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Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Rayner paying thousands more of taxpayers' money to trade union reps
The taxpayer-funded cost of trade union activities in Angela Rayner's department has increased by tens of thousands of pounds in a single year. Documents published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show that the cost of paying trade union reps rose by 57 per cent in the last financial year. Public and private sector employers are required to pay employees who moonlight as shop stewards 'facility time' – effectively additional paid time off – to complete their union duties. Ms Rayner, who has significantly expanded the power of the unions in private industry with her employment rights reforms, is also paying far more for the reps. The latest annual report for MHCLG shows the department paid £225,803 in facility time in the 2024-5 financial year, up from £143,527 under the Conservatives the previous year. Union reps have been entitled to paid time off to carry out their duties in Britain since 1975 under the Wilson government. Ms Rayner has increased the facility time that both public and private sector employers must pay in her employment rights bill, so the cost of the payments are set to rise again next year when it passes into law. The legislation will also force employers to pay the extra wages for 'equality representatives' in the workplace for the first time. James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, said: 'This boom in trade union time off on Angela Rayner's watch is a shocking waste of taxpayers' money. 'Yet again prioritising trade union trots over taxpayers shows [Ms] Rayner is still in hock to her union pals. 'Whether it's this, the employment bill or no-strings-attached payouts, Labour must stop putting the interests of unions who bankroll the party ahead of the national interest.' Research by the Taxpayers' Alliance last year found there were 23,592 public sector workers moonlighting as trade union reps in 2023 – the second highest number on record. The total cost of the payments to the taxpayer was almost £100m. An MHCLG spokesman explained the extra cost of facility time in Ms Rayner's department by arguing that salaries for civil servants had increased in line with inflation. But the increase of 57 per cent cannot be explained by inflation alone. Other departments, including the Foreign Office, have seen almost no change in their bill for facility time in the last year. Ms Rayner, a former union rep on Stockport council, has long had close ties to Unison, where she also once worked as an official. However, the Left-wing Unite the Union voted to suspend her earlier this month, over her reluctance to support striking bin workers in Birmingham. Sources close to Ms Rayner said she had already cancelled her membership, and that she believed the workers should accept a pay offer by Birmingham city council. A spokesman for the MHCLG said: 'These figures represent less than 0.1 per cent of our total pay bill and have increased for reasons including annual salary uplifts for staff in line with civil service pay guidance. 'Trade union representatives have a legal right to be given time off to undertake their duties, and they bring benefits to workplaces and the economy. We continue to support staff to do this as part of our commitment to supporting workers' rights.'
Daily Mirror
24-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Renters' deposit scheme 'scandal' exposed as tenants 'lose out on millions'
Private renters in England and Wales are losing out on the potential benefits of £169million in interest on their money protected as deposits, research has found Private renters in England and Wales are losing out on the potential benefits of £169million in interest on their money protected as deposits, research has found. Generation Rent said £5.37billion of renters' deposit money is protected by three government-accredited schemes in England and Wales. The campaign group said millions of pounds worth of interest on renters ' money is not finding its way back to them. It called for deposit money to be pooled and invested, with any returns on it going into a funding pot for tenants. Renters could then access the cash for legal challenges against their landlord, or to help reduce the upfront costs of moving house, such as through deposit guarantee schemes for tenants in financial hardship and facing homelessness. People moving into rental housing often have difficulty raising a deposit in