UKAR chief presiding over £80bn of bailed-out mortgages says ‘tough love’ would be fairer on those struggling with payments Britain is facing a tsunami of house repossessions as soon as interest rates start to rise, one of the country’s leading bankers has warned. Richard Banks, the chief executive of UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the body that runs the £80bn of mortgages bailed out by the taxpayer during the banking crisis, also said in an interview with the Guardian that the Labour government’s pleas at the start of the crisis for lenders to keep families in their homes was forcing some homeowners further into debt. In a warning that the industry may have been too lenient with some of its customers, he said he believed a policy of “tough love” would be fairer to people facing long-term difficulty in keeping up payments on loans taken out when house prices were at their peak and personal incomes on the rise. His warning came the day after the international bank regulator said the Bank of England, which has kept rates at 0.5% for more than two years, would have to raise rates shortly to curb inflation. The Bank of International Settlements said the policy of the Bank of England, whose rate-setting committee is split over whether or not to increase borrowing costs, was “unsustainable”. With 750,000 customers, UK Asset Resolution, set up to run the nationalised mortgages of Bradford & Bingley and parts of Northern Rock, is the country’s fifth largest mortgage lender. But 23,000 of those mortgage holders are more than six months behind with payments and Banks admitted the projections for the number of people falling behind on payments could get “scary” if lenders did nothing to prepare for higher rates. “You can see if you don’t do something about it, you can see a tsunami,” he said. “If you don’t get into the hills you could get drowned by this. If you don’t manage this properly it could get very messy.” He regards it is an industry-wide problem, albeit one that might be concentrated at UKAR as its customers include buy-to-let landlords and so-called self-certified borrowers – those without salaried income. UKAR, through three calls centres in Crossflatts, West Yorkshire, Gosforth, Newcastle, and Doxford, Sunderland, has begun cold-calling customers it believes are at risk of falling behind on payments in an attempt to keep their mortgage payments on schedule. The bank is also trying to tackle customers behind with payments for six months or more and at risk of repossession. His concern about a surge in repossessions is partly the result of moves by the industry early in the 2008 crisis to grant so-called forbearance to help customers stay in homes by, for example, reducing monthly interest payments. “We as an industry, as a kneejerk reaction in the emergence of the crisis and because the government asked us to be forbearing to customers in the hope it would all go away, we have been too lenient with some customers. “It’s a tough love approach,” he said. “It’s treating customers fairly, not nicely, because if you can’t afford your mortgage you are only increasing your indebtedness. If we allow you to increase your indebtedness, that’s not really fair to you.” Earlier this month the Council of Mortgage Lenders forecast a rise in repossessions from 40,000 this year to 45,000 next. This figure would still remain well below the 75,500 peak of 1991. The remarks by Banks follow a warning last week from the new regulator set up to spot financial risks in the system – the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) inside the Bank of England – that warned banks may be providing a “misleading picture of their financial health” if they were not making big enough provisions for borrowers in difficulty. Forbearance has been brought into play in up to 12% of mortgages, the FPC said. It also noted that the most “vulnerable” households were concentrated in a few banks. It did not scrutinise UKAR but noted that the two other bailed out banks, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, had the largest exposure to customers whose mortgages were bigger than their value of their homes. Last month, the Financial Services Authority issued a best-practice guide on handling forbearance in which it warned: “Arrears and forbearance support provided with due care by firms has a beneficial impact for both the firm and the customer, in that it can reduce repossessions and lower realised losses. However, where such support is provided without due care or any knowledge or understanding of the impacts, it has potentially adverse implications for the customer, for the firm’s understanding of the risks inherent within its lending book, and in turn for the regulators and the market.” Economics Interest rates Mortgage arrears Property Mortgages Borrowing & debt Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk
