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IMF warns markets are underestimating geopolitical risks; UK faces a ‘narrow path’ on debt reduction – business live

www.theguardian.com 22-10-2024 03:47 2 Minutes reading

IMF predicts UK will grow by 1.1% this year, making it the joint third-fastest G7 country, but debt consolidation will be a challenge

UK borrowing would have been even higher last month, without Rachel Reeves’s unpopular decision to means-test pensioners’ winter fuel payments, and the end of the extra Pensioner Cost of Living Payment given in 2022 and 2023.

Net social benefits paid by central government decreased by £2.0bn in September to £25.7bn.

The usual increase caused by the annual uprating of inflation-linked benefits was more than offset by reduced spending on Winter Fuel Payments, partly because of the absence of one-off cost-of-living payments, which were included in September 2023 and partly because of the change in eligibility.

“We have inherited a £22 billion black hole in the country’s public finances, including no plan to fund pay deals for millions of public sector workers. Strikes cost at least £3 billion last year, so it was the right thing to do to end those damaging disputes.

Resolving this blackhole at the Budget next week will require difficult decisions to fix the foundations of our economy and begin delivering on the promise of change.”

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22.10.24 09:00
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New commission may ban English water companies from making a profit

Defra body, created to overhaul system amid public fury, may force firms to be run for public good rather than shareholder returns

Water companies in England could be banned from making a profit under plans for a complete overhaul of the system.

The idea is one of the options being considered by a new commission set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) amid public fury over the way firms have prioritised profit over the environment.

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