According to new data from Equifax Touchstone, there has been a 26.2% fall in buy-to-let mortgage sales during March. This equates to a £1.04bn drop despite an expected surge of business before the new stamp duty rules kicked in. The report highlighted that residential sales were up 1.4% on February
8.2m UK mortgage holders at significant financial risk It’s concerning to see that only half of the UK’s mortgage holders have taken out life assurance The latest data from Scottish Widows has revealed that approximately half of the UK’s mortgage holders have no life cover in place – equating to
Date and location 23 June 2016, Health and Safety Laboratory, Harpur Hill, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 9JN Event overview Local exhaust ventilation is a commonly used method of controlling workers’ exposure to airborne contaminants. However, LEV is not always as effective as it could be and all too often fails to
Nearly five years after workers employed by Connaught were made redundant when the company collapsed, former employees have finally been compensated. This week Dallas McMillan, the firm of solicitors acting for construction union Ucatt, won a protective award for 17 Ucatt members who were previously employed by Connaught at Renfrewshire
The growing number of products and devices being designed and manufactured to work together in a connected way is making the benefits available from complex smart building and home automation considerably greater The growing number of products and devices being designed and manufactured to work together in a connected way
According to new data from Equifax Touchstone, there has been a 26.2% fall in buy-to-let mortgage sales during March. This equates to a £1.04bn drop despite an expected surge of business before the new stamp duty rules kicked in. The report highlighted that residential sales were up 1.4% on February to £12.95bn, the highest month sales figures since the 2008 market crash. Combined, residential and buy-to-let sales for the intermediated market declined by 5.1% (-£855.7m) on the previous month. Scotland was the only region to increase its mortgage sales in March while Northern Ireland saw the steepest fall, down by almost 20%. London followed, with a drop of almost 10% in mortgage sales on February. The data from Equifax Touchstone, which covers 92% of the intermediated lending market, shows that the average value of a residential mortgage in March was £190,091 (2015: £179,187), and £157,819 for buy-to-let (2015: £151,753). Iain Hill, Relationship Manager, Equifax Touchstone, said: “Recent buy-to-let mortgage flows indicate that borrowers took the advice of their lenders, and initiated transactions in good time to avoid an eleventh-hour panic. The big question from here is, to what extent will the new stamp duty rates discourage investors from entering into new deals? With so much economic uncertainty, property remains an attractive investment option for many people. Given the rollercoaster first quarter of 2016, it will be interesting to see where sales trends go from here.” Source link
8.2m UK mortgage holders at significant financial risk It’s concerning to see that only half of the UK’s mortgage holders have taken out life assurance The latest data from Scottish Widows has revealed that approximately half of the UK’s mortgage holders have no life cover in place – equating to 8.2 million people financially exposed should the worst happen. The research also found that only 20% have a critical illness policy, leaving many more millions at risk of financial hardship or losing their home if they were to become seriously ill. 33% admit that if they or their partner were unable to work for six months or longer due to ill health or personal injury, they’d be unable to live on a single income. And 43% of those who couldn’t cope with a single wage say they would resort to dipping into their savings in order to survive. Yet 43% say their savings would last for no more than a couple of months and 15% don’t even know how much they have, meaning they could be relying on backup which doesn’t actually exist. Just under a quarter (23%) could only afford to pay household bills for a maximum of three months if they or their partner were unable to work, and 23% could make a maximum of just three monthly mortgage payments. Another 15% admit they’re not actually sure how long they’d be able to cope with their mortgage payments. Welfare reforms make the case for financial protection all the more pressing. A quarter (25%) of mortgage holders who say they’d be unable to live on a single income if their partner were unable to work also admit that they’d rely on state benefits to ensure they could manage financially. But changes to Support for Mortgage Interest, which is the only safety net in place for many families if they were unable to pay their mortgage, mean that people now have to wait 39 weeks before receiving this benefit instead of the previous 13, which could be too late for many if they have no other protection in place. Johnny Timpson, protection specialist at Scottish Widows, says: “None of us want to think about the worst, but our findings show that there are an alarming number of mortgage holders who are putting themselves at significant risk by failing to arrange cover for the unexpected. Many people believe that they’ll be able to rely on the State if the unforeseen happens, but recent cuts to welfare benefits are exacerbating their vulnerability.” Chris Gowland, Mortgage Director at Halifax, said: “Taking out a mortgage is the biggest financial commitment many of us will ever make, so it’s concerning to see that only half of the UK’s mortgage holders have taken out life assurance, and even fewer have critical illness cover. Having a financial plan in place will help protect your home in this type of eventuality and give greater peace of mind when it comes to what may be your greatest financial investment.” Source link
