Ishares Age Pop Discussion Threads

[waldron] 01/10/2006 11:57

Blackmail shame of elderly care
Liz Phillips, Daily Mail
28 September 2006

Families are being blackmailed into paying towards the care of their elderly relatives because of a shortfall between what local authorities will pay and how much the residential homes charge.



PAY UP: Familes are increasing covering the cost of care for the elderly


According to the charity Age Concern, one local authority is writing to people who are only vaguely associated with the person in care - such as a neighbour who might once have collected the old person's pension for them - demanding that they pay top-ups.


Unless the shortfall is made up, the elderly can be forced to move to cheaper homes - which could be miles away from friends and relatives - or into shared rooms. One expert says enforced changes like this can be ' lifethreatening'.


Elderly people in council homes are protected by human rights legislation - which should prevent them being forced out of their homes,


But Age Concern says that, thanks to a loophole in the law, those in private homes are not protected by human rights legislation.


Money Mail has heard several horror stories of elderly people caught in this trap. These include:


• An 88-year-old with dementia, who has spent £395,000 on care fees in the past 14 years. With her savings down to £18,000, the local authority has to pick up the bill but its rate is £120-a-week less than she is paying. The family cannot cover the difference, so the home has said she will have to leave.


• An 89-year-old woman who sold her home to pay for her care for four years.


Once her capital reduced to £21,000, her son was told he needed to top-up her fees by £25 a month. In two years, this has risen to £150 a month. Since he can no longer afford to pay the extra, she is threatened with a move to cheaper accommodation.


The average nursing home bill is nearly £30,000 a year, while a place in a residential home costs typically £21,000. Care homes fees have been rising faster than inflation, with increases ranging from 6% to more than 9% a year since March 2002, says healthcare analysts Laing & Buisson.


The rules on paying for nursing and residential care are:


• If you have assets of £21,000 or more (including your home) and you need residential rather than nursing care, then you must pay the bill. Only when your hard-earned savings fall below £21,000 will your local authority step in to pay.


• If you are chronically sick and need 24-hour nursing care, the NHS should pick up the tab regardless of your assets: this must not be means-tested.


However, Age Concern says that only 25,008 people in England and Wales have all their nursing fees paid for in full - it estimates the number should be closer to 100,000.


A spokesman says: 'There are ridiculous examples of paraplegics having their claims for NHS funding of their nursing care turned down.'


Even when the local authority pays for residential care, it will set a limit. And if the home charges more, the elderly person must pay the shortfall - or their relations will have to pay up.


Philip Spiers, of the Nursing Home Fees Agency, says: 'Moving people at that stage can be life-threatening. Asking families to top up the fees has become more widespread as local authorities continue to peg their contributions at non-commercial levels.'


Often, families do not realise they have a right to refuse demands for topups. Owain Wright, care funding adviser at Saga, says: 'They are under no obligation to pay the extra amount, but it's risky because the care home can ask the resident to leave. It's emotional blackmail.'


This latest revelation follows a study by Help The Aged which found that half of Britons nearing retirement could be forced to sell their homes to pay their care bills.


Many care homes have two levels of fees because councils peg the amount they are prepared to contribute below the charges made by the home.


In comparison, Help The Aged's latest survey found that most councils offered below-inflation increases to the fees. Already 118,000 people pay their own way, making up nearly a third of all those in nursing and residential care homes, according to Laing & Buisson.


In Scotland, councils pay for personal care in homes as well as nursing cover - though some are now running short of money.

[waldron] 20/9/2006 13:35

Baby boomers neglect future care needs

Sandra Haurant
Wednesday September 20, 2006
Guardian Unlimited


Two thirds of 45-65-year-olds have made no financial plans to pay for long-term care needs, a charity reported today.
A survey of 942 "baby boomers" carried out by Help the Aged showed well over half believed that the basic state pension, worth £84 a month, would cover the cost of a care home. In fact, the average care home costs £400 a week.

Half of respondents expected to rely on the government to pay for a place in a care home. In fact, the NHS is only legally required to pay for health care needs.

If a person's needs are deemed to be social rather than health related, then whether they receive funding depends on means testing and a local authority's criteria.

Meanwhile, 56% of people said their personal savings would meet the cost, even though they had made no specific provisions.

Help the Aged said that nearly half of respondents would sell their home to cover the cost of a place in a care home, while two-thirds said they were relying on a relative to pay for them.

Jonathan Ellis, senior policy manager at Help the Aged, said: "This research highlights the worrying extent of confusion among people who are at an age when they should be planning ahead, or at least thinking about what future care needs they have."

The report comes ahead of a government consultation on NHS-funded continuing care, which is due out this Friday.

[waldron] 20/9/2006 13:17

Half will sell home to fund care
Becky Barrow, Daily Mail
20 September 2006

Half of those nearing retirement will be forced to sell their homes to pay for nursing care bills, says an alarming study.



HOME SWEET HOME: Half of all homeowners will be forced to sell up after retirement


The generation of ' babyboomers', now aged between 45 and 65, face sacrificing the properties they have worked so hard to pay off.

About 70,000 homeowners have to sell up every year to cover nursing or residential care home bills. The charity Help the Aged believes this number is about to soar due to Britain's care-home funding crisis.

Forty-six per cent of those questioned for the study admitted they would be forced to sell their homes if they had to find the money for care fees, currently around £21,000 a year.

Poor pensions and a lack of other savings means few have any alternatives. The toll could be even higher, however, because many remain ignorant about the enormous cost of care homes - and who pays. For example, 55% of those questioned believe the basic state pension, which is currently £84.25 a week, will cover the cost of care.

But the average weekly residential care home fee is £400 - leaving a 'funding gap' of £315.75 every week, or nearly £16,500 every year.

Jonathan Ellis, senior policy manager at Help the Aged, said: 'We fear that thousands of adults have been led into a false sense of security. They believe that, should they need care one day, it will be paid for by the state out of taxpayers' money.

'The fact is that the reality could not be more different.'

The study found nearly half of the 'baby-boom' generation are 'resigned' to the fact that they might have to sell their homes. House prices have soared over the last decade, taking the average asking price for a property in England to an astronomical £215,000.

Help the Aged criticised the care home funding system as unfair, unreliable and confusing-The current arrangements certainly penalise the prudent.



Those who have assets of more than £21,000, including the value of their homes, will almost certainly have to pay 100 per cent of any fees if they live in England. For those with no savings or no home, however, the care is free. The system is different in Scotland.

The study calls for an end to the 'complex and undignified' means-testing system which forces so many to sell their homes. Many homeowners resent having to sell their hard-won properties to pay for a service which is free to those who have not been burdened by a mortgage during their working lives.

Almost 950 people aged 45 to 65 took part in the study for Help the Aged. When asked about their plans if they needed to pay for a care home, one in five said: 'I haven't thought about it or made any plans.'