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• Markets rise as plan makes Athens default less likely • Two-day strike starts on Tuesday ahead of key vote A silver lining appeared amid the clouds of Europe’s worst crisis in decades on Monday as French banks agreed to roll over the country’s debt two days before a crucial vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures – a precondition of further aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. As the finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, desperately tried to woo dissident deputies ahead of the vote on the radical €28bn (£25bn) package, the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, said his country’s banks had agreed on a plan to reinvest a significant amount of their holdings in Greek debt. By reinvesting in new securities over 30 years it is hoped the pressure on Greece to repay investors will ease. With €355bn, bondholders in France are more exposed to Greek debt than any other eurozone country. The announcement of the scheme helped dissipate fears that Greece was heading for default. The FTSE 100 rose 24.62 points to close at 5722.34, while the Dow Jones was up 92 points at 12,026 by lunchtime on Wall Street. But in Athens the mood was less sanguine. The make-or-break vote – over policies seen as vital if Greece is to receive a fifth loan instalment of €12bn and stave off economic collapse – takes place in an increasingly electric atmosphere. Following a year of savage wage and pension cuts, the reaction to the new round of belt-tightening has been as biting as the measures themselves. Three out of four Greeks oppose the policies, which call for as many as 150,000 jobs to be axed in the public sector at a time when the economy is in deep recession and unemployment at a record 16.2%. In a step not seen since the return of democracy in 1974, unions announced a 48-hour strike to coincide with what is expected to be a raucous debate in parliament over the spending cuts. The walk-out, which begins on Tuesday, is expected to paralyse the country at the height of the tourist season. On Monday, as the 300-seat parliament prepared for the vote, communist militants stormed the Acropolis, unfurling huge protest banners from the ramparts. As holidaymakers ascended the hill to the fifth-century BC site, they were greeted by banners proclaiming: “The people have the power and never surrender. Organise! Counterattack.” The level of popular hostility to the four-year austerity plan – which includes tax increases on everything from property to soft drinks, and loss-making public utilities being privatised at a rate of one every 15 days – appears to have unnerved the socialist government. The majority of the prime minister, George Papandreou, has been whittled down following a series of defections. Public opposition to the measures – with tens of thousands of protesters amassing outside parliament over the past month – is clearly affecting MPs’ mindsets. With at least three MPs from the governing Pasok party voicing grave misgivings, passage of the vote appeared far from assured despite the finance minister making last-minute appeals. Kostas Panagopoulos, a political analyst, said: “Papandreou may have won a vote of confidence last week but it will mean nothing if he gets these measures passed with only the slimmest of majorities. The number of those supporting the measures is critical for the country’s political stability. It would seem that this is a government that has clearly lost its connection with society.” The steadfast refusal of the main opposition conservative party to endorse the measures – citing recession-inducing tax increases – has added to the government’s woes. Barely a year after it received €110bn in emergency loans, Greece has been told in no uncertain terms that it will not qualify for a second bailout unless it implements the reforms. “Not since the early 1960s has Greece been in such crisis,” said Fotis Kouvelis, who heads a small leftist party. “Greece’s debt load has to be restructured. Our country is at risk of social disintegration. The [austerity] demands being asked of Greeks are too severe at a time when 25% are now living under the poverty line.” European debt crisis Europe Greece France Helena Smith guardian.co.uk
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Former Illinois governor, who was forced out in 2009, found guilty on 17 corruption charges by Chicago jury Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, has been found guilty in Chicago of 17 of 20 corruption charges against him – including trying to sell or swap Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat. Jurors delivered their verdicts on Monday after deliberating for nine days. They jury found Blagojevich guilty on all 11 charges related to the Senate seat, but found him not guilty of soliciting bribes in the alleged shakedown of a road-building executive. The panel was deadlocked on a charge of attempted extortion on that same case. Judge James Zagel has ruled that Blagojevich will be barred from travelling outside the northern district of Illinois without permission from the judge. A status hearing for sentencing has been set for 1 August. Blagojevich testified for seven days and denied all wrongdoing. Prosecutors said he lied, and that the proof was evident on FBI wiretaps. Those included a widely parodied clip in which Blagojevich calls the Senate opportunity “fucking golden.” In his first trial last August, Blagojevich was convicted of one count of lying to federal officials, but jurors were unable to reach a decision on the other counts. Rod Blagojevich Democrats Illinois US politics United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Kyl Claims the Ryan Budget is Not ‘Radical’ Because it Adds to the Deficit–But Is This The GOP’s Idea Of Fiscal Responsibility?
