UK wealth gap 'widening over past decade' says report

The UK's wealth gap has been widening over the past decade, a report says.

Think tank the Resolution Foundation estimates 1% of adults, some 488,000 people, own 14% of the nation's assets - worth about £11 trillion.

At the other end of the financial scale, 15% (7.3 million people) either own no assets at all, or are in debt.

The government has responded to the findings by insisting that income inequality is at its lowest level since the mid-1980s.

The Resolution Foundation says it is non-partisan and was founded in 2005, with "the goal of improving living standards for the 15 million people in Britain on low and middle incomes".

'Wealth gap'

The foundation says the spreading of property wealth in the mid-1990s and mid-2000s fuelled a decade-long fall in wealth inequality - but that progress has since gone into reverse.

The proportion of property wealth owned by the bottom four-fifths of adults grew from 35% in 1995 to 40% in 2005.

However, the foundation warns "that with home ownership steadily falling since its mid-2000s peak, the proportion of property wealth owned by the bottom four-fifths of the population has started to fall again".

"Given the hugely unequal distribution of wealth across Britain, it's time we looked into how the nation's wealth is divided up and what the consequences are for those who never build up assets of any significance," said Conor D'Arcy, policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation.

"Falling levels of home ownership mean that, having once been a great force in driving down inequality, shifts in who owns what property are now fuelling the wealth gap between rich and poor, while also creating sharp wealth divides between young and old."

'More homes'

A government spokesperson said: "We want to build an economy that works for everyone.

"Income inequality is now at its lowest level since the mid-1980s and the lowest paid saw their wages grow faster than for 20 years.

"The next step is to get Britain building more homes and halt the decline in housing affordability.

"The Housing White Paper which sets out a bold package of reforms, following a £7.2bn investment at Autumn Statement, will help ensure more working people have the security of a decent place to live."

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Business bodies come together in call for softer Brexit

Five major UK business bodies have come together to call for continued access to the European single market until a final Brexit deal is made with the EU.

In a letter to Business Secretary Greg Clark, they also ask the government to "put the economy first".

The letter is from the British Chambers of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, EEF, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors.

Formal Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK begin on Monday.

'Flexible'

The signatories say the "economic benefits" of the European Union single market, which allows free movement of goods, services, capital and people, and the customs union, which enables tariff-free trading within the EU, should be maintained until a final settlement between the UK and the EU is "agreed and implemented".

They have also called for a final trade deal that will allow tariff-free goods to be traded between the UK and the EU.

In addition, they want that deal to include "minimal customs formalities", mutual recognition of standards and regulation, and a "flexible system" for the movement of labour and skills.

"We have come together to urge the government to put the economy first as it prepares to start formal negotiations," says the letter to Mr Clark.

"This is a deal that when finally agreed will matter fundamentally for the UK economy, for UK companies and for citizens of the UK."

Monday's talks between Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU negotiator Michel Barnier follow preliminary negotiations in Brussels between officials.

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Temperatures rise as Wales basks in 'super sunny Sunday"

The hot weather in Wales continues on "super sunny Sunday" as temperatures are expected to reach 26°C.

Wales basked in sunshine on Saturday with top temperatures of 27°C (80F) in Hawarden, Flintshire, and 25°C (77F) in Cardiff with beaches packed.

It was a cooler 18°C (64F) at Mumbles Head, Swansea.

BBC Wales forecaster Derek Brockway tweeted: "Super sunny Sunday. Very warm or hot with sea breezes."

Sunday is predicted by some to be the hottest June 18 on record in the UK.

Image copyrightBBC/WEATHERONLINE.CO.UK

But, while the BBC weather forecast says Wales will be "hot and sunny day with light winds", it did warn of a "very slight chance that the heat will trigger an isolated thundery shower during the afternoon."

BBC Wales presenter Behnaz Akhgar warned the public: "Take care. High UV and high pollen count."

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Britain's 'longest-married' couple celebrate anniversary

One of Britain's longest married couples have been reunited to enjoy their 80th wedding anniversary.

Ken Harris, 102, celebrated with wife Margaret, 99, after being parted for the first time since the war.

Mr Harris feared he would never again see his beloved wife after he went into hospital with a broken hip.

But the couple, who were married in 1937, have been reunited again at a nursing home in Llangynidr, near Crickhowell, in Powys.

"They hold hands every day now because of the memory of being separated in the war," said daughter-in-law Pat Harris, 75.

Mr Harris, who has carried a photograph of their wedding day in his wallet since, was deployed to Burma in World War Two with the South Wales Borderers.

The couple from Llanhilleth, near Newbridge, who have two children, Alan and Ann, have spent every day together since.

That was until Mrs Harris was moved into a care home after being diagnosed with dementia.

The former butcher was then admitted to hospital after breaking his hip in a fall just six weeks before their 80th anniversary and believed it would be the last time he would see his wife.

But after spending a month in hospital, Mr Harris was given the all clear to leave and was found a room in the same care home as his wife in the Brecon Beacons.

"Ken went to war and Margaret stayed home working as a doctor's secretary but he always had her photo in his wallet," added Mrs Harris.

