Repossession of homes up by 12%

Arrears and repossessions have seen a big jump in just three months. The number of properties repossessed by mortgage lenders rose by 12% to 11,300 in the third quarter of the year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. The number of borrowers in arrears also went up compared with the previous quarter, by 8% to 168,000. The number of repossession orders made by the courts in England and Wales rose by 3% to 29,516 in the same period. The figures suggest that many more people are likely to lose their homes as the economy falls into recession. "The government is taking action to protect the most vulnerable families from repossession," said the Housing Minister Margaret Beckett. Conditions in the wider economy suggest a worsening picture for mortgage arrears "[This includes] a new court protocol to make sure lenders are exploring all avenues before making a claim in the courts, a £200m mortgage rescue scheme, more free legal representation in county courts, and more free debt advice." Repossessions have risen as more people struggle to meet their mortgage repayments as low-interest rate deals come to an end and unemployment rises. CML director general Michael Coogan said his organisation's forecast of 45,000 repossessions this year had not changed in the light of the latest figures, but it would be "premature" to predict what might happen in 2009. He said it was not generally in lenders' interests to repossess properties and the government needed to play its part with measures to ease the situation in the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report. "Conditions in the wider economy suggest a worsening picture for mortgage arrears, however carefully lenders handle their treatment of borrowers in difficulty," he said.

Clampdown on excessive speeders

Excessive speeders would get six penalty points. Drivers caught breaking the speed limit by more than 20mph could face a six-point penalty under new proposals. The government's consultation paper on road safety also says motorists found speeding in such a way twice could be automatically banned from driving. The document also suggests creating formal drug-drive limits in a bid to make prosecutions easier to achieve. However, ministers say any changes in the drink-drive limit would need solid evidence of the safety benefits. Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick told the BBC's Today programme the measures were about "being on the side of the safe motorist". The government wanted to address the 2,946 deaths and the 30,000 serious injuries on British roads last year, he said. "Notwithstanding that these are the best figures we've ever had, we know that we can do more and that we can reduce the numbers of people being killed and seriously injured and that means looking at speeding, drink driving, drug driving, careless driving and people not wearing seatbelts." Ministers would also be looking at whether the drink-drive limit was at the right level, he added. Britain has one of the highest limits in Europe and road safety campaigners have called for the current maximum of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood to be lowered to 50mg. But BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said ministers appeared to be a reluctant to reduce it. Phil and Amanda Peak, whose two sons were killed by ex-Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick in a crash on the M6, argue a much lower legal blood alcohol limit is needed urgently. Mrs Peak told BBC Breakfast she feared that without the changes others could suffer in the same way she had. "It's Christmas coming up and you know all those people are going to go out, get drunk, get in their car the next morning and not think of the consequences they are going to cause."

UK net immigration up to 237,000

New figures reveal higher levels of net immigration. Net immigration to the UK increased to 237,000 in 2007, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is 46,000 more than in 2006 - as a result of emigration falling faster than immigration. The figures also show the number of people registering for work in the UK from eastern European countries such as Poland and Latvia declined. But asylum applications were up 12% between July and October this year - the fifth consecutive increase. The figures mean that immigrants have added more than 1.8 million to the population since Labour came to power in 1997, when net immigration stood at 50,000. The figures suggest the UK population was just under 61 million last year. With the points based system we can control the increase and the 70 million figure will become a fantasy Immigration minister Phil Woolas - who sparked controversy last month by suggesting the UK population could be limited to 70 million - said the latest figures painted a "complicated" picture but he was "pleased with the overall trend". He predicted net immigration would fall below 200,000 in next year's figures. "I think the serious trend is showing that there are less British people leaving Britain to go and perhaps live in Spain and elsewhere and the numbers coming into the country have also gone down," he told the BBC. "And that's before we take into account the effect of Polish people returning back to Poland to work in their own economies."

Consumer inflation falls to 4.5%

Shoppers at a supermarket have been giving their reaction. Official figures show that UK inflation fell in October from a 16-year high, as oil and transport costs - as well as food prices - fell. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure dropped to 4.5% from 5.2% in September. The Office for National Statistics says the month-on-month fall in the CPI figure is the biggest drop in 16 years. The Retail Prices Index, (RPI) the alternative measure of inflation, which includes housing costs, fell from 5% to 4.2%, the biggest fall since 2003. The RPI measure is sometimes referred to as the "headline" rate of inflation, and is often used for agreeing pay settlements, or calculating the uprating of benefits such as pensions. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell from the series high of 2.2% in September to 1.9%. The CPI fall was the biggest since August last year. "The largest downward pressure on the CPI annual rate came from transport costs where the price of fuels and lubricants fell this year but rose last year," said the ONS. Deflation would have appalling consequences for British business and for the economy as a whole "The decrease this year was triggered by a sharp fall in the price of crude oil." There was also a fall in the price of both air transport and sea transport. There was another large downward contribution from food and non-alcoholic beverages, with meat prices being cut by supermarkets.

Official wanted Baby P with carer

Social services in Haringey, north London, were split over how to protect Baby P, who died following months of abuse, the BBC's Panorama has learned. It found a key social worker and police did not want Baby P to go back to his mother - one of three people later convicted of causing his death. Sylvia Henry, the senior social worker in the case, had wanted Baby P to go to a foster carer and found a placement. But her bosses decided he should be looked after by family or friends. This was as detailed in the Children's Act 1989. The child was placed in the care of Angela Godfrey, a friend of his mother, after doctors found he had non-accidental injuries in December 2006. In her witness statement, Ms Henry said she had been "very reluctant" to let Baby P be looked after by Ms Godfrey. "My impression of Angela was that she believed the local authority were over-reacting," the statement detailed. Ms Henry also revealed Ms Godfrey asked for "a large sum of money" for looking after the child, and continually pressed for his return home. Baby P suffered no injuries whilst in her care. The boy was put on the child protection register and a police investigation began. But with no new evidence to support a prosecution, services manager Clive Preece instructed that the boy should go back home. However, Ms Henry had delayed this because police had expressed a similar opinion to her own, that the child should remain "out of the care of his mother". The programme reveals how officials debated Baby P's fate [Pic: Mirrorpix] In a statement Haringey Social Services said: "Mr Preece did not overrule concerns of social workers. "No concerns were raised regarding placement with Angela Godfrey at the time of the placement."