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The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Rachel Reeves ‘could extend fuel duty freeze in autumn Budget' in cost of living boost
Rachel Reeves will freeze fuel duty again this autumn in a boost to drivers still struggling with the cost of living, it has eben reported. The chancellor reportedly feels vindicated by a freeze on the levy last October, despite calls from campaigners and economists to hike the tax. As she seeks to fill a multi-billion pound black hole in the public finances, she has faced fresh calls to end the long-running freeze on fuel duty, which has been in place since 2011. Maintaining the freeze, and keeping in place a 5p cut brought in by Rishi Sunak as chancellor in 2022, is expected to cost around £5bn per year - the same as Labour's U-turn on planned benefit cuts. But The i reported a hike in fuel duty in line with inflation will not form part of Ms Reeves' Autumn Budget as she seeks to balance the books. Treasury sources told the newspaper the freeze is an example of the Treasury being 'front-footed' in tackling the cost of living pressures facing households. The headline rate on standard petrol and diesel is 52.95 pence per litre, a level which would ordinarily rise in line with inflation. But the repeated freezing of the measure means that, since George Osborne first made the move, the rate has fallen by more than a third in real terms. The Social Market Foundation, a think tank, said freezes and cuts since 2012 will have cost the government more than £200bn in total by 2028, more than the budget for the NHS. After Ms Reeves kept the rate of fuel duty flat last October, former Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said: 'Almost unbelievably this Government has followed the practice of its predecessor in freezing rates of fuel duties and not allowing the 'temporary' 5p cut to expire, while raising other taxes dramatically and claiming to be focused on tackling climate change.' But Ms Reeves said hiking fuel duty would be the 'wrong choice' as she unveiled what she called 'very difficult decisions' on tax elsewhere. Ms Reeves said: 'To retain the 5p cut and to freeze fuel duty again would cost over £3 billion next year. 'At a time when the fiscal position is so difficult, I have to be frank with the House that this is a substantial commitment to make. 'I have concluded that in these difficult circumstances – while the cost of living remains high and with a backdrop of global uncertainty – increasing fuel duty next year would be the wrong choice for working people. 'It would mean fuel duty rising by 7p per litre. So, I have today decided to freeze fuel duty next year and I will maintain the existing 5p cut for another year, too. 'There will be no higher taxes at the petrol pumps next year.' A Treasury source said they would not comment on speculation ahead of the Budget.
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
People lacking good public transport more likely to feel lonely, UK study finds
People who depend on cars to get around are more likely to feel lonely and disconnected than those who have access to good public transport, a UK study has found. Analysing official statistics on loneliness and transport usage, researchers said there was a clear correlation between people without decent transport alternatives and those who describe themselves as feeling left out or without companionship. According to the findings from the Social Market Foundation (SMF), based on Department for Transport data, the trend appeared across Britain and was statistically significant in all but one region. Car dependency had the highest impact on loneliness in rural towns, the thinktank found, and the least in cities, where people are more likely to have reliable alternatives in terms of train, buses, trams, walking or cycling. A report last year for the DfT concluded that most people were 'no more or less likely to be lonely if they used public transport or not', with an exception for those with health conditions that stopped them driving. However, by cross-referencing the data with that from another major study, the DfT's national travel survey, the SMF concluded that when people were dissatisfied with their public transport, they were more likely to also be lonely. The thinktank said: 'Our first-of-its-kind analysis shows a very clear and statistically significant link between car dependency and loneliness, with results indicating that loneliness increases by 5% for every 20% fall in satisfaction with public transport and active travel. Put another way, failing to provide alternatives to cars is making people more lonely and more isolated.' The report says the correlation was found across every region of the country, but car dependency was shown to have the highest impact on loneliness in rural towns. Gideon Salutin, a senior researcher at the SMF, said the study showed that people in car-dependent areas were lonelier even if they were able to drive. Among possible explanation for the link was that people had 'fewer ways to reach others, cutting them off from job sites, pubs and other social spaces'. 'It might also be that the infrastructure we build to support motoring builds more barriers in what might have been walkable neighbourhoods and green spaces,' he said. 