1 in 10 holidaymakers confesses to currency confusion, with 14% of men admitting to having taken Euros to a non-Euro country, according to a new survey* of 1000 people by ICE - International Currency Exchange, the leading travel money provider. ICE is urging those jetting off abroad this summer to double-check the legal tender of their destination and not to assume that any European country will accept Euros.
Mortgage arrears and possessions continued to fall in the second quarter of 2014, according to data published today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The number of mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the balance stood at 131,400 (1.18% of all mortgages) at the end of June, down from 138,200 (1.24%) three months earlier and 154,900 (1.38%) a year ago.
Figures published yesterday (14 Aug 2014) by The Pensions Regulator show that more than four million workers have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. The regulator's monthly declaration of compliance report shows that more than 21,000 employers have now completed their declaration of compliance (registration) informing the regulator how they have met their duties.
Responding to today's (Wednesday) quarterly inflation report from the Bank of England, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:"It is hugely concerning to hear that the Bank has cut its forecast for wage growth in half. The economy's getting bigger but not better with Britain's pay squeeze now set to continue even longer.
The new Which? report explores consumer behaviour and attitudes to saving in the UK and identifies that there are approximately 11.5 million people who struggle to save regularly, and a further 2.5 million who don't save but could afford to, who could be encouraged to save more. The Government recommends that households have at least three months' of essential expenditure to protect against sudden shocks to income or expenditure, yet four in ten (41%) people say they could not last three months without their main source of income.
Work has now finished at the most northerly gin distillery on mainland Britain with the final piece of equipment - a new still called ‘Elizabeth' – installed in the new custom-built distillery at Dunnet, Caithness. Husband and wife team Martin and Claire Murray, the founders of Dunnet Bay Distillers have distilled and tested the first batches of Rock Rose gin and full production will be under way in time for the launch of the new micro distillery on the 21 August.
Two of the bodies responsible for oversight of policing in Scotland are today announcing a complementary programme of review and inquiry into the decision of Police Scotland to give a small number of firearms officers a standing authority to carry firearms. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is today publishing the full terms of reference for its planned assurance review to independently assess the current practices for the issue and carriage of firearms by armed response vehicle (ARV) crews under the standing authority.
A QUARTER OF A MILLION MORE HOUSEHOLDS STRUGGLING WITH FINANCES. Our latest MoneyMood Survey shows one in eight homes (12%) are struggling to make ends meet, up from one in nine last year.
- "Big Six" energy companies absent from top five best buy tables since February 14th 2014. - Size DOESN'T matter: smaller providers winning the energy price war as a result.
Comparing the estimates for April to June 2014 with those for January to March 2014, employment continued to rise and unemployment continued to fall. These changes continue the general direction of movement over the past two years.
Caithness and Sutherland Area Leader Cllr Deirdre Mackay has welcomed the announcement of two reviews into the decision by Police Scotland to allow a number of its officers to carry handguns. It was announced that both the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and the HM Inspectorate of Scotland (HMIS) will both hold reviews looking at different areas of the policy. The HMICS will assess the current practices for the issue and the carrying of firearms by armed response vehicle crews. It will aim to provide assurance that Police Scotland's approach is compliant with guidance, procedures and recognised best practice. SPA has announced that its review will consider the public impact of Police Scotland's decision around firearms deployment.
Members of The Highland Council's Licensing Board were today (12 August 2104) informed that a very large number of Personal Licence holders have still to notify the Board that they have undertaken refresher training which is required if they are to retain their Licence. As at 12 August, of 1,559 Personal Licences needing to be refreshed only 688 (44%) had notified the Board that they had completed their refresher training.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrea Leadsom, today encouraged employers and voluntary sector organisations to engage with credit unions to help them provide affordable credit and responsible financial services in their communities. Following the launch of the government's call for evidence on credit unions in June, the Economic Secretary today visited London Mutual Credit Union to hear first-hand how credit unions are providing a payday loan product at a fraction of the costs charged by payday lenders.
Police Scotland welcomes the life sentence of John MacIntosh (46) from Dingwall at the High Court in Aberdeen on Wednesday 6th August 2014, for serious sexual assaults and rapes against women and a child in the Highlands from 1996 to 2004. One of these related to the assault and attempted rape of a 9 year old child.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (August, 13th) sold 10,449 store lambs at their annual district sale to average £54.42 (+ £1.77 on the year). Cheviot wedder lambs (4,787) averaged £52.33 (+£0.54) and sold to £65.00 gross from Carrol Farm, Brora.
The UK is becoming the 'self-employment capital' of Western Europe, according to new analysis from the think tank IPPR, ahead of the latest official unemployment figures. IPPR's analysis shows that growth in self-employment in the UK has been the fastest of all Western European countries over the last year, with the proportion of workers who are self-employed rising by almost a whole percentage point.
A National Statistics Publication for Scotland. The majority of people in Scotland rate their neighbourhood as a good place to live, have access to the internet and engaged in some type of cultural activity in 2013.
A growing number of British expats are likely to "sever financial ties with the UK" should the UK government introduce plans to make them pay tax on UK-earned income, forecasts the boss of one of the world's largest independent financial advisory organisations. The prediction from Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, which has 80,000 mainly expatriate clients, comes as it is reported that British Chancellor George Osborne is preparing to prevent non-residents from offsetting income generated in the UK against their £10,000 personal allowance.
The recovery in Scotland's private sector economy continued into the second half of the year, July's Bank of Scotland PMI report showed. Business activity rose at the fastest rate in six months, helping to sustain solid employment growth across both the manufacturing and service sectors.
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of young people starting university this Autumn want to work for themselves when they graduate, according to research from HSBC. This year's students have grown up with the backdrop of recession and difficult employment conditions and as a result almost half (47 per cent) say this has made them want to work for themselves more.
