Latest news with #subsidy
Free Malaysia Today
18 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
RON95 targeted subsidy rollout delayed
The government said in June that it would implement the targeted RON95 subsidy in stages this year. KUALA LUMPUR : The government has pushed back the deadline for the rollout of the RON95 targeted subsidies, initially fixed for the second half of this year. Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said more time was needed to fine-tune the mechanism to prevent leakage. He also said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim informed the MPs from Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan of the matter when he met them recently. 'He wants to ensure that the majority of the public is not adversely impacted by current policies or those that have yet to be implemented. 'The mechanism is being fine-tuned, which is why there is a slight delay (in the rollout),' he said at a press conference. In June, finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government would implement the targeted RON95 subsidy in stages this year but did not give any specifics. On July 1, Amir said the government was working on getting petrol station operators to upgrade their systems for the RON95 subsidy rationalisation scheme to ensure that there would be no queues at the pump.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Middle-class families could face higher water bills to subsidise poorer households
Middle-class families could face higher water bills under new plans to subsidise the costs of low income households. Labour ministers will be urged to introduce a nationwide scheme that would see poorer families given huge discounts on their charges. The recommendation on creating a national social tariff will be presented to Sir Keir Starmer in a Government-ordered review of the water industry on Monday. The money to reduce water bills for poorer households would be most likely to be found by increasing bills for everyone else. Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said: 'Family homes across middle England face soaring water bills under the Labour Government, thanks to the triple whammy of above-inflation hikes, higher tariffs on multi-person households, and robbing Peter to pay Paul to fund tariffs for those on welfare benefits. 'This is on top of council tax bills going through the roof, and pay packets being squeezed due to Labour's jobs tax. 'We can't just keep increasing taxes and charges – record taxes are already making life too hard for people. The Government should be standing up for the makers, not the takers.' The scheme would replace a current patchwork of subsidy programmes put in place by individual suppliers to help poorer customers. Consumer groups have suggested unifying the level of support across England could lead to an extra two million people getting money off their bills. Ministers are not expected to decide immediately whether to accept the recommendation, given the complexity of introducing such a policy. The previous Tory government rejected similar proposals on the grounds that punishing middle-class households would prove politically unpopular. Earlier this year Labour ministers asked Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, to lead a review into reform of the water sector. He published interim findings last month, in which he said he would bring forward proposals to 'strengthen' the system of social tariffs. The report found that the fragmented nature of support resulted in 'people in similar circumstances receiving significantly different levels of support, depending on what part of the country they live in'. 'Regulation has failed customers' Sir John wrote: 'The commission is looking at how to more effectively support customers who are struggling to pay their bills. This includes looking at options to strengthen social tariffs and to tailor water bills to better reflect household consumption.' He is expected to recommend that the Government introduces a nationwide social tariff in his final report, which will be published on Monday. Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, is expected to respond to the publication of Sir John's report by saying: 'Regulation has failed customers and the environment. We will introduce root and branch reform so hard-working British families will never again face huge shock hikes to their bills like we saw last year.' It comes after Labour ministers passed legislation through the Commons that quietly paved the way for such a reform. The Water (Special Measures) Act included provisions that allow water companies to pool the cash they raise to subsidise poorer households into one pot. It also authorised increased data-sharing between the Government and suppliers which could underpin auto-enrolment of customers onto social tariffs. Currently, the nine water companies in England offer their own individual social tariff schemes, which are subsidised by wealthier households. Because the programmes are localised, firms can only raise money from their own areas and must consult customers on how much they are willing to pay. The proportion of households on social tariffs has soared in recent years as a result of rising water bills and pressure on suppliers to do more to tackle poverty. Figures from Ofwat show that, across the country, one in 10 people are now receiving such support, with the resulting cross-subsidies costing £26 per customer. But that masks huge regional differences, resulting from both the level of support suppliers provide and the criteria they set for qualifying households. South West Water has the lowest proportion of customers on social tariffs, at five per cent, whilst United Utilities, which covers the North West, has the highest at 15 per cent. Customers of Portsmouth Water pay only £2 each in subsidy costs, whereas the bill at scandal-hit Thames Water has soared to £55 per person. Water UK, the industry body for suppliers, has lobbied for the introduction of a single social tariff to end what it calls the 'postcode lottery' of support. The Consumer Council for Water, a quango that acts as a consumer champion, has also encouraged ministers to introduce such a scheme. It has estimated that two million people who are entitled to support with their bills are losing out because the current system is too complex. Critics have said creating a national social tariff would lead to a flood of new customers eligible for support, meaning higher bills for everyone else. But industry sources said the eligibility criteria could be set so that subsidies are better targeted, limiting the need to raise more cash.