Lindsey Oil Refinery to shut after no buyer found
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The Independent
3 minutes ago
- The Independent
Car finance mis-selling payout scheme could be worth billions, says FCA
A compensation scheme to pay out drivers who were mis-sold car loans could cost as much as £18 billion, the financial regulator has said. Millions of drivers were denied payouts on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled that lenders are not liable for hidden commission payments in car finance schemes. Two lenders, FirstRand Bank and Close Brothers, challenged a Court of Appeal ruling that the 'secret' commission payments paid to car dealers as part of finance arrangements made before 2021 - without the motorist's fully informed consent - were unlawful. After the Supreme Court's decision the bulk of the claims will therefore not go ahead, with only the most serious claims eligible for compensation. The £18bn figure is a significant drop from the £45bn if the Supreme Court upheld the ruling in full. 'It is clear that some firms have broken the law and our rules. It's fair for their customers to be compensated. We also want to ensure that the market, relied on by millions each year, can continue to work well and consumers can get a fair deal,' said Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator said the final cost of the scheme would depend on its final design, which makes it difficult to estimate precisely. 'The FCA thinks it unlikely the cost of the scheme, including to run it, would be much lower than £9 billion,' it said in a statement. 'And it could be higher, up to £18 billion in some scenarios though the FCA doesn't believe these are the most likely. A total cost midway in the range, as forecast by some analysts, is more plausible.' Individuals are forecasted to receive less than £950 in compensation. The consultation for payouts is due to be launched by early October, with the first payments due to be made in 2026. Those who have already made complaints do not need to do anything further, the FCA added, and anyone who believes they were not told about commission and believes they may have paid too much should make a complaint now. The FCA warns that consumers do not need to use a claims management company or law firm for the claim. 'Our aim is a compensation scheme that's fair and easy to participate in, so there's no need to use a claims management company or law firm. If you do, it will cost you a significant chunk of any money you get,' Mr Rathi's statement added. 'It will take time to establish a scheme but we hope to start getting people any money they are owed next year.'
Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Labour's net-zero ‘flight tax' set to raise cost of family holiday
Labour's 'flight tax' on airlines will add more than £50 to the cost of a family holiday within a decade, analysis shows. Net zero rules introduced by Sir Keir Starmer mean planes must be filled with at least 2 per cent sustainable fuel, which will rise to 10 per cent followed by 22 per cent by 2040. The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate means airlines that do not comply with the green policy face heavy fines likely to be passed on in part to passengers. Costs associated with the new levy are expected to reach £4.5 billion by 2035, according to a new analysis by Public First. This works out at £12.79 per passenger per flight leaving the UK, adding £51.16 to the average overseas holiday taken by a family of four. The impact of the policy is expected to hit Britons as soon as 2027, with its cost hitting £200 million in that year. 'Ludicrous net stupid zero' By 2030, this figure will have ballooned to £1.5 million, the equivalent to £4.64 per passenger per flight – making a holiday for a family of four £18.56 more expensive. Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, told The Telegraph: 'This is yet another egregious tax on working citizens to pay for the ludicrous net stupid zero. A Reform government will scrap all this nonsense.' Greg Smith, a Tory transport minister, said: 'Labour said the transition to green aviation would cost pennies but now families are being hit with soaring ticket prices to fund Ed Miliband's net zero experiment. 'It's not just weekend getaways being priced out. It's regional airports under threat, tourism on the ropes, and British families paying the price for Labour's ideological fantasy. 'The truth is net zero by 2050 is impossible without bankrupting our country and Labour's plan to chase it will ground British families before it ever lands.' 80pc cost could be passed to consumers The Government's own impact assessment of the green mandate found that as much as 80 per cent of its cost could be passed on to consumers. Labour claims the pledge to use more sustainable fuel will support thousands of jobs while cutting the UK's transport emissions on the way to becoming a 'clean energy superpower'. The figures come as ministers were urged to relax red tape that means SAF cannot currently be made from non-food grade British-grown wheat. Phil New led the Government's independent review into the future of SAF and urged it to consider British bioethanol as a credible and scalable option. Mr New said: 'Ethanol made from British-grown milling wheat, which would otherwise be exported as animal feed, can be processed into SAF in a way that meets the emissions reductions required by the UK's standards. 'Home-grown, low-carbon aviation fuel industry' 'This is a real opportunity to create a home-grown, low-carbon aviation fuel industry that supports British agriculture, strengthens fuel security and helps us meet our climate ambitions.' Ben Hackett, managing director at Vivergo Fuels, added: 'The UK has the capability today to produce sustainable aviation fuel from home-grown non-food grade wheat – supporting British farmers, reducing carbon emissions, and improving our energy security. But outdated regulations are blocking this from happening. 'It makes no sense that ethanol from British wheat can be blended into petrol for cars, but not used to make jet fuel, especially when other countries are already moving ahead with this technology.' The analysis by Public First also found the UK could require the output of seven large-scale bioethanol plants by 2035 to meet growing domestic demand for SAF.
