Jeremy Hunt: Last News

More than seven million households have received the £300 Cost of Living Payment after eight days, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. It means a total of £2.2bn has been paid out by the government department to eligible households.

The National Living Wage could rise next year to well above what the UK Government has announced, according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation. It said stronger than expected wage growth means the figure could increase to around £11.46 per hour next April - well above the £11 suggested recently by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

A new online petition is calling on the UK Government to ‘commit’ to increasing benefits in line with the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate of 6.7 per cent. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will conduct its statutory annual review of benefits and make an announcement on the uprating in due course.

Charities are stepping up calls for the UK Government to introduce a ‘Help to Repay’ scheme on energy bills as research showed one in four households with fuel debts are unable to clear arrears. An estimated 6.4 million people are now in arrears with their energy bills - up more than 824,000 since April, according to a nationwide survey of 2,000 adults conducted last week for National Debtline, which is run by the Money Advice Trust charity.

People claiming disability benefits are set for a significant increase next April following the announcement from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was 6.7 per cent. Consumer champion Martin Lewis explained in his latest BBC radio 5 Live Podcast that by law, disability benefits, incapacity benefits and Carer’s Allowance usually rise by the September CPI figure.

Music Venue Trust (MVT) have said that grassroots venues in the UK are heading for “disaster” without intervention as more venues face closure – repeating the call for large arenas to invest back into the grassroots.Speaking on a panel about the future of grassroots music at Manchester’s inaugural ‘Beyond The Music‘ conference on Friday (October 13), Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said over the last 12 months, “127 music venues of the grassroots type have stopped programming live music or closed down entirely” – something he described as a “fucking disaster” – despite the fact 2023 has been “the best year in history for live music receipts” with the industry making over £765million in 2022.Davyd, who was speaking on a panel alongside representatives from Manchester’s AO Arena, Manchester’s Co-op Live, MIF/Factory International and Rachael Flaszczak, Managing Director of The Snug – a venue that was recently saved by MVT under its new ownership scheme – said “it’s completely unacceptable that our music industry is letting music collapse underneath it while it’s making the maximum amount of money it’s ever made in the history of music.”He continued: “That is ridiculous. It’s totally unacceptable to me.

Freezing working-age benefits next year could save the Treasury more than £4bn but at a “terrible cost” of plunging an additional 400,000 children into poverty, it has been warned. The Resolution Foundation said its research suggested that scrapping the uprating of working-age benefits in line with prices inflation next year would reduce the incomes of nine million households by an average of £470.

'Awkward' tweets shared by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about the 'ambitious' HS2 railway line have resurfaced years later - as the plans for its second leg to Manchester have been scrapped.

The exact date for when millions of workers will see a pay rise of around £1,000 in their wages has now been confirmed. Earlier this week Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the government is set to increase the national living wage in the UK to more than £11 an hour.

The September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate will be announced on October 18 and forms part of the Triple Lock policy which is used to determine the annual State Pension uprating. Under the Triple Lock, the State Pension increases each year in line with whichever of these three measures are the highest - average annual earnings growth from May to July (currently 8.5%), CPI inflation in the year to September (currently 6.7%) or 2.5 per cent.

Jeremy Hunt has admitted he flew in to Manchester from London ahead of the Conservative Party conference rather than taking the train.

The Government has said 'no tax cuts are possible in a substantial' way as the Conservative Party conference continues in Manchester today.

There should be a dedicated cabinet minister for the north a group of Tory MPs have claimed. They are also calling for half a million new homes to be built in the region as part of a 'manifesto for the north' which is to be unveiled at party's conference in Manchester.

The future of HS2 rail to Manchester hangs in the balance, with the north set to lose out once again after being promised so much.

Manchester Airport has called for the HS2 rail line to be built in full as promised - from London to Manchester.

Business leaders have laid bare the staggering impact axing the northern leg of the HS2 rail line to Manchester would have on the city-region's economy.

The government is set to axe the HS2 leg to Manchester, according to reports.

Economists across the country woke up to surprising new inflation figures this morning.

The rising cost of living has slowed down slightly according to surprise new official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says annual inflation stood at 6.7% in August, down from 6.8% in July.

Some 12.6 million older people could be set for a bumper State Pension pay rise next April under the Triple Lock policy, however, while an increase of 8.5 per cent would undoubtedly help more older people combat the cost of living crisis, it will also push an estimated half a million retirees nearer the personal tax allowance annual limit of £12,570.

Ofcom has found GB News to be in breach of due impartiality rules in a landmark ruling pertaining to an episode of Esther McVey and Phillip Davies’ show.