Scotland World Cup Charity Banknote

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK The ultimate cookout starts with the ultimate ingredients. At Whole Foods Market, no antibiotics ever burgers and kebabs are prepped and ready to throw on the grill. Fire up a juicy ribbeye. Grab creamy potato salad and savory flatbreads from the prepared foods department, and round it all out with three hundred sixty five brand condiments, chips and dips at everyday low prices Whole Foods Market, makeake your summer sizzle. Summer is a gift s the gift of days that last a little longer. Brighter state of mind So give yourself a new Kia at the Kia Summer Sticker sales event, Eespecially tacked vehicles including the Sererento, Sportage, Carnival, as well as the Neuro Hybrid all backed by a ten year one hundred thousand mile limited powertrain warranty. So the gift of summer can keep on giving for summers to come. Kia, Movement that inspires Call eight hundred three three four Ka F details hostosa free event and seven six twenty six S deealer for warranty details. Hello, welcome to this Money boox podcast. One in eight parents says no to a tax free four thousand four hundred pounds a year as take up of child benefit plummets to its lowest level this century There are calls for a new energy tariff to cut the fuel bills of people on lower incomes And find out how to give it one hundred and ten percent and score a twenty to celebrate the end of the twenty eight year drought as Scotland qualifies for the Men's foootball World Cup But first, a union demands capita lose its contract to administer the civil serervice pension scheme as the stress continues among retired civil servants still waiting for their pensions The anger is the anger I struggle to deal with And I just feel like I've been L It's six months since Capita took over the job of administering the civil serervice pension scheme, but thousands of people who deal with benefits, tax, border security, and all the key things the state does for us are still waiting for their pension payments that haven't arrived, and almost worse, no information about when they will arrive Now the biggest union representing civil servants, the PCS, is calling for an investigation into how Capita was awarded the contract in the first place, given its long history of poor performance, managing other large complex schemes such as teachers' pensions Our reporter, Hannah Mullane, has been looking at this for us We've looked at this story several times, but six months after Capita took over, the same problems are being reported That's right, Paul. When it took over in December, Capita said it inherited a backlog of eighty six thousand cases when it took over from another private contractor called MyCSP It expanded to one hundred twenty thousand cases, covering everything from simple pension calculation queries to urgent questions about missing lump sum payments The problems were so bad that the government stepped in, with senior Capita executives called in front of the public acccounts commommittee multiple times. We've now had three public apologies from Capita for the handling of the situation and anurgent recovery plan was put in place with a deadline of the end of June to restore all aspects of service to standard contractual levels That deadline is fast approaching, but many are still waiting Allison spent thirty years working for the prison and probation serervice, but after ten months is still waiting for her lump sum and her pension and fears she may have to return to work Every time I've tried to get through to them in the past, it can take up to three hours to get through to a helpline. The complaint took eight months for them to resolve, not twenty working days And it took writing to the Chief Executive of Capita to get any movement at all I genuinely think I'm going to have to look for another job to sort of tight me over or just to stop the worry. Obviously retirement's a big milestone in your life. I worked in prisons which aren't the most pleasant places. I saw some pretty nasty things. so you know I was looking forward to just switching off My elderly mother has Parkinson's. It would be really nice to treat her. I just can't think about doing those things or booking anything in like that because I've got to think how much longer has this got to go on for? All the things I expected to do, they're just not happening. So I feel like I'm treading water and not going anywhere. And actually, you the job that I left, I really loved Well, as you say, Hannah, the end of June deadline to get things back to normal is not longer away. How likely will is that that it will happen on time Well, P Capita recently reported that it is making progress on getting things back to normal levels. and in a statement to Money Box, it apologized again and said that additional trained staff remain in place and its focus is on ensuring members receive the service that they deserve But Fran Heathcote, the generenal Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union representing civil servants, told me she's still receiving lots of complaints from members and has little faith that the deadline will be reached She also has questions about how Capita can go on being awarded large government contracts We've got no confidence actually that capital will meet the government target. and we've already said to the Cabinet Office that they should be preparing for an in house team to take over that contract because it's quite clear based on all of our experience to date that they're not going to have this sorted by July. There is already a t cost the taxpayer, and we think there will be a continued one. Our very clear demand is that the staff working to administer this should be brought back in house. It's a madness to keep awarding failures with more contracts that just seems like a madness to us Well, the Cabinet offffice said Capita's management of the contract was unacceptable and that they will use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account Thanks, Han. Well that question about how Capita was awarded the contract is a good one. I have to say one