Business
Rising cost of school uniform is scary, says mum from Luton
Julita WaleskiewiczEast of England
Lauren Barford-DowlingA mother-of-three said she has found it “scary” trying to keep up with the cost of sending her children to school.
Lauren Barford-Dowling, 27, from Luton, described the price of uniforms, shoes, meals and trips as “daunting”.
Level Trust, a Luton-based charity that provides free school supplies to families, said demand for its services had risen by up to 20% compared with last year.
“You want them to look their best, but it’s hard to keep up,” Ms Barford-Dowling added.
Kerri PorthouseMs Barford-Dowling has three children aged 10, six and five – and a fourth on the way.
She said branded jumpers and tops have risen in price, adding: “I worry about having enough money for all the essentials like shoes, trainers, trousers, dresses, tops.
“Three pairs of trainers cost over £100 – and they’ll be ruined in a couple of months. It’s scary.”
School meals also add to the pressure, she said, and her eldest child’s lunches cost £44 a month.
“When all three move up to Key Stage 2, I’ll be paying nearly £100 a month just so they can eat,” she added.
Dawid Wojtowicz/BBCMs Barford-Dowling said the Level Trust provided her children with free school shoes and trainers for PE.
Kerri Porthouse, the deputy chief executive of the charity, explained demand for the organisation’s services have risen.
“We’ve already seen an increase of between 15% and 20% compared with last year.
“That’s 200 more families in July and August alone. It’s a huge increase for a charity to cope with.
“Parents with children moving into reception or secondary often don’t realise how much uniform is needed until school begins. Then they come to us in a panic,” she said.
Research by the Child Poverty Action Group found it cost £1,000 a year to send a child to primary school and £2,300 for secondary.
Kate Anstey, the group’s head of education policy, said children from low-income families were dropping subjects because of the price of trips and equipment.
“Too many children are growing up in poverty, and it’s having a stark impact on their school day,” she said.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “No child should face barriers to their education because of their family’s finances.
“We are capping the number of branded uniform items schools can require, and from 2026 all children in households on Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals.”
India’s budget focuses on infrastructure and defence spending and tax breaks for data-centre investments.
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Business
New Income Tax Act 2025 to come into effect from April 1, key reliefs announced in Budget 2026
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 1, 2026, and the I-T forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty for ease of living.
The new measures include exemption on insurance interest awards, nil deduction certificates for small taxpayers, and extension of the ITR filing deadline for non-audit cases to August 31.
Individuals with ITR 1 and ITR 2 will continue to file I-T returns till July 31.
“In July 2024, I announced a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act 1961. This was completed in record time, and the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 1, 2026. The forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty, for) ease of living,” she said while presenting the Budget 2026-27
In a move that directly eases cash-flow pressure on individuals making overseas payments, the Union Budget announced lower tax collection at source across key categories.
“I propose to reduce the TCS rate on the sale of overseas tour programme packages from the current 5 per cent and 20 per cent to 2 per cent without any stipulation of amount. I propose to reduce the TCS rate for pursuing education and for medical purposes from 5 per cent to 2 per cent,” said Sitharaman.
She clarified withholding on services, adding that “supply of manpower services is proposed to be specifically brought within the ambit of payment contractors for the purpose of TDS to avoid ambiguity”.
“Thus, TDS on these services will be at the rate of either 1 per cent or 2 per cent only,” she mentioned during her Budget speech.
The Budget also proposes a tax holiday for foreign cloud companies using data centres in India till 2047.
Business
Budget 2026 Live Updates: TCS On Overseas Tour Packages Slashed To 2%; TDS On Education LRS Eased
Union Budget 2026 Live Updates: Union Budget 2026 Live Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget 2026-27 in Parliament, her record ninth budget speech. During her Budget Speech, the FM will detail budgetary allocations and revenue projections for the upcoming financial year 2026-27. Sitharaman is notably dressed in a Kanjeevaram Silk saree, a nod to the traditional weaving sector in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
The budget comes at a time when there is geopolitical turmoil, economic volatility and trade war. Different sectors are looking to get some support with new measures and relaxations ahead of the budget, especially export-oriented industries, which have borne the brunt of the higher US tariffs being imposed last year by the Trump administration.
On January 29, 2026, Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26, a comprehensive snapshot of the country’s macro-economic situation, in Parliament, setting the stage for the budget and showing the government’s roadmap. The survey projected that India’s economy is expected to grow 6.8%-7.2% in FY27, underscoring resilience even as global economic uncertainty persists.
Budget 2026 Expectations
Expectations across key sectors are taking shape as stakeholders look to the Budget for support that sustains growth, strengthens jobs and eases financial pressures:
Taxpayers & Households: Many taxpayers want practical improvements to the income tax structure that preserve simplicity while supporting long-term financial planning — including broader deductions for home loan interest and diversified retirement savings options.
New Tax Regime vs Old Tax Regime | New Income Tax Rules | Income Tax 2026
Businesses & Industry: With industrial output and investment showing resilience, firms are looking for policies that bolster capital formation, ease compliance, and expand infrastructure spending — especially in manufacturing and technology-driven sectors that promise jobs and exports.
Startups & Innovation: The startup ecosystem expects incentives around employee stock options and capital access, along with regulatory tweaks that encourage risk capital and talent retention without increasing compliance burdens.
Also See: Stock Market Updates Today
The Budget speech will be broadcast live here and on all other news channels. You can also catch all the updates about Budget 2026 on News18.com. News18 will provide detailed live blog updates on the Budget speech, and political, industry, and market reactions.
We are providing a full, detailed coverage of the union budget 2026 here, with a lot of insights, experts’ views and analyses. Stay tuned with us to get latest updates.
Also Read: Budget 2026 Live Streaming
Here are the Live Updates of Union Budget 2026:
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