Month: February 2021

Five ways to convert existing space at home to add up to 20% value in lockdown

Making the most out of existing space could drastically add to the value of a property, with additional bedrooms increasing the value by as much as 20% according to experts, or £51,200 considering the average house price in England (£256,000).

The research by self-storage company, Space Station, found several ways in which homeowners can increase the value of their homes without paying for an extension, and instead simply making the most of existing space in a property.

Creating an open plan living area, installing an additional bathroom, or adding another bedroom can all be accomplished for a lot less than the cost of an extension, and in many cases, this does not require planning permission.

Here are five ways you can maximise existing space to increase property value:

1.      Convert a room into a bedroom (20% increase in value, £51K of average house price)

Converting the purpose of a room can add extra value to a property and costs very little to do effectively.

Having an office or a games room may seem desirable, but when it comes to adding value, the number of bedrooms is the figure buyers pay the most attention to, so converting a room into a bedroom will see the greatest increase in value.

As a compromise, consider making a room dual purpose, allowing it to serve as both a guest bedroom and a home office.

Holly Herbert, from We Buy Any House, said: “Not every homeowner is in a position to renovate their property, so thankfully there are other things that they can do on a budget instead.

“A great option is to use an existing room as another bedroom, especially if you have office space. Adding a bedroom to a property can increase the value by up to 20% and can be done easily enough with some redecorating and reorganising.”

2.      Convert your loft space (20% increase in value, £51K of average house price)

Alternatively, a more expensive solution is to invest in a loft conversion. This is especially useful if you do not have spare rooms which you’re able to convert, or if you want to increase the number of bedrooms whilst keeping your office space.

As lofts are generally used for storage, some homeowners may be left with a temporary shortage of space for these items. This can easily be solved however by temporarily renting storage whilst you undertake the work. Long term, you can find inventive and creative ways to create storage as part of the loft conversion, by installing storage units in the dead space.

Holly said: “For homeowners who are keen to add an extra room but don’t have an office space or dining area to sacrifice, a loft conversion can be the perfect solution.

“You will need to make sure that if you’re intending to advertise your loft conversion as another bedroom that it’s up to regulations, as it will need to be a certain size and have a door, as well as being safe.”

3.      Create an open-plan living area (15% increase in value, £38K of average house price)

Open plan living areas are incredibly desirable for house-hunters, and they are a great way to make your living area and kitchen feel modern and bigger than they would as separate rooms.

Knocking down the interior walls could be a DIY job, but it’s important that you establish whether the wall is load bearing. If it is then you will need to ask for expert help to find a solution, as knocking down a load bearing wall could have disastrous consequences.

Holly said: “Creating an open-plan living area can increase your value by up to as much as 15% when done well and will almost always encourage potential viewers to make an offer on the property.”

4.      Install additional toilets or bathrooms (5% increase in value, £13K of average house price)

A spare storage room or under-stairs cupboard could be converted into an additional toilet, and you can even add an extra bathroom to a property if you have the room.

This is especially worthwhile for homes with a limited number of existing bathrooms, but you should beware of losing a bedroom. A good option would be to create a small en-suite if you have a large bedroom.

Adding extra bathroom facilities could increase the property value by as much as 5%2 and is especially worthwhile in older houses that may have fewer existing bathrooms.

5.      Create storage solutions out of spare space (up to 5% increase in value, £13K of average house price)

Making the most out of nooks and crannies in your home can really make features stand out, as well as adding value.

Converting under-stairs cupboards or alcoves into storage areas helps to make your living areas more practical, as well as adding value by making your home look more unique and functional.

Holly says: “The value added by storage is difficult to pin down and varies hugely depending on the storage in question. Large scale projects like a wine cellar or basement renovation can add a significant amount to the value, whereas low key storage solutions will increase it by a lower amount.

“However, storage is very appealing to buyers, so even if it does not significantly increase the overall value, it will help to make a property more desirable.”

Vlatka Lake, Marketing Manager at Space Station, said: “Adding value to your property is something that can be easily done by any homeowner, and whatever the size of their budget.

