Responding to Ofgem’s £2m fine of npower for mishandling customer complaints, Adam Scorer, Director of External Affairs at Consumer Focus said:

“It is welcome to see Ofgem willing to hammer home the point that unless energy companies start treating consumers fairly there will be a price to pay.

“Dealing with complaints properly is the foundation of good customer service. Things will go wrong, problems will need sorting out and customers will make complaints. How a company deals with those complaints is the best indicator of how much they value their customers.

“This is the second of the Big Six to be fined this year for problems with handling customer complaints, and another is under investigation. Customers need to be confident that suppliers will deal with their complaint quickly and fairly and that there will be consequences when they don’t play fair.

“The energy industry is one of the least trusted by consumers and people need to see real changes to customer service if this trust is to be rebuilt. Energy firms also need to view complaints as essential feedback to help them improve the service they deliver.’

Consumer Focus is particularly concerned that energy companies seem to avoid directing customers to the Energy Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is the essential backstop if a company cannot or will not sort out someone’s problem. That companies are failing to alert people to the Ombudsman scheme undermines the whole system of redress in the energy market and Ofgem must continue to be tough with any company that fails to direct customers to the Ombudsman.

According to a survey conducted by the opinion research company ICM, carbon monoxide alarms capable of detecting the gas are only installed in one third of the UK’s households.

According to Christine McGourty from the awareness group Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed!, Government and householders need to concentrate on tackling the dangers of carbon monoxide gas.

Christine McGourty said:

“Building regulations should be amended so that new homes come with alarms already installed. Secondly, providing an alarm should be part of a landlord’s annual gas safety inspection.”

In 2010 alone, carbon monoxide poisoning led to the deaths of at least 50 people in the UK, and Hospital treatment was required by another 4,000 people after they were exposed to the gas.

Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, charcoal, coal and wood do not burn fully. The most common cause of this is when appliances such as a boiler or cooker is installed incorrectly or poorly maintained.

The poll of 2,001 adults was conducted by ICM, on September 26 and 27.

According to new research published by homelessness charity St Mungo’s, three out of five outreach workers across the country say they have noted an increasing number of rough sleepers, and almost three quarters (71%) of those surveyed did not believe that was enough emergency accommodation for rough sleepers in their area.

The figures are taken from a new report ‘Battered, broken, bereft – why people still end up rough sleeping’.

The report includes findings from the first ever survey of outreach workers across England as well as statistics from St Mungo’s survey of its 1,500 clients, the largest survey of homeless people of its kind.

The report lists relationship breakdowns, domestic violence and mental health conditions as three of the main traumas leading people to sleep rough on the streets today:

•Relationship breakdown is the largest single trigger of rough sleeping cited by outreach workers, leading to 42% of male rough sleeping.

•Among women, 35% slept rough after leaving home to escape domestic violence.

•Perhaps the most shocking finding is that 57% of outreach workers believe that the number of rough sleepers in their area with mental health problems has increased over the last five years.

Charles Fraser, St Mungo’s Chief Executive, said:

“It is truly distressing that rough sleeping is on the rise after so much has been achieved. We welcome the Government action taken to stop anyone from spending a second night on the streets and this approach seems very promising, but what is also needed now is better support to prevent vulnerable people from hitting the streets in the first place – a commitment to ‘no first night out’.

“The cuts in ‘Cinderella’ services such as those supporting people with mental health conditions and domestic violence are of particular concern. As services close, or thresholds for accessing support are raised, some vulnerable people are being left with nowhere to turn with devastating effect. These cuts are proving too costly, both in human terms and in the very real costs of supporting people’s recovery from the trauma of rough sleeping.

“We know rough sleeping can be prevented if the right support is provided when people need it. People may well battered, broken and bereft – but we must not abandon them.”

The report recommends that better housing support is made available, particularly around mental health and domestic violence, andthat local authorities adapt their housing advice services to maximise early intervention opportunities for vulnerable people and that investment is made in emergency accommodation.

A Government investment of £950 million will help create and safeguard more than 200,000 jobs across England, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will announce today.

