UK's Sunak plans to raise minimum wage to £10 an hour before election

Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans to push the minimum wage to £10 an hour by the next General Election, the UK's Mirror reports. 

Key notes

''The Chancellor will announce an increase in the present £8.91 rate in Wednesday’s Budget.''

''And some experts predict he could go as far as £9.50 to make up for the £20 cut in Universal Credit for 3.2 million working families.''

''Borrowing is £135billion lower than predicted so Mr Sunak has more money for the three-year spending review to be unveiled alongside his Budget.''

''That could put him on course for £10.50 minimum pay by 2024 with the qualifying age lowered from 25 - 21 to overtake Labour’s pledge of £10 an hour.''

Sunak also pledged earlier Sunday to continue to plow more money into public services even though the overall package is likely to restrained compared to the largess the Treasury offered to protect the economy from the pandemic.

Here are the measures announced before this week’s Budget and Spending Review include:

• 6.9 billion pounds of funding for local transport
• 5 billion pounds of spending over three years to increase health-related research and development
• 3 billion pounds of investment to improve skills in those age 16 and over
• The extension of the Recovery Loan Scheme for a six months until June 30, and 312 million pounds of funding for the British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans program
• 1.4 billion pounds for the Global Britain Investment Fund, which will provide grants to encourage international companies to invest in the U.K. That includes 354 million pounds for life sciences and more than 800 million pounds for electric vehicle production and supply chains
• 850 million pounds for local museums, galleries and cultural hotspots
• 703 million pounds of funding to improve border security, including on coastal patrol ships
• 700 million pounds for local sports clubs
• 560 million pounds to improve adult maths education
• 500 million pounds to support families, including 80 million pounds to fund a network of “family hubs” to support young families
• 435 million pounds of funding to tackle crime, including improving street lighting and CCTV
• 5 million pounds of support for veterans 

Meanwhile, rising interest rates and inflation are likely to impact borrowing heavily, so the question is to what degree the Chancellor cuts elsewhere vs accepts a more sustained deficit. The pound has been regarded as a risk currency due to the UK's twin