MPs Call For Council Parking Charge Reports

Councils should publish annual parking-charge reports to show where revenue comes from and where it is being used, according to MPs.

Louise Ellman, the chairman of the House of Commons Transport Committee, said the use of parking charges and fines specifically to raise revenue was "neither acceptable nor legal".

Launching a report into parking enforcement in England, Mrs Ellman said: "There is a deep-rooted public perception that parking enforcement is used as a cash cow, so it's essential local authorities apply stringent transparency."

The committee said local authorities in England had a collective parking surplus of hundreds of millions of pounds, but the exact amount was subject to debate.

There is suspicion parking fines off-set council spending shortfalls

It said the Local Government Association had reported a surplus from parking of £411m in 2011/12, while the RAC Foundation believed the figure to be higher at £565m.

Net income from parking services including pay and display charges and fines is expected to rise 5.6% from £601m in 2012/13 to £635m in 2013/14.

Mrs Ellman said: "Annual parking accounts would allow the public to see how much local revenue is derived from the enforcement of fines and what proportion of this come from parking charges.

"It's right that parking charges be determined locally, but hard to justify fines that substantially exceed penalties for more serious offences like speeding.

"Central government should freeze the maximum penalty charge and develop differential fines for less serious parking violations."

Councils claim parking revenue is spent on vital transport improvements

In 2006 some 3,568,462 parking tickets were issued by 160 councils in England (outside London) and Wales. This increased by 21% in 2010/11 to 4,319,708.

But in London the number of PCNs issued over the same period fell 20% from 5,185,772 to 4,131,708.

Councillor Peter Box, chairman of the Local Government Association's economy and transport board, said: "As this report recognises, parking controls are not being used by councils to raise revenue.

"They are essential for keeping motorists and pedestrians safe, traffic flowing, and ensure people can park near their homes and local shops.

"Councils always look to be open and transparent with residents on their parking policies. Many already publish annual reports and adopt a common-sense approach to regulation that includes grace periods for motorists.

"Local authorities are working hard to try and boost trade and keep high streets vibrant through parking incentives such as free short-stay, cheaper evenings and free Sundays.

"Any income they make from charges and fines is spent on running parking services, fixing potholes and providing subsidised travel to children and the elderly."

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EU Cap Pushes Barclays Into Third Way On Pay

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Barclays is drawing up secret plans to negate European Union restrictions on bankers' pay by introducing a separate chunk of remuneration that would be determined by an individual's seniority.

Sky News has learnt that Barclays directors have begun consulting with leading investors on the proposals in recent days as they seek to avoid a feared exodus of top staff to Asian and US-based rivals.

New rules from Brussels which are due to come into effect next year would limit the amount that banks operating in the EU can pay certain employees to the same level as their basic salary, or twice that sum if they have approval from shareholders.

Barclays' 'third way' on bank pay would involve splitting remuneration into three separate elements, rather than the current structure comprising basic pay and annual bonuses.

In addition to the existing components, a non-pensionable sum would be determined each year based on an individual's responsibilities. Paid each month in cash, this would supplement the employee's base salary but not be allowed to count towards the basic pay from which annual bonuses would be calculated.

Barclays' status as the leading proponent of the reforms may prove to be contentious among some investors who were taken by surprise when the bank was forced into a £5.8bn rights issue by banking regulators during the summer.

Its fundraising came after a torrid year for the British lender, beginning with its £290m fine for manipulating the interbank borrowing rate, Libor.

The new structure would not necessarily affect the pay of Antony Jenkins, Barclays' chief executive, or other board members, because much of their pay packages also include long-term incentive plan awards in shares.

Sources say the reforms would not have an inflationary effect on overall pay at Barclays because the new third chunk of remuneration would be factored in to deliberations over annual bonuses for senior staff.

Under one scenario outlined by a leading Barclays investor, a senior executive in its investment bank could be paid a basic salary of £750,000, a maximum bonus - with shareholder approval - of £1.5m, and a sum running to hundreds of thousands of pounds paid in monthly instalments.

