Financial news

• DWP waives £1,300 penalty for unpaid carer threatened with fraud prosecution

  12-09-2024 18:51 via theguardian.com
  Clemency Jacques is one of 134,500 people repaying £251m in carer’s allowance overpaymentsAn unpaid carer threatened with prosecution for fraud after inadvertently breaching benefit rules has had a £1,300 penalty waived by officials after her case appeared in the Guardian.Clemency Jacques, who cares for her disabled son and elderly mother, said she was given the choice of paying the charge or risking police arrest and a court appearance after running up a £2,600 carer&rsq
  
  Read more

• New guidelines issued to reduce cost of school uniforms in Scotland

  12-09-2024 14:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Schools should opt for generic items, and branded clothing should not be compulsory, says government adviceBlazers and other branded items should not be made a compulsory part of school uniform, according to new Scottish government guidelines that call on teachers “to do all they can to limit clothing costs”.While school uniform is not compulsory in Scotland, with decisions on styles made on a school-by-school basis, the guidelines, issued on Thursday, are aimed at reducing the cost
  
  Read more

• 'A perfect world': billionaire's helmet cam shows moment of first ever private spacewalk – video

  12-09-2024 13:54 via theguardian.com
  The billionaire Jared Isaacman and his fellow crew members completed the first privately funded spacewalk as a livestream of the mission showed Isaacman manually opening the hatch to enter space. Upon seeing Earth, he said: 'Back at home we all have a lot of work to do but from here, the Earth sure looks like a perfect world'SpaceX Polaris Dawn live: all-civilian crew completes first privately funded spacewalk Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• More than a million unpaid UK carers living in poverty, research finds

  12-09-2024 09:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Carers UK estimates 600 people a day quit jobs to care for loved ones and calls for review of benefits systemMore than a million unpaid carers in the UK who look after disabled, frail or ill relatives are living in poverty, with one in 10 experiencing such extreme hardship they struggle to afford to eat regularly or heat their homes, new research shows.Campaigners said carers – routinely lauded by politicians as unsung heroes whose sacrifices help prop up the NHS – were paying the pr
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Thursday briefing: How the long-awaited renters’ reform bill could transform housing as we know it

  12-09-2024 07:33 via theguardian.com
  
  In today’s newsletter: Labour’s new plans aim to shut the door on unscrupulous landlords. But what will change for the millions of people renting?• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.In 2019, Theresa May’s Conservative party pledged to end no-fault evictions (that is, where landlords oust tenants without giving a reason), and introduced the first iteration of the renters’ reform bill. But pressure from lobbyists, interest groups and Tory
  
  Read more

• Low-carbon homes can save £1,341 in bills and should be compulsory, study shows

  12-09-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  UK government urged to change regulations so new homes incorporate solar panels, heat pump, high-grade insulation and battery storageBuilding new homes to low-carbon standards would save the occupants thousands of pounds, new research has shown, as experts urged the government to change the regulations on housing development.People living in a typical three-bedroom, semi-detached newly built house would save an average of £1,341 a year if it was equipped with solar panels, a heat pump, hig
  
  Read more

• Winter fuel allowance cut: who voted for this? – Politics Weekly UK

  12-09-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The government saw off a rebellion over its plans to cut winter fuel allowance this week. John Harris speaks to Caroline Abrahams from Age UK about what this winter will look like for millions of pensioners losing out. Plus, he talks to columnist Rafael Behr about whether the technocrats (Starmer and Reeves) are taking the Labour party in the wrong direction Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Surge in larger homes for sale amid capital gains tax fears, Rightmove says

  12-09-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Speculation Rachel Reeves to raise tax in budget thought one reason for some homeowners cashing outGrowing speculation about a capital gains tax (CGT) raid in October’s budget appears to have prompted a surge in the number of larger homes being put up for sale, the UK’s biggest property website says.Rightmove said in the week ending 9 September there had been “a flurry of activity at the top end” of the market. The number of larger homes – defined as four-bedroom de
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

Follow @financialnwsUK on Twitter!