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BBC Radio 4’s Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 11 December, 2004 at 1204 GMT.

The programme was repeated on Sunday, 12 December, at 2102 GMT.

A universal ‘citizen’s pension’ would benefit millions, is affordable, and could be implemented within six years, a report has found.

The National Association of Pension Funds and the Pensions Policy Institute have published interim findings which have backed the idea of reform to the state pension.

BBC RADIO 4’s MONEY BOX LIVE On Monday’s Money Box Live, Paul Lewis put your pension questions to the experts. Programme information

Under the plan, the present system would be replaced with a universal payment starting at 105 per week, and eligibility would be based on residency rather than National Insurance contributions.

The study is open to public consultation before a final report on the plan is released.

Christine Farnish of the National Association of Pension Funds explained why it has given the proposal its backing. And Labour MP for Birkenhead Frank Field joined us to explain why he disagrees with the idea.

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‘Despair’ for T&N workers

Turner and Newall workers have suffered a major setback after reports emerged its US parent company Federal Mogul will not fund a compromise deal to save their pensions.

It now looks as if the problem may fall into the hands of the government’s new Pension Protection Fund (PPF) which begins in April.

But fears have been raised that the PPF could not cope with the size of the claim.

T&N workers have described the latest news as “devastating” and a “complete bombshell”.

Further information:

Benefit changes announced

People looking for work and claiming jobseeker’s allowance will get just 55p per week extra in April as part of a general increase in benefits just announced.

Their weekly benefit will rise to 56.20, or 8.03 a day.

However, an extra 2.1 billion will target pensioner poverty, lifting the income of the poorest pensioners to 109.45, or 167.05 for couples.

Gary Vaux, head of Money Advice at Hertfordshire County Council joined Paul Lewis to discuss the changes.

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Homeowners ‘mortgage shock’

Hundreds and thousands of homeowners could face a steep rise in their mortgage payments in the new year, mortgage broker Charcol has warned.

There have been four base rate rises this year

The affected people have mortgages with lenders who only adjust the interest on an annual basis, rather then each time the Bank of England adjusts the base rate.

And with four interest rate rises this year, they may now see a sudden jump in their monthly outgoings.

We spoke to Ray Boulger from Charcol about who will be affected and when.

Further information:

Money Box Christmas Quiz

Be among the first to file an entry into the annual Money Box Christmas Quiz and be in with a chance of winning a digital radio.

Enter the quiz

Producer: Chris A’Court
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Louise Greenwood
Web Producer: Nathalie Knowles

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The absence of major natural disasters last year helped insurance market Lloyd’s of London return to profitability after its loss in 2005.

The market recorded a profit of 3.6bn in 2006, compared with a 103m loss it made the year before when it had to pay out damages on hurricane Katrina.

Lloyd’s said the “exceptionally low level of catastrophes” had helped it.

But it also warned that it was “unrealistic” to expect this situation to be repeated in future years.

Catastrophe trend

After two years of hurricane activity, 2006 was an exceptional year but for very different reasons Lord Levene, Lloyd’s chairman

Lloyd’s, which is made up of more than 70 individual underwriting syndicates, was badly hit by the multiple hurricanes of 2005.

Katrina cost the insurer 1.9bn alone while Wilma and Rita cost it an additional 1bn.

But conditions were very different in 2006, a year Lloyd’s described as “exceptional”.

“After two years of hurricane activity, 2006 was an exceptional year but for very different reasons,” said chairman Lord Levene.

“It would be unrealistic to expect such a favourable claims experience this year. With a trend for more frequent and severe natural catastrophes, we must continue our focus on underwriting for profit.”

Lloyd’s said climate change was a major challenge for the business but stressed that it had improved the way it managed climatic risks.

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Five hundred jobs are to be lost at the Prudential Insurance company’s Belfast call centre office.

The firm is also closing offices in Bristol and London as part of what it said is a 40m cost-saving exercise.

The company is transferring its operations to three centres in Stirling, Derby and Mumbai in India.

The Belfast office will not close until the end of next year. The trade union, Amicus, said the job losses were a big blow to the Northern Ireland economy.

Kevin McAdam of Amicus, which has pledged to fight the move, said the staff in Belfast were devastated.

“They thought that Prudential in Belfast was one of their big operations,” he said.

It’s not a reflection on the quality of staff and the quality of service that we have provided Rosie Harris Prudential

“Of all the places, we least expected Belfast to close. I will be consulting with my members today about what action we can take.”