“We hope that these tips can inspire people to make the most of their spare space, helping them to maximise their property value when they come to sell.”

For more information on how you can increase the value of your property, visit: https://www.space-station.co.uk/blog/ten-ways-to-increase-the-value-of-your-property

Councils to spend millions picking up face mask litter

But would YOU pick up a discarded face mask?

Face masks are highly effective in reducing the chances of catching and spreading Covid-19, however, inconsiderate litterbugs are leaving their soiled goods all over the place.  

This problem has become so overwhelming that local councils will spend around £20,000-100,000 of council tax payers’ money per area to clear up littered face masks.

Waste collection specialists BusinessWaste.co.uk have seen this problem first-hand, and are urging people to make sure that face masks are binned correctly and not just dumped in the street.

“Wearing a face mask has allowed us to keep safe this year, and it’s fantastic how many people have adapted to regularly wearing one,” says Mark Hall, spokeseperson for BusinessWaste.co.uk “But would you pick up somebody else’s used mask?

“If people were as passionate about binning them properly as they are about wearing them in the shops, it would be much better for our environment and save our local councils time and money.”

The big problem

BusinessWaste.co.uk have previously reported that 50 million face masks are going to landfill each day across the UK, with face mask litter killing wildlife and ending up in our oceans.

But in our most populated areas, this problem has reached a boiling point.

More people mean more masks being used and littered, which is why local councils up and down the country are pledging combined millions to try and put a stop to this problem.

Hall: “We are incredibly grateful to the council’s for designating the money to help clean up this mess, but if people were able to stop littering their disposable masks it wouldn’t have had to come to such expensive measures.

“It’s a waste of money that could have gone towards more positive projects in the local area’s, but instead it’s being used to clean up borderline hazardous waste.”

So just how many masks are we talking about?

According to the latest report by the Office For National Statistics, 97% of people use a face covering when outside of their home.

And based on a recent survey, 51% of those wearing face coverings were using single-use masks.

Using these recent statistics, as well as looking at the current population size, Mark Hall at BusinessWaste.co.uk has estimated that 49%, of the total population, are using single-use masks.

Mark Hall went on: “If we assume these people are using a new mask each day, one a day for five days a week, that is a lot of masks and a lot of waste.

“Unless people make the switch to reusable masks, then we have to find simple and effective ways for people to dispose of these masks that won’t damage the environment.”

Time to properly dispose of masks  

When BusinessWaste.co.uk asked 1,000 people if they would pick up a discarded facemask, 99% said no.

The most common response for leaving littered face mask, was not wanting to touch something they feared would be contaminated with Covid-19.

Mark Hall again: “It’s perfectly understandable that people wouldn’t want to pick up discarded masks on the street, especially when we’ve had the importance of hygiene drilled into us all year.

“It just highlights that we need to tackle the problem at the source, stopping masks from being littered rather than requiring people to go around picking them up.”

The simplest answer would be to install pop-up PPE bins, which BusinessWaste.co.uk suggested earlier in the year. 

These bins would make it easier for people to dispose of masks while out and about, whilst also following government guidelines about separating personal waste from general waste.

Mark Hall concluded: “PPE bins are the best chance we’ve got to protect both people and the planet from the effects of this pandemic, while keeping our streets free from face mask litter.

“Without them, towns and cities around the UK will see local councils spending a small fortune clearing up after this mess.”

Very lastminute?

Some Lastminute.com customers still haven’t received all their money back for cancelled holidays, despite the online travel agent committing to the regulator that all refunds would be paid by the end of January, Which? has revealed.

After months of breaking the law on holiday refunds, Lastminute.com was investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in December and it agreed to pay all outstanding package holiday refunds that were cancelled on or before 2 December by the end of January 2021. 

Despite this, Which? has seen reports from several customers through social media who still hadn’t received a full refund after the deadline had passed. 

At the time of the CMA’s intervention, the UK’s seventh largest travel agent owed more than £7 million in refunds for holidays cancelled on or before 2 December. Although it seems to be paying back customers for the hotel portion of their trips, Which? found evidence that it had not returned the cost of cancelled flights to some of its customers by the deadline.

