NEF in the news, October 2021

SNP claims minimum wage earners in Scotland will be hit by pay cut after tax rises
NEF analysis showing poorest fifth of households would still be £380 a year worse off despite changes to Universal Credit, compared with keeping the £20 uplift cut earlier this month was covered by the Scotsman.

Shell and BP paid zero tax on North Sea gas and oil for three years
NEF report with Friends of the Earth that found the oil and gas industry is preparing to seek approval for 30 offshore projects by 2025 was covered in the Guardian, the Times, the Big Issue and Business Green.

Meet the Young Activist Suing the UK Government Over Climate Change
Chaitanya Kumar’s response to the government’s latest carbon budget was quoted in a Vice article.

“It’s not just the cut in Air Passenger Duty that sends a woeful message. It’s the fact that the chancellor did not mention the word climate in his entire speech.”
Watch Miatta Fahnbulleh’s powerful appearance on BBC Question Time this week.

Energy crisis: UK consumers face rising fuel poverty this winter
Chaitanya Kumar responded to the fuel crisis in Al Jazeera. 

‘The chancellor has picked ideology over people’
Miatta gives her response to the budget in the Guardian. She also discussed the budget on BBC News and BBC Politics Live.

Wage squeeze will leave average worker almost £13,000 worse off, Sunak warned
NEF analysis showing the poorest fifth of households would still be £380 a year worse off despite the chancellor’s decision to partly reverse cuts to universal credit was covered in the Guardian.

‘It beggars belief that the Chancellor would choose to cut tax on domestic air travel on the eve of COP26’
Chaitanya Kumar spoke to Sky News.

What is the budget?
Dominic Caddick was on the Smarter 7 podcast talking about why austerity and balanced budgets shouldn’t be our priority.

‘Prosperous’ cabinet ministers’ seats in line for millions of development cash in new ​‘levelling up’ row
Frances Northrop spoke about the failures of the Shared Prosperity Fund in the Independent. 

A Spending Review for a Green and Care-Led Recovery
An open letter signed by NEF and over 70 other economists and organisations calling on Rishi Sunak to invest £70 – 90bn in a green and care-led recovery was covered in the Guardian and Tribune.

Cost of flights to rise as Rishi Sunak prepares to raise air passenger duty
NEF’s work with Possible on a frequent flyer levy was covered in the Guardian, the i and City AM. 

Government deletes document recommending curbs on airport expansion and airline subsidies
Alex Chapman spoke to the Independent and Guardian about findings on aviation emissions in the withdrawn government net zero document.

Heat pumps alone are not the answer to net zero
NEF’s work on housing retrofit was mentioned in Caroline Lucas’ piece for Times Red Box. 

The government’s net zero plan is impressive, but it is high risk
Finally we have a plan to reduce emissions, but much of it rests on technology that is yet to be tested at scale, writes Chaitanya Kumar in the Guardian. He also spoke to talkRADIO about the net zero plan. 

Is it too soon to end furlough?
Miatta Fahnbulleh appeared on Channel 4 News to discuss whether it is too soon to end the furlough scheme.

The impact of cutting universal credit
Alfie Stirling spoke to the BBC about cutting Universal Credit.