Finanse

Billpayers have been urged to give an accurate meter reading as gas and electricity price rises take effect. A household in England, Wales and Scotland using a typical amount of gas and electricity will now see their annual bill rise by about £149 to £1,717.more

The UK's economy grew by less than previously estimated between April and June, according to official figures. It expanded by 0.5%, down from an initial reading of 0.6%, after output in the manufacturing and construction sectors fell by more than first thought. more

The DWP is introducing changes along with the Post Office, Ofgem and the banking regulator. A series of nine money and rule changes for Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claimants have been unveiled, set to impact UK households from October 2024. Among these changes is the opening of the Winter Fuel Payment phone lines.more

Labour has promised to crack down on benefit fraud by reintroducing “snooper’s charter” proposals mooted under the last government that would allow welfare officials to request information from claimants’ bank accounts.more

77% of EU residents say they have changed their habits in the last five years to use less energy at home. However, the majority want more EU support and believe this will help them keep their bills under control, according to a Eurobarometer survey published yesterday.more

The real cost of the Royal Family to taxpayers is £510m a year - nearly six times more than the £86m of state funding from the annual Sovereign Grant - anti-monarchy campaigners claim. The Republic group says its higher total includes other factors such as security, not counted in the Sovereign Grant, which it estimates as £150m.more

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday warned that the budget deficit left by the previous government would require her to make tough decisions, but assured that this did not mean a return to the austerity policies of the early part of the previous decade.more

The Low Pay Commission has released a consultation document suggesting that the minimum wage could see a significant boost to as much as £12.18 an hour, potentially increasing the earnings of some of the lowest-paid workers in the UK.more

St Albans has been named the most expensive city to rent outside of London, with average advertised rents of £2,307 per month. Oxford came in second, with rents averaging £2,237 per calendar month (pcm), while Cambridge is the third most expensive, with average advertised rents of £2,072 pcm, according to figures from property site Rightmove.more

Money for the so-called “black hour” is set aside by 77.4 percent of Poles aged 18-35, while 12.3 percent have no such savings, according to the report “How do young Poles save for a black hour?”. More than 17.1 percent of respondents have more than PLN 10,000 set aside.more

Renationalising the railways does not go far enough – Labour should spur a rail renaissance by allowing people around the UK unlimited train travel for a flat fee, campaigners have said.more

UK private rents climbed at a near-record rate to 8.4% in the year to August, with London leading the surge, according to official figures.more

More than 1.7 million households do not plan to turn on their heating this winter – nearly double the 972,000 who said they did not heat their homes last year, according to a survey.more

Fifteen new banking hubs have been announced on the day stricter rules over branch closures and access to cash take effect. The hubs, spaces shared by different banks, operate basic personal and business banking services.more

Inflation held steady at 2.2% in the year to August, despite a jump in the cost of flights. The rise in air fares was offset by lower fuel prices and prices in restaurants increasing more slowly, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.more

Lloyds Banking Group has announced 55 new branch closures, all scheduled for 2025. Added to the existing closures, this means the group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, will close a total of 190 branches in 2024 and 102 next year.more

Homelessness and the housing crisis are having a “devastating impact” on Londoners and “wreaking havoc” on boroughs’ finances, councils have warned.more

UK national debt is on course to treble over the next half a century due to several pressures, according to the government’s official forecaster. Those pressures include an ageing population, climate change, and rising geopolitical tensions, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said in a report.more

The minimum wage in Poland in 2025 will increase to PLN 4,666 gross - compared to PLN 4,626 gross proposed earlier at the meeting of the Social Dialogue Council, and the minimum hourly rate will increase to PLN 30.50 from PLN 30.20 gross proposed earlier - it was announced in the latest version of the draft regulation.more

The majority of households are worried about the rising cost of shopping despite slowing price rises, according to industry data. Kantar Worldpanel - which tracks supermarket till prices, sales and market share - said its measure of grocery inflation slowed to 1.7% in August.more

Almost 10 million UK pensioners will lose their entitlement to state-funded winter heating subsidies. Keir Starmer's Labour government yesterday pushed through a drastic reduction in the number of people entitled to this benefit.more

Apple has lost a high-profile, €13bn (£11bn) Irish tax battle with Brussels in a decision that will bolster the European Commission’s efforts to clamp down on favourable “sweetheart” tax deals for multinationals.more

Birmingham City Council owns an artwork collection valued at almost half a billion pounds, a BBC investigation has discovered. But none will be sold off to help tackle the financial challenges at the council which declared it was effectively bankrupt last year.more

The Treasury expects the new full state pension to be boosted above inflation by more than £400 a year in cash terms.more

LSE report suggests chancellor should downgrade projects such as Lower Thames Crossing in favour of services, writes "The Guardian".more