Barclays and other UK banks such as HSBC have argued that the EU rules will inhibit their ability to compete with banks less affected, with some institutions complaining that staff are already being poached by non-EU rivals.

"One of the key questions to the banks is that as part of the uncertain bonus is shifted into a more certain payment then what discount should be applied to the more certain third element," said one investor who has been briefed on the plans.

"There are also a lot of questions on how the new third element is determined and how much transparency shareholders will get on this."

The issue of transparency will be particularly crucial since banks have been ordered to disclose more information about how much they pay their top staff.

Hundreds of thousands of City bankers are likely to be caught up in the EU remuneration rules, and other banks are also understood to be planning structures similar to that being discussed at Barclays.

Bankers' pay is already subject to rules relating to the proportions that can be paid in cash and shares, and much of it has had to be deferred for at least three years under reforms introduced in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

During the summer, the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards proposed a ten-year deferral period for senior bankers' pay in order to encourage a greater focus on long-termism in the City.

Sky News understands that the Treasury, which this month mounted a legal challenge to Brussels' efforts to impose a maximum two-for-one bonus/pay ratio, is being kept informed about Barclays' plans

The UK banks are also expected to ask shareholders to vote at next year's annual general meetings on a resolution to allow them to pay up to twice the level of base salaries to staff as annual bonuses.

A consultation paper is expected to be published shortly by the Prudential Regulation Authority relating to the implementation of the EU's Capital Requirements Directive-4 (CRD-4) and its implications for bank pay.

Barclays declined to comment.

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Benefits Cap Study In Haringey Raises Doubts

The Government's benefits cap will struggle to encourage people into work while saving taxpayers' money, according to a report.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) studied the results of the cap in Haringey, one of four London boroughs chosen as pilot areas for the scheme.

It found that 747 households saw their benefits cut in the four months between April 15 and August 16 because they were above the cap threshold.

But just 74, or 10%, of those were able to find work to avoid their benefits being cut, while 11 increased their working hours to avoid being hit.

Almost 50% of the homes affected claimed extra payments from the council to help them pay their rent.

The CIH said this "both shunts costs between national and local government budgets and masks the true impact of the cap until those discretionary payments run out".

However, the Government dismissed the data as "flawed" because it was from a small London area and collected so early.

The cap was rolled out across the country from July and limits benefits to £500-a-week for families with children or £350-a-week for those without children.

Households affected lost between 15p to £374.50-a-week, with 51% of claimants losing £50 to £199-a-week, according to the report.

The CIH said the reform was changing attitudes towards employment but that many claimants faced problems finding work, including a lack of job-seeking skills and affordable childcare.

Grainia Long, chief executive of the CIH, said: "The Government said the benefit cap would save money and encourage people into work, but this report shows it is far from achieving both of those aims in one of the worst affected areas.

"There have been whispers that the Government is considering lowering the cap or increasing the amount of hours people must work to avoid it. Unless ministers commit to increasing support for people looking to get back into work and funding for childcare this would be very dangerous.

"Ultimately, the Government must do more to tackle the UK's housing crisis. The reason that the housing benefit bill is so high and that so many people are affected by the benefit cap is that we are simply not building enough homes to accommodate our growing population."

Claire Kober, leader of Haringey Council added: "This research shows that the benefit cap has failed in its main objectives.

"Only a few households have been able to get back into work and, while the Government may be making some savings, the real costs are just being passed to local councils already under enormous financial pressure.

"People still need a lot of support to get training or back into work and spiralling housing costs mean there is a long way to go before anyone could claim the benefit cap is working."

The cap covers the main out-of-work benefits - Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, and Employment and Support Allowance - and other benefits such as Housing Benefit, Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit and Carer's Allowance.

The Department for Work and Pensions said: "This research relies on early and limited data from a single council and completely ignores the fact Jobcentre Plus has helped 16,500 claimants nationally into work who were potentially affected by the benefit cap.

