That is something that is completely different as they used to say on Monty Python, The article that @lucy4 posted was about, Senior Conservative and Labour MPs are claiming thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to help pay for their energy bills during the cost of living crisis, new figures have revealed. In most cases, the claims are to pay for gas, electricity and water bills at their constituency homes, which is permitted under the parliamentary expenses system. Some MPs have claimed for energy bills at their London homes, which is also legitimate under the rules.
IPSA says that the expenses are there to allow MPs with seats outside the capital to fund accommodation and associated costs when they are in Parliament as well as in their constituencies. They can only claim for accommodation and bills at one home.
However, the revelation that MPs are getting taxpayer-funded help with energy bills, on top of the government handouts that have gone to every household to meet the rising cost of gas and electricity, will sit uneasily with voters uneasy about the way the expenses system operates.
The Civil Service one was about, At the top of its four recommendations is that “departments and government give all employees who work remotely or in a hybrid model an allowance to help towards increased energy and utility costs, as well as the necessary equipment for remote working to be safe and effective”.
So the MPs are claiming thousands on expenses, while the unions think Civil Servants should be paid an allowance. Martin Lewis is advising people to claim a paltry bit of tax relief.
Working-from-home relief rules are much stricter now (for 2022/23 tax year) Tax relief of £6 a week equates to a GAIN of…
- £1.20 a week for a basic 20% rate taxpayer (£62.40 a year) - £2.40 a week for a higher 40% rate taxpayer (£124.80 a year) - £2.70 a week for a top 45% rate taxpayer (£140.40 a year)
That special relief applied for both the 2020/21 AND 2021/22 tax years – meaning many are due TWO years' worth, which can translate to up to £280 in your pocket.
Brits will be told they can save over £400 cutting down on their energy without affecting their comfort in new £25m Government campaign amid fears Putin will 'blackmail' nation over gas supplies this winter
Britons will be told they can save over £400 by cutting down on their energy in a new public information campaign waged by Government ministers. The £25million marketing programme will attempt to wean people off using energy unnecessarily as bills soar over winter. MPs and celebrities will appear on broadcast adverts and on social media, telling the public to cut down on using their boilers, switch off radiators (pictured inset) in empty rooms and opt for showers over baths. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (pictured left) said Britons have a responsibility to cut energy by 15 per cent in order to stop the country being 'blackmailed' by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Energy bills are hard to keep track of. I am currently with EDF. They are intending to increase my direct debit to £297 per month in February. I am currently paying £221 per month. They review my bill twice per year. The last review was on 2nd December. This has resulted in a refund of £256, which I am expecting in the next couple of days. I dont understand why they would give me a refund on the one hand, and increase my direct debit on the other. I was paying £124 before all the nonsense started.
I have also received a payment of £250 from the government. I believe my wife will also receive an additional £250. Then there are the three payments of £66 per month received from the government so far.
If you offset these receipts against my direct debits over the last 6 months, it means that my net cost would have been £62 per month. Exactly half of what I was paying before it all started.
It will be very painful beyond April, assuming a £297 monthly payment and no assistance.
Energy bills are hard to keep track of. I am currently with EDF. They are intending to increase my direct debit to £297 per month in February. I am currently paying £221 per month. They review my bill twice per year. The last review was on 2nd December. This has resulted in a refund of £256, which I am expecting in the next couple of days. I dont understand why they would give me a refund on the one hand, and increase my direct debit on the other. I was paying £124 before all the nonsense started.
I have also received a payment of £250 from the government. I believe my wife will also receive an additional £250. Then there are the three payments of £66 per month received from the government so far.
If you offset these receipts against my direct debits over the last 6 months, it means that my net cost would have been £62 per month. Exactly half of what I was paying before it all started.
It will be very painful beyond April, assuming a £297 monthly payment and no assistance.
Energy bills are hard to keep track of. I am currently with EDF. They are intending to increase my direct debit to £297 per month in February. I am currently paying £221 per month. They review my bill twice per year. The last review was on 2nd December. This has resulted in a refund of £256, which I am expecting in the next couple of days. I dont understand why they would give me a refund on the one hand, and increase my direct debit on the other. I was paying £124 before all the nonsense started.
I have also received a payment of £250 from the government. I believe my wife will also receive an additional £250. Then there are the three payments of £66 per month received from the government so far.
If you offset these receipts against my direct debits over the last 6 months, it means that my net cost would have been £62 per month. Exactly half of what I was paying before it all started.
It will be very painful beyond April, assuming a £297 monthly payment and no assistance.
If this Government tried to take steps to control inflation themselves, that would be a start.
It currently seems to have only 2 weapons that it uses.
1. To refuse pay rises, because this "causes inflation" 2. To let the Banks, and the Bank of England, set their own interest rates
And then genuinely seem surprised when the country pays the huge price of strikes. And Banks set interest rates that suit them, rather than the country.
If a Government cannot understand that it is not actually governing, it's time to go.
1. Government promises to take steps to reduce inflation 2. Government appears to have precisely 2 tools to attempt to achieve this-to make workers bear the cost of previous inflation by refusing to give pay rises taking inflation in to account; and to leave the Bank of England to set the Bank Rate 3. Government seeks to blame the Bank of England for implementing the misery on people with Mortgages that the Government requested
Perhaps the Government might actually have some policies in place whereby they provide "Government". The PM. The Chancellor. Or, indeed, anyone.
Rather than pretending it is nothing to do with them. If you are elected to lead the country, then lead. Or leave.