being asked among the money boox team, as well as by many of our listeners. live now to an airport in Europe to speak to Pedro Tellis. He's an associate professor in law and specializes in public procurement for companies across the UK and Europe. How does the process work for awarding these big and important contracts? Is it just accepting the cheapest credible offer I Paul, thank you for having me. What it happens is that historically public procurement is designed for the contract to be awarded to the best bid that has been received and not necessarily to the best bidder. So those two things are treated separately Because the idea is that you want the process not to be discriminatory based on the identity of the bidder That means that usually the elements of out the bidder are assessed at the early stage of the procedure and not when you're actually deciding what is the best bid the cheapest offer or the best bid to award a contract So when it comes down to it, down to the decision itself, the people making that don't know about this long history or at least not officially That is correct, that should be treated separately. So the history should be assessed earlier on in the procedure and Again, it's very difficult to do that in a way that is non discriminatory. But is there real competition? I mean, are there many other companies who could manage a big contract like this That is the next problem, which is if you start trying to exclude and ban these companies from the market, that's going to reduce even further the limited competition that you have at that top end of the market. So for example, Karean nine years ago went bankrupt went under and that reduced significantly the competition that Capita and others were facing in competition doesn't really seem to be working very well, does it? And I must say though, I do get complaints about many of the firms administering pensions, so perhaps there isn't that great a choice. And as Hannah said to us, the Cabinet Office told us it would use all available commercial levers to hold capita to account. So it's got the contract because of the reasons perhaps you explained holding it to account include sacking it, getting rid of it. It is possible, it is possible. So that follows traditional contract law. So if there's grounds to terminate a contract or grounds to to obtain damages, then certainly the government can pursue that avenue. Yes, and it has done that, hasn't it? I mean in April, I think Capita was stripped of its job managing the Ral mail pension scheme. So it has happened and certainly other other pension providers have been moved. But I mean Capita in fact took over from another one, but things got worse rather than better. Yeah regarding the Royal Mail contract, Capita is still this week claiming that negotiations are ongoing. So I'm not sure exactly what is the situation there if capapita has been taken out of that contract. But they are trying trying to do that anyway. And what about taking it back into the civil serervice in house as the PCS Union seems to want? Would that work What tends to happen once you start an outsourcing process of going to the market and get external contractors to do this kind of work for you, you're going lose the capacity to do it in house quite quickly, evenven the capacity to manage the contracts, which is usually the reason why these contracts tend to fail. So it's not that it' impossible, but the government will have to take a fairly significant political decision on doing so and increasing the staffing and the capacity in the public sector to deliver these contracts? Yes, And we've also had an email from Allison who said removing the contract from Capitur whatever happens to it doesn't help those of us currently caught up in this difficult situation, the thousands of people, as we heard. because whatever change you make, it would be a long process, wouldn't it briefly The process could be done reasonably quickly if the contract is terminated But the actual improvement in the service and improvement in the delivery might take longer, especially because then you have the reputational risk on the public sector side. Pedro Tellis, Procurement, prorofessor, thanks very much for talking to us. Thank you. The ultimate cookout starts with the ultimate ingredients. At Whole Foods market, no antibiotics ever burgers and kebabs are prepped and ready to throw on the grill. 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See it in action at genendigital. com One in eight parents do not claim child benefit, even though it's worth at least one four thousand four hundred pounds a year tax free, more, of course, if you have more than one child One in eight, thirteen percent not claiming,' the highest it's been since records began in two thousand three. At one time, practically every parent claimed. But HMRC, which published these latest figures recently, also revealed that one in three new parents are not claiming child benefit in their baby's first year So child benefit, of course used to be a universal benefit paid the same to everyone with a child. Now, any parent can claim it, but those with an annual income above sixty thousand pounds a year have some of the money clawed back through extra tax. If their income hits eighty thousand a year, it's all taxed back. And for couples, that test applies to the higher earner, not to their joint income Our reporter, Joe Krasner spoke to some new mothers at a baby clinic in a Liverpool doctor's surgery Tell me about this little one on your knee. He's eight weeks old coming for his vaccinations today. And are you claiming child benefit for him? No, I wasn't aware. You could get an extra twenty seven pounds a week, just over twenty seven pounds a week. Would that make a difference to you Yes, yeah, of course. Groceries, snappies, anythingything for him. Have you read anything about child benefit for new babies? No They inform us of a lot of things, but I've not been involved with that yet And tell me what about your little one He's twelve weeks old and we're here for his next set of vaccinations No, I didn't think I was eligible for any child benefit