Latest news with #governmentpolicy
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Nationwide Injunctions? Only if the Supreme Court Has Spoken
Nationwide injunctions came before the Supreme Court in an emergency oral argument this month. The justices are clearly concerned about the practice, in which a lone federal trial judge can block a government policy even if other judges have upheld it. But the government failed to offer a satisfactory solution. There is, however, a clean and simple fix that the court itself could effectuate. Solicitor General John Sauer argued that nationwide injunctions are flat-out unconstitutional. In response to a question from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, he said that means even the Supreme Court couldn't issue one—a position the justices are unlikely to favor.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Millionaires shouldn't get winter fuel payments, minister says
Millionaires should not be getting winter fuel payments, a senior minister has said, as the government considers how to ease cuts to the allowance for Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, said the payments would be "targeted to those that need it the most".It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer U-turned on the withdrawal of the allowance from millions of pensioners, after a backlash over the Keir said "more pensioners" would be able to claim the payments again, under changes to be made at the Budget this autumn. But the prime minister did not specify how many pensioners would be entitled to claim the payments, when the change would take effect, or how much it would cost the leader Kemi Badenoch has also said she does not believe "millionaire" pensioners should be able to claim the winter fuel Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have called for the winter fuel allowance to be restored in than 10 million pensioners lost out on payments worth up to £300 last year after the Labour government restricted eligibility to those who qualify for pension credit and other income-related asked on Sky News if ministers should be clearer on how they intend to change winter fuel payments, Jones said "it was right that we set out the detail and pay for those things in an orderly way".He added: "We're sticking to the principle that millionaires shouldn't be getting subsidy for their energy bills from the government, so winter fuel payments will still be targeted to those that need it the most".He did not provide further details of who would qualify as a millionaire, adding that the eligibility threshold would be reviewed in the "coming months". The winter fuel payment is a lump sum of £200 a year for households with a pensioner under 80, or £300 for households with a pensioner over was previously paid in November or December to all pensioners who claimed it, regardless of their income or 10.3 million pensioners lost out last year after the Labour government made changes to save an estimated £1.4bn, with ministers arguing immediate savings were needed as the Conservatives had left a "hole" in the public pressure to change course has grown in recent weeks, with some Labour MPs and councillors blaming the policy for the party's losses at last month's local elections in parts of England. 'Hassle' The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a think tank, has suggested a number of ways the government could expand who is able to claim the income threshold for pension credit, the main benefit to qualify to continue to receive winter fuel payments, is currently £11,800 a year for individuals and £18,023 for pensioner IFS said a new means-test would create "hassle" for pensioners and "would no doubt result in many not claiming".It would also "imply a lot of administrative cost for what is a fairly small benefit", the IFS Foundation, a think tank, said there were "huge doubts" over how a new means-test would work, and estimated that expanding eligibility for pension credit by 10% could cost £2.5bn, more than the original winter fuel cut was meant to save.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the latest moves on housing: recognise there are no quick fixes
It comes as no surprise that the Economic and Social Research Institute is predicting that the number of home completions this year will rise only modestly to 34,000, from just over 30,300 last year. The Minister for Housing, James Browne, was forced to concede yesterday that reaching the target of 41,000 for this year would be very challenging. And to meet the Government target of 303,000 houses between 2025 and 2030, further sharp increases would be needed in subsequent years. The Government will be all too aware of the 'Groundhog Day' nature of the housing debate , with targets consistently being missed. The Opposition parties are trying to take advantage by organising a day of protest next month – it remains to be seen what proposals they will put forward. The Government is exposed here because of the failure of the previous administration and the denial of reality in the general election campaign, when outgoing ministers insisted that close to 40,000 homes would be built last year. In addressing all this, the Government needs to accept that there are no quick fixes. Tinkering around with policy is at best pointless and at worst counter-productive. Longer-term solutions are the ones that count and the Government needs to get on with these if it is to see any meaningful results during its term. READ MORE In this context, the move by the housing minister to extend the terms for which planning permissions apply in some cases seems sensible. At the moment developers can 'time out' if hit with lengthy judicial review proceedings and have to reapply. Offering planning permissions extensions in some cases should help in terms of encouraging development and could be particularly helpful for apartment projects. It will provide some more certainty in the process. Opposition complaints that it will encourage land hoarding need to be taken into account. The Residential Zoned Land Tax, due to encourage landowners to develop housing on land zoned for this purpose, is finally being introduced, even if it may need to be better focused to achieve the desired result. Both carrot and stick, in other words, are needed. Penalties, as well as incentives, need to be kept under review. There are other problems in planning and viability which also need to be addressed, as well as the contentious issue of rent pressure zones. In tackling these, the Government needs to continue to build certainty for developers, as well as protecting renters and giving hope to potential buyers. It is not an easy balance to strike. State intervention, through a host of routes, is already enormous, but if the core issues of planning, utility provision and viability are not solved, then spending will not achieve the desired results. The Government will not want to go back to basics, but really it has no choice.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Australia needs to stop treating rich retirees like they're poor, says leading academic
Skip to main content Director of ANU's Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Professor Robert Breunig says if the government can't get the super tax proposal into law, it will have no chance for future further tax reform.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rayner does not confirm if two-child benefit cap to be abolished
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has refused to confirm whether the government is planning to scrap the two-child benefit Sunday, the Observer reported that Sir Keir Starmer had privately backed abolishing the limit and requested the Treasury find the £3.5bn to do policy prevents most families from claiming means-tested benefits for any third or additional children born after April 2017. Asked on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg if she would like to see the cap go, Rayner said: "I'm not going to speculate on what our government is going to do." She added that the government had established a Child Poverty Taskforce, which had been considering, among other measures, whether to remove it. "We're looking in the round at the challenges. That is one element," she follows the delay of the government's child poverty strategy, being worked on by the taskforce, which had been due for publication in the spring. The BBC has been told the strategy could be set out in the autumn. On Tuesday, a memo from Rayner's department was leaked to the Daily Telegraph, which appeared to urge the chancellor to "claw back" child benefit payments from higher earning families, among several other suggestions. Asked if she backed the proposal, Rayner refused to be drawn. She told Sunday with Laura Kuessberg that ministers were "looking at child poverty" and that she supported what the government had done so was also categoric in her denial of being behind the leak, saying: "I do not leak. I think leaks are very damaging."It was put to Rayner that, following the leak, some in Labour had characterised her as jostling for Sir Keir Starmer's job."I do not want to run for leader of the Labour Party. I rule it out," she said, adding that being the deputy prime minister was the "honour of my life".She also denied that there were splits in Sir Keir's cabinet, saying: "I can reassure you the government is solid."Questions around the two-child benefit cap come after the prime minister announced a U-turn on cuts to winter fuel payments, following weeks of mounting Keir said the policy would be changed in the autumn Budget, adding that ministers would only "make decisions we can afford". Asked if any change would arrive before this winter, Rayner said it would be for Rachel Reeves to outline at the "next fiscal event".