Some online travel agents have reported difficulties in securing refunds from airlines to pass on to their customers, meaning many people have reported only receiving partial refunds for their cancelled package holidays. 

However, under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Regulations 2018, if a package holiday is cancelled by the provider, the customer is legally entitled to a full refund within 14 days. A package holiday is a combination of at least two types of travel or travel-related services made through the same source in a single booking, most commonly flights and accommodation. 

The commitment made by Lastminute.com to the CMA was to refund all money to customers for both accommodation and flights. 

Sheryl McLeod, one of the customers Which? heard from, told the consumer champion she booked a holiday for two adults and two children to Barcelona for July 2020 through Lastminute.com.

She told Which? that in June an agent from Lastminute.com advised her the flights and hotel were cancelled and there were no alternatives, so the trip would be cancelled and refunded.

Sheryl then heard nothing for months and struggled to speak to someone at Lastminute.com. In September she was told by email that her refund was ready and she accepted the option of a cash refund. For months afterwards Lastminute.com claimed it was finalising her refund. Then, on 27th January, she was sent £932.49 – more than £300 short of the £1274.68 she was owed in total. 

Sheryl tried to chase up this discrepancy over the phone, but she was met with an automated message to log into Lastminute.com to access her booking. When she accessed her account online, the trip was listed under ‘past bookings’, with no mention of the missing money, or anything to help her apply for it.

Claire Barder is another Lastminute.com customer who told Which? she hadn’t received a full refund for her cancelled holiday before the CMA’s deadline.

Despite receiving confirmation of a refund for her cancelled package holiday to Barcelona, which was meant to take place in July 2020, Claire was only given a refund of £431.75 – nearly £600 short as it did not include the flight portion of the trip.

Claire was told in an email that her total refund was worth £1,010.23. However Lastminute.com told her that because of Ryanair’s policy, she would need to fill out a form on the airline’s website to apply for this refund, despite Lastminute.com committing to the CMA that it would be responsible for refunding the total cost of the cancelled holiday.

Only after Which? approached Lastminute.com were both customers told they would receive their money back for the outstanding portions of their refunds.

Which? has shared its findings with the CMA, and is calling for it to take appropriate enforcement action against the online travel agent.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “Despite being given ample time to return all outstanding refunds to customers – as well as clear instructions regarding its liability for refunding both accommodation and flight costs – Lastminute.com has failed to meet this commitment to the regulator.

“This is perhaps unsurprising to its customers, given it was voted the UK’s worst accommodation booking site in our latest survey, faring little better when it was ranked for flight bookings.

“The CMA was right to intervene to demand action from the online travel agent, but after failing some of its customers once again, tougher measures need to be taken. The CMA should uncover how many customers were not refunded in time and take appropriate action against Lastminute.com, sending a clear message that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable.”

A spokesperson for Lastminute.com responded: “Firstly we’d like to start by saying that the refund process has been a very complex and difficult process due to the length and severity of the ongoing pandemic and frequent changes in the travel advice rules. These conditions not only impact us but the entire travel industry.

“Throughout this very challenging year, our customers have remained our number one priority, and we at lastminute.com continue our commitment to dedicating our resources to helping them with their requests, whether it’s involuntary or voluntary cancellations, re-booking to new destinations or booking new holidays.

“Each customer request is unique, and often requiring a human touch-point and we’ve been working hard to get the money processed back through the system and into our customer’s pockets as quickly as possible. In the cases you have highlighted, we can confirm that the refund has been sent to the customers also for the flight.”

“We confirm our full commitment and dedication during the last months in order to refund and support all our customers and meet the deadlines agreed with the Competition and Markets Authority. We will discuss our obligations on the 10th of February directly with the Competition and Markets Authority as agreed with them.

“Customer satisfaction is our number one priority and we keep listening and learning even from the feedback generated by a very small number of readers involved in the Which? survey. Every comment counts. We have already refunded more than 49,000 customers and completing any open refunds remains our top priority in these unprecedented crisis.”