The second round of the Government’s £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund (RGF) will support 119 bids from businesses and local partnerships with projects to expand their operations, create new jobs and attract private investment. Discussions are ongoing with a further 10 bidders about their projects.

Of the 201,000 jobs created or protected, around 37,000 will be directly created jobs, and more than 164,000 will be in the supply chain. The Government investment will support nearly £6 billion of private investment secured by the successful projects.

The RGF is a £1.4bn fund which is designed to encourage enterprise, growth and jobs in the private sector and support areas and communities that are dependent on the public sector. An expected 326,000 jobs will be created and safeguarded thanks to the fund.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

“I am delighted to be able to announce this boost to business, which will jump start growth and create jobs that last in the places that really need it.

“This targeted support for businesses across the country allows them to expand and create jobs.

“It unlocks private sector investment – with at least £5 put in for every £1 of public money.

“People in the rest of Britain have been let down for far too long by governments in thrall to one Square Mile of it.

“The first pot of Regional Growth Fund money is already making a difference across the country – helping to rebalance our economy so that every region and sector benefits.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“We need to be doing all we can to enable businesses and organisations to create much needed jobs and inject private investment into the economy.

“We have announced today that a further 119 projects will benefit from the fund, and expect to deliver a huge number of jobs across their businesses and in the supply chain.

“This is a very significant boost to local communities, and the Regional Growth Fund will help businesses to drive local growth.”

Lord Heseltine said:

“I’m confident that the exciting projects the Government is supporting today will help rebalance the economy and help local areas thrive.

“The Government’s investment of £950 million is supported by nearly £6 billion of private investment, putting businesses firmly in control of their own economic future. The independent panel and I have been impressed by the creativity and innovative nature of these projects, and I look forward to following their progress.”

The successful bids are subject to legal checks before they can be awarded their final allocation of funding. This will establish whether the Government is confident that the organisations can deliver on the proposals in the bid and be agreed through contract. The Government expects the money to start being passed on to the bidders in the spring.

Some of the successful bids include:

Research and development project to investigate the introduction of a new engine into the Bentley model range with a focus on the Chinese market.

Project to stimulate investment, employment and economic growth in Bradford city centre by incentivising investment in, and speeding up delivery of, Westfield Bradford and the Central Business District, complemented by wider public investment in city centre business rate relief.

Development of new kilns and firing methods using innovative sintering processes at Ceram Research Ltd, which can be scaled up for industrial use in ceramics industry.

A more detailed breakdown of the total bids received to the first round of the fund is available on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) website. Also available on the website is a regional breakdown of where the bids came from and their total value.

We announced in April that 50 projects in the first round of the RGF were successful and would benefit from a share of £450 million, subject to completing due diligence. These projects were expected to complete this process this autumn – the round is on track.

Following its announcement of a £2.5million penalty for British Gas in July, Ofgem has now fined npower £2million, which will reinforce Ofgem’s focus on ensuring that consumers obtain the service they expect from energy companies.

Energy companies must now support Ofgem’s sweeping reforms to restore consumer trust as quickly as possible in the energy industry.

npower is taking action to improve how it deals with customer complaints and ensure it is compliant with the regulations.

Ofgem has today announced a £2 million penalty on npower for breach of the regulations
which set standards for the way energy companies handle customer complaints. This
follows a penalty of £2.5 million in July on British Gas for breach of the same
regulations.

Sarah Harrison, Ofgem’s Senior Partner for Sustainable Development, said:

“Consumers have a right to expect that energy companies will comply with the standards. npower failed to do so and although it took remedial action, it has incurred a penalty for failing consumers.

“Energy suppliers now have a golden opportunity to convince consumers that they can be trusted, by getting behind Ofgem’s sweeping reforms for the retail market. This is the quickest way of restoring consumer trust in an industry badly tarnished by poor supplier behaviour.”

Ofgem’s investigation followed consumer research it conducted and published in 2010.

