Little things

• 5.372 million people work in the public sector, according to the June figures- more than one in five of those in employment. Their pay rises have been capped to 1% over each of the next four years by George Osborne's Budget. That's less than the forecasts for the Government's favoured measure of inflation, the CPI. 
• The Chancellor has introduced a living wage baseline of £7.20 an hour for all workers aged 25 and over, starting in April next year. He told us he expects it to rise to £9 by 2020. That's an increase of 25% over four years. 
• Is there a logical difference for a minimum wage refuse collector/careworker/coffee maker to earn more more at 25 than at 21 ?
• The Government is pushing ahead with the sale of Lloyds Bank, the student loan book, and what remain of Northern Rock's mortgage business. The OBR estimates this at £20bn, but notes:  Over the long term... the net impact of asset sales on net debt is significantly less than the sale price.  
• The Budget produced £26.6bn of tax cuts, yet £47.2bn of tax hikes.