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New Statesman
7 days ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Who is accountable in privatised Britain?
Illustration by Andy Carter / Ikon Images 'New, unadopted estate.' The Hitchin MP, Alistair Strathern, pointed. Then he gestured to a building site where diggers were enthusiastically getting to work. 'New estate that will be unadopted… Unadopted estate… Unadopted estate.' During the 20-minute drive from Shefford town centre to Hitchin Station, we passed at least six examples of the phenomenon Strathern had invited me to his constituency, which straddles the Bedfordshire-Hertfordshire border, to explore: new-build housing estates their councils have refused to adopt. Much has been written about leasehold, the peculiarly British 'feudal' system in which homebuyers own a property but not the land it sits on, leaving them liable for spiralling ground rent and management fees. After decades of advocacy, some improvements were made under the Conservatives in last year's Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, and Labour has promised to go further with protections for leaseholders in this parliament. But even when new-build homes are sold with the freehold, hidden costs can sneak in. Known as 'fleecehold' housing, the estates Strathern pointed out are those where the responsibility for maintaining the roads, street lighting, drainage and communal areas has not been adopted by the council, as it deems development not to have been completed to a high enough standard. Until a development is adopted, the residents must pay for the services the council would usually provide, in addition to council tax, via yearly fees paid to private management companies. The fees themselves may not sound large – £200-£300 a year. Or, at least, that's the level at which they start out. At a new estate I visited, fees had been hiked by 41 per cent in a year, with vague explanations. Calls and emails to the management company went largely unanswered; correspondence was limited to scarily worded 'final demand' letters. If owners refuse to pay, management companies can go direct to their lender to have the charges added to their mortgage, tanking the owner's credit rating. Residents I met spoke of finding it impossible to determine what they were paying for, or to hold the management company accountable for the work it was – or wasn't – carrying out. Fleecehold is now the norm across the country. Whereas councils used to adopt new estates, the Competition and Markets Authority has found that 80 per cent of new homes built by the 11 largest developers in 2021-22 were sold under the fleecehold system, with £260m in estate management charges paid out in 2022 alone. There are stories of owners being assured their estate would be adopted as a formality, only to still be paying fees a decade on. Meanwhile, the government is pushing through planning reform to meet its target of 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament. The problem may not be as visceral as the issues with build quality that owners of new-builds often face: cracked walls, dodgy plumbing, damp and mould. But the two are inextricably linked. Every owner I spoke to about fleecehold charges also had a horror story of how their 'dream home' had turned into a nightmare of construction faults that developers were reluctant to rectify. One showed me a brimming lever-arch folder of his correspondence with the developer – 200 pages in 20 months. The question is one of accountability. When things go wrong, whose job is it to fix them? What happens if they fail to do so? And how are they seemingly able to charge what they like, with no cap on costs or any obligation to show how the money is spent? Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe You might imagine the council would step in. But, as I found out in Hitchin, cash-strapped local authorities have little incentive to ensure developments are built to standard, as adopting them means adopting additional costs. The developers, meanwhile, have little incentive to come back to complete repairs once the houses have been sold. Strathern, who worked on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill committee, is hoping to change this and has introduced a debate in parliament on ensuring new estates are adopted on schedule. But it's hard to fix a problem most people don't even know exists until after they've bought their homes. Passing the accountability buck can be an art form. In Shefford, I visited Old Bridge Way: a 220m stretch of road through an industrial park connecting an estate of some 1,000 homes to the centre of town and a Morrisons. I stood there for ten minutes watching non-stop traffic navigate a maze of potholes six inches deep. Central Bedfordshire Council says this is not its responsibility, as it doesn't actually own that part of the road. Who does own it is an open question: the company responsible for it was liquidated in 2024, leaving it effectively ownerless. But I noticed double yellow lines along the kerbside. I asked the council if it was issuing parking fines for a road it claimed it had no responsibility for, but it did not offer an answer. A council that won't adopt a thoroughfare used by thousands of people is unlikely to adopt estates full of new homes. Strathern described both situations as 'hollowed-out councils retreating from the public realm'. To me, they resembled what the satirical science-fiction author Douglas Adams once termed a Somebody Else's Problem field, a way of concealing inconvenient things that utilises 'people's natural predisposition not to see anything they don't want to, weren't expecting, or can't explain'. For residents placed in fleecehold limbo the issues of rising fees and the lack of accountability are impossible to ignore. For everyone else, they are Somebody Else's Problem. [See also: GMB chief Gary Smith: 'Oil and gas is not the enemy'] Related
North Wales Live
18-07-2025
- Health
- North Wales Live
Psychologist says 'emotional contagion' could sweep the UK this summer