BBC News
3 minutes ago
- BBC News
Workers 'in limbo' as Vivergo Fuels plant takes final delivery
At a fuel plant near Hull, 20 tonnes of wheat are being poured from a lorry into storage, ready to be turned into ethanol – a type of alcohol that, when blended with petrol, reduces emissions. But this week's delivery, grown in the fields of Lincolnshire, is the last one on order for Vivergo owners of the UK's largest bioethanol plant, at Saltend, say its future is in doubt following a government decision to end a 19% tariff on US imports of the fuel as part of the recent UK-US trade month, Vivergo, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), began consulting staff about shutting down the plant due to the are calling for financial help from ministers. Without it, they say production at the site – which employs more than 160 people – may halt before 13 September. They estimate about 4,500 jobs in the supply chain will be affected, including the farmers who grow the wheat and the truck drivers who transport government says it is in formal discussions with the company and wants to find "a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods". Stacey Monkman, who has worked at Vivergo for three years in the commercial and logistics departments, says it has been difficult to keep up morale."We're motivated because we've still got our jobs to do, but it's very unsettling."Being in limbo and waiting, not knowing which way it's going to go, it's hard," she says."We've all got families, we've all got bills to pay... a lot rides on it for us."Production manager Nick Smalley began as an apprentice and now manages about 65 people at the refinery. "It's really frustrating that these decisions are being made and we have no influence over them," he says. "I care deeply about the team that I have here, I want a bright future for all of those people. We really need quick action now, it's getting to crisis point." Production at Saltend had already been cut due to low bioethanol prices, with ABF initially raising the prospect of closure in April. The trade deal followed in May. It is not only Vivergo employees who are affected. The plant buys more than a million tonnes of British wheat each year from more than 4,000 farms and says it has purchased from 12,000 individual farms over the past Matt Pickering, of Pickering and Sons, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, sold the last load of wheat to Vivergo."We struggle with the quality of our land type, so we tend to go for out-and-out bulk volume shed fillers," he says. "Vivergo has been a fantastic home for us to sell feed wheat into."Meanwhile, Aghaul Limited, which transported the final wheat load to the plant, is among transport companies feeling the director Mike Green believes the potential loss of the contract will have a significant "knock-on effect" for his haulage business. "The government needs to have a look at this because it doesn't just affect me, there's a humongous amount of people that it's going to affect." Ben Hackett, the managing director of Vivergo, describes the plant as a "key foundation on the whole green economy". Removing the tariff on US imports destroyed the market, he argues."The customers have gone overnight. That's given us a real crisis. We cannot afford to operate this facility as a loss," he Hackett wrote to growers earlier this year explaining that the plant will only be able to honour existing contractual obligations for wheat purchases while the uncertainty has urged the government to support bioethanol production by creating a clear framework in order to boost demand, in addition to providing financial help during the transition."We are weeks at most away from Associated British Foods having to make a decision on the viability of the business," he says. "This site could very well close unless the government takes action." 'Way forward' A government spokesperson said the bioethanol industry had been facing "significant challenges" for some time and ministers were working with Vivergo on a plan to protect jobs and the supply with the companies continued "at pace" and external consultants had been brought in to help."We recognise this is a concerning time for workers and their families which is why we entered into formal discussions with the company on potential financial support last month," the spokesperson said. "We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges the company faces and remain committed to working closely with them throughout this period to present a plan for a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
