Month: March 2020

COVID 19 – MEASURES

Last week’s Budget from the new Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, included £7 billion of expenditure targeting the impact of Covid-19 on employees, the self-employed and businesses. Six days later a further raft of measures was announced, amounting to an additional £20 billion of support expenditure plus £330 billion of loan guarantees. The Chancellor’s 17 March statement…

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299 – LIFE EXPECTANCY SHORTENS…. OR DOES IT?

New calculations from the Office for National Statistics have lowered life expectancies. Every two years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recalculates its national population projections (NPP). As part of the exercise, the ONS reviews and updates its assumptions about future mortality, which in turn will have an impact on population size. The latest figures,…

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298 – A BUDGET DAY….AT LAST!

In early January Chancellor announced a new Budget date: 11 March 2020. This could be a significant Budget. Traditionally, the first Budget of a new Parliament is when the Chancellor delivers the medicine of tax increases and/or unpopular reforms. To borrow from Macbeth: ‘If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were…

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