The UK has spent almost £2bn housing vulnerable homeless families in short-term temporary accommodation, according to new research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which demonstrates the dramatic scale of Britain’s housing crisis.

Rising private rents, a shortage of affordable housing and benefit cuts have forced local authorities, particularly in London, to place increasing numbers of households into bed and breakfast accommodation, hostels and shelters.

With the number of houses built in Britain falling to new lows, according to figures released last week, a four-month study by the Bureau drawing on local authority disclosures, has revealed that £1.88bn – enough to build 72,000 homes in London – has gone on renting temporary accommodation in 12 of Britain’s biggest cities over the past four years.

Campaigners have said welfare changes will exacerbate the problem. Official figures show that in London alone 7,000 families dependent on benefits stand to lose more than £100 a week under the ­benefit cap, and many are expected to become homeless as a result.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of the homelessness charity Crisis, said: ‘For the sake of cutting just a few pounds a week from their benefits, families and individuals are being forced out of their homes, to be put up in B&Bs or temporary accommodation that costs us all far more.’

A separate investigation by the Bureau has uncovered fresh evidence that London councils are rapidly accelerating the rehousing of homeless households outside their home boroughs. Some 32,643 homeless households have been rehoused out of their borough since 2009. In the year to April, 10,832 households were rehoused in this way – a 15.86% rise on the previous 12 months.

Most left the more affluent districts of inner London for the cheaper outer suburbs, although an increasing number of London’s homeless are being moved to towns outside the capital, such as Dartford in Kent, Slough in Berkshire and Spelthorne in Surrey. 

Related story: Get the data – Britain’s housing turmoil in numbers

Officials at the ‘destination’ boroughs have said that the influx of new households has put a significant strain on local services. Councillors in Enfield in outer London, where more properties and B&B rooms are secured by London authorities than anywhere else, have said the demand from inner London authorities is pushing up private rents and placing untenable pressure on school places.

‘The pressure will not abate,’ said Edward Smith, a Conservative councillor in Enfield. ‘Before long we will have to build more secondary schools.’

The Labour leader of Slough council, Robert Anderson said: ‘If authorities put people in our area with complex needs, or even just families; they need to inform us. If we know where they have come from we can make sure that the borough does not shirk (its) responsibilities and just pass on their more difficult clients.

‘You can’t just pitch up half way through a year and expect to get a school place. It’s not McDonalds.’

Related story: Britain’s housing crisis – The impact on children

The housing minister, Mark Prisk, insisted that councils should be careful about placing families in B&Bs far from their home borough.

‘There is absolutely no excuse for families to be sent miles away without proper regard for their circumstances, or to be placed in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation for long periods of time,’ he said. ‘The law is clear: councils have a responsibility to take into account people’s jobs and schools when securing homes for those in need.’

But Prisk also defended the policy of removing families on benefit from central London. ‘Nor is it right that those living on benefits should be able to live in parts of the capital that those who aren’t reliant on this support couldn’t afford to,’ he said.

Related story: Case study – Stranded in Southwark

Jeremy Kite, Dartford council’s Conservative leader, called on London councils to use savings they make ‘outsourcing’ their homeless outside the capital to create a ‘new homes fund’.

‘London councils receive all the benefits of high levels of council tax which arise from their property values and this means there’s a strong moral case for them solving their own housing problems,’ said Kite.

Households accepted as homeless by their local council will often be placed in temporary accommodation until a more permanent home can be found for them.

As latest government figures show there are 53,130 households living in temporary accommodation at the end of 2012  – 9% higher than the previous year – a leading law firm is preparing a class action against councils who keep families in B&B for longer than the statutory maximum six week limit.

Official guidance says B&B accommodation should be avoided ‘wherever possible’. Lack of privacy, and amenities such as cooking and laundry means it is ‘not suitable’ for families with children or pregnant women “unless there is no alternative accommodation available and then only for a maximum of six weeks.’

Related story: Sharp rise in B&B spending as homelessness crisis intensifies

But Bureau data shows that in the past year alone, spending by 12 of Britain’s biggest cities on B&B rooms increased by 25.34% to £91.1m.

