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Covering the news in and around Merseyside

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Issue Date:- 4 August 2008

Team takes 1st bite out of crime

3 Liverpool residents with suspected links to loan sharks have been arrested thanks to a new team biting back. 

Liverpool’s Illegal Money Lending Team, which was launched in February, executed warrants on a number houses in the Toxteth area yesterday.  Trading standards and police officers searched 3 properties following intelligence suggesting an unlicensed money-lending business was operating from them.  3 people were arrested on suspicion of money laundering and illegal money lending, and will be questioned by the team.

Liverpool city council’s executive member for trading standards, Councillor Berni Turner, said:- “I was delighted when we put the new team in place and am just as pleased that their work is starting to get results.  Loan sharks are the lowest of the low, feeding off the most vulnerable in our communities and this action today signals that we are fighting back.”

The team is made up of trading standards officers who work closely with the police to tackle the problem of loan sharks across the North West.  Funded by the government, the team is responsible for gathering evidence about loan shark activities, executing warrants on premises to seize evidence, carrying out arrests and then using the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate any assets.  The team will liaise closely to support victims, introducing them to groups such as credit unions and debt support agencies.

Residents with any information about a loan shark can call the confidential hotline on 0151 282 1122, 24 hours a day.

You can also email the details stoploansharks@liverpool.gov.uk.

Hutton serves up a fair deal on tips

THE Government has announced plans to amend regulations so that tips can no longer count towards payment of the National Minimum Wage, as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of its landmark NMW legislation.

The changes will end the practice of employers using gratuities and service charges processed through the payroll to 'top up' staff wages to meet the £5.52 per hour National Minimum Wage, which rises to £5.73 on 1 October 2008.

Business Secretary, John Hutton, also revealed proposals for making tipping practices fairer and emphasised the importance of improving transparency.  "Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have jobs in sectors where tipping is commonplace. When people leave a tip, in a restaurant or elsewhere, they expect it to go to service staff and as consumers, we've got a right to know if that actually happens.  This is an issue of fairness and common sense and it's one many people clearly care a lot about.

Under the current law, all workers are already entitled to receive the minimum wage. The changes we're proposing will mean that in the future, tips cannot count towards payment of the minimum wage.

We also want to encourage employers to make it clear how tips are distributed so that customers know where their money is going and whether or not the establishment operates a fair tipping policy."


A consultation on implementing the Government's recommendations will be launched in the autumn.  Guidance for both workers and employers will be issued following the consultation to ensure a smooth transition when the regulations are changed, which is anticipated to be 2009.

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