50 word Moneyfesto - Small changes for a big difference 2013

Solepost

Cold weather payments are intended to help those who need it to pay additional heating costs. Stop paying them to those in care/sheltered housing whose heating costs are paid as a flat rate as part of their rent so do not incur additional costs.

Reasons for this suggestion: my mother is in sheltered housing and as I handle her finances I have just received a second notification that she will be paid £25 this week. She has no additional heating costs so is not in need of this payment. The first letter explaining the payment is probably unnecessary, subsequent ones are definitely superfluous and a waste of money.

Stockie

Talk to supermarkets about having food that has just gone out of date but still ok to eat to be picked up every night by homeless shelters/foodbanks. They have to pay money to have their skips emptied so giving it to shelters/foodbanks would save them money.

Fairy-Home

Allowing undertaking on motorways and dual carriageways will help the flow of traffic and stop those middle and outside lane hoggers from causing congestion. This will help the economy as people and goods will reach their destination quicker and thus cheaper. The safety argument is marginal, e.g. many lorries are foreign LHD and thus undertaking is actually safer as the driver can see you. :T

sharronaram

jspin wrote: »

When the £9k a year students graduate, and get £21k+ jobs, their taxes will be so high that they will not be able to afford to spend on houses, cars, products etc.

Something must be done to stop our kids graduating with minimum £37.5k debts (£9k tuition plus £3.5k accommodation loans per year).
This level of debt, and the 9% extra tax to repay it, can only be another recessionary factor.

Children from EU countries get their courses paid for in the UK, yet our Children have to go into debt to become doctors, teacher, solicitors etc, this is not fair, why should we have to pay for European students to come to the UK yet Children born in the UK have to go into debt before they graduate?

Fairy-Home

Just about every local authority has their own policy on recycling with different items able to be recycled in various receptacles. Having a single national policy that all councils must use and nationally negotiated contracts with recycling companies (thus at much better rates) would simplify/standardise and make the process more cost effective. Also, apply the same rules to businesses as to homes - so many small businesses continue to just landfill everything with a private waste firm, which leads us to requiring unwanted incinerators. :eek:

aethelflaed

Regulated Park and Ride bus fares, so that it costs the same amount whether you are going from a Park and Ride site into town, or from the town to the Park and Ride site. It's more expensive to go from York City Centre to the Park and Ride, which is completely unjustifiable as far as I can see!

Lilith

The practice of charging up to 25% APR interest on insurance premiums can add £100s to the cost of home & motor insurance. This disadvantages those who can't afford to pay their premiums in one lump sum.
It can discourage people from taking insurance. Utility companies don't charge for paying by direct debit so why should insurers? The high rates charged don't just cover the of the insurance companies for 'lending' the customer the premium, they are making a profit from it.

advice_for_life

Please help create jobs for Credit Unions that teach people in the wise use of money. They are fair to their customers, are promoted by every do gooder and yet struggle with the support of volunteers. With all the bad publicity about banks these are a breath of fresh air.

Fairy-Home

With the reduction in police on the road/street, introduce a scheme whereby members of the public are rewarded upon a successful prosecution based on their submitted video evidence. The reward could be added to the offenders penalty, so at no cost to the taxpayer. Just about every day I video people on their mobile phone, driving carelessly, exceeding the speed limit etc. whilst driving. If everyone knew that, at any time, anyone could be filming their activity which could result in prosecution, then our roads and streets would be much safer. :shhh:

DingBat_3

Save on translation services

Do the same as other European countries, if you need a document or service translating, you pay for it yourself. This would save councils and government producing paperwork in 172 different languages.