Wednesday newspaper round-up: Worklessness crisis, telecoms companies, fuel duty
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 05 Nov 2025
(Sharecast News) - Employers have been told in a landmark government review that fixing Britain's health-related worklessness crisis will require them to spend £6bn a year on support for their staff. In a major report before this month's budget, Charlie Mayfield warned that businesses needed to play a more central role in tackling a rising tide of ill-health that is pushing millions of people out of work. - Guardian
Six of the biggest phone companies have said they will work together and upgrade their systems to stop fraudsters being able to "spoof" UK phone numbers and commit fraud. New technology is expected to be rolled out over the next year that will stop criminals impersonating legitimate bodies and subsequently duping people into believing they are talking to real companies, banks and government departments. - Guardian
Fuel duty has long been one of those issues governments have been happy to kick down the road. For the past 15 years successive chancellors, fearful of a fierce backlash, have refused to green-light an annual inflation-linked rise. This is despite the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) continually including it in its revenue forecasts for the year ahead. But an attack on drivers could be too appealing for Rachel Reeves to ignore at the Budget later this month. - Telegraph
Businesses controlled by a prolific film producer behind movies which featured stars including Elizabeth Hurley and Kelsey Grammer are being pursued by HM Revenue & Customs amid questions over their use of taxpayer funding. Highfield Grange Production Services, ultimately owned by Alan Latham, an accountant and producer, is being investigated by liquidators to determine why film investments of £20.4 million were written down to zero, depriving creditors including HMRC of recoveries. - The Times
Rachel Reeves needs to find £50 billion in tax rises and spending cuts at the budget or risk a Liz Truss-style crisis in the bond markets, the head of one of the UK's most respected economic think tanks has warned. David Aikman, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), said the chancellor needs to triple the size of her fiscal headroom to £30 billion and ensure the UK's debt pile is steadily falling to retain the confidence of the bond markets. - The Times
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