Households

Consumer insight tracker shows 85% are worried about food prices and a majority think the economy will deteriorateThree million UK households are being forced to skip meals as consumers resort to drastic measures to deal with rising costs, according to a Which? report published on Thursday.The conflict in the Middle East and subsequent surge in oil and raw material prices has led to businesses preparing to raise prices, putting more pressure on household finances and hitting consumer confidence. Continue reading...

Brussels will relax state aid rules to allow member countries to offer ‘targeted and temporary’ supportEurope live – latest updatesThe EU will cut electricity taxes and provide consumers with fresh incentives to ditch fuel-burning cars and boilers, the European Commission has announced, as the Iran war energy crisis speeds a shift to a clean economy.The plan, which foresees tweaking rules so that electricity is taxed less than oil and gas, aims to bring down bills while encouraging the move away from polluting devices that prolong reliance on foreign fuels. Continue reading...

Government looks to rush through laws allowing pavement ‘charging gullies’ to help boost EV take-up and cut dependence on fossil fuelsUK to appeal against tax ruling cutting VAT on public EV chargers to 5%Households without off-street parking could soon be able to charge their electric vehicles from home under new government plans to help households cut their need for expensive fossil fuels.The government has promised to pass legislation this summer that will allow motorists to run power cables through a charging “gully” built into the pavement outside their home without the need for planning permission. Continue reading...

Analysis by IFS shows George Osborne’s mortgage schemes launched in 2013 had little effect on social mobilityHigher-income households were the biggest beneficiaries of George Osborne’s Help to Buy mortgage schemes, introduced in the 2010s, according to an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank.Launched by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government in 2013, Help to Buy involved two separate schemes aimed at making home ownership more achievable in a period of rapid house price growth. Continue reading...

Weakened economic activity, soaring fuel prices and rising inflation have created a horror scenario, RBA deputy governor saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAndrew Hauser, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor, says the “stagflationary shock” from the Iran war is a “central banker’s nightmare”, as confidence among Australian households crashed to its lowest level in years.Speaking at an event in New York on Tuesday morning AEST, Hauser said the RBA was “judging the balance” between the damage to the economy from “a big income shock” associated with soaring fuel prices, versus a sharp rise in inflation. Continue reading...

Incentives to absorb surplus wind and solar energy could help balance the grid and lower billsThe UK needs more North Sea gas, not greater reliance on US imports | Nils PratleyHouseholds will be called on to boost their consumption of Great Britain’s record renewable energy this summer to help balance the power grid and lower energy bills.Under the new plans, people could be encouraged to run dishwashers and washing machines or charge up their electric vehicles when there is more wind and solar power than the electricity grid needs. Continue reading...

Resolution Foundation says households face rising costs from higher bills for energy and filling upHigher energy prices as a result of the Iran war are likely to deal a blow to Britons’ living standards, leaving them nearly £500 worse off this year, a thinktank has warned.The Resolution Foundation said households faced rising costs from both higher gas and electricity bills and at the petrol pump. Continue reading...