Amicus has raised the threat of strikes to protect UK workers’ jobs.

The union added that it had signed an agreement with Prudential in 2002 which stipulated that no compulsory redundancies would be made at the firm as a result of offshoring.

Amicus accused the insurer of waiting until the deal ran out in February before announcing its latest plans, which it claimed were “designed to undermine union representation”.

Chief Operating Officer for the Prudential, Rosie Harris, said she realised it was going to be a “very difficult time for the staff” in Belfast.

“It’s not a reflection on the quality of staff and the quality of service that we have provided from here,” she said.

“It’s more we are looking at how we can have fewer but larger sites.”

Prudential said the relocation programme would take two years to complete, and there would be no compulsory redundancies before the end of 2006.

Prudential currently employs 5,765 staff in the UK and 1,115 at a customer service centre in Mumbai. Its Egg business also employs about 2,500 people in the UK.

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HSBC is to offer all its UK staff nursery places and childcare vouchers for children up to the age of 16.

All 57,000 employees will be able to join the scheme, with payments taken directly from their wages.

The bank said that because the scheme would be exempt from tax and national insurance payments, it would effectively amount to a 6.5% pay rise.

Its announcement comes a week after unions balloted HSBC staff for possible strike action in a dispute over pay.

The Amicus union has attacked HSBC’s latest proposed wage increase as “derisory”.

Up to 10% of workers will get no pay rise and a further 45% will receive an increase below the rate of inflation, according to the union.

‘Flexible’

The half of HSBC’s staff with children under 16 will be able to choose nursery places or vouchers, or both.

HSBC said it will be the first company in the UK to make the offer to all its employees.

It is also doubling the number of its workplace nurseries to at least 170.

Sue Jex, head of employee support, said HSBC was extending the childcare support it had been offering since 1988.

“Our nurseries have proved so popular with staff that we now have waiting lists,” she said.

“We are working with a number of national nursery chains to at least double the number of workplace nurseries available to the under fives.

“The new voucher scheme will not only allow more parents and carers access to subsidised childcare, but is flexible.”

Amicus national officer Rob O’Neil said: “This is welcome news but it’s misleading to allow staff to believe that HSBC are funding these benefits. These are paid for by the taxpayer and introduced by the Government.”

He added: “This is a cynical attempt to look as if they are paying their staff fairly and equitably when in fact they are not.”

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The founder of UK mobile phone retail chain Phones4U has put the for sale sign up over his entire business.

Billionaire John Caudwell said he had taken the step after receiving “many offers” for all or part of the business from prospective buyers.

The decision followed a strategic review of the whole of Caudwell Group.

Mr Caudwell, who is ranked 29th in the Sunday Times Rich List, set up the business with his brother in 1987. Its annual sales now exceed 2bn ($3.5bn).

As a result of the decision to put the entire business up for sale, the group said it had delayed any final decision on the sale of its fixed-line Caudwell Communications business which it put on the market last month.

‘Favourable comparisons’

Mr Caudwell told BBC News he had “no wish” to split the firm up and sell it as individual companies.

I strongly believe the group has enormous potential for further growth in the UK and internationally John Caudwell

He also refused to put a price on the business, but did add that it compared favourably with rival Carphone Warehouse.

Carphone - Europe’s largest independent mobile phone retailer - is worth an estimated 1.9bn.

Carphone Warehouse Group itself has said it is interested in Caudwell’s residential landline phone business Homecall.

Other brands under the Caudwell umbrella include 20:20 Logistics, the world’s largest distributor of mobile handsets; mobile accessories distributor Dextra Solutions; the Mobile Phone Repair Company, and business insurance group Lifestyle Services.

High hopes

“I strongly believe the group has enormous potential for further growth in the UK and internationally ,” Mr Caudwell said in a statement.

“The hands-on contribution required from me as the principal shareholder is … now more limited and I have, as a result, decided to invite offers for the group.”

The 53-year-old, who owns 85% of Caudwell Group, originally set up the company 18 years ago in Stoke-on-Trent after discovering he could receive a discount on the usual 1,500 price tag of a mobile phone if he became a dealer.

The firm, then called Midland Mobile Phones, took eight months to sell its first order of 26 phones.

It now sells 26 phones a minute, has 350 stores across the UK and employs more than 8,000 people across the globe.

