Latest news with #WendyChamberlain
The Courier
6 days ago
- General
- The Courier
Tens of thousands Tayside, Fife and Stirling homes face blackout as old RTS meters switched off
Tens of thousands of homes across Tayside, Fife and Stirling still using old RTS meters could be left without electricity at the end of this month, according to alarming new figures. Nearly 25,000 homes across Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife still need to switch to modern systems to run central heating and keep the lights on. Designed in the 1980s, RTS meters use radio signals to switch between peak and off peak targets. But the tech is due to become obsolete at the end of June leaving energy suppliers racing against the clock to install newer smart meters. Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis explained the switch could mean those with RTS meters find their heating and hot water are left continually on or off, or charging up at the wrong time of day. Suppliers could also charge people incorrectly. In Fife, as of April 18 there were a total of 5,075 homes with a KY post code still using an RTS meter. In Perth and Kinross, there were 6,720 homes still relying on the near-obsolete meters. Exact figures in Stirling are unavailable as the area shares its postcode Falkirk, though some 5,640 homes with an FK postcode are still using the meter. In Dundee and Angus, the figures stands at some 7,540. Despite the significant numbers at risk – over 124,000 in Scotland – and with just two weeks to go, at the current rate meters are being changed it would take 380 days. RTS meters are typically used in areas with no mains gas supply, often flats or in rural areas, and the property is usually heated using electricity or storage heaters. RTS meters have a transmitter or separate teleswitch box next to the electricity meter. It should have a Teleswitch label on the outside. Energy suppliers can provide more information if a householder is unsure. North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain told The Courier: 'Just last week, my constituent was scheduled to have her meter changed after desperately trying to get it changed for three years, but no one showed up. 'Her husband has cancer, and the elderly couple are extremely worried about the possibility of being left without heating.' Ms Chamberlain fears suppliers are not taking the deadline seriously and wants Fife Council to prepare. 'Another short extension of the deadline will not solve the issue and if the switch-off is in autumn or winter the problems it will cause would be exacerbated by cold weather,' she added. 'Energy companies must increase their efforts to exchange all outstanding meters ahead of the deadline and be prepared to compensate anyone in North East Fife who has requested a new meter but loses out as a result of this bungled switch over.'
Daily Record
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
New DWP update on impact of PIP and welfare reforms on people in Scotland
North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain put questions to the DWP over the potential impact for Scots on PIP and Universal Credit. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shed more light on the potential impact proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in England and Wales next year could have on disability benefit claimants living in Scotland. By the time the proposed reforms are implemented in November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval, nobody in Scotland will be on PIP. All remaining case transfers from DWP to Adult Disability Payment - administered and delivered by Social Security Scotland - will be completed before the end of this year. However, Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, Wnedy Chamberlain has gained more clarity on the impact after getting a response from the DWP to several questions she posed. The MP for North East Fife asked DWP: Whether there are plans to amend eligibility to disability premiums and other passported benefits in Scotland Whether there have been discussions with the Scottish government on the proposed changes to eligibility for PIP How Scottish claimants would access the health element of Universal Credit, in the context of the planned use of the single PIP assessment for this purpose In a written response on Wednesday, Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms, explained how the Pathways to Work Green Paper, published in Marc, sets out the DWP's plans to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. A consultation also opened to give disabled people, stakeholders, advice groups, campaigners and charities, the opportunity to share their views on the proposals. It will close on June 30 and can be viewed on here. Sir Stephen continued: 'The consultation extends to Scotland, but the proposals will only apply to UK Government's areas of responsibility. DWP Ministers are engaging with the Scottish Government throughout the consultation period and beyond. 'The interactions of the reformed system, in particular the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and the introduction of a PIP passporting model and the implications for Devolved Governments, will need to be fully considered before being implemented. 'This will be particularly important in Scotland as PIP is devolved and has been replaced by Adult Disability Payment, so we will carefully consider how entitlement to the Universal Credit health element will be determined for people in Scotland.' The DWP Minister added: 'DWP currently treats the Scottish Government's disability benefits in the same way as the equivalent DWP benefits for the purposes of reserved premiums and additions. 