Closing post
Time to wrap up.. here are today’s main stories.
Money saving expert Martin Lewis has predicted that there’s a more than 50% chance that the UK government will abandon plans to raise energy bills by 20% in April.
Lewis says that, “reading the runes”, he thinks there’s a better than 50/50 chance that Jeremy Hunt will drop plans to lift the Energy Price Guarantee to £3,000 per year, from £2,500.
Downing Street has said the plan is being kept ‘under review’, while energy secretary Grant Shapps has revealed that he is ‘very sympathetic’ to calls to scrap the rise in bills.
New government data has shown that the fuel poverty crisis is expected to worsen this year, after the number of families in England suffering fuel poverty rose last year.
Households also face escalating price rises in the shops, with grocery inflation hitting a record 17% this month.
Data firm Kantar warned that one in four families are now struggling financially, with the cost of a typical annual shop now up £811 over the last year.
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has confirmed it plans to close two Argos depots over the next three years in a move that will impact 1,400 jobs.
The competition regulator is probing the UK’s property sector, launching investigations into house-building and renting.
The Competition & Markets Authority sets its sights on to developers & the rental sector experience following concerns builders aren’t delivering the homes people need at sufficient scale or speed & landlords & agents need to understand their obligations https://t.co/hpB2FiXcYm
— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) February 28, 2023
And the pound has hit a one-month high against the euro, as investors welcome the Windsor Framework agreement for Northern Ireland.
In other news:
Updated
Sainsbury’s CEO has also welcomed the deal announced between the UK and the EU over Northern Ireland yesterday.
Simon Roberts says it means Sainsbury’s will be able to offer the same products in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the UK:
“We welcome the positive news on The Windsor Framework which will help to simplify processes and reduce friction when we move products between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This means that our customers in Northern Ireland will once again be able to access the full range of products as customers in Great Britain – and at the same great prices.”
