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26.04.2021 - Brexit: UK and Australia agree vast majority of trade deal

The UK and Australia say they have agreed "the vast majority" of a free trade deal. After talks on Friday in London the two said they aim to seal a deal by June.

"Both countries are confident the remaining issues will be resolved, and will now enter a sprint to agree the outstanding details with the aim of reaching agreement in principle," a joint statement said.

It is estimated a deal could add £500m ($694m) to UK GDP over the long-term.

The final day of talks between UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan ended in London without a deal but both sid...

26.04.2021 - Older workers see biggest jobs fall since 1980s

The pandemic has led to the biggest annual fall in employment for older workers since the 1980s, according to a new report.

The decline in the employment rate for the over-50s has been twice as big as for those aged between 25 and 49.

The Resolution Foundation also found that after losing work, older workers take the longest to return.

It called on the government to tailor retraining opportunities to over-50s.

The report suggests that the Covid-19 crisis has created a "U-shaped" employment shock, with older and younger workers affected more than those who are middle-aged.

Although workers aged...

26.04.2021 - Treasury snubbing 'mortgage prisoners', say MPs

MPs are challenging the government to live up to a promise to help homeowners trapped paying high interest rates because the Treasury sold their mortgages to unregulated firms.

Since they cannot switch to a better deal, an estimated 250,000 homeowners are forced to pay standard variable interest rates.

These are well above what a competitive mortgage would charge.

But moves to ease their plight are being blocked, MPs say.

The House of Lords has passed an amendment to the Financial Services Act to cap rates for borrowers in that position, known as "mortgage prisoners".

But government whips are ...

26.04.2021 - UK economy set to grow at fastest rate on record

The UK economy is set to grow at its fastest rate on record this year, experts have predicted.

The EY Item Club has upgraded its 2021 growth forecast from 5% to 6.8%, which would mark the fastest rate seen since 1973.

Chief economic advisor Howard Archer said the economy had "proven to be more resilient than seemed possible".

The vaccine rollout and relaxed restrictions had helped the recovery, it said.

The UK's GDP, which measures all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in the economy, shrank by a record 9.9% last year as coronavirus restrictions hit output, according to th...

23.04.2021 - Covid costs push government borrowing to highest since WW2

The cost of measures to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic has pushed government borrowing to the highest level since the end of World War Two.

Government borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - hit £303.1bn in the year to March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Compared to the previous year, borrowing is nearly £250bn higher. Measures such as furlough payments have hit government finances hard. Borrowing hit £28bn in March alone - a record high for that month.

Despite the record figure, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Stud...

23.04.2021 - Coronavirus and the UK immigration system as of 23 April 2021

NHS workers

The Home Office announced on 31 March 2020 that around 2,800 doctors, nurses and paramedics with visas due to expire by 1 October 2020 would get a free one-year extension. A month later, the department said that it was broadening the scheme to cover other frontline workers, including midwives, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists.

In November 2020, the scheme was extended to cover people with visas expiring by 31 March 2021. However, unlike the first phase in which extensions were “automatic”, those with visas expiring after 1 October 2020 have to apply to have them extend...

21.04.2021 - UK inflation rate rises to 0.7% in March

The UK inflation rate rose to 0.7% in the 12 months to March, up from 0.4% in February, pushed up by the increased cost of fuel, transport and clothes.

The figure from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was slightly below economists' forecasts, with lower food prices offsetting other price rises.

Fuel prices in March showed their biggest annual increase since January 2020, the ONS said.

Inflation is forecast to rise further due to higher energy and oil prices.

The Bank of England has forecast that inflation could reach 1.9% by the end of 2021, with other experts saying it will exceed 2% ...

21.04.2021 - Stripping someone of refugee status doesn’t mean they can be deported

The European Court of Human Rights in K.I. v France (application no. 5560/19) has re-affirmed that refugee status is declaratory and revocation of a person’s refugee status does not prevent that person from continuing to be a refugee. Authorities revoking someone’s refugee status therefore need to assess afresh whether the person would be at risk of a violation of their Article 3 rights if returned to their country of origin.

KI was a minor when he arrived from Russia to France in August 2011. In 2013, he was granted refugee status by the French authorities. Nine months later, he was investiga...

20.04.2021 - Under-35s bearing brunt of jobs crisis

Younger people continue to bear the brunt of the jobs crisis amid widespread cuts in sectors such as hospitality, official figures show.

In the year to March, 811,000 payroll jobs were lost in the UK, with under-35s accounting for 80% of these cuts.

The data also showed the unemployment rate dipped to 4.9% in the three months to February - down from 5% previously.

This was despite most of the UK being under strict lockdown rules for at least some of the period.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobs market "remains subdued", with five million people employed but still on furlou...

19.04.2021 - Bank of England to consider digital money plan

The Bank of England and the Treasury have announced they are setting up a taskforce to explore the possibility of a central bank digital currency.

The aim is to look at the risks and opportunities involved in creating a new kind of digital money.

Issued by the Bank for use by households and businesses, it would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them.

No decision has been taken on whether to have such a currency in the UK.

However, the government and the Bank want to "engage widely with stakeholders" on the benefits and practicalities of doing so.

The taskforce will ...

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