Since the start of the year 1 in 4 of redundancies in the EU have been in the UK. Out of 219,390 job losses in the EU, 63,314 were in the UK. This makes grim reading for us Brits.

Particularly badly hit, was the financial sector where firms like Barclays, Sun Alliance, The Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC actioned swingeing job cuts and the retail sector where current forecasts indicate that there will be 139,000 empty shops by the end of this year – equivalent to 15% of the UK’s total retail floor space.

And in the next few weeks we will also learn what is to happen to Vauxhall. With 5,000 workers in its UK factories and probably three times that number employed indirectly in the UK, there’s potentially another 20,000 jobs down the drain. Let’s hope that our Government have really got guarantees from the bidders that these factories will stay open.

Somehow I have my doubts.

The British Bankers Association has announced that lending by the major UK banks in April was £2.7 billion, down from £3.4 billion the month before. But mortgage approvals in April were actually up on the previous month by 4% - but still 16% down on April last year. And perhaps not surprisingly, the average mortgage value was £129,100 having been £155,100 a year earlier.

Bank loans for car buying was £1.5 billion, the same as the previous month but still 39% down on the same month last year. And credit card spending was down 11% lower than 12 months ago.

What does all this mean?

Well, the massive stimulus injected into the UK economy by the Bank of England has stimulated nothing. What it has done, is arrest the decline. What would have happened if the Bank hadn’t injected the money, we hate to think about!

The housing market remains weak as mortgage lenders control advances through restrictive lending conditions and, whilst the numbers of house sales are marginally picking up, prices continue to fall albeit at a slower pace. Estate agents will try to talk the market up referring to higher mortgage approvals – but the fact is that the value of mortgage lending remains weak.

In our view, until consumers’ confidence returns and the banking system regains its ability to lend (is that a chicken and egg scenario?), tough times will remain. Still no “green shoots”.

Hire purchase, the original consumer credit option favoured by millions in the 50’s and 60’s before sportier credit cards and personal loans came into vogue, is back in town.

The lenders like HP because the product that has been “hired” remains the property of the finance company until the last payment has been made and this increases their security. Consumers like HP because it has traditionally been cheaper.

Figures just released by the Finance and Leasing Association show a 10% increase in HP sales in the year to March. And in March alone sales were up 25% over the previous March.

Historically, the popularity of HP rose during Harold Macmillans’ premiership (remember his phrase, “you’ve never had it so good”) on the back of household items worth up to £1,000 – items such as washing machines, fridges, TV’s and carpets. It also flourished as a way of purchasing the family car.

It now seems that the wheel is turning round again. The Association says that HP has rebuilt its market share within the car market back to 54% and it’s increasing. And within Britain’s shops HP is now being used to support promotions such as “nothing to pay for a year plus 2 years interest free credit”.

Will HP pull us out of our recession? I don’t think so, but perhaps we’ll be a little more comfortable!

“No sir, you bought your product over a year ago so it’s no longer covered by its guarantee.” Ever heard that before? Yes? Well don’t be fobbed off again!

Under EU Law shoppers can return faulty goods up to 6 years after they were bought and it is the retailer’s responsibility either to put the product right or provide a partial or full refund.

At the moment many retailers are denying shoppers their rights, sometimes because the shop assistants simply do not know the law or because management think they can get away with it. And by and large management are right!

But do not be fooled. The existence of a standard 1 year guarantee from the manufacturer tends to confuse the situation but after that guarantee expires the retailer assumes responsibility for the product.

Here are the key facts of the Law:

Key Facts:• No matter where items are bought from they must “conform to contract”. This means they must be as described, of satisfactory quality (i.e. not intrinsically faulty when purchased) and fit for purpose.

• Items are of “satisfactory quality” if they reach the standard that a sensible person would regard as satisfactory. This takes into account the product description and its price.

• Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, finish and appearance, freedom from minor defects, safety and durability.

• It is the retailer, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if items do not conform to contract.

