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Scrap benefits cut to stop millions falling into poverty, Boris Johnson told

Thinktank adds to pressure on PM from opposition to extend £20-a-week universal credit uplift
Boris Johnson cannot claim to be “levelling up” the UK if he persists with a planned cut in universal credit for 6 million families, an influential thinktank has said, as pressure mounts on the prime minister over the issue from within his own party.
The Resolution Foundation joined opposition parties, anti-poverty campaigners and many Conservative MPs in urging the government to extend the £20-a-week uplift introduced during the first wave of the pandemic.
In its annual Living Standards Outlook report published on Monday, the foundation said the increase was critical in protecting the poorest households from the worst economic impacts of Covid in 2020, and warned refusing to extend it would contribute to a 730,000 increase in the number of children in poverty.
Karl Handscomb, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The living standards outlook for 2021 looks bleak at present – but the government can directly improve it.”
“Deciding if the £20 a week uplift to universal credit should be extended will determine whether millions of households are able to enjoy any sort of living standards recovery next year. And looking further ahead, the decision on whether to keep the UC boost will help define whether this is to be a parliament of ‘levelling up’ living standards, or pushing up poverty.”
Conservative backbenchers representing 65 Northern seats, many of them ex-Labour “red wall” constituencies, have joined calls for the prime minister to cancel a planned reduction in the benefit.
Carlisle MP John Stevenson of the Northern Research Group told the Guardian: “While we are still in the pandemic, we’ve still got the consequences of coming through furlough – the implications of that – it would be far better to have a stable UC environment.”
“Levelling up is about improving people’s lives, improving people’s standard of living, giving people greater opportunities. You could argue that the UC uplift is helping people get lifted.”
Labour has called an opposition day debate on the issue in the House of Commons on Monday, but Johnson has ordered his own MPs to boycott the vote rather than risk a significant rebellion.
In an extraordinary message sent to Conservative MPs, the prime minister claimed that after a previous opposition day debate on free school meals, Labour had used its “army of momentum trolls last time to misrepresent the outcome and to lie about its meaning and frankly to intimidate and threaten colleagues”.
He suggested the government would continue refusing to take part in what he called “vacuous opposition day debates” until Labour stopped “playing politics” and “inciting the worst kind of hatred and bullying”.
The debates are non-binding but they are a way for the opposition, which cannot set the agenda in the Commons, to raise questions of the day – and they can embarrass the government by forcing its MPs to take sides on an uncomfortable issue.
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, told the Guardian the electorate would punish the Tories if they go ahead with the £20-a-week reduction in the incomes of 6 million families. “The voters will remember,” she said.
“A lot of people are going to remember this because it’s not a little tweak here or there. It isn’t about, I can’t afford to send the kids on holiday. This is about, I’m going under, and I’m going under because of this government’s priorities and what they’ve done to me,” she said.
Recounting the story of a constituent who was a care worker who had gone back to work after being in intensive care with Covid because he was struggling to make ends meet, she added: “We’ve got to stop this cut to universal credit because it’s affecting our frontline key workers. It’s affecting people and families that need it the most.”
It is understood the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is considering a range of options for his 3 March budget, with any final confirmation likely to be delayed until after it is clear whether lockdown restrictions can begin to be lifted. “No decision has been made,” said the Treasury.
Sunak regards the uplift as an emergency measure, and it is understood that once the economy has begun to reopen, he would like to see the resources shifted towards helping the unemployed back into work.
But Stevenson, who said he has 8,500 UC claimants in his Carlisle constituency, many of them in work, said: “I understand that the government cannot make any commitment to making it permanent. I completely get that because we’ve got to look at the finances. I just think, continue it at least for the foreseeable future. That allows us to get a better understanding where we are, keeps people in a good place.”
When Johnson was asked about universal credit at last week’s hearing of the liaison committee of senior MPs, he said: “I think that what we want to see is jobs. We want people in employment and we want to see the economy bouncing back.
“And I think most people in this country would rather see a focus on jobs and a growth in wages than focusing on welfare but clearly we have to keep all these things under review.”
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said on Sunday that the government was hoping some rules could be loosened in March, depending on the success of the vaccine rollout and whether cases of the virus have begun falling consistently. Ministers are also waiting to see whether the vaccine prevents transmission of the disease.
Johnson has never precisely defined what “levelling up”, one of the key themes of his election campaign, actually means, or how he will measure whether he is succeeding.
Conservative thinktank Onward also called on Monday for the chancellor to consider reforming the tax system, including by making council tax fairer, to close the gap between north and south.
Onward’s director, Will Tanner, said, “if we don’t use the tax system as well as spending we’ll be trying to level up with one hand tied behind our back. If levelling up is to succeed, we need to use the tax system to drive regional growth too.”
source: Heather Stewart
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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