HMRC Missed Calls Cost Taxpayer £136m A Year

Delays in answering phone calls to HM Revenue and Customs hotlines cost the taxpayer £136m in the last year.

According to a National Audit Office (NAO) report, delays cost customers £33m in call charges while they waited for HMRC to answer the phone and the estimated value of customer time while they waited was £103m.

The NAO said 20 million calls to HMRC hotlines - many of which are 0845 numbers - were not picked up at all last year.

People who did get through were also waiting longer to speak to an adviser - an average of 282 seconds compared with 107 seconds in 2009/10.

In the first quarter of this year, some 6.5 million people were left holding on for longer than 10 minutes.

"Depending on the tariff they pay their phone company, customers are charged once their call is connected even if they are held in a queue," the report said.

"We estimate that if HMRC improved performance to answer 90% of calls and reduced waiting times, it could save customers around £52m a year.

"HMRC currently plans to spend £34m to achieve this level of performance."

The NAO found there had been some progress since thousands more staff were drafted in, with the 74% pick-up rate significantly higher than the 48% recorded in 2010/11.

However, the report warned that the figures probably underestimated the issue, as calls are counted as answered even if they do not reach an adviser.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said: "When people have no choice but to contact the Revenue to discuss their tax affairs, I find it totally unacceptable that HMRC uses costly 0845 numbers and charges people for the privilege of waiting for the department to pick up."

TaxPayers' Alliance chief executive Matthew Sinclair said: "This report exposes a shameful level of service at HMRC.

"Taxpayers will be outraged that HMRC could let 20 million phone calls go unanswered and yet still claim that it is outperforming some arbitrary target."

An HMRC spokesman said: "In 2010/11 we answered 48% of all call attempts, rising to 74% in 2011/12.

"By late 2012 we were answering over 90% of calls to our contact centres. We are well aware that in the past we have not delivered the standard of service to which we are committed.

"We are determined to build on this progress and we have invested £34m so we can deliver on our improvement targets earlier than planned."

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Facebook Flotation: Morgan Stanley Fined

Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for Facebook's initial public offering in May, has been fined $5m (£3.08m) by Massachusetts' securities regulators.

The officials accused the bank of having "improper influence" over the research analysts covering the social media website at the time of its $16bn (£9.87bn) stock market flotation.

The bank has come under criticism for revealing revised financial information to investment banks - but not individual investors – ahead of the company's initial public offering of stock

Wall Street research analysts were warned that less robust mobile revenues had hit earnings and revenue forecasts - information that was not included in new documents Facebook filed with US securities authorities around a week before the flotation.

Massachusetts officials said these lower figures caused analysts to revise their annual revenue estimates down around 3% below the $5bn (£3.08bn) Facebook had forecast for this year.

Regulator William Galvin said a top Morgan Stanley banker taught Facebook executives how to disclose this sensitive financial information and organised phone calls with key analysts.

Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook while he was at Harvard University

"Main Street investors were put at a significant disadvantage to Wall Street," Mr Galvin added.

In relation to the fine, he said: "With it we will get their attention and begin to take steps in restoring some confidence for retail investors to invest."

A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, which has not admitted or denied doing anything wrong, said it is "pleased to have reached a settlement".

She added that the company is "committed to robust compliance with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable regulations and laws".

Mr Galvin said his investigation into the Facebook listing is not over and he is continuing to review other banks involved, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

He has already overseen a fine of $2m (£1.2m) for Citigroup over its analysts' "improper disclosures" of information during the deal.

The fee for all of the event's underwriters was reported to be $176m (£108.5m) at the time.

Facebook priced its initial public offering at $38 (£23.44) a share, but they finished the first day of trading at just $38.23 (£23.58).

Since then, shares have fallen by around 30% below the IPO price.

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Higher Food Costs Add To Inflation Woes

The main rate of inflation remained unchanged in November as falling petrol prices failed to offset rises in many basic foodstuffs and home energy costs.

The Office for National Statistics calculated that the CPI measure remained at an annual rate of 2.7% in November.

Many economists had expected the figure to fall back slightly ahead of further increases in the rate next month as many rises in household energy bills filter into the statistics.

The ONS said the first increase in bills to take effect, by supplier SSE, was included in November's figures.

But with hikes by the other five main energy providers set to come into force, analysts think CPI inflation will peak at 3.5% by mid-2013.

Upward pressure from gas and electricity prices pushed housing and household services inflation up by 0.6%, the ONS said, while increases in the price of fruit, bread and cereals also added pressure to the CPI rate.

