to pay for essential items or services, and it is interest-free
  
  Read more

• DWP benefit and money changes in November including £200 support payment

  26-10-2024 01:57 via express.co.uk
  
  A variety of financial changes are set to take place on the coming weeks that could impact households across the UK
  
  Read more

• Santander payments error affects customers as bank admits it’s ‘strange’

  26-10-2024 01:44 via express.co.uk
  
  A customer said the issue had affected several of their payments.
  
  Read more

• More than 1m households to get £420 budget boost in universal credit change

  26-10-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: move will cap amount that can be deducted from benefit payments to repay short-term loans and debtsMore than 1m of the UK’s poorest households will be £420 a year better off on average as a result of a change to universal credit set to be announced in next week’s budget.The measure is intended to primarily help the worst-off families, and will be seen as a way for ministers to head off criticism over decisions to cut winter fuel allowance for most pensioners and main
  
  Read more

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!