It’s a long time since I’ve read such a depressing piece in the FT as Eric Schmidt’s column “War in the age of AI demands new weaponry” (Opinion, FT Weekend, September 21).

As former chief executive of Google, he has the skills to describe the growth opportunities for the business of war in the age of artificial intelligence in a brisk and business-like manner, including anticipating the arrival of the first trillion-dollar US defence budget, and the need to “weigh total cost and supply chain resilience with other factors like performance”. Surprisingly, he doesn’t mention the huge opportunities presented by expansion of wars into space (presumably for lack of it — space on the page I mean).

Malcolm Campbell
Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

TODAY The Sun launches a ­Winter Fuel SOS campaign to help thousands of pensioners worried about their energy bills.

More than 800,000 older ­people risk missing out on the £300 Winter Fuel Payment — and other ­benefits they may be ­entitled to — because they have not first registered for Pension Credit, which unlocks access to the payment.

7

7

Advertisement

7

And the extra money will be even more welcome after this month’s ten per cent rise in the Energy Price Cap to £1,717.

But good news is at hand, with our Winter Fuel SOS crew ready to offer advice on getting all the money that is yours by right.

In her July statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that this winter, only households in England and Wales that receive Pension Credit or certain means-tested ­benefits will be entitled to the ­Winter Fuel Payment.

Previously it was available to everyone aged over 66.

The decision will strip ten million pensioners of the tax-free handout.

There are just weeks left to claim, so it is essential that those who are eligible apply now.

An estimated 880,000 UK retirees could be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment yet will miss out because they did not register for Pension Credit.

We have heard from readers who cannot work out if they are able to claim the ­benefit.

Others have said how worried they are that they won’t get the Winter Fuel Payment this year — raising fears they won’t be able to ­afford to heat their homes.

We want to change that.

That’s why we have gathered together a top line-up of experts — and our Winter Fuel SOS crew will be taking your calls this Wednesday.

We want to hear from you by phone or email — and it’s fine if you are calling or messaging on behalf of a friend or relative.

Our panel includes former ­pensions minister Sir Steve Webb, pensions expert Baroness Ros ­Altmann and consumer champion Martyn James.

They will be joined by The Sun’s Head of Consumer Tara Evans and Sun Savers Editor Lana ­Clements.

And even if you aren’t eligible for the payment, our team will be ­sharing tips on how to switch energy providers and save money, get help if you’re in debt or simply need to save this winter.

Your cases will be considered by our panel, who will aim to give you advice within one week of your call or email.

Caroline Abrahams, of the charity Age UK, said: “People often think if you have some savings or a small ­pension there’s no point applying for Pension Credit, but that’s often not the case.

“Don’t be put off by the forms — Age UK can help.”

How do I claim pension credit

PENSION Credit is a weekly payment from the Government to those over the state pension age who have an income which is below a ­certain level.

If your claim is successful then the benefit will top up your income to £218 a week if you are single, or £11,343.80 a year.

Meanwhile, if you live as a couple, your ­combined income will be boosted to £332.95 a week, or £17,313.40 annually.

The money you receive in Pension Credit can be spent as you want, but it could be used to pay for food, fuel, energy or housing costs.

Retirees who receive Pension Credit are also entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment, which is worth up to £300 and is designed to help you pay your heating bill over the chillier months ahead.

To qualify, you must have been eligible for Pension Credit during the “qualifying week”, which was September 16-22.

But Pension Credit can be backdated by up to three months, which means the last date you can make a claim and still get the Winter Fuel Payment is December 21.

There are several ways to apply for Pension Credit, including making your claim online or by telephone.

To register for the payments you will need to be receiving the state pension. See gov.uk for more information.

You can also call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234 and they can help you to fill in an application form over the phone.

The lines are open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.

Before you call, it would be helpful to have your ­National Insurance number and bank account details, plus information about your pension, income and savings to hand.

To contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre call 0800 731 0160. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

You can also send a letter by post to: Winter Fuel Payment Centre, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LR.

When you contact the centre you will need to tell them personal information including your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number.

7

What other help is there?

IF you are not eligible for Pension Credit but need help to make ends meet this winter, then there are still things you can do to save money.

You could save £162 a year by switching your gas and electricity ­supplier.

Around 28million homes have seen energy costs rise due to the new price cap.

On Tuesday it rose from £1,568 to £1,717 a year, which means bills are up ten per cent, or £149 a year.

This cap sets a maximum rate per unit that ­customers can be charged for their energy use and changes every three months.

