News Archive - April 2013
Universal Credit trial roll-out begins - 30.4.2013
The Government's 'radical reshaping' of the UK benefits system got underway today as Universal Credit began for jobseekers in the North-West of England.
Universal credit will merge several benefits and tax credits into one monthly pay-out.
Working alongside HMRC's Real Time Information (RTI) system for calculating employee earnings, Universal credit is designed to simplify the welfare system and reduce fraud and error.
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith called it a system 'for hardworking people.'
Single jobseekers in the Greater Manchester area will be the first to use Universal Credit, with 7,000 people expected to use it during this initial trial period.
It will be implemented across the whole of the UK by 2017, eventually affecting around eight million people. The monthly payments will merge:
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit.
Iain Duncan Smith said: "Universal Credit is nothing less than the start of a fundamental cultural shift of the welfare system. This will revolutionise the way people experience the welfare state. It will make it easier for people to claim what they are entitled to, but more importantly, it will make it easier for people to move off benefits and into work."
Minister for welfare reform Lord Freud said: "We are finally implementing a benefit system that is fairer, where claimants will be better off in work than on benefits."
Universal credit will merge several benefits and tax credits into one monthly pay-out.
Working alongside HMRC's Real Time Information (RTI) system for calculating employee earnings, Universal credit is designed to simplify the welfare system and reduce fraud and error.
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith called it a system 'for hardworking people.'
Single jobseekers in the Greater Manchester area will be the first to use Universal Credit, with 7,000 people expected to use it during this initial trial period.
It will be implemented across the whole of the UK by 2017, eventually affecting around eight million people. The monthly payments will merge:
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit.
Iain Duncan Smith said: "Universal Credit is nothing less than the start of a fundamental cultural shift of the welfare system. This will revolutionise the way people experience the welfare state. It will make it easier for people to claim what they are entitled to, but more importantly, it will make it easier for people to move off benefits and into work."
Minister for welfare reform Lord Freud said: "We are finally implementing a benefit system that is fairer, where claimants will be better off in work than on benefits."
National Minimum Wage to increase - 16.4.2013
The UK's adult National Minimum Wage is to increase by 12p to £6.31 an hour with effect from 1 October 2013.
The Government accepted the independent Low Pay Commission's (LPC's) recommendations to increase this year's adult and youth wage rates.
However, recommendations to freeze the apprentice rate were rejected because of compliance concerns. It will also increase closer in line with the youth rates.
From the 1st October 2013 :
- The adult rate (20 years plus) will increase by 12p to £6.31 an hour
- The 18-20 year old rate will increase by 5p to £5.03 an hour
- The 16-17 year old rate will increase by 4p to £3.72 an hour
- The apprentice rate will increase by 3p to £2.68 an hour.
Business secretary Vince Cable said: "The independent Low Pay Commission plays a crucial role in advising the government when setting the National Minimum Wage every year. It balances wages of low paid workers against employment prospects if the rate was set too high.
We are accepting its recommendations for the adult and youth National Minimum Wage rate increases, which I am confident strikes this balance. However, there is worrying evidence that a significant number of employers are not paying apprentices the relevant minimum wage rate."
Naming apprenticeships as 'the heart' of supporting a stronger economy, Vince Cable said it was vital to make them attractive to young people. It said it would take non-compliance issues seriously across the board.
The Government accepted the independent Low Pay Commission's (LPC's) recommendations to increase this year's adult and youth wage rates.
However, recommendations to freeze the apprentice rate were rejected because of compliance concerns. It will also increase closer in line with the youth rates.
From the 1st October 2013 :
- The adult rate (20 years plus) will increase by 12p to £6.31 an hour
- The 18-20 year old rate will increase by 5p to £5.03 an hour
- The 16-17 year old rate will increase by 4p to £3.72 an hour
- The apprentice rate will increase by 3p to £2.68 an hour.
Business secretary Vince Cable said: "The independent Low Pay Commission plays a crucial role in advising the government when setting the National Minimum Wage every year. It balances wages of low paid workers against employment prospects if the rate was set too high.
We are accepting its recommendations for the adult and youth National Minimum Wage rate increases, which I am confident strikes this balance. However, there is worrying evidence that a significant number of employers are not paying apprentices the relevant minimum wage rate."
Naming apprenticeships as 'the heart' of supporting a stronger economy, Vince Cable said it was vital to make them attractive to young people. It said it would take non-compliance issues seriously across the board.
FSA replaced by new financial regulators - 3.4.2013
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been replaced by two new regulatory bodies, which will aim to monitor financial
institutions and better protect consumers.