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, said: ‘Ministers’ failure to get a grip on this crisis is causing misery for tens of thousands of families who are being uprooted from their local communities, friends, schools and places of work.

‘Local councils are being forced into making impossible decisions, placing families in completely inappropriate bed and breakfasts. And taxpayers are footing the bill to the tune of millions of pounds every week.’

The Bureau’s data shows the amount spent on all temporary accommodation across 12 of Britain’s biggest cities was up 5.7% to £464m last year. And London councils have budgeted for further significant overall rises this financial year.

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, London Councils’ executive member for housing, said: ‘London is in the grip of a housing crisis. Homelessness is on the rise, private sector rents continue to rise and there is a drastic shortage of affordable housing in the capital.’

Since 2009, London councils have secured 5,827 properties and B&B rooms in the three outer London boroughs of Enfield, Waltham Forest and Haringey alone.

The borough suffering the worst homeless crisis in the country appears to be Newham, in east London, which has spent £185.2m placing people in temporary accommodation since 2009.

A spokesperson for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: ‘Reform of the housing benefit system is needed but the Mayor has made clear the need for transitional arrangements. He has already managed to secure mitigation funding for boroughs, incentives for landlords to reduce their rents and more time for some existing claimants. London needs more affordable homes and boosting the supply, to rent or buy, is one of the Mayor’s top priorities.’

The Bureau established the gross cost of placing people in temporary accommodation. Councils do claw back a significant amount of the gross figure from the Department of Work and Pensions in the form of housing benefit. The gross figure indicates the true cost to the taxpayer of Britain’s housing crisis.

By  Nick Mathiason, Victoria Hollingsworth and Will Fitzgibbon for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Additional Reporting: Miranda Atty and Jude McArdle.

For the frequent business traveller, it is common practice that to travel business class. Due to the recent economic crisis, there have been strong signs of first class travel disappearing, with business class being the more reasonable luxury choice of preference. As a result of this trend, business travellers have frequently seen, depending on the carrier and route, drastic reductions in business class fares. As many companies have been more conservative with their budgets since the breakout of the economic crisis in 2008, airlines often offer considerable discounts in order to fill business class cabins. A further recent development in travel has been the rise of a new intermediate class filling the gap between economy and business classes, also known as ‘premium economy’.

Travel alternatives

As the majority of industries, including airlines, have been hit by the recession, business travellers now actively seek discounted alternatives. Often a business class train fare is cheaper than the same business class airfare, so often business travellers will opt for rail travel despite rail travel taking longer. Of course, not all routes are covered by rail, for instance transatlantic routes. Here, many former business class travellers are now downgrading to premium economy or economy classes on long-haul flights so as to save money. For many top business executives, however, downgrading and abandoning the perks of business class just isn’t an option.

Business class for a reason

For those who can afford business class travel, there are of course huge benefits travelling to doing as so. Business class passengers benefit from the personal flight attendants, greater legroom and excellent food, not to mention the added privacy and equipment necessary for conducting business on the flight.  Dedicated business class travellers can even extend this quality service to the ground, so to speak. Limousine services such as Blacklane.com provide high quality, private business class travel services, be it airport transfers or for limousine services for the duration of a day.  Luxurious vehicles, personal chauffeurs and efficient service are only a few of their guarantees, making it the premium transportation option within a large number of cities.

Starting a new business can be extremely challenging and requires a large amount of organsation, planning and financial skill. The initial phase of setting up a business is possibly the most crucial, with those decisions made in the early stages often determining the eventual success or failure of the business in question.

There certainly are many important and often difficult decisions to be made. Entrepreneurs need to carefully make a whole range of important decisions regarding financing, personnel, logistics and contractors – just to name a few. Naturally, some of these issues do not apply to every company due to differing business models and company structures. However, those that do apply must be met with efficient and innovative solutions. If the right decisions are made and a solid groundwork is laid from the beginning, a successful business is almost certain to grow from that.

Finding the right solutions

Of course, business solutions need to be tailored and customized in order to fit the unique requirements of newly established businesses; an online service provider has different needs to a company centred on the production and distribution of a new snack, given that online services do not require physical distribution. Furthermore, businesses offering physical products also require innovative packaging solutions, as well as efficient concepts for the distribution and sales of their product. Particularly in the case of food, finding the right food packaging solutions for carefully preserving the product is of paramount importance to a successful distribution and sale.