based on my salary. He's fifteen months So you're the nan, aren't you? Yes. Yes, I am.. And do you know if your daughter is claimed child benefit? Yes, she does. I think it makes a hell of a lot of difference. because she works, there helps to pay for the The food for the baby as well. So do you claim child benefit? Yes. Before the baby born, we already know Because some of my colleagues toauld us you must to clim this one is quite good because you can get some money back and also you can put some money for your future childcare And tell me what else you use the money for Awesome snakes And bottle the milk formula. ye Well listening to that is Devin Galani, Chief Executive of Policy in practice. That's a social data analyysing firm which helps people and authorities navigate the benefit system. Something we all need, I think Devin. Devin Galani, some mothers' claiming, some choosing not to claim, and some who didn't know about it even. doeses that surprise you It does surprise me. child benefit used to be the poster child of how to get high levels of take upp. So before twenty thirteen, it was universal. Any parent who had a child would when they registered their child a couple of days later fill the form and begin to get child benefit. And ninety five percent or above was always the benchmark. And we've seen that fall steadily over the last decade or more because we've complicated the system As you mentioned, bit by introducing the high income child benefit charge Yes, I mean, the high income child benefit charge or tax as I sometimes call it, is a clawback. As you say, it began in twenty thirteen. and it started at fifty thousand a year then, didn't it? til very recently. Do you think even the fact there is that kind of rule puts people off claiming? And that woman we heard in Liverpool said, notot worth claiming on my salary. We don't know if she was right or not I think it does. It makes it certainly makes parents think And it makes parents think firstly about whether or not they should claim So maybe their earnings fluctuate, particularly if you just had a child, right? you might change your hours. You might go to four days a week, three days a week but it also makes parents think about whher or whether or not to take on more work. So I was spokaking to accountant friends of mine who were told You know,'re sometimes asked, well, I've been offered a promotion but I don't know whether I should take it because I'm going to start to lose some of my child benefit. Well, you know, I'll put in my pension instead. So anyyt timee you try and reest the system, it adds complexity and it makes people think. I think we hugely undervalue importance of simplicity and policy. Yes, under Lady in Liverpool's, the other lady told us, it makes a big difference. I mean, it's fourteen hundred pounds a year Babies are not cheap things to have, are they? are they? But there are more benefits than just the money, aren't there? becausecause you get other things associated with having a live claim. Yeah, so the National Insurance I was talking to a colleague of mine's had a baby recently and congratulations to her But yeah, her reason for claiming were the national insurance credits So that means that, yeah, you're building up your national insurance at the same time prrincipally the state pension I, but only if your child's under twelve, I think, isn't it? that helps Yeah, so all of these extra bits add up to so the national insurance adds up to your state pension and adds up to being able to claim. If you lost your job as well soon after, then it means you can claim Yeah, you can access support through the benefit system through that as well. It also means your child does get a national insurance number automatically at sixteen, which helps them work sometimes discussed before. Now those mothers who hadn't heard of it And I thought people were told almost with the birth certificate, certainly, very soon. Has that been changed I remember being told when we registered our child and also kind of in the maternity ward. So I think it must vary from place to place. But I really think it's the when you've just had a baby, you're thinking about lots of different things And, you know, maybe maybe that that form you were given is just one of many other things that you're thinking about because you've just had a baby, right? So I think there probably is value in being nudged along at, you know, when the When mother was talking about vaccinations or when they go to the childildren's Center I hope they're probably good timimes Sorry to interrupt, it can't be back dated more than three months, so it's important to thataim early, isn't it Yes, absolutely. And I think, you know we saw in HMRC's press release as well that you're seeing A lot more parents, particularly in that first yearerm missing out. so yeah, they do need to be told and you do need to claim as early as possible Kevven Galani thanks and HMRC has told us that it is easier to pay the high income charge now, and also it promotes information in hospitals across the UK Now the sun may be shining now, but the gloom will begin in a month. fromom July the first july first, every unit of gas you use will cost nearly twenty eight percent more, and the electricity units will cost nearly six percent more. Overall, a typical energy bill will rise by just over eighteen pounds a month, the regulator OGem says, as the wars in the Middle East keep oil prices much higher than they were three months ago Now that new price rise is in the off gem cap on prices, which it announced on Wednesday. And of course it will affect all households, but a debt advice provider, Money Wellness, is now calling for a special lower tariff for people on low incomes or with disabilities. Kayley got into debt on her energy bills after they recently rose so fast Absolutely crazy, the worry of energy costs. Just after twenty twenty, one hundred and twenty pound was my energy cost. plus then I had my ex partner and his two children living with us and that was our energy cost for a month now. I'm paying the minimum payment that they'll accept is one hundred twenty pound. My usage