Latest news with #ConservativeGovernment
Sky News
7 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Starmer says government 'will look at' scrapping two-child benefits limit
Sir Keir Starmer has said his government "will look at" scrapping the two-child benefits limit. In his strongest hint yet that he will perform a U-turn - when asked if he would scrap the two-child benefit cap, Sir Keir said: "We'll look at all options of driving down child poverty." The cap means families can only claim child tax credit and universal credit for their first two children, if they were born after April 2017. It was introduced in 2017 by the Conservative government, and in 2023, Sir Keir ruled out scrapping it. However, as Labour came to power last year, he said the party wanted to remove the cap but only when fiscal conditions allowed. But he then doubled down on refusing to lift it, suspending seven Labour MPs shortly after the election victory for voting with the SNP to remove the cap. 1:01 Ministers had toed the party line for months, but the narrative started to shift in May, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson telling Sky News on Tuesday lifting the cap is "not off the table" - and "it's certainly something that we're considering". Sir Keir was also reported to have asked the Treasury to see how scrapping it could be funded. His words on Thursday are his strongest indication yet, that he could lift the cap soon. 1:01 It would mean a second benefits U-turn after he made a shock announcement last week that he was going to relax the winter fuel payment cut. The policy, announced soon after Labour won the election, has caused anger among Sir Keir's own MPs as it restricted the previously universal payment to those who receive pension credit. It will now be available to "more pensioners", but details of who and when have not been revealed.
Sky News
23-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Telegraph sale: 'Preliminary deal' to end two-year ownership impasse
A "preliminary" deal to end the two-year ownership impasse at the Daily Telegraph has ben agreed, according to the newspaper. It reported on Friday that a consortium led by US firm Redbird Capital was set to take control. Prospects for a deal were understood to have been held up by the previous Conservative government's ban on foreign state ownership but those rules were relaxed earlier this month. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
End to asylum seekers in hotels ‘a fair way off' despite latest fall
More than 32,000 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March, as one expert predicted the Government meeting its pledge to end the use of such accommodation 'still seems a fair way off'. The figure of 32,345 is down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. London was the area of the UK with the highest number of asylum seekers in hotels while overall Afghan and Iranian were the most common nationalities to be housed in this kind of accommodation. Home Office "> Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently. They are housed in hotels if there is not enough space in accommodation provided by local authorities or other organisations. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office on Thursday begin in December 2022. They show that hotel use peaked at the end of June 2023, when 50,546 asylum seekers were being housed in this way, and was at its lowest level a year later when the figure dropped to 29,585. Labour has previously said it is 'committed to end the use of asylum hotels over time' adding that under the previous Conservative government at one stage 'more than 400 hotels were in use and almost £9 million per day was being spent'. The Government does not release regular data on the number of UK hotels used to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers, although in March the Home Office confirmed 216 hotels were 'currently' in use, with seven due to close by the end of April. There were 213 hotels in use in July 2024 at the time of the general election. A report from public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) earlier this month detailed that those temporarily living in hotels accounted for 35% of all people in asylum accommodation, and for about 76% of the annual cost of contracts – £1.3 billion of an estimated £1.7 billion in 2024-25. That report said data from suppliers 'suggests that hotels may be more profitable than other forms of accommodation', while profit margins for contractors average 7% – which is within the Home Office's original estimate of between 5-13%. The Home Office announced in March it had ended the use of supplier Stay Belvedere Hotels (SBHL), subcontracted by Clearsprings, after its performance and behaviour 'fell short' of expectations. On the latest Government data, the Refugee Council said while it felt 'encouraged fewer people are being accommodated there, currently there are still over 30,000 people stuck in limbo in hotels'. Mihnea Cuibus, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, speculated that a 'stubbornly high' backlog of asylum appeals is a challenge for Labour as it works to end the use of hotels. He said: 'Labour's pledge to end hotel accommodation for asylum seekers has been a tough nut for them to crack. 