uSwitch.com’s survey of over 7,000 credit card customers shows retail brands Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s stealing the limelight from the Big Four banks, as customers rank them higher in trust, value for money and customer service. - Too big to fail? The Big Four banks fail to win a single award in credit card satisfaction survey.
- 8.6 million drivers risk missing out on savings by sticking with their existing insurer when renewing - 2.4 million motorists can't be bothered to shop around for cover - Motorists could save up to £220 a year each by switching UK motorists are wasting £1.9 billion each year by staying loyal to their existing car insurer. Not shopping around for a better deal at renewal time means drivers could be throwing away around £220 a year1, says MoneySuperMarket.com.
HSBC has installed free Wi-Fi in branches around the UK to help its customers get online while they bank. The hotspots, powered by BT Wi-Fi, are initially available in over 650 HSBC branches throughout the UK.
* Total household wealth up by over £3 trillion since 2003 or £96,000 per household * Household wealth grows faster than disposable income and inflation * Financial asset value rises as housing wealth drops. According to latest research from Lloyds Bank Private Banking total household wealth1 at the end of 2013 is estimated to have reached £7.84 trillion, an increase of £3.07 trillion over the past decade; equivalent to a rise of £96,000 per household.
* New powers To control Dangerous Dogs * Longer Prison Sentences For Irresponsible Dog Owners * New Powers For Police and Local Authorities * Laws already in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) - which represents the largest number of dog attack victims in the UK - is welcoming tough new dog control laws introduced today.
MoneySuperMarket.com Comments On Barclaycard Launching The Offer - . Commenting on Barclaycard launching the UK's longest ever balance transfer offer of zero per cent for 32 months, Kevin Mountford, head of banking at MoneySuperMarket said: “Following on from Halifax launching its 31 month balance transfer card last week, Barclaycard has upped the ante once again and updated its offering to maintain pole position in the balance transfer market.
Milestone reached in contractors payment scheme. The first payment has been made in an innovative scheme designed to speed up payments to contractors working on public sector construction projects.
£15 million for Green Homes Cashback scheme. Households will be able to apply for up to £7,300 through a new, more generous, phase of the Scottish Government’s Green Homes Cashback scheme.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (May, 13th) sold 37 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (25) averaged 207.1p (+2.9p) and sold to 223p per kg and £1,471.80 gross.
The work of police officers and staff in the Highlands and Islands plays a vital role in keeping people safe, Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said today. The Chief Constable was visiting the divisional headquarters of Highland and Islands Division in Inverness today (Tuesday 13 May 2014) to attend a ceremony honouring the long service of police officers and staff.
Value May Be A Destination Decider - But UK Holidaymakers Overspend Abroad By 44 Per Cent. - Only one-third of holidaymakers stick to their spending budget on overseas trips - On a holiday spending budget of £552 the average overspend is £242 - But perceived value remains key to destination choice: Turkey and Spain score but France, Dubai and Italy get the thumbs down Value for money may be the key factor in deciding on a destination for an overseas trip but a new report by Post Office® Travel Money reveals that overspending is widespread once UK tourists get to their holiday hotspot¹.
An innovative commercial heating scheme, which will result in lower operating costs for community facilities across Shetland, has received a significant funding boost from Scottish Government agencies. A new wood pelleting plant at Gremista, run by North Fish (Shetland) Ltd is now supplying energy to the Lerwick District Heating Scheme, reducing the systems need to use more expensive heating oil.
Julian Kelly has been appointed as the new Director General Public Spending and Finance (DG PSF) in the Treasury, the Chancellor and Chief Secretary have announced. The new role, created following the Review of Financial Management in Government merges the role of Head of Public Spending with Head of the Government Finance profession for the first time.
Highlands and Islands (Scottish Labour) MSP David Stewart has received assurances from SSEPD (Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution) following the April power cut outage which affected more than 200,000 properties at the height of the disruption affecting the North of Scotland which included Fort William, Moray, Caithness, Orkney and the Western Isles. David Stewart MSP was quick to seek answers and an explanation regarding the cause of the unprecedented outage from SSEPD and met with officials from the company in the following days.
Employers back youth jobs event Range of help on offer at Nairn Community Centre Young people are being urged to come along to a ‘Jobs and How To Get Them’ event aimed at helping them into work, training or sharpen up their job seeking skills. The free event has been arranged by a number of organisations who support young people in the local area and has been backed by employers and learning providers from across the region.
Employers back youth jobs event. Range of help on offer at Aviemore’s Hub.
Week commencing 5th May 2014 Energy & Business Services: Offshore wind developer Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd (MORL) held a “meet the buyer” event in Wick this week. The event, held in association with CNSRP partner Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise, featured presentations from lead partner EDPR and Tier 1 supply chain company Global Energy Group, as well as offering businesses the opportunity for one-to-one discussions.
Two years into its major contract to complete the clean-up and shutdown of Dounreay, the consortium in charge of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd is now revising its programme of work to accommodate changes being made by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The NDA awarded a contract in April 2012 to Cavendish Dounreay Partnership.
MAKLAB is one of several projects to benefit from SSE’s new £1m Highland Sustainable Fund. It received an award of £40,000 (90% match funding) to establish a MAKLab North workshop at Wick High School and mobile MAKLAB to deliver access and skills training in digital fabrication technology across the Highland region.
At its meeting on Thursday 8th May 2014 Highland council made several changes to the committee structure and a number of councillor positions. The changes are part of the moves to cut costs and make more efficiencies.