The price cap only affects customers who are on a standard variable energy tariff, which rises or falls depending on the cost of raw energy.

Meanwhile, those who are on a fixed tariff agree in advance how much they will pay for their energy use for a whole year at a time.

A handful of suppliers are currently offering deals that are cheaper than the price cap. The current cheapest is from Outfox The Market and costs £162 less than this month’s cap.

You can reduce the amount of energy you use by lowering your ­thermostat, draught-proofing doors and windows and taking shorter ­showers to bring down your monthly costs.

Meanwhile, energy firms including EDF, ­British Gas and Ovo are offering customers up to £150 free to help with their bills this winter.

The help is provided through the ­Government’s Warm Home Discount Scheme.

To be eligible, you need to be claiming certain benefits which include Universal Credit, ­Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits.

You do not need to apply for the cash and should receive it automatically.

Our panel of experts will be on hand to ­suggest other ways to save money, depending on your ­circumstances.

Call our expert team on 0800 028 1978

Sir STEVE WEBB: PENSIONS ­Minister 2010- 2015. Joined consultancy Lane Clark & Peacock in 2020 and campaigned to secure around £2billion for women underpaid the state pension.

7

Baroness ROS ALTMANN: EXPERT on later-life issues. Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers 2014-15. Awarded a CBE in 2014 for her work on pensions and retirement planning.

MARTYN JAMES: AN award-winning consumer rights expert, journalist and broadcaster with two decades of experience working for the UK’s leading newspapers.

JONATHAN CHESTERMAN: DEBT advice policy manager at StepChange debt charity – the largest provider of free and impartial debt guidance in UK. He will help with readers’ debt queries.

ELISE MELVILLE: ENERGY expert at comparison website uswitch.com, she cares about demystifying bill myths. Elise will be on hand to help with energy-saving tips.

BEN GALLIZZI: THE uswitch.com energy specialist is focused on helping customers to manage their home energy usage. He can suggest practical tips to help you cut your bills.

7

ADAM STACHURA: THE associate director for policy at the charity Age Scotland, Adam is part of a team that offers advice and tips to older people on their winter fuel issues.

FRAN McSWEENEY: HEAD of services at Independent Age, a charity supporting older people facing financial hardship. Fran and her team run a national helpline on cash issues.

EMILY SEYMOUR: AS Energy Editor for consumer group Which? since 2020, Emily has been at the forefront of its campaigns to help people manage their energy bills.

JOE RICHARDSON: DIRECTOR of operations at Octopus Energy UK. His team are responsible for looking after all aspects of the business’s award-winning customer ­service.

TARA EVANS: HEAD of Consumer at The Sun. She will be joined by Sun Savers Editor Lana ­Clements and our very own Consumer Champion Laura Purkess.

7

Architects — keep the kitchen open plan. That’s my plea after reading Bridget Goldberg’s piece on home design trends (“Closing the door on the open-plan kitchen”, Interiors, House & Home, September 7).

A family I know live in a penthouse suite in Doha, the Qatari capital. It is a huge, two-storey apartment but the windowless kitchen is tucked away at the back on the ground floor. My American friend hates it. This is a place where women — wives and/or housekeepers — are meant to be kept out of sight in a room with no views. Kitchen design in Qatar is gendered; domestic architecture reinforces certain roles, which make it harder for women to join the lively discussions around the dining table.

I prefer my Dutch open-plan kitchen so I can share the cooking, the table talk and the clearing up with my husband.

Siobhan Wall
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

THE exact date a major supermarket with more than 300 UK branches is set to close has been revealed.

Waitrose fans were saddened to hear their beloved store will be pulling down the shutters for good.

1

The site, located in Hall Green, Birmingham, announced it will close its doors for the final time after welcoming customers for more than 50 years.

Execs dubbed the move a sad “last resort” after failing to bring in higher profits.

Redundancy consultations have been started with the store’s 123 members of staff.

Hall Green North Councillor, Saima Suleman, shared the sad news on Facebook this week.

It sparked an outcry among shoppers who claimed they “want to move now”.

Someone wrote: “Hall Green isn’t what it was I think it needs to be more suitably placed.”

Another resident said: “This has made me want to move now.”

Others added on social media: “That’s disappointing! It’s one of my favourites since moving back to Birmingham in this area.”

“I’m so gutted,” agreed a fourth.

“Sad – it was always nice to have it at my door step. The staff in there are really friendly and helpful. What a shame!”, penned another.

The exact closure date was confirmed by Waitrose, and is set in January next year.

