World Cup Affected Premier League
Time off for players, impacted sales, and getting back to normal are the discussion points
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Time off for players, impacted sales, and getting back to normal are the discussion points
Read the full blog post at Menswear Style here
Article by Menswear Style
MILLIONS of Brits could face higher council tax bills if the BBC license fee is scrapped.
BBC chairman Richard Sharp said the broadcast service could be provided for a household levy or an extra charge to council tax bills instead.
Council tax bills could get higher if the BBC licensee fee gets scrapped[/caption]
Richard Sharp said he is open to alternative ways of funding[/caption]
His suggestion comes amid calls to abolish the £159 fee altogether.
The license fee was frozen for two years back in January as the government attempted to support families hit by rising living costs.
This means that households will be paying the £159 fee until 2024.
Speaking to the Times, the corporation’s boss – an ex-Goldman Sachs banker – said the license feew as “great value” but said he is open to alternatives.
He said he was against funding through general taxation because “politicians should not control the purse strings”.
“We study what it would take to replicate BBC output in the private sector. It’s 450 quid a year,” he said.
Sharp explained he is considering other forms of funding such as a levy on all households or an extra BBC fee on council tax bills with the price being determined by the size of each home or even a Netflix-style subscription model.
Another option would be to offer a subscription service where users could choose between a basic BBC package and a more expensive package with extra services such as binge-watching.
Currently, the license fee generates a total of £3.7 billion per year- about 74 per cent of BBC’s revenue.
Sharp notes that Germany raises more money for its public service broadcaster than we do here” after it introduced a household levy in 2013.
The broadcasting fee costs €18.36 (nearly £16) a month, regardless of whether the residents use its services or not.
You don’t need a TV licence to own or have a TV set.
However, watching live TV or catch-up through the BBC iPlayer on any device without a TV licence is a criminal offence and if you’re caught, you could be fined up to £1,000.
About 3,000 people are employed by Meta in Ireland, across its European HQ in Dublin, its Reality Labs team in Cork and its data centre in Meath.
Read more: Meta to cut 11,000 jobs globally, with Irish workers affected
About 3,000 people are employed by Meta in Ireland, across its European HQ in Dublin, its Reality Labs team in Cork and its data centre in Meath.
Read more: Meta to cut 11,000 jobs globally, with Irish workers affected
A PLAN for three-hour blackouts has been revealed in government documents – and they show the time your home would be affected.
The Electricity Supply Emergency Code (ESEC) gives the PM sweeping powers to introduce rolling blackouts across the UK to conserve electricity.
Blackouts could cause misery for millions across the UK if they take place this winter[/caption]
Blackouts would be introduced in case of an emergency scenario where there is a massive shortage of gas.
Government documents, which were created before the current energy crisis, show how this would play out.
It comes as the National Grid warned that power cuts could become a regular occurrence during cold January and February nights if electricity generators run out of gas.
The gov plans are split into several stages with the first being direct appeals to the public to reduce their power consumption.
The second is slapping restrictions on companies’ electricity usage by requiring them to drop their consumption by a certain per cent.
The final stage, dubbed “rota disconnections”, would be rolling blackouts for homes across the UK.
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The documents also break down where and when the blackouts could take place in an emergency scenario using “load blocks”.
Power in Britain is provided by a handful of suppliers who divide their distribution into 18 of these blocks, which work like postcodes.
Each “block” is assigned a letter between A and U, except for the letters F, I and O, which are not used.
You’ll be able to find yours in an electricity bill. If not, get in touch with your electricity provider to find out.
For example, looking at Level 1 on the document (above), if you live in block A, you would have a power cut on Monday 12:30am to 3:30am, Wednesday 3:30pm to 6:30pm and on Sunday 12:30am to 3:30am.
These blackouts will be based on where you live and how power is supplied to your home, which means your neighbours might not experience a blackout while you do.
Households belonging to each “load block” are scattered across the country, so one area isn’t in complete blackout at the same time.
Blackouts could occur every day of the week in eight three-hour slots, with the first starting at 00:30 to 3:30am and ending with 9:30pm to 12.30am, according to the document.
Power cuts will be based on a 18 levels of severity which differ depending on the availability of gas supplies.
The first would see rolling blackouts three to four times a week, either at the start or the end of the week.
Level two would see power cuts occur six times a week and level three will disrupt electricity flows to households for 27 hours a week.
Level nine is the point at which homes face spending more time without power than with while the most feared scenario is a “total shutdown” of power supply indefinitely.
Certain “protected sites” like hospitals, food manufacturers, oil refineries, some ports, financial services, essential water and sewerage installations, major airports and digital and telecommunication services will dodge the worst of it – but not for long.
They may be forced to reduce consumption in the worst of circumstances, while priority is given to the “maintenance of life” and to “minimising the risk of disasters”.
Meanwhile, the BBC has prepared secret scripts for use during blackouts this winter.
The scripts set out how the broadcaster would attempt to reassure the public should there be a “major loss of power”.
Brits would be advised to use car radios or battery-powered receivers to listen to emergency broadcasts on FM and long-wave frequencies usually reserved for Radio 2 and Radio 4, according to a Guardian report.
One draft script, seen by the paper, warns a blackout could last for as long as two days, with hospitals and police put under “extreme pressure”.
Russia has threatened to turn off gas supplies to Europe this winter in retaliation over its support for Ukraine.
Moscow has already been accused of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines with “pig” drones packed with explosives, which suffered catastrophic damage earlier this month.
Though the UK does not rely on imported gas from Russia, it will be hit by a supply shortage in Europe, which is where it sources most of its gas and electricity.
A Government spokesperson said: “The UK has a secure and diverse energy system.
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“To strengthen this position further, we have put plans in place to secure supply and National Grid, working alongside energy suppliers and Ofgem, will launch a voluntary service to reward users who reduce demand at peak times.’
“But Britons are already preparing for the worst case scenario by stocking-up on portable generators and torches in addition to winter clothing, thermal underwear and candles, according to industry reports.”