June 27, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media (h/t Heather of VideoCafe) I had to listen to this clip of Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, who joined Eric Cantor earlier last week and bailed on the debt-ceiling negotiation, several times to convince myself that I was actually hearing what I thought I heard and just how completely bizarre Kyl’s understanding of economics truly is. Does he think that this is in any way persuasive towards the Ryan budget plan? In what universe? KYL: Right, but just take the Ryan budget. It’s supposed to be the most radical thing. Okay, over ten years, the Ryan budget adds $5 trillion dollars to our national debt. We would have ten straight years of roughly $500 billion in increased debt. So the radical cuts that some people are talking about and that the chairman warns against, are simply not a part of the Republican plan. Once you begin to turn down the long term spending, which is what the Ryan budget does, then you get back to a point where we’re only spending 20% of our economy, of the GDP. Today, we’re spending 25%. The Obama budget never gets below 23, but that’s what the Ryan budget does. Obama would add $12 billion over that same period of time to our debt Well, first of all, the Ryan budget plan is radical because it ends the social contract that has allowed America to prosper for eighty years by ending Medicare as we know it. But does Kyl actually think it softens the blow because it adds FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS to the national debt? Where is that vaunted GOP fiscal responsibility? And that’s in comparison to Obama’s budget, which allows seniors to keep Medicare AND only adds to the debt by a relatively measly $12 billion. (Even though the fact is that’s not true ). Sorry, but what Kyl blabbered on about (and Wallace let him) *is* precisely a seriously radical idea of how to fix this economy, in that it won’t fix anything. Or maybe since Bernanke’s warning that spending cuts in the near term were dangerous for the weak recovery was too obtuse for him to understand, Kyl needs a more remedial explanation of the economy. THE GOP/RYAN BUDGET PLAN IS WILL HURT THIS COUNTRY, ECONOMICALLY, FISCALLY, EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY BECAUSE IT IS A FUNDAMENTALLY UN-AMERICAN PLAN. Any questions, Kyl?
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• Set your page to update automatically using the button below • Send your emails over to paolo.bandini@guardian.co.uk • Get the latest from elsewhere at Wimbledon with our live blog • You can even follow Paolo on Twitter, if that’s your thing Second set: Rafael Nadal* leads Juan Martín del Potro 7-6, 0-1 Nadal, who has had his ankle taped up, seems to be moving a little more freely now, though he makes another uncharacteristic error on the opening game of the new set, clipping a half-court backhand into the tramlines. Del Potro holds to 30, though he is no longer getting his first serve in with the consistency he had earlier in the match. Injured opponent or otherwise, he will need that to be firing. Nadal has disappeared for more treatment Del Potro, meanwhile, is furious. He thrashes his racket against the ground in frustration, before reopening his dialogue with the chair umpire. Rafael Nadal wins the first set 7-6 (8-6) Unbelievable. On set point, Del Potro double faults. Nadal takes the set, but can he survive another two? Or even more? First set tie-break: Nadal 7-6 Del Potro* Nadal successfully defends Del Potro’s first set point, before bringing up one of his own with an inch-perfect passing forehand that catches the back edge of the baseline. Del Potro challenges, but in vain. First set tie-break: Nadal* 5-6 Del Potro Nadal just keeps hanging on in there, bringing himself level at 5-5 after another lengthy rally, but on the next point he again slaps a forehand wide when under no apparent pressure. First set tie-break: Nadal 4-5 Del Potro* Nadal gives the points straight back, thrusting consecutive shots into the left-hand tramlines. Big chance now for Del Potro to take the set. First set tie-break: Nadal* 4-3 Del Potro Injured he may be, but Nadal still finds a way to take both points off Del Potro’s serve, standing and watching as the Argentinian’s lob drifts past the baseline. First set tie-break: Nadal 2-3 Del Potro* Nadal soldiers