Lunchtime news Thursday 28 February 2024

The London Child Poverty Commission (LCPC) found that four out of 10 children in London live below the poverty line. More than a third of youngsters live in social housing, while 61 per cent of children in London belong to an ethnic minority. The report also called on the government and employers to raise salaries and increase employment in the capital, while increasing child tax credit. Of the 650,000 children living in poverty in London – 41 per cent are living in a household with an income of less than 60 per cent of the national median.

Council tax increases of £52 on average are likely to send household bills soaring to more than £3,000 for the first time. Council tax will rise by 3.9 per cent in April, the eleventh successive rise above inflation, meaning that the tax has doubled since Labour came to power in 1997. Figures show that council tax, energy costs and water bills now account for 7.8 per cent of average earnings, up from 6.9 per cent in 1997. A survey has found that all but 19 of the 250 councils, have managed to keep council tax increases to below 5 per cent, but many say that they done so by reducing services for the elderly or mentally ill.

Bad news perhaps then from the head of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), who said yesterday that he believes the era of cheap credit is over, and only those with a perfect credit record would be eligible for the best deals in future. Mr Sants added that the credit crunch would force banks to return to ‘traditional banking practices’, and criticised bank bosses over their bonus structure, claiming that they encourage undue risk.

Housing minister, Caroline Flint, has said that only eco-towns with the highest ecological standards will be chosen for construction. Ms Flint said that most of the 60 proposals that have come in to tender for sustainable developments, will be rejected. Outlining her plans for the eco-towns, which Communities and Local Government (CLG) expect to house between 2,000 and 20,000 residents across five locations by 2016, Ms Flint said the towns will be expected to meet strict criteria including GP surgeries, schools and shops within a 10-minute walk of houses; at least one acre of parkland for every 100 homes; and a dramatically reduced reliance on cars. The government will provide funding as well as help meeting the local planning requirements of successful applications.

And finally, Barratt Developments, Britain’s second-largest housebuilder, has said that the government is in danger of missing its much-publicised target for the building of three million new homes. The company announced a 15 per cent fall in the number of new homes sold in December from a year earlier, and said that if the present slowdown in the housing market continued throughout 2008, the rate of housebuilding would start to increase only after 2011.