Private pension plot halves in a decade


The value of private pension savings has more than halved over the last decade because of a huge fall in annual 'bonuses' on policies.

Ten years ago, someone who had paid in £500 a year for 25 years would have had a pension pot worth about £120,239. Today the equivalent figure is worth just £55,992 - a fall of 53 per cent.

Moneyfacts, the research firm which produced the figures, says bonuses, which are paid each year and at the end of the policy, have fallen dramatically from their highs in the 1980s and 1990s. Richard Eagling, from the firm, said: 'The fact remains that today's pensioners are facing a longer retirement with pension pots half the size of those fortunate enough to have retired a decade ago.'

He described the figures as 'a powerful reminder' that a comfortable retirement will only be available to a lucky few. In a double blow, annuity rates - an income for life that is bought using the pension pot - have also collapsed over the last ten years

[ariane] 02/9/2006 12:05

The Sunday Times August 27, 2006


'Reserve army' can defuse demographic time bomb
Britain's labour shortage can't be solved by immigrants alone. It is better to use over-fifties who want to work, writes Christopher Smallwood


BRITAIN's working population is growing at an astonishing pace. The Bank of England calculates in its latest Inflation Report that in the 12 months to the end of May, it expanded by some 450,000, no less than 1.6%, in a single year.
The figures are spectacular, but even before the latest surge of immigration - largely from eastern Europe, as the chart shows - Britain's workforce has been growing strongly for years. Much of this growth has reflected important demographic changes that have had a bigger economic impact on the working population over the past decade than migration. They may well continue to be more important over the next decade.



"Net" immigration (inflow minus outflow) has added about 1m people to the workforce since 1997. The net numbers are much smaller than the figures for immigration alone because the numbers leaving the country have also been increasing, and are now running at about a quarter of a million a year. Over the same period, however, the number of older people staying on at work or returning to it rose by 1.5m, contributing half as much again to the working population.

What is more, there is no sign that this trend will weaken any time soon. A recent report by the TUC showed that more than a third of the economically inactive people in the country aged between 50 and 65 want to work. Although we are accustomed to think of Britain as a relatively fully employed country, this proportion is the second highest of 15 EU countries. It amounts to a "reserve army" of 1m people, and it is from this pool that much of the growth in Britain's workforce has been drawn.

It is not just that formerly inactive people are returning to work - others are retiring later than they would have done or are staying on beyond retirement age. The figures show that the lion's share of the growth in jobs not met by the east Europeans in the past 18 months was filled by people beyond the normal retirement age. This seems to be a response to a growing recognition that pensions are disappointingly low, and that, if people want to maintain their living standards in retirement, they will have to work longer.

There seem to be good reasons to believe that the present surge in immigration is temporary. Home Office surveys show that the overwhelming majority of immigrants say they intend to go home within two years. Indeed, the department reports that in terms of long-term migration - people intending to stay in a country for more than four years - Britain is suffering a net outflow. The workers' registration-scheme figures also record that half the east Europeans are in temporary jobs. What we appear to be seeing is the establishment of a group of short-term residents on the pattern of the Gastarbeiter in Germany rather than another wave of mass migration on the Asian model.

Leading figures in the Labour party insist that there has to be a pause while the economy absorbs the current wave of immigrants, and Alistair Darling, trade secretary, appears to have signalled that Romania and Bulgaria will not be given the entry rights extended to Poland. It seems likely, therefore, that the current extraordinary boost to the workforce will die away, and that we will be increasingly dependent on deployment of the "reserve army" to keep the working population growing.

You may ask why we should want a growing working population. There are huge economic benefits associated with a growing workforce, mirrored by the severe problems that arise when a country's working population starts to decline. After all, gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the longer term is the sum of the growth in the employed workforce and the rise in productivity of that workforce, so the faster the working population goes up, the faster, other things being equal, the economy grows.

Over the past decade, the growth in working population has added well in excess of £50 billion to GDP, and swelled the Treasury's coffers by nearly half that.

Furthermore, a growing workforce mitigates or prevents an increase in the "dependency ratio", the number of economically inactive people - inescapably rising as people live longer - expressed as a proportion of the working population. A rising dependency ratio leads to higher taxes on the producers to support the unproductive parts of the population, depressing growth further. This type of problem is in prospect for Britain, not only because the number of older people is rising but because the number of under- fifties is expected to drop by 2% over the next 10 years.

This, of course, is why the Treasury encouraged the open-door policy on immigration in 2004. Acutely conscious that much of Europe was facing a demographic crisis - with Germany's workforce projected to drop from 56m to 44m by 2030, and Italy and Spain in the same boat - the Treasury's hope was that Britain could escape many of the adverse consequences of ageing, in terms of low growth and rising taxation, that faced its European competitors, by boosting its younger, working population through immigration. The trouble is that the influx has suddenly got out of hand; it can't be allowed to continue at the current rate; and many immigrants will turn round and go home soon anyway.

Fortunately, the alternative policy of encouraging greater participation in the labour force can deliver the same sort of benefits without many of the costs associated with immigration. Involving more older people and women increases the working population just as effectively - perhaps more, in light of their experience, skills and reliability - as importing young foreign workers.

It has the double benefit of reducing the inactive population at the same time as the numbers in the productive population are increased, further improving the dependency ratio, and of relieving rather than increasing budgetary pressures as those in the reserve army who are on benefits come off them. Moreover, many of the social costs generated by high immigration - the need for additional housing, for example - don't arise if the existing population is being redeployed.

We need a determined effort by both government and companies to employ more older people. This will require increased spending on such programmes as back-to-work and access-to-work credits, which have a successful track record and pay for themselves several times over, as does the equivalent American "transitional jobs" programme. It will need a determined campaign to convince companies to develop training and other policies to retain and attract older workers. And there must be an end to age discrimination. More people say they face age discrimination than any other type. We will not be bailed out by immigrants indefinitely and we cannot afford these attitudes any longer.

Christopher Smallwood is a director of Lombard Street Associates

[grupo guitarlumber] 29/7/2006 05:54

10 steps to equity release
Simon Moon, This is Money
29 July 2006
RISING prices, such as the latest blow to household budgets from the gas and electricity companies, often hit the elderly harder than anyone else.





WANT TO KNOW MORE?REPORT: Beware equity release advice
GUIDES: Pros and cons of equity release
EXPERTS: Covering the cost of care
OTHER STORIESGreat rates for using euros
Right track for offset mortgages
Beware equity release advice
Homeloans hit another record high
Mortgage fees rocket by 22%
MORTGAGE LINKSDEAL FINDER: Mortgages
TOOLS: Mortgage calculators
ASK AN EXPERT: Mortgages
HAVE YOUR SAY 'Estate agent games'
'Auctions and mortgages'
'Tax and second homes'
Many of them have to get by on fixed incomes and may be forced to dip into savings to pay their everyday bills.


Increasing numbers of older people are turning to equity release as a way of raising much-need funds, but it is important to consider the alternatives first.

