Angela Rayner purchased a four-bedroom property after she and her husband made almost £200,000 selling their former council houses.
The couple appear to have made around £182,500 after selling two homes they owned in the Stockport area of Greater Manchester in the mid 2010s.
Ms Rayner is facing scrutiny over whether she or Mark Rayner, her husband at the time, paid the right amount of capital gains tax when the two properties were sold.
Despite the couple both selling their homes, Ms Rayner was the sole owner of their new four-bedroom house, bought in 2016.
Ms Rayner sold her council house on Vicarage Road for a gain of £48,500 in March 2015 while Mr Rayner made £134,000, when he sold his in April 2016.
That same month, almost a year after Ms Rayner was elected MP, she purchased a £375,000 property in her new constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne.
The four-bedroom red brick house has three reception rooms, a large secluded garden and two detached garages, according to the Rightmove listing from the time.
The deputy Labour leader sold her house in Vicarage Road for £127,500 in 2015 and, according to official Land Registry documents, bought the property in Ashton-under-Lyme.
On the same day Ms Rayner bought the house, her husband sold his Lowndes Lane home for £145,250, according to Rightmove.
However, despite Mr Rayner being listed on the electoral roll for the property from 2017 along with Ms Rayner and her son Ryan Batty, she is the only proprietor named on official documents. The couple are understood to have separated in 2020.
In 2022, Mr Rayner applied for home rights under the Family Law Act, which prevents one person from being able to sell a house and leave the other homeless.
Greater Manchester Police is investigating whether any offences were committed, and is understood to have spoken to neighbours about Ms Rayner’s living arrangements.
Ms Rayner has repeatedly insisted she has done nothing wrong, but has declined to publish details of her tax affairs. She has said she will “do the right thing and step down” if she is found to have committed a criminal offence.
The Labour Party and Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for comment.
The NHS in Scotland is spending more than a million pounds a year to employ two locum consultants, an employment tribunal has heard.
The bill of almost £1.2 million is for a pair of senior psychiatrists to cover the Western Isles and is an increase of £100,000 on the previous year, according to figures presented to the hearing.
The Isle of Lewis-based health board told the tribunal it struggles to fill the positions with permanent doctors and that overspending on temporary staff – who are looking to “maximise” their earnings – has an impact on other patients’ care.
An individual locum can cost the health service £600,000 a year compared with £200,000 for a doctor who takes on a permanent role, the hearing was told.
The financial disclosures were made during a case involving consultant psychiatrist Denitza Mihaylova, who was sacked after she fell ill and was unable to fulfil her on-call commitments at night.
Over almost two years, the NHS paid locums to cover her while she was off sick, but sacked her after concluding that funding this arrangement was “no longer viable”.
Health board sued
Ms Mihaylova sued the health board for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, but her case was rejected after the tribunal found the health board had to manage its budget responsibly.
The hearing in Stornoway was told that Ms Mihaylova started work for the Western Isles NHS in September 2020 as one of two specialists providing 24/7 psychiatric services.
This involved an on-call rota and regular visits to Uist and Barra as well as home visits to patients in crisis on Harris and Lewis.
“The second full-time permanent consultant psychiatrist had retired in 2018,” the tribunal was told. “[The health board] had been unable to recruit a full-time replacement.
“Between 2021 and 2023 the vacant post for a consultant psychiatrist was advertised eight times with no applicants. Accordingly, that post was filled from 2018 with locums.
“Consultant psychiatrists are in short supply in Scotland, there being a 60 per cent vacancy rate at this time. General psychiatry is the specialism with the most vacancies across Scotland.
“It is therefore difficult to recruit consultant psychiatrists particularly for remote, island-based locations. This means that the board must rely on locums.”
Difficulties finding doctors
The tribunal heard that although there are agreements with some agencies to supply locums at a capped cost, because of the difficulties in finding doctors, health boards have to go “off framework” and recruit using other agencies at higher costs.
The tribunal was told that in September 2021 Ms Mihaylova was diagnosed with the spinal condition myelopathy, leading her to be off sick for 150 days over the next 22 months.
To cover her absence, the health board had to pay for an additional locum consultant, the hearing was told.
