News round-up 5 – 9 September

Article published: Monday, September 12th 2011

This week we cover government contractors squirreling profits from public money into tax havens, electricians gearing up for wildcat strikes as bosses threaten to slash pay by more than a third and the Co-op’s ambitious plans for redeveloping Manchester, which involve turning the city centre into either a brave new world or Robocop in the rain depending on how you look at it. Somewhere there’s a theme in all of this…

Monday

Tax haven companies win government contracts

Over half of the private companies being awarded contracts to deliver public services have subsidiaries in tax havens, a new report by Ethical Consumer magazine has revealed. 13 out of the 20 biggest government contractors are making use of the controversial ‘off-shore’ territories usually exploited by businesses to minimise their tax bills, according to the study.

Richard Murphy, of the Tax Justice Network, said: “These findings are troubling, but seem to form part of a pattern that now appears deliberate.

“We’re seeing taxpayers’ money now being captured by private corporations who are using it for the benefit of a few in society at a cost to the great many ordinary people who’re paying the price through reduced services, benefits and even healthcare, and all at the cost of increased tax.”

‘Challenging times’ for Manchester as unemployment intensifies

Greater Manchester has been “unable to escape” the UK’s intensifying economic downturn, according to the Commission for the New Economy’s Manchester Monitor. The number of Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants has risen 6.1 per cent in the last year and the youth unemployment figure increased by 5.5 per cent, although this was lower than the national average of an 11.4 per cent rise. Despite improving skills, with increasing numbers of school-leavers gaining GCSE’s at levels A* – C, the report warned that “rising skill levels are not being met by increasing job opportunities”.

The study further found that women have been “hit harder than men by the current labour market difficulties”, with the levels of women claiming JSA up by “more than one quarter over the last 12 months”. While long-term unemployment overall is down 3.9 per cent from last year the number of people on JSA for more than 6 months has been “rising steadily back to previous levels” since last January, leading the Monitor to conclude that “companies appear to be focused on managing costs rather than expansion”.

The “gloom” did not appear to be shared overall, with footfall in the city centre growing by 15 per cent between June and July, hotel occupancy rates “at record levels” and the number of business deals worth over £500,000 increasing from 8 to 13 between June and July. However, the report noted that “unemployment, high inflation and falling wages make growth extremely fragile”. The Monitor also said that the local housing market remains “at a stand-off, with sellers reluctant to cut prices and buyers unable or unwilling to pay…over the odds”, while the costs of private rents climbed as the number of properties available for renting fell.

Tuesday

Manchester ‘second city’ for professional business services

The new chair of the business membership body pro·manchester Paul Lupton struck a somewhat cheerier note the day following the Monitor’s report. Lupton praised the anticipated growth of 50,000 professional and financial occupations in the city region over the next decade as proof of Manchester’s status as “the UK’s second city”.

Lupton made the statement at the organisation’s annual chair’s reception at the upmarket retail chain Harvey Nichols, where he called on businesses to pull together to “support the growth of Manchester as a financial powerhouse” and make the city “the gateway to the North”. Not all doom and gloom for the top end of town then; and at least when it comes to inequality we can rest assured that the Centre for Cities has crowned Manchester the UK’s number one hotspot.

Wednesday

Majority of sentenced rioters live ‘among the 10 per cent most deprived districts in the country’

Research by the Manchester Evening News has found that over half of the people sentenced since last month’s disturbances were from neighbourhoods classed among the ten per cent most deprived districts in England, with nearly than one in five coming from areas in the top one per cent most deprived. The data was derived by mapping the home addresses of 52 of the more than 60 people sentenced against the government’s Multiple Indices of Deprivation, although a fifth of convicted rioters could not be identified due to their age and therefore were not included in the study.

19 per cent lived among the top 1 per cent most deprived English districts, while 44 per cent lived in the 5 per cent most impoverished neighbourhoods in the country. The results seem quite striking; although given politicians’ insistence that the cause of the riots was “mindless criminality” we’re sure it’s just a coincidence.

Sparks fly as electricians announce wildcat strike action

Construction workers affiliated to the trade union Unite announced that they are to hold an unofficial protest against deskilling and severe pay cuts at the Balfour Beatty Utilities site in Carrington, Greater Manchester on Wednesday 14 September between 6.30am and 10am.

