Latest news with #CEBR
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Four times Rachel Reeves got her maths wrong
Labour is under pressure to row back on its winter fuel raid after its dismal local election results. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has admitted that 'people aren't happy' about the decision to strip 10 million retirees of their energy bill allowance, recognising it had been a topic on doorsteps during election campaigning. The raid, which restricted eligibility for the winter fuel payment, was introduced last July to 'ensure economic stability and repair the public finances'. On Tuesday, Mr Streeting told the BBC the policy was not being formally reviewed, but said the Government was 'reflecting on what the voters told us' after Labour lost two-thirds of the council seats it was defending. Amid speculation over whether the party could row back on its raid on pensioners, The Telegraph outlines the four Labour policies that are on track to backfire. Non-dom reforms Labour's 'non-dom' reforms could cost taxpayers billions of pounds, according to a new report. In her October Budget, Rachel Reeves abolished the non-dom regime which allowed wealthy foreigners to avoid paying tax on overseas income. The tax raid is expected to bring in £33bn for the Treasury, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. However, this figure depends on high-income non-doms staying in the country and paying tax here. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) estimated that if 40pc of non-doms left the country in response to the policies, the Treasury would miss out on £7.1bn over the course of the Parliament. If half of non-doms left, the losses would mount to £12.2bn. The average non-dom pays £85,000 in income tax, according to the CEBR. The average UK employee pays £4,000. In its predictions, the OBR estimated that only 12pc of non-doms will leave the country in reaction to the legislative changes. However, a survey by Oxford Economics found nearly two thirds of non-doms were considering fleeing the UK. The decision to abolish the regime has already triggered a wealth exodus, according to tax advisers. Lizzie Murray, of accountancy firm Saffery, said some of her clients were planning to leave the UK or had already done so because of the reforms. 'Families left last summer partly because of the non-dom changes, but also because of the VAT on school fees from January. I also had other internationally mobile clients who left the UK before April 5 so they were non resident as of the current financial year.' She continued: 'My overall feeling is that where clients can leave the UK, either in the short term or next few years, they are planning to do so.' The Treasury has said it 'does not recognise' the figures in the CEBR report. Private schools Private schools have been forced to pay 20pc VAT in order to raise £1.7bn a year for state schools. But, Labour's own impact assessment published on the day of the October Budget suggests 35,000 private school pupils could be pushed into state schools by the policy, piling pressure on local authorities. Ms Reeves was reportedly warned by her own civil servants it would harm poorer families. The Independent Schools Council (ISC), which represents around 1,300 private schools, has said that private school enrolments fell by 10,000 pupils in September 2024. The ISC has calculated that educating these 10,000 additional pupils in the state system would cost the Department for Education £92.8m. Financial advisers last year separately warned that schools were preparing to use a loophole to claim back hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Treasury to 'soften' the blow of higher costs. Advisers said that schools were delaying new capital projects in order to benefit from full tax relief. New projects completed after January 1 could be eligible for up to a 20pc tax rebate under the Capital Goods Scheme (CGS), while those completed as long as 10 years ago may qualify for partial relief, representing potentially a sizable windfall for some schools. Tax relief allows schools to claim back VAT for new developments such as libraries and sports facilities. The money could then be used to pay some or all of the VAT bills on fees that schools are facing. The High Court is currently reviewing whether the VAT raid is in breach of the human rights of children. Winter fuel allowance The Government is under pressure to revisit the winter fuel allowance cut following Reform's success in the local elections. The Chancellor announced in July 2024 that retirees would no longer be entitled to the winter fuel payment unless they also receive pension credit. She claimed the policy would raise £1.3bn in the first year and £1.5bn annually after that. However, the cuts triggered a surge in applications for pension credit, which could dent the cash savings from the policy. The Department for Work and Pensions received 235,000 pension credit claims in the seven months following the announcement – an 81pc increase on the same period in 2023-24. Of these, 117,800 were awarded, up 64pc year-on-year. Steven Cameron, of pension firm Aegon, said: 'Last year's loss of the winter fuel allowance has clearly not been forgotten or forgiven and the Government may need to do more to prove its credentials in supporting pensioners as well as workers.' Capital gains tax In her October Budget, the Chancellor aligned capital gains tax rates for shareholders with those of property investors. As a result, the basic and higher rate rose from 10pc and 20pc respectively to 18pc and 24pc. However, analysis suggests the tax raid has backfired, with investors selling up before the new rates came into effect. Data from HM Revenue and Customs shows that revenue from capital gains tax has fallen from £14.5bn to £13bn year-on-year. The Office for Budget Responsibility recently revised its forecast for capital gains tax revenue, wiping £23bn off the projected tax take by 2030. Higher capital gains tax rates can deter investors from selling up while others may choose not to buy assets in the first place.
