Results tagged “government”

By Tim Archer

A budget has to balance sooner or later; black holes cannot be financed forever and they cannot be ignored. It's therefore interesting that the Labour-run council chose to overlook the fact that its books contain a £54million gap. Putting that into context, council tax in Tower Hamlets would have to rise by almost 30 per cent a year for the next three years just to plug that gap.

By Tim Archer

Anyone who knows Tower Hamlets knows all about the major housing problems the borough faces.

There are some 23,000 people on the housing waiting list, with 14,000 on the list are living in chronic overcrowding. Housing is where the Government and the Labour-run council have let local people down the most.

By Jim Fitzpatrick

One of the worst things to have to countenance in life is home repossession.

The Wharf's readers might be interested to learn of a new national campaign to help struggling homeowners take control of their finances and make the most of the support available for them to avoid repossessions and stay in their homes.

By Tim Archer

I want to return to the subject of unemployment and how Tower Hamlets is failing our young people. We have the worst unemployment rate in the country, with 11.7 per cent of the population out of work.

As bad as that statistic is, it hides an even bigger issue - the problem of youth unemployment.

The Financial Services Authority defended its role as a watchdog when its top brass faced the public this morning.

Lord Turner and Hector Sants, respectively chairman and chief executive of the Wharf-based regulator, were bullish about past performance and the FSA's future at the annual public meeting in the City.

By Steven Davies

A body that represents letting agents launched a new scheme last week designed to protect tenants from unethical practices in the industry.

Agents who belong to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) will have to abide by a new code of practice, meaning they will have to secure professional qualifications and set aside time to make sure these are up to date.

The House of Lords has urged the Government to step up its anti-terror plans for the 2012 Olympics.

A report by the house's EU Committee suggests the UK should make immediate contact with the union's emergency task force to reduce the potential impact of any attack during the games.

The London Olympics have been granted a £461million bail-out by the government following a short-fall in private funding.

The lack of outside investment has forced ministers to use emergency funds to cover the construction of the athletes village and media centre.

The Government has announced a 2.5 per cent cut in VAT until the end of 2009 as it moves to combat the effects of recession.

Chancellor Alistair Darling pledged to slash VAT to 15 per cent from next Monday (December 1), reportedly saving consumers around £12.5billion.

London City Airport will become a pioneer for the controversial ID card scheme.

Staff at the Royal Docks site will be among the first wave of UK nationals to be given compulsory cards despite criticism of the plan from unions.

Heathrow operator BAA has announced details of its £230million investment in the Crossrail project.

Transport minister Lord Adonis appeared at Paddington station on Tuesday to reveal the extent of the company's contribution to the £16billion London link.

BARCLAYS and HSBC are among the UK banks who have signed up to a rescue package drawn up by the Government.