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Over £450m spent on school refurbishment still 'not enough'
Education chiefs say the more than £450 million spent on upgrading hundreds of school buildings across the country is "the bare minimum" and "not enough" for much-needed upgrades.
The Department for Education (DfE) said 859 voluntarily funded universities, colleges and sixth form schools will receive £456 million in funding to help renovate and maintain buildings.
While this would help ensure students have safe, warm and energy efficient classrooms, the general secretary of the School and College Leadership Association said he would not pay for the repairs.
"These are funds allocated through the annual procurement scheme to meet significant needs in terms of the condition of school and university buildings and it is certainly not an example of government largesse," said Geoff Barton.
"This is the bare minimum and falls far short of covering the cost of repair work to repair or replace all faulty components in schools in England, a cost of £11.4 billion at the last count."
The government says it has invested more than £15bn in building upgrades since 2015.
Station no longer offers cheaper train tickets: report
Station offices no longer offer the cheapest train tickets and passengers are forced to book online or use machines to get the best deals, according toDiary Telegraph.
Buy tickets in advance, even 10 minutes before train departure, for a third cheaper than standard fares.
But rail chiefs have moved to ban office workers from selling them, according to the media outlet.
The ban on same-day ticket sales was lifted in July 2017.
The dispute between the operator, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union and Aslef lives on, even as rail passengers suffer a year of disruption due to strikes.
Money saving tips: How to keep your kids happy on a tight budget
Next week is midterms for many children across the country, but it can be a stressful time for families trying to keep them entertained without breaking the bank.
We've compiled a list of fun things you can do for free with your kids during the holidays (even if you don't have kids, most of them are still fun).
museo
Many museums are free and offer excellent learning opportunities for children.
Some charge entry but are free on certain days, so it's worth checking before you go.
Fortunately, it brings together the excellent Money Saving Expert websitethere is a free museum.
In London, child-friendly options include the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, both of which have many interactive exhibits, including garden play areas.
If your children love trains, the National Railway Museum in York is a great option where visitors can play on a locomotive.
Some museums hold events or days where children can participate in crafts, so keep an eye out for them.
Biking
If you have a bike, explore.
There are many free cycling apps that can help you plan your route, such as CycleStreets and Map My Ride.
Old railway lines across the country offer fantastic trails for mountain biking.
Eksempler inkluderer Camel Track i Cornwall, Bristol to Bath Railway Path i Somerset og Cinder Track i North Yorkshire.
adventure park
Some adventure parks offer free entry, such as Macedon Park Playground in Derbyshire, the heart of Cornwall, and Princess Diana Memorial Playground in London, which has a wooden pirate ship.
cheap cinema tickets
Children are just £2.50 when accompanied by an adult at Cineworld's Teen Film Deal.
At Vue, some morning screenings offer adults and children can pre-order tickets from just £2.49.
thoughts of staying at home
If staying at home is your thing, why not try building a fort or cave with your kids?
You can also try learning a new skill together by watching YouTube tutorials and exercises: hereMagic tricksThat is a good example.
Put on a show for the rest of the family this weekend and make it more fun by giving your little one something to look forward to.
Train passengers may lose free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi could be removed from train services to help the Department of Transportation cut costs.
Citing a survey by passenger watchdog Transport Focus, the department said free Wi-Fi in cars was not a priority for passengers.
The DfT said passengers preferred "value for money, reliability, punctuality and personal safety".
Most train services offer free Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to use their phones, laptops and tablets without running out of data.
A DfT spokeswoman said the railway "is not currently financially sustainable and it is unfair to continue to ask the taxpayer to foot the bill for reforms to be made to all aspects of the railway".
He added that continuing to offer Wi-Fi on many trains would require replacing or upgrading equipment installed in 2015.
The study of Wi-Fi access was first reported by railway historian Christian Wolmar on his Calling All Stations podcast.
The electricity bill is due on Thursday, and that should be good news.
Thursday Energy Price Caps Update: Here's what you need to know:
1/ Under the Energy Price Guarantee, typical bills are currently capped at £2,500, but this ends in June;
2/ The EPG has exceeded its maximum price since it went live, which is (relatively) good news for families as the maximum price overage is currently £3,280;
3/ Fortunately, the reduction in maximum prices coincided with the end of the EPG due to lower wholesale costs;
4/ Respected research specialist Cornwall Insight predicts the new cap will be £2,053, a reduction of around £450 in typical bills a year from early July;
5/ Thursday's decision establishes the ceiling from July to September; then a new review will take place;
6/ Despite the drop, we will continue to pay £1,000 more than before the pandemic.
Also, it's not really a bill cap.
