31 October 2010 Last updated at 14:16Share this page
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11659587" title="Post this story to Twitter">Twitter
- Share
Brazil votes for new president, Rousseff tipped to win
Opinion polls suggest Ms Rousseff could win with a lead of 10 to 12 percentage points
Brazilians are voting to choose a new president to succeed the popular Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Opinion polls suggest the governing Workers' Party candidate Dilma Rousseff has a clear lead over Jose Serra of the opposition Social Democratic Party.
Ms Rousseff has enjoyed the full support of President Lula, who is leaving office after two terms with record popularity ratings.
If she wins, she will become Brazil's first woman president.
More than 130 million voters are going to polling stations all across Brazil which opened at 1000GMT and are due to close at 2000GMT.
Brazil uses an electronic voting system, and final results are expected within hours of the polls closing.
This second round of voting was forced after Ms Rousseff fell short of the 50% needed in the 3 October first round. She won 47% to Mr Serra's 33%.
Several opinion polls published at the weekend suggested Ms Rousseff could win the second round with a lead of 10 to 12 percentage points.
She flashed a victory sign and gave a big smile to photographers after casting her vote in the southern city of Porto Alegre.
Tough campaignThe rival candidates both held their final campaign rallies on Saturday in Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, which is seen as a key swing state.
Ms Rousseff exuded confidence as she toured the city in an open-topped car.
"I will govern for all Brazilians. There will be no discrimination of parties. I will not govern only for my coalition", she said.
Across town, Mr Serra insisted he was still very much in the race.
"The real opinion poll is the ballot box," he said, urging his supporters to keep fighting for every last vote.
President Lula has campaigned hard for Ms Rousseff, his former cabinet chief
The BBC's Paulo Cabral in Sao Paulo says Mr Serra has done better than many people expected in a campaign filled with personal attacks and corruption allegations.
But our correspondent says it has been an uphill struggle to take votes away from a government boasting 80% approval ratings.
The key factor will be how some 20 million Brazilians who backed the Green Party's Marina Silva in the first round will vote.
Ms Silva has not endorsed any candidate.
Jose Serra, 68, is a former governor of Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state, and a former health minister.
Campaigning under the slogan "Brazil can do more", he has promised better management of government rather than a radical change of policy.
Ms Rousseff, 62, President Lula's former chief of staff, has never before run for elected office.
She has promised to continue policies that have helped bring years of strong economic growth.
Mr Lula has been active and highly visible in her election campaign. He has to step down after completing the maximum allowed two consecutive terms.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
BBC News - Brazil votes for new president, Rousseff tipped to win
BBC News - Housing benefit: How does it work?
28 October 2010 Last updated at 13:57Share this page
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11644859" title="Post this story to Twitter">Twitter
- Share
Housing benefit: How does it work?
Quite a lot of paperwork is involved in claiming housing benefit
Politicians are debating the future of UK housing benefit, with many thousands of people potentially affected by any changes.
The rules will be set by government, but the benefit itself is administered by local councils.
So who is eligible and how does the benefit work?
And if a cap is introduced who would be hit?
Who is housing benefit aimed at?
Those who struggle to pay their rent because they have a low income are the target of housing benefit.
It does not matter if these people are earning a wage or not, but their income and their savings are relevant.
People can get help for many different types of accommodation, such as furnished or unfurnished flats, bedsits, rented houses or hostels or lodgings, as long as they pay rent to a landlord or landlady.
But they cannot get the benefit to buy a home, for mortgage payments, or for day-to-day living expenses.
Some service costs are covered by the benefit, but water and heating bills are not.
How do I know if I am eligible and how is it calculated?
This is quite complicated but there is help available from local councils.
Generally, those with total incomes below £16,000 a year can claim.
The amount they receive depends on various factors.
So, local authorities will calculate so-called eligible rent by considering income, age, the size of family and disabilities of people living in a council property. This means people must keep the council up to date with any change of circumstances.
Those who live in private accommodation have their benefit calculated through what is known as the Local Housing Allowance, which takes into account local rent levels every month. Exactly half of homes will have rent levels below the Local Housing Allowance rate and so could be paid for in full with housing benefit.
If the rent is lower than the Local Housing Allowance rate, then recipients can keep any excess benefit up to a maximum of £15 per week. If the rent is higher than the Local Housing Allowance rate, tenants will need to pay the difference.
Housing benefit is often connected with other benefits - many claim together with benefits such as Income Support - and it depends on income, as well as levels of savings and investments. For those not on other benefits, they can fill in a claim form.
An online benefits calculator can help estimate how much a claimant might be due.
Perhaps it is easier to say who does not get it?
Indeed. Those who have savings of more than £16,000 are not eligible.
Most full-time students, those who live in the home of a close relative, and asylum seekers are also blocked from the benefit.
Only one of a couple living together can claim. And single people aged under 25 can only get the benefit for a bedsit or a room in shared accommodation, although this is set to change to people aged under 35.
