Get on the property ladder with five per cent deposit

People with a five per cent deposit will get a government-backed loan, which will enable them to get a mortgage at the preferential rates generally offered for those with a 20 per cent deposit.

The first stage of the scheme began in April.

Prime Minister David Cameron has recently declared that the plan to help first time buyers starts this week, in order to increase home ownership in the short-term. 

Barratt Homes will help people whose aspiration is to get on the housing ladder, through the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, which will underwrite £130billion of new loans for 200,000 homes up to the value of £600,000.

In fact, not only house prices in Britain have doubled in less than a decade, but cost of property in London surged by almost 10 per cent last year, rising by £40,000, which is almost twice the average salary in Britain.

It means the dream of owning a property is becoming harder to realise even for those who save a big chunk of their salary.

Concerns have raised over the risk of a housing bubble, as the scheme is artificially inflating already high prices, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

In fact, the average London property was worth a record £438,000 in July, up £13,000 in a month and 9.7 per cent more than a year previously.

Mr Cameron, however, has clarified that there is no housing bubble, according to advice from the Bank of England.

Update

Dear readers, 

There is going to be a 'summer break' this year. The blog will be up and running again in October. 

I wish you all a great summertime!

Britain is up for gay marriage

 

Image from Toxi: http://www.iamtoxi.co.uk

Early this month the House of Lords voted in favour of same-sex weddings by a majority of 242.

Peers spent two days debating the Marriage Bill, with many members voicing their concerns.

However, the Upper House rejected the amendment aimed at wrecking the Bill, moving it a step closer to becoming law.

The Bill would allow couples who can currently form civil partnerships, to marry, and religious organisations would have to opt in if they wished to offer gay weddings, except the Church of England and the Church in Wales. Both institutions, in fact, will be banned in law from doing so.

But supporters of same-sex marriage should bear in mind that celebrations are premature.

The proposal, in fact, still has to report stages in the Lords, as well as a third reading and it is expected to face severe challenges when it returns for further Parliamentary debate next month, starting on July 8.

According to recent Ipsos MORI poll results, “same-sex marriage is more controversial in Westminster than it is among the public at large”. 

This poll shows that David Cameron is in step, not just with the mood in Britain, but also with people in many countries around the world.

PM’s enthusiasm for the proposal, however, is due to the fact that he regards this Bill as a conservative measure , enabling gay couples to share marriage’s benefits and assume its responsibilities as well.

Yet the opposition to the bill remains powerful and concentrated within the Conservative Party.

More liberal Deputy PM Nick Clegg, was flying the rainbow flag marking LGBT pride, from his office roof this week.

The Marriage Bill is supposed to be all about equality and the Government hopes that it will become law within a year.

Deaf Lounge in North London

Image from Toxi: http://www.iamtoxi.co.uk/

The first Deaf Lounge has opened in North London last month.

The social venue for people with hearing impairments offers deaf karaoke, pool and darts games and all the staff are trained in sign language.

Paul Cripps, who has been deaf since birth and co-owned the specialist bar with non-deaf Domani Peir, came up with the idea after years of negative experiences in bars and clubs.

“I’ve had problems ordering drinks, talking to fellow clubbers and sometimes even getting into clubs,” Mr Cripps said.

The Deaf Lounge is about fun in a club-style social environment, but with added benefits for the hearing-impaired.

Along with specifically trained staff, in fact, customers can appreciate bright lightning to see each other speak with signs, and pens and paper are provided for writing messages.

The fire alarm has a flashing light to alert deaf visitors and lavatory notices are in sign language as well as in written English.

On top of that, the bar supports hearing-impaired staff, too. There is a deaf security guard and a partially deaf DJ.

The special lounge also welcomes non-deaf communities.

“I’m eager that it encourages deaf people to socialise with the wider society. For example the bar will play music and that’s really important to attract non-deaf customers,” Mr Cripps added.

The hearing-impaired will experience music through vibrations, instead.

Ms Peir and Mr Cripps are also planning to set up salsa, zumba and DJ workshops where deaf people will be taught to read beats and play instruments.

For further information please visit: www.deaflounge.com

It is a matter of life or death

NHS is under huge pressure, as casualty departments are at risk of closure.
 
As if it was not enough, the system is already on the brink of collapse under the weight of the 4 million visitors to A&E every year.
 
In fact, the lack of out-of-hours GPs since their contracts were changed in 2004, has been putting the emergency departments under massive pressure. 
 
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the government was going to look at GP contracts and the health and social care system.
 
Meanwhile, an unprecedented coalition of Londoners, trade unions and health campaigners, have come together against the biggest attack on NHS for a generation.
 
They have protested and signed petitions across the capital and campaigned against the closures of A&Es, a number of maternity units and thousands of hospital beds that may put lives at risk.
 
Also, they have pledged their opposition to privatization plans for the NHS, as hospitals and community services are threatened with take-over by multi-national private companies.

Go online and find all you need

Online shopping in the UK is slowly taking over the world of retail.

While several national and international companies have joined a parade of casualties since recession has started to kick in, online sales have boomed and gotten to the point where many shops are seriously struggling to stay in business.

Not even last Christmas surge has been helpful enough to avoid closures.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in fact, there has been a 13.2 per cent increase in internet sales over the last 12 months.

Over the same period of time, sales in stores' volume increased by less than 1 per cent, instead. There has also been an unprecedented food sector sales' contraction, which sounds worrying.

However, grocery is still a minor percentage of internet sales, as most consumers flock to ‘fuss-free’ online purchases to get a good deal within the non-food sector.

As if it was not enough, online shopping accounts to nearly 70 per cent of total spending in the non-store retailing sector.

A report from Retail Futures shows how a fifth of high street stores could vanish in the next five years, as online retailing continues to grow.

According to the consulting firm’s report, more than 60,000 stores could close by 2013, causing unemployment to soar by almost 13 per cent.

This is an IN or OUT issue for Britain

In Out Sign. Source: http://www.123rf.com

The House of Commons has been in the spotlight this week over the potential renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership.

Prime Minister David Cameron has previously declared, and in several occasions, that he wants the UK to stay in the European Union.

However, he also demands a renegotiation of the terms of the country’s membership and is planning to hold a referendum in order to stay in at his own conditions.

He reckons this move is necessary to avoid the catastrophe to the country’s economic and has stressed that the only way to ensure the 2017 referendum since now, is to vote Conservative on the next election, in 2015.

Meanwhile, the prospect of such a referendum in four years’ time may be stopping industries from investing in the UK and this could be quite worrying. 

In fact, 50 per cent of present UK trade is with the European Union.

In yesterday’s vote, 55 per cent of Tory backbenchers expressed disagreement towards Mr Cameron’s plan, as they think other members of the EU would not agree to the sort of changes he wants. They assume that any kind of renegotiation may increase the chances of Britain eventually leaving the UK.

Both Labour Leader Ed Miliband and shadow Chancellor Ed Balls are opposed to a referendum.
“I want to stay in the European Union; I am absolutely clear about that,” Mr Balls said.

David Cameron’s draft Bill is a real problem for many inside Downing Street, because for them it is all about saving Britain’s EU membership.

The UK without being part of Europe, in fact, may be losing its international impact in the short-medium term.