Buying A House 'Cheaper Than Renting'

Home buyers are almost £900 better off a year than those who rent - but an upturn in house prices means the gap has narrowed in recent months, a report has found.

Research by Halifax, which based its calculations on its own database as well as official figures, found that people buying a three-bedroom house face typical costs of £672 a month, which is £73 less than the average £745 a month cost of renting.

Five years ago, renting was considered much more financially attractive than buying, but home buying costs have since fallen by more than a third, meaning that buying has become cheaper than renting.

Falls in house prices following the economic downturn combined with low mortgage rates in the low interest rate environment have all contributed to the about-turn.

Meanwhile, rental costs have been pushed higher by strong demand in the sector, as many renters have struggled to get on to the property ladder.

But a return to activity in the housing market has pushed house prices up, which means that the gap between buying and renting costs has narrowed from a difference of £78 a month one year ago.

Halifax recently reported that prices nationally have risen by 5% over the last year. Other reports have recently put prices in London at around 10% higher than they were a year ago.

People living in London and Northern Ireland have the most to gain from buying rather than renting, the research suggested. The gap in percentage terms is biggest in Northern Ireland, at 11%. Buying in Northern Ireland costs £369 a month on average, while renting costs £415.

In cash terms, Londoners have the most to gain from being on the property ladder, with a saving of almost £100 a month.

Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber were the only areas of the UK where renting was found to be more affordable than buying. In Scotland, buying was found to work out £27 a month cheaper than renting.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "A combination of lower mortgage rates and declining house prices has substantially reduced the cost of buying over the past six years.

"Nevertheless, the number of home buyers in the 12 months to June 2013 was nearly half of that in 2008, which will have been constrained by worries over job security."

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Grand Theft Auto V Stabbing: Three Charged

Three teenagers have been charged over the stabbing and robbery of a man who had just bought the blockbuster video game Grand Theft Auto V.

The 23-year-old victim was attacked just 80 minutes after he picked up the notoriously violent game at a midnight launch on Tuesday.

Scotland Yard said he was hit with a brick, stabbed and stripped of his mobile phone, watch and his copy of the game during the attack on Princes Avenue in Colindale, north London.

And a Metropolitan Police spokesman said three teenagers, aged 14, 15, and 17 had now been charged with robbery and grievous bodily harm with intent.

They were due to appear before magistrates in Hendon, north London, on Saturday morning.

Three other teenagers, aged 15, 17 and 18, have been released on bail until October.

It comes as it was revealed Grand Theft Auto V had sold more than $1bn (£624m) worth of copies in just three days since its global launch.

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Pelka 'Failings' Boss Quits Top Children's Job

A children's services boss criticised for failings by his former council over murdered schoolboy Daniel Pelka has stepped down from his new post.

Tower Hamlets Council said Colin Green had decided to withdraw from the role of chairman of the Local Safeguarding Children Board "with immediate effect".

Mr Green took up the post at the London borough council after retiring from his role as director of children's services at Coventry City Council last month.

His departure followed revelations about failings by his department over the four-year-old's death.

A serious case review found key opportunities were missed to intervene in his case by the city's children's services team, health professionals, school staff, police and other child protection agencies.

Luczak and Krezolek were jailed for a minimum of 30 years

Geoffrey Robinson, Labour MP for the area of Coventry where Daniel and his family lived, had condemned Mr Green's move to the Tower Hamlets position, claiming it was "an affront to public opinion".

"Like myself, I am sure the whole of Coventry will be stunned to learn that Colin Green, former director of children's services at Coventry City Council, has gone off to become chair of the safeguarding children board at Tower Hamlets," he said.

"This is a clear example of senior civil servants operating their own network for the benefit of themselves, at the expense of front-line staff who have faced the real challenges on a daily basis.

"The appointment is an affront to public opinion and confirms that I was right to call for a wholly independent inquiry. These boards are not truly independent."

A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council said: "The new chair of Tower Hamlets Local Safeguarding Children Board, Colin Green, has decided to withdraw from the post with immediate effect."

The London borough council said Mr Green had been appointed by a multi-agency panel in June with all such decisions "based on the merits of each applicant".

Daniel died of a head injury in March 2012, after a systematic campaign of emotional and physical abuse by his mother Magdelena Luczak and stepfather, former soldier Mariusz Krezolek, both originally from Poland.

The pair were jailed for a minimum of 30 years each.

