Every UK household will have to pay extra on their energy bills in 2022 – just to pick up the tab for more than £130m of FREE energy given out by Britain’s biggest energy failure.
That’s according to Bill Bullen, Founder and CEO of Utilita Energy, who has slammed Bulb’s strategy of giving new customers a £50 free energy credit – and another £50 to friends who referred them – in a bid to drive growth.
He says that Bulb’s “irresponsible approach” to lure in customers from rival suppliers will slap £5 on every domestic energy bill next year – at an estimated total cost of £132m1.
Just days after Ofgem revealed its action plan for improved financial resilience in the sector – effectively a ‘stress test’ for incumbents and new entrants – Bill Bullen is calling for the regulator to review the use of ‘free energy’ referral schemes too.
“It is not the fault of Bulb’s customers, but the reality is everyone else will end up paying for Bulb’s irresponsible approach,” he says.
Bulb has lost tens of millions of pounds since 2015 and is now being run by Government consultants to save it from collapse. Taxpayers are funding this to the tune of an estimated £2bn already.
Mr Bullen believes the firm’s referral strategy is partly to blame and, worse still, says it encouraged behaviour at odds with the nation’s net zero ambitions.
“Telling customers that energy is free, cheap, or selling it ‘below cost’ is not only unsustainable and irresponsible, but by doing so it encourages consumers to be frivolous with energy. Right now, most homes in the UK waste around 20% of the energy they pay for. This cannot continue.
“To enable consumers to make the right choices for their pocket and the planet, I am calling for the industry regulator to require suppliers to show their value proposition, whereby each supplier presents what value it can offer to the consumer, as an energy partner. This would result in households using and paying less and would give the UK a chance of hitting its 2050 net zero target.”
Average house price in Scotland up by 11.4% over last 12 months
Monthly growth rates starting to soften
31 of 32 Local Authorities have rising average prices over year to end October
Scotland again outperforming England, Wales & NI
£750k+ house sales double that of Jan – Oct 2020
Alan Penman, Business Development Manager at Walker Fraser Steele, comments:“The continued story of Scotland’s successful year for higher priced properties continues.
“The average house price in Scotland has increased by some £21,800 over the last 12 months but our data shows there have been 872 sales over £750k (the point at which the highest rate of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) is applied) during the first ten months of 2021.
“We expect up to 30 additional sales in October 2021, not yet recorded by the Registers of Scotland and so not included in the above total. This would mean sales of these higher-value properties to the end of October 2021 would likely be double in number to those of the first ten months of 2020.
“What we are seeing is the impact of the cut in LBTT earlier in the year, the continuation of low interest rates and cheaper mortgage finance, and the desire of many purchasers during the pandemic to buy bigger properties in the race for space. These factors have meant higher-end properties have played a significant part in the overall growth figure.
“Sales volumes from May to October 2021 are only slightly ahead of previous years, and suggest that the market has now returned to pre-pandemic transaction levels. Nevertheless, the continuing strong performance in October means Scotland had the highest annual rate of house price growth of the four home nations with annual growth at 11.4%, followed by Northern Ireland at 10% (Ulster University Index), Wales at 9.6% and England, without Wales, at 3.9%.”
Commentary: John Tindale, Acadata Senior Housing Analyst
The October housing market:
Scotland’s October housing market is starting to show some signs of slowing in terms of price growth, but it’s necessary to look quite hard for the evidence. We provide four possible indicators:-
Firstly, we can point to an actual reduction in the average house price in October, with the value now standing at £212,551 – but this is only £70 lower than the previous month. However, it does bring to an end a three-month run from July to September 2021, in which average prices rose by an overall £11,000.
Secondly, we can show that in October only some 90 homes in Scotland were sold at a price in excess of £750k, compared to 120 in September. Nevertheless, we could point out that – if we looked at the monthly totals prior to October 2020, ie one year earlier – then 90 sales in a single month having a value over £750k would have set a new record at that time.
Thirdly, the average house price in both Edinburgh and Glasgow fell in October, with the two cities collectively accounting for approximately 25% of all property sales in Scotland. But we could also point out that the same happened in both October 2017 and October 2019, with Scotland’s average house price for those two years showing continued positive growth.
