BRITTON HAS A BREW FOR CHARITY

Leonard Cheshire Week 2-10 June 2007

Fern Britton showed her support for Leonard Cheshire by taking a well-earned tea-break after ITV’s This Morning to launch the charity’s 1st ever Tea for Ability initiative.  The leading disability charity is hosting a series of tea-related events across the UK from 2-10 June and is calling on local people to join in and help raise funds for its work with disabled people.

Anyone wishing to get involved in Leonard Cheshire’s Tea for Ability could:-

* Throw a tea party and invite friends and neighbours to make a donation

* Get sponsored to make tea for work colleagues

* Host a tea quiz and charge people for taking part

* Organise a tea tasting competition

“Have a cuppa for Leonard Cheshire in June, it’s a great cause.” said Fern.

Leonard Cheshire Head of Community Fundraising Nora Smith says:- “We are really excited about our first Tea for Ability event. It’s a fantastic opportunity to catch up with friends or colleagues over your favourite cuppa, raise money for Leonard Cheshire and help change attitudes to disability.”

For a free Leonard Cheshire Tea for Ability fundraising pack, please call 08450 552 195 or visit the website.

EMOTIONAL DEBT NATION

A GULF of emotional debt is opening up in families across the UK as parents dig deep to fund their children’s 1st steps onto the property ladder. According to new research from Standard Life Bank, 76% of 1st-time buyers feel emotionally indebted to their parents for helping them into their 1st home. However there is little reason, as just 3% of parents think their children should feel beholden to them.

And this emotional debt is likely to cost 1st-time buyers dear. The research found that 53% of recent young homebuyers say they will help out their parents at any given opportunity in a bid to pay back the money in good will. A further 27% said they have generous ambitions and plan to treat their parents financially in the future; while 14% plan to return the favour by helping their loved ones with their own home or business.

The survey among 1st-time buyers and parents found that 51% of the new homeowners who had received a loan from Mum and Dad would have preferred not to borrow from them. And while 61% are grateful for the support, 16% say they are losing sleep over how to repay their parents.  But children of parents who have acted instead as mortgage guarantors generally feel more comfortable and less anxious about the arrangement, with 43% saying they felt fine and worry-free compared with just 29% of those that received a loan.

Ashley Ramsay, trends expert at Standard Life Bank, said:- “Our research indicates a considerable contrast between how parents feel when financially supporting their children, and how adult children feel about accepting their money. Not only can it leave the parents with a significant dent in their savings, but also 1st-time buyers then take on the burden of emotional debt, which they worry about repaying.  From pocket money to a first home handout, monetary assistance may seem like the obvious way for parents to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder. However, there are other options out there to explore such as becoming a mortgage guarantor, or adopting those unofficial roles – counsellor, decorator or handyman all rolled into one – that make the buying process a little easier for 1st-Time Buyers.”

The research, among more than 5,000 parents and 1st-time buyers, was undertaken to launch Standard Life Bank’s Parental Affordability Boost on its Freestyle Mortgage Range. The enhanced guarantor facility allows both parents and children’s net disposable incomes to be taken into account when calculating affordability, giving children’s borrowing capacity a significant boost.