That didn't work... jobless aid scheme to buy lawnmowers, suits and even steam irons to help people find work writes off £3MILLION By BRENDAN CARLIN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 09:55 AEDT, 8 December 2024 | Updated: 09:57 AEDT, 8 December 2024 e-mail View comments A scheme to buy lawnmowers, suits and even steam irons to help people find work lost millions on items never fully accounted for. The Mail on Sunday can reveal the taxpayer-funded project administered by job centres made £3million of awards to the unemployed in the past three years without keeping proper receipts. The Flexibility Support Fund (FSF) can be used to pay for travel costs for people to attend interviews, fund child care and buy equipment needed for a new job. One grant in the summer involved buying a top-of-the-range self-propelled lawnmower for someone to start a gardening business. But in the previous three financial years, more than £3million of FSF awards were written off by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as 'cash losses' after claimants did not give receipts or provided 'incomplete or incorrect receipts'. The DWP has now introduced new 'security measures to better track spending', including insisting that most payments are made by job centre staff rather than giving the money to claimants and hoping they provide proof of purchase. Last night, Labour MP Graham Stringer said: 'You wouldn't run a whelk stall like this. 'Helping people to get a job is a good idea but it must be properly accounted for. If the DWP is finally introducing proper controls, it's not before time.' The FSF losses came to light only after DWP officials this year removed the need for receipts by insisting that job centre work coaches bought the items first with an official departmental 'approval to buy' credit card One grant in the summer involved buying a top-of-the-range self-propelled lawnmower for someone to start a gardening business (Stock Image) One payment of £1,099 was made to luxury steam iron/ironing board company Laurastar SA (Stock Image) Other FSF awards over the summer included a £1,249 payment at John Lewis (Stock Image) Ironically, the FSF losses came to light only after DWP officials this year removed the need for receipts by insisting that job centre work coaches bought the items first with an official departmental 'approval to buy' credit card. But as the MoS revealed last month, that led to the disclosure that this summer the card was used on an apparent spending spree at stores including John Lewis, Argos, Halfords and Moss Bros. DWP officials have declined to disclose specific purchases, but said they could include 'smart clothing for interviews' and essential tools and equipment for 'specialist roles'. But sources said a £1,259 transaction in August at garden machinery dealer Cheltenham Mowers was for a 'Lawnflite Pro' self-propelled petrol mower for a claimant setting up a gardening business. Other FSF awards over the summer included: Two transactions at farm and gardening supplier Sam Turner & Sons, worth £1,447 in total A £1,249 payment at John Lewis £555 at clothing chain Moss Bros £1,099 at luxury steam iron/ironing board company Laurastar SA. The DWP said the fund 'removes barriers' to work, adding that it has now 'strengthened and enhanced transparency' in spending. Labour Share or comment on this article: That didn't work... jobless aid scheme to buy lawnmowers, suits and even steam irons to help people find work writes off £3MILLION e-mail Add commentHere's to new ideas: Moon Beast Productions is an independent studio founded by industry veterans Phil Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer to make a new action RPG. Having secured funding, the company now plans to explore a novel approach to the hack-n-slash genre. Moon Beast Productions recently secured $4.5 million in seed money from several partners in the gaming industry. The company hopes to use the funding to design and develop a groundbreaking ARPG that goes beyond the genre's traditional design templates. $4.5 million is a fairly tight budget, but Moon Beast President Peter Hu notes that the team plans to work "smarter" and not just harder to achieve its goals. Moon Beast CEO Phil Shenk highlighted how the company's founders helped invent the classic ARPG paradigm with Diablo and Diablo II . They also worked on subsequent projects such as Hellgate: London, the excellent Torchlight series, and Marvel Heroes Online, each aiming to expand the genre's reach. "For the past 20 years, we've dreamed of ARPG gameplay in more open, dynamic worlds," said Moon Beast's chief creative director, Erich Schaefer. Schaefer was one of the original crew members for Diablo II, arguably the best ARPG ever. He noted that Moon Beast is now ready to start its next project. He didn't divulge too much but said they are returning to what made early Diablo games so unique and addicting, adding that the studio is taking those ideas in new, "fresh" directions. Team