However, despite the planned sale Mr Caudwell has no plans to drop out of the business world, saying that “without doubt” he planned to set up another business after a “bit of a breather”.

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Friends Provident has seen a 40% rise in third-quarter sales, boosted by reforms to UK pensions provision.

Total new sales of its life insurance and pension products were 1.6bn ($3bn) in the three months to the end of September, up from 1.1bn a year ago.

Its third-quarter UK sales rose 33%, helped by April’s changes to pension rules which simplified the regulations governing saving for retirement.

Friends Provident said it now aimed to triple new business profits by 2008.

The company’s latest sales figures beat market expectations, and shares in Friends Provident climbed 6.7% by close on Tuesday.

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Running a car costs UK motorists 5,335 a year on average according to research from the RAC.

When asked how much they spent on motoring a year, drivers underestimated the costs by more than 3,000 on average, the RAC added.

Car running costs are increasing, the RAC warned, because of increases in the price of petrol and greater depreciation costs.

Overall, running costs can vary by up to 250 a week between car models.

Expensive

According to the RAC, large cars such as the BMW 7 series and the Land Rover Discovery are among the most expensive to run.

Factoring in depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, road tax, recovery services and loan costs a new BMW 7 Series costs on average 16,352 to run a year.

Average running costs by model BMW 7 Series 16,352 Land Rover Discovery 8,253 Ford Focus 5,302 Vauxhall Corsa 4,153 Toyota Yaris 3,281 Source: RAC

At the other end of the scale, small cars such as the Toyota Yaris and Vauxhall Corsa cost 3,281 and 4,153 respectively.

Nevertheless Britons seem undaunted by the cost of running their pride and joy.

RAC said that up to three quarters of motorists would refuse to change their driving habits to save on fuel.

In addition, most motorists said that they would be prepared to pay up to 1,400 a year more rather than moving to a fuel efficient model.

“Not only do we underestimate how much our cars cost to run, even when we do know, most of us are prepared to pay much more before giving up our motoring habit,” Nina Arnott RAC Insure spokeswoman said.

The RAC research coincides with the launch of new car registrations on 1 March.

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On Sunday, 18 May, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown insisted to Sir David Frost that the assessment of the five economic tests would be at the heart of the Government’s decision over the euro.

The tests would be “the centrepiece” of his announcement to the House of Commons on 9 June, Mr Brown said.

“The five tests effectively define the national economic interest for our country,” said Mr Brown. “It is a guarantee that we can ensure jobs, investment and the future profitability of industry and the prosperity of the country, ” he told Sir David.

The Treasury’s long and painstaking assessment of the economic implications for Britain of euro entry was “insurance” for voters that there would be no repeat of the debacle of British membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism, a decade ago.

“It is our insurance policy against making the mistakes of the past, particularly the mistakes that were made in the ERM era under the last government,” he said. “When we joined the ERM, nobody did an assessment. The national economic interest was not really analysed in detail.”

He went on: “People want to be sure that they have a Chancellor, they have a Cabinet and they have a government that is putting the national economic interest first and they want to be sure that the economics and not dogma will be the decisive factor. That is why the focus in my statement on June 9 will be on the five economic tests.”

The Chancellor also addressed continuing media claims that he is involved in a long-running feud with the Prime Minister.

“We have been in Parliament together for 20 years,” he said. “It’s a long time to work together, and I think most people would agree we have worked together for common aims and common objectives over a very long period of time. “I hope people will look back and say it has been an effective partnership to achieve economic results for Britain, particularly in the last six years. It has been an effective working relationship … and tranquil.”

The programme also included an interview with the new International Development Secretary, Baroness Amos. She told Sir David that re-building Iraq was at the top of her agenda. She denied that the British and American governments were sidelining the United Nations - as claimed by her predecessor Clare Short, in her resignation speech.

“Clare made a decision which was a decision for her. If you read the draft UN Resolution which is currently being discussed in New York, it sets out a very clear role for the UN indeed.”

Sir David also interviewed the new Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Sir Christopher Meyer. A former British Ambassador to Washington, Sir Christopher is being spoken of as a possible contender to lead the London bid for the Olympic Games.

Rageh and Eve reviewed the papers

“Apparently I’m on a list,” he acknowledged. “It’s a very, very appetising challenge. I do not know whether the finger of fate will point at me, and one of the things, of course, I need to know is whether I could - if the finger fate came my way - whether I could combine this with doing my job at the PCC, to which I am devoted.”

