Disability charity Scope is to launch a £20 million bond programme to produce a new source of funds for its charitable activities. The move will see the charity become one of the first in the UK to enter the capital markets. The charity will team up with Investing for Good, a specialist social finance intermediary, [...]
Charities should encourage their supporters to donate online, Virgin Money Giving claimed this week, as online donations have the greatest Gift Aid take up. The government adds 28% to donations made with Gift Aid, so a donation of £1 becomes £1.28. Research in 2009 found donors who give online are more likely to fill in [...]
According to a survey conducted by charity, Age UK, two-thirds of people support Government plans to scrap the default retirement age (DRA). The survey, which questioned more than 1,000 people, found 70% wanted to continue working beyond retirement. Currently, an employer has the legal right to terminate the employment of a 65-year-old – something which [...]
More than half of Brits are clueless about the fastest growing sector in the UK economy — social enterprise. A study by O2 and Social Enterprise Magazine found many people are confused about the difference between a social enterprise and a charity. Over 50% of those polled wrongly believe social enterprises get most of their [...]
Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, has today said pre-tax profits fell to $7.07 billion (£4.6 billion) last year compared with $9.3 billion in the previous year. The banking giant said loan impairments charges and other credit provisions were $26.5 billion in 2009 – a rise of 9% compared with the previous year. Stephen Green, chairman of [...]
Lone-parent campaign group Gingerbread has said new rules mean unemployed single parents are facing severe pressure to return to work by the Government. According to the charity, new regulations means almost 70,000 single parents with a child aged 10 to 16 will now receive jobseekers’ allowance instead of income support. Currently, single parents aged over [...]
The amount donated to charities by UK consumers has dropped 11% in the last year, with fewer people giving smaller donations. Brits gave a total of £9.9 billion to charities in 2008/09, according to figures from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). This is £1.3 billion less than [...]
The number of people struggling with debt problems has been highlighted by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) after it emerged that the independent charity is taking around 9,300 new debt cases each day. The figures have been released to celebrate 70 years of the charity, which was originally established to help people with war-related problems. [...]
Students are racking up crippling debts because they’re not being taught the difference between student loans and other forms of credit, a financial education charity warned this week. Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said because it’s “basically impossible” to get into difficulties with student loans, students are given the message that it’s fine to [...]
Nationwide has launched a £3.2 million programme of charitable grants to help the most vulnerable and excluded in society. The Nationwide Foundation said the money is to help those facing financial difficulty or homelessness because of the recession. Housing, homelessness, and financial exclusion charities can all apply to the new fund. In particular, the fund [...]
A new initiative called FX4Charity launched on February 13 by Currencies Direct provides a donation to a registered charity of any new customer’s choice when they buy or arrange foreign currency via the company. Not only does the foreign exchange group make a donation, customers will also save money on their own currency purchase through [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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