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30th September 2021

HMRC is warning university students to be wary of potential scams, especially if they have a part-time job and are new to interacting with the department.

Male on phone

University students taking part-time jobs are at increased risk of falling victim to scams, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is warning.

Higher numbers of students going to university this year means more young people may choose to take on part-time work. Being new to interacting with HMRC and unfamiliar with genuine contact from the department could make them vulnerable to scams.

In the past year almost one million people reported scams to HMRC.

Nearly half of all tax scams offer fake tax refunds, which HMRC does not offer by SMS or email. The criminals involved are usually trying to steal money or personal information to sell on to others. HMRC is a familiar brand, which scammers abuse to add credibility to their scams.

Links or files in emails or texts can also download dangerous software onto a computer or phone. This can then gather personal data or lock the recipient’s machine until they pay a ransom.

Between April and May this year, 18 to 24-year olds reported more than 5,000 phone scams to HMRC.

Mike Fell, Head of Cyber Security Operations at HMRC, said:

"Most students won’t have paid tax before, and so could easily be duped by scam texts, emails or calls either offering a ‘refund’ or demanding unpaid tax.

"Students, who will have had little or no interaction with the tax system might be tricked into clicking on links in such emails or texts.

"Our advice is to be wary if you are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or personal information. We see high numbers of fraudsters contacting people claiming to be from HMRC. If in doubt, our advice is – do not reply directly to anything suspicious, but contact HMRC through GOV.UK straight away and search GOV.UK for ‘HMRC scams’."

In the last year (September 2020 to August 2021) HMRC has:

  • responded to 998,485 referrals of suspicious contact from the public. Nearly 440,730 of these offered bogus tax rebates
  • worked with the telecoms industry and Ofcom to remove 2,020 phone numbers being used to commit HMRC-related phone scams
  • responded to 413,527 reports of phone scams in total, an increase of 92% on the previous year. In April last year we received reports of only 425 phone scams. In August 2021 this had risen to 3,269
  • reported 12,705 malicious web pages for takedown
  • detected 463 COVID-19-related financial scams since March 2020, most by text message
  • asked Internet Service Providers to take down 443 COVID-19-related scam web pages.

By June this year, more than 680,000 students had applied to university, and over 900,000 held part time jobs during the 2020 to 2021 academic year.

Further information

More information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact and how to avoid and report scams.

Forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599. Report scam phone calls via GOV.UK.

Data about student university applications.

Data on part-time student employment.

17th September 2021

Bayston Hill Parish Council - Publication of Audited Annual Governance & Accountability Return for Financial Year ending 31st March 2021

 

Follow this link to the webpage with the full announcement.

www.baystonhillparishcouncil.org.uk/finance

1st September 2021

The Planning Committee meeting has been cancelled.

The meeting dated Monday 4th October 2021 will not take place.  I have already been advised that 3 committee members will be unable to attend and therfore a quorum will not be possible.

I will add Planning Matters to the agenda for the Full Council meeting following, that is unaffected.

An updated Diary of Meetings has been published - Diary of scheduled Bayston Hill Parish Council meetings 2021/22 | Bayston Hill Parish Council

 

Shaun Jones

Locum Clerk

1st September 2021

CLIMATE CHANGE – GREEN ENERGY

In order to tackle the climate emergency, we need to drastically reduce our emissions. This cannot be done without decarbonising our energy system which is currently still reliant on fossil fuels (coal and gas). Energy supply currently accounts for 21% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions – the second biggest emitting sector after transport.

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What can people do to support the decarbonisation of our electricity supply?

  • Sign up to a green tariff.

The links below provide guidance and advice for switching your tariff

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/how-green-is-your-energy-tariff/

https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/green-electricity-tariffs

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/switching-your-energy-supplier/

https://www.t3.com/features/best-green-energy-supplier

  • Save energy in the home.

Switching to a green supplier is a great way people can lower their carbon footprint but even a green energy supply should only be used when necessary. As a society, we need to cut down on the amount of energy we use, and very often waste. Small steps can make a big difference for example, only boiling the water you need in the kettle, cutting back on using the washing machine, switching to LED lighting. More info on how to save energy can be found at https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/hub/quick-tips-to-save-energy/

  • Flex our demand patterns.

To get to this point, a big part of what needs to happen is speeding up the take up of smart meters, smart appliances, time of use electricity tariffs, and then we can start integrating electric vehicles, batteries, solar PV and heat pumps with electricity demands in a building, so that you can start to have things charging or releasing electricity at the best times. 

Benefits of choosing green energy reducing our consumption.

  • Better quality of air
  • Opportunity to save on energy bills
  • Creating job and growing the economy
  • Better energy and economic security
1st September 2021

CLIMATE CHANGE – AIR TRAVEL v STAYING LOCAL

One return flight from London to the Middle East uses 3 tonnes of CO2. This is well above the sustainable average of 2.3 tonnes of CO2 a year which we should all be aiming for. By reducing the number of flights we take now, maybe our children and grand-children will still be able to fly to enjoy the world like we have done

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As we begin to make plans for when lockdown is lifted, travel is at the top of many peoples list. 

This year has taught us the importance of local. Whether that is connecting more with your neighbours, shopping locally or exploring the parks, woodlands and other open spaces within a walking distance from your house. 

Can we incorporate this while still having the excitement of a holiday abroad? The answer is yes!

“Building back better” – Think about holidaying in the UK:

  • Visit Britain has lots of fab tips on the best places to go in Britain.
  • Walking Holidays UK offer great trips across England Scotland and Wales.
  • Flight Free UK have great resources including a podcast focusing on how people have adapted to a flight free lifestyle and how you can too. 

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