In March 2022, Ms Mihaylova began a phased return to work following surgery and by August she had returned to full-time duties.
However, she raised concerns about responding to night time calls as the pain medication she had to take – which the tribunal heard she may have to be on permanently – made her “sedated”.
An occupational health adviser recommended she not do overnight on calls, the hearing was told.
No longer viable
In September Ms Mihaylova was told by bosses that funding long-term locum cover for her on-call duties – at a cost of £325,000 – was no longer viable.
She was also told the health board anticipated running a £1.6m budget deficit – with locum costs a “considerable part of that” – despite Scottish Government rules forbidding this.
In addition, bosses said that “the adjustment to cover on-call could not continue for financial reasons without a known time frame when she could safely resume on-call”.
In January 2023 the figure for the cost of the second locum consultant to cover her absence had increased to £366,000 a year, the hearing was told.
In March, Ms Mihaylova – who by that time was on sick leave – was sacked because of her absences from work and the health board being unable to say with certainty that she could ever return to work full time.
As part of the evidence presented to the tribunal, the health board produced figures which showed that the total budget for mental health services for 2022-23 was £2,843,881 and from that for psychiatry the budget was £520,986.
Budget increases
However, locum costs for 2022-23 were actually £1,073,308 for two doctors, including the second locum to cover for Ms Mihaylova.
The tribunal was told that the budget for mental health services for 2023-24 had increased to £4,314,314, with a psychiatry budget of £611,775.
The projected cost of employing two locum consultant psychiatrists employed since her dismissal was put at £1,179,076.
“Overspend in mental health services has consequences for service provision and the financial impact on other aspects of the service, because it requires efficiency savings elsewhere in the organisation,” the tribunal was told.
“The requirement to secure locums, and changing locums, creates significant disruption with direct impact on both inpatient and community care, specifically in terms of continuity of care, functioning of local multidisciplinary team arrangements and decision making in relation to complex patient presentation.”
Despite sympathising with Ms Mihaylova, the tribunal rejected her claims.
‘Extremely unfortunate’
“The circumstances of this case are extremely unfortunate,” said Muriel Robison, an employment judge who chaired the tribunal.
“The [health board] has difficulty recruiting consultant psychiatrists and having recruited [Ms Mihaylova], who clearly enjoyed her job and living on the island, she became ill such that she could not perform all of her duties.
“It must be a matter of great regret to both parties that the arrangement could not continue. For those reasons, this was a difficult case, but ultimately we accepted that the adjustments made could not continue without an end in sight given the respondent’s budgetary responsibilities.”
House sales edged up in February for the second month in a row but were still lower than a year earlier, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.
Across the UK, an estimated 82,940 home sales took place in February, which was a 6% fall compared with the same month in 2023.
Property sales increased by 1% in February compared with January, and HMRC said it was the second consecutive month-on-month increase.
So far in the financial year to date (April 2023 to February 2024), about 915,450 home sales have taken place, down from 1,118,360 during the same months in 2022/23.
Matt Thompson, head of sales at London-based estate agent Chestertons, said: “London’s property market remained busy throughout February.”
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops, said: “Whilst today’s figures show signs of stability, recent falls in inflation and the expectation that the Bank of England will cut the base rate in May is paving the way for a spring bounce.”
Yasin Patel, co-founder of property investors Autarky Sukuk, said: “Another month-on-month uptick in property sales suggests that the worst may be behind us.”
Stuart Cheetham, CEO of mortgage lender MPowered Mortgages, said: “Two factors are driving the recovery – a widespread sense among buyers that last year’s drop in property prices is over and the improving affordability of mortgages.”
Earlier this week, Yorkshire Building Society launched a £5,000 deposit mortgage for first-time buyers, potentially enabling them to borrow up to 99% of the property value.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Buyers are able to budget with more confidence and tend to be more willing to transact if they believe that interest rates have peaked and the cost of borrowing is going to come down.
“Lenders are demonstrating some welcome innovation in an effort to boost transactions, which are so important for the overall health of the housing market. Yorkshire Building Society’s 99% mortgage is just one example of how lenders are looking for solutions to help first-time buyers, while still lending responsibly.”
