National Savings & Investments has announced details of a new green savings product. One of the small surprises in March’s Budget was the announcement that National Savings & Investments (NS&I) would be launching “a new, retail savings product to give all United Kingdom savers the chance to support green projects”. No further information was given at the time and little attention shown from the media. In part, that was because NS&I was under a cloud following the administrati

A proposal to address social care funding is apparently imminent. “My job is to protect you or your parents or grandparents from the fear of having to sell your home to pay for the costs of care. And so I am announcing now – on the steps of Downing Street – that we will fix the crisis in social care once and for all, and with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve.” So said Boris Johnson when he first entered 10 Downing

A recent Upper Tribunal case has raised questions about HMRC’s approach to collecting tax on child benefit. Child benefit tax, or the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) to use its legal name, has a chequered history. The HICBC was introduced in January 2013 as a mechanism for clawing back child benefit from high-income couples, whether married or not. From 2013, the definition of ‘high income’ has been that one (or both) of the couple has adjusted total income of over £

The Bank of England has suggested that interest rates may rise sooner than expected. After its August meeting, the Bank of England (BoE) was never expected to announce any change in base rate from the 0.1% set in response to the pandemic. The BoE, like its counterparts in the US, Eurozone and Japan, wants to be convinced of the strength of the economic recovery before moving rates off the floor. However, the August meeting was not as much of a steady-as-she-goes affair as had