scottish and southern increase prices

The last of the major energy suppliers followed suit by increasing it’s Gas and Electricity prices. The price rise will come into force on April 1st 2008. Scottish and Southern are the last major supplier to announce an increase, blaiming an increase in wholesale price for the rise.

Gas prices will rise by approx £85 per year and electricity by approx £50 according to Uswitch. A dual fuel bill will increase by approx £131 per year.

Scottish and Southern follow NPower, EDF Energy, British Gas, EON and Scottish power who have all increased the price of it’s gas and electricity.

Since the start of the year, Npower has put prices up for its electricity customers by 12.7% and gas prices rose by 17.2%. EDF put up electricity tariffs by 7.9% and gas prices by 12.9%.

British Gas increased gas and electricity prices by 15%. Scottish Power increased gas bills by 15% and electricity bills by 14%, and E.On put up gas bills by 15% and electricity tariffs by 9.7%.

average stamp duty bill doubled

The average stamp duty bill for first-time buyers has almost doubled over the last five years, says a report from mortgage lender Halifax.
The average bill in 2007 was £1,751 compared with £960 in 2002.

In the south-east, south-west and east of England almost all first-time buyers paid stamp duty, while in northern regions only 42% were liable, it said.

The Treasury pointed out that half of first-time buyers will pay no stamp duty this year.

The lowest, 1% tax band hits homes worth between £125,000 and £250,000.

‘Raise thresholds’

Homes valued between £250,000 and £500,000 attract a 3% charge and properties worth more than that are taxed at 4%.

Although the government has raised the threshold at which buyers pay 1%, it has not kept pace with the surge in house prices.

“Stamp duty has again become an issue for first-time buyers because the stamp duty thresholds have not kept pace with house price inflation,” said Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist.

“We call on all political parties to raise the stamp duty thresholds to compensate for house price inflation over the past decade,” he added.

But the government defended its record.

“Half of all first-time homebuyers and around two-fifths of all homebuyers will pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax this year,” a Treasury spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the latest figures show that the UK housing market is slowing.

According to a monthly survey from the Halifax, prices across the UK fell by 0.3% in February, taking the annual rate of inflation down from 4.5% to 4.2%.

house prices down again

Prices are down for the fourth month in a row
House prices fell in February by 0.5%, says the latest survey from Nationwide.
The fourth consecutive monthly fall in property prices pushed the cost of the average UK home down to £179,358.

The annual rate of house price inflation fell from 4.2% in January to 2.7% in February, the lowest since November 2005.

But the building society warned against gloomy predictions for the housing market, claiming that recession was “a remote risk for the UK economy”.

“It should not be surprising that we are entering a slower phase,” said the Nationwide’s chief economist Fionnuala Earley.

“It is encouraging that the outlook is one of just that, slower economic growth rather than recession,” she added.

Trend continues

It is the first time since 2000 that the Nationwide has recorded four monthly price falls in a row and the pace of decline seems to be speeding up.

childminder annual fee hike

Some childminders could be put out of business by a hike in their annual fees, according to the National Childminding Association.
The annual fee needed to register to look after children aged five to seven is due to go up from £15 to £103.

But campaigners claim the increase this year will damage childminders’ finances and be the final straw for some.

A three-month consultation period by the government on pushing up the price ends next week.

british gas price rise

On January 18th 2008, British Gas was the next Utility supplier to increase prices. You can save money by making sure you are on the correct price plan/utility supplier. To do this, you should you a Compare service.

Uswitch can save you time and money - click here

Money Super Market - click here to compare utility bills

• British Gas prices going up by 15% or £85 for gas and 15% or £54 for electricity
• Average household bill for a dual fuel British Gas customer will go up from £912 to £1,051 - only £64 cheaper than when prices were at an all time high
• Gas customers will suffer most, as British Gas will now be the most expensive supplier for gas - gas bills will go up from £568 to £653 a year
• Increases are on standard tariffs - over half its 16 million customer accounts will be affected
• British Gas reported record half year profits of £533 million, but Citigroup predicts that year end profits will hit almost £639 million - more than six times the £95 million it made in 2006
• Average British Gas dual fuel bill rocketed by 85% or £513 (2004 - 2006) but only fell by 19% or £208 last year.