The cost of fighting the coronavirus has forced the highest government monthly borrowing figure on record. A massive £62 billion created a bigger deficit in a single month than the forecast for the whole year at the time of the Budget in March. Five times more Now the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is predicting …
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As the coronavirus pandemic continues to play havoc with the finances of millions of households, UK Finance has issued some advice on how to apply for a mortgage payment holiday to ease the financial pressure. A spokesman said: “Mortgage providers are ready to support customers who are experiencing issues with their finances as a result …
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An investigation has found that savers are being unnecessarily forced to sell their homes to pay for residential care when there are alternative funding arrangements available to prevent it. Nockolds law practice have found there are a number of councils across the country who are not making people aware of their care funding options and …
Officials fear organised crime as well as individuals have scammed as much as £1.5 billion from Universal Credit as the pandemic played havoc with people’s finances. The lockdown has created a huge demand for benefits by people in genuine financial distress. Claims rose to record levels with more than 1.5 million people asking for help …
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Almost half of all UK businesses face a struggle for survival when lockdown ends because they don’t have enough cash reserves to last them six months. Despite the massive injections of cash the government has poured into businesses across the land through a variety of support schemes the gear is that when that support is …
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Average mortgage rates have dropped to the lowest level ever, but still not as low as the government’s 0.1% base rate. Moneyfacts finance experts say the average two year fixed rate is now 2.09%, but the biggest fall was 0.39% for five year fixed deals with the cheapest currently being 1.34% on a 60% loan …
A new survey has revealed that 1 in 10 British retailers faces ‘imminent collapse’ if lockdown restrictions continue for another month. The Opinium-Cebr Business Distress Tracker is a survey of 500 companies nationwide. A large number of businesses have also claimed they will need 28 weeks to recover from the turmoil brought on by the …
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has warned Parliament that the UK faces ‘a severe recession the likes of which we haven’t seen’ as a result of the measures necessary to curb the effects of the coronavirus. Addressing the Economic Affairs Select Committee he said that though the government had put ‘unprecedented measures’ in place …
The government has quadrupled the levels of loans available to Britain’s biggest companies to a maximum of £200 million. The support available through a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan (CLBIL) had previously been set at £50 million, but the new loans will be available from next week. Exercise restraint But to qualify the firms must …
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It is understood the government are considering setting up a ‘bad bank’ to potentially rescue ‘nationally significant firms’ in danger of failing because of the coronavirus. Planning is said to be at an early stage and the bank could be like the asset resolution scheme such as that used to managed the mortgage books of …
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