Nicky Stevenson, managing director at agent group Fine & Country, said: “Mortgage affordability is still holding back property transactions compared to last year, but there is reason for cautious optimism about activity levels rebounding soon, as the biggest lenders continue to slash their rates.
“Demand has already picked up nicely this spring, with buyers who have been delaying a move resuming their searches as consumer confidence builds.”
Frances McDonald, director of research at Savills, said: “This data lags more recent housing market indicators.”
She said the property firm’s March buyer and seller survey “showed a further pick up in prospective buyers’ commitment to move, particularly amongst those reliant on debt.
“It also showed early signs that buyers’ budgets are beginning to rise, especially those looking to upsize and take on more mortgage finance.”
The average price of a newly marketed home jumped by more than £5,000 month-on-month in March, in signs that “we now seem to be past the bottom of the market,” according to a property website.
Across Britain, the typical price tag on a home increased by 1.5% or £5,279, Rightmove said.
The increase pushed the average asking price to £368,118.
Rightmove said the month-on-month rise was higher than the usual 1.0% average seen in March.
The average asking price is still sitting £4,776 below a peak seen in May 2023.
Both agreed sales and buyer demand are higher than this time last year, although the market remains sensitive to pricing, Rightmove said.
Attractively-priced properties are quickly being cherry-picked, but over-optimistically priced homes are taking longer to find a buyer, it added.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “March is typically a strong month for asking price growth, as both buyer and seller activity levels rise and the spring selling season gets under way.
“However, the stronger-than-usual price growth this March indicates that new sellers are feeling much more confident, with some perhaps being overoptimistic, that there is enough buyer activity and affordability in their local market to achieve a higher price.
“Despite the above-average price increases in this opening three months of the year, asking prices are still £4,776 below their peak in May 2023. For those who can afford to buy and have yet to take action to move this year, this may provide a window of opportunity to buy as we now seem to be past the bottom of the market.
“While some sellers are still being overoptimistic with their pricing expectations, there are also more sellers who are aware of the need to be negotiable and realistic, with elevated interest rates compared to recent years still stretching affordability for many buyers.”
The average time to find a buyer is now 71 days, which is the longest at this time of year since 2019, the website said.
Mr Bannister added: “Sellers are right to feel more confident and optimistic this year, but buyer affordability remains stretched and higher mortgage rates are an ongoing challenge. With the market still sensitive to pricing and external events, some caution and willingness to negotiate is advised for sellers who are keen to find a buyer in the spring market.”
Marc von Grundherr, director of estate agent Benham and Reeves said: “While mortgage affordability remains an issue, it certainly hasn’t dampened the appetite of London buyers and we’ve continued to see a high level of activity at all price thresholds, but particularly across the super-prime market. Buyers at the very top end of the ladder are acting with great confidence, with the higher cost of borrowing not presenting the same obstacle as the average homeowner.
“As a result, we’re seeing high demand for super-prime stock and many more buyers circling due to a more constrained supply of suitable properties in this sector.”
The figures were released as a lettings index from property firm Hamptons indicated that growth in rental prices cooled in February.
Last month, the average rent on a newly-let home in Britain rose by 7.1% annually, slowing from 8.3% in January and a peak of 12.0% in August 2023.
Rental growth is still running faster than inflation and increases mean the average tenant moving into a new property would pay an extra £87 per month or £1,044 a year more in rent than if they moved in February last year, Hamptons said.
Across Britain, the average monthly rent on a newly-let property in February was £1,317.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Lower mortgage rates have meant landlords needing to refinance in 2024 are seeing a smaller adjustment in their mortgage costs than those who remortgaged in 2023. This is slowly helping to balance mortgage investors’ books.”
Hamptons’ lettings index uses data from the Countrywide Group to track changes to the cost of renting and is based on achieved rather than advertised rents.
A group of neighbours have been left furious after a ‘monstrous’ back garden shed was built by a nearby resident.
Two homeowners are considering selling up and move away from the development in Thurmaston, Leicestershire that they claim will block their sunlight and infringe on their privacy.