on, taking both points on serve as Del Potro slices backhands into the net on both occasions. But in-between the points Nadal looks far from happy. First set tie-break: Nadal* 0-3 Del Potro A big serve brings Del Potro the first point on serve, and then Nadal crashes a forehand into the bottom of the net cord – before limping away in disgust. First set tie-break: Nadal 0-1 Del Potro* An inauspicious start for Rafa as he clumps a forehand long. I have to say … It doesn’t look great. I’m no expert, but Nadal’s body language and tone of voice hardly speak to a man full of optimism. Del Potro remains livid, complaining to another official about the delay. The crowd have settled for a Mexican wave to keep themselves entertained. So … Del Potro is less than happy about the time-out, presumably frustrated at being denied the opportunity to close out the set while his opponent is struggling, but this looks as though it may be serious. The medics quickly establish that the injury is to the back of Nadal’s foot/ankle, and “on the bone”. Nadal confirms that this is a new injury – though he was taking anti-inflammatories for other injuries beforehand – which he first felt at the beginning of the set, but which seems to have been exacerbated as he won that point to bring up a set point at 30-40. First set: Nadal* 6-6 Del Potro A first cry of “¡Vamos!” from Rafa as he clubs his way to 15-30, but two points later he is grimacing despite earning another set point at 30-40, and it appears he is in some discomfort, though it’s not easy to tell what the problem is. Del Potro seizes on this moment of weakness, following a big serve with a huge forehand right to the baseline to force deuce, and continuing to ride the serve over the next two points to seal the game. Tie-break coming up, but first we have a medical time-out. First set: Nadal 6-5 Del Potro* Nadal curses out the officials again, this time under his breath, after successfully challenging a call that his forehand had travelled long on 15-0. But while Hawkeye saves him on that occasion, there is no such respite after he places a dropshot attempt into the net to bring up 30-30. Del Potro promptly summons his best tennis of the match, reversing the tide of a rally with an enormous forehand that allows him to rush the net and deliver a backhand volley that Nadal can’t quite return. That brings up Del Potro’s first break point of the match, but he is unable to capitalise, Nadal dictating proceedings again before this time getting his dropshot just right. He holds at the first attempt on deuce, and Del Potro must serve to stay in the set again. First set: Nadal* 5-5 Del Potro Nadal continues muttering at the umpire throughout the break as a trainer rushes on to seemingly have a quick check on his footwear. Del Potro stays quiet, but when the tennis resumes he quickly finds himself in trouble, whipping one forehand into the net and then another long as he slips from 30-0 up to facing a set point at 30-40. He rescues it with a huge serve out wide to the advantage court, and then repeats the feat after giving up another break point on deuce. Finally he is able to see the game through, finishing things off with a rather delicate backhand volley. First set: Nadal 5-4 Del Potro* Oooh, a time violation warning against Nadal at 15-15, and it’s fair to say the Spaniard isn’t happy. Didn’t catch all of it, but it sounded like his response was along the lines of ‘I always do this’. Is that an excuse? Del Potro actually seems to offer his support, but in any case it doesn’t seem to have done Nadal any harm. He races through the rest of the game in a fury, driving Del Potro off the court and only dropping one further point after misjudging the flight of a desperation lob that he had assumed was sailing long. First set: Nadal* 4-4 Del Potro Nadal overturns an ace at 15-15 with a challenge that shows the ball had travelled into the tramlines by quite some distance, but it does him no good, as Del Potro takes the point anyway after a short rally. at 40-30, the BBC commentators note that in the first week of Wimbledon, Del Potro serve-and-volleyed 19 times, winning 16 of those points. The Argentinian promptly does exactly that to seal the game. Isn’t in-game coaching supposed to be banned? First set: Nadal 4-3 Del Potro* Nadal gives his opponent an opening at 0-15, making a mess of his backhand volley but