Latest news with #TenMinuteRule
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MP says schools should teach ‘game of life' rules in financial education call
Young people face the 'game of life' without knowing how to manage their money, a Conservative MP has said. Peter Bedford proposed a new law which would compel primary schools and further-education colleges to teach their students financial skills, amid fears online shoppers fall prey to 'marketing wizards' instead of saving up. Introducing the Financial Education Bill using the Ten Minute Rule process, Mr Bedford told the Commons: 'We are collectively creating the greatest financial crisis of our time. 'The problem, quite simply, is that we as a nation are not living within our means. 'There was once a sense that people had certain financial responsibilities – to save for a house, to save for retirement, to save for holidays or for a 'rainy day' – but no more.' The MP for Mid Leicestershire later added: 'Offers pop up on our screens every day created by marketing wizards who know exactly where we are most vulnerable, using our search history to whet our appetite for new books, video games, appliances, overseas trips. 'And in a single click, we are committed and plunged further into the red.' Mr Bedford told MPs that the solution 'doesn't require extra resource, just extra creativity', as he said money has become 'synonymous with anxiety'. He referred to a government drive more than a decade ago to improve financial literacy among pupils aged 11 and over, when Lord Cameron was prime minister, and said the Bill would help in 'consolidating that learning' by extending financial education to primaries and tertiary education settings such as colleges and universities. 'We're sending our young people out into the world, putting them into the game of life, without even teaching them the rules first,' Mr Bedford said. 'In an age when many believe the responsibility for toothbrushing should be handed to teachers, we can't leave our entire financial future to materialise like magic, before our economy decays even faster than those young teeth.' The Bill will be listed for a debate on April 25.
The Independent
11-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
MP says schools should teach ‘game of life' rules in financial education call
Young people face the 'game of life' without knowing how to manage their money, a Conservative MP has said. Peter Bedford proposed a new law which would compel primary schools and further-education colleges to teach their students financial skills, amid fears online shoppers fall prey to 'marketing wizards' instead of saving up. Introducing the Financial Education Bill using the Ten Minute Rule process, Mr Bedford told the Commons: 'We are collectively creating the greatest financial crisis of our time. 'The problem, quite simply, is that we as a nation are not living within our means. 'There was once a sense that people had certain financial responsibilities – to save for a house, to save for retirement, to save for holidays or for a 'rainy day' – but no more.' The MP for Mid Leicestershire later added: ' Offers pop up on our screens every day created by marketing wizards who know exactly where we are most vulnerable, using our search history to whet our appetite for new books, video games, appliances, overseas trips. 'And in a single click, we are committed and plunged further into the red.' Mr Bedford told MPs that the solution 'doesn't require extra resource, just extra creativity', as he said money has become 'synonymous with anxiety'. He referred to a government drive more than a decade ago to improve financial literacy among pupils aged 11 and over, when Lord Cameron was prime minister, and said the Bill would help in 'consolidating that learning' by extending financial education to primaries and tertiary education settings such as colleges and universities. 'We're sending our young people out into the world, putting them into the game of life, without even teaching them the rules first,' Mr Bedford said. 'In an age when many believe the responsibility for toothbrushing should be handed to teachers, we can't leave our entire financial future to materialise like magic, before our economy decays even faster than those young teeth.' The Bill will be listed for a debate on April 25.