James Allen, head of retail operations at the supermarket, said: “Our priority now is doing everything we can to support our Partners at Waitrose Hall Green and we will explore opportunities, wherever possible, for those partners who may wish to remain with the Partnership.

“Closing any of our shops is always a last resort and is in no way a reflection on their hard work and dedication.”

A spokesperson for Waitrose added: “Regrettably, we’ve announced our intent to close Waitrose Hall Green in Birmingham at the end of trade on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.

“Despite the best efforts of our partners, we’ve unfortunately not been able to find a way to make the shop commercially sustainable.

“The 123 partners who work in the shop will now enter a period of consultation. If the redundancy proposals go ahead, every effort will be made to find those who wish to remain within the partnership new roles

“Customers will continue to be able to get all their groceries on waitrose.com, our nearby Waitrose Solihull shop, under three miles away, and other on demand locations in the event the closure is confirmed.

“The John Lewis partnership is committed to providing support to those partners who are at risk of redundancy.

“We’ll be exploring opportunities for partners within the partnership first, and our retraining fund will contribute up to £3,000 towards a recognised qualification or course for up to two years for any partner with two years’ service or more who is made redundant.

“They would also be given access to a three month support programme with an outplacement specialist to help with CV writing and interview skills.”

In addition to statutory redundancy payments, staff who have worked with the business for more than 90 days would be entitled to Partnership redundancy pay, which equates to one week’s pay for every year of service.

It comes as the retailer confirmed it will close all stores to give staff a break on Boxing Day.

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has exclusively told The Sun it will shut all its standalone John Lewis stores on December 25 and 26.

Only its shops within the Trafford and Stratford shopping centres will remain open.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of Waitrose stores, also operated by the JLP, will close on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

That means over 300 Waitrose branches and 33 John Lewis sites will be closed to customers on December 26.

A handful of Waitrose shops attached to petrol stations will remain open on Boxing Day though.

PLANS for a new hub by Premier Inn hotel are underway and it’s set to be the largest one in the UK to date.

Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, has just received planning permission to build the hotel, which will be located at 5 Strand in London.

3

3

Advertisement

The 693-room hotel will be a couple of doors down from Charing Cross Station and within sight of Nelson’s Column and Trafalgar Square.

There is currently a partially demolished office block on the site, which is located opposite the Co-Op on the Strand.

The new Premier Inn isn’t the first hotel development to be proposed on the site – it was previously earmarked for a 200-room Park Hyatt Hotel, with a rooftop bar and restaurant.

Instead, it will now become home to the latest London property under Whitbread’s hub by Premier Inn brand.

hub by Premier Inn is a hotel concept from the company that offers stylish, compact rooms in central locations in London and Edinburgh.

It was launched in 2013 and the first hotel opened in Covent Garden in 2014.

The brand has since grown to 18 hotels across London and Edinburgh.

Other hub by Premier Inn hotels in London are located in Camden, Bank, Clerkenwell, Goodge Street, Kings Cross, Marylebone, Paddington, Shoreditch, Soho, Brick Lane, Tower Bridge, West Brompton, Westmister Abbey, and St James’s Park.

Rooms are designed to be comfortable, convenient, and consistent with Premier Inn, but in a smaller package. 

They include a touchscreen control panel for lighting and temperature, 40″ smart TVs, high-powered showers, and beds.

Some rooms have windows, but some are window-free.

The new 16,000 sqm development will feature 13 floors including ground floor space fronting onto the Strand and Northumberland Street.

Mark Anderson, managing director for property and international for Whitbread, said: “Hub by Premier Inn was launched a decade ago in St Martin’s Lane, a few hundred metres from 5 Strand. 

“The brand has blossomed into a network of 18 popular hub hotels in Central London and Edinburgh and has become a proven model for bringing our affordable bedrooms into the most central, vibrant, and connected locations for our guests.

“5 Strand is an excellent example of how we think the hub by Premier Inn brand can evolve in Central London. It also shows how we can use Whitbread’s strong balance sheet to acquire the best positioned, most accessible, and high-demand locations in the capital to grow our brands.

“With planning permission now secured we will move quickly to begin construction of the new hotel and deliver a true flagship location for our guests.”

Whitbread recently announced plans for a 207-room hub by Premier Inn property within a “under-utilised” car parking space under The Brunswick Centre in London’s Bloomsbury.

The group said the hotel’s rooms, reception and communal guest areas will feature “cutting edge lighting technology which provides a natural spectrum of light following the human circadian rhythm”.

3