the first place. Polling commissioned by Generation Rent shows 16% had to borrow money to cover the costs of their last move, and 29% had to use savings. Landlords are required to protect deposits in a government-accredited scheme. In England and Wales, the schemes offer landlords two options. Either they can hold onto a tenancy deposit and pay to insure the cash, or place the deposit with a scheme free of charge. In the insurance option, which accounts for £2.9billion of deposits, landlords can keep the interest that builds up on tenants' money, Generation Rent said. The group recommends that insurance-backed deposit protection schemes be discontinued. It is calling for all deposit funds, minus a small portion to pay out successful landlord claims, to be invested in assets. The campaign group's study, which analysed returns in line with the current Bank of England base rate of 4.25%, found that millions could be generated in annual returns. The research took into account that some of the deposit funds would not be able to be invested to ensure cash is available to return deposits back to renters at the end of their tenancy. Dan Wilson-Craw, deputy chief executive at Generation Rent, said: 'Renters face many disadvantages in the housing system. Around half lack savings, making moving home a more painful process than it should be. Limited access to legal support means it is hard to take action if your landlord is failing to keep your home safe. 'So it is a scandal that the billions of pounds of renters' money tied up in deposit schemes is not being used to improve the experience of renting, and in many cases sees landlords and letting agents collecting the interest. With deposit schemes' contracts up for renewal, the government has a golden opportunity to get renters' money working for renters.' An Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: 'Our landmark Renters' Rights Bill will level the playing field and give tenants greater security in their homes by banning s21 no fault evictions, empowering tenants to challenge unreasonable rent hikes, and banning unfair bidding wars. "We are currently reviewing the deposit system to ensure it works effectively and identify how we can improve outcomes for tenants.' ::: Opinion surveyed 2,000 UK private renters for Generation Rent between March 31 and April 9.
Leader Live
23-07-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
Warning issued for UK renters who've used deposit scheme
The scheme has allegedly put "millions" into the pockets of landlords. Almost a quarter of tenants have had money withheld unfairly, with 46 per cent of renters said they did not know they could challenge deposit deductions they deemed to be unfair. The Guardian reports just four per cent have used the formal dispute resolution process to try to reclaim the money. One of the reasons why I live in the north of the UK is because of living costs. Its far much cheaper & comfortable up here than in London. Its also easier to afford a 15 year mortgage where you pay less than £500 instead £1050 for rent. Dan Wilson Craw of Generation Rent said the system was 'failing renters who are put off from challenging unfair deductions by unclear rules, and threats and delaying tactics from landlords'. He added: 'Ultimately, that puts millions more in unscrupulous landlords' pockets. The uncertain timescales and unclear rules of the deposit system, as well as obstructiveness and threats from some landlords, mean that accepting unfair deductions to get some cash back quickly can feel like the better option.' Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007. 'Because challenging deposit deductions is usually worth it, renters put off from doing so are losing hundreds of pounds of their own money,' said Wilson Craw. 'The government's review of deposit protection is an opportunity to build trust in the system so tenants have the confidence to challenge unfair landlord claims.' Recommended reading: A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'It is completely unacceptable to unfairly withhold a tenancy deposit, and this government is cracking down on rogue landlords who make tenants' lives a misery. 'Our renters' rights Bill will give councils stronger investigatory powers, for example making it easier to get financial information from landlords suspected of abuses.' If you do not rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy, your landlord can accept valuable items (for example a car or watch) as a deposit instead of money. The items will not be protected by a scheme.