How is it paid?
Council tenants will have it paid straight into their rent accounts.
Private tenants will usually be paid by cheque or by direct debit into a bank or building society account.
Claims can be submitted 13 weeks before moving in, or 17 weeks for those aged 60 and over. Sometimes it can be backdated.
What are the proposals that have caused a political rumpus?
PROPOSED HOUSING BENEFIT CAP
- £250 for a one-bedroom property
- £290 for a two-bedroom property
- £340 for a three-bedroom property
- £400 for a four-bedroom property
The coalition government wants to put a cap on housing benefit, ranging from £250 a week for those in a one-bedroom property to £400 for those in a four-bedroom property.
Some 775,000 claimants could be affected by changes to the way local housing benefit levels are calculated.
At the moment, the Local Housing Allowance is based on the median average rent for an area, so half of private rents cost less and half cost more than housing benefit levels.
From next year it will be based on the 30th percentile of local rented accommodation, so only 30% of all rented property on the market will cost less and 70% will cost more than housing benefit payments. The government says this will drive down housing costs. Claimants would lose an average of £9 a week.
There are also plans for a 10% cut in housing benefit for anyone on jobseeker's allowance for more than a year.
Labour says thousands of people will be forced out of their homes.
London Mayor Boris Johnson is also concerned that the higher living costs of London will lead to residents of the capital being severely affected.
The Department of Communities and Local Government is to grant £10m from its homelessness budget to local councils' funds to ease the consequences of the change, in addition to £60m already allocated for a similar purpose.
BBC News - Housing benefit cap to price London's poor away - Shelter
31 October 2010 Last updated at 03:59Share this page
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660316" title="Post this story to Twitter">Twitter
- Share
Housing benefit cap to price London's poor away - Shelter
Housing benefit payments will be capped at £290 a week for a two-bedroom property
The majority of two-bedroom properties in London will be beyond the reach of housing benefit claimants once new limits on payments are introduced, according to charity Shelter.
It says a study, done by Cambridge University, shows that much of the capital, including many of the suburbs, will become "largely unaffordable".
The government has accused critics of its reforms of "scaremongering".
But Labour say they will force a vote in Parliament on the plans.
Under the proposals, housing benefit payments would be capped at a maximum of £400 a week, with an upper limit of £290 per week for a two-bedroom flat.
'Poverty and inequality'The Department of Work and Pensions says nearly two-thirds of housing benefit tenants will be no worse off, or will face a gap of £10 or less a week between their rent and their benefits.
However, official figures also suggest that one in 10 households will face shortfall of £30 or more a week.
Continue reading the main storyHOUSING BENEFIT CAP
- £250 for a one-bedroom property
- £290 for a two-bedroom property
- £340 for a three-bedroom property
- £400 for a four-bedroom property
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said the study showed how reforms would "change the make-up of London" and would affect outer boroughs as well as those in the inner city.
"We are concerned this could mean tens of thousands of households forced from the centre, creating concentrations of poverty and inequality," he added.
This week, London Mayor Boris Johnson was criticised after he told a radio station he would "not accept any kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London" as a result of the reforms.
"I'll emphatically resist any attempt to recreate a London where the rich and poor cannot live together," he said.
Mr Johnson said he had been quoted out of context, but Business Secretary Vince Cable accused him of using "inflammatory language".
Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would still be "prepared to pay up to £20,000 a year" in housing benefit to families, adding: "I don't think it will be necessary for anybody to go without a home."
BBC News - UK's 'brightest and best' migrants take unskilled jobs
31 October 2010 Last updated at 04:57Share this page
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11647258" title="Post this story to Twitter">Twitter
- Share
UK's 'brightest and best' migrants take unskilled jobs
By Adrian Goldberg Presenter, 5 live Investigates
The UK Border Agency says a third of skilled migrants in the UK are working in unskilled jobs
"Unfortunately, I'm not getting the chance which I was expecting, that's why I'm here in a fast food restaurant.
"I want a desk job but unfortunately it's highly impossible for me.
"Most of my friends work in fast food restaurants because they are not getting [a job] they deserve from what they studied.
"That's why they are working as night-time security and sometimes they are working in food restaurants."
In between serving customers at a busy sandwich shop in London's West End, Sultana explains why she and her friends who came to Britain seeking to build a professional career have ended up with low-skilled work.
Continue reading the main storyREAD THE BORDER AGENCY REPORT
PDF download UK Border Agency: Points Based System Tier 1 Operational Assessment[152kb]
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader
Sultana, from Hyderabad in India, is an intelligent woman, with a Masters degree in business administration from a UK university, but in the current economic climate has found more lucrative avenues of employment closed to her.
She is also an unwitting player in a political row about the number of overseas workers taking unskilled jobs from their British counterparts at a time when unemployment is nudging 2.5m.
