Business
Increase in minimum wage rates announced
Minimum wage rates are to increase next year, giving a pay rise for millions of workers, the Government has announced.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had accepted recommendations from the Low Pay Commission so that those on low incomes are “properly rewarded” for their work.
From next April the National Living Wage will rise by 4.1% to £12.71 an hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over, which the Government said will increase gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the rate by £900, benefiting around 2.4 million low-paid workers.
The National Minimum Wage rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase by 8.5% to £10.85 an hour, narrowing the gap with the National Living Wage.
This will mean an annual earnings increase of £1,500 for a full-time worker, which the Government said marks further progress towards its goal of phasing out 18 to 20 wage bands and establishing a single adult rate.
The National Minimum Wage for 16 to 17-year-olds and those on apprenticeships will increase by 6% to £8 an hour.
The Chancellor said: “I know that the cost of living is still the number one issue for working people and that the economy isn’t working well enough for those on the lowest incomes.
“Too many people are still struggling to make ends meet, and that has to change.
“That’s why today I’m announcing that we will raise the National Living Wage and also the National Minimum Wage, so that those on low incomes are properly rewarded for their hard work.
“These changes are going to benefit many young people across our country, getting their first job.”
The increases will benefit a total of 2.7 million young and older workers, said the Government, adding that by seeking expert and independent advice, it was able to ensure that the right balance is struck between the needs of workers, the affordability for businesses and the opportunities for employment.
The Chancellor said that in tomorrow’s Budget, she will deliver the Government’s mandate for change, adding that she was determined to cut the cost of living for everyone.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The Government is delivering on its promise to make work pay.
“With living costs stubbornly high, an above-inflation pay rise will make a real difference to the lowest paid.
“Putting more money in people’s pockets is good for workers and good for the economy as it goes straight back into our high streets and local businesses.”
Baroness Philippa Stroud, who chairs the Low Pay Commission said: “The recommendations published today are a product of diligent study of the evidence, careful reflection and significant negotiation.
“Our advice balances the Government’s ambitions with the need to protect the economy and labour market, with rates that are fair and realistic.”
Kate Nicholls, who chairs UKHospitality, said: “Increases to minimum wage rates are yet another cost for hospitality businesses to balance, at a time when they are already being taxed out.
“These additional costs make action at the Budget to reduce hospitality’s tax burden even more important, especially if businesses are expected to sustain this level of annual wage increase.
“Hospitality businesses have reached their limit of absorbing seemingly endless additional costs. They will simply all be passed through to the consumer, ultimately fuelling inflation.”
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “The boost to the legal minimum wage is a really positive move that will ease some of the pressure on low paid workers hit by sharp price rises over the last year.
“It will still fall short of the voluntary real living wage which is the only wage rate based solely on the cost of living.”
The real living wage is currently £13.45 an hour in the UK and £14.80 in London.
Ross Holden, the GMB union’s head of Research and Policy, said: “A much-needed pay rise keeping pace with cost of living is fantastic news for millions of low-paid workers across the country.
“As well as lifting people out of poverty pay, it’s more cash in people’s pockets to spend on their high street, boosting local economies and growth.
“GMB has long campaigned for ‘wages not based on ages’ – and the higher increase for young workers looks like another positive step towards equal pay for equal work, no matter your age.”
Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “People are at the heart of every thriving business, and employers want to ensure their workforce is happy, engaged and well paid.
“However, every above-inflation wage increase leads to higher business costs, lower investment and fewer opportunities for individuals. Making employment more expensive risks deepening the jobs crisis among young people.
“There’s a limit to how much additional cost employers can bear without something having to give.
“With unemployment rising, the Government needs to use tomorrow’s Budget to ease cost pressures for business. Crucially, there must be no new tax increases for businesses.”
Business
Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
Business
JSW Likely To Launch Jetour T2 SUV In India This Year: Reports
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Business
John Swinney under fire over ‘smallest tax cut in history’ after Scottish Budget
John Swinney has been pressed over whether this week’s Scottish Budget gives some workers the “smallest tax cut in history” – with Tory leader Russell Findlay branding the reduction “miserly” and “insulting”.
The Scottish Conservative leader challenged the First Minister after Tuesday’s Holyrood Budget effectively cut taxes for lower earners, by increasing the threshold for the basic and intermediate bands of income tax.
But Mr Findlay said that would leave workers at most £31.75 a year better off – saying this amounts to a saving of just £61p a week
“That wouldn’t even buy you a bag of peanuts,” the Scottish Tory leader said.
“John Swinney’s Budget might even have broken a world record, because a Scottish Government tax adviser says it ‘maybe the smallest tax cut in history’.”
Raising the “miserly cut” at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Findlay demanded to know if the SNP leader believed his “insulting tax cut will actually help Scotland’s struggling households”.
The attack came as the Tory accused the SNP government of increasing taxes on higher earners, with its freeze on higher income tax thresholds, which will pull more Scots into these brackets.
This is needed to pay for the “SNP’s out of control, unaffordable benefits bill”, the Conservative added.
Mr Findlay said: “The Scottish Conservatives will not back and cannot back a Budget that does nothing to help Scotland’s workers and businesses.
“It hammers people with higher taxes to fund a bloated benefits system.”
Hitting out at Labour – whose leader Anas Sarwar has already declared they will not block the government’s Budget – Mr Findlay said: “It is absolutely mind-blowing that Labour and other so-called opposition parties will let this SNP boorach of a budget pass.
“Don’t the people of Scotland deserve lower taxes, fairer benefits and a government focused on economic growth?”
Mr Swinney said the Budget “delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland” by “strengthening our National Health Service and supporting people and businesses with the challenges of the cost of living”.
He insisted income tax decisions in the Budget would mean that in 2026-27 “55% of Scottish taxpayers are now expected to pay less income tax than if they lived in England”.
The First Minister went on to say that showed “the people of Scotland have a Government that is on their side”.
Referring to polls putting his party on course to win the Holyrood elections in May, the SNP leader added that “all the current indications show the people of Scotland want to have this Government here for the long term”.
Benefits funding is “keeping children out of poverty”, he told MSPs, adding the Budget contained a “range of measures” that would build on existing support.
The First Minister said: “What that is a demonstration of is a Government that is on the side of the people of Scotland and I am proud of the measures we set out in the Budget on Tuesday.”
Meanwhile he said the Tories wanted to make tax cuts that would cost £1 billion, with “not a scrap of detail about how that would be delivered”.
With the weekly leaders’ question time clash coming less than 48 hours after the draft 2026-27 Budget was unveiled, the First Minister also faced questions from Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar, who insisted that the proposals “lacks ambition for Scotland”.
Pressing his SNP rival, the Scottish Labour leader said: “While he brags about his £6 a year tax cut for the lowest paid, one million Scots including nurses, teachers and police officers face being forced to pay more.
“Even his own tax adviser says this is a political stunt. So why does John Swinney believe that someone earning £33,500 has the broadest shoulders and therefore should pay more tax in Scotland?”
Mr Swinney, however, said that many public sector workers would be better off in Scotland.
He told the Scottish Labour leader: “A band six nurse at the bottom of the scale will take home an additional £1,994 after tax compared to the same band in England.
“A qualified teacher at the bottom of the band will take home £6,365 more after tax in Scotland than the equivalent in England. There are the facts for Mr Sarwar.”
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