Archive: Treasury

Taking a pounding: Osborne batters Scotland's currency union hopes

SNP would prefer to keep the pound - but Osborne casting doubt over whether that is actually feasible

Britain and Scotland's finance chiefs went to war on the airwaves this morning over whether an independent Scotland would be able to maintain the pound.

Scotched: Nationalists' referendum question rejected

Podcast: Gamesmanship and the Scottish independence referendum

Scotland's independence day planned for March 2016

RBS: Your bank just lost £5bn of your money

RBS remains a big worry for the Treasury

State-owned RBS' pre-tax losses jumped from £766 million in 2011 to £5.17 billion in 2012, the bank has announced.

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So much for the weekend: UK loses AAA rating

Moody's is the first of the main credit rating agencies to scrap the UK's AAA rating

Britain's economy has lost its prized triple-A credit rating, in the biggest blow yet to the credibility of the coalition's deficit reduction drive.

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Deficit reduction 'just smoke and mirrors'

The Bank's asset purchase facility transfer makes a big, big difference to the government's books

Latest borrowing figures show the coalition is drawing down the deficit – but Labour says "smoke and mirrors" are obscuring the real picture.

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Chaos at the heart of government: Is the Treasury fit for purpose?

A damning new report on the performance of the Treasury has found its own accounts are "impenetrable" and it cannot explain the results of £375 billion spent in quantitative easing.

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Betrayed? City anger as Osborne electrifies bank ringfence

Labour says question-marks remain, but City in dismay over Osborne speech

George Osborne's reluctance to push through a full split of banks' investment and retail arms has collapsed, prompting anger and recrimination from the City.

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Balls: Osborne's 'vanity' blocking recovery

Ed Balls "I'm afraid George Osborne's pride shouldn't stand in the way of doing the right thing."

George Osborne should put aside his pride and abandon his deficit reduction strategy, Ed Balls has told politics.co.uk.

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You're fired! Public prefer Sugar to Osborne in No 11

Who, me? Public want their TV heroes in No 11

British voters would prefer Alan Sugar or Richard Branson to take charge of Britain's economy from George Osborne, a poll out today suggests.

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Not going anywhere: Osborne to stay put in both jobs

Osborne will keep both of his jobs, sources confirmed

George Osborne will hold on to both his jobs, sources close to the prime minister confirmed today.

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George Osborne's 2012 Mansion House speech in full

Here's the chancellor's Mansion House address, in which he announces details of new measures to boost the liquidity of Britain's banks and inject money into the 'real economy, in full:

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Teachers union ready for pensions legal challenge

Chris Keates is general secretary of NASUWT

A teachers' union is threatening to take the government to court over changes to pension plans.

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Taxpayers face £16bn bill for clinical negligence claims

Clinical negligence pose headache for government finances

Clinical negligence claims could cost the government nearly £16 billion, "staggered" MPs have warned.

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Councils demand '19th century' Whitehall reforms

Time to reform Whitehall's money levers?

Council leaders are attacking Whitehall's model of departmental funding as outdated, as they demand greater use of community budgets.

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State-owned RBS slashes jobs

Taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is cutting 3,500 jobs after chancellor George Osborne's recommendation that it shrink its investment bank.

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Treasury: Surcharge move will help consumers

Financial secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban explains the government's thinking on the Today programme after its announcement that excessive surcharges on debit and credit card transactions will be banned:

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Treasury sells Northern Rock to Virgin Money

2008 panic prompted govt bailout of Northern Rock

Bailed-out high street bank Northern Rock has been sold at a loss to Virgin Money.

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Treasury: Consumers are being helped by govt

A Treasury spokesperson responds to October's inflation figures, which showed CPI falling to five per cent:

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Treasury signals PFI change of direction

Hundreds of infrastructure projects have been financed by PFI

Private finance initiatives (PFI) are set for a shakeup after the Treasury announced a review.

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Thinking the unthinkable: Treasury admits planning for euro collapse

Britain is preparing for a total collapse of the European currency, the Treasury admitted.

The Treasury admitted planning for the total collapse of the euro currency today, as events in Greece sent shockwaves around the world.

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Sketch: Top marks for Osborne's youngest apprentice

She may be straight out of primary school, as one Labour MP claimed, but ministerial prodigy Chloe Smith has done her homework.

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Treasury 'worried' by universal credit plans

Universal credit rollout appears to be challenging officials

Officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the timetable for implementing the shakeup of the welfare system, according to a report.

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Coalition clash looming over banking split

City opposes Lib Dem-backed banking split plans

A potential eight-year delay in plans to force banks to split their retail and investment arms could prompt a major split in the coalition.

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Consultancy cuts help coalition's savings

Look after the millions, and the billions will look after themselves

The biggest contributor to the coalition's efficiency savings drive was a cut in consultancy costs typically used to make civil servants more efficient, it has emerged.

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