Source: http://english.blic.rs/News//8668/URS-to-end-like-JUL
Letters warning of £500-a-week benefit cap are sent to thousands of households that will not be affected
Thousands of households, including families with disabled children, have been incorrectly told they are likely to see their welfare payments cut, charities and social security advisers say.
From next year, couples or single parents in England who receive more than £500 a week in benefits will have their payments cut. However, it has emerged that letters from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been sent to households which are either exempt – such as those with a child in receipt of disability living allowance – or where families are no longer in receipt of benefits. In some cases, people have been warned about being above the £500-a-week limit when in fact they are under it.
Charities say that 2,000 families with disabled children have been wrongly targeted. Enver Solomon, policy director at The Children's Society, said: "What should have been a smooth transition is in danger of becoming a fiasco because of rushed implementation of an ill-thought-out policy. Thousands of families could be left confused, totally in the dark or alarmed because of misinformation."
He added: "They will be given no information about how much they stand to lose. It also appears that thousands of families will be told incorrectly they may be affected, including those with disabled children who are exempt."
Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, argued that limiting benefits was essential to make work pay. He set a cap of £26,000 a year, despite claims that such a strategy would mean the poor would be driven out of London. The Department for Work and Pensions said the letters were the first step in a process that would "bring fairness back into the benefits system".
However, social security advisers said councils were reporting that up to 20% of the 67,000 households had been "incorrectly identified" by the department. Gary Vaux of Hertfordshire county council's money advice service said: "This has alarmed a lot of people unnecessarily. We have reports of anything between 10% and 20% of letters going to the wrong people. While the policy of warning people is well intentioned, it does not appear to have been done competently. The letters do not even tell people how much they will lose. It could be £5 or £150 a week."
Even worse is that the letters appear also to be going to households found to have a benefit entitlement considerably under £500 per week, Vaux said. "Anyone with benefits above £450 a week has got a letter, we think, on the basis that they might next year have more than £500 a week in benefits. But this is scaring people."
An email sent by the DWP's "stakeholder engagement team" last week to charities and councils said it would be "investigating … some inconsistencies with the data scans as shared with local authorities". When contacted by the Guardian, the department released a statement saying: "We have promised to work intensively with people ahead of the benefits cap to prepare them, and the letters sent this week are the first step. We expect people to use this support to help them make the right decisions ahead of the benefit cap coming into force in April 2013."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/may/08/families-disabled-children-benefit-cut
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House prices fall 2.4% in April as Halifax warns of 'challenging' times ahead
• House prices: what do the different indices show?
House prices fell in April at their fastest rate for 20 months according to Halifax, knocking nearly £4,000 off the value of the average property in Britain.
April's 2.4% fall follows the end of the stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers at the end of March, and Halifax said the market would remain "very challenging" for the rest of the year.
On an annual basis, prices are now 0.5% below their level a year ago. The average price in April was £159,883 compared with £163,796 in March, and remain one-fifth below the £199,612 peak of August 2007.
Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said: "House prices continue to lack real direction with the current UK average price little different to where it was at the end of 2011. The monthly figures continue to fluctuate quite widely with a 2.4% decline in April, wiping out March's 2.2% rise.
"The ending of the stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers in late March appears to have boosted home sales early this year as buyers strove to beat the deadline, and has probably contributed to the volatility in house prices in the last few months."
The price drop brings the Halifax index in line with the Nationwide index, which showed a 1% decline in March followed by a 0.2% fall in April.
Despite its predictions of a flat market for the year ahead, Halifax said its customers are feeling more confident.
Its "housing market confidence" tracker found four in 10 people feel house prices will rise over the coming year, double the amount who believe prices will fall. "This is the most positive reading since Halifax began measuring consumer confidence in the housing market a year ago," the bank said.
But professional economists continue to believe the direction in house prices is flat or downwards. Howard Archer, chief economist at Global Insight said: "Our belief that house prices will drift lower over the coming months is reinforced by the Nationwide reporting that house prices fell 0.2% in April, while Bank of England data showed muted mortgage approvals for house purchases in March. Specifically, we expect house prices to fall by a further 3% by the end of 2012.
"Housing market activity is very low compared with long-term norms. And the economic fundamentals currently look worrying overall for the housing market, with unemployment high and likely to rise further, earnings growth muted and the outlook uncertain."
The last month has seen tightening conditions in the mortgage market, with many lenders increasing their standard variable rates. This week Co-operative Bank became the first major lender to completely withdraw from interest-only lending. Other banks have restricted interest-only loans to borrowers able to stump up a 50% deposit.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/04/house-prices-april-halifax
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Source: http://english.blic.rs/In-Focus//8656/Americans-first-to-withdraw-their-soldiers-from-KFOR
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Officials say Beijing has indicated it will push through activist's application to leave China after offer of study from US university
The US expects the Chinese government to quickly clear the way for Chen Guangcheng to travel abroad to study, it said on Friday, raising hopes for the blind activist after days of fraught negotiation.
China's foreign ministry hinted at a possible face-saving deal in an ambiguous statement saying he could apply to study abroad like other citizens.