Peter Fisher, director at the NHFA, which is the company behind charity Help the Aged's equity release products, offers the following 10-point guide to anyone considering equity release:




1. Consider all the alternatives such as moving to a smaller home. Capital raised this way will cost you less in moving expenses than in equity release set-up charges and interest.


2. If you do not wish to move, it is essential to discuss your plans with your family before proceeding with equity release. This will avoid any unnecessary family surprises later on and they may be able to suggest alternatives.


3. With more than 30 equity release schemes available it will be difficult to find the best deal yourself. Not only that, many of the schemes are available only through authorised intermediaries. So find an independent specialist in equity release advice.


4. Choose your adviser carefully. Are they able to advise on entitlement to welfare benefits? Are they also conversant with all aspects of long-term care funding? Some of this may be relevant to you now or in the future. The wrong advice could cost you dearly. An adviser who specialises in all these areas will be able to explain all the relevant issues and achieve the best outcome.


5. Ask your adviser about equity release fees – and make sure you get value for money.


6. Borrow only as much as you intend to spend or give away. You will earn much less from cash left on deposit than the interest you will have to pay for borrowing it in the first place. It could also cut your entitlement to means-tested benefits.


7. When comparing lifetime mortgage interest rates always pay particular attention to the APR [annual percentage rate] and not just the headline rate. The difference can add up to 0.5% on the rate actually charged. This is due to the costs of setting up the arrangement and how interest itself is calculated. This can be daily, monthly or annually. The longer the period the better it is for the borrower. (The exact opposite is true for traditional repayment loans.)





YOU CAN STILL SAVE ON FUEL BILLS

8. Ask your adviser about continued support and advice. This could range from claiming welfare benefits, or care and support from the local authority, to mitigating inheritance tax. Advisers who specialise in elderly client advice will be in a better position to help than a traditional mortgage adviser, for example.


9. You will need a solicitor. If you have one make sure to ask if they are familiar with equity release paperwork. Otherwise the process could take longer and cost you more in fees. There are now a significant number of solicitors who have undertaken additional training in this specialist area. Your equity release adviser should be able to introduce you to such a firm.


10. Make sure you have a clear idea on your key goals when embarking on this path. Your personal priorities and views on the direction of house prices will materially influence whether a lifetime mortgage or home reversion scheme is right for you. Your equity release adviser should be able to guide you. If not, seek alternative specialist advice.


• Help the Aged equity release Service, St Leonards, Mill Street, Eynsham, Oxford OX29 4JX. Web: www.helptheaged.org.uk

[ariane] 27/6/2006 06:13

Rising to the ageism challenge
By Clare Matheson
Business reporter, BBC News



Age has proved to be no barrier for B&Q's oldest employee Sid Prior
Incoming anti-ageism laws should help the UK to deal with its increasingly mature population.

According to government figures, there are six million people currently aged between 59 and pensionable age.

Meanwhile, over the next 15 years the number of over-50s will rise by three million - yet the overall population will grow very little.

So far, the government has been trying to prepare for an ageing population by shaking up its pension provisions - as have many company schemes.

But soon anti-discrimination legislation will mean companies will face age obstacles in the workplace.

Overall the laws will ban direct and indirect discrimination in the areas of recruitment, promotion and training.

Most concerns about the impending shake-up centre around older employees, but some experts have raised questions about what the change will mean for younger staff - as young people will also be able to take advantage of the new laws.

A recent study by recruitment firms FSS and Cone Corkill found 55% of people thought over-55s suffered discrimination at work, compared with just 23% who believed young workers were discriminated against.

Wage worries

Some reports had suggested the regulations could mean trouble for the minimum wage - as younger workers are paid a lower level than those over the age of 18.

However, such fears have proved unfounded, as any legislation currently in force is not affected by the new rules.

While the change has been welcomed in many quarters, the TUC has attacked it as a "missed opportunity".

It would be a real shame to spoil this advance, by levelling down statutory redundancy payments so that workers of all ages get the same lower rate

Brendan Barber, TUC

Retaining the national minimum wage (NMW) means companies will still be able to discriminate against workers through banded pay scales for different age groups, TUC senior policy advisor Lucy Anderson says.

"The new laws are very complicated, there's lots of exemptions. This is the most uncertain discrimination legislation we have had for a long time," she says.

"Unions and employers are concerned that the new laws shouldn't be about unpicking the reward and benefit system," adds Sam Mercer, director of the Employers Forum on Age.

Cost fears

Ms Mercer says groups have raised concerns about "levelling down".

Workers fear companies will stick to the minimum wage for workers, as any firm that operates outside the bands will have no statutory defence.

"Levelling down is a potential sticking point with unions. Employers are saying if they treat everybody equally they can't afford to level up," Ms Mercer adds.

"Companies are going to average out so there's cost neutrality instead, which will lead to some older workers getting a worse deal."


Because you're older doesn't mean you can't remain young at heart

Wages are not the only problem on this front, the TUC fears that older workers - who had previously won a good deal in redundancy payments - could have their redundancy pay "levelled down" to that of younger workers.

"It would be a real shame to spoil this advance, by levelling down statutory redundancy payments so that workers of all ages get the same lower rate," says TUC chief Brendan Barber.

Instead, the union group has called on the government to use the coming change in the law as an opportunity to boost the current low level of redundancy payments.

Challenges ahead?

Meanwhile, Ms Mercer believes legislation surrounding both the minimum wage and redundancy pay could be open to challenge.

We have found that older employees help increase the levels of satisfaction amongst our customers

Jeremy del Strother, Nationwide

But until the rules come into force, the future of the employment landscape seems uncertain.

"The first company awards will offer guidance but its hard to know how it will be accepted," employment law expert Michael Farrier says.

"Companies will have to justify their decisions to employment tribunals. And those tribunals will be more sympathetic to employees - for example if you're too old to train the employer must objectively explain why."

With claims potentially worth up to £250,000 it's inevitable some will be launched.

"More-mature claimants will have more to loose financially if they're sacked; they will be forced into claiming to stave off the financial pressures of bills and so on for themselves," Mr Farrier says.

He also warns that firms will have to think carefully about refusing downgrades for staff who may be willing to take a wage cut for less stress or medical reasons.

Silver lining

But, despite the many problems that have been flagged up, the changes are expected to have many benefits as well.

"In the long-term the laws will have benefits for recruitment and retaining older workers," CBI senior policy adviser Richard Wainer says.


Older staff can offer experience to colleagues and customers

But its not just staffing levels that benefit - some firms have already implemented their own anti-ageist policies and are reaping the rewards.

Nationwide Building Society has been praised for its flexible retirement deal which allows staff to stay on until the age of 75 and aims to avoid "corporate memory loss" through the departure of older staff.

Jeremy del Strother, Nationwide's divisional director of personnel, says: "We have found that older employees help increase the levels of satisfaction amongst our customers."