Lastly, and perhaps the most compelling argument is that England and Wales have seen their house price growth start to fall. Figure 1 below compares Scotland’s annual rate of growth, which was at 11.4% in October, with that of England and Wales combined, where rates have fallen to 4.1%. In fact, eight of the nine regions in England saw their annual rates of growth fall in October. (For a comparative Table go to Figure 4 and follow the link.)
In October, Scotland had the highest annual rate of house price growth of the four United Kingdom countries, at 11.4%, with Northern Ireland in second place at 10% (Ulster University Index), followed by Wales at 9.6% and England, without Wales, at 3.9%. England has started to see a reduction in the number of high-value detached properties being sold – perhaps due to a shortage in the level of available stock – resulting in average prices beginning to fall.
Libraries will close at 5pm on Friday 24 December for Christmas and reopen on Wednesday 29 December.
Our libraries will then close again at 5pm on Friday 31 December for Hogmanay and reopen on Wednesday 5 January.
Visit the Your Library website for full details about which of our libraries have reopened, services available, opening hours and which services require an advance booking.
School feeding charity Mary’s Meals asked 2,000 people across the UK who they would most like to cook Christmas dinner for them.
Almost half chose a family member over a celebrity chef, with the majority choosing their mum.
In the Scotland dads got the thumbs down in the festive kitchen!
Mary’s Meals is asking people to help feed hungry children by joining its virtual Christmas dinner.
A new survey by Mary’s Meals has revealed that people would rather have their Christmas dinner cooked by their mum than a celebrity chef.
The global school feeding charity asked 2,000 people who they would prefer to serve up their festive feast. It found that:
Almost half (46%) of respondents chose a family member rather than a famous chef – such as Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith, Gordon Ramsay and Nigella Lawson.
One in three people (36%) said they would prefer their mum to cook their Christmas dinner over other family members.
Just 1% of respondents in Scotland said they would like their dad to prepare the Christmas dinner!
Scotland’s National Chef Gary Maclean responds: “Despite being a professional chef myself, I’m not surprised most people chose their mum to make their Christmas dinner. Us chefs are all well and good but nothing beats a home-cooked festive feast.”
“I love the idea of Mary’s Meals Big Family Christmas – and I’m going to set a place for my late father-in-law Davie, who would love that their virtual seat at the table will feed a hungry child in school for an entire year.”
Mary’s Meals serves more than two million children with a nutritious meal every school day in 19 of the world’s poorest countries, including Malawi, South Sudan and Haiti. The promise of a good meal attracts children to the classroom, giving them the energy and opportunity to learn, and the chance of a brighter future.
Each December the charity holds a virtual Christmas dinner, Big Family Christmas, to raise funds to feed even more hungry children. Last year, nearly 9,000 people around the world took part in the fundraiser.
Emma Hutton, head of grassroots engagement at Mary’s Meals, says: “Tis the season to be jolly, and it seems nothing makes us jollier than a home-cooked Christmas meal. At Mary’s Meals, we want to spread that joy to as many of the world’s most impoverished children as possible.
“Setting a place at our virtual table is a great way to give a truly life-changing gift, especially as each place set this Christmas will feed two children for an entire year thanks to our Double The Love campaign. I look forward to seeing as many names at the table as possible as we celebrate our Big Family Christmas!”
In return for a donation of just £15.90, enough to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year, people can take part in the Big Family Christmas. Donors will receive a certificate to print at home and their name, or the name of a loved one, will appear on the charity’s virtual dinner table alongside names from across the world.
Donations made to Mary’s Meals before 31 January 2022 will be matched by a group of generous supporters, up to £1.6 million, thanks to the Double The Love campaign, meaning that each place set at the online Christmas table will feed two hungry children.
Mary’s Meals typically serves a mug of porridge to more than one million children in Malawi every school day.
This includes children like 14-year-old Yasimini, who is one of five girls. Her two older sisters were married young, but Yasimini was able to continue with her studies because of Mary’s Meals.
She says: “I work very hard in class so I can fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse. I don’t want to end up getting married early like my sisters.