62% of people say they feel more hopeful when the nation comes together around a unifying event, with bouts of good weather and major sporting moments particularly potent for boosting national levels of optimism, according to research for the National Lottery. The arrival of a feel-good summer is timely as the research found only a third of Brits currently describe the overall level of hopefulness in the UK as high, amid macro-economic pressures and geopolitical instability. Expert and author in positive psychology Miriam Akhtar said: 'Humans are social creatures, so it's natural that shared moments, such as major sporting events, have a significant impact on national levels of hope. Optimism is infectious and like hope, these positive emotions spread through people in a phenomenon known as 'emotional contagion'. "So, when the country is celebrating a win or enjoying the nostalgia of Oasis playing again, it takes hold nationally very quickly. The broaden-and build theory shows that positive emotions such as hope and joy not only feel good but can actually do us good too, impacting the way our brains function. "Higher levels of hopefulness give the nation a DOSE of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins, enabling us to broaden our perspective and think more flexibly and positively. This means that they make us more open to new possibilities that can lead to positive outcomes.' The National Lottery has unveiled a series of fingers crossed installations to celebrate the power of hope in bringing the country together. The crossed fingers – the universal symbol of hope and optimism - stand at seven meters tall, which represents a meter for each new millionaire The National Lottery makes on average every week. The balloon-like structure has been suspended above landmarks including Natural History Museum, Old Royal Naval College, O2 Arena and Wembley Stadium. Over a third of Brits say they're more likely to book a holiday when feeling optimistic, while others are more inclined to apply for a new job, or even ask someone out on a date. Andy Carter, Senior Winners' Advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: 'The National Lottery changes lives every day. It's not just the person with the lucky numbers that benefits, it's also the good causes who receive funding and the shop keeper who sells the winning ticket. It all starts with hope. 'We're fully embracing this wave of optimism. For anyone who has their fingers crossed for things to go your way, we hope that seeing our installations brings a renewed sense of optimism and inspires you to believe it could be you.' The fingers crossed installations will be appearing across the UK in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales over the summer.
Scottish Sun
10-07-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Mystery Scots Euromillions winner has just DAYS to claim £3.6M or could lose it all
They have longer if they still have the ticket WHERE'S THE WINNER? Mystery Scots Euromillions winner has just DAYS to claim £3.6M or could lose it all Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MYSTERY Euromillions winner in Scotland could lose out on over £3million in Lotto cash if they don't come forward this week. A ticket bought in Fife matched all five main numbers and one Lucky Star number on the June 13 draw. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 A mystery Scot has won over £3.6 but hasn't come forward Credit: Alamy 3 The winning ticket was bought somewhere in Fife Credit: Alamy The number combo means someone in the area has won £3,613,887. But the winner hasn't come forward and they are just days away from losing it all. Lotto winners who don't have the ticket have a strict 30 day deadline to claim their prize. If someone has lost their ticket, they have to submit a claim in writing to The National Lottery before the time runs out. And the deadline for the June 13 draw ends this week. If the person who bought the ticket doesn't get in touch by 5pm on Sunday July 13. But if they still have the ticket, they will have until December 10 to claim the life-changing cash. Andy Carter, Senior Winners' Advisor at Allwyn, operators of The National Lottery said, 'It's important that any player who is not in possession of their ticket, for whatever reason, but who thinks they have a genuine claim to this prize notifies us in writing by 5pm on Sunday 13 July, 2025 at the latest. "We're desperate to find this mystery ticket-holder and unite them with their winnings, this amazing prize could really make a massive difference to somebody's life.' He added: 'However, it's important to note that with the winning ticket in their possession, the ticket-holder has until 10 December 2025 to make their claim." Exact location of winning €250 million ticket revealed The June 13 draw saw the EuroMillions jackpot at its cap of €250M (£208m). The prize money which would have boosted the jackpot rolled down to the next prize tier with winners (usually the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number) and increased its value. This means five Brit ticket-holders won £3.6M for matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number. This includes the yet-to-come-forward ticket-holder in Fife. What were the winning numbers? The all-important winning numbers that night were 2, 28, 40, 43, 45 and the Lucky Star numbers were 3 and 7. Players can check their tickets online by downloading the National Lottery app or at Players can also check tickets in retail. Playing online via the app or website means that your ticket is checked, and you get an email notification if you win a prize. You can also scan your retail tickets on the National Lottery app to check if you're a winner. With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket. Anyone who has any queries or who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0333 234 5050 or email help@ If the ticket has been lost, stolen or destroyed, and Lotto bosses can still pay out. Their claim will be checked and if they decide it is valid, the cash will be paid out. If no one comes forward, then the £3.6m will go to National Lottery-funded projects across Britain.