Price caps limit how much providers can charge per used gas and electricity unit. It also sets a maximum daily fixed rate (the amount you pay to connect your home to the grid).
The main figure does not limit your total bill, it just reflects "typical" usage. So if you use more energy, you pay more. If you use less, you pay less.
The maximum price affects customers in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, providers can adjust prices at any time, subject to the approval of the Public Services Regulator.
Is the UK property market really holding up? Estate agent's perspective
Today we report positive data from Rightmove on the state of the UK property market: prices hit record levels in May, according to online estate agents.
But the agent on the street said what happened?
Vicki Foreman, Associate Partner, Brown & Co, Norfolk...
"The most accurately priced homes generate the most interest and attract buyers. Starting with an exorbitant asking price and thinking you can always lower the price later can hurt your chances of selling.
"After the frenzy caused by the pandemic, we are now seeing a more normal market with high levels of buyer activity for properties at the right price, with many of our new orders finding buyers within a week."
Lars Gooch, COO i London Keatons...
“We have seen a fair level of activity this spring as the markets followed the usual pattern of activity at this time of year, although after the Easter break it felt a bit paused.
"The changes in the market this year have really made home valuations more challenging because similar properties can be valued slightly differently depending on how popular a particular road or type of property is with buyers."
Corumin Ayrshire CEO Bruce Patterson...
“Large homes in prime residential areas continue to attract strong demand and sell quickly, and homes for sale in all price ranges remain in short supply.
“Accurate initial pricing remains key and we are seeing more and more sellers setting realistic and competitive price expectations for today's market, which also makes any overvalued stock stand out.
"We still see people continuing to migrate from cities and urban areas to coastal areas where they can get more space and bigger properties to suit their budget."
The best broadband deals on the market and other ways to save money
As regular readers of this live site know, we have partnered with social media influencers.@presupuestomomPractical tips to save money for families.
His latest video looks at the best broadband deals on the market right now and gives tips on how to save money on…
Are you traveling this week? This is the latest on the Heathrow strike
The airport said it would not cancel any flights during this week's "totally unnecessary" work stoppage by security staff at Heathrow airport.
Unite union members who work at Terminal 5 will strike from Thursday to Saturday over a pay dispute.
However, contingency plans and additional staff have allowed "excellent passenger service" to continue, with the airport saying "virtually all" passengers had wait times of less than 10 minutes to get through security during the previous strike.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “These strikes are completely unnecessary.
"When I speak to colleagues, the overwhelming message is that they just want to vote on our compensation proposal and Unite won't let them do that."
Heathrow airport has called on Unite to vote on its proposals for a 10 per cent pay rise and a one-off payment of £1,150 to its members.
10-year-old girl who spent £2,500 on Roblox changed her password without her mum knowing
A 10-year-old girl spent more than £2,500 on Roblox without her mother's permission after changing the password on a family iPad, BBC Radio 4 reports.
The autistic little girl managed to change the settings on the online gambling platform to allow payment and her mother, Georgina Munday, said she spent thousands of dollars on a series of small purchases.
Roblox allows users to create their own games, but offers in-app purchases to upgrade users' characters.
He explained that he initially thought someone had hacked into his daughter's account after seeing "hundreds of transactions".
Over a period of about a week, the nurse contacted Apple and her bank, Tesco Bank, in an attempt to get a refund, but both were turned down.
"It's been a really stressful time. I don't have a job right now and I'm taking care of my daughter. It's been a stressful few months, so maybe our focus is off," she told the outlet.
Tesco Bank initially refused to refund the 44-year-old, but reconsidered after the You and Yours radio show chimed in and has now offered her a full refund.
Will the government's 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars come true?
Industry insiders have warned that the government's 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars will be a tall order after figures showed a shortage of charging points for electric cars.
To enforce the ban, the government aims to install six or more fast or ultra-fast chargers for electric cars in every motorway service area in England by the end of 2023.
But the RAC's research found that less than a quarter of 119 motorway services had chargers meeting the target for the number of services for Britain's around 760,000 electric vehicles.
Six of them do not have any high-power charger.
all of these are:
- Leicester Forest on either side of the M1
- Trebynan i M6
- M1 Carlisle heading north
- Southbound Strensham on the M5
- Parque Barton on the A1 (M)
"As a lack of charging infrastructure is fast becoming one of the most cited reasons for non-e-drivers, all parties involved in the installation need to work together to overcome this barrier," said a spokesperson for the RAC. .
"It is crucial that the country's charging network is expanded, especially at the faster end of the charging spectrum."
Lisa Watson, sales director at Close Brothers Motor Finance, told This Is Money: "If more is not done to improve charging infrastructure, the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars looks set to get tougher."