then seizing his second opportunity with relish after Del Potro does a similarly poor job with his attempted lob. The Spaniard, we know, is not one to give you two chances. An ace is followed by another booming first serve that Del Potro can only clang away off his frame. First set: Nadal* 3-3 Del Potro Whilst it is commonly agreed these days that the grass at Wimbledon plays slower than it once did, few would dispute that the ball still bounces much lower here than on other surfaces, and when these two get into rallies you can see how far down Del Potro is having to reach. Playing forehands at shin height cannot be easy. Nadal races into a 0-30 lead after two brief rallies, but the Argentinian recovers to make it 30-30. An incredible point ensues, as Del Potro somehow contrives to block a string of vicious groundstrokes at the net before finally deflecting one long. Break point Nadal, but once again Del Potro’s serve comes to the rescue, and he takes the next three points to hold. First set: Nadal 3-2 Del Potro* Much as in his encounter with Muller in the previous round, Nadal looks utterly untouchable on his own serve. Another hold to love. First set: Nadal* 2-2 Del Potro From the vantage point of the BBC’s camera behind the court, Del Potro looks almost absurd, towering over the court in such a way that it seems remarkable that he can even get the ball down fast enough for it to come down to earth inside the service box. When he opts for a touch of topspin on second serve, the ensuing double fault seems as though it was the only possible conclusion. But when the first serves go in, there is little Nadal is able to do about them, and Del Potro drops only one further point. First set: Nadal 2-1 Del Potro* A rally, at last, as Nadal chases Del Potro around the baseline, whipping his racket up behind his head like a tomahawk with every forehand. Del Potro races this way and that, digging out returns, but there was only ever going to be one winner. Nadal thrashes a backhand winner to bring up 40-15, before seeing out the hold. First set: Nadal* 1-1 Del Potro A scruffy first service game for Del Potro, mixing up unreturnable serves with others that plough into the net at knee-height (well, shin height for him). Nadal, though, is also feeling his way into this game, clumping a forehand long here and shanking another there. Del Potro holds to 15. First set: Nadal 1-0 Del Potro* He might have a wingspan that would make a pterodactyl weep with envy, but Del Potro is still left lurching at thin air as Nadal fizzes down his first ace, the ball hopping away from the Argentinian off the inside tramline on the deuce court. Nadal holds to love. Here we go Nadal to serve first. Checking the forecast We may see the roof closed on Centre Court before this match is out – there are whispers of rain in the vicinity, but the match officials have chosen to start the match with it open and see how we go. Form is not the only issue, of course … Even before his injury woes, Del Potro was known for being as useful on grass as a talking towel . This is the first time he’s gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon – and at one point it didn’t look like he would go this far, becoming so frustrated during his match against the 5ft 5ins Belgian Olivier Rochus that he wound up throwing a shoe out of the arena in frustration. But he seems to be finding his stride on the surface now, and on paper it should suit him well. Players may complain about the grass not being as fast as it used to be, but here is no doubting the fact that a big serve is still a huge asset on this surface, and Del Potro certainly has one of those. Preamble Afternoon folks, and welcome to the biggest match of the men’s singles so far at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. No disrespect intended to Messrs Murray and Gasquet , Federer and Youzhny, nor Djokovic and Llodra, but this is without a shadow of a doubt the match-up that has sparked the greatest excitement SW19. Little wonder. Twenty-one months have passed since Juan Martín Del Potro stunned New York, powering his way to US Open victory but few who watched him then can have forgotten the devastating elegance of his 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Rafael Nadal, nor indeed his five-set victory over Roger Federer in the final. He remains the only player ever to have beaten both of those players in a single grand slam, and while a wrist injury, then a hip complaint, have derailed his career in the interim, there is no question that his talent remains. Nadal was within his rights to grumble when surveying last week that his opponent today is not your typical 24th seed. That said, he is not at the levels of 2009 either, while Nadal has looked typically imperious thus far. He will expect to win this. But then, he probably did at Flushing Meadows too. Wimbledon 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Rafael Nadal Juan Martín del Potro Paolo Bandini guardian.co.uk
