Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the economy grew by 0.7% between January and March. This is higher than their initial estimate of 0.6%, and means that the country’s emergence from recession was stronger than expected.
These figures mean that the UK experienced the fastest growth of the G7 economies in this first quarter of 2024. It is also the highest growth in a quarter since 2021 and bodes well for the economy as a whole over coming months.
Increases in GDP are seen as positive because it usually means that more money is being spent, with its desirable knock-on effects to jobs being created, better pay rises for workers, and increased tax take for the government.
See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6p2r9xzde4o
The government has confirmed that regulated rail fares in England will be frozen until March 2027. The freeze, announced prior to the Budget, follows a 4.6% rise in March 2025.
Some self-employed taxpayers who filed their 2024/25 self-assessment tax return may have been incorrectly asked to pay class 2 national insurance contributions (NIC) on their SA302 tax calculation. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has now confirmed that this issue has been fixed.