Wales Online
10-07-2025
- General
- Wales Online
Lottery players have just three days left to claim £3.6m prize
Lottery players have just three days left to claim £3.6m prize The rules will change after Sunday, July 13 at 5pm No-one has yet come forward to claim the prize Lottery players are being urged to check their tickets as there are just days left to claim a £3,613,887 prize before the rules change. The EuroMillions ticket was bought for the draw on June 13, 2025, and the missing ticket-holder matched all five main numbers and one Lucky Star number. The winning numbers that night were 2, 28, 40, 43, 45 and the Lucky Star numbers were 3 and 7. Andy Carter, Senior Winners' Advisor at Allwyn, operators of The National Lottery said: 'It's important that any player who is not in possession of their ticket, for whatever reason, but who thinks they have a genuine claim to this prize notifies us in writing by 5pm on Sunday 13 July, 2025 at the latest. We're desperate to find this mystery ticket-holder and unite them with their winnings, this amazing prize could really make a massive difference to somebody's life.' Andy continued: 'It's important to note that with the winning ticket in their possession, the ticket-holder has until 10 December 2025 to make their claim." Under its licence Allwyn has the discretion to pay prizes in respect of lost, destroyed or stolen National Lottery tickets only if the player has submitted a claim in writing within 30 days of the relevant draw. If the player can provide sufficient evidence, Allwyn will investigate and consider the validity of the claim. Article continues below Allwyn will then determine at its discretion whether the claim is valid and is able to pay the prize 180 days after the draw. The deadline for any such claim for this EuroMillions prize, which must be submitted in writing, is 5pm on Sunday 13 July, 2025.2 In the draw on June 13 the EuroMillions jackpot was at its cap of €250M (approximately £208m). At cap, prize money which would have boosted the jackpot rolled down to the next prize tier with winners (usually the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number) and increased its value. This created a total of five UK ticket-holders who won £3.6M for matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number in the draw on 13 June, including this yet-to-come-forward ticket-holder in the Council District of Fife. Players can check their tickets online by downloading the National Lottery app or at Players can also check tickets in retail. Playing online via the app or website means that your ticket is checked, and you get an email notification if you win a prize. You can also scan your retail tickets on the National Lottery app to check if you're a winner. Article continues below If no-one comes forward with the winning ticket before the prize claim deadline, then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK. With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket. Anyone who has any queries or who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0333 234 5050 or email help@
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£3.6m EuroMillions prize remains unclaimed in UK
EuroMillions ticket holders have been told to search through their handbags and trouser pockets, as a prize worth a staggering £3.6 million is yet to be claimed. The winning ticket was bought in the local authority area Fife in Scotland for the draw on Friday 13 June. The winning numbers on that date were 2, 28, 40, 43, 45 and the Lucky Star numbers were 3 and 7, with the missing ticket holder matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number. The lucky ticket holder now has until 10 December 2025 to claim their prize. 'It's time to search through handbags, purses, trouser pockets and the car – everywhere and anywhere – as a ticket is lurking which is worth £3.6M,' said Andy Carter, senior winners advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery. He urged those who live or work in the area to take a minute to find their ticket and join the other lucky £3.6M EuroMillions winners. The jackpot on Friday 13 June was the largest EuroMillions prize ever up for grabs in the UK and Ireland and had been capped at €250m – or £208m. The record prize was rolled over after nobody won the jackpot. In total, more than 92,000 players in Ireland won prizes in the EuroMillions and Plus games. Anyone not in possession of their ticket, for whatever reason, but who believes they have a genuine claim can still make a claim in writing to Allwyn, but it must be within 30 days of the draw. If no-one comes forward with the winning ticket before the prize claim deadline, then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK.