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Barclays £1.3m Cyber Raid: Two Men In Court

Two alleged cyber plotters accused of stealing £1.3m from a high street bank by taking control of its computer system have appeared in court.

Darius Bolder, 34, and Tony Colston-Hayter, 47, are alleged to have set up a sophisticated system to siphon off cash from accounts after gaining access to a Barclays branch computer in Swiss Cottage, north London, in April using a planted keyboard video mouse.

They appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court accused of conspiracy to steal.

Romanian national Bolder, of Ebury Bridge Road in Chelsea, London, and Colston-Harper, who gave his address as Ilminster in Somerset, did not enter pleas to the charges.

The pair were remanded in custody until their next appearance at Southwark Crown Court next month.

Bolder is also accused of conspiring to commit fraud by false representation, alongside two other defendants.

Lewis Murphy, 29, also of Ebury Bridge Road, and Michael Harper, 26, of Kiln Place in Hampstead, northwest London, are charged with credit card fraud linked to up-market retailer Selfridges.

They also entered no plea and were remanded in custody.

It follows the arrest of eight men by police on Friday.

The other four have been bailed to a central London police station on dates in late November pending further inquiries.

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Scottish Independence: Yes Campaigners March

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Supporters of Scottish independence have staged a march and rally through the streets of Edinburgh.

Several thousand people joined SNP leader Alex Salmond and other leading members of the independence campaign for the event with a year to go until Scotland's referendum.

Blair Jenkins, chief executive of the 'Yes' campaign, which backs independence, told the gathering: "The biggest prize from a Yes next year is not that we will never again have Tory governments we didn't vote for - important though that is for the well-being of our society.

"Instead it is having the ability to make Scotland's great wealth, talent and resources work better for the people who live here.

"We all know that and independent Scotland has got what it takes to be a successful, prosperous and fairer country.

"All we need is the self-confidence to grab this wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to realise our potential as a great nation and to give everybody in Scotland a chance to share in our enormous wealth as part of an inclusive, outward-looking, proud and more socially-just country."

The event took place against a backdrop of opinion polls which have shown support for Scottish independence flatlining, with a comfortable majority in favour of Scotland staying in the United Kingdom.

Scots will vote in an independence referendum on September 18, 2014.

They'll be asked to give a Yes/No answer to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Sheila Gilmore MP, a member of Better Together, the group campaigning for Scotland to remain within the United Kingdom, told Sky News: "We're certainly not going to say 'it's in the bag'. 

"I think there's a lot of people who are genuinely unsure of how they're going to vote and I think both sides in this campaign are going to do their best to engage with that debate."

"It's best for the people if Scotland that we stay together as part of the UK and that's certainly what we'll be campaigning for. 

"I've talked to a lot of people in my constituency and that's the view I'm getting - obviously, not from everybody - but from a large number of people."

"We take strength from being part of a larger entity.  You can share economic disadvantages as well as the advantages and I think that's important to people."

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Food Price Rises 'A Source Of Stress'

Rocketing food prices are a "source of stress" for four in 10 UK consumers, while a third say they are struggling to feed themselves or their family.

Almost eight in 10 shoppers (78%) are worried about the increasing cost of food, with almost half (45%) spending a larger proportion of their available income at the supermarket compared to a year ago, the survey of 2,028 consumers for Which? found.

Food prices have risen over and above general inflation by 12.6% over the past six years, according to the Office of National Statistics, while incomes have stagnated.

The poll found 60% are worried about how they will manage their future spending on groceries if prices continue to rise.

A separate survey by the consumer watchdog found one million more households are feeling financial pressure compared to a year ago, leaving 9.5 million households struggling to cope with the cost of living.

It found 40% are likely to cut back spending on food in the next few months.

Richard Lloyd, Which? executive director, said: "While people seem to have accepted their grocery bill going up, stagnating incomes and rocketing food prices are causing stress and worry and leaving people wondering how they are going to cope.

"Supermarkets need to make it much easier for consumers to spot the best deal by ensuring pricing is simple and making special offers genuinely good value for money.

"Politicians need to put consumers at the heart of their economic policies to tackle the rising cost of living and to support growth and prosperity."

Dan Crossley, executive director of the Food Ethics Council charity, added: "As the global food system becomes more deeply trapped in the strangleholds of resource constraint, climate change and population growth, rising food prices are an almost inevitable fact of life.

"Food businesses and government need to start planning now for that future by taking urgent action to tackle the issue of food affordability, including the introduction of measures such as a living wage.

