New calls for ‘Help to Repay’ scheme for millions of people unable to clear energy bill arrears

A number of health, poverty, housing and environmental organisations along with academics have written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP, to request the introduction of an ‘Emergency Energy Tariff’ in his Autumn Statement, which is due to be delivered in Parliament on Wednesday, November 22.

An extra £20 per week should be given to those receiving Universal Credit to help reduce the number of people living in poverty, a senior Labour MP has said. Speaking in the Commons during the ‘Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity’ debate on Wednesday, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made an appeal to the UK Government to “help our children out of poverty” in the upcoming Autumn Statement.

Manager/producer Larry Thompson is making another run for a Southern California congressional seat, this time in a district represented by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).

Millions of workers are set to get a pay increase after UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled plans to boost the National Living Wage (NLW) last month. The news comes as the cost of living continues to soar and wages decrease in real terms for many.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Jon Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Rita Wilson and more stars performed as a tribute to U.S. veterans and their families at the New York Comedy Festival and Bob Woodruff Foundation’s Stand Up for Heroes event Monday. Held at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the night included performances from musicians and comics, including Stewart, Springsteen, Wilson, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, Tracy Morgan, The War and Treaty, Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng and Shane Gillis.

More than seven million households have received the £300 Cost of Living Payment after eight days, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. It means a total of £2.2bn has been paid out by the government department to eligible households.

The starting quarterback for the New York Giants, Daniel Jones, tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the season.

The National Living Wage could rise next year to well above what the UK Government has announced, according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation. It said stronger than expected wage growth means the figure could increase to around £11.46 per hour next April - well above the £11 suggested recently by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Holidaymakers who want to go on a last-minute getaway for under £100 will have to act fast, as a deal offering just that ends this weekend.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros and producer Amy Pascal have emerged victorious in a spirited book-rights auction for How to Rule the World: Yacht Parties, Culture Wars and the Downfall of a President at Stanford. Written by Theo Baker, book tells his story of being an 18-year-old freshman at Stanford who wrote a series of reports for the university’s newspaper skeptical of the questionable research practices of the school’s president Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a neuroscientist who was on the short list for the Nobel Prize.

This week marks National Befriending Week – with a local group urging people to help change lives by giving up just a few hours of their own time.

Meg Ryan and David Duchovny received a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement for their movie What Happens Later, so they were able to attend the red carpet screening!

Ice Spice is getting into the Halloween spirit!

Warner Bros. Discovery is restructuring its Global Brands, Franchises, and Experiences — overseeing worldwide consumer products, themed entertainment, franchise management and DC Comics businesses – following the departure of the division’s president Pam Lifford.

More than 10,200 people have signed an online petition calling on the UK Government to bring back the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) for winter 2023/24. The milestone is significant because it means the proposal has now reached the threshold to trigger an official response from the UK Government.

Manchester City are appealing to their own fans for help in banning 'idiots' who sang offensive chants about the late, great Sir Bobby Charlton.

Joe Biden called for a massive new aid package for Israel and Ukraine, linking the wars in both countries to American security, while denouncing a rise in anti-semitism and Islamophobia in the U.S.

Meghan Markle is reportedly “frustrated” by Prince Harry’s desire to move from California to New York. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent time in the Big Apple earlier this month, as they attended the World Mental Health Day Festival to host a discussion held by their Archewell Foundation about mental wellness in the digital age. And now a source has claimed that Prince Harry, 39, ‘really wants to move’ to the bustling city - with Meghan, 42, not so keen on the idea.

Music Venue Trust (MVT) have said that grassroots venues in the UK are heading for “disaster” without intervention as more venues face closure – repeating the call for large arenas to invest back into the grassroots.Speaking on a panel about the future of grassroots music at Manchester’s inaugural ‘Beyond The Music‘ conference on Friday (October 13), Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said over the last 12 months, “127 music venues of the grassroots type have stopped programming live music or closed down entirely” – something he described as a “fucking disaster” – despite the fact 2023 has been “the best year in history for live music receipts” with the industry making over £765million in 2022.Davyd, who was speaking on a panel alongside representatives from Manchester’s AO Arena, Manchester’s Co-op Live, MIF/Factory International and Rachael Flaszczak, Managing Director of The Snug – a venue that was recently saved by MVT under its new ownership scheme – said “it’s completely unacceptable that our music industry is letting music collapse underneath it while it’s making the maximum amount of money it’s ever made in the history of music.”He continued: “That is ridiculous. It’s totally unacceptable to me.

Oscar-winner Riz Ahmed has posted a plea on his social platforms for people to “urgently speak up to try to avert the loss of innocent life” amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza and Israel.