The strike will be the latest in a series of unofficial actions that have taken place in cities including London, Manchester and Liverpool following the declaration by eight of the country’s largest electrical contractors that they intend to withdraw from long-standing national pay agreements. Unite has denounced the move by employers, which will see a 35 per cent pay cut in the worst hit cases, as an attempt to “use the current economic climate to push through their long-held ambition of introducing semi-skilled operatives on much lower rates of pay”.

While the companies claim new prefabrication technologies render current levels of pay redundant, business commentators remain nervous that “electricians are one construction trade who can cause real disruption and stoppages on high profile sites could prompt a rethink”.

Thursday

Homelessness up by 17 per cent

The number of households found to be “unintentionally homeless” rose 17 per cent in the last year, according to government figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. 11,820 applicants were accepted as homeless between April and June 2011, an increase in 3 per cent between the first and second quarters of the year after seasonal adjustments.

The figures show a 12 per cent drop in the number of households in temporary accommodation leased from private landlords and a 29 per cent rise in the use of Bed and Breakfast accommodation over the same time period. The number of families housed in Bed and Breakfast increased 63 per cent over the time period, with 13 per cent there for over six weeks, despite government guidelines stating  that such accommodation should only be used for emergencies and not for more than six weeks.

Housing for vulnerable people among worst in Europe

Vulnerable people in Britain live in some of the worst housing conditions in Europe, according to two new reports by campaign group the Pro-Housing Alliance. The studies, Recommendations for the Reform of UK Housing Policy and Housing Crisis in London, argue the public health costs of ignoring the housing crisis amount to £7 billion extra per year for the NHS, education and social services. The organisation is calling for a raft of changes to housing including the re-use of empty accommodation, the provision of 500,000 affordable green homes each year and abolishing cuts to housing benefit.

FC United planning application delayed as controversy mounts

Plans by the fan-owned football club FC United of Manchester to build a 5,000-capacity ‘community stadium’ in Moston have been postponed following thousands of responses both for and against the proposals. Controversy has broken out in recent months between supporters, who argue the stadium will bring much-needed community sports investment to North Manchester, and many local residents, who say the development will take up valuable parkland and cause disruption to elderly people and families living in the area.

Co-op unveils ‘vision’ of Manchester’s future

The Co-operative Group has released a new video of how it envisages its £800 million redevelopment of Manchester city centre to appear in 15 years time. Dubbed NOMA, short for “North Manchester”, the scheme will cover 20 acres and include four million square feet of “office, retail, residential and leisure space”. £100 million is to be spent on creating a new HQ for the Co-op and Manchester City Council has dedicated £20 million from its capital programme towards the project.

The video can be viewed here, and is much how you might expect – private cathedrals of glass, with the focus very much on “large corporate occupiers” and “independent, high-quality businesses”. Planners are hoping that up to 15,000 jobs may potentially depend on the site, although the Co-op has only guaranteed that its head office development will ensure that roughly 3,500 of its jobs will “remain in Manchester city centre”. Such claims also have a bad habit of being inflated, while bringing highly uneven benefits to lower-income residents.

A positive development that will bring much-needed jobs to Manchester’s people or more of the over-hyped gentrification we’ve seen in previous years without the backdrop of an inflated credit boom to carry it through? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Friday

North West exports lagging behind UK

Exports from the North West saw the slowest growth of any region over the last financial year, according to figures released by HM Revenue & Customs. While exports from all English regions increased those from the North West rose by only 8 per cent to reach £25.4 billion, compared to a 17.6 per cent national rise to a value slightly over £196 billion. Imports also jumped by 11 per cent to hit £25 billion, although again the smallest change of any region compared to 17.4 per cent nationally, reaching just under £296 billion.

The rather sluggish figures may be some cause for concern for regional business and political leaders, though the comparably poor performance of the UK’s trade deficit is perhaps more disquieting for a government ostensibly committed to an export-led growth out of economic stagnation. Then again, reliance on such a strategy when just about every country in the world is trying to export itself out of recession at once may bring its own problems.