"They also need to develop robust policies that make healthy food affordable, rather than peddling 'cheap' food that is costing us dear in terms of our health and our environment."

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UKIP's Farage: 'Sluts' Remark A Distraction

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has admitted MEP Godfrey Bloom's description of women as "sluts" has distracted from his party conference's key messages.

Mr Bloom's had the party whip removed amid a storm of controversy over comments he made at a fringe event in London designed to promote the advancement of women in politics.

The MEP, who previously claimed taxpayers' money was being wasted on aid sent to "Bongo Bongo Land", attracted fresh publicity when he hit a TV reporter over the head with a UKIP brochure while being questioned about his latest remarks.

It had been suggested Mr Bloom could be kicked out of the party, but Nigel Farage told Sky News that voters appreciated politicians' candour.

Godfrey Bloom had the party whip removed over his comments

"In the main, most UKIP voters like the fact that we are plain spoken, not afraid to say things that other people through political correctness are scared to talk about," he said.

"So our voters like that, but there is a line beyond which we can't go if we start being offensive to people.

"I don't think that people will say that because of the behaviour of one man on one day at a conference, they're not going to vote UKIP.

"But what it did do was distract from our main messages. I do not want to be a party of control freaks, where everyone's hemmed in ... but we have to have some limits."

Mr Bloom faced calls for his resignation over his comments. After two female UKIP members joked they did not clean behind the fridge, Mr Bloom admits he quipped: "This place is full of sluts."

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A&E Departments Failing To Hit NHS Targets

The number of NHS Foundation trusts in England failing to see A&E patients within four hours has doubled in the last year, according to new figures.

A quarterly report by regulator Monitor found 31 trusts missed the waiting times target in April-June compared with 13 over the same period in 2012.

The report said: "We are concerned about waiting times in A&E which normally improve in the spring and early summer, but which this year remained challenging for 31 foundation trusts which failed the four-hour target in the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

"This compares to 13 in the same period last year.

"Long waits in A&E may result in patients experiencing unsatisfactory care and the persistence of problems means that it is essential for trusts to plan appropriately and have the right funding in place if the challenges of next winter are to be dealt with effectively."

The report also said the number of foundation trusts running a financial deficit increased from 36 in the first quarter of 2012/13 to 48 for the equivalent period this year.

The overall deficit was £74m, although the regulator stressed that figure was mostly due to a small number of "particularly financially troubled trusts".

Long waits could result in 'usatisfactory care', the report says

During the first quarter of 2013/14, trusts generated £57m less in cost savings than originally planned.

Jason Dorsett, Monitor's financial risk and reporting director, said: "Our analysis of returns from foundation trusts shows that patients are still waiting too long at A&Es in a number of foundation trusts.

"Increased demand means more than ever that trusts need better and earlier planning to make sure they deal with these problems.

"The increased demand has also prevented trusts from delivering their planned financial savings.

"We expect to see trusts planning now for how the increased demand will impact on their finances, so that they are not storing up trouble for the future."

Responding to the figures, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "A&E is the barometer of the whole of health and care.

"It is telling us that there are severe storms ahead for the NHS this winter unless the Government urgently faces up to problems with front-line staffing and in social care.

"Close to one million people have waited longer than four hours to be seen at A&E in the last 12 months - the worst year in decade.

"The Government has brought the NHS to the brink and cannot continue to ignore the warnings that are mounting by the day.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said A&Es saw 95% of patients within their targets since the end of April - as they were before last winter.

She said: "This is testament to the hard work of staff working throughout the health and care system.

"But we know that more work needs to be done to make sure that patients have access to the urgent and emergency services that they need.

"That's why we are investing £500m over the next two years to help ensure A&E departments are prepared for winter."

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Labour: UK Apprentice For Each Foreign Worker

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband has launched a Labour fightback after a difficult summer - with policy pledges on the economy and immigration.

The party leader announced plans to increase fines for employers who fail to pay the minimum wage and force bosses to train an apprentice if they hire a foreign worker.

The moves come on the opening day of Labour's conference in Brighton, at which the party will attempt to spell out a series of policies which appeal to voters.

Mr Miliband addresses the crowd in Brighton

The conference begins with the party's high command reeling over the damaging revelations of plots, smears and feuds in the memoirs of Gordon Brown's spin doctor Damian McBride.

It also follows a summer in which senior party figures were accused of being invisible and a gradual shrinking of Labour's opinion poll lead over the Conservatives.

