by Gareth Morgan on November 22, 2023
An updated version of the blogs which were posted here in November 2022 and April 2022. This now uses the NLW figure of £11.44 an hour and the 10% employee NI rate, announced in the Autumn Statement of 22nd November. The message is the same. The real winner from the NLW increase is the Treasury. […]
by Gareth Morgan on March 6, 2023
There has been increasing discussion and interest, recently, in the idea of using existing data, particularly from benefit claims, to determine or automatically award other benefits for people who are entitled. It would be a very attractive way of solving, or reducing, the enormous under-claiming of many benefits. After all, its proponents say, if we […]
by Gareth Morgan on November 15, 2022
A tweaked version of the blog which was posted here on November 15th. This now uses the NLW figureof £10.42 an hour, announced in the Autumn Statement of 17th November. The differences are small but deserve precision. Another update to my previous postings, looking at the real gains (and for whom) of increases in the […]
by Gareth Morgan on October 6, 2022
The driver for limiting benefits increases, instead of linking them to inflation, appears to be presented as an argument that it’s not fair for working people to receive a 5% pay increase while people on benefits will get around 10%. That seems to be a very simple and easy comparison to make and might appear […]
by Gareth Morgan on October 4, 2022
People know that when their bills arrive, they can either cut their consumption or they can get a higher salary, higher wages, go out there and get that new job – Jake Berry MP. Conservative Party Chairman The ‘fiscal event‘, and its reactions and consequences, are not what I really want to look at in […]
by Gareth Morgan on April 3, 2022
This is a quick update to my posting of two years ago, looking at the real gains (and for whom) of the increase in the National Living Wage (NLW). You can read that in my blog at https://benefitsinthefuture.com/national-living-wage-cui-bono/. Once again, this year, the government have proudly told us that the substantial increase in the NLW […]
by Gareth Morgan on November 3, 2021
With some very, very boring but pretty important numbers The government has been playing around with the tax and benefit system quite a lot this year. They have increased and decreased rates, tapers, thresholds and other factors with, apparently, wild enthusiasm. All of the announcements have been, predictably, treated as stand-alone elements with those that […]
by Gareth Morgan on March 13, 2021
DWP responses to my suggestions for changing the assessment of earnings. It’s some time since I posted to this blog, not because nothing of interest, or worthy of comment, has been happening, but simply because, like many others, I have been busy. In that, I am lucky; far too many people have been without work, […]
by Gareth Morgan on March 24, 2020
(I’m posting this in the hope that it will generate some interest. I’d be grateful for comments, whether pointing out flaws or errors, or suggestions. Given the current situation, this could be implemented rapidly if workable. By all means, point and laugh but, please, do think about what could be done) I looked in […]
by Gareth Morgan on February 2, 2020
(With a lot of very, very boring but quite important numbers) This government loves sound bites and bullet points. They can look very impressive. UK minimum wage to rise by four times rate of inflation Employees over 25 will receive a 6.2% pay rise equating to £930 a year for full-time worker National Living Wage […]