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Ryan Cleary’s bail conditions mean he is banned from using any device capable of connecting to the internet The teenager accused of attacking the website of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency has been released on conditional bail. Prosecutors were unsuccessful in their appeal against Ryan Cleary’s bail in a hastily convened hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday. The 19-year-old, who was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome last week, was arrested last Monday as part of an international investigation into the internet hacking group LulzSec following attacks on the CIA and US Senate. Cleary’s bail conditions mean he is banned from using any device capable of connecting to the internet. The Essex teenager must observe a curfew between 9am and 7pm. He will be electronically tagged and must not leave the house without his mother, Rita Cleary. She was in court for the short hearing on Monday afternoon. The court reversed an earlier decision to hear Cleary’s case tomorrow after an appeal over his “vulnerability” from his legal team. The student has spent the past week being interrogated by the FBI and UK police over the alleged attacks. He could yet be charged with further offences. Cleary’s computers, iPhone and PS3 have been confiscated by police. In a statement read outside court, Cleary’s lawyers said: “Ryan Cleary is very relieved to be granted bail and to be home to his mum, his cats and his books. “He has cooperated with police and will continue to do so. Ryan has last week been diagnosed with Aspergers… He will now be provided with the professional support he needs. His obvious intelligence can now be channelled into a worthwhile pursuit. “One thing not so positive from this case is that the British police are investigating and appear to be accepting jurisdiction [unlike the Gary McKinnock case]. Ryan will not be making further statement for the time being.” The case is due back at Southwark crown court for a case management hearing on 30 August. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook LulzSec Hacking Internet Computing Digital media Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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Reporting on Michele Bachmann officially entering the presidential race on Monday's NBC Today, correspondent Kelly O'Donnell declared that “step one” for the Minnesota Congresswoman was “redefining [her] public image” by “turning down the flame-thrower persona.” Following O'Donnell's report and taped interview with Bachmann, co-host Ann Curry interviewed fellow Republican presidential candidate and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Curry asked about Bachmann's chances: “She has been described as being too far outside the mainstream to be president. You know her. You're both from Minnesota. Do you agree with that or disagree with that?” As evidence of Bachmann supposedly downplaying her “flame-thrower persona,” O'Donnell noted how: “Her criticism of the President remains fierce, but more carefully worded.” A clip was played of O'Donnell going after Bachmann's past statements on Obama: “You did say that the President had anti-American views. Was that a mistake?” Moments later, O'Donnell proclaimed that, “Bachmann has taken heat for gaffes and errors on things like American history,” and asked, “Have you been too careless about facts?” Here is a full transcript of O'Donnell's June 27 report: 7:00AM ET TEASE: ANN CURRY: Game changer. Tea Party favorite Michelle Bachmann formally launches her campaign for the GOP's presidential nomination this morning as a new poll shows she's already a front-runner in Iowa. We'll hear from the Congresswoman herself.
