Growth in consumer prices including owner occupiers’ housing costs remained at the same rate of 2.8% for October 2017.

Growth in input prices for UK manufacturers is slowing rapidly, in line with an unwinding of the sterling depreciation effect on import prices seen during 2016.

Food prices are increasing across all main classes of product, including dairy products, which have seen recent wholesale shortages.

Goods price inflation has been increasing compared with other European countries, and is associated with higher import-intensive products bought in the UK such as food and clothing.

Retail energy prices for consumers do not always closely follow producer prices for the same products, but this is likely to be due to complex regulatory structures, pricing strategies and environmental and tax policies present in these markets.

Flat sales dominate property transactions in London but average price growth across all property types in London has been slowing from mid-2016, reversing previous trends.

Contributions to the 12-month growth rate in the food category of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs:

Image: UK Food Price Increases, January 2015 to October 2017. Figures ONS. 

ABC Note: The Bank of England has announced that the old £10 notes, featuring Charles Darwin, must be spent before 1 March next year! The old paper notes will no longer be legal tender after that date, but can still be exchanged by the Bank after the cut-off date.

House of Commons

Thursday 16 November 2017 Meeting starts at 9.30am

ABC Note: Things could really kick-off at this debate. We will see in the Houses of Parliament who really wears the trousers!!

Agenda

Oral questions: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (including Topical Questions)

Oral questions: Attorney General

Charlie Mullins is the flamboyant founder & CEO of Pimlico Plumbers. Leaving school at age fifteen, Mr Mullins has built up Pimlico Plumbers, a multimillion pound company, London's largest independent plumbing company. Mr Mullins drives a Bentley, has a villa in Marbella a London Penthouse and rubs shoulders with celebrities and the ‘well-to-do’, many of whom are his customers.

Mr Mullins has recently been in the media for a different reason; a high profile Working Time Regulations legal case. 

Plumber Gary Smith, worked for Pimlico Plumbers for six years until 2011. Mr Smith won an employment tribunal, challenging the firm’s view that he was self-employed. Pimlico Plumbers also lost the appeal and are now taking the case to the UK’s Supreme Court of Justice, in a final bid to overturn the original decision. 

A string of labour disputes has since arisen as staff from firms such as Uber, Deliveroo and CitySprint have fought to have their status upgraded to that of workers or employees. 

The background to the case is that plumber Gary Smith had had a heart attack and wanted to reduce his hours. He had worked for Pimlico for six years when he suffered a heart attack in 2010, claiming he should be entitled to sick pay and asking to cut his week down to three days from five.

The firm argued Smith was an “independent contractor” rather than a worker or employee, as he was VAT-registered and paid tax on a self-employed basis. Smith argued he was entitled to basic workers’ rights, which also include the national minimum wage and paid holiday.

A tribunal ruled that the plumbers were workers but not employees, which Pimlico appealed, but The Court of Appeal upheld the decision. This ruling and others like it such as the Uber case are having a major impact on the Gig Economy and those frequently working in insecure, short-term and often low paid employment.

Poor Mr Smith had a heart attack, yet he has been forced to battle Mr Mullins for six years. 

Image: Pimlico Plumbers vans. 

We caught up with Mr Mullins, PR Team to organise some Q&A’s. Unfortunately, we have never had the answers!  We think the Uber ruling sends out a clear message to the tax avoiders, that the struggling public who pay their taxes, lack sympathy these days with business-folk avoiding paying their taxes. Good luck to Mr Mullins if he pursues his Supreme Court Appeal, but if you pardon the pun, it could be money straight down the toilet?

From earlier this year: 

Press Release

PIMLICO PLUMBERS TO TAKE SELF-EMPLOYMENT CASE RULING TO THE SUPREME COURT!

Tuesday 8th August 2017

Pimlico Plumbers has been granted permission to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal, which ruled that one of the company’s former self-employed plumbers was entitled to employment rights.

CEO Charlie Mullins will take the case to the Supreme Court to appeal the case of Gary Smith, who despite being paid more than £500,000 over three years by Pimlico Plumbers, sued for employment rights, even though he signed a contract as a self-employed contractor.

The case, which has been running for more than six years, was heard by the Court of Appeal in February; however, the Supreme Court will now review the decision.

Charlie Mullins said: “It’s wonderful that we have been granted permission to appeal our long-running and potentially ground breaking employment case to the Supreme Court. I have always maintained that Mr Smith was a self-employed contractor, and to my mind the evidence overwhelmingly supports our position.  

“Let me be crystal clear, I completely condemn disreputable companies who are using fake self-employment to swindle workers out of pay and conditions, however at Pimlico Plumbers we are not doing that.  It is my determined aim to convince the Supreme Court that by using self-employed status, Pimlico Plumbers is doing nothing wrong, and what's more is both morally and legally in the right.

“The ramifications of this case will impact upon many thousands of companies in the building industry and beyond and potentially affect the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of UK workers.  I am needless to say incredibly grateful that the Supreme Court has agreed to look again at the case.”

