Money news: page 45
- November 2022
Scotland excluded from the scheme
A 2022 order inserted a fifth condition into the cold weather payment rules so that a claimant's home must be in England or Wales, taking Scotland out of the scheme.
Scotland to replace Cold Weather Payments with Low Income Winter Heating Assistance
Scotland is replacing the Cold Weather Payment from the winter of 2022 with a new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance, paying £50 to eligible households in February 2023.
Second UK Government Cost of Living Payment made
The second instalment of the 2022 Cost of Living Payment, worth £324, was paid in November 2022 to households on means-tested benefits, completing a £650 total for the year.
Warm Home Discount eligibility changes due to come into force
Changes to the Warm Home Discount due to take effect in November 2022 will remove entitlement from nearly 200,000 disabled people who receive disability benefits but not an income-replacement benefit.
- October 2022
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applicants in England
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applicants in England on 31 October 2022, ending a route to buying a new build home with a smaller deposit.
Medium-term fiscal plans due on 31 October with spending cuts of tens of billions expected
The Government will set out medium-term fiscal plans on 31 October, with tens of billions of pounds of spending cuts expected after Jeremy Hunt reversed most of September's mini-Budget tax measures.
Main £150 cost-of-living payment scheme closes
The Welsh Government's main cost-of-living support scheme closed on 30 October 2022 after paying £146.6m to 977,483 eligible households, according to a Welsh Government paper.
FCA publishes consultation proposing measures to clamp down on greenwashing
The Financial Conduct Authority published a consultation on 25 October 2022 proposing new measures to tackle greenwashing, including rules on how terms such as "ESG", "green" and "sustainable" can be used.
Health and Social Care Levy Act 2021 repealed
The Health and Social Care Levy Act 2021 was repealed on 25 October 2022 by the Health and Social Care Levy (Repeal) Act 2022, removing the provisions that had modified national insurance contribution rules for the 2022-23 tax year.
Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022 made, continuing the scheme in Scotland to 31 March 2026
The Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022 were made on 19 October 2022 and came into force the next day, continuing the scheme in Scotland until 31 March 2026.
Chancellor statement sets end date for energy support schemes
The Energy Price Guarantee, the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme are due to end in their current form on 31 March 2023, Consumer Scotland has said after the Chancellor's statement.
Government response to pensions dashboards further consultation published
The government has published its response to the second consultation on the draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022, covering the Dashboards Available Point and data-sharing between MaPS and TPR.
Jeremy Hunt reverses around 60 per cent of mini-Budget tax cuts and scraps the 1p basic rate Income Tax cut
Jeremy Hunt has reversed around 60 per cent of the mini-Budget tax cuts, scrapped the 1p basic rate Income Tax cut and brought forward the end of the Energy Price Guarantee.
Bank of England gilt purchase intervention concluded
The Bank of England's gilt purchase intervention ended on 14 October 2022, with pension scheme data later showing deleveraging and asset falls continuing through the fourth quarter of that year.
Corporation Tax cut reversal announced the previous Friday
Jeremy Hunt reversed around 60 per cent of the tax measures from Kwasi Kwarteng's 23 September mini-Budget, including the £19 billion Corporation Tax cut, and brought forward the end of the Energy Price Guarantee.
Five steps to better pensions: time for a new consensus published
Research published on 12 October 2022 finds more than half of UK savers will miss the retirement income targets set by the 2005 Pensions Commission unless the pensions system is reformed.
JRF analysis shows constituencies affected by possible benefit uprating cut
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published constituency analysis showing which areas would be most affected if the Government does not uprate means tested benefits such as Universal Credit in line with inflation.
Starting threshold for main residential LTT rises to £225,000 in Wales
The Welsh Government raised the starting threshold for main residential Land Transaction Tax in Wales from £180,000 to £225,000 on 10 October 2022, with the first band from £225,000 to £400,000 taxed at 6%.
Scottish Child Payment to rise to £25 a week and extend to children aged 6 to 15
Scottish ministers have set out regulations to extend Scottish Child Payment to children aged 6 to 15 and raise it to £25 a week for all eligible children, with other changes to Best Start grants and foods.
Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill introduced
The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 3 October 2022, alongside official statistics on housing costs, fuel poverty and financial vulnerability in Scotland's rented sectors.
Energy Bills Support Scheme to provide £200 off energy bills
Every domestic electricity customer in Great Britain will receive a £200 credit on their energy bill from October 2022 under the Energy Bills Support Scheme, with the money recovered through later bill instalments.
Energy Price Guarantee to end in April 2023, 18 months earlier than planned
The Chancellor has said the Energy Price Guarantee will end in April 2023, 18 months earlier than planned, a move the Resolution Foundation says could save the Treasury up to £40 billion next year.
Energy Price Guarantee introduced capping typical bills at £2,500 a year
The Energy Price Guarantee took effect on 1 October 2022, capping typical household energy consumption at £2,500 a year after the then Prime Minister announced it on 8 September 2022.
FCA issues updated guidance on branch and ATM closures or conversions
The Financial Conduct Authority published updated guidance on 11 October 2022 setting out how banks and building societies should handle branch and ATM closures or conversions, replacing guidance first issued in 2020.
Further price cap rise to around £2,500 expected in October 2022
The Resolution Foundation says commodity market prices point to the October 2022 energy price cap reaching around £2,500, which would put 7.5 million English families in fuel stress.
Government considering uprating some working-age benefits by earnings rather than inflation for April 2023
The Resolution Foundation reports the Government is considering raising some working-age benefits by average earnings of 5.5 per cent rather than September CPI inflation of around 10.1 per cent next April.
Government energy bills support scheme launched at the beginning of October 2022
The government energy bills support scheme began in October 2022, and StepChange recorded a 34% rise in visits to its page on government help with gas and electricity bills between September and October.
Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme closed to new applications in England and Scotland
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England and Scotland in October 2022, while the separate Welsh scheme continues and existing borrowers can still remortgage or repay.
Majority of existing CoP participants delivered SRD capabilities by August 2022
The Payment Systems Regulator has confirmed it will direct around 400 payment firms to offer Confirmation of Payee, with deadlines of October 2023 and October 2024, after most existing participants delivered secondary reference data capability.
Nationwide opens face-to-face cost of living expert appointments
Nationwide Building Society opened appointments with cost of living experts from October 2022, available face-to-face, by phone or by video, offering financial health checks and money management advice.