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of provincial oversight of its subsidy program, and, that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed more than $155 million to ineligible applicants. Auditor General Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. The audit found that the department didn't consistently ensure claims from operators were supported or that funding from subsidies and grants were used to reduce parents fees and pay educators. 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being under compensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing. 'Smith and her uncaring government have delivered a double hit to parents struggling to afford child care, making it even more expensive. It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds, and it's just cruel.' Pandemic program overpaid $158M: Auditor general A second report from Wylie's office follows-up on a 2022 audit of the provincial program designed to help businesses affected by pandemic public health measures. The auditor general then recommended that the government take steps to verify the eligibility of those who received funding. Thursday's report estimates that following that verification process by the government an estimated $158 million in ineligible program payments had been made. The department projects the value of ineligible payments was significantly lower, at between $52.5 million and $105 million. 'Program effectiveness should not only be measured by getting money out the door quickly, but also by whether the program achieves its intended results,' Wylie stated in a news release. He noted the department had focused on high-risk eligibility verifications but believed further post-payment verifications of other applications would produce diminishing returns. 'Without completing that analysis, the department would not be able to conclude on the eligibility of the majority of program applications,' he wrote in recommending further processes to verify eligibility. The report states the ministry of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration is in the process of recovering $7.6 million of payments to identified ineligible, overpaid, and non-responder recipients, and that $1.4 million has been recovered so far. Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow. mblack@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
French town withdraws Rock-En-Seine music festival funding over Kneecap booking
PARIS, July 17 (Reuters) - The municipal authority for the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud, which hosts the annual Rock-en-Seine music festival, has decided to withdraw a 40,000 euro ($46,000) subsidy for the event due to its booking of Irish rap band Kneecap, it said on Thursday. The Belfast-based Kneecap, which raps in Irish and English, has drawn criticism because it has displayed pro-Palestine messages during gigs. It is scheduled to play on the final day of the Rock-en-Seine festival, which takes place from August 21 to August 24. In a statement late on Wednesday, the Saint-Cloud city hall said the money had been agreed before the final line-up of the festival was announced and that it had decided to withdraw the funding on July 3. The Saint-Cloud city said it respects the festival's programming freedom, and had not sought "to enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming". "On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality," the statement said. Rock-en-Seine could not be immediately reached for comment. Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who is known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Britain. He denies the offence and the band says its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. ($1 = 0.8627 euros)
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
French town cuts funding for music festival over booking of pro-Palestinian band Kneecap
The municipal authority for the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud, which hosts the annual Rock-en-Seine music festival, has decided to withdraw a 40,000 euro ($46,000) subsidy for the event due to its booking of Irish rap band Kneecap, it said on Thursday. The Belfast-based Kneecap, which raps in Irish and English, has drawn criticism because it has displayed pro-Palestine messages during gigs. It is scheduled to play on the final day of the Rock-en-Seine festival, which takes place from August 21 to August 24. In a statement late on Wednesday, the Saint-Cloud city hall said the money had been agreed before the final line-up of the festival was announced and that it had decided to withdraw the funding on July 3. The Saint-Cloud city said it respects the festival's programming freedom, and had not sought 'to enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming.' 'On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality,' the statement said. Rock-en-Seine could not be immediately reached for comment. Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who is known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that is proscribed as a terrorist organization in Britain. He denies the offence and the band says its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah.