"We do not recognise this report as providing a sound or reliable picture of the reform.

"The benefit cap is helping to return common sense to the welfare system by placing a fair limit of £500-a-week on the amount a household on benefits can receive."

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Whiplash Insurance Claims Face Fraud Crackdown

By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

Fake whiplash claimants are facing a fresh crackdown under Government plans to tackle the rising cost of motoring in Britain.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the measures would cut insurance premiums for all drivers by targeting "whiplash fraudsters".

From now on only evidence from accredited professionals will be considered when whiplash claims are assessed.

The Government also plans to freeze the price of an MOT at £54.85 until 2015 and motorway service stations will be forced to advertise their petrol prices on signs along the route to increase competition.

"We are turning the tide on the compensation culture and helping hard-working people by tackling high insurance premiums and other motoring costs," said Mr Grayling.

"We have already helped families by cutting income tax for 25 million people by raising their personal allowance, by freezing council tax and by helping with tax free childcare for example. But we want to do more.

"It's not right that people who cheat the insurance system get away with it while forcing up the price for everyone else, so we are now going after whiplash fraudsters and will keep on driving premiums down."

There were more than 500,000 whiplash claims in the UK last year, costing the insurance industry some £2bn.

Roads minister Robert Goodwill said: "The costs of owning and running a car are felt by millions of households and businesses across the nation. The Government is determined to help keep those costs down.

"That is why we are freezing the price for an MOT test and looking again at the costs associated with getting a driving licence.

"We also want to make it easier for people to get a better deal on fuel at motorway service stations, for instance through a trial of motorway signs that will show motorists the different fuel prices on offer on their route."

New statistics from the AA show motor insurance premiums are now falling at the fastest rate since 1994 - a fall of 12.3% in the year to October for an average comprehensive insurance policy, from £648 in October 2012 to £568 in October 2013.

Each whiplash compensation payout costs an average of £2,400 insurers say, with an additional £2,000 in legal costs.

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Sexual Harassment 'Rife' At Work, Study Says

Nearly two thirds of women have had a male work colleague behave "inappropriately" towards them, new research reveals.

And of the 60% who said they had experienced this behaviour in the workplace, 21% classed it as persistent.

When it came to inappropriate comments and touching, more than half the offenders were more senior members of staff, and two thirds of women said the inappropriate behaviour came from a married man.

But despite saying the behaviour of their colleagues was often degrading and embarrassing, only 27% reported the behaviour to someone senior.

The research, which was commissioned by employment law specialists Slater & Gordon and polled 1,579 people, also found almost 40% of men surveyed said they had been victims of sexual harassment.

Claire Dawson, an employment lawyer with the firm, said: "We deal with some really shocking cases of sexual harassment in the workplace, but it's always surprising to hear how widespread the issue is and how many women don't feel like they can report behaviour like this."

More than a third of women surveyed said a senior male colleague had made inappropriate comments about their breasts, sex life, backside, or the clothes they were wearing.

One in six women had been forced to fend off a colleague who tried to kiss them and 12% had a colleague place his hand on her behind.

Of the 24% of women who had a superior make a move on them, 5% then lost their job, and more than one in 10 said they had been turned down for a promotion.

The most common places for women to experience inappropriate behaviour were at their desk while they were working late, at an office party or in a staff corridor or lift.

The law firm says the legal definition of sexual harassment is if a person's dignity has been violated or a perpetrator has created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

The survey found that one quarter said they did not think people commenting on their body parts was sexual harassment, one third did not think someone viewing pornography near them was sexual harassment and more than half did not think inappropriate comments about their partner from a colleague or discussions about their sex life was harassment.

Speaking on Sky News, entrepreneur Katie Hopkins cast doubt on some of the harassment claims. She said: "We have to question these people who make these complaints.

"If you can see down the blouse, don't wear the blouse."