A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) spokesperson said: “CMA action led to lastminute.com committing to pay out over £7m to customers waiting for money back.

“They must now report to us on how they are complying with the commitments they signed up to and the deadlines agreed. Should it become clear that they have breached these undertakings we will consider further action.”

Mother and daughter on a mission to make the world a better place

Edinburgh based enterprise Sustainably is crowdfunding to transform ‘giving tech’. 

Sustainably, voted Richard Branson’s Start-Up of the Year in 2019, have announced the launch of their crowdfunding campaign on crowdcube.

The mother-daughter team are looking to raise £300,000 which will enable them to market to new users and charities as well as improve functionality and launch a B2B platform.  

Now supporting 40 charities, including Macmillan, Shelter and the British Heart Foundation, Sustainably is a free app that lets people easily and safely give to their chosen good causes by rounding up cashless transactions and donating spare change automatically, every time they shop.  

Loral Quinn, Co-Founder and CEO of Sustainably, said: “We believe that many of us want to support charities but don’t want to commit to one cause and face the hassle and guilt of later cancelling.

“People want convenience, flexibility, transparency and control. With services such as banking, transport and music becoming more automated and frictionless, we aim to do the same for giving. 

“86% of Gen Z and millennials (the UK’s biggest givers) want to donate via mobile and see their impact. And while 50%+ of donations are still made in cash, we live in an increasingly cashless society.” 

Inspired by fintech, augmented reality, gamification, the internet of things and big technology businesses who had become part of everyone’s daily lives, Loral and her daughter Eishel merged their combined experience in FTSE100 digital strategy and ethical retail, to come up with the idea of Sustainably. 

Current investors include Skyscanner’s co-founder, Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman’s Founders Factory. The duo also won the WeWork’s Creator Awards – judged by Ashton Kutcher and Monzo’s co-founder scooping £140,000 further investment. 

Sustainably’s app lets individuals and corporates effortlessly make a positive impact every day and sends charity updates showing you the difference you’ve made. You set your donation limits and can stop, start, pause or change them at any time. We’ll never pressure you or share your details. Simply connect your card or device to the app and shop as usual. 

Eishel Quinn concludes:“We’re not just the co-founders of Sustainably, we’re also mother and daughter, and we started Sustainably because we wanted to make a difference.

“We exist to enable people around the world to have a positive impact every day. We’ve created Sustainably so that every financial interaction can have a positive social, environmental and economic impact.” 

For more information visit: https://www.sustainably.co/ 

Skyrora’s ‘space tug’ gives space sustainability dream a lift

SKYRORA has revealed it has conducted successful trials of a ‘space tug’ which can play a key part in ensuring the UK becomes a world leader in tackling the issue of space junk.

The Edinburgh-based rocket development company believes the Orbit Transfer Vehicle – part of its Skyrora XL rocket due to launch in 2023 – could clear debris, reposition satellites and remove defunct satellites from orbit. 

In the week that the UK and UN sign a historical agreement on space sustainability, Skyrora have thrown its support behind the initiative.

The company recently showed its own commitment towards a sustainable space industry with the launch of its space tug, which is one of many initiatives that will allow the government to meet its goals.

Its announcement comes after a directive was signed this week between the UK Science Minister and the UN to agree a new approach to sustainability in space, as well as equipping authorities with the power to act against firms responsible for creating space junk. 

The agreement commits the UK government to a series of events and outreach efforts, ultimately aimed at promoting the Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (LTS Guidelines).

Those guidelines ensure “the conduct of space activities indefinitely into the future”, an ability now under threat from the growing cloud of space debris. Developed and published by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the voluntary rules had come under criticism for their lack of enforcement mechanisms.

However, with the UK now actively endorsing the guidelines, there is to be increased awareness and prominence within the industry.

Skyrora is already establishing itself as a key innovator not just in the UK space race, but in ensuring it places space sustainability as a crucial element in its planning and company vision.

