The Government is to take another step towards recouping the vast sums of money injected into the banking system in 2008 by selling £3bn of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) mortgage loans. Sky News has learnt that UK Asset Resolution, the Treasury-supervised unit which manages the remnants of the former high street lender, has appointed the Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley to handle an auction later this year. The portfolio for which it will seek buyers is understood to comprise lower-quality buy-to-let and higher loan-to-value mortgages ‎than an £11.8bn package offloaded last month. City sources said the latest auction was unlikely to kick off until after June's General Election. It is likely to involve the mortgages being sold at a substantial discount to their book value. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ministers-sell-3bn-bradford-bingley-mortgage-loans-132100766.html

A major crackdown on the abuse of county court judgments is announced today following a Daily Mail investigation. Ministers are pledging to block banks, debt firms and parking companies from sending court claims to old addresses. The move would halt the scandal that leaves thousands of families financially crippled because of debt judgements passed against them without them knowing, or having a chance to defend themselves. The pledge is made today by the Ministry of Justice as it launches a public consultation on the judgments, known as CCJs. It follows an investigation by the Mail, which found firms are obtaining hundreds of thousands of CCJs every year over alleged debts of as little as a penny. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4060508/Victory-Mail-debt-rulings-cripple-families-Ministers-block-companies-fro-sending-court-claims-old-addresses.html#ixzz4Te39AKtE

The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) will apply in full to all transport services, including mainline rail passenger services, from next month, allowing passengers to challenge the amount of compensation they are offered by rail companies. From the start of next month, under the Consumer Rights Act, passengers will be able to ask for their money back by going to a local county court if they are not happy with the way a rail operator has dealt with their request for compensation. Long-suffering commuters will also be allowed to demand that compensation is paid in cash rather than train vouchers. Under existing guidelines most train operators only offer a ‘delay repay’ deal which allows passengers to claim the cost of half a single journey for delays of more than half an hour – or the full one-way ticket price if held up for over an hour. It is only if a train is cancelled, or a vital connection missed, that a full refund of a return journey will be paid. These refunds are not automatic – you must fill in a form first – and they are currently paid in train journey vouchers. The new rules will allow passengers to demand all their money back if they believe the compensation offered is inadequate – or they believe they deserve a full refund as the service fell well short of what they had expected. Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-3783016/Delayed-leaves-line-train-company-court.html#ixzz4KtQ6t3ff

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29114235 Ministers are to review how payment of the TV licence fee is enforced amid concerns about the number of people appearing in court for evasion. Culture Secretary Sajid Javid will say more than 10% of all cases heard by magistrates involve TV licences and question whether the system is working. The review should conclude early in the next Parliament, he will say. It comes as Rona Fairhead, ministers' preferred candidate to chair the BBC Trust, prepares to face MPs' questions. The former Financial Times chief executive will be questioned about her views on the future regulation and funding of the BBC when she appears before the Commons Media Select Committee. The Conservatives and Labour have said they are sympathetic to calls for the decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee, which is used to fund BBC services. Legislation currently going through Parliament would give a future government the power to move towards decriminalisation if it was deemed to be in the public interest. Taking evidence In a speech to the Royal Television Society, Mr Javid will say the question of how the BBC enforces payment of the licence fee - currently £145.50 a year for a colour TV - must be considered now. "In 2012/13, almost 200,000 people ended up in court accused of not buying a TV licence," he will say. "More than 50 were sent to prison. "When over 10% of magistrates' court cases concern this one offence, you have to ask whether the current system is really working. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. "The government is committed to launching a review of decriminalisation once the Deregulation Bill receives Royal Assent. But we can't afford to wait that long. This needs to begin now. "Very shortly I will be publishing the terms of reference for a review of TV licence enforcement. I expect it to begin taking evidence in the autumn, and to conclude early in the next Parliament." 'Loved services' Mr Javid will insist the review will not pre-empt renewal of the BBC's royal charter, the process of agreeing its future funding and governance arrangements which is due to take place in 2016. "This will allow it to shape the future of the BBC in a way that works for both the corporation and those who pay for it," he will add. A spokesman for the BBC, which is is obliged to ensure its collection arrangements are efficient, appropriate and proportionate, said it hoped the review would be thorough and "not rushed". "Licence fee evasion is low which maximises investment in the programmes and services that audiences love," he said. "Changing the system could lead to higher evasion, so it is important that any decisions are made as part of the Charter Review process." A BBC Trust spokeswoman added that this was an issue that should be discussed "in the round", including the "potential impact on licence fee income and BBC output", with any decisions made as part of the BBC's charter review process. She said the trust looked forward to engaging fully with the review when the time comes. The BBC's director of strategy and digital James Purnell has suggested the time taken up by licence fee cases in court was actually much lower than often stated. "The last fact we saw was that it took up 0.3% of time because most of these cases are processed pretty quickly, about three minutes on average," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme in March.

Found this, not sure if it has already been posted but thought some may find it interesting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21287323

We all know of the Rt Hon Ian Duncan Smith and the minster for employment Mark Hoban MP as they have been well vocalised of late in various media. Theres one person who seems to have kept her head down in terms of public speaking about benefits that affect people. That is Esther McVey, minister for disabled people. Responsibilities Cross-government disability issues including Disability Strategy, Paralympics, Personalisation and Independent Living and Right to Control Disability Benefits – Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA) Independent Living Fund Carers Appeals reform Government response to Liz Sayce’s independent review of specialist disability employment Remploy Access to Work Work Choice Child poverty from http://www.dwp.gov.uk/about-dwp/ministers/ Might be the time to ask this particular minister some questions about forthcoming benefit reforms that fall under the above responsabilities.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/third-benefit-fit-162543735.html Yep 36% savings on ib to esa. Wonder if that is a general figure before appeals lol Love the way he puts it, ib was a failing benefit. Soooo ESA and erm Atos mix is wonderful. DONT THINK SO!