Tier system
The issue came into sharp focus this week when a report published by the UK Border Agency identified that almost a third of migrants, given priority admission because they are highly skilled, have ended up working in unskilled occupations.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Damian Green Immigration ministerThose coming into the UK under the highly skilled migrant route should only be able to do highly skilled jobs - it should not be used as a means to enter the low-skilled jobs market.”
These workers are classified as Tier 1 under Britain's points-based immigration system introduced in 2008. This was designed to attract investors, entrepreneurs and well-qualified applicants such as surgeons or engineers - described by the then Labour government as "the brightest and best".
Overseas graduates from British universities are also classified as Tier 1, and can apply for a Post Study Work visa allowing them to remain in the country for up to two years after their course has finished.
Just under 19 000 Tier 1 visas were issued last year, of which more than half were issued to migrants from just three countries: India, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The UK Border Agency's survey, based on more than 1 000 respondents, suggests that 29% of are doing unskilled jobs.
The employment status of nearly half the survey sample was unclear - they failed to declare the specifics of their job, or whether they were actually employed at all - leaving just a quarter known to be working in highly-skilled occupations.
Immigration Minister Damian Green has also joined the fray, and in reaction to the UK Border Agency report he said:
"While it is important that low-skilled jobs are filled, there are hundreds of thousands of British people who could be doing them instead of a migrant.
"Those coming into the UK under the highly skilled migrant route should only be able to do highly skilled jobs - it should not be used as a means to enter the low-skilled jobs market.
"Investors and entrepreneurs aside, this report questions the value of this route into the UK, and the findings will play a key part in discussions on how the annual limit will be shaped."
'Shaky ground'
The left leaning think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) claims the data the Border Agency's study was based on is "weak" and questioned how representative it was because only those Tier 1 migrants also applying to bring in relatives to the UK were part of the sample.
Tim Finch, the IPPR's head of migration said: "Damian Green is on shaky ground in implying that highly-skilled migrants coming to the UK under Tier 1 are entering the low-skilled job market in significant numbers over a sustained time period.
"This looks very much like an attempt to justify a drastic reduction in Tier 1 visa numbers under the proposed cap. But excluding the 'brightest and the best' from the UK will not help the unemployed, and it could undermine the economic recovery."
The IPPR highlights the findings of the Migration Advisory Committee from December 2009 which found 70% of Tier 1 migrants were in skilled work, while only 20% were in unskilled work.
However, the 5 live Investigates programme spoke to a frontline immigration officer, based at Heathrow airport, who has long had suspicions about exploitation of the Tier 1 Visa system.
A frontline immigration officer told BBC 5 live that he thought the Tier 1 visa scheme is being abused
Speaking anonymously, he told the BBC: "The majority of Tier 1 migrants I see coming through fill out landing cards that say 'occupation: supermarket or security' - to me that is not a highly skilled job. It is a major abuse of the system as far as I'm concerned.
"Most of the genuinely skilled migrants come in via the Tier 2 points system, such as people in finance who have a sponsored job fixed before they arrive in the UK. These are people with skills that we need."
"We have two sections to the Tier 1 - the highly skilled side and the post study side, who have supposedly studied in the UK, for probably around 6 years.
"You ask [Tier 1 migrants] questions they're not able answer and they are evasive. Their English is often not good, which is not a good sign if they've supposedly been in the UK for some years already."
"We break it down from that, go forward on the education side, as we can only really touch that and try to prove that fraudulently obtained certificates were given to the Home Office to get the Tier 1 status."
Fraudulent entry
There are wider concerns that the Tier 1 Post Study Work route is being exploited by some migrants using bogus qualifications to obtain visas.
One high-profile case concerned Tariq ur-Rehman who obtained his visa using a fake post-graduate diploma he had bought from a London-based college.
Continue reading the main storyLISTEN TO THE FULL REPORT
Hear the full report on 5 live Investigates, on Sunday 24 October at 2100 BST on BBC Radio 5 live.
Earlier this year, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled that he posed a 'serious and immediate threat to national security'.
Rehman denies being an Islamic extremist but did admit in evidence that he did not study for his diploma in business management.
Now political pressure is growing for more restrictions in this area. The Migration Advisory Committee has described the UK's Tier 1 Post Study Work route as "probably one of the most generous schemes of its type in the world".
While the government continues to discuss new caps on immigration, Sultana in the meantime will carry on serving her grateful customers.
This brainy young woman with an interest in marketing laments: "It's very disappointing at the moment for me", before regretfully turning away to butter another sandwich.
You can hear the full report on 5 live Investigates on Sunday, 31 October at 2100 BST on BBC Radio 5 live.
You can also listen again on the BBC iPlayer or by downloading the 5 live Investigates podcast.
Send your comments and stories to 5 live Investigates
At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location unless you state otherwise. But your contact details will never be published.
Flickr - projectbrainsaver
www.flickr.com
|
