Cost of Living crisis

UK energy bills could rise under government plans to fund nuclear

Spread the love

https://www.politico.eu/article/energy-bills-rise-under-uk-government-plans-fund-nuclear/

A final investment for the plants is planned before the next election | Carl Court/Getty Images

LONDON — The U.K. government is mulling plans which would hike household energy bills to help pay for a new nuclear energy plant.

Ministers are considering tweaking the funding deal for Sizewell C, a proposed £20 billion nuclear plant in Suffolk, as they scramble to attract investors.

Under one proposal being looked at in Whitehall, the development would be part funded by electricity suppliers — and those firms “would be expected to pass these costs onto consumers through their electricity bills,” according to a consultation paper on the plans.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is set to publish its response to that consultation later this week, according to two industry figures granted anonymity to discuss the process.

Officials insist potential additional charges to consumers would be low. But any move leading to higher bills would be controversial during a cost-of-living crisis driven by two years of rising energy costs.

…

https://www.politico.eu/article/energy-bills-rise-under-uk-government-plans-fund-nuclear/

Continue ReadingUK energy bills could rise under government plans to fund nuclear

UK economy suffering ‘long-term’ economic cost of Brexit, Goldman Sachs group says

Spread the love

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/uk-economy-suffering-long-term-economic-cost-of-brexit-goldman-sachs-group-says/

“The evidence points to a significant long-run output cost of Brexit,” the economists at Goldman’s wrote.

Yet more evidence has emerged of just how disastrous the decision to leave the EU has been for the UK economy, with economists at Goldman Sachs group saying that real GDP has underperformed by about 5%.

In a research note published earlier this month, Sven Jari Stehn and colleagues said that Brexit had resulted in reduced growth and higher inflation, with ‘reduced international trade, weak business investment and a drop in migrants coming from Britain’s largest trade partner all contributing’, Bloomberg has reported.

It comes as a number of studies have warned of the harmful consequences of Brexit, with the Bank of England saying last year that the decision to leave the EU has cost the average UK household £1,000, due to a lack of investment following the referendum.

…

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/uk-economy-suffering-long-term-economic-cost-of-brexit-goldman-sachs-group-says/

Continue ReadingUK economy suffering ‘long-term’ economic cost of Brexit, Goldman Sachs group says

Cost-of-living crisis still hammering households as recession predicted

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cost-living-crisis-still-hammering-households-recession-predicted

Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

THE cost-of-living crisis is still hammering households in every corner of the country, the TUC warned today, as inflation figures remained unchanged and Britain is believed to have slipped into recession.

The union body called for ministers to extend cost-of-living payments which are set to end by March after figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation remained at 4 per cent in January.

Food prices fell for the first time by 0.4 per cent since September 2021, with the cost of bread and cereals, cream crackers and chocolate biscuits falling, the ONS said.

The costs are still 7 per cent higher than a year ago.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted that the economy has “turned the corner” following the data.

But the ONS is due to publish gross domestic product (GDP) figures for December on Thursday and is predicted by experts to reveal that Britain’s economy contracted for the second quarter in a row in the final three months of 2023.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cost-living-crisis-still-hammering-households-recession-predicted

Continue ReadingCost-of-living crisis still hammering households as recession predicted

Schools crippled by soaring PFI bills

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/schools-crippled-soaring-pfi-bills

School children in a classroom, November 27, 2019

UNIONS and campaigners slammed private firms today for imposing crippling maintenance bills on schools locked into Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts.

PFI schools are bound by 25 to 30-year contracts with private firms, who own and maintain the schools until taxpayers’ money repays the debt.

Over 900 schools have been built through PFI contracts since the 1990s. The initiative was eventually scrapped in 2018.

The BBC spoke to one head teacher in Liverpool who said that nearly 20 per cent of the school’s entire budget is being squandered on contracts.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/schools-crippled-soaring-pfi-bills

Continue ReadingSchools crippled by soaring PFI bills

Sadiq Khan praised for rolling out free school meals for all primary pupils in London for another year

Spread the love

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/01/sadiq-khan-praised-for-rolling-out-free-school-meals-for-all-primary-pupils-in-london-for-another-year/

The move will save families up to £1,000 per child over the two-year period, according to analysis by City Hall.

The Mayor of London is being praised for rolling out free school meals for another year for primary school pupils across the city, as families grapple with the cost of living crisis with millions more pushed into poverty under Tory austerity and soaring bills.

Sadiq Khan put forward plans worth £140 million to extend universal provision of hot meals for the 2024/25 school year, after piloting the approach in state-funded primaries across the Capital from September.

The move will save families up to £1,000 per child over the two-year period, according to analysis by City Hall.

The Mayor of London said that he was ‘thrilled to extend this lifeline for another year’.

Research from the Child Poverty Action Group, shows that nationally, around 800,000 children who are living in poverty are currently missing out on free school meals, due to restrictions on eligibility.

Khan’s scheme provides lunches for every other London pupil not already covered under government funding.

…

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/01/sadiq-khan-praised-for-rolling-out-free-school-meals-for-all-primary-pupils-in-london-for-another-year/

Continue ReadingSadiq Khan praised for rolling out free school meals for all primary pupils in London for another year