The investigation found that npower had:

• failed to record all the required details of domestic and micro-business complaints
received

• failed to provide customers whose complaint it could not resolve with some key
details about the redress service provide by the Energy Ombudsman

• failed in some respects to put in place adequate policies and processes for dealing
with complaints in an efficient and timely manner.

npower has addressed and remedied all the breaches of the regulations which Ofgem
identified.

Ofgem is currently also investigating the way in which EDF Energy handles complaints.

The complaint handling regulations took effect from October 2008 and complement the role of the Energy Ombudsman. The regulations set out minimum standards that domestic and micro-business energy customers should expect from energy companies if they raise a complaint.

Free film screenings showing the Grimsby Chums at their training camp in Brocklesby are being show at Grimsby Central Library in November.

The 10th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, known as the Grimsby Chums, formed in 1914 after posters went up around the town appealing for men to join the army.

The film has come about after the discovery of an old reel of film in a shed at Binbrook. The film had originally been shown at the Tivoli cinema in Grimsby soon after July 1, 1916, but was soon taken off as by this time, most of the people on the film had been killed during the first few days of the Somme battles.

Heritage Lottery Funding has enabled the film to be restored and North East Lincolnshire Council’s library service will be showing them at Grimsby Central Library on Tuesday, November 8, and Friday, November 11 both at 2.30pm.

Author Peter Steel will be at the screening to continue his research in to the Chums for his new book. Peter is always keen to hear from descendants of the Chums and the film is a fascinating insight for people who are researching local history as well as their family history.

Booking is advisable as places may be limited. Call (01472) 323603 or email jennie.mooney@nelincs.gov.uk

North East Lincolnshire Council has teamed up with the Grimsby Telegraph, and the Volunteer Centre, to reach as many volunteers within our community as possible.

You can nominate people in the following categories:

1. Young Volunteer Award (under 18)

2. Older Volunteer Award (over 60)

3. Sports and Recreation Award (including arts, music, media, libraries)

4. Charity Fundraiser/s Award (including individuals or groups, including retail or organisations)

5. Community Volunteer Award (for example, safer communities, police, fire, health, hospital, Lives,
community volunteers)

6. Team Award

7. Outstanding Resident Award

8. Judges’ Award (to honour those who may not be linked to organisations but who give time voluntarily in our community, for example, carers)

9. Corporate Award

For more information and to make your nomination you can download the nomination form

From November to February garden waste collections will be monthly.

Residents are reminded that household garden waste collections in North East Lincolnshire will be reduced from fortnightly to monthly from November.

By making the changes over the four months from November to February, the council is expected to save £20,000.

Households will receive one collection per month. These will take place during the following fortnights.

November collection days will take place between Monday, 7 and Friday, 18.
December collection days will take place between Monday, 5 and Friday, 16.
January collection days will take place between Monday, 9 and Friday, 20.
February collection days will take place between Monday, 6 and Friday 17.

Stickers are being placed on residents’ bins indicating which week their bin will be collected. Residents can also check their specific collection date by calling the waste hotline on (01472) 325841 or by using the council’s online waste calendar. Visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/bincollections

Garden and cardboard waste can still be taken to the council’s community recycling centres at Estuary Way, Pyewipe Industrial Estate, Grimsby, DN31 2UD and Queens Road, Immingham, DN40 1QR.

Readers maybe interested to hear that the petition to make financial education compulsory in schools has now passed 100,000 signatures

A report from Addaction, entitled ‘Dad and Me’ has found that absentee dads are contributing towards high levels of addiction, anti-social behaviour and crime.

Polling commissioned for the report revealed that young people believe fatherless young people are more likely to be involved in anti-social behaviour (80.3%) crime (76.4%) and take drugs (69.1%)

The report also warns the Government that unless urgent action is taken to address this ‘father deficit’ this problem will become worse as intergenerational fatherlessness becomes more common in some of Britain’s poorest communities.

Martin Glynn the report’s author said:

“What was particularly revealing was the impact that growing up without a dad had on these young people. Far from the view that the make-up of families does not matter, our evidence suggests that not having a dad can be deeply damaging to a young person, especially where there are no alternative positive male role models”

You can read the full press release from Addaction or download the complete report.entitled “Dad and Me”