But a fall in the cost of transport was the biggest factor which kept the rate steady as petrol prices fell by 3p to £1.35 per litre on average while diesel dropped 1.5p to £1.42.

The RPI measure of inflation, which includes housing costs, fell to 3% in November from 3.2% in October as transport costs and mortgage interest payments fell.

In its quarterly forecasts revealed last month, the Bank of England expected inflation to remain significantly higher over the next 18 months that it had previously expected.

It was that factor which is thought to have prevented the bank adding to its bond purchase programme, known as quantitative easing, to boost money supply in the UK economy despite evidence of continuing sluggish growth.

Commenting on the figures, the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The stubbornness of inflation, combined with poor wage growth, is putting real pressure on people's finances in the run up to Christmas.

"With the Office for Budget Responsibility not expecting real wage growth until 2014 and further cuts to in-work benefits due this April, 2013 looks like being another tough a year for working families.

"Today's figures are also another reminder of how painful the forthcoming benefits uprating cap will be for low-income families."

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Redundancy Move 'Makes It Easier To Sack Staff'

The Government is being accused of making it easier for firms to sack their staff through reforms to redundancy rules.

Unions reacted with fury after it was confirmed the 90-day period before large-scale redundancies could take place was to be cut by half to 45 days.

Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson said the move was aimed at helping workers and businesses while other planned changes would exclude fixed-term contracts from collective redundancy agreements when they reached the end of their "natural life".

The minister said a consultation on the changes had produced a strong argument for shortening the 90-day period, adding: "The process is usually completed well within the existing 90-day minimum period, which can cause unnecessary delays for restructuring, and make it difficult for those affected to get new jobs quickly.

"Our reforms will strike an appropriate balance between making sure employees are engaged in decisions about their future and allowing employers greater certainty and flexibility to take necessary steps to restructure."

But the union organisation the TUC disagreed - its general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The last thing we need is for the Government to make it easier to sack people.

"These measures will not create a single extra job. The idea that an employer will change their mind about taking someone on because the statutory redundancy consultation period has been reduced from 90 to 45 days is close to absurd.

"Removing consultation rights from fixed-term contract staff will seriously increase job and financial insecurity for vulnerable groups of workers, and temporary staff will lose out on redeployment opportunities."

Though Tim Thomas, head of employment and skills at EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, said: "Today's announcement will send a strong signal to industry that the Government is committed to creating the flexible labour market that it needs.

"By reducing the consultation period from 90 to 45 days, the Government has taken a further step to creating a modern, consultation system based on the quality, not the length of, the process."

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Soaring Numbers Work Christmas Day

There has been a big jump in the number of people working on Christmas Day, according to a report by the union organisation the TUC.

It found that hospitals and hospitality were among the sectors asking more staff to forgo festive breaks.

The TUC said almost 172,000 workers were on duty on December 25 in 2010, a 78% increase compared with 2004.

There were equal numbers of men and women going to work on Christmas Day, with those in the NHS and social care making up the biggest group.

In total, 74,521 were on duty in that sector on December 25, 2010 - the last Christmas the figures were available for.

Its study found there was also a big jump in the number of people working in hotels, pubs and restaurants, hitting just over 14,000.

TUC policy officer Paul Sellers stressed that those working over Christmas should be well treated to keep morale high.

"The old 40-hour, five day week has got a bit fuzzy - people are increasingly working at weekends, they're working in the evenings and bank holidays," he told Sky News.

"We should be grateful that people are working on Christmas day, when, for example, we want to go to a restaurant, or we need healthcare.

"But what we need to do is make sure they're properly treated, either through pay or some other way."

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Toyota Hit With Record US Fine Over Recalls

Toyota has been hit with a record $17.4m (£10.7m) fine for failing once again to quickly report problems to US regulators and for delaying a safety recall.

The penalty from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - the agency that monitors vehicle safety - is the maximum allowed by law.

It is the fourth fine levied against Toyota in the past two years for similar infractions in the US, and the largest single fine ever assessed against a car company over safety defects.

But it may not be much of a deterrent as it represents a tiny fraction of Toyota's profits, which were $3.2bn (£1.98bn) in the third quarter alone.

About 154,000 of the 2010 Lexus Rx 350s and RX 450h models had to be recalled because the driver's-side floor mats can trap the gas pedal and cause the vehicles to speed up without warning.