Date and location 23 June 2016, Health and Safety Laboratory, Harpur Hill, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 9JN Event overview Local exhaust ventilation is a commonly used method of controlling workers’ exposure to airborne contaminants. However, LEV is not always as effective as it could be and all too often fails to protect workers’ health. The reasons for LEV failure are varied, ranging from a failure at the design stage to poor maintenance and testing practices. The course will cover: The course will demonstrate how to successfully manage LEV systems in order to get effective, efficient, and reliable control of contaminants at least cost. This course is a British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) approved course. For further information please view our current Practical Management of LEV flyer. Who should attend? The course will be of interest to a range of people including: Managers including production, building facilities and maintenance managers Health, Safety & Environment managers Engineers, including production and design engineers It may also be of interest to professionals involved in LEV design and management including occupational hygienists, ventilation engineers and examiners Information and booking A full programme and online booking form can be found on the Practical Management of LEV Controls – BOHS Approved event page. Alternatively, you can email HSL Training or call 01298 218806. Source link
Nearly five years after workers employed by Connaught were made redundant when the company collapsed, former employees have finally been compensated. This week Dallas McMillan, the firm of solicitors acting for construction union Ucatt, won a protective award for 17 Ucatt members who were previously employed by Connaught at Renfrewshire Council and Riverside Homes. Housing maintenance contractor Connaught collapsed in September 2010. Since that time Ucatt has been fighting for justice for its members who were affected. Uc att described this week’s ruling as “the final piece in the jigsaw”, concluding the union’s Connaught legal cases. Earlier this year Dallas McMillan won a case for 12 Ucatt members against Lovell for its failure to confer TUPE rights on workers that it took on when it took over Connaught contracts. On Monday 1st June an employment tribunal in Glasgow awarded a protective award to the 17 remaining workers for whom Ucatt was unable to take a TUPE-related. The protective award was awarded down to Connaught’s failure to inform and consult the workforce prior to making them redundant. While the protective award was for the maximum 90 days, as the company is in administration and has no assets, the award will be paid by the Redundancy Payments Office and capped at 60 days. Ucatt regional secretary Harry Frew said: “When Connaught collapsed Ucatt promised our members that we would keep fighting for them until we had won justice. That is exactly what we did. I would like to thank Dallas McMillan for their long hard work on behalf of our members.” Gordon Bell, a solicitor at Dallas McMillan who represented the affected workers, said: “This was a very long gruelling case but finally we have achieved the right result for workers who were made redundant without warning through absolutely no fault of their own.” This article was published on 5 Jun 2015 (last updated on 5 Jun 2015). Source link
The growing number of products and devices being designed and manufactured to work together in a connected way is making the benefits available from complex smart building and home automation considerably greater The growing number of products and devices being designed and manufactured to work together in a connected way is making the benefits available from complex smart building and home automation considerably greater according to a new industry whitepaper from Interphone. However, the report highlights that these many gains – including increased efficiency, cost savings, comfort, convenience and security – are unlikely to be truly realised without careful advance planning, accurate specification and meticulous installation. The full implementation scenario can involve the strategic planning and installation of sensors and communication links for a wide range of applications, so it is essential to achieve effective integration of the devices and systems from the outset. Therefore, it is suggested that delivering a successful smart building and home automation solution requires a multi-tiered process involving the operation of the individual components, their integration and interconnection, and the overall security array. A range of considerations are outlined in the whitepaper to provide some insight to property developers, managing agents and property managers. It is designed to raise awareness of latest developments and generate debate about how best to approach smart building integration now and in the future. The whitepaper, titled How to make the right choices for smart building integration can be downloaded from the Interphone website here: http://www.interphone.co.uk/interphone-white-papers/ Source link