'Given that driving tends to poorly affect stress and health, it's also possible that it leaves people more vulnerable to loneliness and isolation. Driving also means you can't drink, which can be an exclusionary factor in many social settings.' Salutin said that while the data did not show that cars themselves caused loneliness, a recent US academic study had found that relying on a car more than 50% of the time was associated with a decrease in life satisfaction. A number of UK thinktanks and charities have expressed concern about increased car dependency in new housing estates, as well as the decline in rural bus routes. A report by the New Economics Foundation in 2024 said newbuilds across Britain were leading to ever more car dependency, relative to existing homes. Steve Chambers, the director of Transport for New Homes, said: 'It's not surprising to learn that people are lonely. When we visit housing estates, it's very rare that we see many people outside at all. When they leave the house, they have to get in their car – there are very few trips that are possible on foot.' He said examples such as Derwenthorpe, on the edge of York, built around walking and cycling with open spaces and people interacting, were few. 'That vibrancy of life is in really stark contrast to many places where people have no reason to set foot outside their home, bar maybe to wash their car.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reeves under scrutiny over claimed £1bn asylum saving given size of backlog
Experts have questioned whether Rachel Reeves will be able to meet the spending promises she made on Wednesday, given how many of them require a sudden and unprecedented drop in the asylum backlog. The chancellor said on Wednesday she would save £1bn by drastically reducing the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claims and ending the use of hotels to house them. The policy is aimed both at winning over Reform voters, many of whom list the use of asylum hotels as a major concern, and at freeing up cash for other priorities such as affordable housing. But economists and aid experts warned that the savings would be difficult to achieve. Jonathan Thomas, a senior fellow at the Social Market Foundation thinktank, said: 'The political priority is to 'end the costly use of asylum hotels in this parliament', not by housing asylum claimants elsewhere, but by 'clearing the asylum backlog, increasing appeals capacity and continuing to return those with no right to be here'. 'All of these things are really hard to do and – assuming the investment in the Border Security Command is not sufficient to stop people arriving irregularly in the UK – hostage to fortune; of who, and how many, continue to arrive in the UK to claim asylum.' Gideon Rabinowitz, director of policy and advocacy at Bond, which represents aid organisations, said there was 'a lack of urgency within government to reduce these costs'. Labour promised before the election to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers. A senior Home Office official confirmed this year the ambition would be to achieve this by the end of the parliament. Related: Reeves relaunches – but will it save Labour from Farage? – Politics Weekly UK On Wednesday, however, Reeves put the expected savings from this policy into the government's budgets, meaning ministers now have to achieve them to be able to spend what they want to elsewhere. Her aides said the reductions in the asylum backlog would enable the housing department to spend less on housing people in temporary accommodation – cash that will be used instead to pay for the £4bn a year affordable homes scheme. So far the Home Office has had little success in reducing hotel costs. Much of the department's hotel spending for asylum seekers qualifies as international aid. But documents released last week show it plans to spend £2.2bn on aid this year – only slightly below the £2.3bn it spent last year. Ministers say their plans over the next few years will enable them to rapidly reduce reliance on asylum hotels. The Home Office is planning, for example, to move more people into empty 'medium-sized' accommodation, with officials examining proposals from nearly 200 councils seeking to recondition disused tower blocks and student accommodation. Angela Eagle, the immigration minister, told MPs on Tuesday that the government had received 198 applications to convert unused housing, which also includes former teaching colleges. Appearing before the home affairs select committee, the minister said the government was discussing proposals with local authorities to investigate 'medium-sized' accommodation options. These could replace the current use of hotels but operate on a smaller and more localised scale than disused military bases as suggested by the last government. Related: Labour bets on investment, but will Britons see change before the next election? 'The idea with medium-sized is things like old voided tower blocks or old teacher training colleges or old student accommodation that isn't being used, where you could have numbers of rooms that are more than you would get with dispersed accommodation,' she said. 'The idea is you would move from hotels into that kind of thing rather than old military bases or Pontins holiday parks.' Karen Bradley, the Conservative chair of the committee, said on Wednesday: 'If hotels disappear there will still need to be stock of short-term accommodation to deal with unpredictable levels of irregular migration. Targets on their own are not enough, they need to be delivered – and for that we need to have workable solutions.' 'Unless these savings are made there will be a knock-on effect on the ability of the Home Office to achieve its wider aims. Policing, immigration and counter-terror will all struggle to meet the ambitious targets the government has set itself.'