Daily Mirror
22-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Council tax branded 'unfair and regressive' as calls for a tourist tax mount
Cash-strapped town halls are being forced to deliver more with less funding, leading to rising unhappiness from voters, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said Ministers should overhaul 'unfair and regressive' council tax as residents are paying more while their services are slashed, MPs warn today. Cash-strapped town halls are being forced to deliver more with less funding, leading to rising unhappiness from voters, the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee warned. The report said council tax is 'the most unfair and regressive tax in use in England today', and said councils should be allowed to set their own forms of local taxes, such as tourist levies, to help make the local government system fair and effective. MPs on the committee said local councils' financial issues are 'exacerbated by the over-centralisation of government'. Tourist taxes are common in other countries or cities including Barcelona and Paris. A similar levy already exists in Scotland, and the Welsh Government is also in the process of introducing a tourism tax. They are set by local government and are often based on a percentage or fixed rate per night of stay in a hotel or other accommodation. No10 yesterday said there are 'no plans' to introduce a tourism tax in England. It comes amid reports that Angela Rayner is pushing for local authorities to be able to impose tourist taxes but was rebuffed by the Treasury. Rachel Reeves is said to have blocked the move for fear it would reduce revenues for businesses struggling with higher national insurance contributions and a rise in the minimum wage already brought in by the Government. Ms Rayner earlier this month told MPs she wants to see 'more push' in the direction of local authorities having increased tax and spending powers. A group of mayors, including Greater Manchester 's Andy Burnham and London's Sadiq Khan, last month called for a visitor levy to be introduced to make money from tourism. In a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, they suggested local authorities be given the power to introduce a tourist levy in the Government's devolution bill. Council tax bill rises hit 5% in April for the third year in a row, as almost all councils increased bills up to, or close to, the maximum permitted. As a first step to reforming council tax, the committee's report calls on the Government to give local authorities more control over the council tax in their areas, including the power to revalue properties in their area, define property bands and set the rates for those bands. Florence Eshalomi, chairwoman of the committee, said: 'When residents are paying more and more in taxes but seeing less and less in regular, everyday services, such as libraries and fixing potholes, then trust in local democracy is at risk of being undermined. 'Councils are trapped in a straitjacket by central government, with local authorities lacking the flexibility or control to devise creative, long-term, preventative solutions which could offer better value-for-money. Reform of council tax should be a greater priority for the Government. 'In the long-term, HM Treasury should devolve tax-setting powers to local authorities, allowing them to set their own local taxes, such as tourist levies.' A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: 'The government is taking decisive action to fix the broken council funding system, so local leaders can deliver the vital public services their communities rely on. 'We have announced over £5billion of new grant funding for local services on top of the £69billion already made available this year to boost council finances, and we will go further to reform the funding system to make it fit for the future.'
New Statesman
22-07-2025
- Business
- New Statesman
This government will live or die by housing
Photo byAfter a summer break, Labour want to take on Britain's 'dysfunctional' housing and land markets. They want to make them fairer for those who want to buy homes to live in and less of a boon for 'speculative' investors. And although Labour's much-awaited long-term housing strategy will not be published before recess, Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook has hinted that if year one was about laying the groundwork for Labour's housing plan, year two will be significantly more radical. It is a testament to the functionality of Pennycook's department – the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) – that it rarely makes headlines in the way that, say, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or Treasury do. Between them, Rayner and Pennycook have delivered on manifesto commitments by tweaking legislation in a quietly radical and efficient way. The Renters' Rights Bill will soon become law. Similarly, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is paving the way for urgent planning reform, which, though not radical for some because environmental considerations must still be factored into planning approval, will make clever tweaks to existing frameworks for delivering development, such as beefing up the compulsory purchase powers of public bodies to stop the sale of land for development at inflated prices. Leasehold reforms, similarly, have been amped up, and there is reportedly more to come. With legislative changes that former Tory Housing Secretary Michael Gove wanted but could never get through his own party, Pennycook wants to step things up and reform the housing market once and for all by 'addressing the financialisation of housing', and 'ending our overreliance on a speculative model of development that… constrains housing supply.' Punchy in theory, so how will it work in reality? Ministers are exploring ways to give people who want to buy homes to live in them, as opposed to as an investment, an advantage. This