How Scottish 'Yes' May Impact 'Invisible Border'

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

For those that live along the invisible border that divides Scotland and England, daily life could change dramatically with a Yes vote in the September 18 referendum.

These communities, from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Coldstream to Gretna, will certainly feel the effect of any changes first.

While business and families could suddenly find themselves exporting and travelling abroad, currency is the top concern for most people.

Harry Frew, owner of Cheviot Trees - a farm based in Scotland, but so near the border it has an English postcode - says the uncertainty is damaging.

"Currency is our biggest issue," Mr Frew said.

"It would be a major impact on the business, a lot of extra admin and costs. If Scotland was to end up with euros, we would have to become used to invoicing in euros. Personally I think it is something we'd rather avoid."

Whether Scotland keeps the pound, adopts the euro or produces its own tender will determine the ease and cost of doing business on both sides if the Yes campaign bridges the six point gap with Better Together.

Farm owner Harry Frew and Sky's Poppy Trowbridge

Cross-border workers may find themselves subject to two different tax regimes.

Eventually there could be two entirely different systems for borrowing, saving, buying and selling, working and retiring between the two countries.

Stephen Hay, head of tax at Baker Tilly in Edinburgh, said: "Of course people are going to be concerned about the pound in their pocket.

"A pensioner in Scotland will receive a pension, but the tax he pays on that pension could be higher or lower than a pensioner in England under independence.

"If the tax rate is higher in Scotland then clearly the less they'll have and equally if the tax rate is lower in Scotland the more they'll have, so I would imagine that will be a particular issue for a lot of people."

The Scotland referendum is just over two weeks away

The Scottish Government plans to set the state pension at £160 per week, while the UK will set the new single tier rate next year, it's likely to be slightly lower around £148.

The current Scottish Government's White Paper also suggests that in the event of independence, it would review (and possibly withdraw) the UK Government's decision to raise the retirement age to 67 - keeping it at 65.

Home Secretary Theresa May has threatened checkpoints along the boundary should an independent Scotland pursue an immigration policy more lenient than that of the UK.

That could mean commuters would require passports.

The Scottish Government proposes one major simplification though.

An independent Scotland would replace the 95 ombudsmen that deal with a range of consumer issues within the UK: from roofing, to renewable energy, to financial services, with a single Scottish Consumer and Competition authority.

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CBI Campaign Aims To Restore Trust In UK Plc

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest employers' lobbying group is mounting an attempt to rebuild public confidence in business just months before a General Election campaign that is likely to include pledges to tackle private sector misconduct.

Sky News has learnt that the CBI will this week unveil details of an initiative called The Great Business Debate.

The first project of its kind to be launched by the organisation, it will include a series of public events to be held across the UK during the coming months.

It is aimed at promoting the reputation of business as a force for good following a protracted period in which Britain's banking crisis and broader economic travails have dented perceptions of the private sector's contribution to society.

The campaign will be focused on online and social media, and will highlight the role that companies of all sizes play in creating jobs, paying taxes and pensions, and providing training and skills to the nation's workforce.

Among the CBI members who are understood to have been lined up to contribute to the Great Business Debate are Antony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclays; Tony Cocker, chief executive of E.ON, the power utility; Ruby McGregor-Smith, the boss of outsourcing group Mitie; and Andy Wood, who runs Adnams, the brewer.

Polling undertaken for the CBI is understood to have disclosed that only a small majority of people in the UK believe that business is a force for good, and some of the group's members believe that the General Election campaign will see the main parties intensifying attacks on the private sector.

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has faced criticism from business groups for failing to engage sufficiently with them but has won public backing for pledges such as a 20-month price freeze to be imposed on the major energy companies.

Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Katja Hall, the CBI's recently appointed deputy director-general, said: "The economic recovery is firming up but many businesses I speak to are really concerned about the public's lack of confidence in what they do.

"Business has a good story to tell but it hasn't always done the best job of communicating its contribution to society, which is why we're launching the Great Business Debate.

"The campaign will also be about listening to and addressing people's concerns."

Further details of the Great Business Debate are expected to be announced by the CBI on Wednesday.

Similar attempts to communicate the role that business plays in broader society have been made by organisations such as Business in the Community, where Mr Jenkins is due to take the helm next year.

The Hundred Group of finance directors of major UK companies also publishes an annual survey disclosing their combined tax contribution, although that has been frequently clouded by criticism of efforts to minimise tax bills by individual companies.

