Firms will have to stop forcing pensioners to retire

In his recent pre-election budget speech the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, indicated that the Labour party was looking at scrapping the default retirement age, which would mean that firms would have to stop forcing pensioners to retire at the legal retirement age of sixty five.

At present firms can use their discretion with regards to retirement of workers that reach this age, but whilst they can allow them to continue working they can also refuse to allow them to continue to work should they wish to do so.

Under new reforms, should they go ahead, firms would have to allow workers to continue working if they want to. Alistair Darling indicated in his budget speech that the Labour party would either scrap the default retirement age or would increase the retirement age. He also indicated that the party was looking at giving older workers more rights with regards to being able to get more flexible working hours and conditions from their employers.

A number of campaign groups and charities have said that having the current retirement age in place is discrimination, as it means that older workers that feel perfectly capable of continuing to work could be forced to retire by employers simply because of their age, regardless of their abilities, health, and other factors. However, some believe that the plans will cause concern for some businesses who do not want to be stuck with older workers that refuse to retire.

In his budget speech Alistair Darling stated: ‘To enable people who want to work longer, we are consulting on reform of employers’ right to make people retire at 65. We are looking at options which include scrapping the default retirement age, raising it or giving employees stronger rights.’

Tags: Ed Miliband, chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling, speech alistair darling, place

Buyers striving to complete property purchase before end of stamp duty holiday

Many buyers are now said to be rushing to try and complete the purchase of a property before the stamp duty holiday in the UK comes to an end. The stamp duty holiday was brought in last year in a bid to try and kick start the property sector. Read more

Tags: london, stamp duty, first time buyer, Richard Morea, Taxation, Stamp duty in the United Kingdom, Alistair Darling

Tougher Regulation For Banks – More Protection For Consumers

“We need a change of culture in the banks and their boardrooms, with pay practices that are focused on long-term stability, and not on short-term profit.”

These were the words of Alistair Darling today when he outlined his White paper on banking. The proposed measures are aimed at preventing a repeat of the banking crisis which led Britain into its worst ever post-war recession. Read more

Tags: consumer protection, bank regulation, bank of england, Alistair Darling, banks

PM prepared to plough billions for into financial sector

Earlier this month the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, indicated that they were prepared to plough billions of pounds more into the financial sector through the use of taxpayer’s money in order to try and get things moving again. Read more

Tags: month, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, part, Prime Minister and the chancellor, gordon brown, government financial help, Alistair Darling, purse

Measures announced to rescue banks

The Prime Minister recently called a press conference where he not only announced a surprise 0.5% cut in interest rates a day ahead of the scheduled Monetary Policy Committee meeting, but also unveiled a package of measures aimed at rescuing the British banking system. It is thought that around £400 billion will have to be injected by the government to put the rescue plan into place, and this will come from the public purse – something that has resulted in mixed reactions from members of the public. Read more

Tags: Central bank, Alistair Darling, cut, uk, GBP

Increased safety for money of Post Office savers

As a result of changes to the Irish banking system some savers in the UK, including those with Post Office savings accounts, will see their savings guarantee almost double compared to that of savers with other financial institutions. Post Office savers will be offered a safety net of up to almost £80,000 on their savings. Also included will be savers that have money with UK branches of Irish banks, such as Anglo-Irish Bank and the Bank of Ireland. Read more

Tags: Anglo, chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling, meantime, post office, post, savings

Who is telling the truth – Brown or Darling?

For many months now both consumers and industries have been concerned about the slowdown that has hit the UK’s economy. With the nation hitting a period of stagflation, which is a toxic combination of stagnant economic growth and soaring inflation levels, it seems that the nation has been thrown into chaos. Even the Monetary Policy Committee and the Bank of England have been at loggerheads over recent months with regards to the movement of the base rate, with some wanting to increase the rate to curb inflation and others wanting to cut the rate to boost the economy. Read more

Tags: economics, Labour Party, United Kingdom, Labour, gordon brown, nation, crisis, Alistair Darling

Bradford & Bingley: Arrears on the up

UK lender Bradford & Bingley has said that mortgage arrears are continuing to rise as more borrowers are facing difficulties in repaying their loans.

Britain’s ninth-biggest listed bank said that it expect increased payment strain and falling house prices to result in higher impairment provisions, according to Reuters.

Hours after meeting with Alistair Darling, the mortgage lender, which makes over 50 per cent of its home loans to buy-to-let landlords, said its margins were under pressure and it is starting to pass the higher costs on to customers.

Yet the bank also said that the buy-to-let area of its business is performing well, suggesting that it is homeowners who are being hit hardest by the credit crunch.

Those faced with arrears will be pleased with Abbey National’s announcement earlier this week that it will cut rates on its two-year tracker and flexible mortgages by 0.1 per cent.

“We will continue to review the cost of funding and will look to reflect further changes in our mortgage range going forward,” said a spokesman for the bank, adding that it hopes other lenders will follow suit and take action to stimulate the mortgage market.

Tags: loan, Alistair Darling, crunch, funding, credit crunch, announcement, house, range

Chancellor to press lenders to pass on interest rate cuts to borrowers

Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to tell mortgage lenders to pass on interest rate cuts to borrowers during a meeting with representatives from the Council of Mortgage Lenders next Tuesday (April 22nd), according to Bloomberg.

The Bank of England cut its base rate by 0.25 per cent last week and by three-quarters of a point since December, however many lenders failed to drop their mortgage rates.

Rates on the most popular mortgages rose to the highest level in eight years last month.

“We do need to make sure that people with mortgages see the benefits,” Mr Darling said in an interview in China today.

Following a meeting with banks on Tuesday, the government was warned that under the current credit crunch many smaller lenders could be forced to stop offering new mortgages, forcing consumers to turn to large providers.

The Bank is reportedly working on a plan to intervene in the UK mortgage market, according to The Financial Times.

Tags: rate, interview, financial, china today, Mortgage loan, Council, finance, Alistair Darling