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Experts question Rachel Reeves' spending promises
Experts have questioned whether Rachel Reeves will be able to meet the spending promises she made on Wednesday, given how many of them require a sudden and unprecedented drop in the asylum backlog. The chancellor said on Wednesday she would save £1bn by drastically reducing the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claims and ending the use of hotels to house them. The policy is aimed both at winning over Reform voters, many of whom list the use of asylum hotels as a major concern, and at freeing up cash for other priorities such as affordable housing. But economists and aid experts warned that the savings would be difficult to achieve. Jonathan Thomas, a senior fellow at the Social Market Foundation thinktank, said: 'The political priority is to 'end the costly use of asylum hotels in this parliament', not by housing asylum claimants elsewhere, but by 'clearing the asylum backlog, increasing appeals capacity and continuing to return those with no right to be here'. 'All of these things are really hard to do and – assuming the investment in the Border Security Command is not sufficient to stop people arriving irregularly in the UK – hostage to fortune; of who, and how many, continue to arrive in the UK to claim asylum.' Gideon Rabinowitz, director of policy and advocacy at Bond, which represents aid organisations, said there was 'a lack of urgency within government to reduce these costs'. Labour promised before the election to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers, with a senior Home Office official confirming earlier this year the ambition would be to achieve this by the end of the parliament. On Wednesday however, Reeves put the expected savings from this policy into the government's budgets, meaning ministers now have to achieve them to be able to spend what they want to elsewhere. Her aides added that the reductions in the asylum backlog would enable the housing department to spend less on housing people in temporary accommodation – cash which will be used instead to pay for the £4bn a year affordable homes scheme. So far however, the Home Office has had little success in reducing hotel costs. Much of the department's hotel spending for asylum seekers qualifies as international aid. But documents released last week show it plans to spend £2.2bn on aid this year – only slightly below the £2.3bn it spent last year. Ministers say their plans over the next few years will enable them to rapidly reduce reliance on asylum hotels. The Home Office is planning, for example, to move more people into empty 'medium-sized' accommodation, with officials examining proposals from nearly 200 councils seeking to recondition disused tower blocks and student accommodation. Angela Eagle, the immigration minister, told MPs on Tuesday that the government had received 198 applications to convert unused housing which also includes former teaching colleges. Appearing before the home affairs select committee, the minister said the government was discussing proposals with local authorities to investigate 'medium-sized' accommodation options. These could replace the current use of hotels but operate on a smaller and more localised scale than disused military bases as suggested by the last government. 'The idea with medium-sized is things like old voided tower blocks or old teacher training colleges or old student accommodation that isn't being used where you could have numbers of rooms that are more than you would get with dispersed accommodation,' she said. 'The idea is you would move from hotels into that kind of thing rather than old military bases or Pontins holiday parks.' Karen Bradley, the Conservative chair of the committee, said on Wednesday however: 'If hotels disappear there will still need to be stock of short-term accommodation to deal with unpredictable levels of irregular migration. Targets on their own are not enough, they need to be delivered – and for that we need to have workable solutions.' 'Unless these savings are made there will be a knock-on effect on the ability of the Home Office to achieve its wider aims. Policing, immigration and counter-terror will all struggle to meet the ambitious targets the government has set itself.'
STV News
12-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
‘Year of service' would help young Scots gain skills - Gordon Brown's think tank
A 'year of service' programme should be introduced to help young Scots gain skills for the workforce, a report from Gordon Brown's think tank recommends. The report, commissioned by Our Scottish Future, also calls for a new Scottish careers service and reforms to employability programmes. It says that despite having Europe's most highly-educated population, Scotland still lags behind London and the South East for productivity. Too many Scots are 'underemployed', the report says, while 17% of the economically inactive population want to work. Authored by the Social Market Foundation, it recommends an overhaul of the 'fragmented' skills funding system, as well as a scheme similar to the UK 'year of service' pilot project which launched in 2022. It says: 'A Scottish service year would learn from these approaches. Young people aged 16 to 24 would be offered placements that have clear social benefit, lasting up to a year. 'Hours per week would be flexible, depending on the circumstances of the participant, but most would be full time, and paid at least at the national living wage.' Roles would be in areas of public need such as social care, home refitting and renewable energy. Jim Gallagher, chairman of Our Scottish Future, said: 'We've got great people, great ideas, and some industries that have massive potential for growth. 'Somehow, that is not yet leading to everyone being in a good job that makes the most of their talents. 'We need skills and employability policies that support industry and give people the best opportunities for success.' Jamie Gollings, an author of the report, said: 'Exciting new initiatives like a Scottish careers service, devolving welfare policy and introducing a Scottish year of service have the potential to make a real, tangible impact. 'Across the world, sluggish growth is the challenge of our time. 'By taking the practical measures this report proposes, and learning from best practice in both Westminster and Holyrood, Scotland has the potential to show the world how to achieve sustained long-term growth, and provide Scots with the good jobs and quality of life they deserve.' Our Scottish Future was set up by former prime minister Mr Brown, to push for 'positive and radical change in Scotland, accelerated by a reformed UK'. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: 'The First Minister has been clear that one of his key priorities is to grow the economy and we have been taking the necessary steps to do this. 'Ministers are engaging industries and employers across the country, and will continue to do so as we reform the skills system and introduce a new skills planning approach, which will enable targeted action to address national and regional skills requirements. 'We are also reviewing and improving school-age and adult careers support, including better information on career choices, job prospects and earnings.' She continued: 'Ministers have already indicated that they will be working closely with the Career Services Collaborative, which brings together careers service providers and to improve coherence of the careers offer for users. 'Recognising the need to address current skills needs while reforming the system, we are providing £185 million this year to support apprenticeships – and looking at how we secure maximum benefit from this investment, including how public funding is utilised.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