Shadow women and equalities minister Gloria De Piero said: "This research shows just how far we still have to travel on women's equality.

"We should be doing more to empower women to challenge this behaviour and come forward and report it to their employer."

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Asos Argues Its Success Is Good For High St

Online fashion store Asos says it is on target to become the world's number one clothes retailer - but not at the UK high street's expense.

In an interview with Sky News to mark the firm's full year results, its chief executive Nick Robertson highlighted the opportunity his company was offering retailers with big store operations.

He argued that rather than Asos' success helping to kill off the high street, many brands including New Look and River Island were choosing to sell under the Asos umbrella to complement their own retail offers.

The company announced plans on Wednesday to step up investment in support of its rapid sales growth, saying it would increase spending on people, technology, logistics and marketing to about £55m in each of the next two years.

It invested £33m in 2012-13.

Asos met forecasts with a 23% rise in full-year pre-tax profit to £54.7m in the 12 months to August 31.

The group, whose celebrity fans include US First Lady Michelle Obama and pop star Rita Ora, now sells over 65,000 branded and own-label products shipped for free to 237 countries.

Asos said last month it was on track to hit its £1bn annual sales target a year ahead of schedule in the 2013-14 financial year as revenues for 2012-13 topped £769m - with UK sales rising more than 30%.

Its shares, which have more than doubled over the past year, now value the company at more than £4bn but fell more than 3% in early trading on Wednesday.

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Post Office Managers Protest In Pay Row

Post Office managers will take their first industrial action in 34 years later this week in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Unite union, which represents 900 managers, will work to rule for 24 hours on Friday and refuse to do any overtime.

They will also refuse to travel outside of their hours or work anywhere other than their normal place of employment.

Unite accused the Post Office of "dragging its feet" for 16 months over a pay deal and warned of further action if the row is not resolved.

National officer Brian Scott said: "This is an important day for Unite members in the Post Office.

"They are keen to impress upon their employer their dissatisfaction with the failure to reach a pay agreement with the union and see this an opportunity to protest.

"No one wants to take this action, but the intransigence of the employer makes this necessary."

A Post Office spokesman said: "We are disappointed that Unite has chosen to call industrial action at a time when we are continuing constructive discussions to resolve the current dispute.

"We are confident that the majority of our managers do not support this action and will be working as normal on Friday.

"The Post Office remains committed to reaching an agreement with the union on pay and has already established a lot of common ground.

"Building on this, rather than taking industrial action, must be the priority for both parties."

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Bank Of England Fuels Rate Rise Speculation

Speculation has intensified that the Bank of England may start to lift the base rate of interest earlier than it had anticipated.

Minutes of the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) showed the nine-member panel believed unemployment was falling and the economy growing faster than previously expected.

The October meeting concluded that joblessness in the second half of the year looked set to be lower than was thought at the time the bank published its new forward guidance policy on rates in August.

New governor Mark Carney announced then that the base rate would not be increased from its historic low of 0.5% until after unemployment had fallen to 7% in a bid to give mortgage customers, the consumer and markets some idea of a timeframe to prepare.

The Bank indicated at the time that this was not likely to happen until 2016.

But most economists are convinced that this will happen much more quickly and now the Bank has hinted that it is starting to come around to their point of view.

Latest jobs figures showed the unemployment rate at 7.7% and a fall in the number of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance together with surveys of employers' intentions, suggested it would drop over the rest of the year.

This fall was likely to be "at a faster pace than anticipated at the time of the August inflation report" - the time when the Bank unveiled the forward-guidance policy, the minutes said.

The MPC meeting agreed unanimously to leave the base rate at 0.5% and maintain the quantitative easing (QE) programme pumping money into the economy at £375bn.

None of the nine-member committee wanted to tighten policy - cutting QE or raising rates - while improvements in the economy meant all agreed there was little case for increasing monetary stimulus further, the papers revealed.

They also showed that the Bank's experts believe growth in the second half of the year would be 0.7% a quarter "or a little higher", stronger than had been expected in August amid a "robust recovery in activity" in the UK.

