Cheap Booze: Ministers To Reveal Curb Plans

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Cut-price alcohol deals could be banned as the Government prepares to outline proposals to curb binge drinking.

An end to bulk-buy discounts could also be on the cards as the Home Office launches a public consultation on the minimum price, thought to range from 40p to 50p per unit of alcohol.

At a unit price of 50p, the cheapest bottle of wine would rise in cost from around £3 to just under £5.

But Emily Robinson, of Alcohol Concern, said the "pocket-money prices" charged for booze have a long-term cost for the nation's health.

"Young people say it is cheaper to get drunk than go to the cinema," she said.

"So this is a measure that will target that group of people. It won't affect moderate drinkers much at all.

"And this is already costing us money. As taxpayers we are paying for the high costs in terms of policing, admissions to A&E and councils that have to clear up the mess."

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have studied the effect of setting a minimum price.

Charging at least 50p a unit would reduce the number of crimes by 42,500 in the first year.

David Cameron is thought to support a minimum price policy of 40p a unit

After 10 years the policy would have prevented 15,000 deaths and 481,000 hospital admissions.

And it would save £9.7bn in its first decade, the research shows.

But the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said there was no "real world" evidence that minimum pricing would work.

Spokesman Miles Beale said the measure was unfair.

"Minimum pricing is not targeted at all," he said. "The vast majority of us are responsible drinkers but it will apply to us nonetheless.

"If a minimum price of 50p was introduced then 74% of products on supermarket shelves would go up in price."

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Minister: We Must Build Homes In Countryside

More than 1,500 square miles of open countryside - over twice the area covered by Greater London - needs to be built on to solve the housing crisis.

The suggestion has come from planning minister Nick Boles who said owning a decent home was a "moral right".

People had to realise good developments could be as attractive as open countryside, he added.

His comments, in an interview with the BBC's Newsnight, will infuriate campaigners fighting government efforts to loosen planning laws.

Mr Boles said: "We're going to protect the greenbelt but if people want to have housing for their kids they have got to accept we need to build more on some open land.

"In the UK and England at the moment we've got about 9% of land developed. All we need to do is build on another 2-3% of land and we'll have solved a housing problem."

He insisted everyone had "the right to live somewhere that is not just affordable but that is beautiful and has some green space nearby".

That was "a basic moral right, like healthcare and education", he said.

Mr Boles says he doesn't want ugly homes to be built

Addressing so-called "nimbys", Mr Boles said: "It's my job to make the arguments to these people that if they carry on writing letters their kids are never going to get a place with a garden to bring up their grandkids.

"I accept we haven't been able to persuade them. I think it would be easier if we could persuade them that the new development would be beautiful...

"The built environment can be more beautiful than nature and we shouldn't obsess about the fact that the only landscapes that are beautiful are open - sometimes buildings are better."

Mr Boles said he did not want "lazy" builders to build "pig ugly" houses, and urged them to work with local communities.

"Land is expensive but to some extent (developers) are just lazy," he said.

"They didn't talk to local people or get involved enough. But also it's just bloody expensive to build because land is expensive."

The intervention came after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg complained last week that the country had been "under-building for decades".

Unveiling a push for a swathe of new "garden cities" across England, he said: "Hard realities can no longer be ignored. There's only one way out of this housing crisis: we have to build our way out."

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Rail Fares To Rise Above Inflation Again

New Season Rail Ticket Prices

Updated: 1:08am UK, Wednesday 28 November 2012

According to Passenger Focus, these are examples of the new season ticket prices and fare percentage increases on 2012 that will take effect from January 2013:

:: Gillingham to London, £3,672 (4.2%)

:: Canterbury to London, £4,860 (5.9%)

:: Tonbridge to London, £3,796 (5.2%)

:: Guildford to London, £3,224 (4.3%)

:: Portsmouth to London, £4,668 (4.2%)

:: Bournemouth to London, £5,988 (4.2%)

:: Reading to London, £3,960 (4.2%)

:: Oxford to London, £4,532 (4.2%)

:: Hove to London (Victoria), £3,860 (4.1%)

:: Eastbourne to London (Victoria), £4,228 (4.1%)

:: Aylesbury to London, £3,632 (3.2%)

:: Colchester to London, £4,556 (4.1%)

:: Shenfield to London, £2,704 (-0.6%)

:: Huntingdon to London, £4,700 (4.2%)

:: Cambridge to London, £4,400 (3.8%)

:: Morpeth to Newcastle, £1,008 (5.0%)

:: Peterborough to London, £6,888 (4.2%)

:: North Berwick to Edinburgh, £1,604 (3.9%)

:: Ellesmere Port to Chester, £720 (2.3%)

:: Tain to Inverness, £1,204 (3.8%)

:: Stirling to Glasgow, £1,916 (3.9%)

:: Llanelli to Swansea, £624 (5.4%)

:: Bangor to Llandudno, £1,140 (5.2%)

:: Ludlow to Hereford, £1,992 (5.3%)

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Heating Bills 'Rise 63% In Five Years'

The average cost of heating a home has soared by 63% over the past five years, according to research.