It all started when Gurnam Singh, 40, was given the green light to build extensions to his garden shed and semi-detached house.
However, neighbours were left shocked after the 13ft high ‘eyesore’ in Singh’s back garden was given planning permission.
Plans for the property were approved last year
Charnwood Borough Council
One of the homeowners, a mother of three who asked not to be named, told MailOnline they would be selling up, saying: “I feel I’m being driven out because of it. I blame the owners, I blame the council. The development is a disgrace and should never have been allowed, full stop.
“I have lived here 25 years and now I’m going to sell up, if I can get anyone to buy the place now. The planning authority didn’t even bother telling me and others that is had been approved. If I wanted to live in a built up area I would have bought a house in the city.
“‘I have met [Singh] at the property to raise my objections and he’s always been polite but at the end of the day he’s got what he wants and some of us don’t like it but the council has allowed it.
“It looks into my back bedroom windows and affects my privacy. They knocked down a flat roof garage structure to build a single storey garden structure with a pitched roof. The wall is right up against my fence so it’s no wonder I am annoyed.”
LATEST NEIGHBOUR ROWS
The new developments for the Thurmaston property has split opinion
Google Maps
One neighbour told MailOnline: “It it a complete eyesore and it has devalued my house. Even the parish council objected and couldn’t believe it got through.”
However, Singh, a father-of-two who runs building firm Construction5 Ltd, has defended the construction, saying he and his wife have faced issues with the planning.
He said: “I don’t know why there is a problem with some people. We have done everything right and nothing wrong. We are paying a mortgage for that house and rent on another property to live in, and it is a struggle.
“We have been given permission for a garden extension, boundary to boundary, but we have left a gap. It will be a gym and leisure room and garden storage, and we are building a bigger house but not too big.”
His wife Ranjir Kaur added: “W are trying to get a house built, and we want to finish the works and move in s a family. Is that too much to ask? At the moment with the cost of living crisis we are losing out, paying more and more rent because of neighbours’ complaints which are holding us back they may be using this an ammunition.”
A spokesperson for the planning authority, Charnwood Borough Council, said they were “unable to comment on individual applications.”
However, their report approving the plans said: “The proposed development complies with the relevant development plan policies. It would not result in any harm to neighbouring amenity.
“It would not result in any detrimental visual harm to the character and appearance of the host dwelling, street scene or surrounding area. It would not result in harm to highway safety.”
Estate agent suspended after 'anti-Semitic' post that appeared to celebrate death of Lord Rothschild
An estate agent has been suspended after appearing to celebrate the death of Lord Rothschild and hoping all Zionists would die.
Lord Rothschild, the financier and member of the Rothschild banking family, died at the age of 87, his family announced earlier this week.
Following his death, Amanda Hardy from Barkers Estate Agents in Borehamwood, Herts, allegedly wrote a social media post which said: “The world is a better place with this Zionist dead. Just got to hope all the others follow.”
Speaking to Jewish News on Tuesday, she apologised for the offence caused and said she had been unaware of what the word “Zionist” meant. She denied her comments were anti-Semitic, saying: “I had a different impression of the word and totally misunderstood the meaning.
“I got the meaning completely wrong. I respect and care deeply about the Jewish community and have lots of close friends and clients who I have worked with over 20 years. I would never wish death on anyone. I’m a caring human and want peace for all of us on this beautiful planet we are blessed to live on.”
She added: “It’s nothing against the Jewish religion at all… It’s the same as the Muslims and the terrorists. There are always the good and the evil. Not everyone prays to the demons. That’s how our world is set out.”
The university said the course, which starts in September, will include two days a week of teaching to allow students to work on other days alongside their studies.
A spokesman for the Royal Agricultural University told The Telegraph that the new estate agency course was “in line with our standard delivery model”, which includes 36 hours per module, of which 12 are online learning.
She said: “The breakdown of contact hours are detailed on our module specifications, which are provided to the students ahead of enrolment. Alongside this route, prospective students are also encouraged to speak with programme leaders ahead of applying and attend events such as open days and webinars when this information is covered.”
Competition and Markets Authority guidance states that providers should tell students about the number and type of contact hours.