Charlie added: “Throughout this long legal process there has been a lot of confusion and misinformation.  Often the case has been reported in the media alongside claims from arguably exploited people engaged in low paid and unskilled tasks, like Uber drivers and Deliveroo food couriers.  

“There is, in reality, no comparison between a skilled trades person, like a plumber earning £150,000 a year, and a bike courier or mini-cab driver, struggling to make minimum wage.  My people have great conditions and command huge money by virtue of their skills, and if they didn't wear my uniform they can make almost as good a living elsewhere.  

“There are exploited workers and there are Pimlico Plumbers and the two quite literally live in different worlds; the later have big houses, expensive cars, great holidays and can send their children to the best schools.

“This is the distinction that we are hoping to make clear to the Supreme Court.  And to that end I was extremely buoyed by Matthew Taylor's Review of Modern Working Practices, which identified a class of worker it called 'Dependent Contractors', who it felt were the true victims of a morally suspect use of self-employment.

“My people, with their heavily in demand, readily transferable skills, are in no way dependent on anyone or any company.”    

Work and Pensions Committee

Wednesday 15 November 2017 Meeting starts at 9.20am

Subject: Pension freedom and choice

Witnesses: Nicola Parish, Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, The Pensions Regulator, and Christopher Woolard, Director of Strategy and Competition, Financial Conduct Authority.

Witnesses: Stephen Barclay MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and Guy Opperman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, Department for Work and Pensions.

Bought by a friend and supporter our Sainsbury own brand microwave has died on us. A tragic tale of one that died so young.

Purchased on the 30^th July 2016 – at 16:56.37 - if you want to be precise, our Microwaves covering on the turntable deck, started to peel off where the door shuts. More rust came though, cleaning it became impossible and eventually the electrics failed.  It was not a pretty sight in the end.

What is happening is that companies are creating products that are engineered to last till just after the warranty expires and then customers are obliged to buy a new one. Many people on low incomes cannot afford to do this. One in four people in the EU are economically inactive.  Our landfill sites cannot take the strain either. These rubbish products are destroying the environment and the very planet we live on.  

We went back Sainsbury, Tolgate and complained. We had not seen the purchaser who bought the Microwave for us for a couple of months and he had the receipts. 

In October, the Sainsburys Help Desk at Colchester 1 Stanway Western Bypass, Stanway, Colchester CO3 8AA offered to replace the product which was in a rotten state. You would think it was five years old not just over one year old with rust everywhere.

Sainsburys Help Desk agreed to replace it, but on coming in just a few days later with some cash to buy a new model - as this had been on an offer when purchased, Sainsburys Colchester, reneged on what had been agreed.

‘Let’s speak to the staff on the day I asked’ politely. ‘That’s all terribly difficult the Sainsbury manger argued ‘we have lots of people work here’ came the reply. ‘Nonsense’ we said, ‘surely you would know who was working on the Help Desk on a certain day’. We can go on….

Sainsburys are not part of an independent arbitration service. If you are making a purchase of capital items you want to last, best steer clears of buying from Sainsburys. 

The Company is losing business. Aldi and Lidl account for £1 in every £8 spent in UK supermarkets, with two-thirds of British shoppers visiting the discount food outlets over the past three months. The German chains are outpacing their bigger rivals as inflation and stagnating wages eat into families’ budgets prompting people to look for better deals.

Sainsburys may be proud of their posh art collection, paid for you and I, but today people want value for money. The want honest traders to deal with too, ones that will stand by faulty or defective products. 

One piece of good news that Sainsburys are introducing 'dementia-friendly' lavatories. Perhaps their staff ought to use them, especially their complaints staff who seem to forget forget that making agreements and keeping promises is a good idea. 

The following clips feature members of Veterans for Peace speaking about Remembrance.

They were filmed for the upcoming documentary film War School. An extended trailer of War School will be shown at their Annual General Meeting this Saturday.

In their own words:

Veterans For Peace UK, is a voluntary, open and democratic ex-services organisation of men and women. All of our members have served in the armed forces, many of us on operations around the world. Our oldest members fought in WW2 and our youngest members in Afghanistan. As a result of our collective experience we firmly believe that “War is not the solution to the problems we face in the 21st century”.

We are not a pacifist organisation, we believe that we should be capable of defending our islands against foreign attack. We work toward increasing public awareness of the cost of war and to restrain our government from intervening in the internal affairs of other nations, for the larger purpose of world peace.

Image: England and Germany to wear black armbands bearing poppies at Wembley, Friday.

Armistice Day is celebrated on November 11 each year, and this year it falls on a Saturday. Armistice Day, marks the day the armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany that brought the end of WWI.

ABC Note: 'A Bayonet is a weapon with a worker at both ends', was a familiar WW1 saying.

Stockport Council is marking Self Care Week 2017 (13 – 19 November) by giving people helpful tips on how they can Self Care for Life.

Self Care for Life is about living well and being healthy. This means practicing Self Care for Life, which many of us already do on a daily basis. Choosing to eat healthily, to self-treat common ailments and to be active are all positive self care actions.