• If at the time of sale, items do not conform to contract, purchasers can request their money back “within a reasonable time”. (The law does not define “reasonable time” and that will depend on the circumstances)

• For up to six years after you have purchased the item (five years in Scotland) buyers can demand damages (which the court will associate with the cost of a repair or replacement).

• A private buyer purchaser who is a consumer ( i.e. has not bought the item in the course of a business), can request either a repair or replacement.

• If repair or a replacement is too costly or not possible, then the purchaser can demand a partial refund, if they have enjoyed some benefit from the item, or a full refund if the fault means they have enjoyed no benefit whatsoever.

• In general, it is the purchasers’ responsibility to prove the item was inherently faulty (i.e. did not conform to contract) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (for example, a loaf of bread would not be expected to last for six years!)

• If a consumer elects to request a replacement or repair, then for the first 6 months after purchase it becomes the retailer’s responsibility to prove that the item did conform to contract (i.e. the item was not inherently faulty)

• After 6 months and until the six years is complete, the consumer has to prove that the item was faulty (i.e. did not conform.)

Off on your holiday? Then don’t buy your foreign currency at the airport. The Bureaux de Change’s based in airport thoroughfares give the worst value for money effectively charging £45 more for 500 euro’s than the cheapest you can get.

Worst Airport based deals for 500 euros
Travelex cost £507.84
American Express cost £485.08
TTT cost £484.31

Cheapest deals for 500 euros
Euroexchange cost £461.07
ICA* cost £463.00
No1 Currency cost £465.37

*online delivered to your home

And when it comes to buying US dollars the situation is very similar.

Now all these companies advertise that their exchange is “commission free” so why do we get such wide differences in cost? Well, it’s all down to the exchange rate they give you – the number of euros to the pound. Currently, the Tourist Exchange Rate is 1.08 euros per £ ,but as the rate changes each day, if the Bureaux at the airport gave you 1.06, you might just assume that 1.06 was just the daily rate. But the fact is that they are profiteering by giving you a poor exchange rate – albeit “commission free”!

It is a fact that the recession has made people more price conscious. And the fall in the value of the £ has increased the cost of hotels, travel and entertainment. So that makes it even more important to shop around – just avoid those Bureaux de Change at the airport!

If you’re on the minimum wage of £5.73 per hour get ready for for a wage rise! Next October the minimum wage rises to £5.80 – that’s far less than the Trade Unions were demanding but that what it is.

And it has still angered business leaders who wanted a total wage freeze to help cope with the recession. A spokesman for the British Chamber of Commerce confirmed that they had pressed hard for a freeze to reflect the severity of the downturn and the daily job losses.

The increase will mean that an adult working 40 hours a week will earn £232 a week. The new minimum for 18 to 20 year olds will rise by 6p to £4.83 and the rate for 16 and 17 year olds rises by 4p to £3.57.

A spokesman for the Low Paid Commission said that nearly 1 million people will benefit from the increase.

Still ……. not a lot is it?

The “bangers and cash” scheme under which owners of cars over 10 years old get £2,000 off the price of a new car when their old car is scrapped, has fallen into total disarray.

On the scheme’s first day, major car manufacturers refused to register any cars sold under the scheme leaving thousands of clients disappointed. The chaos has arisen because the Government hasn’t sorted out the details of the scheme. The manufacturere do not know how to register the cars onto the scheme or who should scrap the bangers. There are also problems relating to the treatment of VAT on the price of the new car.

All these problems mean that car deliveries are suspended and the prospective owners have no idea when their new car will be delivered.

This embarrassing situation arose after Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, were crowing about how popular the scheme was as they launced it at a dealership in North London. They expect some 300,000 new cars to be sold under the scheme.

Isn’t this absolutely ludicrous. With all the resources at the Governments disposal, can’t they get their paperwork sorted out?

Extract um digitum Mr Brown.

The housing charity “Shelter”, says lenders are not following agreed guidelines aimed at limiting repossessions.

Last year a “pre-action protocol” was agreed which laid out the ways lenders should assist borrowers before starting repossession proceedings. But it seems that as the guidelines are just that – guidelines not imbedded in law, they are being ignored by the lenders and some courts.