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UK Construction Boom Held Back By Shortages

Construction output grew at its fastest pace in seven months in August but the boom in activity is being held back by supply shortages.

The monthly Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index (PMI) for construction showed that output grew in each of the housing, commercial and civil engineering markets and hiring neared a new record.

But Markit's chief economist, Chris Williamson, said the survey highlighted a big concern on the sustainability of the recovery's upward trend.

He said: "The pace of growth is causing supply problems, with the availability of materials and subcontractors deteriorating at record rates.

"Sub-contractors were able to charge more in the face of such strong demand, and average pay rates rose to the greatest extent seen in the survey history.

"Material costs meanwhile likewise showed the largest jump for just over three years as demand outstripped supply."

The report suggested that construction companies were still suffering the effects of the financial crisis which forced them to offload workers while production of materials such as bricks slowed dramatically.

The industry only began to grow strongly last year helped by the economic recovery, low interest rates and programmes designed to boost demand for homes.

Separate studies had previously warned that the recovery would be hampered by a lack of skilled workers as many secured jobs in countries such as Australia where construction was still booming.

Construction of new homes in the UK remains below levels needed to meet demand - assisted by Help to Buy.

The Government confirmed on Tuesday that 48,393 homes had been bought under the scheme.

The figures include both the Help to Buy equity loan scheme for England and the UK-wide Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which launched last autumn.

The equity loan scheme is aimed at new-build homes only.

One of the country's biggest housebuilders, Redrow, reported that more than a third of its properties had benefited from Help to Buy.

Pre- tax profits were £132.6m in the year to June - a rise of 91%.

Redrow said its order book was up by 85% and it had taken on 21% more employees to meet demand.

However the company's debts increased by £82m, partly to help fund land purchases.

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Premier League Clubs Smash Spending Records

Premier League clubs spent a record £835m in the summer transfer window that closed on Monday, a 30% increase on the previous highest figure set last summer.

The huge surge, up almost 60% on two seasons ago, is driven by record domestic and international broadcast deals, which are worth more than £5bn over three seasons.

Clubs spent £85m on the final day alone – with Manchester United's signing of Colombian striker Radamel Falcao the most high-profile acquisition, and England striker Danny Welbeck's £16m move to Arsenal the most notable departure from Old Trafford.

United's spending of £153.1m in this window is the highest ever gross spend by a Premier League club, and a clear indication of the desperation at Old Trafford to reverse the decline of last season.

Falcao cost just £6m of that, representing the loan fee to Monaco, but with wages of more than £250,000 a week, the total could reach £20m for just one season.

Man Utd, with Louis van Gaal at the helm, spent an eye-watering £153.1m

Spending was dominated by United and the four Champions League teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Together, they had a gross transfer spend of more than £490m.

The majority of total spending flowed out of the English game, with £530m going to overseas clubs. Of the net spend of £410m, £350m went to foreign clubs.

Across the other "big five" top divisions of Europe, the next highest-spending league was La Liga, with a gross spend of £425m. Serie A was next with a gross spend of £260m, followed by the Bundesliga with £250m, and Ligue 1 with £100m.

It was a chastening window for young English talent, with some of the most promising home-grown players of the last decade left out of favour or moved on by leading clubs.

Welbeck's move to Arsenal at least ensures that one of the brightest products of United's youth system will continue to play at the highest level, but others were not so fortunate.

Teammate Tom Cleverley could not engineer a move after turning down personal terms from Aston Villa, and is likely to find himself at the back of a long queue to get into Louis Van Gaal's first team.

Tom Cleverley missed out, and remains at Old Trafford for now

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: "We continue to see the increased resources that Premier League clubs enjoy, as a result of improved broadcast deals, translate into investment in players.

"Last season, the average Premier League club received over £25m more in central broadcast distributions than they did in 2012/13, which has helped fuel a new record spend this summer.

"With Premier League clubs in a stronger position to afford increased transfer and player costs than ever before, the key challenge remains pursuing their ambitions responsibly.

"Regulations are now in place at both a league and continental level encouraging clubs to balance their costs with revenue.

"We hope that while increased revenues continue to allow the league to attract top players, they will also result in a more profitable picture across the league in the years to come."

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Chancellor Reveals Date Of Autumn Statement

The Chancellor has revealed that he will deliver his Autumn Statement on December 3.

George Osborne revealed the date as he took part in the regular Treasury questions session in the House of Commons.

He said: "The core purpose of the Treasury is to ensure the stability and prosperity of the economy.