"When Ken went into hospital he didn't think he would ever see her again. It is so fortunate that a room became available at Margaret's home.

"It has been a real battle trying to keep them together. Ken gave his life for his country and he deserves to be able to be with his wife.

"They are a very loving couple and we are so proud to have celebrated their 80th anniversary with them."

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Brexit: 2018 Queen's Speech cancelled by government

There will be no Queen's Speech next year to give MPs more time to deal with Brexit laws, the government says.

Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom said the next parliamentary session was being doubled in length to two years.

The highly unusual move would allow MPs to scrutinise "substantial amounts of legislation", she said.

This year's Queen's Speech was due on Monday but has been put off until Wednesday as Theresa May's minority government seeks a deal with the DUP.

'Broad consensus'

The Queen's Speech traditionally takes place during the ceremonial State Opening Of Parliament, setting out the government's proposed legal programme for the coming year.

The last time it was cancelled was in 2011 by the then Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

That decision, the first time it had been taken since 1949, was criticised at the time by Labour as an "abuse of power" aimed solely at easing the passage of controversial legislation.

Announcing the scrapping of the 2018 event, Mrs Leadsom said the European Union exit legislation would begin with the "Great Repeal Bill".

She said: "We will build the broadest possible consensus for our Brexit plans, and that means giving Parliament the maximum amount of time to scrutinise these bills by holding a two-year session of Parliament.

"It will mean we can work together to deliver a successful Brexit deal and a strong social legislative programme that delivers justice and opportunity to everyone."

The government also wanted to pass "a domestic agenda which aims to tackle the social injustices in our country", she added.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused the government of being "in no position to negotiate a good deal for Britain" with the EU.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, he said that if the prime minister "can't command the support of Parliament, we are ready to take that responsibility".

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Indian teen builds world's 'lightest satellite'

An Indian teenager has built what is thought could be the world's lightest satellite, which will be launched at a Nasa facility in the US in June.

Rifath Shaarook's 64-gram (0.14 lb) device was selected as the winner in a youth design competition.

The 18-year-old says its main purpose was to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre.

Rifath told local media his invention will go on a four-hour mission for a sub-orbital flight.

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During that time, the lightweight satellite will operate for around 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space.

"We designed it completely from scratch," he said. "It will have a new kind of on-board computer and eight indigenous built-in sensors to measure acceleration, rotation and the magnetosphere of the earth."

The satellite has been named KalamSat after former Indian president Abdul Kalam, a pioneer for the country's aeronautical science ambitions.

His project was selected in a challenge called Cubes in Space, organised by education company idoodle with support from Nasa and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium.

Newcomer scientist Rifath comes from a small town in Tamil Nadu and now works as lead scientist at Chennai-based Space Kidz India, an organisation promoting science and education for Indian children and teenagers.

The KalamSat is not his first invention: at the age of 15, he built a helium weather balloon as a part of nationwide competition for young scientists

 

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Schiaparelli: Crashed lander was ill-prepared for Mars

The crashed European spacecraft Schiaparelli was ill-prepared for its attempt at landing on the surface of Mars.

That's the conclusion of an inquiry into the failure on 16 October 2016.

The report outlines failings during the development process and makes several recommendations ahead of a rover mission to Mars set for launch in 2020.

That mission will require more testing, improvements to software and more outside oversight of design choices.

The Schiaparelli module was intended to test the European Space Agency's (Esa) capability for atmospheric entry, descent and - finally - landing on the surface of Mars.

The report confirms some details already released in the preliminary findings. For example, during the descent - and after the parachute had been deployed - a component called the inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensed rotational accelerations in the probe that were larger than expected.

This led to the IMU data becoming "saturated". When this information was integrated by the onboard guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software, the probe erroneously updated where it thought it was in the descent.

The mistaken measurement was propagated forward, and at one point the GNC software calculated a negative altitude for the probe - it thought that Schiaparelli was several metres below the surface of Mars, even though it was still falling.

The descent thrusters turned off and the test module was destroyed as it slammed into the ground in Mars' Meridiani Plain at a velocity of about 150 m/s. But the authors believe the craft could still have landed safely after the wrong handling of the IMU data if other checks and balances had been in place.

The report suggests a number of root causes leading to the failure. These include:

• insufficient computer modelling of the parachute dynamics
• the saturation limit for the IMU was set too high
• inadequate handling of IMU data by the guidance software
• an inadequate approach by team members towards detecting faults
• problems with the management of subcontractors

In order to ensure that lessons are learned before a joint Esa-Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) rover is sent to land on Mars, the inquiry panel made several recommendations.

The report authors catalogue a series of necessary upgrades to onboard software, as well as suggesting improvements to the modelling of parachute dynamics.

They also recommended a more stringent approach - including better quality control - during the procurement of equipment from suppliers.

Crucially, the inquiry also recommends greater outside oversight of the design process for the upcoming rover mission by partner organisations with specific competencies.

These suggested partners include Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - which has already overseen the successful landing of several robotic missions on Mars

 

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