Chancellor John Healey fails to guarantee equalisation with adult wage will happen in timeframe set out in manifesto Labour looks less likely to meet its manifesto pledge to equalise the minimum wage for younger workers before the next election, after the chancellor failed to guarantee the rise would happen within that timeframe. John Healey said on Sunday the government was still committed to the increase but failed to spell out when it would be achieved. In the budget, a rise in the minimum wage was handed to adults – to £13.21– and under-20s – to £11.27 – but a larger rise for younger workers would have been needed to move towards equalisation. Continue reading...
Labour’s pledge to level-up minimum wage for under-20s before next election in doubt

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The measure slipped into UK budget that could protect spending on children, youth and rough sleeping | Heather Stewart
PDEL, which will ringfence money for preventive policies, marks a welcome and potentially consequential addition John Healey’s debut budget was far from a blockbuster, but it may come to be remembered for the birth of a plucky new character in the tax and spend universe – little PDEL. It may not have the charm of Disney’s Wall-E, but PDEL (pronounced P-Del), or preventative departmental expenditure limit, to give it its full name, marks a welcome, and potentially very consequential, addition. Continue reading...
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High street ‘slot farms’ could avoid budget tax rise through bingo hall loophole
Hundreds of adult gaming centres in England have bingo licences that still qualify them for discounted business rates Hundreds of high street “ slot farms ” could continue claiming a discount on their business rates, unless the government closes a loophole that allows them to pose as bingo halls. John Healey singled out adult gaming centres (AGCs) in his first budget this week, in which he increased duty on slot machine takings from 20% to 25%, claiming he was “raising taxes on gambling to support good growth on every high street”. Continue reading...