Zawya
06-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Qatar banks' exposure to UK totals $6.39bln: CEBR
Qatari banks' exposure to the UK totalled about £4.8bn with investments and credit facilities accounting for a significant portion of this exposure, according to the UK-based Centre of Economics and Business Research (CEBR). Transactions through Qatar-issued cards in the UK totalled £966mn during 2023 from more than 8.5mn transactions, reflecting the "significant" consumer spending, said CEBR in its report, which was recently unveiled here. The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) holds substantial investments in the UK, where the British pound (GBP) is the fifth-largest reserve currency in the QCB's foreign reserve portfolio, amounting to £1.63bn (2.87% of its total foreign currency reserves), said CEBR report. The QCB has also maintained a gold custody account with the Bank of England for decades. As of November 2024, the QCB's total investment in the UK stands at about £7.8bn, including £6.9bn in gold custody and £240.9mn in UK Treasury Notes. Furthermore, the QCB statistics on financial exchanges between the UK and Qatar highlight the significant scale of economic interactions between the two countries. Remittances from Qatar to the UK were at £303.3mn, sent by nearly 15,000 workers, underscoring the economic presence of the UK expatriates in Qatar and the role of remittances in supporting investment, savings, and consumption in the UK. "The steady volume of remittances highlights the presence of a significant UK workforce in Qatar. Remittances often facilitate investments, savings, and consumption in the UK, further reinforcing bilateral financial engagement," the report said. The financial services sector was the only one in which Qatar made an investment and later divested during the 2008–22 study period. Qatar acquired a stake in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in 2009 and reduced its stake under the eligible threshold in 2019. LSEG proved to be one of Qatar's most impactful investments on the UK economy. Between 2009 and 2019, the business generated £7.4bn in turnover and £5.1bn in gross value added, while supporting an average of 1,221 full time employment jobs, and paying employees £1.8bn in compensation. The report also said Qatar has committed up to £10bn over five years (starting in 2022) to invest in key UK sectors such as fintech, zero-emission vehicles, life sciences, and cybersecurity. This initiative is expected to drive economic growth, create high-quality jobs, and strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Qatar's diverse UK portfolio includes major real estate developments, such as the upcoming Chancery Rosewood hotel in Mayfair (opening in 2025) and the redevelopment of 8 Canada Square into a sustainable mixed-use destination (beginning in 2027). Additionally, Qatar Investment Authority's (QIA) £500mn investment in Severn Trent aims to enhance environmental performance and create 7,000 jobs across the Midlands, demonstrating Qatar's sustained commitment to supporting regional development, innovation, and infrastructure enhancement in the UK. © Gulf Times Newspaper 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( Santhosh V. Perumal
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Qatar: an ally we can trust
As the United Kingdom's global alliances appear to be becoming increasingly fragile, the importance of less publicly recognised but crucial friendships across the world comes to the fore. It is time we value fully the allies we can trust, especially those who play an ever-greater global role. Qatar is such a country. As UK Ambassador to Qatar from 2013 to 2015, I saw the relationship strengthen and move to a new level. We launched an annual British Festival in Qatar and laid the groundwork for the joint UK-Qatar Typhoon squadron, which has since become the first joint RAF squadron since World War II. We also helped launch an annual strategic dialogue between our two governments. That has evolved and increased in significance. A decade ago, it was led at the lower ministerial level of deputy foreign minister. The lead Qatari official then was Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani; he is now both prime minister and foreign minister. Fast forward 10 years and we have seen a broadening and deepening of the relationship, with intensifying political engagement raising the level of ambition and strengthening cooperation. A report published this weekend by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) should leave no one in any doubt what Qatar means to this country and our interests. The CEBR set out the true nature of the relationship and provides new evidence of the depth and breadth of Qatar's investment in the UK in recent years, from retail and hospitality to transport and construction. In the fifteen years up to 2022, Qatari-owned businesses in the UK made a cumulative total revenue of £1.3 trillion across the UK. Great swathes of