The other guests on the programme were the hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and the Chief Executive of Siemens UK, Alan Wood - who discussed Britain’s possible membership of the euro from the business point of view.

The newspapers were reviewed by the BBC’s correspondent in Baghdad throughout the war, Rageh Omaar; writer and broadcaster Eve Pollard; and the Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University, Ian Hargreaves.

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.

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BBC Radio 4’s Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 4 December, 2004 at 1204 GMT.

The programme was repeated on Sunday, 5 December, November, at 2102 GMT.

Chancellor Gordon Brown has delivered his 2004 Pre-Budget Report and announced a huge range of what many believe to be pre-election sweeteners.

He has insisted the spending is “affordable” because the UK is enjoying a low-inflation economy, and house prices are now stabilising.

He said the UK has been enjoying the longest period of growth in “industrial history”.

But his outlook on the economy has been met with cynicism by opposition parties and city experts, who fear his over-optimistic stance will lead to tax rises, spending cuts, or both.

The chancellor has refused to rule out future tax rises.

His announcements included an extra 600m spending on childcare, increased parental benefits, a 1bn attempt to keep Council Tax rises down, extra money on the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners, extra money to help people back to work, and a clampdown on tax avoidance.

To discuss the report in detail we were joined by:

Stephen Burke, Daycare Trust

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Further information:

Chancellor reveals pension rises

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Payment protection insurance

Credit card customers are increasingly getting the hard sell on payment protection insurance as lenders look for profits in a competitive market.

Louise Greenwood reported.

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Concerns over insurance regulation

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A&L transfer charge

Alliance & Leicester have been charging customers 25 to transfer from its ISA deal when it ends, a charge one Money Box listener is adamant she was not warned about.

We asked Nathan Barber-Kebby, Savings Product Manager, Alliance and Leicester to defend this policy.

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A&L defends ISA policy

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Consumer fury at Courts

In one incident, police were called to a store in Wales

Insolvent furniture store Courts has been forced to keep stores closed after threats from disgruntled customers.

The company went into administration earlier in the week after collapsing under the weight of its debts.

A full stock-check has identified more than 3,000 customers who will be able to pick up their orders when stores re-open.

But many others have lost money as Courts’ furniture maker suppliers will now not complete outstanding orders.

Courts has urged customers to contact their credit card companies to check if they were insured, but those who have paid by cash or cheque have been told they will not receive either goods or a refund.

The KPMG helpline for worried customers is 0870 950 1333. It is open Monday to Fridays 0800-2000 GMT, Saturdays 1000-1800 GMT, and Sundays 1000-1700 GMT.

Further information:

Shopper fury keeps courts shut

Links and helplines

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Producer: Jennifer Clarke
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Louise Greenwood
Web Producer: Nathalie Knowles

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A security scare in the US has prompted global banking giant HSBC to send out warning letters to 180,000 customers.

Holders of the General Motors GM Mastercard, issued by HSBC, are being informed that criminals may have gained access to their credit card details.

The breach occurred at a retailer, HSBC said. The Wall Street Journal claims that those being contacted had shopped at clothing firm Polo Ralph Lauren.

Credit card fraud and identity theft is a growing problem in the US and Europe.

Data deleted

HSBC said it was doing everything that was “humanly possible” to resolve the situation.

Polo Ralph Lauren said it was informed last autumn that some of its customers’ credit card information “may have been misappropriated” but did not detail any specific incidents.

“Certain” data that was stored in its point of sale software was deleted immediately, the company said in a statement. It added it is confident its credit card system is now secure.

Recent mishaps have drawn attention to how companies protect personal information, especially if they sell this information on to insurance firms, law enforcement agencies and possible employers.

The US Senate has been hearing testimony from executives at LexisNexis, a database and information company owned by publishing giant Reed Elsevier.

LexisNexis has admitted that the personal details of 310,000 people have been improperly accessed since January 2003.

On Wednesday, executives from the firm said that there may have been earlier unreported breaches of security.

Choicepoint, a firm that verifies personal information for banks, business and governments, has also had problems, admitting that data on 145,000 people had been compromised.

US law currently does not require firms to inform clients of a security alert.

It is up the individual states to legislate and critics claim that - as a result - there is a lack of national cohesion in efforts to fight credit card fraud.

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