Senior Labour figures claim the new policy announcements signal a new approach on the economy and a new approach on immigration.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Mr Miliband said the Labour Party was "changing under my leadership" and had "learned lessons from the past".

He said: "I want a high wage British economy, not a low wage brutish economy. We've got plans to make that happen, to drive up skills.

"So we are going to say to any firm that wants to bring in a foreign worker that they also have to train up someone who is a local worker, training up the next generation.

"We think that can create up to 125,000 new apprenticeships over the course of five years and that is a massive boost for skills for our young people."

Mr Miliband said the tenfold increase in fines for the minimum wage would "stop the exploitation which undercuts workers that are already here".

Senior party figures spoke out on Sunday morning to back up Mr Miliband's pledges.

Labour's shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna told Sky News the proposal aimed to deal with the reason why large companies employed people from abroad.

He said: "(Large companies) say that there are skills gaps and we do not have enough people with the skills they need.

"What we are saying is that if they are bringing people in (from abroad), they also ensure that we are skilling people (with) the provision of training apprenticeships."

Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, sought to explain how the policy would work, adding: "Already, if people want to bring in what's called the tier-two worker from abroad, they have to meet certain conditions.

Mr McBride (far left) with Gordon Brown

"We don't think it's good for the long term health of our economy for companies to be reliant on bringing in skilled workers always from abroad and not supporting investment in skills and training we need to have at home."

However, Conservatives said that Mr Miliband's apprenticeship proposal would breach EU law.

Party sources denounced the raft of policy announcements made by the Labour leader in the run-up to the conference as a "shambles" which was "unravelling".

Skills minister Matthew Hancock said: "I have been advised by Government lawyers that legislating to require hiring British apprentices would be contrary to EU law."

The Tories said that, to be compliant with European rules on free movement of labour, Mr Miliband's policy would have to require companies to take on an EU-national apprentice, rather than a UK national, for every non-EU worker hired.

On Sunday morning, Mr Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr he urged Mr Brown to sack Mr McBride over concerns the spin doctor was briefing against senior Labour colleagues.

Mr McBride's memoirs are being serialised in the Daily Mail.

On voting intentions Labour's lead over the Tories is barely changed, at eight points: Con 28% (0), Lab 36% (-1), UKIP 17% (-2), LD 10% (+2) and Others 9% (+1).

But Mr Miliband's ratings are poor, with 52% saying that he doesn't have the qualities to be an effective prime minister.

However, more people say they and their families would be better off if Labour won the election (30%) than if the Conservatives did (22%).

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Sutton Hit-And-Run: PC Trying To Stop Car Dies

A police officer who was run over while attempting to stop a car in Sutton, south London, on Friday has died.

PC Andrew Duncan, known to colleagues as Andy, was hit after signalling to a driver to pull over in the early hours.

The father-of-two was taken to hospital following the collision in Reigate Avenue at around 1am, but died on Sunday morning.

Tributes have been issued by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

He said: "I was so sad to hear that PC Andrew Duncan died this morning.

"On behalf of the Metropolitan Police family, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to his wife and children, parents, family and friends.

"Andy was a hard working and courageous policeman. He served the community as both a police officer and as a Scouting volunteer.

"The night he was injured, he was doing a job that he loved and we all had every right to expect he would return safely to his home and family - tragically that was not the case.

"We will continue to professionally and objectively investigate this incident under the oversight of Her Majesty's Coroner.

"I would urge anyone with information to contact us."

A map showing Reigate Avenue and Rose Hill

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said PC Duncan was married with a son and a daughter. He was 47 years old.

He had joined the force on March 19, 1990, and was originally posted to Battersea.

Six years later he transferred to the South-West Territorial Support Group where he served for almost seven years before moving to Hammersmith and Fulham Borough.

He subsequently joined the South-West Traffic Unit on 17 May 2004.

On Friday, the officer was working on a speed enforcement operation with a colleague, when they noticed a car driving at speed along A217 Reigate Avenue, close to its junction with Rose Hill.

A Met spokesman said PC Duncan attempted to stop the car by signalling for the driver to pull over but the driver collided with the officer and drove off towards Rosehill.

The car was found abandoned nearby, and officers are continuing to appeal to anyone who was a passenger in the car at the time to come forward.

Reigate Avenue is a residential area and officers are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen the incident to get in touch.

A 25-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury whilst dangerous driving on Friday after attending a south London police station remains in custody.

He has now been arrested on suspicion of murder.

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