It had already revealed last month that it had lifted its forecast for third quarter growth to 0.7%.

The revival in the housing market - buoyed by the new Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme - together with cheaper imported goods on the back of the rising pound, would improve consumption, policymakers found.

On the other hand, export performance looked to be at risk because of difficulties in the US and a sharp slowdown in emerging economies.

But it was the Bank's more bullish mood on the level of spare capacity or "slack" in the economy - of which unemployment is a key measure - that appeared to mark a significant change in tone.

Policymakers said falling unemployment appeared to reflect growth in full-time permanent jobs and there was "no reason to believe it to be erratic" while average hours had continued to rise.

"It now therefore seemed probable that unemployment would be lower, and output growth faster, in the second half of 2013 than expected at the time of the August inflation report," they said.

The minutes acknowledged that expectations in the market were for an interest rate rise to take place in November 2015, at least a year earlier than the Bank has indicated.

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PM Vows To Roll Back Green Taxes On Energy

The Lib Dems have accused David Cameron of a "panicky U-turn" after he pledged to roll back green taxes blamed for driving up energy bills.

During another bitter row about energy policy with Ed Miliband at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said he wanted to "get a grip" on green regulations.

The levies have been criticised by suppliers in recent weeks as they started to unveil a string of price hikes in household bills ahead of the winter.

Mr Cameron also told MPs the Government is to launch an annual audit of competition in the energy industry to see if the market can be improved.

The announcements came as he was mocked by the Labour leader over former Tory prime minister Sir John Major's shock call for a windfall tax on energy firms.

Upper hand: Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both mocked the PM

But they sparked deep coalition divisions to be laid bare as the Lib Dems, who oppose any change to green taxes, stressed their commitment to the environment.

A party source said: "Everybody knows the Tories are getting cold feet on the environment. The Tories have put no properly worked up policies in front of us.

"But we will not allow a panicky u-turn during PMQs to dictate Government policy. The way to provide stable fuel bills now and in the future is not to make policy up on the hoof."

At PMQs, Mr Miliband claimed Sir John's intervention on Tuesday had exposed the Prime Minister's unwillingness to stand up to energy firms.

"Many people face the choice this winter between heating and eating. These are the ordinary people of this country who this Prime Minister will never meet and whose lives he will never understand," he said.

Mr Cameron replied: "I can tell the House today that we will be having a proper competition test carried out over the next year to get to the bottom of whether this market can be made more competitive.

"I want more companies, I want better regulation, I want better deals for consumers. But yes, we also need to roll back the green charges that he put in place as energy secretary."

Amid heated exchanges, Mr Cameron lashed out at the Labour leader, telling him: "Sir John Major is a good man, you are acting like a conman."

He said: "He left us a market with just six players, we have already seen seven new energy companies come into that market.

"So we need an annual audit of competition to make this market more competitive, something he never did when in office.

"And we need to roll back the costs that have been imposed on people's energy bills, part of which he was responsible for."

Tory Zac Goldsmith called party leaders "muppets"

After coming off worse in the bout with the Labour leader, Mr Cameron was also reprimanded by the Commons Speaker for repeating "conman" later in the session.

John Bercow said he had let it slide once but later told the Prime Minister the word was "frankly unparliamentary".

He said: "The Prime Minister is a man of great versatility in the use of language - it's a bit below the level. We'll leave it there, it's a bit below the level."

Downing Street sources said Mr Cameron had discussed his plans to roll back green levies with the Lib Dems in recent weeks.

More details are expected in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement in December.

According to Number 10, green levies will rise from £112 to £194 - or 14% of the typical household bill - by 2020 if there is no policy change.

The Lib Dems promised any detailed proposals would be examined but added that they would not let the Conservatives "undermine" their green credentials.

Details of the competition review will also be set out next week in the Energy Secretary's annual statement to the Commons.