Making the most of the available means

The key to a successful start-up is to make the most of all existing and available resources, using them as cost efficiently as possible. Some business may not have the resources, however, to carry out certain specific or specialised business activities/operations in-house. In such cases, it may therefore be more appropriate to out-source certain activities. For an up-and-coming food manufacturer, for example, it may be more effective to seek the help of external specialists for packaging, distribution and/or logistic activities. It is highly recommended that when it is more cost-effective to out-source a business function, rather than keeping it in-house, businesses should use the help of external resources.

The processing power, stealth and streamlined efficiency of network communications have revolutionised the way successful businesses operate. Remotely and on-site, super fast network infrastructures have proven to be the biggest single factor in maximising productivity whilst minimising operational costs.

Here we discuss 5 financial benefits that businesses large and small are seeing as a result of migrating to a hosted Internet network.

1. Hardware Costs
Running an outsourced network infrastructure as opposed to an internally managed network, creates significant cost savings both up-front and over time. Capital costs of running and maintaining your own network can be high. They grow even higher when trying to keep up with IT demands by purchasing, deploying and supporting the latest advancements in hardware. Maintaining IT efficiency in-house becomes a waste of budget. A hosted network will keep you ahead of competition with a network that remains the quickest in your niche because it utilises the best technology stack.

2. Optimum Performance
A speedy network allows your business to respond instantly to any request, from any source. Such real-time delivery of services creates extensive revenue opportunities. Providing connectivity that is exclusive to you and your client base, maximises the speed and throughput of network traffic, saving money on administration and minimising operational bottlenecks. This opens sales pipelines, aids real-time support and means logistics can run with optimum efficiency.

3. Power Saving
Running your business across a hosted network creates huge cost savings in energy consumption too. Servers, cooling systems, communications infrastructure, etc. all require considerable amounts of power to operate efficiently. Using a network infrastructure that is managed and maintained off-site is a green solution that better meets government standards and doesn’t incur a huge energy bill.

4. Dedicated Bandwidth
Only dedicated hosting providers are able to deliver continuous network coverage with optimum speed and resilience. In this regard be careful when choosing a network host because many run shared servers and limit bandwidth to cut costs. This is to the detriment of your business.

Running a dedicated Internet network, your business alone reaps the benefits of maximum possible speed, agility and performance. This gives you the best value from IT, saving considerable expense too in recognising and alleviating potential traffic jams and latency that only you could be causing. This means all manner of information and payment transactions can be delivered in real-time, all the time.

5. Keeping You Covered
Companies that run their own network or outsource to many traditional hosting providers typically have the added expense of needing backup and disaster recovery systems that require extra resource scheduling. With a dedicated hosting provider, the maintenance and resilience of your network becomes an external set of tasks and failsafe operation. It saves you a great deal of time and expense NOT needing to invest in these areas.

Online competition is heating up. More and more companies are embracing the digital marketplace – from a basic web presence to a fully-fledged ecommerce store. To deliver the fastest service for customers and maximise the performance of staff, you need a dedicated network that is fast enough to counter the challenges of running a business online. Doing so will keep you head and shoulders above your competitors, attracting higher numbers of visitors to your site, streamlining processes and engaging key stakeholders in real time. All of which creates huge sales and revenue generating opportunities, instantly and consistently over time.

Car insurance companies now have only two criteria when it comes to offering their best premiums, age and experience.

With the ruling by the European Court of Justice that came into force on December 21 last year, women can no longer be offered discounted motor insurance premiums on the basis of their sex, despite the weight of statistical evidence tending to prove that on average they are less likely to make a claim than men. The net result of the sexual equality legislation is that women’s car insurance premiums have risen to come in line with men’s, and the only attributes that a driver can now brandish at their insurer in order to garner a healthy discount are a long, blemish-free driving history and the promise of a cautious and responsible nature, which is most likely to have come with age.

And the preferential treatment of older drivers is hardly surprising when looked at in terms of road accident statistics. In the UK only around 13 percent of driving licence holders are under the age of 25, and yet a third of drivers that are killed on the road come from that age group. Older motorists are only half as likely to have a crash as under 25’s, and when they are involved in accident, the cost is likely to be half of that incurred in a collision involving a younger driver.