Older and wiser

And DIY chain B&Q has found a good over-50s policy can provide a "golden oldies" opportunity.

As part of an experiment B&Q staffed its Macclesfield store entirely with over-50s for a number of years.

Profits were 18% higher at the site and staff turnover was six times lower, while absenteeism fell by 39%.

The store is no longer the exclusive preserve of older staff, but now out of a total workforce of 39,000 over 25% of B&Q staff are aged 50 or over.

And as their oldest worker Sid Prior, 91, says: "Working with people of all ages gives youngsters the chance to learn a little from an old timer like myself, and they help to keep me young at heart."

[grupo guitarlumber] 15/6/2006 06:17

Council tax 'has put up to 1.3 million pensioners on benefits'
JAMES KIRKUP
POLITICAL EDITOR
SOARING council tax bills have helped drag up to 1.3 million pensioners into the benefits system since Labour came to power, official figures have revealed.

Pensioners' groups and opposition parties seized on the numbers as further proof that council tax is an increasingly unfair burden on those who are living on fixed incomes in retirement.

Data from the Department of Work and Pensions show that, in 1997, the number of pensioners entitled to council tax benefit was between 3.2 million and 3.8 million. By 2004, it was between four million and 4.5 million.

According to Help the Aged Scotland, council tax has risen by 167 per cent since it was introduced to Scotland in 1993. During the same period, the average Scottish pensioner's income has risen by around 65 per cent.

Lindsay Scott of Help the Aged Scotland said that while the overall number of pensioners had risen since 1997, the DWP figures are proof of the injustices facing pensioners. Entitlement to council tax benefit is based on income, and campaigners say that the rising level of the tax itself is eating into pensioners' incomes.

"The overriding factor here is that council tax has been going up much faster than pensioners' incomes have been going up, leaving more and more pensioners in council tax poverty, paying out more than 10 per cent of their incomes on council tax," Mr Scott said.

Despite the steep climb in the number of pensioners entitled to the benefit, the number claiming financial assistance has fallen since 1997. Then, 2.6 million pensioners took up council tax benefit; by 2005, it was 2.4 million.

Pressure groups, including Age Concern, say two million pensioners are missing out on £4 billion in unclaimed council tax benefit.

The DWP figures were unearthed by David Laws, the Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman.

He said they prove that council tax "is the most regressive tax in Britain, unfairly penalising the most vulnerable people".

A DWP spokeswoman last night said the rise in entitlement was a "largely technical" process caused by increases in the savings threshold for council benefit

[grupo guitarlumber] 13/6/2006 07:03

The Times June 13, 2006


Rubbish bag 'tax' to encourage recycling
By Jill Sherman, Whitehall Editor

Britain to follow Europe in plan to reform local taxation
Charges are way to reach green targets, The Times told









HOMEOWNERS face paying a second tax for their household rubbish to be collected as part of a range of proposals to reform council tax, The Times has learnt.

Charges for non-recyclable domestic waste are being actively considered by Sir Michael Lyons as part of his inquiry into local government finance.

The proposal would also fit into plans by David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, to "out-green" David Cameron, the Tory leader, and help councils to reach ambitious targets for recycling waste by 2015. But it is likely to be opposed by the public if people felt that they were paying twice for a service already covered by council tax.

Sir Michael told The Times that he was considering a range of user charges, including environmental taxes, to supplement council tax and make the cost of services more visible.

The plans could give local councils the power to charge residents by the kilo for black bags of waste, which would be weighed by rubbish collectors.

"It is a fairness issue, Sir Michael said. "Why should people who don't take recycling very seriously or have a lifestyle that generates a lot of waste be able to do that when their neighbours are being very careful not to generate waste and putting their energies into recycling?"

Other options include charging for the type of waste bag, deducting money from council tax for greener households, or imposing penalties for those who refuse to separate their waste. If European rates are followed, charges could be between 25p and 50p a kilo or up to £10 a month.

Critics immediately said the scheme could backfire if residents started dumping bags in their neighbours' front yards or down the street.

Sir Michael backs the introduction of an enabling Bill that would give local councils the power to impose a range of charges rather than making it mandatory. He emphasised that no decisions had been made, but indicated that environmental taxes or charges were high on his agenda. "I am clear that if people want more services, want to tackle difficult problems such as congestion, environmental sustainability and water quality . . . you can't just tackle those problems and say you don't want to pay more tax," he said.

Sir Michael said he was studying European examples, where charges for waste are now common, varying between €0.35 a kilo and €0.64 a kilo. England still lags way behind the rest of Europe in recycling with a rate of 22.5 per cent, compared with Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands, which recycle nearer 60 per cent.

Britain spends £2.6 billion on waste collection and disposal, equivalent to £120 per household per year. Half of the cost is recouped through council tax and half through government grants.

Local authorities have been told to reach ambitious targets of recycling 33 per cent of their rubbish by 2015.

Local government sources said that if councils were given the power to charge for rubbish they would probably charge the whole £120 to create greater visibility, equivalent to £10 a month per household.

But the Local Government Association and Friends of the Earth are pressing for variable charges, as in Europe, where the public would be charged according to the weight of non-recyclable rubbish or the amount of bags put out for collection. In some parts of Europe the bag or wheelie bin is weighed automatically as the waste is emptied into the rubbish truck. Sir Michael disclosed that he had also had discussions with the Welsh Assembly over its proposals to charge residents per black bag put out for collection.

"We have a charging mechanism already for trade refuse," Sir Michael said. "Domestic waste is taken away by the dustman but if a trade person works for you they have to pay to take away the rubbish. It's already within our experience."

Other user charges he is considering are hotel and bed and breakfast "tourist taxes" and wider congestion charges.

Last night Caroline Spelman, the Shadow Secretary for Local Government, said: "We need to increase recycling; however the danger with a scheme like this is that it will increase fly-tipping by those who simply don't want to pay the charges."

CHARGES IN EUROPE

Germany 18p a kilo

Belgium 46-70p a bag

Spain 40p a 40-litre sack

UK 25p-50p (est) a kilo

[waldron] 30/5/2006 10:01

Strong voice for over-50s America
By Matthew Wells
BBC News, New York




Heyday, a new membership organisation for those approaching or in retirement, has launched in the UK with the backing of Age Concern.

Similar groups already operate in the US, including the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which has a strong social and political voice in the country.


The US organisation has more than 36 million members

The AARP is arguably the most powerful non-governmental group in the US, representing more than 36 million people.

With such a huge number of members, who pay the modest annual sum of $12.50 (£6.73) per household, it is inevitable that some who pay their dues feel hard done-by when the organisation takes a clear stand, such as backing the huge prescription drugs bill which was passed a few months ago.

"It's a non-partisan, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation that is serving the needs and interests of persons aged 50 and over," said Ladan Manteghi, president of the AARP's global network.

"We exist for the purposes of delivering social change, that is the key point.

"The clout of our membership has the capacity to influence and bring about social change through government policies, through society, as well as through the marketplace."