“Mary’s Meals is very important because when I am attending classes I am strong and attentive and I can pay attention to what the teacher is teaching. This will help me to do well in my studies.”
Views sought on proposed legal duties for public bodies
Health and social care services, children’s services, police and other public bodies will have a legal duty to ‘ask and act’ to prevent homelessness under Scottish Government proposals.
The measures would be part of new laws aimed at preventing homelessness, based on recommendations from an expert group convened by the charity Crisis at the request of the Scottish Government. They would represent the biggest change to Scotland’s homelessness legislation in almost a decade.
Public bodies would have a legal duty to identify anyone at risk of homelessness and either take action themselves or refer on to more appropriate help.
A consultation on the plans, run jointly with COSLA, will give people with experience of homelessness, alongside those from the housing sector, public bodies and others, the chance to share their views and help shape Scotland’s approach to preventing homelessness.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We know that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. These new proposals build on the strong housing rights that already exist in Scotland for people who become homeless.
“Early action should be a shared public responsibility, giving people facing homelessness more choice and control over where they live.
“Homelessness is often a traumatic and unsettling experience that can have a profound impact on the lives of those involved, including children.
“By intervening at an earlier stage, and encouraging services to work together to respond to people’s needs, we can ensure fewer people and families are faced with having to re-build lives affected by homelessness.
“This will further add to our existing ambitious programme of work and investment to ensure everyone has a safe, warm place to call home.”
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “We strongly support plans for new duties for public bodies to prevent homelessness in Scotland.
“Scotland has made huge progress in its journey towards ending homelessness in recent years, but while the country has powerful protections in place for people experiencing homelessness, far too many people are being forced to reach crisis point before they get the help they need.
“Everyone has a role to play in preventing homelessness, and by introducing new duties requiring public services to ask about someone’s housing situation, and offer them the help they need, we can build a truly world leading system of homelessness prevention.”
Councillor Kelly Parry, COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing said: “People have a right to a place they can call home. Rough sleeping and sofa surfing is something we have always worked to eliminate.
“We welcome the proposal that the duty to end homelessness will be shared with other public bodies and look forward to being closely engaged in the consultation with other partners”.
This winter is already far worse than last winter, says RCEM President
The latest data from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s Winter Flow Project 2021/22 show that since the beginning of October 2021 there have been 56,096 patients delayed by 12 hours or more from time of arrival in Emergency Departments.
In comparison, last year’s Winter Flow Project 2020/21 didn’t record over 50,000 12 hour stays from time of arrival in Emergency Departments until February Week 3.
Data also show that in December 2021 Week 2, four-hour performance fell to 56.3%, the lowest ever recorded.
Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said:“The data show a deepening crisis. We’ve now reached 50,000 12-hour delays, a figure we didn’t reach until February last winter.
“It is hard to communicate the enormous strain NHS staff are under and how deeply the pressures affect patient care. The latest Winter Flow Project report details some of the harrowing conditions patients find themselves in and conditions in which staff are delivering care. This winter is already far worse than last winter, with the coming weeks set to take us deeper into crisis.
“Trusts are already doing all they can, opening every last bed where safely possible. The government must ensure adequate support is given to social care, as difficulties in discharging patients following their treatment has knock-on effects throughout the system and causes exit block in Emergency Departments, ambulances handover delays, and prevents ambulance crews from returning to the community and responding to emergencies.
“The public must be cautious and sensible over the Christmas period and take care of themselves and those around them. Using facemasks, washing hands, avoiding spending long periods of time in very crowded places, getting tested if you develop Covid symptoms, and getting boosted – all these practices will make a real difference in the coming weeks.”
The UK Government last night doubled the amount of additional funding available for the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to tackle Covid – but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is querying the Treasury’s announcement.
The Treasury says this means the Devolved Administrations can now spend an additional £860 million, increased from the initial £430 million announced earlier last week.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the increased funding following discussions with the Devolved Administrations. This will continue to ensure the Devolved Administrations can take the Covid precautions they feel are necessary to keep people safe.
The additional amounts now being provided to each government on top of their Autumn Budget 2021 funding (my italics – Ed.) are:
Scottish Government – £440 million
Welsh Government – £270 million
Northern Ireland Executive – £150 million
These amounts will continue to be kept under review.