The recall affected Toyota's luxury brand Lexus

The NHTSA said Toyota took a month to report the problems, instead of the five days stipulated by US law.

Toyota said it agreed to pay the penalty without admitting any violation of the law.

It also pledged to strengthen data collection and evaluation to make sure it takes action more quickly.

The problem was similar to troubles from 2010 that prompted a series of embarrassing safety recalls by the Japanese company and landed it with fines totalling $48.8m (£30m) for three violations.

Toyota has been forced to recall more than 14 million vehicles globally to fix sticky pedals and floor mats.

The recalls tarnished the company's strong reputation for reliability and cut sales. Recently its fortunes rebounded as it appeared to put safety problems behind it.

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Cardiff Airport Could Be 'Nationalised'

Cardiff Airport could be bought by the Welsh Government amid an effort to turn its fortunes around and make it a key part of the country's economic growth plans.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said his officials had entered an exclusive due diligence agreement with the airport's current owner, TBI, and may proceed towards a re-nationalisation subject to the satisfactory completion of financial, legal and "value for money" considerations.

Announcing the agreement, Mr Jones said: "Over the past 12 months, I have repeatedly emphasised the importance to Wales of a dynamic international gateway airport in Cardiff.

"During the course of the year we have developed a very constructive and positive relationship with TBI.

"Together we have been discussing how best to develop the airport to position it for the challenges ahead.

"I can today announce the Welsh Government has agreed with TBI to progress towards the purchase of Cardiff Airport.

"Such an arrangement would enable us to develop a more coherent approach to our national infrastructure planning, and integrate the airport into our wider economic development strategy."

Cardiff Airport is 12 miles to the west of the city

The airport has been struggling in recent years and is on course to record its weakest passenger numbers for 15 years in 2012.

There were 1.2 million people who used the airport in 2011 - far fewer than the airport's record total of just over two million in 2007.

A major setback was the loss of bmibaby from Cardiff as the airline had operated 11 routes.

The airport's decline was seized upon by Mr Jones earlier this year when he publicly criticised the airport's owners and urged them to properly invest in it or put it up for sale.

He said the plan would be for an independent operator to run it on a "commercial basis" on behalf of the government, adding that it would not receive subsidies and must "demonstrate a return to the taxpayer".

His immediate goal would be to return passenger growth but admitted the ultimate goal was to secure long-haul flights to Middle Eastern destinations such as Dubai, as well as a North Atlantic route.

"They would be very useful to Wales," he added, while refusing to be drawn on a price the Government would be willing to pay.

The announcement drew criticism from his political rivals.

Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Eluned Parrott expressed concerns about the practicality as well as the cost to the public of the change of ownership.

She said: "I feel the airport will simply become a money pit, sucking in public funds at a time of economic restraint which will deliver no obvious return."

Welsh Labour's biggest rival, the Conservatives, also voiced scepticism over the plan.

Tory AM Byron Davies said: "For years, Welsh Labour Ministers have idly watched a decline in passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport.

"The First Minister has taken every opportunity to run down Cardiff Airport's reputation and force it into a position of weakness and thereby making it vulnerable to Welsh Government takeover.

"It is the role of government to provide first-class public services and create the conditions for a prosperous and competitive economy - rather than pursuing an ideological dreamland where everything is owned and controlled by the state."

But leader of Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood said she would welcome public ownership of the airport.

"Cardiff needs to see the development of our international airport so that it is run properly, that it offers a wide choice of destinations at affordable prices and is a good shop front for people visiting this country," she said.

"Cardiff Airport, in its current state, offers none of these things."

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Queen Quizzes Osborne About Sale Of UK Gold

It was meant to be a visit without any high politics but the Queen still managed to quiz the Chancellor about British gold as she visited Downing Street.

Walking along the line of ministers in the Terracotta Room inside Number 10 before sitting in on part of a Cabinet meeting, the monarch came to George Osborne.

Until that point, every minister had been introduced by Prime Minister David Cameron but he failed to announce his friend Mr Osborne.

The Queen queried "someone?", to gales of laughter from the assembled politicians, before going on to ask about "gold bars".

Some of her words are indistinct on video footage of the exchange but she can be heard saying "regrettably" in a reference to their sale.

Mr Osborne told the Queen: "Some of them were sold but we still have some left."

The Queen touring a gold vault at the Bank of England

Gordon Brown sold more than half of the UK's gold reserves when he was chancellor - a decision that has led to major criticism in recent years as the economy floundered.