It has developed a new way of launching satellites without damaging the environment as well as creating an eco-friendly fuel that ensures the UK has the most environmentally friendly space industry in the world.

The latest chapter in its investment in sustainable technology – and signalling another crucial milestone for the entire UK space industry – is the successful test on an innovative “reignitable” rocket engine or space tug, capable of manoeuvring once in orbit. 

The test – at its engine development facility in Fife – involved a full mission duration static fire test (450 second burn over three firings) of the upper (or third) stage of their orbital-class vehicle, Skyrora XL.

Skyrora now believes this provides for a full mission-ready Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV – or space tug) that can perform a number of in-space missions once it has delivered its payload.

This includes tackling the issue of space junk by removing redundant space objects from orbit. There are around 34,000 objects above 10cm in size in Earth’s orbit that would be considered space junk – 3,000 of which are redundant satellites. Moving at around 10km/s, these objects could produce debilitating damage to operational satellites or even the International Space Station.

And as we see increasing numbers of constellations being placed into orbit, with the likes of OneWeb and SpaceX planning on sending thousands of satellites up, then as those numbers grow, so does the demand for a vehicle that can make multiple stops and functions in space without the need for multiple launches.

Skyrora CEO, Volodymyr Levykin, said: “Our goal was always to be mission ready once all the regulations and permissions were in place, and this development not only brings us closer to that point but also takes us beyond simply launch readiness.

“It’s important to show that even in these challenging times we are still a nation that continues to innovate and take the lead in some of our most lofty ambitions.

“We aim not only to conduct efficient launches from UK soil in the most environmentally friendly way, but ensure that each single launch mission has the possibility of conducting the level of work that would have historically taken multiple launches. With this approach we enter a whole new level of efficiency with full consideration of environmental impact taken into account.

We are delighted that members are discussing these matters in Parliament imminently on the 4th February and expect due attention to be made given and further action to be taken to adapt the regulations to reflect the UK’s commitment to sustainability.”

Last January, the company achieved the first ever eco liquid-fuel rocket engine ground tests take place using their own Ecosene fuel derived from unrecyclable waste plastics that would otherwise be disposed of in landfill. The fuel itself emits around 45% less greenhouse gases and is particularly suited to cope in the Scottish weather.

And Skyrora have also pioneered a bespoke Mobile Launch Complex which allows them to never leave a footprint when launching. All launch infrastructure is carried in containers, even their mobile erector, where the launch vehicles takes off from, not harming any land environments.

Mr Levykin added: “We have found a way to not only sustain our operations in orbit, but also clean up the way on how we get there.

“Thanks to our Ecosene fuel and our Mobile Launch Complex, we are not just committed to playing our part but we are committed to being responsible and responsive to the on-going threats of global climate change. This is the right way to go forward.”

Share the Love on Valentine’s Day

FEBUARY NEWSLETTER from Heart of Newhaven

First of all, we have had a magnificent response to our digital appeal which we launched so recently on 25th January.

Thanks to all who have very kindly donated old laptops or tablets to help families in the community who needed help to access online learning. We have already dealt with around a dozen such items, some of which are being wiped and processed while others are awaiting collection and soon they will all be winging their way to Victoria Primary School. Please continue to get in touch.

DIGITAL RESOURCES APPEAL

We understand that others have been delivered directly to the school following our appeal and if you would still like to help but have no old machines you no longer need, you can also donate funds to enable the school to buy more.

An average laptop or tablet suitable for home-schooling could cost around £200 but any smaller contributions that could go towards that would be most welcome. 
You can contact the school directly below:

CONTACT VICTORIA PRIMARY

This is such an encouraging example of the community helping each other, just what Heart of Newhaven proposes to expand on once we’re fully operational.

The main news for you this month however is about the launch of our CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN. 

This will go live on 14th February. It’s all about the Heart of course – it seemed a very suitable date for obvious reasons.

While we have applied to the Scottish Land Fund for the purchase cost of the site, we still need immediate funds to pay our legal advisers, currently working on the contract with CEC. Then there are the essential repairs to such things as windows and the roof, as well as fire and safety features.

