Scandal Lass 🔥🏢👩🏻‍⚖️🏗️👷

@richard_jm @michaelgove

@NLC_2019 Are they actually gonna publish these results, or add them to the bin with all the other consultation responses from recent years?

Evidence, Views or whatever else they choose to call it ...... they have been engulfed with this for over 9 years - now they have over 7000 more. The recommendations need to be bold. We need to stop tiptoeing around investors/freeholders feelings when all they have done for decades is tap dance over ours! EXISTING leaseholders can not wait a moment longer. "Justice delayed is justice denied" #LeaseholdScandal

@Dan4Barnet Does the cap also help residential leaseholders on communal systems who have to pay business energy rates as a result of this nuance?

We know people will be concerned about energy costs and rising prices at the pump.   From tomorrow, the new energy price cap kicks in and will save the typical working family around £117 a year off their energy bills.    Last week, the fuel duty freeze also took effect - saving the average motorist over £90.

@Dan4Barnet Hi Dan, been emailing you and Simon to request to meet to update you on the leasehold and service charge issues but no one from your office is responding - can you get in touch please, nothing has changed despite your initial intervention with the freeholders aviva and vega.

Millions of people rely on their car to do their job, but HMRC's mileage rates have been unchanged since 2011. With costs rising since then, we are reviewing the rates for the first time in 15 years ahead of the Budget. gov.uk/government/new…

A big thanks to @LauraBeveridge7 for allowing me to highlight the catastrophic consequences of a flawed housing sector. How can @UKLabour promise to build 1.5m new, safe homes when @Keir_Starmer won't help resolve one defective new build in his constituency?

@MartinSLewis @Rosylone @hmtreasury Our bills have never come back down from That 30k level!

@angel_icing @Rosylone @hmtreasury Energy bills are not up antyhing close to Ukraine I'm happy to say, so it shouldn't be of that scale, but it is likley to be up

Heating oil update. @hmtreasury has just put this release out. For speed I'm copying & pasting (though I edited out the political quotes), we'll be analysing exactly how it works later, clearly this is govt's words not mine.... -------------------------- Over £50 million to help families struggling with soaring heating oil costs - Chancellor confirms over £50 million for low income families who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices. - The price of kerosene – the fuel used for heating oil - has been especially affected by the conflict in the Middle East and has risen faster than other fuels such as petrol and gas. - Government announces intention to regulate heating oil sector to introduce new consumer protections, alongside securing agreement with industry to quickly improve customer experiences. Heating oil update. Families to benefit from over £50 million to help people pay for the rising cost of heating oil. With winter drawing to a close, and families struggling with the rising price of heating oils, this government is committed to helping ensure that vulnerable families are able to heat their homes and access hot water. The price of kerosene – the fuel used for heating oil - has been particularly impacted by the conflict in the Middle East and is currently double that of crude oil. In Great Britain, unlike gas and electricity customers, those who heat their homes with oil are not covered by the energy price cap, meaning they are exposed to more immediate energy price hikes. Many, including some of the most vulnerable households, will need to pay an upfront lump sum to top up their tanks in order to maintain their heating and hot water. To bridge the gap, the Chancellor is announcing over £50 million of targeted financial support, helping low-income households in rural communities who have no choice but to top up their tanks at a time when prices have risen so significantly. In England, funding will be distributed by local authorities via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which comes into effect from 1 April, targeted areas with higher rates of oil heating. This is a particular issue in Northern Ireland, where a greater proportion of homes rely on heating oil, and we have allocated £17 million to support them. England will receive £27 million, Scotland £4.6 million and Wales £3.8 million. This funding has been allocated based on census data, reflecting where the greatest need is, and it will be allocated directly to the devolved governments, with the expectation that it will be used to support vulnerable households. Heating oil is different from other sectors in the energy market as it does not have the same consumer protections and is not regulated by Ofgem. The government intends to introduce new consumer protections for heating oil customers and is rapidly exploring new ways to step in and ensure households are better protected. This includes: - An agreement secured with industry on a strengthened Code of Practice to rapidly provide enhanced protections to customers, including greater flexibility on delivery volumes and improving price transparency and formalising a Priority Customers Register – meaning all customers who are vulnerable are eligible for prioritised support in times of disruption. - Introducing stronger consumer protections in the heating oil market, which could cover dispute resolution, a greater variety of repayment options for those facing hardship, greater price transparency and enhanced protections for vulnerable groups such as the elderly. - Supporting the Competition and Markets Authority’s plans to carry out a more comprehensive examination of the UK's heating oil industry. - Exploring the creation of a new ombudsman or appointment of a regulator, such as Ofgem, to champion consumers, and taking powers to do so through the Energy Independence Bill. - Working with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that protections are fit for purpose for Northern Irish households, who are particularly reliant on heating oil. In addition, the Chancellor earlier this week wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to ask that it remains vigilant across heating oil prices and supports CMA action to tackle unjustified price increases. The government will not tolerate profiteering or unfair practices and urge customers to share any evidence of price manipulation with the CMA. Vulnerable households who are facing immediate financial difficulties as a result of rising heating oil prices are encouraged to contact their local authority to find out what support may be available to them.

