Given that millions of private sector workers have suffered a pay freeze or reduced income due to a cut in hours, the rises are putting a real squeeze on living standards. Just this week it emerged BT is putting up landline call charges by 10 per cent to counter the effect of customers switching to mobile or internet calls. And despite gas and electricity bills being lower than a year ago, suppliers stand accused of failing to pass on the full benefit of falls in wholesale prices.

Maybe this has slipped the minds of a few American executives – but this tragedy in India at the hands of American Gas giant Union Carbide rates as the worst industrial catastrophe of all time. While Obama calls for British heads to roll over the BP oil spill, let’s revisit a few facts that he might do well to consider…

11 people killed in accident on oil rig leased by British company BP, resulting in 4 presidential visits, a $1.6bn clean-up bill and the establishment of a $20bn compensation fund in 2 months.

15,000+ people killed in accident at Indian Bhopal plant owned by American company Union Carbide, resulting in O presidential visits, O clean-up bill and just $470m compensation in 25 years.

Now, shall we say Pot. Kettle. Black…?

On the other hand, while I welcome this re-introduction, charges are likely to be introduced on these smallish withdrawals and there is the possibility of the ATM’s running out of cash faster than usual. I, however, like the idea of the small-change dispenser – ever dashed in a hurry to withdraw some cash to pay for your bus ticket on a Monday morning only to get a £50.00 note pop out…? and then there’s the look on the face of the bus driver…

EU nationals have the right of ‘freedom of movement’ which allows them to move to, and work in, any country within the European Union – the UK by far is the most popular choice for them to make. The benefits system is favourable to them as they have the same rights to welfare benefits and free healthcare as a British person but without the requirement to have paid tax and contributions. This has to be addressed so that the UK comes into line with other EU countries like France and Spain who require ALL citizens to have paid social contributions for FIVE YEARS before any claim to benefits can be made. The UK system is too lax, too generous and too open to abuse.

Many of the EU nationals arriving have very poor English language skills, are very often employed before a British worker at minimum rates (stay in any hotel around the UK and you will almost certainly be met at reception or have your room cleaned by eastern Europeans), the NHS has a dire problem in that it has employed thousands of non-english speaking staff from EU and non-EU countries…why? add to this the desperate situation since Romania was accepted into the EU and the crime wave that has resulted since their gypsie population have set up shop in the UK and are now running child-beggar syndicates. Here in Northern Ireland it is commonplace now to be accosted by Roma women begging (above) for change outside shops, ATM’s and in carparks. EU nationals coming here cost the British taxpayer millions of pounds in social welfare (housing, healthcare, child benefit…) whereas non-EU migrants almost always have to work and pay tax…so who is more beneficial to the UK?

EU nationals are not counted as migrants owing to the freedom of movement policy, they are not counted ‘in’ and they are not counted ‘out’ when they leave so statistics counting them are often conservative. As it stands for example, a well qualified Australian or New Zealand citizen – Commonwealth citizens no less – will find it extremely difficult in the future to secure a working visa to come to the UK whereas illiterate, poorly-skilled Polish, Slovakians, Romanians will be able to enter the UK, and work, at will. Is this really what is best for the UK…? by all means cap migration for a period but by the same token measures MUST be taken to make the UK a far less lucrative option for those coming here from impoverished EU nations simply to take advantage of a welfare system British taxpayers work hard to finance. The UK cannot afford it any longer, regardless of anyone’s right to be here.

And about bloody time too!

It is a tough budget but for those who are already living with their belts tightened to the max the changes will make little difference to their lives, those who flourished under the irresponsible social disaster that was the welfare spending of the Labour Party will feel the pinch the most. Time to get off those bums, turn off the Jeremy Kyle show and start earning a living! VAT will see an increase of 3% but will that stop the High Street devotees on their Saturday morning shopping sprees…? I doubt it – people will still spend so long as the must-haves exist. People will still buy their booze and fags, the latest console games will fly off the shelves when they hit the stores – few British children will go unindulged, heaven forbid.

As Harriet Harman shrieks and yells in protest from the other side of the Floor she fails to remember that had her Govt not been so busy throwing taxpayers money at the lazy, feckless and workshy for 13 years for doing nothing other than breeding children in homes which would never see an adult go out to work, then this budget would not need to be of the ‘damage control’ type that it is. The benefits system desperately needs reform, reducing and redressing – to stop it becoming a lifestyle choice and to stop it being the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for so many eastern Europeans and asylum seekers who come here for no other reason.

Judging by Harman’s response it is clear that had Labour retained Govt the United Kingdom would be in the hands of Administrators before the end of the year.

One of the most common practices is hunting down an insurance policy issued by a company that seems to have vanished. Many of these are so-called ‘penny policies’ taken out years ago with an insurer or a friendly society for a small monthly premium, often collected door-to-door. Insurers stopped collecting premiums on these years ago because of the cost, but they still have a value. Don’t expect more than a few pounds, though…if you locate your policy that is.