The price comparison website, uSwitch, calculates that the bill is up £227 over the period - hitting a new annual average total of £587.

It said the string of recent price hikes announced by energy companies will add around £40 to the average household heating bill for winter 2012.

The typical total household energy bill stands at £1,334 a year, uSwitch found, showing a £515 increase in the space of five years.

The website's research suggested that three quarters of homes went without heating at some point to keep their costs down last winter and predicted that 87% of families are planning to ration their heating this winter.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: "It now costs households a staggering 63% more a year to heat their home than it did five years ago.

"This increase has knocked consumers for six, leaving many fearful of how they will afford to keep warm during the winter months and leading to growing numbers rationing their energy use even during the harshest weather."

Households have been urged to shop around to cut their bills, with a difference of more than £300 between the cheapest and the most expensive energy tariffs.

Energy companies have largely blamed rising wholesale costs for the latest increases in bills.

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Thomas Cook: Restructuring Causes £590m Loss

Restructuring at Thomas Cook has taken its toll, as the holiday company's turnaround plan causes deeper losses.

The world's oldest travel company reported a statutory loss of £590m for the 12 months to the end of September - worse than the £518m loss recorded the previous year. 

However, the firm's debt was reduced by £103m to £788m.

In 2011 the company was forced to request an emergency loan to avoid collapse. 

Thomas Cook's new chief executive, Harriet Green, admitted the results represented "major issues" faced by the company last year, but insisted they masked improvement.

"Our brand has demonstrated its strength by recovering all the ground lost during last year's difficulties and we have identified significant further efficiency improvements," she said.

Trading towards the end of the summer was strong, the company said, adding that winter bookings were "off to a good start" in major markets.

The 171-year-old firm is in the process of reorganising its business and last year cut its fleet of planes to 35 and sold off 149 stores.

"The year ahead is the initial stage in this recovery and as we embark upon our first year of business transformation, we are optimistic about the future," Ms Green added.

She announced a further £100m of cost-cutting measures and warned of more to come.

The company's underlying loss - when one-off items are not included - narrowed from £103m to £37m in the year, but the group's revenue fell 3% to £9.49bn.

Shares in Thomas Cook fell more than 3% after the results were published.

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UK's First 'Green' Bank Opening For Business

The UK's first ever 'green' bank will be officially declared open for business later.

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) is funded with £3bn of Government money earmarked for helping develop a green economy.

It will be launched by Business Secretary Vince Cable at its headquarters in Edinburgh.

He will say: "The Green Investment Bank - a key coalition pledge - is now a reality.

"It will place the green economy at the heart of our recovery and position the UK in the forefront of the drive to develop clean energy.

"Three billion pounds of Government money will leverage private sector capital to fund projects in priority sectors from offshore wind to waste and non-domestic energy efficiency, helping to deliver our commitment to create jobs and growth right across the UK.

"Having the headquarters in Edinburgh is a powerful vote of confidence in the Union, and a testimony to our commitment to helping Scotland lead the green revolution."

First to benefit from the fund is a project in the north east of England that will generate energy from waste.

Around £8m will go to the construction of an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Teesside, the first of six planned over the next five years.

This will be matched with a further £8m from the private sector, according to the Government.

The GIB will also invest £5m to fit manufacturer Kingspan's UK industrial facilities with systems that will reduce its energy consumption by 15%.

Bank chief executive Shaun Kingsbury will set out his plans during the event, which will also be attended by Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey.

Mr Davey said: "The Green Investment Bank will help attract the capital required to allow the green economy to blossom, encouraging investors to market and kick-starting low-carbon and energy efficiency projects.

"In combination with our electricity market reforms, there will be lasting economic benefit as a result, with new expertise and jobs created, that will give the UK a competitive edge."

Dan Barlow, of environmental group WWF Scotland, said the launch of the bank represented an exciting step towards a low carbon economy, while Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing said it presented "huge opportunities" for green energy projects north of the border.

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Royal Mail Lines Up Privatisation Advisers

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Royal Mail risks igniting a row over the multi-million-pound costs of privatising the company after appointing a line-up of heavyweight City advisers to prepare the landmark deal.

I have learned that Royal Mail's management, led by Moya Greene, chief executive, has drafted in Makinson Cowell, the respected investor relations advisory firm, and STJ Advisers, a specialist in equity markets transactions, to counsel them on the process, which will begin in earnest in the new year.

Next week, a cluster of the City's largest investment banks will pitch for the mandate to advise the company on the process to inject private capital. That appointment could put at risk Barclays' relationship with Royal Mail, which has been running for more than two years.

The recruitment of specialist capital markets advisers offers the clearest signal so far that the Government will opt to pursue a stock market listing of the company, ending centuries of Government ownership.

The Government's intent to privatise Royal Mail has gained fresh momentum since the appointment of Michael Fallon as a minister in Vince Cable's Department of Business, Innovation and Skills in the autumn Government reshuffle.

A sale to another postal operator or a financial investor such as a private equity firm remains a possibility.