members and their previous projects. Click to enlarge. Moon Beast's team has the technology skills and decades of design experience to elevate their game above those of bigger developers. The team's vision lacks a lot of meat, so there are very few details about this new, mysterious ARPG. He said that a "key innovation" the studio wants to invest in is user-generated content (UGC), with dedicated tools that make adding custom content to the game's world virtually effortless. "We're building in-game tools that allow players to not just mod but potentially create entirely new game modes using our robust, client-server ARPG systems," Hu said. According to Overwolf, one of Moon Beast's angel investors, the company's approach to UGC could incite entirely new gameplay experiences than the base game. Shenk stated that Moon Beast's UGC tools could unlock new genres built on the traditional ARPG formula, similar to how the MOBA genre emerged from Warcraft III mods. So far, the company has been busy building its core technology platform and experimenting with ARPG-related design ideas. The team isn't interested in making a Diablo clone. We can't wait to see what the original Diablo designers come up with outside Activision Blizzard's reach.Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’SHOPPERS are buzzing over a new must-have find from B&M that delivers the glamour of a high-end fragrance at a fraction of the cost. This budget-friendly gift set has sparked excitement for its incredible similarity to a beloved designer scent that usually sells for over £80. With social media lighting up with glowing reviews, fans are calling it “exactly the same” as the iconic perfume. The £4.99 Scent Favourites Night Orient Pour Femme EDT & Body Wash Gift Set is the perfect way to indulge in luxury without breaking the bank. Many are hailing as a near-perfect dupe for Yves Saint Laurent’s (YSL) coveted Black Opium fragrance. Known for its enchanting blend of pink pepper, orange blossom, coffee, jasmine, and vanilla notes, the scent mirrors the seductive allure of YSL’s iconic Black Opium, which can retail for as much as £85. Read more on dupes The gift set includes a 100ml bottle of Exotic Affair Pour Femme EDT and a 150ml matching body wash, making it a thoughtful and luxurious-feeling gift at an unbeatable price. One savvy shopper, Sarah Russell, took to Facebook to share her discovery, writing: “This smells mmmmm!!! NICE.” Her post quickly gained traction, with fellow fragrance fans chiming in to praise the dupe. “It smells really nice and the same as Black Opium,” one user wrote, while another commented, “Smells the same.” Most read in Money One nostalgic shopper even remarked, “It reminded me of the 80's Opium.” If you’re looking for a high-end scent without the designer price tag, this could be the ultimate find. Better to stock up before it flies off the shelves! It come s as bargain hunters have been quick to share an iconic perfume dupe that could save shoppers nearly £70. Found in B&M for just £3.99, the fan "favourite" eau de toilette "smells exactly the same" as the original. Taking to Facebook, one eagle-eyed shopper posted a picture of the supposed duplicate item that could be perfect for those looking for reasonably priced gifts in the run up to Christmas . Advertised on the B&M website while stocks last, those hoping to nab a bottle of the "elegant" and "romantic" fragrance may want to head to their local store to check shelves. Boasting a "timeless feminine" allure, the Scent Favourites Scandale Femme comes in a 100ml stunning pink bottle shaped like a women's torso. The post has already garnered social media attention with many suggesting the incredible find to be a Jean Paul Gaultier dupe. Featuring the corseted feminine bust-shape, the dupe even seems to have replicated the bottle into a similar form. READ MORE SUN STORIES The original was created in 1993 and boasts notes of sweet orange, pear and star anise. Currently on sale at Perfume Price for £72.95, it seems to have been discounted from £104, meaning the dupe offers buyers an even greater saving.phmacao app 。

It’s a stormy holiday weekend, and you’ve just received the last notification you want in the busiest travel week of the year: The first leg of your flight is significantly delayed. You might expect this means you’ll be sitting on hold with airline customer service for half an hour. But this time, the process looks a little different: You have a brief text exchange with the airline’s AI chatbot, which quickly assesses your situation and places you in a priority queue. Shortly after, a human agent takes over, confirms the details, and gets you rebooked on an earlier flight so you can make your connection. You’ll be home in time to enjoy mom’s pot roast. Generative AI is becoming a key component of business operations and customer service interactions today. According to Salesforce research, three out of five workers (61%) either currently use or