Paul Wiltshire, a parent campaigner, claimed that “an increasing number of universities are no longer even offering real in-person lectures and think that it is perfectly acceptable now to just serve as much as 100 per cent online lectures and still charge the same fees”.
He called on the Office for Students (OfS), the higher education regulator, to “force universities to openly declare whether their teaching is online”.
An OfS spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases. Students should receive clear detailed information about how their course will be delivered, and are supported to develop the skills they need.
“Universities and colleges should ensure that decisions about the balance between online and in-person learning are underpinned by solid reasoning that does not compromise students’ experience.”
A major hospital trust at the centre of a police investigation allowed significant numbers of unregistered consultants to operate on patients, it has been claimed.
At least 105 cases of medical negligence and allegations of a cover-up at Royal Sussex University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are currently being probed.
The Telegraph has learnt that, as part of the investigation, officers are considering allegations that numerous surgeons in the troubled general surgery department in Brighton held the title of consultant without having qualified for the specialist register.
It can also be revealed that a weekly clinical safety meeting was scrapped in favour of a monthly meeting shortly before the period that saw many of the mishaps currently under review.
In order to qualify for the register, aspiring senior doctors must undergo a lengthy training under different mentors and pass multiple specialist exams.
Under NHS rules, only those who are on the register may take up any fixed-term, honorary or substantive consultant post in the NHS, subject to a few exceptions.
However, foundation trusts are not bound by this rule, in recognition of their greater legal autonomy compared to traditional hospitals.
Sources have claimed that, at its worst point, the proportion of unregistered consultant surgeons at the Royal Sussex County Hospital exceeded 40 per cent, although the trust is understood to dispute this figure.
National shortage
There is currently a national shortage of consultants and concerns have begun to emerge from the medical establishment in recent years about a growing use of non-registered consultants to deal with rising patient demand.
A spokesman for the trust said: “Appointing experienced doctors not on the specialist register to consultant positions is common practice in the NHS, provided they can demonstrate the required training and expertise in their field.”
However, a source told The Telegraph: “The Royal Sussex County Hospital is a major trauma centre and supposed to be a teaching hospital.
“To claim it’s acceptable to have a high number of unregistered surgeons at a centre like this is entirely wrong and dangerous.”
A recently published review by the Royal College of Surgeons criticised “bullying” and a “culture of fear” at the trust.
Meanwhile, a damning Care Quality Commission report found a “wide disconnect in the relationship between staff and senior leaders”.
Governance drastically reduced
The Telegraph can disclose that in 2019 there was a major shake-up of clinical governance in general surgery which drastically reduced the frequency of morbidity and mortality meetings, where deaths and complications were discussed in order to learn lessons.
For several years up until that point, the reviews had taken place weekly on a Friday afternoon.
However, at a meeting of the department in the summer of 2019, new leadership scrapped the weekly meetings, with staff allegedly told their time could be put to better use.
The trust said the meetings became monthly, and that this was in line with Royal College of Surgeons guidelines.
The guidelines state that: “A frequency of one meeting each month is the most common arrangement.”
However, the guidelines add: “In large, busy units and for specialties in which complications are more prevalent it may be appropriate to meet more than once a month.”
Mr Peter Duffy, a consultant neurosurgeon who is now campaigning for better protection for whistleblowers in the NHS, said the decision to reduce the frequency of morbidity and mortality meetings “rings serious alarm bells”.
“If senior clinicians came to the conclusion that they needed weekly meetings and they were overruled, that raises serious alarm bells.
“At best it suggests a dysfunctional relationship there. Without these meetings, deaths can sometimes be brushed under the carpet.
“There are a range of clinical governance benefits.”
It is understood that at the 2019 meeting senior surgeons were also told that their offices would be moved away from the main department, a significant walk away.
Dr George Findlay, the trust chief executive, has promised improvements in the wake of the CQC report.
He previously served as deputy under Dame Mariane Griffiths, a close ally of former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who retired in 2022.
At least two Employment Tribunals of former senior doctors at the trust are expected to go ahead in the coming weeks.