It will be conducted by watchdog Ofgem, the Office of Fair Trading and the new Competition and Markets Authority.

The first review, which will look at prices, profit levels and any barriers to new suppliers trying to enter the market, is due to start within weeks and report next year.

Sir John's call for an "excess profits tax" on energy firms if there is a severe winter and vulnerable people were suffering has already been dismissed by Downing Street.

Officials say there are "no plans" for such a move, but Labour were delighted by the comments as they claimed the former PM was making their case for them.

Energy has now become central to the row over the cost-of-living and is unlikely to fade for weeks to come as the "Big Six" energy suppliers continue to unveil price hikes.

A Labour source suggested David Cameron's response to the issue was "panicked and totally inadequate".

Tory MP and keen environmentalist Zac Goldsmith also branded the party leaders "muppets" for their approach.

He wrote on Twitter: "In 2010, leaders fought to prove they were the greenest. Three years on, they're desperately blaming their own policies on the other. Muppets."

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Grangemouth Job Fears As Chemical Plant Shut

The owner of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant is to close the operation permanently and keep shut, for now, its major oil refinery amid a continuing pay dispute.

The move threatens up to 800 jobs at the petrochemicals business, which makes products used in everyday items such as packaging and plastic bags, unless it can be sold.

The Grangemouth site's owner Ineos said while it would retain the refinery, which produces 80% of Scotland's petrol and diesel, production would remain shut down until the threat of industrial action was removed.

The Government said there was no current threat of fuel shortages in Scotland because of contingency planning.

Workers were given news of the closure at a meeting with Ineos petrochemicals chairman Calum MacLean following the passing of a deadline on a survival plan which asked all Grangemouth staff to accept changes to pensions and other terms and conditions.

The Prime Minister described the closure as "disappointing"

The Unite union said around 680 of the site's total 1,370-strong workforce rejected the proposals, which included a pay freeze for 2014-16, removal of a bonus up to 2016, a reduced shift allowance and ending of the final salary pension scheme.

Following the meeting with staff, one worker who did not want to be named, said: "I feel sick. It's gone."

The worker, who appeared close to tears at points, told Sky News he could only listen to about 10 minutes of the meeting, before he felt he had to leave.

"There's no livelihoods left and we don't even know if we're going to get redundancy out of it. I hope they're happy with themselves," he said.

More than 1,300 people are currently employed at Grangemouth by Ineos

Unite has accused the company's owner Jim Ratcliffe of playing "Russian roulette" with the future of Grangemouth, the biggest industrial site in Scotland, and said it would back any efforts by the Scottish Government to find a new buyer for the petrochemical complex.

In a statement, Ineos blamed the union's opposition to its survival plan for the decision to close the petrochemical plant - saying shareholders could no longer fund it.

Mr MacLean said: "This is a hugely sad day for everyone at Grangemouth. We have tried our hardest to convince employees of the need for change but unsuccessfully.

"There was only ever going to be one outcome to this story if nothing changed and we continued to lose money.

"We still struggle to comprehend what has happened here. The employees were offered a chance to secure substantial new investment in the company, preserve their jobs and keep their salaries. Sadly this will no longer be the case."

The company added: "As a result of this decision, the directors of the petrochemicals business have had no option but to engage the services of a liquidator. It is anticipated that a liquidation process will commence in a week."

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "I am saddened to hear of Ineos' plans to place the petrochemicals business into administration, particularly because of the impact it will have on the workforce and local community.

"While respecting Ineos' right to make this decision, it is regrettable that both parties have not managed to negotiate a fair and equitable settlement that delivers a viable business model for the plant.

"Even at this late stage, I urge Ineos to continue dialogue with the workforce and Government will offer help and support with this.

"Ineos have informed us that the refinery will stay open and the management wish to restart full operations as soon as possible.

"We stand ready to help with discussions between the management and the union to ensure this can happen.

"Fuel supplies continue to be delivered as usual and there is no current risk of disruption to supplies."

More follows...

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