'The government is now making more asylum decisions, but the backlog of asylum appeals remains stubbornly high. This means that many asylum seekers are still in government accommodation, so ending the use of asylum hotels still seems a fair way off.' London accounted for more than a third (37%) of the total number of asylum seekers in hotels. The most recent data showed that of the 32,345 asylum seekers in hotels across the UK at the end of March, 12,024 were in the English capital. Some 3,738 (12%) were in south-east England, 3,306 (10%) in the West Midlands and 3,167 (10%) in north-west England. These four regions together account for more than two-thirds (69%) of the total. Of the remaining 31%, 2,609 (8%) were in eastern England, 2,141 (7%) were in Yorkshire and the Humber, 1,999 (6%) in south-west England, 1,352 (4%) in Scotland, 1,285 (4%) in the East Midlands, 345 (1%) in north-east England, 288 (1%) in Northern Ireland and 91 (0.3%) in Wales. Afghan and Iranian were the most common nationalities, accounting for 3,822 (12%) and 3,637 (11%) of the total respectively. The next most common were Syrian (2,130, 7%); Eritrean (2,045, 6%); Iraqi (2,001, 6%); and Pakistani (1,426, 4%). These six nationalities together accounted for nearly half (47%) of the total.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Net migration halves as fewer people come to UK for work and study
The difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country is estimated to have halved, in the biggest fall in net migration since the pandemic. The figure stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down 49.9% from 860,000 a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said. This is the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the pandemic when net migration fell from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020. The latest decrease is the largest numerical drop for any 12-month period and the ONS said the decline has been driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK. Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years. That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months and below a million for the first time since the 12 months to March 2022. Emigration rose by around 11% to an estimated 517,000 for the year to December, up from 466,000 in the previous year. People leaving the UK has returned to a similar level to the year ending June 2017. The new estimates follow the introduction in early 2024 by the previous Conservative government of restrictions on people eligible to travel to the UK on work or study visas. Director of population statistics at the ONS Mary Gregory said: 'Our provisional estimates show net migration has almost halved compared with the previous year, driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study, particularly student dependants. This follows policy changes brought in restricting visa applications. 'There has also been an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024, especially people leaving who originally came on study visas once pandemic travel restrictions to the UK were eased.' The latest figures come less than a fortnight after Sir Keir Starmer said high net migration had caused 'incalculable' damage to British society, as he set out a series of measures aimed at reducing further the number of people moving long term to the UK. The Prime Minister, who said the country risks becoming an 'island of strangers' without better integration, said he wanted net migration to have fallen 'significantly' by the next general election – but refused to set a target number. Sir Keir's plan includes reforming work and study visas and requiring a higher level of English across all immigration routes, and is expected to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year. Sir Keir's reference to strangers faced criticism – including from Labour backbenchers – as it was said by some to have echoes of Enoch Powell's infamous 'rivers of blood' speech. But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the Prime Minister, insisting the tone of his plan was 'completely different' from the 1968 anti-immigration speech. The Prime Minister's spokesman later confirmed Sir Keir stood by the words he used and rejected 'absolutely' the Powell comparisons. For many years, the level of immigration – people coming to the UK – has been higher than the level of emigration – people leaving – meaning more people are coming to settle in the UK than are leaving to settle in another country. The Government's promise to 'take back control of our borders' comes as Labour battles a surge in support for Reform UK, which won a by-election and council seats across England earlier this month, with policies including a 'freeze' on immigration.
Sky News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Net migration halves in UK, new data shows
Net migration has fallen sharply in the UK, the latest official figures have shown. The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimates that net migration has halved from 860,000 in the year ending December 2023 to 431,000 in the year ending December 2024. The drop is the largest ever recorded for a 12-month period, and marks the most significant calendar-year fall in net migration since the early stages of the pandemic. Meanwhile, long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years. That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months and below a million for the first time since the 12 months to March 2022. Emigration rose by around 11% to an estimated 517,000 for the year to December, up from 466,000 in the previous year. Net migration hit a record high of 906,000 in June 2023, and stood at 728,000 in the year to June 2024, shortly before Labour took over from the previous Conservative government. The sharp fall reported on Thursday is thought to be driven by a decrease in immigration from non-European Union nationals. The ONS also noted falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