Like any other prudent businesses, car insurance companies are looking to maximise their income and minimise their outgoings, and all of the indications are that leaning their client lists towards older and more experienced drivers will go a long way towards achieving that aim. This is good news for older drivers, particularly the over 50’s, as they have become THE target market for insurers, with many, like Staysure, offering considerable discounts to attract them into the fold.

The benefits of getting older are not always that obvious, but being the darling of car insurance companies is one to cling to.

Once you’ve got your small business established in the market, your thoughts are likely to turn to future expansion. One of the keys to successful growth is innovation, as evidenced by the dominance of the likes of Facebook, Amazon and Apple in the online/technology sectors.

Here are some tips on how to go about innovating within your own business.

Start small

There are many ways in which to innovate, but none of them are guaranteed to work. That’s why it’s best to begin by innovating in little steps, especially if you’re a small firm with tight margins to keep to.

One of the most common ways to do this is by tinkering with existing products and/or services. You can experiment with new features by launching revised versions of your current offerings and gauging the response among your clientele to see how successful they are, for example.

This approach can be much cheaper and less risky than simply launching a brand new product or service, which will require significantly more investment and effort to turn into a profitable venture.

Set specific goals

Simply aiming to think of a good idea at some point in the future is unlikely to yield much in the way of results. That’s why it can be useful to set a few goals when looking for ways to innovate within your small business.

For example, you could lay down a deadline – “I need to devise a mock-up of a new product by the end of next month” – or an end point to your thinking, e.g. a particular cost saving in a specific process, a target market for a new service, etc.

Collaborate

Brainstorming with other people is often a great way to come up with new ideas. Whether you set up a one-off session or make this a regular occurrence, meeting with your colleagues to discuss avenues for growth could generate concepts you might never have thought of on your own as the business owner.

Don’t let things like remote working and busy schedules put you off the idea; technology such as teleconferencing services for small businesses can help bring people from different parts of the company together to ensure a variety of viewpoints and ideas are put forward.

Take a risk

It’s important to remember that innovation requires a certain degree of risk-taking. The online giants mentioned at the start of this article didn’t get anywhere without breaking boundaries and really surprising people. While this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to take a huge gamble on a whole new market, it should provide food for thought when considering whether a particular risk is worth taking.

Of course, it’s easier to take a risk if you know what it will cost if you fail, so doing your research beforehand will certainly help. But this still isn’t guaranteed to lead to success, so it’ll still be on you as the leader of the business to make the right decision.

Plan in detail

Coming up with a great new idea to try is only part of the innovation process. Turning your concept into reality requires a lot more hard work and patience. One thing that can help is drawing up a detailed plan for the process, showing who is responsible for what and setting deadlines for each stage.

This will make it more likely that you’ll stay on track with your proposal, rather than veer off course whenever another seemingly fantastic idea comes into being.

When Payday loans get out of hand it can quickly lead to a vicious circle of debt in which you find yourself taking out new loans each month just to meet the repayments on existing ones. Having too many payday loans and being unable to pay them can be a frightening experience as many of these companies will aggressively pursue money that is owed to them.

If you are in this situation the good news is you are not alone, and the law is on your side. An estimated 1.2 million people in the UK take out payday loans each year and, with astronomical interest rates often exceeding 2,500 percent APR, many find themselves in even deeper financial trouble. The credit counselling charity Step Change, which will help to draw up a debt management plan for free, says the number of people they advise on payday loan difficulties has quadrupled in three years.

Help is at Hand

The important thing in dealing with a financial crisis is not to panic. There are well-trodden paths, protected by law, which can lead you out of financial trouble and into a more stable future, and you do not have to take them alone. There are many sources of professional debt help, some free and some paid for, and it is best to consult them first. Payday loan companies typically use very heavy-handed tactics to get their money back so you will need the best advice behind you to deal with them.

The first step is to make sure your bank account and the money in it is protected. Depending on the payment arrangement you have agreed it might be possible for the company to withdraw the full outstanding amount of your loan if they know you are in trouble. So tell your bank to cancel any direct debits, standing orders or cheques and to refuse all future payments to the loan company.