Previous attempts to privatise Royal Mail - most notably led by Lord Mandelson, the former Business Secretary, three years ago - ended in failure amid political opposition and uncertainty about the company's viability without far-reaching regulatory reform.

Much of that reform has now been sanctioned, paving the way for Royal Mail to post operating profits of £144m for the six months to September.

"Today's results from Royal Mail are encouraging, showing how Royal Mail staff and management together with the Government's reforms, have put the company on the road to sustainable health and long term viability," Mr Fallon said of the company's half-year results earlier this month.

"Parliament decided, via the Postal Services Act 2011, to inject private capital into the company in order to secure the future of the universal postal service. The structure and timing remain open, but Government is committed to doing that to ensure the ongoing viability of the company."

Royal Mail declined to comment.

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Comet: Jobs At Risk As Shops Face Closure

Comet's administrators have confirmed a further 125 stores will close by the end of the year if they fail to get a firm offer for the whole business.

Around 70 stores of the original 236 will remain open until the electricals retailer's remaining stock is sold, Deloitte added. 

Some 5,000 jobs remain in the balance at the embattled retailer, which called in the administrators earlier this month.

Deloitte's Chris Farrington said a "small number of interested parties" remained and he hoped a positive outcome could still be achieved.  

"Should any acceptable offers be received for stores we will delay the closure process," he said.

"Unfortunately, in the absence of a firm offer for the whole of the business, it has become necessary to begin making plans in case a sale is not concluded."

Stores will begin closing in December, he added.

Since Deloitte was appointed to work for the electricals chain, some 1,500 jobs have already been axed.

Last week, the entrepreneur behind Appliances Online confirmed he had tabled a bid for Comet's web-based operations - but not for the whole business.

John Roberts said he had put in a "seven-figure offer" for Comet's website, although the deal would see the business disappear from the UK's high streets.

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UK 'Under-Employed' Total Hits Three Million

Official figures have highlighted a steep rise in the number of people wanting to work more hours - sparking a bitter debate on the Government's economic strategy.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found there had been an increase of one million people classed as under-employed since the financial crisis of 2008, taking the total beyond three million.

The three million figure included almost two million part-time workers, many of whom wanted a full-time job.

According to the ONS, the occupations with the highest number of under-employed workers included cleaners, caterers and labourers.

The average under-employed person was found to have earned £7.49 an hour, more than £3 less than someone who was not under-employed.

More than one in five of workers aged 16-24 were under-employed this year, compared with 10% of those aged 35-49, the ONS said, while the highest under-employment rates were in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, the North East and the South West where more than 10% of workers wanted to work more hours.

Yorkshire and the Humber saw the highest rate of increase.

The statistics were released against a recent backdrop of falling overall unemployment but they were seized upon as evidence that the Government's strategy was failing.

Karen Jennings, assistant general secretary of Unison, said: "The Government likes to claim that the employment statistics are proof of our recovery.

"Under-employment statistics expose this claim as a sham. "No wonder our economic growth has faltered - more than three million people are under-employed, many of them are stuck in part-time work but want full-time hours.

"Growing under-employment is masking broader economic problems and holding back the recovery, " she concluded.

Dr John Philpott, director of The Jobs Economist, said: "The extent of underemployment identified in these official figures highlights the degree to which the headline unemployment count understates the current shortage of work in the UK economy."

But John Salt of totaljobs.com, said: "Under-employment is the reason that we have managed to stave off the disastrous unemployment figures some had feared given the parlous state of the economy, but the numbers don't indicate any strength."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman responded: "More than half of the 700,000 extra people in work since 2010 are working full-time and we have recently seen record numbers of people in employment."

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BP Banned From US Government Contracts

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US has temporarily suspended BP from new US government contracts.

The ban stemmed from the British oil giant's conduct regarding the blowout at its Deepwater Horizon rig which killed 11 workers in April 2010.

It comes after the company agreed to plead guilty to charges over its part in the largest environmental disaster in US history, and to admit lying to Congress about the amount of oil that was spilling from the Macondo well.

"EPA is taking this action due to BP's lack of business integrity as demonstrated by the company's conduct with regard to the Deepwater Horizon blowout, explosion, oil spill, and response," the agency said. 

"Suspensions are a standard practice when a responsibility question is raised by action in a criminal case."

The move prevents BP from getting new government contracts or grants "until the company can provide sufficient evidence to EPA demonstrating that it meets Federal business standards," EPA added.

Existing agreements between the company and the government are not affected.

Professor Joe Lampel from Cass Business School said the decision would be a blow to BP.

"The ban comes at the end of a complex process during which BP has settled most of the claims against it," he said.

"Therefore this suspension should be seen as an additional penalty rather than a pressure tactic that the US government often uses when it wants to force firms to concede liability."  

He said the ban would most probably be lifted after a sufficient grace period has passed. 

"BP has been working hard to repair its reputation and I suspect that it will do whatever it takes to satisfy regulators that it now meets all the necessary standards," he added.

At the end of last month, BP revealed that the disaster had cost it more than $38bn (£23.7bn) to date.

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