"That is delivered by our long-term plan and I can tell the House the plan will be further expanded on at the Autumn Statement, which I will deliver on Wednesday December 3."

A freeze in fuel duty was one of the announcements in the 2013 statement

The statement is the second annual opportunity for the Chancellor to make major announcements on spending and provide the latest forecasts for how the economy is expected to perform in the future.

This year's statement will lay the groundwork for Mr Osborne's last budget before next May's general election.

In last year's statement, Mr Osborne predicted the Government's budget would be back in surplus by 2018 and announced significant increases to growth forecasts.

A further freeze in fuel duty was unveiled as was a rollback in green levies on energy bills.

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Uber Taxis Banned From Operating In Germany

The Uber ridesharing service has been banned from operating in Germany pending a court hearing on whether it meets transport safety laws.

The decision to impose an injunction was made by the state court in Frankfurt at the start of a lawsuit brought by the German cab association Taxi Deutschland, which itself operates a similar app-based service.

The Google-backed Uber app allows users to order a car at the touch of a button, and the fare is calculated using GPS tracking.

But it has come under fire from cabbies in many major world cities who argue they are operating illegally.

The German court ruled that Uber could not offer its services without a specific permit and a full hearing to determine its legality would be held at a later date.

Uber's supporters argue it offers much-needed competition to cut fares

The move follows a decision by the authorities in Berlin to outlaw Uber last month amid safety concerns.

Their arguments were in line with those of established cab companies which have claimed Uber's services dodge rules that ordinary taxi firms have to abide by.

Taxi Deutschland cited safety, insurance, wage and tax regulations.

London has been among the cities witnessing protests by established cabbies.

London has been among the major cities to see anti-Uber protests

A major demonstration by an estimated 12,000 black cab drivers in June left many roads gridlocked.

They claimed the use of GPS to bill customers was effectively a taxi meter, which only black cabs are legally entitled to use in the capital.

Uber, which is based in San Francisco, said in a statement it would use "all legal means" to fight the case in Germany.

"It's never a good idea to limit people's choices", Uber said.

"We believe that innovation and competition is good for everyone - it profits both drivers and passengers."

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PPI Complaint Volumes Ease In First Half

Complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) have eased back by more than 50% from last year's record peak.

But the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) - set up to settle disputes between financial firms and consumers - said the volume it was receiving remained at a "significant level" at a time when complaints about other issues within the industry rose.

The FOS said it took on 133,819 PPI complaints in the first half of the calendar year, compared to 193,054 over the previous six months.

The body stated: "Around 5,000 people a week are currently asking the ombudsman to look into their PPI complaint.

"This is down from the highs of 2013 when we were receiving over 12,000 a week, but still significantly more than any other financial product."

The City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said last week that banks and others in the financial services industry had so far paid out £16bn in just over three years to compensate customers mis-sold PPI.

PPI policies were meant to protect customers who fell ill or lost their jobs but were often sold to people who didn't need them or would have been ineligible to claim.

The FCA confirmed last Friday that lenders had been asked to look again at 2.5 million complaints they had either paid too little to or originally dismissed 

It acted after noticing a significant fall in the number of cases being upheld in favour of consumers.

The FOS's chief ombudsman Caroline Wayman said: "We're seeing more and more people turn to us in frustration where they feel their bank or insurer simply doesn't understand or really care.

"And we're hearing growing dissatisfaction from people about being processed industrially as a number rather than being listened to as an individual customer."

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Payday Loans: Charity Demands Tougher Action

A charity has reported a 42% rise in the number of people suffering under the weight of payday loan debts and called for tougher regulation of the market.

StepChange said it dealt with 43,716 people in the first six months of this year, compared with 30,762 for the same period last year, handling more that £72m in debts.

The body argued its experience showed that plans to toughen regulations in the payday market from January did not go far enough to protect vulnerable consumers.

Under the measures announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), those who cannot repay payday loans on time will never have to pay back more in charges than the amount borrowed.

The plans include capping default fees at £15 and a limit of 0.8% per day on interest on unpaid balances.

StepChange said it wanted to see a tougher total cost cap than 100% of the value of a loan, the default fee cap reduced and a regulation to promote more responsible lending by ensuring lenders see a borrower's history in advance.

Its chief executive Mike O'Connor said: "Today's figures show that the payday market all too often fails to treat customers fairly, especially those in financial difficulty.

"High-cost short-term credit is rarely the answer to financial difficulties.