the UK economy have benefited from Qatari investment, from retail to transport to construction to the financial sector. Qatar's investment in British Airways and Heathrow have supported over 36,500 full-time jobs, with more to come if the third runway at Heathrow goes ahead. Qatar is known for its investments in London, but in fact half of the jobs created by Qatari-owned businesses are located outside the capital. The employment multiplier effect is slightly higher outside London, meaning that there is a stronger ripple effect of Qatari investments in regional economies. Given the present challenging fiscal climate and difficult choices facing the Chancellor, it is noteworthy that Qatari-owned businesses, mostly retail, contributed a total of £3.4 billion in taxes to the UK Exchequer in 2022. Qatari students also contributed £1.1 billion to the UK economy between 2018 to 2023 through spending on living costs, course-related costs and fees, and housing costs. The report's publication coincides with a much more significant Strategic Dialogue meeting than I participated in years ago, led now by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his Qatari opposite number, Sheikh Mohammed. They will look to the future when they meet today. The outlook is encouraging. Qatar has committed up to £10 billion over the 5 years to 2027 under the UK-Qatar Strategic Investment Partnership (SIP). The SIP invests in key sectors such as fintech, zero-emission vehicles, life sciences and cybersecurity. This initiative should support economic growth. The SIP will also support the UK's emerging industries and support its green economy and strategy to decarbonise. The two nations are collaborating in vital sectors, such as the genomics research collaboration between Queen Mary University and Sidra hospital to drive precision medicine, or the joint AI research between Queen Mary University, the Alan Turing Institute and Hamad bin Khalifa University to explore this critical frontier technology. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – the sovereign wealth fund – is investing in Rolls Royce SMR Ltd to develop small modular reactors to deliver affordable, low-carbon nuclear power and enhance UK energy security. That should create 6,000 jobs by 2025 and thousands more by 2050. The state visit last December by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, provided a significant boost to the UK and Qatar's shared economic agenda as well as political cooperation. The Labour Government seems to have understood that as older relationships may be faltering, it is reassuring that slightly newer, quieter friends are showing so much faith in our economy, culture and people. For anyone still questioning the value of Qatar's friendship to the UK, the CEBR report seems to provide a clear answer. In the vernacular so beloved of pundits, it's a no-brainer. Nicholas Hopton is Director General of the Middle East Association and a former British ambassador Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
27-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Qatar: an ally we can trust
As the United Kingdom's global alliances appear to be becoming increasingly fragile, the importance of less publicly recognised but crucial friendships across the world comes to the fore. It is time we value fully the allies we can trust, especially those who play an ever-greater global role. Qatar is such a country. As UK Ambassador to Qatar from 2013 to 2015, I saw the relationship strengthen and move to a new level. We launched an annual British Festival in Qatar and laid the groundwork for the joint UK-Qatar Typhoon squadron, which has since become the first joint RAF squadron since World War II. We also helped launch an annual strategic dialogue between our two governments. That has evolved and increased in significance. A decade ago, it was led at the lower ministerial level of deputy foreign minister. The lead Qatari official then was Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani; he is now both prime minister and foreign minister. Fast forward 10 years and we have seen a broadening and deepening of the relationship, with intensifying political engagement raising the level of ambition and strengthening cooperation. A report published this weekend by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) should leave no one in any doubt what Qatar means to this country and our interests. The CEBR set out the true nature of the relationship and provides new evidence of the depth and breadth of Qatar's investment in the UK in recent years, from retail and hospitality to transport and construction. In the fifteen years up to 2022, Qatari-owned businesses in the UK made a cumulative total revenue of £1.3 trillion across the UK. Great swathes of the UK economy have benefited from Qatari investment, from retail to transport to construction to the financial sector. Qatar's investment in British Airways and Heathrow have supported over 36,500 full-time jobs, with more to come if