Author: Sumon Admin

    Cuts to housing benefit, a further lowering of the overall welfare cap and reductions to in-work tax credits are all being considered by George Osborne in next week’s budget, as he seeks to roll back what he regards as a bloated welfare state expanded by Gordon Brown during his tenure of the Treasury. Osborne is preparing to say that Brown’s policy decision to increase tax credits distorted welfare and made workers became dependent on the state, rather than an employer, for a decent income. The chancellor – in the first budget he has been able to deliver without the Liberal Democrats – will temper the £12bn of welfare cuts with a rise in the personal tax allowance and a commitment to do more to persuade employers to boost pay to compensate for the loss of income, possib...

    There's growing concern that George Osborne's Emergency Budget will take a sledgehammer to what's known as 'salary sacrifice' schemes. These have been the backbone of thousands of employer childcare and pension schemes, and any changes could leave people hundreds of pounds worse off every year. The problem Osborne faces is that he wants to claw back some of the higher rate tax relief on pensions. There are growing rumours that this is likely to be cut from 45% to 30%. There's not much opposition to this idea, because an estimated 70% of the £34.8 billion claimed in tax relief on pensions is taken by higher or top rate taxpayers. There's a growing sense that the rules unfairly favour the very rich, who could stand to pay a little more tax. Once he reduces the tax relief...

    This week’s heatwave will see temperatures soar to 35C – but Britain may struggle to cope, with health problems and travel disruption anticipated. Vulnerable groups have been advised to try and stay cool amid fears that lives could be at risk, while trains will run slower to guard against tracks buckling in the broiling temperatures. With Wednesday forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far, the elderly, young children and people with breathing difficulties have been told to keep out of the sun and stay hydrated by Public Health England. Dr Angie Bone, from PHE, said there could be more deaths than usual. She said it seemed "likely" that the Met Office would issue a level 3 heatwave alert - which requires community support for at-risk groups, media alerts about...

    The average house buyer is putting down a record deposit of more than £72,000, according to an index. It is the highest level since the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), a broker, began collating the figures in March 2009. The previous peak was £71,474 in June last year. Last month, the figure rose to £72,302. Rising house prices mean that not only do buyers need to find bigger deposits, but the increased equity also helps those already on the property ladder to put down larger amounts on their next home. The average deposit as a proportion of a loan rose from 28pc to 30pc. Earlier this week figures from Halifax showed house prices in the UK had risen by more than £100 a day in April, taking the average value across Britain to £196,412. MAB's index – compiled using ...