"While the FCA's proposed price cap is a crucial step forward, there is still much work to be done to ensure that payday loans can no longer plunge people into a cycle of unsustainable borrowing and entrenched financial hardship.

"Consumers will continue to need access to short-term credit and FCA action should also stimulate the reform of this market.

This needs to include problems in the adjacent markets including overdrafts, logbook loans and home credit where consumers also suffer detriment.

"The goal of an affordable lending market treating consumers fairly will also involve others but the FCA has a critical role to play in creating the right environment."

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National Grid Seeks Extra Winter Electricity

National Grid has brought forward plans to tap additional power capacity over the winter after unexpected plant outages raised the risk of shortages.

It is being described as a precautionary move, supported by Government, to safeguard supply rather than any bid to prevent possible blackouts.

National Grid said it had launched a tender for its Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR), asking power firms how much more electricity they could provide the network to fill a potential gap from mothballed or closed generators.

The network operator cited a series of unplanned shutdowns at large power stations for its decision to begin SBR a year ahead of its original timetable, having previously warned of a looming supply crunch.

Fires at E.ON's Ironbridge and SSE's Ferrybridge power plants have reduced output while precautionary checks at EDF Energy's Heysham and Hartlepool nuclear plants have also hit production.

Hartlepool's nuclear power station has been shut down for two months

The worries over future supplies were initially sparked by ageing and most-polluting power stations being shut down at a time when new plants are struggling to make up the shortfall.

National Grid's plan to safeguard supplies at peak winter times also includes a scheme that allows it to ask contracted users, mostly factories, to reduce their electricity demand when the system is strained.

It said it had received a positive response to the programme, known as Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR), which could operate between 4pm and 8pm on weekday evenings between November and February.

It planned to issue contracts later this month which would be activated only if required.

National Grid's Director of UK Market Operation, Cordi O'Hara, said of the announcement: "This is a sensible precaution to take while the picture for this winter remains uncertain.

"At this stage we don't know if these reserve services will be needed, but they could provide an additional safeguard".

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'Huge Leap In The Dark': Boris Island Rejected

Boris Johnson's proposal for a new four-runway airport to be built in the Thames Estuary has been rejected by the Airports Commission.

The grounding of an airport in Kent leaves three options for expanding airport capacity - two additional runway plans at Heathrow and one at Gatwick.

These are being considered by the Airports Commission, which was established by the Government to recommend the best option for expansion, and will issue its final report after next year's election.

How a Thames Estuary airport would have looked. Pic: Foster and Partners

Mr Johnson, who is against a third runway at Heathrow, spoke of his disappointment ahead of the decision, which was widely expected.

The London Mayor said: "In one myopic stroke the Airports Commission has set the debate back by half a century and consigned their work to the long list of vertically filed reports on aviation expansion that are gathering dust on a shelf in Whitehall.

"Gatwick is not a long term solution and Howard Davies must explain to the people of London how he can possibly envisage that an expansion of Heathrow, which would create unbelievable levels of noise, blight and pollution, is a better idea than a new airport to the east of London that he himself admits is visionary, and which would create the jobs and growth this country needs to remain competitive.

One of the proposals for a third runway at Heathrow

"It remains the only credible solution, any process that fails to include it renders itself pretty much irrelevant, and I'm absolutely certain that it is the option that will eventually be chosen."

Sir Howard Davies, head of the Airports Commission, told Sky News: "This would be a huge leap in the dark and we simply don't think it's a practical scheme."

He added there were "a lot" of reasons to rule the idea out.

Boris Johnson attends a rally against Heathrow expansion

"We think that it is too expensive; we don't believe that a future government would be prepared to spend the public money, between £30bn and £60bn that would be necessary to get even the smaller version of his airport up and running," he said.

"We think that is too risky, the logistical problems of moving an airport 70 miles and of doing so in an environmentally extremely sensitive area are, we think, awe-inspiring and we're not entirely sure in fact it's the right model for London to think of one huge airport in a very diverse market where we think that competing airports produce a better solution."

The Heathrow and Gatwick options had been shortlisted by the commission last year, with Sir Howard announcing that further studies would be made on the estuary plan with a decision towards the end of 2014.

Sir Howard Davies said he didn't think Boris Island was 'practical'

The issue of airports is a thorny one for Mr Johnson, who is trying to become the Conservative candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the election.

That constituency borders Heathrow and contains many people who depend on it for their livelihood.

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