The Competition and Markets Authority “missed an opportunity” with its energy market investigation, and its remedies could have a “counter effect” on the market, the UK’s largest independent supplier First Utility has warned. The supplier’s chief customer officer for the supplier Ed Kamm told Utility Week: “We clearly feel like the CMA has missed the mark… We are deeply dissatisfied as this is a missed opportunity.  “It is going to have a counter impact and actually make things worse.” Kamm expressed concern that the remedies relating to price comparison websites could cause some distrust between suppliers, and that issues could arise from the timing of some of the remedies. “The really frustrating thing is I think they correctly identified the problem but haven’t delivered the solutions to tackle it. “We spend nearly three years investigating this and we come up with solutions that aren’t strong enough,” he added.   Kamm described the timing as “baffling”, as some of the benefits will not come into effect until the end of the implementation timeframe. First Utility previously challenged the CMA on its figures in March this year, when it published its provisional remedies and claimed that the big six suppliers overcharged customers by £1.7 billion per year. The supplier claimed that this figure was “too low”, and was more likely to be as much as £3.4 billion. In its final report published today (24 June), the CMA amended the figure to £1.4 billion which could have been saved in a fully competitive market. Source link

Rents in England and Wales increased by 0.1% between January and February, the first monthly rent since autumn 2015, according to the latest index. This took the average rent to £791 a month and could be the first of several rises as the private rented sector braces for anti-landlord policies such as tax changes. The data from the buy to let index from Your Move and Reeds Rains also shows that year on year rents are up 3.3%, or an extra £25 a month for the average tenant. Average rents are now rising on a monthly basis for the first time since September 2015, up 0.1% between January and February. Rents across England & Wales now stand at £791 per month as of February, 3.3% higher compared to this point last year – or an extra £25 per month for the average tenant. On a regional basis rent rises were led by the Midlands. In the East Midlands tenants have seen the fastest annual rent rises, up 7% over the last 12 months. This is followed by the West Midlands with 6.3% and the East of England with rents 6.2% higher than in February 2015. These three regions all stand ahead of London on this basis, with rents in the capital 4.8% higher than 12 months ago. As recently as November, London consistently led the field in terms of annual rent rises. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum rents are lower than a year ago in three out of 10 regions. These exceptions are led by the North East where the average rent is now 2.5% lower than in February 2015, followed by Wales with rents down 1.5%, and the South East with a marginal 0.1% annual drop. Five out of 10 regions have now seen rents rising month on month. On this basis the East of England leads with rents in February 1.1% higher than in January 2016. The South East and the East Midlands are joint second on this measure with rents up 0.6% between January and February. By contrast, rents in Wales and the North East are now 0.9% lower and 0.7% lower than in January, respectively. On the back of the latest monthly increases, monthly rents in the West Midlands have set a new an all-time record high, at £596, alongside a new all-time record for Yorkshire and Humber rents at £559. The East Midlands, while home to the fastest annual rent rises in the twelve months to February, has seen rents remain just £1 short of the all-time record high set at £610 in November 2015. Adrian Gill, director of lettings agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, pointed out that rents are rising at a time when demand is growing. ‘Rent rises could now accelerate further. If government attacks on landlords bite, having worsened again in this week’s Budget, the flow of investment from landlords could wilt,’ he said. ‘Landlords are increasingly deliberate in their actions and savvy in their business decisions. But all landlords investing steadily in new property to let are the heroes of the buy to let industry, not the villains. Thanks to the business acumen and persistence of landlords, Britain’s private rented sector has become home to millions of households and the only real backstop against the weakness of other tenures,’ he explained. ‘All landlords, regardless of the number of properties they own, want to provide a quality service as part of earning a reliable return on their investment. For those with the right advice, this is part of operating a successful business model. Avoiding void periods and ensuring a good relationship with reliable tenants is essential. So it is hard to understand the logic behind restricting the flow of new investment, and the competition between existing landlords,’ Gill commented. ‘Additional taxes on the purchase of new buy to let properties will not support the stated aims of these policies, namely to improve home ownership. By attacking buy to let, the government will only serve to push up market rents more quickly, stymieing the efforts of many tenants to raise a deposit to buy a home while also boosting returns for existing landlords with the best advice to navigate new complications,’ he added. The report also reveals that rental yields are proving resistant to rising purchase prices. The gross yield on a typical rental property in England and Wales, before taking into account factors such as void periods, is steady at 4.8% in February, the same as in January 2016. On an annual basis, this is fractionally lower than the 5% gross yield seen a year ago in February 2015. Taking into account both rental income and capital growth, the average landlord in England and Wales has seen total returns of 12.7% over the 12 months to February. This is up from 11.7% in the 12 months to January and now also represents a 17 month record, since total returns previously reached 12.7% in the year to September 2014. In absolute terms this means that the average landlord in England and Wales has seen a return of £23,227 over the last 12 months, before any deductions such as property maintenance and mortgage payments. Of this, the average capital gain contributed £14,767 while rental income made up £8,460 over the 12 months to February. ‘Rising property prices and rising rents are two sides of the same coin. There is not enough supply of housing across the UK to match soaring demand. This is powering a sellers’ purchase market and a landlords’ rental market. Housing costs are rising, and housing wealth is rising, two very different perspectives on the same issue,’ Gill explained. ‘Faced with this dilemma, investment in property is a rational response, and has been proving extremely lucrative for landlords and some home-owners alike. Building more new homes would be an even better response, and where possible is even more profitable. But it is government inaction preventing more homes being built to fill the gap just as it is a government decision to attack those willing to navigate the risk

A pipe manufacturing company based in Newport has been fined for safety failings after seven reported cases of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) between April 2014 and July 2015. Newport Crown Court heard that employees of Asset International Limited used vibrating tools without proper training or practical controls to reduce vibration risk. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found no sufficient risk assessment or health surveillance had been carried out. Asset International Limited, of Stevenson Street, Newport, was fined a total of £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £27,724 after pleading guilty to offences under Regulations 5,6,7, and 8 of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. HSE inspector Joanne Carter said after the hearing: “The serious and irreversible risks from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome caused by work with vibrating tools are well known and guidance has been in place since the early 1990s. This case shows there is no excuse for not putting in place a management system which includes risk assessment, control measures, health surveillance and information and training to reduce these risks to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.” For more information about HAV visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/VIBRATION/hav/ Notes to Editors: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/  HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk   Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link