Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Friday (2 January 2025):
- Energy prices rise for millions of households as temperatures fall: Energy bills are rising for millions of households in England, Scotland, and Wales as the new year begins, after Ofgem raised its price cap slightly. Prices for those on variable tariffs are rising by 0.2% from now, the equivalent to a £3 annual increase for a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity. Campaigners say this means billpayers are facing another winter of high energy prices with the latest increase, albeit small, coinciding with the coldest period of the year. [BBC]
- Ministers may cut green tech mandate from new homes regulations in England: Ministers are poised to allow homes in England to be built without carbon-cutting technology in what experts have said is a climbdown after pressure from housebuilders. The future homes standard (FHS), due to be published in January, will regulate how all homes are built and is expected to enforce tough new regulations such as mandating solar panels on nearly all houses and high standards of insulation and heat pumps in most cases. [Guardian]
- Dream of UK’s Silicon Valley is fading: Britain’s two big pharmaceutical companies and Larry Ellison’s Oxford institute are among a group of organisations pressing Rachel Reeves to speed up delivery of infrastructure in the “OxCam supercluster”, where delays to the promised East West Rail line are causing concern.
The chancellor has made the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, a technology and life sciences hub, a key part of the government’s attempts to grow the economy, vowing to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley”. [The Times] - Snow and ice expected to bring travel disruption across the UK: Snow and ice is forecast across the UK on Friday, with warnings of likely travel disruption. Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are already in place for parts of the UK, ahead of amber snow warnings for northern Scotland, which begin at midday on Friday. [ITV]
- On Friday, Oil was trading flat at $61.22. The pound is trading at $1.35, €1.15, and ¥9.42.
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