It is hard to keep up with the endless idiocy pouring out of party conference season. But one idea that hasn't had much attention yet comes from the sometimes perfectly sensible Justine Greening. She has announced plans to provide "match funding" for various aid projects.
This means, as the Independent puts it, that in the "run up to the next election" some £120m will be spent by the government on contributing to charity appeals. But that is to be only the beginning: "eventually Dfid expects to roll out the scheme to much smaller charity appeals including for instance those run by local churches and Rotary Clubs".
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8 of the best houses for sale with tennis courtsThe best houses for sale with tennis courts – from a period property in Dumfries and Galloway with two islands on the River Dee, to a house in Cumbria with a 1977 En Tout Cas tennis court
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Review: Eden Roc Cap Cana – fun, sun and golf in the CaribbeanTravel Eden Roc Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic offers everything from relaxing by the pool to a world-class golf course
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Our pension system, little-changed since Roman times, needs updatingOpinion The Romans introduced pensions, and we still have a similar system now. But there is one vital difference between Roman times and now that means the system needs updating, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
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We’re doing well on pensions – but we still need to do betterOpinion Pensions auto-enrolment has vastly increased the number of people in the UK with retirement savings. But we’re still not engaged enough, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
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How to avoid a miserable retirementOpinion The trouble with the UK’s private pension system, says Merryn Somerset Webb, is that it leaves most of us at the mercy of the markets. And the outlook for the markets is miserable.
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Young investors could bet on NFTs over traditional investmentsOpinion The first batch of child trust funds and Junior Isas are maturing. But young investors could be tempted to bet their proceeds on digital baubles such as NFTs rather than rolling their money over into traditional investments
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Pandemics, politicians and gold-plated pensionsAdvice As more and more people lose their jobs to the pandemic and the lockdowns imposed to deal with it, there’s one bunch of people who won’t have to worry about their future: politicians, with their generous defined-benefits pensions.
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How to have a low-tax retirement in the sunNews Greece is to offer a ten-year tax incentive to foreign pensioners. That’s a pretty good offer, says Merryn Somerset Webb. But it might not last.
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Prepare yourself for a rise in capital gains taxOpinion With the UK desperate to raise more money to cover the massive rise in public spending, squeezing more revenue out of capital gains tax looks like an obvious thing to do.
