The car was declared on the register of members' interests in the proper way." He did not explain why the declaration does not appear on the website, and neither could a spokeswoman for the council.He added: "As the leader of Birmingham City Council, I went to MG Rover to offer help and to negotiate a discount on cars for the council's employees. Mysteriously, Mr Whitby has not publicly declared the loan, although councillors are obliged by law to register all gifts and hospitality. The council leader's long entry on the Birmingham City Council website shows that he has been meticulous in declaring other perks of office, however trivial. He has declared, for instance, that in February he was given a pair of Wellington boots when he officiated at a ceremony for a new development. One of Britain's most powerful Tory politicians is battling to save his reputation this week after admitting that he received a £90,000 sports car from the ailing MG Rover company, shortly before it collapsed with the loss of thousands of jobs.
Angry union bosses arecon-tacting the administrators handling the collapse to find out why the Tory leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby, has a free loan on a top-of-the-range sports car. Since MG Rover went into administration, hundreds of former employees have had to hand back the cars that the company encouraged its workforce and their families to buy at favourable rates.Gerard Coyne, regional secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "Virtually every single employee of Rover had a car they have to pay for or give back. "You won't see a massive uplift for obesity alone, but it normally comes with other conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, and the combination can make a significant difference," says Peter Quinton of the Annuity Bureau.When cheap isn't cheerful"You tend to find that the cheapest companies for someone in perfect health are not necessarily the best if you have an existing health problem," says Paul Mellor at The Insurance Surgery. D's reinsurer recommends 100 per cent loading, so; D, £24 + 100 per cent = £48.* The result is that the cheapest original quote is no longer the cheapest final quote.. For example:* Mr Jones obtains four quotations for life cover from companies A, B, C and D.
A's premium is £20 a month, B's £22, C's £23 and D's £24.* As Mr Jones is obese, he expects a loading, and all four are asked to requote. A, B and C use one reinsurer, D another.* The first reinsurer recommends a 150 per cent loading, giving these total premiums: A, £20 + 150 per cent = £50 a month; B, £22 + 150 per cent = £55; C, £23 + 150 per cent = £57.50. As Carr points out: "You're much more likely to claim on this - if you have a heart attack, say - than to pop your clogs altogether." As a consequence, critical illness premiums could be doubled or trebled if you are deemed to be overweight.But there's one financial arena where being big can be rather more beautiful: annuity rates. Because being overweight tends to shorten your life expectancy by several years, you may find that you qualify for a 3-5 per cent uplift in your annuity.Unfortunately, of course, the actuaries who bestow those extra pension pounds work on the likelihood that you're not going to be around to enjoy them for all that long. We have stories of people who stop the old one, go for a cheap quote and then find they've been loaded because of their weight." Fat is a financial issue in other respects, too Take critical illness cover.
