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Londra Gazete, 07 April 2022 LondraGazete.com/English 5

Warning of fresh energy bill shock in October as prices rise again

PEOPLE have been warned Energy prices have been af- The warning comes on top of a
to brace for another huge rise in fected by the Ukraine war and huge rise in what energy suppli-
energy bills when the next cap pressure on suppliers. ers can charge customers from
takes effect in October. The most up-to-date predic- Friday. The £693 a year rise in
This could add another £629 tion from Cornwall Insight a typical energy bill will affect
a year to a typical bill, on top would, if accurate, push annual 18 million households, with 4.5
of Friday's unprecedented energy bills for a household us- million customers on prepay-
£700-a-year rise, says energy ing a typical amount of gas and
consultancy Cornwall Insight. electricity to up to £2,600 from ment meters facing an even big-
The expected rise in bills just October. ger increase of £708 a year.
as colder weather kicks in has A typical bill is expected to At the same time, a host of bill
prompted calls for fresh govern- fall back to the current level in hikes take effect with council
ment support to those strug- summer 2023, although longer- tax, water bills and car tax going
gling to pay. term forecasts are tricky. up for some on 1 April.

House price growth at 17- First class stamp has risen to 95p

year high, says Nationwide
since 2010, when they cost 41p and
32p respectively. In 2000, it was 27p
HOUSE prices grew at the fast- tum given the mounting pressure
est annual pace for more than 17 on household budgets and the and 19p.
Last year, Royal Mail saw the vol-
years in March despite the cost of steady rise in borrowing costs". ume of parcels it delivers surge as
living crisis, according to Nation- Households in the UK are being people embraced online shopping,
wide. squeezed by a cost of living crisis, more than offsetting its losses from
Annual growth in house prices with prices rising at their fastest letters.
hit 14.3% in February, the mort- rate for 30 years as fuel, energy Its annual profits quadrupled to
gage lender said, the strongest and food costs surge. £726m in the year to 28 March – up
pace since November 2004. from £180m a year earlier.
Unite general secretary Sharon
The cost of a typical UK home Mortgage costs are also rising Graham accused Royal Mail’s board-
reached a new record high of after the Bank of England raised room of “again raising prices while
£265,312, rising £33,000 in the interest rates three times in four helping itself to massive profits”.
past year, it said. months to try to help lower that She said: “It is behaving like a
Prices are being pushed higher price inflation. short-term greedy speculator rather
by robust demand, limited supply But these factors have not than the responsible owner of a key
and a strong jobs market, it add- dampened acceleration in house THE price of a first class stamp deliver to a growing number of ad- UK public service.”
Last month, Royal Mail’s chief
ed. price growth, Nationwide said. has risen by 10p to 95p as Royal dresses, which was adding to costs. operating officer Nick Landon said
Nationwide, which is one of the House prices are now more the price changes were necessary to
But some people criticised the
UK's biggest mortgage lenders, than fifth higher than early 2020 Mail seeks to cover higher delivery move at a time when the cost of liv- ensure the business remained “sus-
costs while the number of letters be-
said the housing market had "a when the pandemic hit. ing sent falls. ing is increasing and the firm’s prof- tainable” and “relevant”.
surprising amount of momen- Wales, south-west England and The price rises also come as many
East Anglia saw the highest rates Second class stamps have also in- its have jumped. households face rising living costs,
of growth, while London - at 7% - creased by 2p to 68p. The price of first and second class with food, energy and fuel costs all
had the lowest rate. Royal Mail said it was having to stamps have more than doubled going up.
"A combination of robust de-
mand and limited stock of homes
on the market has kept upward Cocaine worth £302m
pressure on prices," said Rob-
ert Gardner, Nationwide's chief
economist. found in Southampton is 'largest in UK'

A "monumental seizure" of co-
New number plate fails to caine found in a shipment of banan-
as has been called the UK's biggest
boost March car sale since 2015.
The drug, with a potential street
value of £302m, was found within
THE UK's car industry saw its described the March figures as five pallets of bananas at Southamp-
worst March for new car sales in "deeply disappointing" overall ton docks on 17 March.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said it
24 years last month, according to though.
the latest figures. March typically marks a crucial was the "largest seizure of cocaine in
Just 243,479 new cars were month for the automotive indus- the UK since 2015".
Border Force said the cocaine hy-
registered last month, new re- try, with buyers snapping up cars drochloride - used to make crack
search from the Society of Motor with the latest number plates. cocaine - weighed about 3.7 tonnes.
Manufacturers (SMMT) suggests "While demand remains robust, Ms Patel said: "It should serve as a
- down 14.3% on March 2021. warning to anyone trying to smug- officers. Peter Stevens, NCA region- would have ploughed back into
Falling car production has been this decline illustrates the sever- gle illegal drugs into the country al head of investigations, said: "This more offending.
blamed on an ongoing global ity of the global semiconductor that we are out to get them." was a monumental seizure of co- "There's no doubt some of this
shortage of computer chips. shortage, as manufacturers strive The container of 20 pallets of fresh caine with a street value of around cocaine would have been cut up
But electric car sales are rising to deliver the latest, lowest emis- bananas had recently arrived from £300m. "The organised crime group and sold across UK streets, feeding
rapidly, the SMMT said. sion vehicles to eagerly awaiting Colombia and was targeted for ex- behind this importation has been crime and misery in our communi-
Its chief executive, Mike Hawes, customers," Mr Hawes said. amination by Border Force and NCA denied massive profits which it ties."