Continue reading …Jose Vargas, Illegal Reporter: A ‘Relentless Self-Promoter Whom Many Colleagues Didn’t Trust’
June 27, 2011 No Comment
Former Washington Postie Jose Antonio Vargas has granted TV interviews to ABC and CNN since he “came out” as an illegal alien and pledged to lobby for the “DREAM Act. On Sunday, Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton couldn’t understand why Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli punted on publishing the Vargas coming-out opus after careful vetting, but he
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Woman, who works as a journalist for the Press Association news wire service, arrested on Monday by appointment A 34-year-old woman was arrested by the Metropolitan police on Monday afternoon on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages, Scotland Yard said. The woman, who works as a journalist for the Press Association news wire service, was arrested at around 3pm by appointment at a central London police station. She is currently being questioned by officers from Operation Weeting, the Met’s investigation into phone hacking that began at the start of the year. PA confirmed that one of its journalists had been arrested. She is the fifth person to be arrested as part of the current police inquiry. More details soon… Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Press Association Privacy & the media Media law James Robinson guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Public sector strikes to go ahead after talks fail to settle pension dispute
June 27, 2011 No Comment
Evidence of compromise over local government scheme, but unions say government talks failed to close ‘major gaps’ Public sector strikes will go ahead on Thursday after ministers failed to reach a settlement with union leaders over pension reforms despite appearing to offer a significant compromise over the local government scheme. The general secretary of the TUC, Brendan Barber, said strikes would go ahead in schools, colleges, universities, courts, ports and jobcentres on Thursday, after two hours of talks with ministers failed to resolve what he described as “major gaps” between them over the pension plans. He said there were still fundamental disagreements over the major plans to increase contributions, change the system of uprating schemes and increase the pension age in the public sector. PCS, the civil service union leading strikes on Thursday, called the talks a “farce” but the biggest public sector union, Unison, indicated they had been enough for them to delay their strike ballot until later in the summer, in the hope of further concessions. The government issued a statement insisting the talks had been constructive and indicating that they were preparing to offer concessions on the local government scheme, about which there has been serious concern. Some fear that higher contributions could trigger a mass opt-out and the scheme’s collapse. The minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said in a joint statement: “Today’s meeting was constructive and was just one of a series of ongoing talks the government has committed to with the TUC on public service pensions; further meetings have been scheduled for July. This is a genuine consultation to which we are committed in order to try and agree a way forward with the unions, including on how to implement the changes on contributions set out in the spending review. “We recognise that the funding basis for the local government pension scheme is different. There are important implications for how the contributions and benefits interact, as both Lord Hutton and the unions have set out. On that basis, we have agreed to have a more in-depth discussion with local government unions and the TUC about how we take these factors into account. “While the talks are ongoing it is obviously disappointing that some unions have decided on industrial action. But what the recent ballot results show is that there is extremely limited support for the kind of strike action union leaders are calling for. Less than 10% of the civil service workforce has voted for strike actions and only about a third of teachers. “We can assure the public now that we have rigorous contingency plans in place to ensure that their essential services are maintained during the strike action on Thursday.” Barber said: “In some areas it’s clear that there is the possibility of agreement but in terms of some of the key issues there is clearly a major gap betwen our position and that of the government. “The strikes will be taking place on Thursday. Four unions balloted their members and reached that decision and that reflects the degree of anger and worry and real fear there is across everyone who works for public sectors that their pensions are under threat.” Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the PCS civil service union, whose members are striking on Thursday, said: “It was disappointing that today’s meeting proved to be no different to any of the others. It was a farce. Again the government has shown no interest in actually negotiating on any of the key principles at the heart of this dispute. “And this is a dispute that is entirely of the government’s making. We did not ask for pensions to be cut; we did not ask for public servants to be told they must work years longer and pay more for much less in retirement. Every independent analysis shows that public sector pensions are affordable now and in the future, and costs are falling in the long term. “On Thursday we will see hundreds of thousands of civil and public servants on strike and, on the experience of today’s meeting and the last few months of government obstinacy, we fully expect to be joined by millions more in the autumn.” Dave Prentis, the head of Unison, said his union would not ballot until after further talks in the summer. “There was a sense that today we were in real negotiations,” he said. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers along with the PCS confirmed it would go ahead with strikes. Public sector pensions Trade unions Civil service Teaching Public services policy Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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