In Shelter’s survey which was run in conjunction with The Citizens Advice Bureau and National Debtline, it was found that just less than a half of mainstream lenders were observing the pre-action protocol. The very worst were the sub-prime lenders lending to people with impaired credit ratings. Here only one fifth were observing the protocol.

Shelter said, “These people are already the most vulnerable and should be the borrowers most seeking the protection of the protocol”.

But it is not only the lenders who are at fault, the courts also come in for critism. Three out of every four Judges were asking the lenders for more information about the efforts they had undertaken to sort out the borrower’s financial problems. But despite that, repossessions had increased by 23% beteen the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.

During the last 25 years the number of working mums with children under 5 has doubled. Now 62% of married or co-habiting women bring up a toddler whilst working. Back in the 80’s it was only 31%.

And 75% of women with children under 10 go out to work. But it is single mums who have been the main beneficiary of the tax credits system and they are less likely to work than married or co-habiting women.

The general trend shows that financial penalties and incentives are presuading many women into work. Despite many working mums wishing that they did not have to work, the financial pressures on the family have driven them to work.

The right of centre think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies says that there must be more support for mothers who want to stay at home beleiving that this is better for their children. But the Government has swung the other way.

Ministers have recently announced a scheme to offer subsidised child care which will further encourage mothers to work. The scheme pays £175 towards day care for a child under 14 for parents who train for a job. The payments are paid so long as the families earn less than £20,000 a year and have one partner who is in work.

Beverley Hughes, the Children’s Minister said, “We know that for those that can work, work remains the best way to take families and children out of poverty”.

Just as we’d all thought the prospect of a bin tax had been swept away, it’s back again! Government Ministers seem to have revived proposals for bin taxes that could cost families £100 per year.

Charges could start as soon as next year when local authorities transfer the control of refuse collection to the Joint Waste Authorities, a central government quango. The fact is that this body will be free to introduce bin taxes without the fear of a revived voter backlash.

The Enviroment Minister, Jane Kennedy, said that the Waste Authority could put forward a new proposal to test “a waste incentive scheme” in any area in which it had responsibility for waste collection.

What weasel words. Lets call a spade a spade. “A waste incentive scheme” means a bin tax.

Even the legal powers which support a bin tax remain on the statute book. So whilst the Government failed earlier this year to presuade or bully, any local council to introduce bin taxes, it looks as if they will creep around the back door.

If your house won’t sell in this difficult market and you need more space, consider extending. Would a loft conversion or an extension suit the bill?

As the credit crunch has knoched the stuffing out of the building industry, builders are more interested in taking on smaller domestic jobs. And a change in Planning Law for England and Wales came into affect at the back end of 2008. The change makes it much easier to get approval for smaller projects. (For more information about the changes, go to www.planningportal.gov.uk)

If you have a secure job and a few pennies in the bank, an extention could bag you a bargain. But be careful. It matters what you spend your money on. Some projects do not necessarily increase the value of your home and some increase it but by less than the money you spend.

New kitchens, loft conversions, conservatories and extensions seem to be the best investments. On average building an extra room increases the value of your house by £13,285 and a loft conversion by £13,567. On the other hand, recarpeting or redocorating has only a marginal affect on the value with almost half of surveyors reporting that these made no differnce whatsoever.

Last week British gas cut their electricity prices by 10% with immediate affect. That follows their similar 10 per cent cut in gas prices in February.

Good news you’d think. But we don’t think so.

They should have cut their prices by much more considering that wholesale prices for gas and electricity are about half the cost they were at the peak last year. This proves that British Gas are making a windfall profit as wholesale costs fall.

It is a fact that wholesale gas prices are 47% off their mid summer peak last year and electricity prices are 28% down too. Therefore, despite the cuts we,ve just received, we are still paying more for our heat and light than we were nine months ago.

Would consumers on the continental europe tolerate this? You can bet their bottom Euro they wouldn’t. They have seen much bigger falls in the price of their gas and electricity.

We think that the industry’s regulator, Ofgem, must show some teeth. Bite British Gas where it hurts. Instruct them to cut prices another 15% and NOW!