There is also the preparatory work we have to do in the way of design costs to enable us to move into the buildings and get them going with our “meanwhile use” plans to bring the centre “online” stage by stage.

The campaign will go live on Crowdfund Scotland and there will also be links from our website and social media channels.

Please consider donating something, no matter how small, to enable this ambitious project to go ahead – and don’t forget to spread the word among neighbours and friends!

Finally, may we remind you to visit our website regularly. There’s always something new, including several blogs being posted on the different pages, that you might enjoy.

This month for example, the Culture & Heritage page is hosting a contribution from one of our many volunteers, who talks about the Hispanic community in Newhaven and how they’ve adapted and settled in to the local community.

On our new Intergenerational page, there’s not only an explanation of what intergenerational means, but a blog from trustee Judy Crabb.

Of course our regular blog from the chairman will be along soon as well.

Keep checking.

Letters: Europe’s Last Dictator

Dear Editor,

Alexander Lukashenko is the President of Belarus since 1994. He is 
known as Europe’s last dictator. Why? Because international monitors 
have stated that every election he won after 1994 was neither free nor 
fair.

The people of Belarus have now had enough of living under this sham. The declaration last August that Lukashenko had again won the Presidency and had secured 80% of the vote was too much to bear.

Since August citizens of Belarus have been peacefully and creatively demonstrating for a democratic future. But their peaceful protests are met with intimidation and violence.

The last six months have recorded unjust persecutions including hundreds of documented cases of torture against the opposition, civil society and journalists. Many students have been dismissed from universities and denied the right to 
education.

Thousands have been detained and several hundred prosecuted on fabricated charges and denied the right to a fair trial. Even in the face of world-wide condemnation Lukashenko still grips on to power.

Today is a Day of Solidarity with the people of Belarus – our group joins with people and organisations all around the world that call on Lukashenko’s regime to stop their intimidation and violence and for inclusive national dialogue to take place followed by new credible and transparent elections.

Yours sincerely,

Niamh Donnellan

Edinburgh 4 Europe

Stand Up for Care Workers!

Pay Fair for Care, urges UNISON rally

The UK has reached a crucial moment in terms of social care. Two key messages at the heart of UNISON’s Pay Fair for Care national day of action and rally were that we must ‘stand up for care workers’ and ‘keep up the pressure’.

The event – co-hosted by the Future Social Care Coalition, a cross-party alliance of more than 80 organisations and individuals – comes against a background of crisis in the social care sector.

That has been compounded by 11 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raised awareness nationally of the work that care workers do, but in a context of increased risk to their own lives as the virus took a devastating toll on care homes and the vulnerable.

Yet many employees in care homes, together with those looking after people in the community, earn less than the real living wage of £9.50 an hour (£10.85 in London). UNISON wants ministers to ensure every care worker is on the real living wage rate, as a bare minimum.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea told those attending the rally: “Care is part of the infrastructure of this country … it is essential.”

Ms McAnea was able to refer to an independent report, commissioned by the Scottish government and only released moments before the rally, which stresses that the care sector is “highly gendered”, with 83% of the workforce being female.

“Were 83% male, she said, “it would not be marginalised as it is.”

But she continued: “This is a happy day – we’ve got fantastic support. Let’s stand up for care workers. Make what happens in care, fair and deliverable.”

Care worker and UNISON senior vice president Sian Stockham told the rally a little of her own story – and why she has started a petition to government to create an emergency support fund to increase care workers’ wages.

“The general public is calling us heroes and going out and clapping for us – let’s put those claps into words,” she said.

Not only is pay in the sector low, there’s also an issue with zero-hours contracts, she added. “How can you budget when you don’t know what you’re getting?”

Ms Stockham, who at 66 is unable to retire and has two jobs in order to make ends meet, went on: “There have been times when I couldn’t put my heating on. A few years ago, I remember walking around with holes in my shoes.”

On misconceptions about the nature of care work, she responded ironically: “Oh, I’m ‘low-skilled’,” before explaining just a few of the skills her work entails.