A spokesman said: “In 2019, a new Surgery leadership team changed case reviews to monthly which is in line with the Royal College of Surgeons guidance on frequency of M&M meetings.”
He added: “All surgeons employed by the Trust are licensed to practise by the General Medical Council.”
Consultants have rejected a pay deal that would give some doctors a £20,000 rise in a knife-edge vote.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has now asked ministers to increase the offer, after 51 per cent of its members voted against it.
The union said that because the vote was so narrow, it sought to reopen pay talks.
The Victoria Atkins. the Health Secretary, said the Government was now “carefully considering next steps”.
Consultants had been asked to vote on a pay deal which meant an overall 4.95 per cent increase in the pay pot, with a rise of almost 13 per cent for some.
The overhaul of senior doctors’ contracts and pay scales meant greater reward for progression with the ability to reach higher levels more quickly.
Some 23,544 consultants took part in the referendum between Dec 14 2023 and Jan 23 2024, a turnout of 64.8 per cent.
The margins could barely have been closer, with 48.9 per cent voting in favour of the offer and 51.1 per cent against.
BMA keen to enter talks
While consultants have a mandate to strike until June 2024, the union said it was keen to enter talks with the Government to agree a deal.
NHS managers urged both sides to enter negotiations, with 1.3million operations and appointments now cancelled because of health service strikes at a cost of £2 billion.
Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chairman, said: “The vote has shown that consultants do not feel the current offer goes far enough to end the dispute and offer a long-term solution to the recruitment and retention crisis for senior doctors.
“It backs up conversations we’ve had with colleagues, who felt the changes were insufficient and did not give them confidence that pay erosion would be addressed over the coming years.
“In addition, they were concerned about the fairness of the offer and how it impacted different groups of doctors. There were also clear concerns about changes to professional development and time dedicated to teaching and research.
“However, with the result so close, the consultants committee is giving the Government a chance to improve the offer.”
The terms would have increased the most junior consultants’ pay to £99,532 per year, up £11,000 on the start of 2024, including a six per cent pay rise already given.
The offer does not include any recommendations made for pay rises by the independent pay review body for 2024-25. The most experienced senior consultants would get a pay rise that took their salaries to nearly £132,000, up by between £12,800 and £19,400 on the start of 2024, bringing more of them in line with the top pay point.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, had called it “a fair deal for consultants who will benefit from major contractual reform”.
These included enhancements for parental leave. The BMA had also agreed to end its use of rate cards, which have been used to charge hospitals thousands of pounds to cover shifts, including during strike action.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents senior managers, said: “This is a very narrow outcome and health leaders will hope that it will be used as a basis for reopening negotiations with consultants rather than to call for more damaging industrial action.
“Strikes have already led to over 1.3 million cancelled procedures and appointments and cost the NHS in excess of £1 billion.”
Fair and reasonable offer
Ms Atkins said: “I hugely value the work of NHS consultants and I am disappointed that after weeks of constructive negotiations the BMA has, by the narrowest of margins, rejected this fair and reasonable offer.
“I want to build on our progress on waiting lists and for us all to be able to focus our efforts on offering patients the highest quality care. The Government is therefore carefully considering next steps.
“We already know the kind of progress our NHS staff can make in the absence of strikes – waiting lists fell by more than 95,000 in November, the first month without industrial action for over a year and the biggest decrease since December 2010 outside of the pandemic,” she added.
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “Last week, Rishi Sunak was bragging that NHS doctors had accepted his pay offer. This vote shows he was trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes.
“The NHS is in the second year of strikes. They have cost patients more than one million cancelled operations and appointments, and cost taxpayers £2 billion.
“It is long past time Rishi Sunak took personal responsibility and took charge of negotiations himself. The Prime Minister cannot continue to wash his hands of the crisis in the NHS.”
Meanwhile the BMA has announced a fresh ballot of junior doctors on another six months of strikes but for the first time they will be asked about working to rule.
The union said this would “preserve” its ability to take industrial action when the Minimum Service Level Act takes effect. Under the legislation, employers can insist on a safe level of cover.
It would also mean that doctors fed up with striking, or who are not prepared to lose more pay over it, would have another route of protest.