Councillor Tom McGee Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Health said:

Image: Councillor Tom McGee Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Health.

“Largely avoidable conditions such as type2 diabetes, heart disease and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are all on the increase, which means we need to do more to avoid ill health and build our mental and physical resilience. Prevention is better for you and your family and cheaper for society and the individual rather than treating ill health. That’s why the Council is backing Self Care Week 2017 and is urging local people to take extra care of themselves - I'm trying to do more of the self care suggestions myself.”

Here are some simple steps to Self Care for Life.

• Move more! You don’t even have to join a gym, take a brisk walk, do some gardening, leave the car at home, take the stairs, dance around the kitchen table
• Stop smoking! If you smoke one of the best things you can do for your health is to stop .
• Sleep - A good night’s sleep is essential to good health so don’t burn the candle at both ends, make sure you get at least 7 hours sleep a night!
• Drink less alcohol - Most of us don’t realise how much we drink – keep a check by downloading the free One You drink tracking app or
• Eat well - It is vitally important that we eat healthily and avoid excessive amounts of salt, fat and sugar
• Connect - Connect with the people around you: your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours.
• Keep learning – learning new skills can give you a sense of achievement and a new confidence. So why not sign up for that cooking course, start learning to play a musical instrument, or figure out how to fix your bike?
• Relax - We have such busy lives that we sometimes forget to take time out to relax, but it is essential for our physical and mental wellbeing. Find time in the day to be still and quieten your mind, holistic exercise such as yoga can also be helpful.
• Ask your pharmacist- your local pharmacist is the health professional on the High Street and should be the first port of call for advice on treating minor illnesses

Fastest growth in permanent job placements since 2015 – but BREXIT threat persists

Scotland’s jobs market continues to outperform the rest of the UK as latest statistics revealed that the number of people being placed in permanent job roles in Scotland last month increased at its fastest rate since 2015.

This stands in contrast to the UK which has seen sluggish growth in permanent staff placements, dipping to its lowest level in the last six-months. Scotland continues to have a higher employment rate and lower unemployment rate than the rest of the UK, as well as higher female employment and lower youth unemployment than the UK average. 

But the report also called for clarity on post-Brexit immigration – specifically noting the concerns in our NHS around EU nurses and midwives leaving the UK or no longer wishing to come to the UK.

Charity confirms Tory welfare cuts are driving rise in food poverty.

Food bank use has soared 30% over the last year in areas that are already enduring the roll out of Universal Credit, research by Trussell Trust has revealed.
 
The charity found that foodbank use across Scotland has shot up by a fifth, with 76,764 three-day emergency food supplies given out to people in need in the first half of 2017.
 
Despite the Tory Government describing the reasons behind increasing demand for food banks as “complex” – this research confirms that 42% of referrals were solely due to issues with benefit payments.
 
The Trussell Trust has called for urgent action to improve Universal Credit. The director in Scotland said:

"Not only would it be morally wrong for us to become a de facto arm of the welfare state - if welfare reform and UC roll-out continues unchanged, we simply would not be able to catch everyone that falls."
 
Commenting, Ruth Maguire MSP who will raise a topical question on the issue of rising child poverty in parliament today, said:

Image: Ruth Maguire MSP. 

“There is overwhelming evidence from academics, charities and foodbank providers that Tory welfare cuts are the driving force behind the record rise in people needing emergency food provision. It is downright insulting that Theresa May and her government continue to dismiss the reasons for rising food bank use as “complex”. It isn’t. If people don’t have enough money to buy food, they need to rely on foodbanks and other emergency and crisis aid such as the Scottish Government’s Scottish Welfare Fund.

"76,764 people across Scotland were forced to turn to food banks to survive in the first half of this year and it is heart-breaking that children make up a third of those relying on these services to eat.
 
“This research comes in the same week a Child Poverty Action Group report confirmed that Tory Government policy threatens to send one million more children into poverty. 

“The SNP spends more than £100 million a year militating against Tory welfare cuts and a £1m Fair Food Fund has been established to help tackle food poverty.
 
“The Chancellor must use his Autumn Budget to reverse seven years of Tory austerity that is destroying communities and take the long-overdue action needed to boost incomes, and the Prime Minister must immediately halt the roll out of Universal Credit before more households are driven into hardship and destitution.”

Lewis Hamilton is no doubt feeling a bit uncomfortable this morning. Should tax evaders simply not be jailed? That is an important question? If you stole £3.5 million from a bank you would be jailed, but if you stole £3.5 million in unpaid VAT, surely that’s the same thing? Hamilton’s scheme to avoid paying VAT on his private jet is tax evasion. It is money that could have been used to fund the NHS and a host of other services our country needs.

Sick people are being denied PIPs while rich people like the Queen, Lewis Hamilton, and corporations like Apple and Google hide their money in offshore tax havens. People are fed up with these double standards, and it is time that something was done. 

ABC Note: Turns out Westminster may not be able to dodge the scandal either - the pension fund of Britain's MPs has also invested through an offshore unit trust in Jersey, as reported in the Financial Times.

Image: Lewis Hamilton