Many speakers stressed the need for cross-party political support for the issue – ‘it’s the only way to get things done’ was a recurring theme.

Liz Kendall, Labour’s shadow minister for social care, said: “Transforming social care is the challenge of our generation”, adding that, “We must make sure that all frontline care workers get the pay and conditions that they need.”

She – like many other speakers – noted that social care and the NHS “are inextricably linked”.

But not only was the current state of social care “morally wrong,” it was also “economically illiterate.” If carers have to give up work or reduce hours, or if a vulnerable person is stuck in hospital because of a lack of care, both are far more costly to the economy than properly funded social care.

The rally saw speakers from across the Westminster spectrum, from the charity and voluntary sector and from trade unions.

They included former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and independent peer Lord Victor Adebowale, the chief executive of the social care enterprise Turning Point, who stressed the need for a proper living wage for care workers.

Former minister for pensions Baroness Ros Altmann said that nobody disagreed about the need for an overhaul of the social care system, but “we need to get on with it” and “we need a new Beveridge,” referring to the 1942 report by Liberal economist William Beveridge that formed the basis for the Welfare State as part of the country’s recovery after WWII.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner – herself a UNISON member and former care worker – described the pandemic has having “created a hunger and a thirst for us to do the right thing”.

Social care “saves the taxpayer so much money in the end,” she said. Stressing the importance of it being a cross-party campaign, she added: “But no more jam tomorrow”.

Two panel discussions sandwiched messages of support, which included video calls from national treasures Joanna Lumley and Jo Brand.

“I’m backing UNISON’s call for a living wage for all the care workers,” said the Ab Fab star. “They seem to be the invisible part of our nation’s health system. They look after millions of people, they do it for practically nothing and some of them for nothing at all. It seems massively unfair that they’re the forgotten ones.”

Comic and former nurse Jo Brand – after apologising for her “lockdown haircut” – said that “care workers are simply not rewarded for the very, very hard work that they do. Pay care workers a living wage.”

Other messages came from Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey, shadow immigration minister Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour peer David Blunkett and shadow minister for employment Seema Malhotra.

As the rally concluded, Ms AcAnea reminded everyone: “Let’s keep the pressure up!”

Top tips to keep your cat safe as temperatures plummet

As temperatures drop once again, Cats Protection is urging owners to spare a thought for the welfare of their pet cat.

Plunging temperatures, icy conditions and snowfall present a number of risks for cats, particularly those who like to wander outside.

Following these simple tips can help to keep felines feeling fine:

Cats are at increased risk of road accidents after nightfall – try to keep your cat indoors overnight and time meals to keep your cat away from roads when they are at their busiest

Antifreeze is lethal for cats so always keep this out of your cat’s way and clear up any antifreeze spills immediately

Ensure your cat can reach his chosen toileting site and if your cat is seeing snow for the first time, consider giving him access to a safe and enclosed area such as a garden and accompany him when he goes out

If your cat does venture out when it’s snowy, wipe off any road grit and other substances that may stick to his paws or fur when he returns

Provide shelter for cats that go outside. Keep the doors of sheds and outbuildings closed, wedged slightly open or install a cat-flap so cats do not become trapped inside

Check your cat-flap regularly to ensure it hasn’t frozen over or become blocked by snow and if you provide an outdoor water source, check it hasn’t frozen over

If your cat seems reluctant to venture outside in snow or ice, provide an indoor litter tray

Cats may climb into vehicle engines for warmth. Be vigilant, and check beneath or knock on the bonnet before starting your vehicle

Take special care of cats with arthritis, as the cold can severely affect inflamed joints.

Provide additional warm and comfortable places to rest or sleep. If your cat is finding it hard to reach favourite resting places then look at ways of making it easier for him. Also ensure he can easily access his chosen toileting site

Neutering is vital, not only to prevent unwanted kittens being born but to reduce roaming, especially during bad weather.

Ensuring your cat is microchipped also increases the chance of being reunited if he becomes lost

For advice on cat care, please visit www.cats.org.uk/cats-and-cold-weather