Human rights campaigners gave a cautious welcome to the news but warned that the outcome was far from certain.
"Mr Chen has been offered a fellowship from an American university, where he can be accompanied by his wife and two children," US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday.
"The Chinese government has indicated that it will accept Mr Chen's applications for appropriate travel documents. The United States government expects that the Chinese government will expeditiously process his applications for these documents, and make accommodations for his current medical condition," she added.
"The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention."
The statement came shortly after Hillary Clinton, in Beijing for strategic and economic talks, said: "Over the course of the day progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants and we will be staying in touch with him as this process moves forward. This is not just about well-known activists; it's about the human rights and aspirations of more than a billion people here in China and billions more around the world."
She also said that US embassy officials and doctors – who had been blocked from seeing Chen – met him on Friday.said that They said Chen had three broken bones from his escape, and his foot was in a cast.
Chen had agreed to remain in China to study with government assurances on his safety, but changed his mind after leaving the US embassy in Beijing, where he had fled after escaping from 19 months of house arrest in eastern Shandong province.
"Chen Guangcheng is currently being treated in hospital," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement released by Xinhua and carried prominently on news portals on Friday.
"If he wants to study abroad, he can apply through normal channels to the relevant departments in accordance with the law, just like any other Chinese citizen."
Phelim Kine, of Human Rights Watch, said: "The lesson of the last 48 hours is that expectations really need to be backed with concrete plans for delivery.
"It's encouraging that the US government has confidence that the Chinese government will respond appropriately in this regard, but there's no guarantee. What's required now is public confirmation by the Chinese government and the issuance of a schedule for how and when this process will be completed."
Chinese rights lawyer Tang Jitian earlier told AP: "This notice from the ministry is positive news, but how it will play out we don't know. For instance, getting the approval for the paperwork to go, there are many potential pitfalls. We can't be 100% optimistic."
A state department official said Chinese officials were interviewing Chen to record his allegations against local Shandong officials, Blake Hounshell of Foreign Policy tweeted. The official also said Clinton had been directly involved in negotiations, holding extensive meetings with senior Chinese officials.
Earlier, Orville Schell, director of the centre on US-China relations at Asia Society, said in terms of the initial deal, "one striking thing for me was how far the Chinese side was willing to go to actually co-operate with US state department officials to resolve this issue, ie bringing Chen Guangcheng's family to Beijing, agreeing on universities for him to attend, agreeing not to harass him [and so on]."
He added: "If this reasonably good working relationship under stressful circumstances proves in the end to have been true, it will be a good omen for the future of 'the relationship'."
Chen, a self-taught legal activist, was originally praised by authorities for helping disabled people defend their rights, but angered officials by defending women who had undergone forced abortions and sterilisations, which are illegal in China.
In a surprise telephone call to a US congressional hearing on Thursday night Chen had repeated his request to go to the US with his family and requested a meeting with Clinton.
He said he did not want to seek asylum but to rest and study. He also expressed fears for the lives of his other family members, including his mother and brothers, and voiced concern that people in his home village – which remains heavily guarded – were suffering retribution for helping him.
He Peirong, the Nanjing activist missing for days after helping to drive him from Shandong to Beijing, tweeted to say she had returned home safely but declined to comment further to media.
The Chinese Human Rights Defenders network said the wife of Jiang Tianyong, a lawyer snatched outside the hospital where Chen was being treated on Thursday, said he had been released but had suffered hearing loss in both ears after being badly beaten.
Several Chinese newspapers launched a co-ordinated assault on Chen and the US on Friday morning, with commentaries describing Chen as a pawn and attacking the US ambassador.
"Chen Guangcheng has become a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China," the Beijing Daily said.
But the official news agency Xinhua and the Communist party paper People's Daily did not carry such pieces, suggesting to some that there might be disagreements among Chinese officials about how to handle the case.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/04/us-expects-chen-guangcheng-travel-permission
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Ministry of Justice announces 897 companies have been granted licences to offer deals on mis-sold insurance
The lawyers, accountants and businessmen behind the mushrooming PPI claims industry stand to take at least £1bn, and possibly £2bn, of the £8bn in compensation expected to be paid out by banks and credit card companies to individuals mis-sold insurance.
The Ministry of Justice said that a total of 897 firms have now been granted licences to offer PPI compensation services, and some of the leading companies in the sector are already enjoying huge fees. Last year Gladstone Brookes obtained £108m in PPI compensation from the banks on behalf of its customers. It charges 25% ( plus VAT) of anything received by clients, which suggests it is likely to have taken at least £25m as its share.
Many of the lawyers behind the new PPI claims management companies are veterans of previous compensation sagas, from which they have pocketed millions of pounds. One of the directors of Warrington-based Gladstone Brookes is 35-year-old Anthony Chorlton. In 2006 he was named by The Lawyer magazine as one of two equity partners in Avalon Solicitors, also based in Warrington, which in 2005-06 brought in £21.2m in fees and made a net profit of £15.5m – a margin of 73%. It is understood that Chorlton's partner, Andrew Nulty, took around £13m, while Chorlton himself earned around £2.5m, dwarfing most lawyers in the UK's top 100 firms that year.