Lobbying power

It's a lofty ideal, but the lobbying power of the AARP in undeniable, as is its ability to alter the perception of ageing across America.

They've made a major effort to come to grips with the increasing diversity of the ageing population

Tony Sarmiento
Senior Service America, Inc


Boomers 'want work over 65'

Only the Catholic Church has more members and the main magazine is distributed to 22 million households, making it the largest circulation publication in the country.

This month Sir Paul McCartney is on the cover, and it also broke news in an interview with former US Secretary of State Colin Powell in which he talked frankly about Iraq and the decisions made before the war.

The point, perhaps, is that neither man is exactly past-it, and the AARP was once known as an organisation primarily for the white, affluent and rightward-leaning, but things are different now, said Tony Sarmiento, of Senior Service America Inc.

"They've made a major effort to come to grips with the increasing diversity of the ageing population," said the Filipino-American executive director, whose federally-funded organisation focuses on job opportunities for the over-55s.

"The AARP does a tremendous amount of research on the ageing of society, and makes information and images of ageing much more visible to all Americans," he added.

Criticism

In recent years, the AARP has come under attack from both sides of the political spectrum.

Currently it's been incurring the wrath of the Right for opposing the president's now stalled attempts at social security reform.

But some critics are more concerned about the way that it makes money through its services arm, with plenty of mail-shots offering all manner of services and discounts.

"I found it was really a Fortune 500 company that sidelines as a lobbying organisation for the Washington staff," said journalist Dale Van Atta, author of the book "Trust Betrayed: Inside the AARP", in a recent television interview.

He believes the organisation is run by a liberal, money-grabbing elite which does not serve its membership well.


The AARP magazine broke news in an interview with Colin Powell

Ms Manteghi insists that AARP is as representative as it can possibly be.

"We have the ability to negotiate better deals for our members, and better deals doesn't always mean the cheapest product on the market... it's about filling market gaps.

"We, through the clout of our membership, are able to negotiate... to develop a product that we specify, not that the market dictates."

The AARP is proud of its bargaining power and the way that it can focus all its efforts on fighting one big battle if necessary - such as over social security reform.

Its website is a formidable information platform, where members can also visit an array of message boards, under categories like "Grief and Loss" and "Health and Wellness".

The view from one White House official quoted anonymously in a recent magazine article, that the AARP is an "ossified bureaucracy" and "unresponsive" to its membership, is clearly not an objective one, and Ms Manteghi is glad that Heyday is being launched in Britain this week.

"Now is definitely the time, and we congratulate Age Concern for seeing the opportunity and for creating an entity that will finally provide strength and voice for the UK's 50-plus population," she said.

[waldron] 22/4/2006 16:52

Baby Boom Icon Sally Field Takes on New Leading Role as Women's Health Advocate
For the First Time Field Talks Publicly About Her Diagnosis With Osteoporosis, Feelings on Aging, and Life Expectations
NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/20/2006 -- Actress Sally Field, the seemingly ageless icon of a Baby Boom generation that starts turning 60 this year, revealed that she was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis and is leading a public action campaign to educate and inspire women to fight the fragile bone disease.

Surprised by her recent diagnosis, Field chose to go public with her personal health and is launching "Rally With Sally For Bone Health(SM)," sponsored by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. The campaign encourages women to protect themselves against fractures so they can remain active and reduce their risk of a debilitating injury.

"My generation has pushed for so much change to improve the lives of women, and today the biggest hurdle many of us face is our health," said Sally Field, the two-time Academy Award winner who has fought for women and workers' rights both on and off screen. "We've never been willing to sit back and take it -- and that includes osteoporosis too. I'm asking women to take action by talking to their doctors and joining me in this commitment at www.BoneHealth.com."

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weaker, more fragile and susceptible to fractures. One in two women over age 50 will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime,(1) which can result in significant pain, loss of height, and may cause women to lose their ability to dress themselves, stand up, and even walk.(2) It can also lead to possible institutionalization and even death.(3)

"Today, women in their 50s and 60s are leading more active lives than past generations, and it's essential for them to take care of their bones to continue their energetic lifestyles," said Dr. Robin Dore, a rheumatologist and clinical professor of medicine at UCLA. "I'm hopeful Sally's campaign will help women understand there are effective ways to protect their bones without disrupting their busy schedules."

Sally Field Kicks Off A New Kind of 60s Revolution

"Now that I'm almost 60, I want to help change the way women live as they age. We have fought so hard in our lives for things to be better, not to accept the status quo. We surely can't stop now that we are entering this next part of our lives," said Field. "For me, treating my osteoporosis means I can strengthen my bones and continue my active lifestyle without being so afraid of breaking a bone. I can't imagine not doing everything possible to manage my osteoporosis." After being diagnosed with osteoporosis in early 2005, Field attempted lifestyle changes to slow the progression of her disease, but supplements alone were insufficient. Her doctor then recommended that she begin taking medicine, and he prescribed Boniva® (ibandronate sodium), a once-monthly tablet for postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Although 44 million Americans are at risk for or affected by osteoporosis,(4) it often goes undiagnosed until a fracture occurs.(5) The Surgeon General has declared osteoporosis a public health crisis on par with smoking and obesity.(6)

An Inspiring Peek into Sally Field's Personal Life

As part of the "Rally With Sally For Bone Health" multi-media campaign, Field and Dr. Dore are urging women to understand and manage postmenopausal osteoporosis so it doesn't slow them down. By logging onto www.BoneHealth.com, women can join Field in making a formal commitment to maintain their bone health, a move that may improve their chances of sticking with it. They can also follow along with Field's monthly journal entries, where she shares what's new in her life and in her journey toward better bone health.

"I want to reach women in every way possible. I'm always talking to my sister and friends about changes in our bodies and our health -- like my osteoporosis -- and I want to encourage other women to do the same and also to talk to their doctor. Let's make the most of this next phase of our lives."

Free materials about osteoporosis are available by calling toll-free 877-BoneHealth (877-266-3432) or by accessing www.BoneHealth.com.

About Boniva

Boniva Tablets are contraindicated in patients unable to stand or sit upright for at least 60 minutes, with uncorrected hypocalcemia, or with known hypersensitivity to any component of Boniva. Boniva, like other bisphosphonates administered orally, may cause upper gastrointestinal disorders such as dysphagia, esophagitis, and esophageal or gastric ulcer. Boniva is not recommended in patients with severe renal impairment. Adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D is important in all patients.

Patients have reported severe bone, joint and/or muscle pain after taking bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis. Additionally, osteonecrosis of the jaw has been reported in patients treated with bisphosphonates; most cases have been in cancer patients undergoing dental procedures.

