Pensions regulation: governance to the fore?
During the second reading of the Pension Schemes Bill, Steve Webb, the pensions minister, told the House of Commons that the complexities of drawing up the Bill had made him “more sympathetic” to there being a single pensions regulator. Today there are two: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial ...
Grand Bargain on Roaming is Possible
Mobile technology is essential for the British economy. It is right that universal mobile access should be recognised as a key part of national infrastructure. Calling and texting is now not only essential for business but also in everyday personal life. However these services are not guaranteed for people living ...The Airbnb economy: A battle Britain must win
This article is taken from the CPS Economic Bulletin, written by Adam Memon, Jan Zeber and Tim Knox. To sign up for our weekly mailings, use the form on the left of our newsletter page.P2P Markets When Democratic New York Senator, Liz Kruger was asked in an interview why she is against her constituents using ...
Don’t Get Too Excited about the Benefits Tourism Ruling
On Tuesday the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down a widely-praised judgment limiting so-called ‘benefits tourism.’ The case concerned a Romanian migrant’s unsuccessful claim to the German equivalent of the Jobseeker’s Allowance. In short, the CJEU confirmed that EU member states are not obliged to grant ...
6 studies that demonstrate why small government is best
Support for rational evidence based policy making is in short supply at the Home Office, according to recently-departed Liberal Democrat Minister Norman Baker MP.It is a familiar call – that ideological politicians and policymakers push aside their prejudice and instead follow the proven evidence of what works, as if it's ...
Rail Re-nationalisation: not the solution for passengers
The rising cost of rail transport has become something of a running sore for governments of all stripes since 2004. In that year new regulation was introduced that set annual rail fare rises at RPI inflation plus one per cent. This has led to inevitable bad headlines, with “the Squeezed ...
Patent Privateering - Patents as weapons
In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I of England commissioned Francis Drake to sail for America. The Queen asked him to plunder Spanish vessels on his way there. Francis Drake became a pirate commissioned by the crown. This type of "legal" pirate was called a "privateer." They allowed nations ...Why the Bank of England will be wrong again on wages
This article is taken from the CPS Economic Bulletin, written by Adam Memon and Tim Knox. To sign up for our weekly mailings, use the form on the left of our newsletter page.Out of all the major measures of economic performance, real wages have been one of the most important measures to ...There is no magic money tree
“Britain needs a pay rise” according to a TUC march held on Saturday. It is certainly the case that there has been a painful squeeze in real wages across the economy. However, Saturday’s march was largely calling for increases in public sector pay rather than the productivity boosting changes to ...Put retirement saving above politics
The case for an independent Savings CommissionerJohn McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair, recently commented that, in the aftermath of the Budget, without consultation, the entire structure of the British pension settlement was torn up by the Chancellor…..it is the death of private pensions, it is the death of ...8 questions for Chris Leslie on productivity
At the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, I took part in a panel debate on Labour’s approach to manufacturing and business more generally. The panel included Chris Leslie, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury who talked about Britain’s weak productivity and the need to find ways to increase it in ...
Bluff and bluster from the SNP
In a paper released today, Oil, Finance and Pensions: why Scots should say No, leading economist Tim Morgan has identified three major risks in the event that the Scots vote “yes” to independence.In response to the report’s evidence, Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has attacked the credibility of its author, ...
Britain’s Women Problem
ONS data show that the average wage earned by a woman in 2013 was 19.7% lower than that of a man. Given that it has been forty years since the Equal Pay Act came into force, this is a shocking and somewhat absurd statistic. Naturally, the disparity in earnings between ...Lib Dem reversal on the 'bedroom tax' should worry welfare reform supporters
This article originally appeared in City A.M. on Thursday 17 July 2014. The Lib Dems announced yesterday that they are heavily watering down their support for the “bedroom tax” – or more accurately, the Under-Occupancy Charge. The policy cuts housing benefit payments by 14 per cent for households with one spare ...Pay restraint now, performance pay next
Tomorrow, teachers and many others will strike in protest at the 1% cap on public sector pay rises. The strike will cause inconvenience for thousands of parents but ultimately the Government will hold the line on the pay growth cap. Given the fiscal situation, it is an unavoidable reality that ...