Many old insurance policies were issued by friendly societies, often with a name reflecting the occupation or beliefs of the people the policies were sold to. At the end of World War II, there were more than 1,000 of these member-owned institutions: today, there are just 40. Both the FSA and Policy Detective should carry details, or try the Association of Financial Mutuals. For example, the Domestic Servants Insurance Society now comes under Reliance Mutual.

Shares Certificates: First, check if the company is still trading under the name on your shares – a look at the share price page in newspapers should help with bigger companies.If you can’t find the company, then it might have been renamed, taken over or disappeared. Companies House can help and has drop-in centres in London, edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. If you haven’t received any communication from the company for a while, you may need to update your details with its registrar. You can find this out from the London Stock exchange website if you select the Tools & Services option and then company profile.

If you think you own shares in a company ( i.e. an electronics company) but have lost the certificate, then you need to find out who the registrar is. Be prepared to pay for a replacement certificate.

The Premium Bond prize draw has been taking place for 53 years and prizes are always claimable, regardless of time. The oldest unclaimed Premium Bond prize – £25 in today’s money – dates back to the November 1957 draw. There is more than £30 million in unclaimed prize money: there are two prizes for £100,000 dating back to the same draw in Febuary 2007. One is on a £25 bond bought by a lady with a last known address in Outer London, number is 8LK522839; the other is also held by a lady, last known address in Australia, with just a £ 6 holding ( number 5eT395766). Premium bonds can always be cashed in at their face value: you can get a repayment form from a post office or from its website.

Now go get your detectives hat on and find those missing pounds!

Figures suggest that an extraordinary 98.5 per cent of the 1.67million new posts were taken by immigrants. The Tories have seized on this revelation as evidence that the Government has totally failed to deliver its pledge of ‘British jobs for British workers’. The Shadow immigration minister Damian Green revealed unpublished figures showing there are almost 730,000 fewer British-born workers in the private sector than in 1997. If you want to doubt this then simply book into a hotel in and around London where you almost certainly be met with Polish staff – this is also the situation elsewhere around the UK.

There were 23.8million British-born workers in employment at the end of last year, just 25,000 more than when Labour came to power. In the private sector, the number of British workers has actually fallen. The number of posts for people of working age has increased since 1997 by over 500,000, to 20.5million.

But the number of British-born workers in the private sector has slumped by 726,000, from 18.4million to 17.7million.

The homeowner then gets a cheaper conservatory or kitchen because VAT is not added to the bill, while the workman, in return, escapes paying income tax. Over one in five people (21 per cent admitted) have even eaten food in a supermarket or store without paying for it. Research shows so-called ‘victimless crimes’ and general acts of dishonesty are committed by half of all Britons at least once a fortnight. The dangerous game of inflating insurance claims, such as adding a set of golf clubs to a shed burglary, or telling a white lie to save on your premium, is also a frequent occurrence. British women also like buying an article of clothing, wearing it out then returning it the next day claiming it was ‘the wrong size’..yep, just keep those receipts!

The survey of 1,000 adults, carried out by esure home insurance found 38 per cent of us believe such acts are normal and 42 per cent think that obeying the rules and being honest all the time would put them at a disadvantage. More than one in ten of us, 14 per cent, think it is acceptable to do something widely perceived as morally wrong. Meanwhile another 11 per cent claim the recession has driven them to white-collar-crime.

Although Lloyds said predictions of a return to the black were based on current expectations for the economy and regulatory burdens, the bank is ‘pleased’ with its performance so far. The bank, which has three million small shareholders, reported ’strong’ trading in the first 10 weeks of 2010 and has clamped down on costs after the HBOS merger. In February’s annual results, it increased annual cost saving targets to £2 billion by the end of next year as a result of the takeover. Bad debts in the second half of 2009 were around 20% lower than in the first six months of last year and Lloyds had previously guided a similar rate of improvement during 2010.

But the bank’s impairment charges are falling at a faster rate than expected, improving profitability. The unexpected update will be a boost for chief executive Eric Daniels, who has defended the HBOS deal for more than a year to former Lloyds TSB shareholders who have seen dividends cut and the Government step in as a result of the takeover.

Working out which time is the best time to refinance your home mortgage is something which can take some effort and knowledge on your own part – but if you go to the trouble of educating yourself about market trends and refinance rates your research and homework could end up saving your thousands in interest over several years. So find yourself a calculator, get online and start your research…

There are many good sites which offer you the facility of a refinance calculator. Once you have found what the current home mortgage rates are verify them with the source of the information – usually a phonecall – and ensure that you are speaking with a mortgage officer. Compare your current mortgage rates with what is advertised – can you lower your rates by at least half a point…? if so then it may be time for you to consider a mortgage refinance.

If you can lower your rates by more than a point or two then it is definitely time for you to take action. If you are only a new home owner and intend to be in your home for less than five years then you would be best not to bother at this point – longer than that and it would pay you to consider home mortgage refinancing.