Avalon's earnings came from controversial fees charged to sick miners seeking compensation from the government for a range of heart and respiratory diseases. In 2009, Andrew Nulty was struck off by the solicitors disciplinary tribunal after it found that he had taken fees he was not entitled to. He is now believed to be living in Spain. Chorlton was not subject to disciplinary action. Chorlton could not be reached for comment.
Gladstone Brookes' report and accounts for the period up to July 31, 2011, before the surge in PPI claims that followed a High Court ruling in April, shows that turnover jumped from £9.9m to £11.4m, although profits fell as it invested in new premises. It said the decision by the British Bankers' Association not to appeal the High Court ruling "was welcome news for the company and the volume of claims being processed following the decision experienced a significant increase."
Other PPI claims companies are enjoying huge increases in business. Mitchell Farrar Group, the company behind PPIClaimBack.co.uk, which also operates BankingRefunds.co.uk and ReclaimCreditCardCharges.com, saw its turnover surge from £2.2m to £9m between 2010 and 2011. The company also operates a large debt management service, so PPI claims make up only a part of its revenue.
Brunel Franklin said it has been behind 100,000 claims made so far, with an average payout of around £2,000. Its fees are also 25%, suggesting its share of the compensation claimed so far to be around £50m. Its managing director, Sally Bowyer, said: "Brunel Franklin fully supports attempts to clean up the claims industry and outlaw rogue practices and operators. Brunel Franklin was at the forefront of the pro-regulation lobby several years ago and remains committed to a totally professional approach in all its business activities. We work extremely diligently to filter out invalid claims, and almost all the cases we present to the banks are valid claims with PPI attached. We believe our fees are reasonable for the service we provide, and these are offset by the massive investment we have made."
The MoJ said that since it set up a compliance team to investigate complaints against claims management companies, it had conducted 50 audits, and issued seven warnings already. AMoJ spokesperson said: "We have made it very clear to businesses that we take a zero tolerance approach to any malpractice or attempts to take advantage of consumers, which is why we have a dedicated unit investigating claims management companies who mis-handle PPI claims. This work is ongoing. We investigate all complaints made against businesses and where a breach of the rules is identified, enforcement action is taken that can result in the business being closed down."
The MoJ also warned of a surge in scam calls from people falsely claiming to be from the ministry itself, tricking members of the public into paying an upfront free to enable them to receive money they are owed from PPI misselling.
"Fraudsters have already tricked and harassed some victims into handing over thousands of pounds, only for them to find that the call was a fake. The MoJ would never contact consumers asking them for personal bank details, or request an up front payment by money transfer."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/may/01/ppi-compensation-fees-2-billion
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A number of factors could affect what kind of contribution Damon can make for the Indians.
Johnny Damon hit .261 in 150 games with Tampa Bay in 2011, with 16 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 25 attempts.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Outfielder Johnny Damon is expected to make his debut with the Cleveland Indians tonight in Chicago against the White Sox.
The Indians recently signed Damon as a free agent.
The left-handed hitting Damon, 38, has put together a fine career in his previous 17 major league seasons.
Damon has a .286 career batting average, with 2,723 hits, 516 doubles, 107 triples, 231 home runs and 404 stolen bases. In 2004, he helped the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. Five years later, the New York Yankees won the World Series with Damon in the outfield.
Damon has stroked at least 130 hits in each of the last 16 seasons. He has scored more than 100 runs in 10 seasons.
Indians manager Manny Acta has said that Damon will get most of his playing time as the left fielder. However, Damon -- who has a notoriously weak arm -- played just 52 games in the outfield in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
There are a lot of variables to what Damon might do with the Indians this season.
Regardless of how he plays, would Damon's playing time be reduced when center fielder Grady Sizemore returns? Sizemore, recovering from knee and back problems, could be back some time in June, but this is the fourth straight season during which he's been hobbled by injuries.
Another factor that could affect Damon's status with the Indians includes the play of Michael Brantley, who was slated to again be the starting left fielder, but is in center due to Sizemore's absence. Would Damon and Sizemore end up as the starters in left and center, respectively?
And what about Travis Hafner, who has often been sidelined by injuries over the past four seasons? Hafner's only lineup spot is at designated hitter, which is probably the most suitable spot for Damon these days.
In fact, Damon was the Detroit Tigers' DH in 98 games in 2010, and was the Tampa Bay Rays' DH in 135 games last season.
And, if Damon is producing later in the season, but the Indians aren't in contention, will he be a player that other teams -- almost certainly contenders -- pursue? Certainly, at this point in his career, Damon wouldn't bring much in return in a trade, but there would be little reason for the Indians to regularly play him if they're not contending.
And, of course, there's the possibility that this will be the time when Damon can no longer consistently deal with big league pitching. We'll soon find out what kind of bat speed he maintains.
Johnny Damon: What most closely represents what he will do for the Cleveland Indians this season?
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2012/05/johnny_damon_what_will_his_sta.html
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