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Minimum wages will rise in April, with hourly rates for over-21s set to go up to £12.21 an hour, the chancellor has confirmed ahead of Wednesday's Budget. Rachel Reeves said the pay boost marked a "significant step" towards achieving Labour’s promise of a "genuine living wage" for workers.more

800 plus will be paid for every child as long as I am in charge of the work of this government. There will be no criteria, there will be no limits, Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared yesterday.more

The bus fare cap in England will be raised to £3 in the upcoming Budget, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced. It is an increase on the current limit of £2 which was introduced under the previous Conservative government to help with the cost of living. The existing cap was due to expire at the end of December.more

The chances of a fresh cut in interest rates from the Bank of England next week have been boosted by a report that shows shop prices falling at their fastest pace in more than three years.more

The Budget will embrace the "harsh light of fiscal reality" but "better days are ahead", Sir Keir Starmer has said in a speech ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Speaking in Birmingham, the prime minister said his government would take "tough decisions", opting to raise taxes in order "to prevent austerity and rebuild public services".more

Pubs face widespread closures unless the chancellor announces an extension to business rates relief in next week's Budget, the UK's biggest pub company has warned.more

One in four English councils could go bankrupt unless they are bailed out by the government in the next two years, a survey has revealed. Councils are warning of a “worsening crisis” that could result in cuts to vital public services amid a funding gap of more than £2bn next year, according to the survey of chief executives conducted by the Local Government Association.more

More than 140,000 Londoners will get a pay boost of 5.3 per cent as it was revealed on Wednesday that the capital’s “real living wage” has increased to £13.85 per hour. more

In Poland, 45 per cent of respondents use only one bank, which is below the European average (55 per cent), 37 per cent have an account with two banks and 16 per cent with three to five banks, according to a report by Kearney. Six per cent of Poles have their main account in digital banking.more

Water bills will go up by more than initially expected over the next five years to fund higher costs and more investment, the BBC understands. The regulator, Ofwat, is in the process of deciding how much customer bills will be allowed to rise.more

Private sector landlords have called on Rachel Reeves to give them new tax breaks to help keep rents down and boost the supply of homes.more

The World Bank has raised its GDP growth forecast for Poland to 3.2 percent this year, to 3.7 percent in 2025, and to 3.4 percent in 2026, the World Bank reported in its latest ECA Economic Update report.more

The UK's annual inflation rate fell to 1.7 per cent in September from 2.2 per cent in August, the ONS statistics office reported today. This marks the first time in three and a half years that inflation levels have been below the Bank of England's (BoE) inflation target.more

A London borough has proposed a raft of extreme cost cutting measures and requested emergency government funding as its homelessness bill pushes it to the brink of bankruptcy. more

The UK returned to growth in August but the "broader picture" is one of a "slowing" economy in recent months, the official statistics body has said. A bounce back in construction and strong month for accountancy, manufacturers and retail businesses helped boost the economy by 0.2%, after it failed to grow in the previous two months.more

Sixty of the wealthiest people in the UK collectively contributed more than £3bn a year in income tax, the BBC has learned. Each of the 60 individuals had an income of at least £50m a year in 2021/22, but many will have earned far more and probably pay large amounts in other taxes too.more

Water companies have been ordered to return £158m to customers via lower bills next year after missing key targets on pollution and leaks. But most customers will only see their bills fall by less than £10. This is the fourth year in a row that firms have had to refund customers, prompting questions over the effectiveness of the regulator.more

The average price of a 55-square-metre unit in Warsaw is equivalent to 92 average gross salaries. The purchasing power of customers is clearly decreasing. The salvation would be to increase the housing offer, reports today's ‘Rzeczpospolita’.more

Online financial fraud is the second most valuable criminal business after drugs, generating up to USD 1 trillion in revenue. In Poland, fraudsters defraud more than PLN 0.5 billion annually, reports ‘Puls Biznesu’.more

The latest report entitled ‘How do Poles currently use dentists? ‘How do Poles currently use dentists?’ shows that nearly 40% of compatriots would prefer to avoid dental surgeries from afar mainly because the cost of treatment and visits is too high. Almost 39% speak of fear of the white coat and the doctor himself. Fear of pain deters almost 30% of Poles. Negative experiences discourage more thanmore

Four in every 10 (40%) UK working households cannot afford an average-priced two- or three-bedroom home with an 80% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage, according to research from Zoopla.more

The Norwegian authorities are changing their approach to traditional forms of payment. Although the country was planning to move away from traditional money, the new law maintains the general possibility to pay in cash. The government justifies this on the grounds that the elderly are accustomed to paying in cash, as well as for security reasons.more

Bank payments can be delayed by an extra three days if lenders suspect consumers are being scammed, as part of a crackdown on booming levels of digital fraud in Britain.more

Ministers have been urged not to resurrect Conservative plans to tackle welfare fraud by launching mass algorithmic surveillance of bank accounts. Disability rights, poverty, pensioner and privacy groups fear the government is poised to deliver a “snooper’s charter” by using automation and possibly artificial intelligence to crack down on benefit cheats and mistakes which cost £10bn a year.more

Workers should receive all tips from customers under a new law which bans firms from withholding the payments - whether in cash or by card. More than three million service workers in England, Scotland, and Wales should benefit from the law which comes into force on Tuesday. more