Between 1999 and 2002, Mr Brown sold almost 400 tons of the precious metal for up to $296 (£183) an ounce - only to see prices soar to above $1,600 (£986).

Sky's deputy political editor Joey Jones said the comment suggests that the financial management of the UK in the last 15-20 years is on the monarch's mind.

It comes days after she told staff at the Bank of England that people "had got a bit lax" during the financial crisis sparked in 2008.

Four years ago, she famously asked: "Why did nobody notice it?" - expressing the astonishment shared by many that the crash was not foreseen.

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Samsung Drops Attempts To Ban Apple Products

Samsung has withdrawn lawsuits which seek to ban the sale of Apple products in Europe, although the companies' legal battle over copyright continues.

A statement by the South Korean company said it strongly believed companies should compete in the marketplace, not in court.

"Samsung remains committed to licencing our technologies on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," it said. 

"In this spirit, Samsung has decided to withdraw our injunction requests against Apple on the basis of our standard essential patents pending in European courts, in the interest of protecting consumer choice."

The announcement came shortly after a US judge rejected Apple's call to ban the sale of several Samsung smartphone models in the US.

Apple applied for the ban after a jury found in its favour in August, saying the Seoul-based firm had illegally used Apple technology.

District Judge Lucy Koh's decision is part of a series of rulings that she is releasing over several weeks to address the many legal issues that were raised in the case.

Apple was awarded $1.05bn (£648m) in damages after jurors found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad.

Samsung was found to have copied features of the iPad and iPhone

It had urged the judge to permanently ban the US sales of eight Samsung smartphone models, while also seeking to add millions more to the award.

"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," Judge Koh wrote in her ruling.

"Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple, it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."

Earlier this month, she appeared ready to trim the $1.05bn in damages that had been awarded by the jury, but gave no indication as to how much.

Adding to the legal tangle, Apple filed a second lawsuit earlier this year, alleging that Samsung's newer products are unfairly using Apple's technology.

That trial is scheduled to go ahead in 2014. The two companies are also locked in legal battles in several other countries.

Earlier this year, Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny claimed Samsung "willfully" made a business decision to copy Apple's iPad and iPhone.

He called the jury's $1.05bn award a "slap on the wrist".

Samsung lawyer Charles Verhoeven argued Apple was trying to tie up Samsung in courts around the world rather than competing with it in the marketplace.

Samsung also claimed it had been deprived of a fair trial as the California courthouse is located just 12 miles from Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.

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Investigation Launched Into Comet Collapse

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has launched an investigation into the purchase and administration of troubled electrical chain Comet.

The Insolvency Service has been tasked with scrutinising the process following a number of complaints from MPs.

The business was bought for £2 by Hailey Acquisitions, an investment vehicle put together by Henry Jackson of OpCapita, in November 2011.

They were given a £50m dowry from previous owner Kesa Electricals, now known as Darty, to run the retailer, which collapsed just a year later.

Seven weeks after they were appointed administrators, Deloitte failed to find a buyer for the 235-store chain, and closed its remaining 49 outlets.

The collapse of the company, which was founded in Hull in 1933 and employed around 6,895 people, is one of the biggest high street failures since the demise of Woolworths in 2008.

Deloitte said on Monday that it remained in talks with a small number of parties over the sale of internet operations and the brand.

But the firm also confirmed the taxpayer will have to pick up a £49.4m bill for unpaid redundancy and tax payments.

Comet launched a sale following its collapse at the beginning of November

With insufficient funds raised from the winding down of the chain, the Government's Redundancy Payments Service will be required to meet the £23.2m of outstanding redundancy and accrued holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice.

The scale of the problems at Comet were also highlighted in the report, with the chain racking up losses of £95m in the year to April after also seeing revenues slump by £200m compared to a year earlier.

This was followed by a further £31m loss in the subsequent five months as credit insurers lost confidence and withdrew support for the business.

Hailey Acquisitions is expected to get payments of just under £50m as a secured creditor - a shortfall of £95m on the amount owed.

But it has been reported that unsecured creditors, including HM Revenue and Customs which is owed £26.2m, will receive nothing.

Comet was hit by weak high street trading conditions, competition from online rivals and being unable to secure the trade credit insurance needed to safeguard suppliers.

In particular, it was knocked by the lack of first-time home buyers who were key customers for Comet.

Holders of £4.7m of unclaimed Comet gift cards and vouchers are also on the list of unsecured creditors.

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