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Between September and October according to HMRC figures. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, transactions are 30.1% lower than October 2020 and 48.4% lower than September 2021.
The Department for Work and Pensions is planning to overturn a December 2019 ruling by the European Court of Justice which protected workers against falling below the poverty line when their company pension failed. According to papers seen by former pensions minister Steve Webb, the DWP is setting up meetings with the title: “Removing the effects of the Judgment by Court of Justice of the European Union in the case of Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein VvaG v Gunter Bauer from retained EU law” and wants to discuss options with interested parties.
The average UK house price rose to a new record high of £270,000 in September, £28,000 higher than the same time last year. Average house prices increased over the year by 11.5% in England, 15.4% in Wales, 12.3% in Scotland, and 10.9% in Northern Ireland. The North West was the region with the highest annual house price growth, with average prices increasing by 16.8% in the year to September, up from 11.6% in August. The lowest annual growth was in London, where average prices increased by 2.8%, down from 6.7% in August. This represents the lowest annual growth in London since July 2020.
UK GDP is estimated to have increased by 1.3% in Q3, following a 5.5% increase in the previous quarter, where there was an easing in many coronavirus restrictions. The ONS data shows that the level of real quarterly GDP in the UK is now 2.1% below where it was before the coronavirus pandemic at the end of 2019.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has voted 7-2 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.1% Economists had been predicting a rise in Bank Rate to 0.25% as inflation continues to rise. Inflation rose to 3.1% in September, with CPI inflation expected to average 4% over the next year. However the MPC still outlined a path for Bank Rate that rises to around 1% by the end of 2022, believing "it will be necessary over coming months to increase Bank Rate in order to return CPI inflation sustainably to the 2% target".