the third runway at Heathrow goes ahead. Qatar is known for its investments in London, but in fact half of the jobs created by Qatari-owned businesses are located outside the capital. The employment multiplier effect is slightly higher outside London, meaning that there is a stronger ripple effect of Qatari investments in regional economies. Given the present challenging fiscal climate and difficult choices facing the Chancellor, it is noteworthy that Qatari-owned businesses, mostly retail, contributed a total of £3.4 billion in taxes to the UK Exchequer in 2022. Qatari students also contributed £1.1 billion to the UK economy between 2018 to 2023 through spending on living costs, course-related costs and fees, and housing costs. The report's publication coincides with a much more significant Strategic Dialogue meeting than I participated in years ago, led now by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his Qatari opposite number, Sheikh Mohammed. They will look to the future when they meet today. The outlook is encouraging. Qatar has committed up to £10 billion over the 5 years to 2027 under the UK-Qatar Strategic Investment Partnership (SIP). The SIP invests in key sectors such as fintech, zero-emission vehicles, life sciences and cybersecurity. This initiative should support economic growth. The SIP will also support the UK's emerging industries and support its green economy and strategy to decarbonise. The two nations are collaborating in vital sectors, such as the genomics research collaboration between Queen Mary University and Sidra hospital to drive precision medicine, or the joint AI research between Queen Mary University, the Alan Turing Institute and Hamad bin Khalifa University to explore this critical frontier technology. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – the sovereign wealth fund – is investing in Rolls Royce SMR Ltd to develop small modular reactors to deliver affordable, low-carbon nuclear power and enhance UK energy security. That should create 6,000 jobs by 2025 and thousands more by 2050. The state visit last December by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, provided a significant boost to the UK and Qatar's shared economic agenda as well as political cooperation. The Labour Government seems to have understood that as older relationships may be faltering, it is reassuring that slightly newer, quieter friends are showing so much faith in our economy, culture and people. For anyone still questioning the value of Qatar's friendship to the UK, the CEBR report seems to provide a clear answer. In the vernacular so beloved of pundits, it's a no-brainer.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Follow the Science: Why Peter Marks Was Asked to Leave the FDA
On Friday, Dr. Peter Marks announced his resignation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Director of CEBR (Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research) citing differences with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy regarding vaccines. The New York Times, Washington Post, and other media outlets such as STAT News breathlessly reported that 'FDA's top vaccine scientist had been pushed out.' We have been told that science is at risk. The irony of these reports is that Marks didn't resign and is not a vaccine scientist. Dr. Marks was asked to leave and then subsequently wrote that he did not want to become 'subservient to [Secretary Kennedy's] misinformation and lies.' Peter Marks is not a hero of the resistance but instead has been subverting the scientific process at FDA for years. The media proclamation that Dr. Marks' is 'FDA's top vaccine scientist' is ironic because he decided to give himself that position. Marks is a physician but has no clinical or scientific training in vaccines or immunology. Dr. Marks trained as an oncologist, a field far from the important and complex area of vaccine biology. At FDA in 2021, Dr. Marks removed top career vaccine scientists so he could force through the approval of the COVID vaccine to meet an arbitrary Biden administration deadline. He also declined to convene the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee to review his decision. These events are clearly outlined in the June 2023 House Judiciary Hearings. Marks ousted Dr. Gruber and Dr. Krause, the top scientists at the Office of Vaccine Research, due to 'intransigence' of these real vaccine experts to not ram through the approval of the vaccine. Drs. Gruber and Krause had voiced concerns that they needed more time to understand the safety of the vaccine especially as it relates to inflammation of the heart, now a well known and accepted toxicity of the COVID vaccine. Marks approved the use of the vaccine in children despite the known fact that children have an extremely low risk of serious health effects of COVID-19 infection and yet a known significant increased risk of serious vaccine related toxicity. On at least three additional, documented occasions during the Biden administration