The launch of the 'twin peaks' regulatory structure marks what Chancellor George Osborne called a 'resetting' of the financial system following the banking collapses and miss-selling scandals that have blighted the financial industry in recent years.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) - an arm of the Bank of England - is now responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of :
- Banks
- Building Societies
- Credit Unions
- Insurers
- Major Investment Firms
It will regulate around 1,700 firms, promoting the protection of firms, the UK financial system and policy holders.
The PRA will work alongside the independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which will supervise the conduct of these firms. The FCA will also be responsible for the prudential regulation of brokers, asset managers and independent financial advisers.
Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA and the man who led the review into the Libor scandal, told BBC Radio Four that financial institutions had a 'responsibility' to consumers.
Launching the new regulatory bodies, George Osborne said: "The changes coming into effect today are the start of resetting the system of financial regulation in our country."
"They represent a fundamental change in how financial services will be regulated in the future. They do away with the discredited system that failed to sound the alarm as the financial system went wrong, and put in its place a new system that puts the Bank of England back in charge."
institutions and better protect consumers.
The launch of the 'twin peaks' regulatory structure marks what Chancellor George Osborne called a 'resetting' of the financial system following the banking collapses and miss-selling scandals that have blighted the financial industry in recent years.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) - an arm of the Bank of England - is now responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of :
- Banks
- Building Societies
- Credit Unions
- Insurers
- Major Investment Firms
It will regulate around 1,700 firms, promoting the protection of firms, the UK financial system and policy holders.
The PRA will work alongside the independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which will supervise the conduct of these firms. The FCA will also be responsible for the prudential regulation of brokers, asset managers and independent financial advisers.
Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA and the man who led the review into the Libor scandal, told BBC Radio Four that financial institutions had a 'responsibility' to consumers.
Launching the new regulatory bodies, George Osborne said: "The changes coming into effect today are the start of resetting the system of financial regulation in our country."
"They represent a fundamental change in how financial services will be regulated in the future. They do away with the discredited system that failed to sound the alarm as the financial system went wrong, and put in its place a new system that puts the Bank of England back in charge."
UK to avoid triple dip recession, says business group - 2.4.2013
Strong performance in the manufacturing and services sectors during the first quarter of 2013 will help the UK avoid falling
back into recession, a quarterly economic survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found.
The performance of service sector exports was particularly strong, with the deliveries balance up to 33 per cent in the first few months of 2013. The balances of both service export deliveries and orders reached the record levels that had been set in the fourth quarter of 1994.
Both investment and business confidence also recorded modest rises.
Fears of a further recession have been calmed by the results, said the BCC.
Despite the positive outlook, most balances remain below their pre-recession levels in 2007. The survey of more than 7,000 firms indicates that employment fell slightly in the first quarter of 2013.
Chief economist for the BCC, David Kern, said the survey reinforced its belief that recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had 'exaggerated the weakness and volatility in in UK output.'
"Our survey results show areas of growing strength in the UK economy that militate against unnecessary pessimism, even though the UK' growth rate is still falling short of its potential," he said.
"British businesses remain resilient, and are willing and able to drive recovery."
The strength of exports has led the BCC to say there is huge untapped potential for businesses looking forward. Last month, a committee of MPs and the Confederation of British Industry both said that the Government must do more to make businesses with the desire to export aware of the support available to them through UK Trade & Investment and UK Export Finance.
back into recession, a quarterly economic survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found.
The performance of service sector exports was particularly strong, with the deliveries balance up to 33 per cent in the first few months of 2013. The balances of both service export deliveries and orders reached the record levels that had been set in the fourth quarter of 1994.
Both investment and business confidence also recorded modest rises.
Fears of a further recession have been calmed by the results, said the BCC.
Despite the positive outlook, most balances remain below their pre-recession levels in 2007. The survey of more than 7,000 firms indicates that employment fell slightly in the first quarter of 2013.
Chief economist for the BCC, David Kern, said the survey reinforced its belief that recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had 'exaggerated the weakness and volatility in in UK output.'
"Our survey results show areas of growing strength in the UK economy that militate against unnecessary pessimism, even though the UK' growth rate is still falling short of its potential," he said.
"British businesses remain resilient, and are willing and able to drive recovery."
The strength of exports has led the BCC to say there is huge untapped potential for businesses looking forward. Last month, a committee of MPs and the Confederation of British Industry both said that the Government must do more to make businesses with the desire to export aware of the support available to them through UK Trade & Investment and UK Export Finance.
Budget 2013
Below are downloadable files in pdf format covering the main points of the budget :
| Budget 2013 Business announcements |
| Budget 2013 Key announcements |