These are additional amounts on top of the combined £77.6 billion confirmed for this year at the Autumn Budget 2021. It means that the Devolved Administrations have the certainty they requested to spend additional funding now rather than waiting for Supplementary Estimates in the new year.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:“Following discussions with the Devolved Administrations, we are now doubling the additional funding available.
“We will continue to listen to and work with the Devolved Administrations in the face of this serious health crisis to ensure we’re getting the booster to people all over the UK and that people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are supported.”
However First Minister Nicola Sturgeon continued to query the additional funding in a series of tweets last night.
The First Minister tweeted: “: “Before we get spin on ‘doubling’, the £220m announced last week was NOT new or additional (it was actually £48m less than we had been expecting). Seeking confirmation if this new £220m is additional (tho if so £48m will just make up last w/k loss) & if it has to be repaid to the extent it is new/additional, @scotgov will make sure it goes in full to helping business and the overall Covid effort.”
She added in another tweet: “As infections soar and businesses suffer, we still need much more urgency in action/support from UK Gov – so that devolved gov hands not tied. To that end, it was disappointing and frustrating that neither the PM nor the Chancellor attended this evening’s COBRA.“
Scottish Government response to Climate Assembly recommendations published
The Scottish Government has set out how it is embracing the findings of Scotland’s Climate Assembly to help shape the country’s approach to net zero.
The comprehensive response welcomes all of the Assembly’s 81 recommendations – and those made by the Children’s Parliament.
It sets out how the Scottish Government will deliver the Assembly’s bold and wide-ranging proposals across a number of key themes including transport, waste and home energy. It also commits to using the Assembly’s report to support future decision making.
A number of other tangible actions being taken forward as a direct result of the Assembly’s recommendations include:
the roll-out of a new network of resource sharing libraries across Scotland
working with landowners to increase woodland creation and peatland restoration
integrating emission reduction topics into education programmes
considering the Assembly recommendations for inclusion in the forthcoming Circular Economy Bill
Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Scotland’s Climate Assembly has been a truly historic process and involved a ground-breaking collaboration that engaged people from across the country.
“To ensure our approach to becoming a net zero nation is fair and just for everyone, we all need to work together. Scotland’s Climate Assembly, as representatives of our nation, told us what they want to see, and I am delighted to support their package of recommendations.
“The Scottish Government’s response to the Assembly’s report has been a truly cross-Government effort – and rightly so, given that the transformation that needs to take place will touch every corner of our society.
“We have been clear where the Assembly’s recommendations have already resulted in action and where we need to explore or consult further. As we work towards net zero, we will ensure the Assembly’s recommendations continue to guide decision-making. It is particularly fitting, to be publishing the government’s response now, as we seek to ensure a lasting legacy from COP26.
“The Climate Assembly has worked closely with the Children’s Parliament, to ensure that, for the first time, children have directly been involved and we will ensure young people continue to be part of the decisions around our net zero future. It is another example of the unique approach we are taking to tackle climate change in Scotland, ensuring a greener, fairer future for everyone.”
Edinburgh Division is determined it will be an inclusive place to work and has pledged this promise by signing up to the LGBT Youth Scotland’s LGBT Charter.
The LGBT Charter guides and encourages organisations to support members of the LGBTQ+ community in every aspect of their public engagement, as well as LGBTQ+ members of their own workforce.
It is hoped that by committing to the Charter, our own workforce will thrive at work, and also that our communities will have confidence in the organisation to keep them safe and supported, and see us an inclusive employer.
Constable David Clark from Edinburgh Division’s Preventions, Interventions and Partnerships Department said: “We are very proud to be the first division within Police Scotland to sign up to this worthwhile charter and we hope it makes a clear statement that equality and diversity are at the heart of everything we do.
“Edinburgh Division is in an enviable position in terms of the number of officers we have trained and the technology available that enables us to support this and it is anticipated that other divisions will follow suit in the near future.
“I believe signing up to LGBT Charter will go a long way in supporting police officers and staff within our division as well as supporting members of Edinburgh’s LGBTQ+ communities.”
