UK Government Debt Reaches £1 Trillion
The government debt of the UK has gone up to a record breaking £1 trillion from £883 billion from the past year. Even when this is the current figure, Chancellor George Osborne is still determined to attain his borrowing goal this financial year of £127 billion. The total for the year is at £103.3 billion. According to the Office for National Statistics, the government tax receipts have been given a boost by the bank levy. This was enforced on various financial institutions in order to recover some of the expenses during the economic crisis. There was a VAT increase this January – from 17.5 percent to 20 percent – which increased the tax take as well. The expenses of the central government declined by 0.9 percent as debt reduction plans have been implemented.
Wide Gap Between Economies in Cities Now Apparent
There has been a big difference in economic performances in various cities and towns in the United Kingdom according to a report presented by the Centre for Cities. In Cambridge and Hull, the number of people getting their Jobseeker’s Allowance has gone up to almost double the figure since the beginning of the year 2008, which is from 3.2 percent to 6.1 percent. In Rochdale, there are about six times as much as those people claiming their unemployed benefits in Cambridge. Cambridge has a rate of 5 percent, while Rochdale has 30.3 percent. According to the research group, the efforts of the private sector in trying to provide more jobs for the people were “playing out very differently across UK cities.” Doncaster, Hull and Newport have been described as towns and cities that have private sectors that are less active and less dynamic compared to others.
House Rent Declined by 0.8% Since November
Renting a home in England and in Wales has now gone down for another month this December, according to LSL Property Services. The average rent is now down by 0.8 percent compared to £711 per month during November. However, rental prices are higher by 4 percent compared to December 2010. One of the main reasons for this is having more people prioritize their Christmas expenses and became behind on their rental payments. LSL noted that there were about 10.7 percent of the rent paid in December was marked late or unpaid, which is higher than the recorded 9.3 percent in November. According to David Newnes who is the director of LSL, “The rental market was sheltered from the full impact of the seasonal lull by the strength of underlying tenant demand as many prospective renters took the opportunity to move in the run-up to Christmas at a time when the market is traditionally less competitive.”
Inflation Rate in the UK Declines to 4.2% in December
The inflation rate in the United Kingdom has fallen sharply during the month of December due to the decrease in the prices of petrol and clothing. The Consumer Prices Index inflation has declined to 4.2 percent from the recorded 4.8 percent during the month of November, according to figures that were released by the Office for National Statistics. The retail Prices Index inflation, a figure which includes mortgage interest payments has declined to 4.8 percent from its previous record of 5.2 percent. The figures that have been released to the public are proof of the estimates that have been made by the Bank of England that inflation will be at 2 percent by the end of the year 2012. The decrease in the CPI inflation is considered the biggest monthly decline since April 2009 and the lowest inflation rate since June 2011.
