English devolution is go: Cornwall is first county to receive powers over employment, transport, business support, energy, health and social care July 17, 2015 Put down your pasty. Cornwall has become the first UK county to gain historic new powers under the government's push to give more power to local authorities. The county will now have more control over a host of key areas including employment and skills, transport, business support, energy, health and social care, public estate and [...]
Three reasons why the UK’s jobs recovery is not running out of steam July 16, 2015 What should we make of the surprise increase in unemployment this week? The jobless rate went up and employment fell. The number of unfilled vacancies also dropped slightly. Is this a sign that the UK jobs recovery is running out of steam? I think not, for three reasons. First, the period these unemployment figures cover [...]
MPs’ bewildering pay rise flies in the face of all we’ve heard about spending restraint July 16, 2015 They say timing is the art of comedy. Unfortunately, nobody's laughing. In the week after the chancellor of the Exchequer announced a pay rise of just one per cent for public sector employees, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) have awarded MPs a juicy 10 per cent rise – roughly £7,000. This takes their salaries [...]
TfL Tube strike 2015: Days lost to strike action have doubled since 2013 – but are still way down over past 30 years July 16, 2015 Nearly 800,000 working days were lost over strike disputes last year, a sharp increase on the previous year – but it was still nothing, compared with the 1970s. Just a week after unions left London at a standstill with a 24-hour tube strike over working conditions on the upcoming Night Tube, the Office for National [...]
JD Wetherspoon share price drops as founder Tim Martin attacks living wage July 15, 2015 Tim Martin, founder and chairman of 900-strong pub group JD Wetherspoon, has hit out at chancellor George Osborne’s living wage policy, claiming it could have an adverse impact on pubs. Martin warned: “The recent government announcement regarding the living wage adds considerable uncertainty to future financial projections in the pub industry.” He said: [...]
Ten reasons why gender pay differences don’t prove discrimination by employers July 15, 2015 We can all agree that gender pay discrimination is wrong, but there is also too much gender pay disinformation at present. Gender pay differences neither prove nor disprove discrimination. There is undoubtedly a significant difference in the full-time hourly pay of women compared with that of men, even though this gap has narrowed over [...]
MPs on entrepreneurship: Do they even know what they’re talking about? July 15, 2015 Politicians rarely miss an opportunity to praise those business owners brave enough to strike out on their own. With 581,000 new firms registered last year, there is little doubt that Britain is in the throes of an exciting entrepreneurial purple patch. But how much credit can government take for the surge in new companies? Business [...]
With real wages rising at the fastest pace since 2007, should interest rates rise now? July 15, 2015 Guy Foster, group head of research at Brewin Dolphin, says Yes Inflationary pressures are probably muted but there are four compelling reasons for raising interest rates as soon as possible. There is a growing generation of borrowers who do not know that variable interest rates can vary. The longer they remain unaware, the more risk [...]
We need a new approach to tackle youth unemployment: Lack of proper skills is strangling productivity growth across EU – ACCA Comment July 15, 2015 It is no secret that productivity is not an area of strength for the UK. In fact, productivity levels in Britain are 21 per cent lower than the average for the other six members of the G7 – namely the US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada. Clearly mindful of this fact, and the [...]