The business secretary has denied that the chancellor’s wife is “sheltering” from taxation by holding a non-domicile status. The arrangement means Murthy is not subject to UK inheritance tax and is able to circumvent tax on overseas investments and rental income. Kwasi Kwarteng was quizzed over reports that Akshata Murthy held the status status since…
Five years ago today, the two-child limit became part of our social security system. Since then, a child born into a family that already has two children has been ineligible for the child allowances in universal credit and tax credits, with very limited exceptions. The consequences of the policy continue to be devastating for the…
The health and social care committee have blasted the government’s absence of a serious effort by government to tackle gaps in the cancer workforce. MPs on the committee say this is jeopardising earlier diagnosis, the key to improving overall survival rates and catching up with comparable countries. In a highly critical report on cancer services…
Perhaps to distract from the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s lacklustre spring statement, Dominic Raab has been making the rounds of the right-wing press with his proposal for a new Bill of Rights. Intended as a replacement for the Human Rights Act 1998, the Bill of Rights aims to put an end to the “wokery and…
Government ministers talking about child poverty have been a bit like buses this week – nothing for years then two come along at once. First we had the Chancellor. When presented with analysis showing that his decision not to increase benefits in line with inflation would push 500,000 children into poverty, he made clear that…
Around 43 per cent of state-funded schools now operate as academies, educating over half of pupils in England across over 2,700 academy trusts, and the Department for Education (DfE) aims for all state-funded schools to become part of a family of academy trusts. But in a report today the public accounts committee (PAC) says a…
I do not need to argue that my constituency is the most beautiful in the country, because that claim is self-evident. The Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales are two astonishingly breathtaking national parks. But the stunning views distract from a harsh reality. Our meres, tarns, rivers, and lakes are being choked and polluted –…
UK inflation has rocketed to a new 30-year high , according to fresh data from the ONS this morning. Figures released this morning show that the consumer price index soared to 6.2 per cent this February, up from 5.5 per cent in January and higher than the forecasted 6 per cent forecast. This marks the…
Ahead of the Spring Statement next week, surging energy bills, talk of fracking and Government hesitancy on action to reach net-zero should rightfully make us nervous. What we need is a clear UK-wide commitment to lower energy bills by improving energy efficiency in homes and businesses, delivered through a devolved Shared Prosperity Fund. Households and…
A minister has said the government cannot stop the impromptu sacking of 800 staff at UK-based ferry firm P&O. Armed forces minister James Heappey descried the company’s behaviour as “disgraceful” but said the state had little ability to intervene. “I think that is the reality,” he explained in an interview with BBC Breakfast. “The Government…