A new scheme has been introduced to protect renters from cowboy letting agents. Under the scheme all members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) would have to operate the scheme.

Under the scheme, all ARLA members sign up to an independent redress scheme and they must have arragements in place to protect any money they hold for clients. They must also have an annual audit of the client’s funds they hold and have professional indemnity insurance. Added to this, at least one member of their staff must hold a professional qualification relating to lettings and keep up to date through continuing professional development training.

The head of Membership at the ARLA said, “Our licensing scheme will be the gold standard for letting agents, offering clients best practice advice and service – including total commitment to the protection of client;s money.”

The ARLS’s sister organisation, the National Association of Estate Agents will be following suit with a similar scheme later this year.

It surprises me that this sort of scheme wasn’t already in place. After all, all tennants should expect a professional service and have efficient access to remedies if things go wrong.

Apparently the Government’s £200 million Mortgage Rescue Scheme that has been running since last January, has saved only one family. At the same time 15,000 families lost their homes.

The Scheme was trumpeted by the Government as a life line to those in danger of losing their home because of mortgage repayment problems.
But figures just published by the Department for Communities and Local Government showed that of the 3,070 families which discussed their mortgage problems with the council, only 452 actually applied for help. Of these just one has been approved to received assistance under the Scheme. And we don’t actually know whether the transaction was completed because, as we all know, there can be a world of difference between “being approved” and the deal actually going ahead!

Under the Scheme, housing associations and councils were given state funding to buy a share in families’ properties inorder to reduce their mortgage payments and avoid the fear of being made homeless. When the scheme was launced ministers claimed that it would help 6,000 families over 2 years.

Even if it had suceeded as ministers predicted, it would have made little impact on the 75,000 repossessions forecast for this year alone.

No wonder ministers are tight lipped about the Scheme. This is an appalling state of affairs.

And by-the-way, what’s happened to the £200 million?

30 years ago last weekend, Margaret Thatcher was quoting Francis of Assisi as she stood on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street after the Conservatives defeated of a long standing Labour Government.

She was taking over a country was in a sorry state. There was mass unemployment, rubbish lay uncollected in the streets, inflation was out of control, the unions were out of control and evidence has since emerged that some were even planning a military coup to avoid revolution.

If that sounds unbelievable to you, you were either too young to remember - or you weren’t there!

At the time conventional politics said that nothing counld be done. It was accepted across both the main political parties that it was inpossible to take on the Unions which effectively held the country at ransome whenever challenged or when constructive steps were attempted. After all the Unions had already destroyed firstly Edward Heath’s Government and then Jim Callaghan’s Labour Government.

Then along came Maggie.

Almost single handedly she tamed inflation, transformed the Unions and restored our commercial productivity. In doing so she transformed the “sick man of Europe” into an economic force once again.

Much has been written about her legacy and not everyone agrees that it was for the good. But it is a measure of her impact that she is still able to arouse powerful passion.

Today we carry out politics within a structure largely constructed within her 11 years in office. So whatever your views of her achievements, you cannot ignore her.

Scientists are now saying that half a glass of wine a day can increase life expectancy by almost 5 years. That conclusion followed a study of 1,400 middle aged men over four decades. Of course, it doesn’t have to be wine – I suppose a wee dram would also qualify!

But even if you drink a bit more each day – say 2 galsses of wine, 2 whiskies or 2 pints of beer, you’re still likely to extend your life by 2 years.

Now all this sounds like great news to me and I got to thinking about whether that means that my life insurance premiums should therefore be a bit cheaper. In my mind I began composing a letter to the chief underwriter at Norwich Union.

Dear Sir …. I am writing to you to get a reduction in my monthly premium and make a claim for a rebate of part of the £25.46 a month I have been paying for the last 35 years………..

That’s about as far as I got. Despite what the scientists say about drinking, I’m absolutely sure that the underwriting guru’s at the nations’ insurance companies are going to take no notice whatsoever.

So I saved my self the price of a stamp. And poured myself another glass of chilled chardonay.