Archive for July, 2008

Tees Valley – a natural MAA: Local Government Chronicle

 
Tees Valley – a natural MAA
 
 
It was natural for Tees Valley’s five unitary authorities to favour the multi-area agreement approach – they have been working together in a similar way for more than a decade. It was back in 1996 that the unitary authorities of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees set-up the [...]

Bringing Greater Manchester back together: Local Government Chronicle

 

Bringing Greater Manchester back together
Greater Manchester’s ability to operate beyond the boundaries of a single local authority has been clearly proved. The 10 metropolitan authorities together own and run a particularly successful regional airport and they have come up with a radical proposal for a peak-time congestion charge that is even more ambitious than that [...]

Questions of Cash: L&G pays up: The Independent

Questions Of Cash: L&G resolute over lack of will power
 
By Paul Gosling
Saturday, 26 July 2008
In December 2007 I told Legal & General to cash the investments held by myself and my husband, for whom I hold power of attorney (POA). After months of phone calls and letters I obtained the money from my own investment, [...]

Accountancy news: Accounting & Business

Accounting & Business - News analysis
EU takes action on auditor liability
 
The European Commission has proposed limits on auditors’ liability to protect the Big Four from further reductions in numbers, threatening the viability of a competitive market for company audits. It hopes the move will also strengthen mid-tier audit firms, enabling them to compete better [...]

Food for thought: Co-operative News

 The Paul Gosling Column
Food prices in the UK rose 7.4% over the last year – with some items rising in price by a third. Uncomfortable enough, but this represents only a small indicator of the global problem. In Kenya, for instance, annualised food price inflation is a whopping 44%.
 
And when you look at what is [...]

Bringing order to statistics: Local Government Chronicle

The creation of the UK Statistics Authority aims to put an end to controversy surrounding statistics. By Paul Gosling
A new body is bringing a breath of fresh air to the often fusty atmosphere of national statistics. Gone is the discredited ministerial oversight of national statistics. In its place, a new and more independent body has been [...]

Questions of Cash: Sky sets the limits: The Independent

Questions Of Cash: With set-top TV boxes, Sky sets the limits…
 
 
by Paul Gosling
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Q. I have a Sky TV package, which gives me a second Sky set-top box for £10 extra a month – £45 in total – allowing me to watch Sky on two TVs in my house. A condition is that [...]

Councillors must get stuck in with investments: Local Government Chronicle

Councillors urged to get more involved in fund investment decisions
By Paul Gosling
Local government administration of pension funds is strictly regulated. But does this drive councils’ pension fund committees to concentrate on what the regulations tell them to do, at the expense of the big picture?
A recent survey by fund advisors Mercer found that almost [...]

Mea culpa! : Getting my Malin confused with my Fanad: Financial Times

I got it wrong - Fanad Head is the one on the North West Donegal, while the Malin peninsula is another description for Inishowen.  A Financial Times reader put me right.
 

Losing direction in scenic Donegal
Published: July 12 2008 03:00

From Mr J.R. Max Wheel.
Sir, Paul Gosling seems to have imbibed a bit too much of Irish [...]

Questions of Cash: NPower pays up: The Independent

Questions of cash: NPower pays up for its broken promises
 
 
By Paul Gosling
Saturday, 12 July 2008
I have been away from home for a period and my direct debit payments to NPower have led to me overpaying £750 for electricity and £100 for gas. I phoned NPower repeatedly, but my promised refund has not arrived. I was [...]