Protect Your Money

The loan company might have required you to sign a continuous payment authority (CPA) and there is some confusion as to whether or not this can be cancelled. It can, under the terms of the Payment Services Regulations 2009, but if there is any doubt about your bank’s willingness to comply then either cancel your debit card and request a new one or move your money to a new account. Next write – never call as this will leave no record – to those you owe money to and explain that you cannot pay.

Debt advice organisations can help with sample letters and in devising a workable debt management plan which will offer the lenders reduced payments you can manage. They do not have to accept, and you may get a string of nasty telephone calls, but ultimately they have no choice short of taking you to court, where a judge is very likely to order even lower payments. Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated – with the right debt advice you will have all the support you need to get back on your feet.

Company Profile

1^st Point Debt Solutions offers debt management solutions to help you resolve your debt problems.  If you require help on your payday loan debt, please visit – http://www.1stpointdebtsolutions.co.uk

The Statutory Residence Test was announced by the Treasury in the 2011 Budget and will be introduced on the 6^th April to clarify the definition of a UK resident.

As part of the new Finance Bill, the three-part assessment will determine exactly how many days an individual can spend in the UK before having to pay its taxes.

The Treasury admits existing legislation has been “complicated and unclear”, with experts agreeing that conditions for residential status have been largely decided by court cases.

In 2011, millionaire businessman Robert Gaines-Cooper lost his appeal against HMRC’s decision to classify him as a UK resident. Judges ruled that the Briton, who had moved to the Seychelles, had not made a “clean break” from the UK because he still owned a property in Henley-on-Thames and had made trips to Ascot, among other reasons.

If two initial tests cannot ‘conclusively’ prove your residential status, a third may look more closely at your connections to the UK, such as family, property and work.

The definition of a UK tie will include staying in temporary accommodation with relatives (including siblings, grandparents and children) for at least 16 nights. Furthermore, if a property is available to you for more than 91 days, you may only stay there for one night before it is considered a British tie.

The test, part of a wider crackdown on tax avoidance, may also examine how much time you’ve spent in the UK in previous tax years.

In keeping with the current rules, anyone who is in the UK for 183 days or more in any one tax year, or more than 90 days on average per tax year over four years, is viewed as a resident.  This will also apply if you have a home in Britain for more than 90 days, visit it on 30 separate days and have a period of 91 consecutive days where you do not live in a home abroad for more than 30 days.

From April, some expats may need to correlate the number of days they spend in the UK with the number of British connections they have. Longer periods may require fewer ties if you want to be classified as a non-resident, with only one connection allowed if you spend over 120 days in the country.

Price Waterhouse Coopers says the legislation “represents the most significant change to the UK’s tax residence rules for over 100 years”. It advises expats to anticipate what days they’ll be in the UK during the next tax year and consider “an appropriate way” to record that time.

The firm also believes individuals should consider whether they have any control over a “range of connection factors” that could make them liable for tax after April, such as available accommodation, family circumstances, UK employment and self-employment.

A draft copy of the rules is available on the Treasury’s website (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk)

Company Profile

Which Offshore is an online consumer resource for those seeking information and advice pertaining to matters related to expatriate life and offshore finance. If interested in more information on expat tax, please visit – http://www.whichoffshore.com/offshore-tax

Foreign workers in the United Arab Emirates are finally able to invest in a competitive, locally-based pension scheme – thanks to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The Telegraph is reporting that expats in the country can now invest in corporate trust solutions that are designed to discourage overseas workers from sending the lion’s share of their salaries back home. The Wealth Builder Plan will be administered by the Jersey-based NBAD Trust Company, and it is hoped that the move will attract more people to an economy that is in great need of skilled labour. However, what benefits can expats realistically expect to enjoy from these innovative offshore pensions?

How the New Scheme Will Revolutionise Offshore Pensions

Expat employees will be able to choose from a range of investment fund options according to their appetite for risk. The new pension scheme is, essentially, a packaged portfolio of corporate investments – something that foreign workers in the UAE have hitherto been deprived of. The UAE is one of only a handful of leading financial centres that doesn’t currently offer a government-backed pension facility, so this new initiative is expected to be hugely popular. Each plan will be tailored specifically to the needs and income of the individual and the employee will also have the option of topping up the contributions made by the employer.