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New build managers ‘undercutting' buyers' prosperity, MP warns in crackdown call
New build estate managers are 'undercutting' the prosperity which homeowners are meant to feel, an MP has said, as he called for a crackdown on fees and charges. Labour MP Alistair Strathern warned that some house buyers in 'fleecehold' relationships risk double-paying for services – through private fees and council tax – when town halls fail to adopt new build infrastructure. He called for a new law to set rules about how quickly councils must take on new build facilities, such as roads and green spaces. Mr Strathern also said homeowners should be able to 'fire unaccountable management companies'. Introducing the Housing Estates Bill using a Ten Minute Rule motion, the MP for Hitchin described estate management fees and charges as 'a new homes stealth tax'. He said: 'We've failed to appreciate the extent to which fleecehold is becoming a default model for new home delivery in this country. 'It's undercutting the very sense of security, the very sense of prosperity that new homeownership is meant to bring.' Referring to a family friend, Mr Strathern told MPs: 'Their estate had gone unadopted now for many years – no end to adoption was in sight. 'And in the meantime they were paying hundreds of pounds each year for basic services that all of the rest of their neighbours, all of the rest of their community, would be receiving through their council tax. 'But that wasn't the worst of it. 'When they'd missed one bill which had gone up, as it happens, quite considerably at a week's notice, rather than coming to them, rather than giving them tolerance to understand it, their estate management company used the contractual powers they had to go straight to their mortgage lender to have that amount added to that family's mortgage, and to drive a wrecking ball through their credit score in the process.' Mr Strathern said in one case he had heard about, homeowners were told they must pay upwards of £250 for one lightbulb change on their estate, an example of residents 'forced to pay often hundreds of pounds each year for services that every other homeowner would get as part of their council tax'. The Competition and Markets Authority estimated in its housebuilding market study that households had spent at least £260 million on estate management charges in 2022. The watchdog also estimated that in the five years to 2023, around 80% of freehold properties built by the 11 largest housebuilders are subject to these charges. The Bill, which will be listed for a debate on June 13, would set minimum adoptable standards for developers. Mr Strathern also proposed adoption timelines which local authorities must meet, and 'putting (buyers) back in the driving seat, giving them power to fire unaccountable management companies to make sure that they have a choice to drive up service levels, to drive up the responsibility and hopefully the performance of those who are undertaking management work'.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New build managers ‘undercutting' buyers' prosperity, MP warns in crackdown call
New build estate managers are 'undercutting' the prosperity which homeowners are meant to feel, an MP has said, as he called for a crackdown on fees and charges. Labour MP Alistair Strathern warned that some house buyers in 'fleecehold' relationships risk double-paying for services – through private fees and council tax – when town halls fail to adopt new build infrastructure. He called for a new law to set rules about how quickly councils must take on new build facilities, such as roads and green spaces. Mr Strathern also said homeowners should be able to 'fire unaccountable management companies'. Introducing the Housing Estates Bill using a Ten Minute Rule motion, the MP for Hitchin described estate management fees and charges as 'a new homes stealth tax'. He said: 'We've failed to appreciate the extent to which fleecehold is becoming a default model for new home delivery in this country. 'It's undercutting the very sense of security, the very sense of prosperity that new homeownership is meant to bring.' Referring to a family friend, Mr Strathern told MPs: 'Their estate had gone unadopted now for many years – no end to adoption was in sight. 'And in the meantime they were paying hundreds of pounds each year for basic services that all of the rest of their neighbours, all of the rest of their community, would be receiving through their council tax. 'But that wasn't the worst of it. 'When they'd missed one bill which had gone up, as it happens, quite considerably at a week's notice, rather than coming to them, rather than giving them tolerance to understand it, their estate management company used the contractual powers they had to go straight to their mortgage lender to have that amount added to that family's mortgage, and to drive a wrecking ball through their credit score in the process.' Mr Strathern said in one case he had heard about, homeowners were told they must pay upwards of £250 for one lightbulb change on their estate, an example of residents 'forced to pay often hundreds of pounds each year for services that every other homeowner would get as part of their council tax'. The Competition and Markets Authority estimated in its housebuilding market study that households had spent at least £260 million on estate management charges in 2022. The watchdog also estimated that in the five years to 2023, around 80% of freehold properties built by the 11 largest housebuilders are subject to these charges. The Bill, which will be listed for a debate on June 13, would set minimum adoptable standards for developers. Mr Strathern also proposed adoption timelines which local authorities must meet, and 'putting (buyers) back in the driving seat, giving them power to fire unaccountable management companies to make sure that they have a choice to drive up service levels, to drive up the responsibility and hopefully the performance of those who are undertaking management work'.