The most commonly reported adverse events with once-monthly Boniva regardless of causality were abdominal pain (Boniva 150 mg 7.8 percent vs. Boniva 2.5 mg 5.3 percent), hypertension (6.3 percent vs. 7.3 percent), dyspepsia (5.6 percent vs. 7.1 percent), arthralgia (5.6 percent vs. 3.5 percent), nausea (5.1 percent vs. 4.8 percent) and diarrhea (5.1 percent vs. 4.1 percent). For complete prescribing information for Boniva, see contact information at the end of the news release or go to www.4boniva.com.

About Roche and GlaxoSmithKline

F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) co-promote Boniva for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis in all countries except Japan. The Roche and GSK collaboration provides expertise and commitment to bringing new osteoporosis therapies to market as quickly as possible.

Roche is one of the world's leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche has alliances and research and development agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. For further information, visit www.rocheusa.com.

GSK (NYSE: GSK), one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information, visit GSK on the World Wide Web at www.gsk.com.

Editors' Note: Photos available after 1:30 p.m. EDT via AP Photo Express or Feature Photo Services link at

"Rally With Sally For Bone Health(SM)" is a registered service mark of Roche Therapeutics Inc.

(1) "Osteoporosis: Progress and Promise." National Institute of Arthritis
and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Bethesda, MD; August 2000.

(2) Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General.
Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the
Surgeon General; 2004.
(3) Doherty DA, Sanders KM, Kotowicz MA, Prince, RL, Lifetime and Five-Year
Age-Specific Risks of First and Subsequent Osteoporotic Fractures in
Postmenopausal Women. "Osteoporosis International:" 2001: 12:16-23.
(4) America's Bone Health: The State of Osteoporosis and Low Bone Mass in
Our Nation. The National Osteoporosis Foundation: February 2002
(5) "Fast Facts," National Osteoporosis Foundation
(www.nof.org/osteoporosis/diseasefacts.htm)
(6) Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General.
Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the
Surgeon General; 2004.








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CONTACT:
Barbara Goldberg
212-229-8419 (o)
917-841-5046 (cell)
[e-mail]


SOURCE: GSK and Roche

[waldron] 19/4/2006 18:26

Elderly targeted to release equity for homes abroad

Published: 17:53 Tuesday 18 April 2006
By Lorna Bourke, Money Columnist

It's little wonder the FSA is concerned about the mis-selling of equity release, and in particular home reversions.

Publicity put out by some of those involved in this market is clearly designed to appeal to elderly homeowners' fantasies – if not greed.

Economic Lifestyle claims close to a million retired people 'are currently considering escaping the humdrum of British life to live abroad'. It says around 328,000 retired people would look to release over £30,000 of equity from their homes if they were to move abroad.

Economic Lifestyle says the average value of a British-owned property in Spain and France is £109,500, 'and an elderly couple with a £500,000 house could raise as much as £220,000 through an equity release scheme'.

'The development of the equity release market, which saw retired homeowners release £1.1 billion from their homes during 2005, will fuel the number of retired homeowners buying properties abroad,' says Mark Neal, managing director of Economic Lifestyle.

It promotes a number of plans for the elderly including home reversions and equity release. 'In addition to this, Economic Lifestyle offers retired homeowners a number of options for releasing some of the equity in their homes or to live in a property that they would not normally be able to afford.' This sounds suspiciously like encouraging the elderly to live beyond their means.

The FSA is consulting on the regulation of home reversions and home purchase plans. Norwich Union, the largest provider of equity release products, has also been campaigning to get home reversion schemes regulated.

[grupo] 08/4/2006 08:24

Cut your council tax by £540
Simon Moon, This is Money
7 April 2006
UP to two million pensioners are missing out on state help that could cut their bill by £540 a year. Charity Age Concern says despite another round of inflation-busting household bills this month, council tax benefit is still the most unclaimed benefit of all - with pensioners losing out on up to £1.1bn each year.



WANT TO KNOW MORE?SPECIAL REPORT: Pensions A-Day is here
EXPERTS: Will I benefit by opting back in?
DEAL FINDER: Cut your household bills
OTHER STORIESPensions A-Day is here
Turner's pension challenge
Pensions webchat answers
Brown: No pensions rift with Blair
Anguish of elderly in cycle of debt
USEFUL PENSION TOOLSTABLES: Annuity rates
TABLES: Pension contribution limits
GUIDES: Pensions
HAVE YOUR SAY'Top performers can become dogs'
'My first pension plan – help!'
'Are we all lost at sea?'


'Spiralling household bills are leavingms of older people struggling to make ends meet, yet they are still more likely than any other age group to miss out on benefits cash,' says the charity. 'In fact, shocking government figures show that up to £4.1bn is failing to reach the pockets ofms of pensioners every year.'


Today marks the start of Age Concern's Your Rights Week - its annual campaign to encourage older people to claim benefits that are rightfully theirs. The charity says: 'With pension and benefit rates set to rise from Monday it is more important than ever for older people to put in their claim.'



Pension credit, council tax benefit, housing benefit and attendance allowance are the main benefits that older people are missing out on. This is because they don't realise they are entitled to extra cash, don't know how to claim, or feel there is a stigma attached to claiming and would rather 'make do'.



Gordon Lishman, Age Concern's Director-General, says: 'It's really worrying that so many older people are still not receiving the financial help they are entitled to.ms of pensioners across the UK are struggling to manage on a really low, fixed income and are increasingly anxious about paying their bills.


'The Government should increase the basic state pension to a decent level so that older people are not so reliant on means-tested benefits. But in the meantime, we would urge all older people finding it difficult to make ends meet to contact their local Age Concern and ask for a benefits check. Age Concern advisers help older people claim benefits worth millions of pounds every year.'


Age Concerns across the UK will be taking the Your Rights Week message into their local communities and running a range of activities to boost pensioners' incomes. Throughout the week, Age Concern will be operating its information helpline - freephone 0800 00 99 66 (8am-7pm) - and sending out a free information pack to all callers.


FREE BOOK OFFER


To coincide with its campaign, Age Concern has published a new edition of its best-selling guide, Your Rights 2006-07: a guide to money benefits for older people. Written by Age Concern's income expert Sally West, the book is an invaluable guide for older people and their friends, relatives or carers. It provides clear, up-to-date information on the money benefits available, together with advice on how and where to claim. Priced at £5.99, readers can purchase copies by calling Age Concern Books on 0870 44 22 120 or by visiting Age Concern online.



This is Money has 15 copies of Your Rights 2006/07 to give away. Simply send a postcard with your contact details to: This is Money/ Your Rights, Age Concern England, Public Affairs, Astral House, 1268 London Road, London SW16 4ER. Closing date is April 17, winners will be chosen at random by Age Concern.

[waldron] 04/4/2006 08:07

Homes cost us £10,000 a year
Sean Poulter, Daily Mail
4 April 2006
THE cost of keeping a roof over our heads has raced ahead of inflation to top £10,000 a year for the first time, a study has found.

Rising council tax and utility bills, along with soaring mortgage repayments, mean the average householder is now paying 16 per cent more than two years ago.