The Benefits of the New Pension Scheme

Current UAE laws stipulate that foreign workers only receive an indemnity at the end of employment – awarded according to the employee’s length of service. The new scheme is expected to be a far more lucrative proposition than the current cash lump sum, paid at the end of employment. This is the first serious scheme in the country that seeks to distribute the burden of expats pension contributions between the employer and the employee, and local government officials are hoping it could persuade more skilled foreign workers to make their home in the fast-growing country. Expats will be further encouraged by the announcement that investments can be tracked on a daily basis through the use of secure web portals. Customers will have access to real-time data on their account as well as the plan’s overall performance. The flexibility of the new scheme will also allow expat investors to change their overall contributions in line with the performance of their plan, or a change in their own circumstances.

According to Trade Arabia, all investment funds will be managed by the trustee, the NABD Trust Company in Jersey. This means that a trust structure will be developed that is completely independent from employers. This groundbreaking announcement is all the more impressive because of Jersey’s involvement, and it will put people at ease with such a new pension product. The island has a world-renowned financial regulatory system that provides a safe haven for investments from all over the world. The UAE is a country where around 90 percent of the population is from overseas; this news will be almost universally welcomed – and it should result in increasing numbers of foreign workers arriving to do business.

Company Profile:

Which Offshore is an online consumer resource for those seeking information and advice pertaining to matters related to expatriate life and offshore finance. For more information, please visit – http://www.whichoffshore.com/

Demand for toiletries largely made with natural ingredients and free from substances that some deem harmful has risen in recent years, and looks set to continue increasing. Manufacturers that have not yet entered this segment may do well to consider it. Read on to find out why.

Market growth

Figures from the European Commission suggest that the market for toiletries seen as natural is currently growing by 20 per cent each year – a significant figure that has not gone unnoticed by smaller firms in particular, which are increasingly launching natural products in a bid to provide a viable alternative to the goods marketed by the large multinationals.

Less quantitative evidence of this trend is also clear to see, such as the explosion in specialist ecommerce websites offering organic/natural products and the rising number of products with natural or ‘free from’ labels being stocked by major pharmacies and retailers.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the major players in the toiletries industry; L’Oreal launched a line of haircare products under the EverPure, EverSleek and EverStrong names that are free from sulphates last year, while Unilever’s Timotei range now includes the Pure line of shampoos and conditioners, which don’t contain silicones, parabens or colorants.

Some of the smaller specialist brands that have established themselves in the market are REN, Good Things, Balance Me, Weleda, Jason and Lavera, although the extent of their organic/natural claims does vary from company to company.

Joining the market

There are several ways for your own toiletries firm to take advantage of this trend. You could set up a brand specifically for natural products, increase the proportion of organic ingredients in existing products while reducing or eliminating synthetic ones with negative connotations, or even make a complete switch to the market by focusing entirely on these kinds of products.

Whichever route you decide on, you’ll need to first gauge whether there is demand for what you want to offer among your existing customers (as it’s clear from the above that there is at least some demand among new ones). You will also have to conduct extensive testing to be sure the quality of your products isn’t compromised by the use of ingredients unfamiliar to you; while the organic sector has come a long way on this front, there’s still room for improvement.

One starting point could be the Cosmos standards that have been drawn up by the Soil Association and other organisations in Europe to provide a set of requirements for companies looking to manufacture natural cosmetics and toiletries. Approved products will bear a label saying they have been certified by the Soil Association, giving consumers something to look for when they go shopping.

Related to this last point, setting out a clear marketing strategy is a must. Many consumers are wary of companies that claim to be more eco-friendly or natural than they actually are, and it’s all too easy for shoppers to voice their discontent with brands on social networks and blogs.

So, make it absolutely clear on both the packaging and your promotional literature/website exactly what is natural or organic in your range. It may also be worth telling customers anything they need to know about the manufacturing process, e.g. if you use separate filling machines or the same ones for your natural and ‘standard’ product lines.

An open and upfront approach is much more likely to win over customers and potentially entice them away from your competitors – as long as you’ve got the product right, too!