Cost of Living crisis

Energy firms face Ofgem investigation over number of households forced onto pre-payment meters

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/energy-firms-face-ofgem-investigation-forced-prepayment-metres

Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

ENERGY firms face an Ofgem investigation over a “concerning” rise in the number of struggling households being forced onto prepayment meters.

The regulator said yesterday that it would also consider taking legal action if firms are found not to have taken due care when moving customers onto the more costly meters.

Customers who fail to keep the devices topped up with money have their electricity and gas cut off.

In recent months, hundreds of thousands of households have been switched onto prepayment metres, often unwillingly, after falling behind on their bills.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/energy-firms-face-ofgem-investigation-forced-prepayment-metres

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Zahawi’s tax evasions point to a more fundamental problem for the Tories

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/zahawis-tax-evasions-point-more-fundamental-problem-tories

TORY chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s tax problems are a bigger headache for the Prime Minister than he has yet acknowledged.

Zahawi pleads that it was mere carelessness that saw him forced to pay HMRC nearly £5 million in unpaid tax (inclusive of a penalty) while he was, er, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Financial sloppiness isn’t a great look for a chancellor, but in Zahawi’s defence he’s admitted to it before. It was after all a “genuine mistake” that saw him claim thousands in expenses to heat the stables for a horse-riding school on his Warwickshire estate.

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Labour rails at Conservative “corruption and cronyism,” but the fundamental issue is more basic still. This is a government of the rich, for the rich, by the rich and it is making us poorer.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/zahawis-tax-evasions-point-more-fundamental-problem-tories

Continue ReadingZahawi’s tax evasions point to a more fundamental problem for the Tories

‘When the NHS goes private, we’ll be paying for ambulances’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/when-the-nhs-goes-private-we-be-paying-for-ambulances

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MORE than 25,000 ambulance workers walked out on strike today as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that it would be “lovely to wave a magic wand” and give them the pay rise they want and deserve.

His pathetic response to the mounting NHS crisis was in stark contrast to the determination and courage displayed by tens of thousands of health workers intent on winning pay justice and on defending the NHS from destruction at Tory hands.

On freezing picket lines across England and Wales, ambulance workers told their own stories of the life-saving jobs they do and the tragic, unnecessary deaths caused by the deliberate run-down of ambulance and health services in what is increasingly believed to be preparation for the Tories’ ultimate privatisation — the NHS.

Members of three unions — Unison, GMB and Unite — took strike action together.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/when-the-nhs-goes-private-we-be-paying-for-ambulances

Continue Reading‘When the NHS goes private, we’ll be paying for ambulances’

Anti-poverty campaigners call on government to ban forced prepayment meter instillations

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https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/anti-poverty-campaigners-call-on-government-to-ban-forced-prepayment-meter-instillations

Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

FUEL poverty campaigners staged “warm up” demonstrations across Britain at the weekend, calling on the government to ban the forced instillation of prepayment meters.

The government has come under increasing pressure to outlaw the imposition of these meters since an investigation by the i newspaper revealed that energy companies have secured half a million court warrants to enter people’s homes and install them since July 2021.

Citizens Advice also reported that 3.2 million people were disconnected in 2022 over their inability to top up the meters, more than in the previous 10 years combined.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps promised today to “name and shame” energy suppliers that force such meters on their customers, revealing that he has written to companies to demand that they voluntarily end the practice.

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https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/anti-poverty-campaigners-call-on-government-to-ban-forced-prepayment-meter-instillations

Continue ReadingAnti-poverty campaigners call on government to ban forced prepayment meter instillations

Ambulance performance times reach record new low

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/ambulance-performance-times-reach-record-new-low

Image reads Accident & Emergency, A & E

Union brands crisis a ‘national shame made in Downing Street’

AMBULANCE performance times are now the worst on record, the latest data revealed today, with unions branding it a “‎national disgrace made in 10 Downing Street.”

One in 10 people were left waiting for ambulances for more than three-and-a-half hours last month after falling seriously ill with the likes of hearts attacks, strokes and sepsis, according to NHS England.

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Downing Street, which has refused to call the situation in the NHS a crisis, said the figures are “obviously unacceptable” and the government was “very focused” on improving NHS performance.

But Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the government “must carry the can” for excessive deaths caused by the problems highlighted in last month’s statistics.

She said: “The blame for this tragedy lies with years of underfunding and poor pay. It is a national disgrace delivered by Downing Street.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/ambulance-performance-times-reach-record-new-low

Continue ReadingAmbulance performance times reach record new low