could include implementing rules that stipulate new homes can only be sold to local people who will live in them, as Cornwall Council have done to protect hard-won new housing developments and prevent new housing being sold to investors. Labour have suggested that they will similarly protect homes in their new towns. Developers who buy up land, obtain planning permission to build, but then, instead of actually building anything, sit on the land and wait for it to rise in value, will be penalised and blocked from planning permission in the future. The sites for a 'new generation' of around a dozen new towns, like those built post-war, have also been plotted on a map to be announced imminently. Pennycook is determined that these will be built out quickly and purposefully. Ministers are thought to be considering giving Homes England more regional power so that it can be involved in planning at a local level, ensuring that the right homes are built in the right places. New towns will also be overseen by development corporations with their own governance structure, taking some decisions away from local councils and putting them in the hands of bodies specifically tasked with getting things built. These public bodies will be able to invoke the new rules on compulsory purchase to get hold of land cheaply and build homes and infrastructure on it. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Rayner and Pennycook need to get this all over the line, and fast. The stakes couldn't be higher. Labour will be judged harshly on whether they can be bolder and go further than the governments of recent decades, who presided over an increasingly dysfunctional housing market and did little to nothing. But, more importantly, there is now not a single part of Britain which is not impacted by this country's sclerotic housing market. Since the 1970s, house price-to-income ratios have more than doubled nationwide, pricing younger generations out of homeownership, ushering in 35- and even 40-year mortgages, and trapping nearly 5 million households in an expensive and unstable private rental sector. That's more than the number living in social and council housing, which not only provides secure and affordable homes but also provides a return for the state through rent. None of this is new. The housing crisis was fast becoming one of the defining issues of modern life when Labour lost to David Cameron in 2010. But the situation is worse than it ever was. Week after week, new lows are reached. Housing makes headlines for all the wrong reasons. Rising homelessness is now such a grotesque new normal that it rarely makes a front page. So is the increasing number of homeless families, and, at last count, 164,000 children who are forced to live in temporary accommodation. That's anywhere from a hotel to a converted office block and, even, a converted shipping container. And, of course, these bleak statistics don't capture the misery of the people who can afford their rent, just as long as they don't put the heating on, let alone contemplate a holiday. They also don't tell the story of the anguish of young adults who can't afford family-sized homes, or who still live at home in their twenties and thirties, and those whose mortgages have recently jumped up due to higher rates, swallowing chunks of their disposable income in the process. The human suffering caused by expensive housing and homelessness also has an economic impact. Housing costs consume ever-larger amounts of public money. A rise in the number of lower-income households relying on private renting has meant that the Housing Benefit Bill is predicted to rise to £35bn by 2028. That's more than the total spend of many government departments. Temporary accommodation now costs councils £2.3bn a year. As the Chartered Institute for Housing has pointed out, these expanding bills mean only 12 per cent of government spending on housing in 2022 went towards new buildings, compared to 95 per cent in 1976. High rents and mortgage costs, relative to income, also mean that young people today, who are less likely to be homeowners than their elders, are spending disposable income that could be contributing to growth through either the consumption of goods and services or investment on their homes. In the end, those who do the reading draw the same conclusions about what William Beveridge described as 'the problem of housing' in this country back in 1942 – affordable housing is the only way to prevent people becoming homeless and unwell and, in doing so, reduce the pressure on the state to support them. Before he backed down on housing reform and bowed out, Gove had realised this. He started to talk about the problem that the impact of extractive 'rentier economics' was having in Britain. The phrase was not a borrowing from Gary Stevenson, let alone Friedrich Engels. Downstream from Adam Smith via Thomas Piketty, Gove said it during a 2024 interview with that leftie rag the Financial Times. The Tory grandee correctly identified that Britain's housing crisis would be the death knell for his party because younger generations were at the sharp end of it. After all, why would any young person vote Conservative if they have no assets to conserve? However you slice it, the housing crisis is emotionally and financially draining us all. Economists (like Smith and latterly Piketty) have pointed this out for centuries. Labour knows that fixing housing will be key to their electoral survival. But, more than that, they know that it is the right thing to do. With one year down and four left of Labour's first term, the clock is well and truly ticking. After all, imagine a baby born into homelessness, to a family with one bedroom emergency temporary accommodation when Labour entered Downing Street last year will be five and in need of space to grow and do homework and play in no time at all. [Further reading: Immigrants did not cause Britain's social housing shortage] Related