@MartinSLewis @Rosylone @hmtreasury And given how our prices shot up in the Ukraine war price hikes, I do not see how it wouldn’t happen again. We went from 8k a year gas bills in 2022, to 30k a year on the service charge in 2023.

Actually I longed called for it to be regulated, and gave evidence as such. It did about a month ago start being regulated by Ofgem and covered by the Energy Ombudsman - that's a step forward but its early days. I'd be surprised if you're seeing hikes of a similar size to the doubling cost and paying upfront of home heating oil though. Has that happened? If it has I'll put out a question to see how widespread it is.

@MartinSLewis @Rosylone @hmtreasury I’m about to find out. Our managing agent’s contract for our communal energy boiler supply is up in may, so our renewal prices for the full year will end up set at peak crisis prices given the agent is inept and didn’t lock prices in last month for us.

🚨 The Cabinet Office can’t provide evidence for £7 BILLION of spending. That’s not my claim. That’s straight from the National Audit Office. The NAO states it was “unable to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence” to support £6.987 billion of expenditure. And this is now the second year in a row the Cabinet Office has failed to pass its audit cleanly without qualification. At the same time: The DWP has failed to pass its audit properly for 37 consecutive years due to material levels of fraud and error And again, the NAO’s words, not mine. ❌ They tell us there’s no money. ❌ They tell us taxes must rise. ❌ They tell us cuts are unavoidable. Yet one department can’t evidence £7bn. Another has decades of qualified accounts due to fraud and error. And we’re supposed to believe the problem is that we don’t pay enough tax.

@LBC Yeah, they will help struggling families… so long as they are not leaseholders. If they are, they can go away with zero support and ever increasing bills with no regulation from poor management of their blocks and no energy consumer cap on communal heating systems.

Starmer to make struggling families his 'first priority' amid cost-of-living crisis caused by Middle East war lbc.co.uk/article/starme…

Four leaseholders told to pay £9,400 a year for fire safety works. 🗨️ “We just can’t afford to pay that” Housing association Hastoe says: “There is no government funding for these works on blocks under 11m.” Leaseholders left to pick up the bill. ❌ lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/we…

This is extraordinarily misinformed. Ed Miliband just bought offshore wind on a twenty year contract at a HIGHER price than gas power is now during an energy price spike. They are locking us into crisis-level prices for decades. That’s what they call ‘control’.

Service Charge. 2020: £104 a month 2026: £425 a month That’s over a 300% increase since 2020. 309% actually. Now the housing association says residents should have been saving since 2019 for Section 20 major works. Those same works were both contested by leaseholders and financially unrealistic for many residents to save for in the first place. The modest cost of our homes reflects the modest incomes of the leaseholders. They’ve now issued a demand for £9,000 immediately by the end of April, rejecting a repayment plan and warning of interest, debt recovery and potential forfeiture. This is but one demand, the tone is uncompromising. Sent on Friday 13th to complete the irony. Apparently allowing instalments would breach their "charitable aims." What happened to enabling people to live well in their homes and communities? This is the reality of #leasehold.

@UKLabour @labourpress

This Labour Government will not tolerate fuel companies profiteering and hardworking people losing out.

@Ed_Miliband @labourpress What about leaseholders forced to use communal heating systems for residential properties? We are not protected. As communal systems treated as ‘business’ energy. Your govt has not supported leaseholders one bit. Reneged on promises to bring leaseholders to a close.

This Labour government is fighting people's corner. We're cutting energy bills. We're calling out price gouging. And just now the Prime Minister has set out further support for those who use heating oil. Affordability is the number one issue, and we're determined to act.

@BBCBreakfast @LucyGoBag Why don’t they just reduce the ‘ers NI again, instead of paying out money on top, then everyone benefits- not just the youth. The issues with companies not hiring youths were primarily caused by NI increase making it too expensive to hire inexperienced staff that need training.

Companies are to be paid grants to hire more young people under new government proposals to tackle youth unemployment. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told #BBCBreakfast ministers want to create 200,000 jobs and are pledging £1bn in funding for several initiatives bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@NLC_2019 @HarryScoffin @EOCS_Official @FreeLeasehlders

@Dan4Barnet will govt help us leaseholders with communal residential heating systems that are not protected by consumer price cap? Just like those on oil heating systems who are getting support with escalating costs. Why is it one rule for one, but leaseholders always shafted?

This shows what we're seeing in our area, ie flat prices are at or below post 2008 GFC prices. There is also a massive negative equity problem that continues to freeze that "first rung" on the ladder. The knock-on impact on the wider market should be obvious to @mhclg ministers.