City chief Garry Cook resigns over offensive email storm

Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook has resigned amid allegations he sent an offensive email to centre-back Nedum Onuoha’s mother, Dr Anthonia Onuoha. While initially denying he sent the email, which purportedly ridiculed Dr Onuoha for suffering from cancer, an internal investigation by the football club confirmed that there was “foundation to Dr Onuoha’s allegations”, adding “the Chairman has apologised to Dr Onuoha for any distress caused.”

Director John MacBeath has been named as interim chief executive while a replacement is found, with Tesco Asia Chief Executive and City fan David Potts said to be lined up for the position. In a statement, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Garry has made a remarkable contribution to Manchester City Football Club over the past three years.

“His judgement in this matter should in no way lead to his accomplishments being overlooked. On every level, the club is unrecognisable from the organisation which he inherited and our staff and supporter services, community outreach and commercial activity have seen unparalleled growth under his direction with yet more projects to be realised on the horizon.”

National insurance tax breaks ignored by Manchester businesses

Tens of millions in national insurance contribution tax breaks have not been taken up by businesses, according to figures reported on by the Manchester Evening News. £940 million has been set aside by the Treasury for a scheme exempting new businesses from the tax for up to ten employees in the first year of their existence, yet so far only 2,892 companies have claimed on the scheme for a total amount of £5 million.

Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has predicted that the scheme will see £30 million underspent in the region and has called, predictably, for the government to spend the money on grants to more established businesses through a new round of the Regional Growth Fund.

With the economy so grim it may be unsurprising that the scheme has been unsuccessful, despite the fuss made by David Cameron during the election of the unbearable burden of a “jobs tax”, given many small businesses are likely wondering just where their customers are going to come from as incomes are ever more squeezed. Perhaps community investment rather than freebies for businesses may be a better way of spending the cash?

Asylum seekers escape deportation

Community activist and Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) management member Sofia Kalu and fellow WAST member and the playwright Lydia Besong, and her husband Bernard Batey, narrowly avoided deportation this weekend following successful interventions through the courts.

Kalu, who also volunteers in Manchester through the “Generations Project” which supports elderly people, won a reprieve after she successfully submitted her case for judicial review. Besong and Batey, whose case has won a wide range of support from artists including the actor Juliet Stevenson, have been informed verbally by their legal team that an injunction to prevent imminent deportation has been successful. Campaigners warn that their case remains at risk however, and are asking that supporters maintain pressure on Home Office minister Theresa May in asking for a reprieve.

Concerns have been raised over the handling of the case, with the couple not given reasons for their removal until after Batey was detained in the early hours of Monday 5 September despite revelations that a decision on their case had been made as early as 17 August. In response to queries as to whether this contravenes the government’s regulations, which state that “reasons for removal must be given when a decision is made to refuse a claim for asylum”, a UK Border Agency spokesman said: “Decisions not to inform applicants of the outcome of their representations in advance will be taken where we believe individuals may deliberately seek to frustrate or delay the removal process.”

In a statement from an undisclosed location Besong, who has not been detained, said: “I am very scared for Bernard because I know what will happen to him if he is returned. I know he will be detained and he will be ill-treated. He may even be detained indefinitely. I am asking that the authorities review our case and even accept a case for Bernard in his own right.”

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Comments

1. This is a great round up. You should do this as an internet radio bulletin.

   Comment by mickfuzz on September 13, 2011 at 6:18 am

2. […] with him a considerable severance package. Read the article: Cook resigns over offensive email • Chief executive describes email as 'error of judgment' • Club chairman to apologise to Dr Ant… He resigned from his £1.8m-a-year role before he was sacked, taking with him a considerable […]

   Pingback by Cook resigns over offensive email | Latest World Football News on September 28, 2011 at 2:26 am

3. […] her fight against cancer. More: The Fiver | No higher stature than a dancing bear | Scott Murray Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has sto…r this week that Nedum Onuoha's mother had received an email from Cook's account mocking her fight […]

   Pingback by The Fiver | No higher stature than a dancing bear | Scott Murray | Latest World Football News on September 28, 2011 at 10:25 am

4. […] to Dr Onuoha's allegations". Read More: Cook resigns from Manchester City over offensive email • Manchester City CEO denied claims • Club investigation finds 'foundation' to allegations The …chester City into the claims, they have confirmed "there is foundation to Dr Onuoha's allegations". […]

   Pingback by Cook resigns from Manchester City over offensive email | Latest World Football News on September 28, 2011 at 12:22 pm

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