'Whilst this will be kept under review, it will in any event be necessary for the UK Government to ensure that people in Scotland are not disadvantaged in the reserved benefit system compared with people in England and Wales.' Following a welfare debate in the Scottish Parliament in April, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville urged the UK Government to 'abandon' its plans for social security reforms. In her letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall Ms Somerville said: 'I write following the debate in the Scottish Parliament in which the members voted overwhelming in favour of the motion that calls on the UK Government to immediately scrap its damaging social security reforms announced in the 'Pathways to Work' Green Paper.' The Social Justice Secretary continued: 'These plans are being carried out in pursuit of the UK Government's self-imposed 'fiscal rules'. Your own analysis shows that 250,000 people - including 50,000 children - will be pushed into relative poverty by 2029/30. "You expect 3.2 million families to lose out financially, with an average loss of £1,720 per year. Ninety-six percent of those families losing out include a disabled person. 'It is therefore reckless and totally unacceptable for the UK Government to press ahead with these proposals. Not least the expected severe impact these measures will have on all our efforts to end child poverty, completely undermining the work of the Child Poverty Taskforce.' Ms Somerville added: 'I therefore reiterate the call of the Scottish Parliament and urge you to immediately scrap these damaging social security welfare reforms.' Summary of proposed benefits changes Universal Credit The latest statistics show there were 7.57 million people on Universal Credit, a means-tested incapacity benefit, in Great Britain as of February. It is aimed at helping people on a low income or those who are out of work. The UKGovernment said it will introduce an above-inflation rise to the standard Universal Credit allowance by 2029/30 - adding £775 in cash terms annually. But the health element allowance will be almost halved for new claimants from April next year while those already claiming will have their amount frozen until 2029/2030. The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is to be scrapped in 2028, having been described by Liz Kendall as 'complex, time consuming and often stressful for claimants'. The UK Government said it will legislate for a so-called 'right to try', which will allow people to try work without the fear their benefits will automatically be put at risk. The Government said it will consult on delaying access to the Universal Credit health element until someone is aged 22. The latest figures showed there were 109,436 people aged 16 to 21 on Universal Credit health in December 2024. PIP Nearly 3.7 million claimants in England and Wales were entitled to PIP as of the end of January, the latest figures showed - up 71 per cent on the equivalent figure five years earlier when it stood at 2.14 million. The payment is aimed at helping with some of the extra costs caused by long-term disability and ill health and is not dependent on whether someone is working or not. Some people will lose their PIP entitlement, the UK Government said, as the process to qualify is tightened in an effort to focus the disability benefit on 'those with higher needs'. The UK Government said it will bring in a new eligibility requirement for a minimum score of at least four points regarding how much help the person needs with everyday tasks on the daily living element of the benefit. No change is being proposed for the mobility element, which looks at how much help someone needs in getting around. The UK Government confirmed the change 'means that people who only score the lowest points on each of the PIP daily living activities will lose their entitlement in future'. The UK Government also committed to not putting Universal Credit claimants who have the most severe disabilities and health conditions that will never improve through the ordeal of being reassessed for benefits 'to give them the confidence and dignity they deserve'. However the UK Government said it plans to increase the number of face-to-face assessments in PIP and under the current Work Capability Assessment in a bid to 'give confidence to claimants and taxpayers that they're being done properly'.
The Courier
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Taxpayer-funded Lundin Links Hotel loan still not repaid in full
An £850,000 taxpayer-funded loan to the owners of a derelict Fife hotel has still not been repaid in full. Kapital Residential bought the Lundin Links Hotel in 2014 and secured planning permission to convert it into 35 flats. Despite work not starting, the company received Scottish Government cash under the Emergency Covid Liquidity Fund in 2020. The £18 million fund was set up to protect jobs and suppliers in the housebuilding industry during lockdown. However, Kapital went bust in July 2022, three weeks before the deadline for repayment. And the prominent mock-Tudor building was destroyed by fire the following month. It has now emerged liquidators who sold the land have repaid £381,699.70 of the outstanding loan. The Scottish Government confirmed it is still owed £347,230.30. However, they said the liquidation process is ongoing. The covid loan was originally secured against two properties owned by Kapital. One of the properties was sold in 2021, meaning the entire amount was then secured against the derelict Lundin Links Hotel. The Scottish Government has declined to release the building's valuation on the grounds it would prejudice commercial interests. And it says it is unable to say how much the loan has cost the taxpayer in total, including administration costs. North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain is now calling for an explanation. She said: 'After submitting an FOI, is it clear this loan has not been repaid, with almost £350,000 remaining outstanding. 'The Scottish Government should now explain why they later allowed the loan to be guaranteed against the Lundin Links Hotel only, and disclose how much this situation has cost taxpayers, particularly given the fact the site is still in disarray.' Ms Chamberlain now intends to ask Fife Council what its costs were in relation to boarding up and then demolishing the former hotel. The Courier contacted the Scottish Government for comment. And a spokesperson said: 'The SME Housebuilder Liquidity Loan fund supported small and medium-sized housebuilders with liquidity issues due to the temporary impact of Covid-19 on the housebuilding sector. 'It aimed to safeguard jobs and protect suppliers, support post-covid economic recovery and the continued supply of homes and retain the diversity of the housebuilding sector.'