The figure is way ahead of the official inflation rate over that time of around 2 to 2.5%. It led to calls for vulnerable groups such as the elderly - whose pensions are inflation-linked - to be given greater help to pay their bills.

The two-yearly study, by Sainsbury's Bank, looked at the cost of mortgages, utility bills, council tax, insurance, maintenance and improvements.

It found that the annual total rose £1,389 since 2003/4, taking the figure to £10,048. The biggest proportion is spent on mortgage repayments which, driven by biggerloans to pay for rising house prices, have risen 17.3 per cent to £5,928.


And the average council tax bill, based on figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, is up 16.2 per cent to £1,056.


Rises in utility bills have been particularly punishing. Gas bills have gone up 58%, taking the average to £522 a year, and electricity bills are up 32% to £338. Water and sewerage bills have also been rising, with the average up 17.6% to £294.

Pensioners' groups say the increase in utility bills has hit the elderly especially hard. They say the fact that pensions are linked to the Government's official inflation rate fails to recognise the real increase in the cost of living for millions of OAPs.


Age Concern director Gordon Lishman said: 'The Government should increase the state pension so that pensioners have enough money to cover basic living costs such as heating their homes.All older people should be able to heat their homes without being worried about the bills they're likely to face.


'Many pensioners live on a low, fixed income and are hit particularly hard by hikes in their fuel bills.'


The Government uses two main measures for inflation, the Retail Price Index and the Consumer Price Index. The RPI is used as the benchmark for benefits and pensions. The CPI is the Government's favoured measure for the cost of living.

All the items listed in the Sainsbury's Bank survey are included in the RPI basket. The CPI does not mortgages or council tax.

The study suggests that the combined impact of the rises is affecting how much householders can afford to spend on maintenance. It found the spending on a property in this area had fallen 8 per cent to £393.

This has had an impact on the high street, especially among DIY retailers, where profits have collapsed, stores have closed and thousands of jobs lost.

[waldron] 23/9/2005 09:59

Council tax bills could still soar 10%
Daily Mail
22 September 2005
COUNCIL tax bills are set to rise by as much as 10% next year despite John Prescott's U-turn on property tax, it was claimed yesterday.

Town hall chiefs warned of a 'black hole' in local government spending that will increase average bills by three times the level of inflation. In some areas, the rises will be in double figures.

Last year Chancellor Gordon Brown kept the increases down to five per cent with a £1bn Treasury bail-out for councils. But this year - with no election due - Brown is thought unwilling to find the cash for another big handout.


The scale of the rises - due next April - threatens to fuel renewed anger among voters and a fresh wave of 'can't pay won't pay' protests. One protester, 71-year-old clergyman Alfred Ridley, has already been jailed for refusing to pay £63 of his tax.

The heavy increases in the spring will undo any benefit to the Deputy Prime Minister and his colleagues from this week's retreat over revaluation and reform of local taxes.


The Government abandoned the revaluation - which would have hammered millions of middle-class homeowners and introduced new taxation on home improvements - after spending £60m preparing it.


It also sidelined an inquiry into tax reform headed by ex-Labour councillor Sir Michael Lyons that had been expected to back bigger local taxes for property owners. Sir Michael has now been told to consider peripheral issues such as council control of education and to delay his report for a year.


But neither manoeuvre can avert the looming prospect of big council tax rises next spring, local government chiefs said.

Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association, said that Whitehall was expecting the total amount collected in council tax this year to go up by more than seven per cent at a time when councils are facing greatly increased costs.


'There is a £11/2bn black hole,' he said, adding that only a fraction of Treasury expectations would be met without council tax increases of several times the current inflation level, now 2.4% on the Government's favoured measure.


'What that means in practice is that the tax will have to go up on average by at least 6.8%.'


Sir Sandy, who leads Tory-controlled Kent council, said that local authorities were now subject to an 'intolerable burden of control and bureaucracy' from Whitehall which meant cuts in council spending were impossible. 'In some places increases will reach double figures,' he said.

Council taxpayers meet about a quarter of the bill for running councils and their operations, which include education, waste collection and social services. The rest comes from the Treasury, set out each autumn in Mr Brown's Pre-Budget Statement.


Caroline Spelman, Shadow Secretary for Local Government, said: 'The Chancellor scrabbled around for a billion pound bribe to keep council tax down last year. But the black hole in his finances is still there and now the election is over, people can expect far bigger council tax bills. Labour may have postponed the revaluation stealth tax, but there will be no disguising the rises of up to 10 per cent to come this year.'

Christine Melsom of the Is It Fair? campaign - the organisation behind the protests that have seen Rev Alfred Ridley jailed - said: 'We will continue to fight, and there are going to be a lot of Alfred Ridleys.'

[waldron] 23/9/2005 09:55

Call for £109 pensions for all
This is Money
23 September 2005
OVER 10m pensioners would be lifted off means-tested benefits if a simpler, universal Citizen's Pension was introduced, a pensions group said today.



SAFE RETIREMENT: The group says a flat state pension would help guarantee a secure retirement

The National Association of Pension Funds said every pensioner should received a flat £109 a week regardless of how long they had worked or how much they had earned throughout their career.

The group said the pension would be fairer to women and carers who often receive smaller payments under the current system because of the long periods they haven't worked.

It added that it would help provide a more secure future for pensioners and would make it easier for them to save as they would know what they are in line for. But the bad news is that people may have to work up to 69 to fund the scheme.


Christine Farnish, chief executive of the NAPF, said: 'Since our original proposals for a Citizen's Pension were published three years ago, the debate on pension reform has moved on significantly.


'People want a simpler, fairer system, which does not penalise women who have taken work breaks, and which does not subject millions of pensioners to means testing.'


The group said a Citizen's Pension would cost no more than the current scheme as long as the money currently spent on the basic state pension, State Second Pension, including contracting out rebates, and the Pensions Credit was used.


The future cost of raising the Citizen's Pension in line with earnings could be met through either raising the state retirement age to 67 by 2030 and increasing National Insurance contributions by 1.5%, or by further increasing the retirement age to 69 by 2040.


Around eight out of 10 people questioned by the organisation said they would prefer equal pension payments for both men and women.


Pensions Commissioner Adair Turner is due to deliver his recommendations on how to overhaul the UK system towards the end of November. He recently told the TUC conference that there would be no easy decisions and that workers could face a longer working life of higher taxes.


In last year's report, Turner highlighted a £57bn pensions shortfall, warning young adults aren't saving enough for a comfortable retirement.

[waldron] 19/9/2005 09:15

The great council tax U-turn
This is Money
18 September 2005
MILLIONS of families are to be spared swingeing council tax rises after a climbdown by the Government.



SPARED: Tax on homes that have risen in value was due to be recalculated


According to Whitehall sources, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has suspended a nationwide revaluation of homes in the face of a mounting backlash.

One in three homes in England - seven million in all - had been expected to move up a council tax band in the revaluation. In the South, where house prices have soared, bills were expected to rocket by at least £270 a year in four out of five towns.

