Private equity what you need to know

A British barrister is toasting the £8million sale of 7,000 bottles from his private wine collection at a New York auction after he became a collector to fund his retirement.  Ian Mill, QC, has cashed in on the majority of his 10,000-strong collection with bottles costing from £190 to £70,000. The barrister began collecting wine more than three decades ago and told The Times that, despite having no plans to stop practising any time soon, he wants to open a restaurant in Californian wine hub Healdsburg. Ian Mill (pictured, right) has sold off the majority of his collection for more than £8million to fund his retirement 'California wines are hugely underrated in this country,' he said, adding that the recent New York auction in New York at family-owned firm Zachys was billed 'one of the most important collections of fine wine, and particularly fine burgundy, that has come to market in the past decade. One could even say century.' Mr Mill works at Blackstone … [Read more...] about British barrister toasts £8MILLION sale of 7,000 bottles from his private wine collection in New York auction – after becoming collector to fund retirement

Aditya Chakrabortty’s article about the exploitation of agency workers (Ghost jobs, half lives, 20 January) exposes the ethical bankruptcy of the recruitment industry today. To me, as the owner of a London-based agency for the past 26 years, the picture he paints of systematic and routine denial of basic rights to workers is as familiar as it is depressing. All the advances that have apparently been made in recent times to improve the conditions of those who undertake temporary work have been cynically and easily turned to the advantage of those agencies that wish to do so. The minimum wage, holiday pay and the Agency Workers Regulations have been all but ignored by dint of poor legislation and inadequate policing. Tax avoidance occurs on a massive scale and apprenticeship schemes are widely abused. Corrupt practices have become the norm in the recruitment industry, and those agencies that will not entertain them face a hard struggle to survive, as complicit end-users drive … [Read more...] about Recruitment industry needs to be regulated: temporary workers’ rights are routinely denied

Additional safeguards are needed to ensure that disabled people are not deprived of their liberty, the UK's highest court has ruled. In a test case on the conditions under which three individuals are living, the supreme court said that their medical conditions did not entitle the state to deny them their human rights. Lady Hale, deputy president of the court, said that the state had a duty to care for disabled people. The fact that disabled people might be deprived of liberty in care facilities, where living arrangements were comfortable, made no difference. A gilded cage, she said, was still a cage. The supreme court ruled that all three – a severely incapacitated man and two severely mentally handicapped sisters – had been "deprived of their liberty" under the terms of mental health legislation. The decision overturned an earlier appeal court ruling. "It is axiomatic that people with disabilities, both mental and physical, have the same human rights as the rest of the … [Read more...] about More safeguards needed to ensure rights for disabled, rules supreme court

The £1.2bn Work Programme, the government's flagship welfare to work scheme, needs to be broken up in the face of figures showing that as little as 5% of unemployed people on the main disability benefit are finding a job through it, a thinktank will propose this week. The proposal is one of a series from the Institute for Public Policy Research in its Condition of Britain report, to be published on Thursday, including a proposal for a "daddy month" – four weeks' paternity leave on the minimum wage, a plan that would cost the taxpayer £150m. More than 400,000 working fathers a year would benefit. The thinktank's report, the product of two years' research, is due to be launched by Ed Miliband. It will look at the social and economic problems facing the country and cover areas such as welfare, housing, childcare and improvements to social care, as well as handing more power to local councils. The current legal entitlement for working fathers is paid at a flat rate of … [Read more...] about Work Programme ‘failing those most in need and should be broken up’

Dame Barbara Windsor’s “memory comes back” when she sings, her devoted husband has revealed. The 82-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2014, is able to “perform again” when she hears music, Scott Mitchell, 56, said. “It’s a very common thing, music. Music triggers the brain. "It’s really heartening to see as she taps into a place that has strong memory and evokes happiness.” The EastEnders and Carry On star married Scott in 2000. They met through friends when Barbara was still married to her second husband, Stephen Hollings. Barbara needs 24-hour nursing care, Scott has revealed, but when she is feeling well enough they still enjoy nights out to the theatre. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now Read More Showbiz editor's picks Recent trips included seeing Matt Lucas and Alfie Boe in Les Miserables in London’s West End The … [Read more...] about Dame Barbara Windsor’s ‘memory comes back’ when she sings but needs 24 hour care