is a lot more than that And I'm really careful about leaving lights on, charging phones, using the washer machine. I don't have a tumble dryer or a dishwasher for these reasons. Its just eats up your money. Well listening to that is Tom Gibbons, a manager and advisor at the free debt advice provider, Money, wellness. Tom Gibbon's energy price is going up on july first Kayleie is one of your clients, I understand. M people are there many people like her struggling to afford energy bills Yes, there's a lot of people who are now struggling with the price cap going up. The concern is that although the prices came down slightly earlier this year, millions of households have never really recovered from the debts built up from the energy crisis. So another increase now, especially heading towards the autumn, is going to put huge pressure on already stretched budgets I think the statistics we're looking at is over the last three years, debt to energy providers has risen twenty three percent. and now one in two people are coming to us for debt advice now has energy arars and that's up from one in three. So there is a big increase. Yes, and we've reported on this program before that Energy UK, which represents all the suppliers told us in fact told us this week, energy total energy debt was five point five billion pounds, which is an extraordinary sum And what can you do about these debts? Because I mean, Kayley told us that it used to be one hundred and twenty a month, and she's still paying that, but it's not enough to pay for her energy Can't go on forever, can it not paying enough No, that's right. And know the most important thing, I think, first of all is make sure you're on the cheapest tariff available. know you can look at switching your energy providers. If fail in that, what I would strongly urge people to do is make contact with a free debt advice provider such as Money Wellness for further guidance and support with the debt Yes. And you've called, in fact, for something extra, a social tariff, lower bills, perhaps for people like Kayley. How would that work Yeah, so a social tariff would create a consistent national safety net really for people who simply can't afford essential energy. We already see This sort of thing with the water providers where a social tariff can help low income households get reduced charges, reduced tariffs. The difference is the energy support, it's still quite patchy and temporary and in some cases quite hard to access. So Basic idea is quite straightforward, all eligible households would automatically receive lower energy costs or discounted tariffs. But somebody would have to pay for it, wouldn't they? I mean, the Department of Energy says it's already taken one hundred and fifty pounds off the average bill, extended the warm home discount to six million families. Of course, that helps people on low incomes, but the rest of us do pay it in higher prices, don't we? So somebody would have to pay Yeah, absolutely. and there's going to be different models, but ultimately it's about recognizing energy as an essential service. Now there could be a combination of government support and also supplier involvement as well, similar to the existing affordability schemes, but the wider point is that preventing debt is usually cheaper than dealing with the consequences later, whether that's enforcement costs, bad debt or pressure on the health services as well Yes And Energy UK, which represents suppliers told us that they know their customers better than anyone and they tailor help to different needs. But Energy UK recently told us, as I said, debt was five and a half billion. Would social tariffs bring that debt down, do you think in the long run? It won't address past debts, will it just briefly? No, it won't, exactly. But a lot of people are still dealing with arereas that they've accrued, for example, during COVID. So I think having lower tariffs for people most in need would at least enable them to start focusing on the arereas that they've built up and hopefully start bringing those balances down while still maintaining their ongoing monthly usage Tom Gibibons the Money wellness thanks would have to see what happens now Would you pay ten pounds to enter a lottery with a very small chance of winning twenty pounds If your answer is, I'll give it one hundred and ten percent, this could be one for you. Because the Pide is a very rare twenty pound banknote from the Bank of Scotland, it features an image of this astonishing goal by Scott McTomine, which helped send Scotland into the men's World Cup this summer for the first time in more than twenty years It is Ganan Dke with the tricks and little Tomas A worldy indeed, the goal that helped secure the crucial four two win over Denmark in November, sending Scotland to North America in June. And an image of that moment by Scottish illustrator Katie Smith is on a limited edition of a Bank of Scotland twenty pound note just on the spot by the fourth Bridge. They're only printing a hundred, but twenty five will be up for grabs in a drawer And another twenty five in a collector's auction. The goal is to send all proceeds to homelessness charity crrisis Scotland. Paul Barnes from BBC Scotland talked to Scott McTominy. Not to be content with a huge mural outside Hamdon, you're now going to have your face on a banknote How dod you deal with that kind of a claim? Yeah, it's surreal to be honest, it's obviously a huge f to Bank of Scotland for giving the opportunity and obviously there's going to be an auction and the money iss going to an amazing cause in helping the homeless people. So for us it's amazing to help and give back. I know it's great that you fed on a bank note but the bigger picture is helping those as well Well, that was Scott Momay, and an assist from the bank will give Scott some of the notes for himself so he can get a score without goal hanging The prize draw and auction are open until eleven AM on the twenty sixth of june. Applications are free by post but ten pounds online. And if this is a must win game for you, why not cover every blade of grass by going end to end on a code cracking testk