Preparatory work for the revaluation has already begun. But ministers are expected to argue next week that it is 'pointless' to proceed while they are awaiting the results of an independent inquiry into the future of council tax.

Former Labour councillor Sir Michael Lyons, who is conducting the investigation, will report in December. Sir Michael has called for the revaluation to continue because updated valuations will be central to any reform. So the postponement will prompt accusations that ministers are scared of the political implications.

With the first bills based on the new valuations due in April 2007, Chancellor Gordon Brown is understood to have been alarmed at the potential impact on Labour's prospects at the next election - by which time he expects to be prime minister. Voters have already suffered a rise of more than 70% in council tax since Labour came to power in 1997, sending bills above £1,000 in some areas.

The depth of public resentment was shown earlier this month when retired vicar Alfred Ridley, 71, was sentenced to 28 days in one of Britain's toughest prisons for refusing to pay part of the latest increase in his bill.

The revaluation would have punished regions of the South, where house prices have risen most since the existing tax bands were calculated in 1991, while favouring Labour heartlands in the North.

A senior Whitehall source said: 'The revaluation exercise will be postponed - not cancelled, but postponed.

'The thinking is that yes, it will be politically sensitive, but it would also seem very strange to go into a revaluation exercise when you are still waiting for the Lyons report.'

The Government had signalled that anyone whose home had risen in value by more than the average - 160% since 1991 - would move up to a new tax band.

In the South-West, 81% of towns have seen prices rise above the national average. In the South-East, the figure is 78% and in East Anglia 66%. In the North-East, no towns have topped the average.

Moving an average Band D home up to Band E would mean a tax increase of 22%, from £1,214 to £1,484 - a rise of £270 a year.

A revaluation already carried out in Wales led to an average 9% rise in tax bills this year - five times the rate of inflation. A third of homes were moved up to a more expensive band, with only 8% moving down.

Tory spokesman Caroline Spelman said: 'John Prescott's council tax plans are now in disarray. There is no logical link between the cost of emptying your bins and how much your house has increased in value. The only thing for the Government to do is to cancel revaluation outright.'

Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather insisted: 'Council tax is in a desperate mess, and cancelling revaluation does nothing to change that.

'By opting out of meaningful reform, the Government is letting down the millions of pensioners and low-paid workers who struggle to pay their council tax bills.

'Revaluation or no revaluation, council tax is Britain's most unfair tax. It's time to introduce a fair local income tax based on the ability to pay.'

The Deputy Premier's Office said: 'Any statement we make on this matter will be made at the appropriate time'.

[waldron] 19/9/2005 09:06

Rates

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pensioner jail terms create pressure for council tax action

The non-payment campaign will embarrass the Labour Party conference, says Neasa MacErlean

Sunday September 18, 2005
The Observer


Pensioners are serving sentences in prison in an attempt to urge the government to reform the council tax. The Reverend Alfred Ridley, 71, has already begun a 28-day sentence in the Category A Woodhill prison near Milton Keynes for non-payment of a £63 council tax bill - and retired social worker Sylvia Hardy, 73, is due to begin a seven-day sentence on Monday week for non-payment of £53.
Her incarceration - probably in Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire - will coincide with the first day of the Labour Party conference. The pensioners and their supporters are hoping their actions will be discussed by delegates in Brighton and that pressure will be brought to bear on the cabinet, which appears to have turned its back on major reform of this controversial tax.

At the end of this year Sir Michael Lyons publishes his government-commissioned report on the future of council tax. Although the government has indicated it will only tinker with council tax rather than considering major reform or a new system, the actions of Alfred and Sylvia - and the others who they say will follow them to jail - will bring a new kind of pressure to bear. 'As a political statement, this is very powerful and must help people make up their minds,' says Mervyn Kohler, head of public affairs at Help the Aged. 'We have got to find a more satisfactory system than the current one as there will always be a gulf between council tax increases and the rises in state pensions.'

Both pensioners have refused to pay any increase in council tax that exceeds the annual rise in their state pensions. Ridley would like to see an increase in VAT rather than increases to council tax. Lyons's report will consider options such as a local income tax and land valuation tax - and the government might be forced to be more open-minded in appraising these alternatives. Concern is also growing as England gets closer to the 2007 rebasing of council tax - an exercise that will see many thousands of people getting much larger bills.

Una Ridley, Alfred's wife, says he is coping well with prison life although he arrived with only £13 in cash, no change of clothes, and did not take to the strip search. 'The prisoners in there are very supportive,' says Una. 'And one or two of the warders are as well.'

He is sharing a cell with a 23-year-old inmate and has already been taught to barter with matches. The Ridleys have only managed to speak once on the phone since he went into prison 11 days ago because of delays in obtaining a phonecard, but she was able to visit her husband last week.

Alfred and his family are reconciled to his being in prison. 'He chose to go this way,' says Una. 'The laws state that if anyone sticks to the route Alfred has gone that they can serve up to 28 days. The magistrate could have made it 20 days - but he was well within his rights to give 28 days.'

The Ridleys, who will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary after the reverend's release next month, were the founder members of South Northamptonshire Together Against Council Tax Increases.

Una is angry not just at the council tax rises, but also at gas bills (which rise 14.2 per cent tomorrow from British Gas) and petrol price rises. 'For people on pensions, everything revolves around how much money you have to spend to get through this life.' She is distraught at the idea that other elderly people on fixed incomes might need to sell their homes to pay these large and growing bills.

Sylvia Hardy is not looking forward to her incarceration but is prepared for the ordeal. Hardy and Ridley have health problems, and are unlikely to receive their state pensions while in jail, according to Age Concern.

[waldron] 16/9/2005 05:33

Rise in death rate increases Dignity profit

Laura Smith
Friday September 16, 2005

Guardian

Dignity, Britain's largest funeral services company, saw profits rise by nearly a fifth in the first half of this year after more people died than had been expected.
Pre-tax profits rose by 19.7% to £15.8m from £13.2m in the six months to July 1 last year, it said yesterday. A 1.7% rise in the death rate helped results, with 300,800 people dying over the period, compared with 295,800 a year before.

Peter Hindley, Dignity's chief executive, said the rise was a natural fluctuation in the death rate. "The results are very good, due primarily to the increase in the death rate and also our ongoing programme of acquiring small, well-established family businesses, which has boosted our revenues. Outlook remains positive for the rest of the year," he said.

Dignity is the biggest provider of funeral services in Britain, with 516 funeral homes and 22 crematoria. It bought six funeral homes and four funeral home sites in the past year and is acquiring more.

Revenues rose by 8% in the first half to £74.6m and underlying pre-tax profits of £15.8m were tempered by one-off losses of £2.1m due to debt related to the company's flotation in April last year. Sutton Coldfield-based Dignity, which carried out 36,000 funerals and 21,200 cremations over the period, is Britain's only publicly listed funeral company.