George Osborne has cut corporation tax again. In 2020, the rate will go down to 17% – lower than the basic rate of income tax. Given the extent of the cuts being meted out to welfare spending and local government services, this choice – forecast to cost nearly £1 billion when it comes in…Read more…
Update: #Budget2016 is much better for the better off
Quick update Earlier today I discussed the costs and benefits of the Chancellor’s plans to increase the personal tax allowance (PTA) to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold (HRT) to £50,000 by 2020 (Spoiler alert: the costs are high and the benefits are scant). Today the Chancellor took a…Read more…
Extra funding for flood defences welcome but don’t forget staff on the ground, says UNISON
Welcoming the Chancellor’s decision to increase tax insurance to pay for flood defences, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “More funding for flood defences should help save people the pain…Read more…
Another budget, another year of cuts, another year of failure
We’re six years into the Osborne experiment, and the Chancellor is still forcing the British people to swallow the same medicine – even when it’s clear it’s not working
The article Another budget,…Read more…
This budget does nothing to make it easier to trust government on education
In a weakening global economy, people will rightly ask how the British government is providing opportunity for them. A high quality education system benefits everyone. But just because government…Read more…
This is not a Budget for the next generation, says UNISON
Commenting on today’s Budget, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “Six years of severe cuts to public spending have done little to pay down the deficit, despite the Chancellor’s promises. Yet…Read more…
#Budget2016: Altering tax thresholds is an expensive way to aid the well paid
The chancellor has promised measures to increase the personal tax allowance (PTA) for low-paid workers (the amount they can earn in a year before being liable for tax) also the higher rate threshold (HRT) (the point beyond which tax increases to 40%). While both measures have been portrayed as a…Read more…
UNISON lobbying Scottish Parliament for fair funding for local services
Scotland’s largest trade union will lobby the Scottish Parliament on budget day (1pm, Wednesday 24 February 2016) to call for a fair funding settlement for local services.Local government has taken the brunt of cuts in Scotland. Scottish Government funding is down by 0.8%. Yet funding for local government is down by 4.5%. This is a £500m cut from local services this year. The cumulative costRead more…
Trade unions and Falkirk Council fail to agree on new terms and conditions package
Date: Wednesday 10 February 2016
Talks between Falkirk Council and Joint Trade Unions broke down today (9 February) after trade unions could not accept the new package of terms and conditions being proposed by Falkirk Council.
Talks broke down after the Joint Trade Union informed Falkirk Council that following a ballot they felt they could not agree the package put forward.
Falkirk CouncilRead more…
Tougher economic conditions, but the IFS suggests the Chancellor’s rules are holding back growth
Yesterday the IFS set out a bleaker view for the economy and public finances in its Green Budget, which is published every year in the run-up to the Chancellor’s Budget Statement. Given the gloomy projections, let’s hope the government takes note, especially with regard to the fiscal mandate….Read more…
UNISON Scotland reaction to ministerial statement on draft 2016/17 budget
Date: Wednesday 16 December 2015
Mike Kirby, UNISON Scottish Regional Secretary said,
‘UNISON Scotland recognises that Tory austerity limits the options available in the Spending Review. However, it is unacceptable that yet again local government is bearing the brunt of cuts. We are now in the 8th year of the council tax freeze that limits how councils can choose to respond to austerity. ThisRead more…
UNISON Scotland e-briefing on Autumn Statement – Osborne forced to abandon savage tax credit cuts
25 Nov 2015
UNISON Scotland e-briefing on Autum Attement online now…
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/e-briefing_UKAutumnStatement_Nov2015.pdf
"The UK highlights include the abandonment of the savage Tax Credit cuts, following the government’s defeat
in the House of Lords. Higher tax receipts and lower borrowing costs helped meet this cost. However, from
2018 claimants will switchRead more…
Tax credits u-turn will bring huge relief to working families – UNISON
Wed 25 Nov 2015
Nearly three million working families countrywide have breathed a collective sigh of relief, says UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis.Commenting on the announcement today (Wednesday) that the Chancellor is to reverse his planned cuts to tax credits, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said:“Nearly three million working families countrywide have breathed a collective sigh ofRead more…
Why union branches have to follow the money…
Picture from last weeks packed Greater London workshop on branch finance in the UNISON centre. NEC Chair of the Finance Committee, Josie Bird, led the training supported by National and Regional officers.
The aims of the training were:-
To understand …Read more…
Unite proposes €2 billion one-off social housing investment in pre-Budget submission
“After seven years of taking the wrong options, we have an opportunity to start making the right choices”Read more…
Salford college urged to consult community on cuts
Public meeting calls for local community to have the chance to consider proposals and suggest alternatives
The article Salford college urged to consult community on cuts first appeared on the UNISON…Read more…
Local government workers in firing line of tax credit cuts
The outrage at Harriet Harman’s refusal to oppose outright the Tory £4.5bn raid on tax credits is in contrast to the muted response to Labour front bench’s equally unprincipled support for George…Read more…
“In our unity there is strength”
Osborne’s onslaught on tax credits will disproportionately impact Northern Ireland, Unite has warned. If adopted in Northern Ireland, plans to scrap student maintenance grants would exclude a…Read more…
Contradictory tangle
George Osborne’s emergency summer Budget was released with much fanfare on Wednesday (July 8), with the announcement of a compulsory “Living Wage” being hailed as the chancellor’s “master stroke”….Read more…
Budget pay freeze woe
There’s no doubt public sector workers form the backbone of society and keep the essential services we often take for granted ticking over. Despite the value they deliver to every single…Read more…