as Director of CBER, Marks disregarded the opinions and expert advice of long-time career scientists to advance his own dangerous agenda. In addition to ignoring and overruling FDA's top vaccine scientists during the pandemic, Marks also overruled FDA career scientists and supported the approval of the Alzheimer's drug ADUHELM; a decision later overturned. In 2023, he overruled his own staff scientists amid their concerns and those raised by an FDA Advisory Board to grant approval of ELEVIDYS, a gene treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Furthermore, in 2024 Marks expanded the approval of ELEVIDYS despite FDA staff objections and without FDA Advisory Committee input. As tragic evidence of Marks' failed judgement, just 2 weeks ago, the company that markets the therapy ELEVIDYS announced that a treated patient died of fulminant liver failure. Marks overruled his own career staff and experts to drive through a risky and unproven therapy that has now killed a patient. This tragedy should not have happened. After the initial FDA approval, the company conducted a subsequent trial which failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoint. On top of that, ELEVIDYS has proven toxicity including liver failure (22% of patients) and increase in serious adverse events. Despite the lack of proven efficacy and the concerning toxicity profile, Dr. Marks rammed through the initial ELEVIDYS approval and the full approval in June of 2024 against the counsel of his staff and the expert panel. While advocates point to the need for new therapies in severe debilitating diseases such as DMD, giving patients and families hope on a toxic therapy that does not provide a clinical benefit rises beyond simple incompetence. A patient died needlessly, and others have been harmed due to this incompetence. Dr. Marks also failed to protect public health when he overruled career FDA scientists and supported the approval of the Alzheimer's treatment AUDHELM, a controversial approval that was subsequently overturned. ADUHELM was approved in June 2021 despite strident objections from FDA staff and against the recommendations of an Advisory Board. In fact, two prominent members of that advisory board resigned in protest of the decision. These members cited a lack of clear efficacy and the risk of serious toxicity including brain swelling and bleeding that can be life threatening. These events led to a congressional investigation which found that FDA had 'unusually close' interactions with Biogen, the AUDHELM sponsor and applicant. In January 2024, Biogen decided to remove ADUHELM from the market after confirmatory trials failed to show patient benefit. So, Dr. Marks again supported a dangerous and ineffective therapy that cruelly gave patients hope and provided nothing but risk and cost to Americans. Both the ADUHELM initial approval and the ELEVIDYS approvals demonstrate that ignoring basic tenants of the use and interpretation of clinical trial data can be very damaging to public health. By ignoring these well-tested tenants of FDA review and approval, Marks endangered patients, gave false hope to those in desperate need and cost vast amounts of money that our health case system can ill afford. It cannot be overstated how destructive this practice is to drug development. This uneven application of basic clinical trial data interpretation calls into question the impartiality and credibility of the FDA. This is particularly relevant now as a patient who otherwise could have lived many more years died from an expected toxicity. And we have yet to fully determine the harm caused by Dr. Marks decision to remove the most experienced and trusted vaccine scientists that simply wanted more time to understand the, now proven, risks of the COVID vaccine. While Dr. Peter Marks may try to claim differences with Secretary Kennedy on vaccines and the legacy media try to paint Marks as the FDA hero, the real reason he was terminated is that he made bad decisions that were contrary to FDA long-standing policies and which ran counter to the evaluations of professional career staff at FDA. Thanks to Dr. Marks' terrible decisions, we are left with a drug that has no proven benefit and that just killed a young patient, a vaccine that is not completely safe is being administered to children that have no significant risk of harm from the underlying infection, and an overburdened healthcare system that had to pay billions for another unproven, harmful therapy. Advocates for Dr. Marks claim that he has acted to help patients with life-threatening conditions which have no alternative treatments. But in reality, he catered to industry and hurt patients. Of course, we should strive to advance safe and effective therapies for such conditions, but we should not approve ineffective and dangerous therapies simply to put something out on the market. Unfortunately, Dr. Marks has repeatedly disregarded long-held FDA policy that is in place to protect patients. That is malpractice not heroism.