1. Government promises to take steps to reduce inflation 2. Government appears to have precisely 2 tools to attempt to achieve this-to make workers bear the cost of previous inflation by refusing to give pay rises taking inflation in to account; and to leave the Bank of England to set the Bank Rate 3. Government seeks to blame the Bank of England for implementing the misery on people with Mortgages that the Government requested
Perhaps the Government might actually have some policies in place whereby they provide "Government". The PM. The Chancellor. Or, indeed, anyone.
Rather than pretending it is nothing to do with them. If you are elected to lead the country, then lead. Or leave.
I was watching NewsNight, the other night. They were interviewing a couple of women about their increased mortgage repayments. The first one said hers had increased by £400 per month, and she didnt really know where she was going to get the money from. The second was married, and both she and her husband were high earners. Their payments were about to increase by £1,000 per month. She said this would be difficult to manage. They have young children, and their childcare costs are £1,800 per month. She cant afford to give up work to look after the kids. Their house is valued at £600k. One of the solutions put forward is to switch to an interest only mortgage. This is not an option for them, as they dont have the required 25% equity in their house, to enable them to do this.
Comments
EDIT:https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-lewis--working-from-home-due-to-coronavirus--claim-p6-wk-/
The article that @lucy4 posted was about,
Senior Conservative and Labour MPs are claiming thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to help pay for their energy bills during the cost of living crisis, new figures have revealed.
In most cases, the claims are to pay for gas, electricity and water bills at their constituency homes, which is permitted under the parliamentary expenses system.
Some MPs have claimed for energy bills at their London homes, which is also legitimate under the rules.
IPSA says that the expenses are there to allow MPs with seats outside the capital to fund accommodation and associated costs when they are in Parliament as well as in their constituencies. They can only claim for accommodation and bills at one home.
However, the revelation that MPs are getting taxpayer-funded help with energy bills, on top of the government handouts that have gone to every household to meet the rising cost of gas and electricity, will sit uneasily with voters uneasy about the way the expenses system operates.
The Civil Service one was about,
At the top of its four recommendations is that “departments and government give all employees who work remotely or in a hybrid model an allowance to help towards increased energy and utility costs, as well as the necessary equipment for remote working to be safe and effective”.
So the MPs are claiming thousands on expenses, while the unions think Civil Servants should be paid an allowance.
Martin Lewis is advising people to claim a paltry bit of tax relief.
Working-from-home relief rules are much stricter now (for 2022/23 tax year)
Tax relief of £6 a week equates to a GAIN of…
- £1.20 a week for a basic 20% rate taxpayer (£62.40 a year)
- £2.40 a week for a higher 40% rate taxpayer (£124.80 a year)
- £2.70 a week for a top 45% rate taxpayer (£140.40 a year)
That special relief applied for both the 2020/21 AND 2021/22 tax years – meaning many are due TWO years' worth, which can translate to up to £280 in your pocket.
Britons will be told they can save over £400 by cutting down on their energy in a new public information campaign waged by Government ministers. The £25million marketing programme will attempt to wean people off using energy unnecessarily as bills soar over winter. MPs and celebrities will appear on broadcast adverts and on social media, telling the public to cut down on using their boilers, switch off radiators (pictured inset) in empty rooms and opt for showers over baths. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (pictured left) said Britons have a responsibility to cut energy by 15 per cent in order to stop the country being 'blackmailed' by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11464125/Britons-told-save-400-cutting-energy.html
I am currently with EDF.
They are intending to increase my direct debit to £297 per month in February.
I am currently paying £221 per month.
They review my bill twice per year.
The last review was on 2nd December.
This has resulted in a refund of £256, which I am expecting in the next couple of days.
I dont understand why they would give me a refund on the one hand, and increase my direct debit on the other.
I was paying £124 before all the nonsense started.
I have also received a payment of £250 from the government.
I believe my wife will also receive an additional £250.
Then there are the three payments of £66 per month received from the government so far.
If you offset these receipts against my direct debits over the last 6 months, it means that my net cost would have been £62 per month.
Exactly half of what I was paying before it all started.
It will be very painful beyond April, assuming a £297 monthly payment and no assistance.
Whoopee.
If this Government tried to take steps to control inflation themselves, that would be a start.
It currently seems to have only 2 weapons that it uses.
1. To refuse pay rises, because this "causes inflation"
2. To let the Banks, and the Bank of England, set their own interest rates
And then genuinely seem surprised when the country pays the huge price of strikes. And Banks set interest rates that suit them, rather than the country.
If a Government cannot understand that it is not actually governing, it's time to go.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/mortgage-pain-is-comparable-to-early-90s-but-worse-is-to-come/ar-AA1cLPTO?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a64e243098a8446ba229234e22cac76c&ei=39
1. Government promises to take steps to reduce inflation
2. Government appears to have precisely 2 tools to attempt to achieve this-to make workers bear the cost of previous inflation by refusing to give pay rises taking inflation in to account; and to leave the Bank of England to set the Bank Rate
3. Government seeks to blame the Bank of England for implementing the misery on people with Mortgages that the Government requested
Perhaps the Government might actually have some policies in place whereby they provide "Government". The PM. The Chancellor. Or, indeed, anyone.
Rather than pretending it is nothing to do with them. If you are elected to lead the country, then lead. Or leave.
They were interviewing a couple of women about their increased mortgage repayments.
The first one said hers had increased by £400 per month, and she didnt really know where she was going to get the money from.
The second was married, and both she and her husband were high earners.
Their payments were about to increase by £1,000 per month.
She said this would be difficult to manage.
They have young children, and their childcare costs are £1,800 per month.
She cant afford to give up work to look after the kids.
Their house is valued at £600k.
One of the solutions put forward is to switch to an interest only mortgage.
This is not an option for them, as they dont have the required 25% equity in their house, to enable them to do this.