plan to use generative AI in their roles. A full 68% of these employees are confident that the technology—which can churn out text, video, image, and audio content almost instantaneously—will enable them to provide more enriching customer experiences. But the technology isn’t a complete solution—or a replacement for human workers. Sixty percent of the surveyed employees believe that human oversight is indispensable for effective and trustworthy generative AI. Generative AI enables people and increases efficiencies in business operations, but using it to empower employees will make all the difference. Its full business value will only be achieved when it is used thoughtfully to blend with human empathy, ingenuity, and emotional intelligence. Though the technology is still nascent, many generative AI use cases are starting to emerge. In sales and marketing, generative AI can assist with creating targeted ad content, identifying leads, upselling, cross-selling, and providing real-time sales analytics. When used for internal functions like IT, HR, and finance, generative AI can improve help-desk services, simplify recruitment processes, generate job descriptions, assist with onboarding and exit processes, and even write code.48 TikTok-Approved Products That Also Make Excellent Gift Ideas

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Grand Strategy | How minilateralism is reshaping global orderGangs in Haiti attack journalists covering the attempted reopening of the country’s main hospitalU.S. president-elect Donald Trump and those in his corner continue to muse about annexing Canada, though Canadian officials have largely sidestepped those comments. In a post on the social media platform X, Eric Trump shared a doctored photo of his father purchasing Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal on Amazon, with the phrase “We are so back!!!” Since winning the presidential election in November, Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as the “51st state.” On Trump’s Truth Social platform, he’s also repeatedly referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the “governor” of Canada. Trump has also threatened 25 per cent tariffs against Canada, which has prompted discussions at both the federal and provincial levels on the best way to deal with the incoming Trump government. Carleton University professor Aaron Ettinger said federal officials have rightly been dismissing the social-media posts and maintained a “focus like a laser beam” on the real and “existential threat” of tariffs. “This strikes me as being profoundly unserious,” said Ettinger, who has studied Canada-U.S. relations during the first Trump presidency. “These are taunts; these are churlish provocations that are not mature, and do not reflect just how serious the coming trade war is,” he said. Ettinger said Trump is likely continually posting about Canada because it plays well to his supporters, without being seen as a real threat of annexation. “We know his moves. He makes fun of, he belittles, he mocks, because he can,” he said. But he said that a vacuum of leadership in Ottawa from embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is spurring “the freelancing of some of the provincial leaders” in response to Trump’s comments. For example, Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in on Trump’s postings on Dec. 18, telling media that “we’ll never be the 51st state. We’re Canada; we’re proud to be Canadians. We’ll always fight for that.” Ettinger said civil society is similarly better to focus on convincing Americans to not impose damaging tariffs on Canada, instead of amping up anti-Trump rhetoric. “Canadians should worry first about what Canada’s actual national interests are,” he said. “We’re not going to out-trash talk Donald Trump, so don’t even bother trying and focus instead on the core stuff that really matters.” In response to Trump’s threats, the Trudeau Liberal government has unveiled a $1.3 billion spending package over six years to address Trump’s threats, which concern border security and the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman has repeatedly characterized Trump’s comments as gentle ribbing between two close countries. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said on Dec. 13 that she has quipped to Republican senators that they could join Canada as the eleventh province. Greenland’s head of government, Múte Bourup Egede, suggested that Trump’s latest calls to purchase the territory from Denmark would be as meaningless as those made in his first term. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” he said in a statement. “We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom.” Panama President José Raúl Mulino has also rebuffed Trump’s musing about taking over the Panama Canal. “Every square metre of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to,” he said in a video, to which Trump fired back on his social media site, “We’ll see about that!”None