Government borrowing higher than forecast

The Government's borrowing for the year ending March 2024 was £120.7bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This figure is lower than last year's but still £6.6bn more than the forecast by the Government's independent forecaster, the Office for...

Interest rates may increase renewable energy costs

Resolution Foundation, a leading think tank, has cautioned that sustained high interest rates could significantly increase the cost of the UK's shift to renewable energy, potentially adding £29 billion annually to household energy bills by 2050. These higher costs are...

Unemployment rises as job market falters

The UK job market appears to be weakening as the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% between December and February, marking the highest level in six months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This increase from the previous rate of 3.9% in January...

Inflation drops to lowest rate in two years

UK inflation fell to 3.2% in the year to March, the lowest rate in over two years, down from 3.4% in February, as per the Office for National Statistics (ONS) While inflation has been on a downward trajectory since peaking at 11.1% in late 2022, prices are still...

650K HMRC calls abandoned in February

In February, 2.9 million people tried to reach HMRC by phone, down from 3.6m in January during the busy self-assessment period. Despite this decrease, only 1.3m callers managed to speak with an adviser, and 656,622 calls were abandoned. Automated systems handled...