The ten largest mortgage lenders in the UK slashed spending by almost one fifth last year, figures revealed yesterday.

As the credit crunch began to take grip and property prices tumbled, the companies reduced their lending by a total of £50 billion, according to a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Lloyds and Halifax Bank of Scotland, which merged last year, saw the most dramatic cuts, followed by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Overall lending by the top ten mortgage lenders fell by 18% to £222.4 billion, with only HSBC and Bank of Ireland increasing lending.

“We have seen a significant reduction to lending. Consumers have found that access to mortgage credit is more restricted,” said the CML.

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Holidaymakers are being warned to check the small print on their travel insurance policies, as it emerges that many insurers do not cover expenses resulting from swine flu in their products.

According to the Rock insurance company, many insurers exclude important areas of cover from their standard insurance policies, including pandemic illness and terrorism – particularly worrying in the light of the swine flu pandemic and the Majorca bombings.

“With the current levels of infection in the UK, it is important that you offer an insurance policy that includes comprehensive cover should [customers] contract the illness either before or during their holiday,” said a spokesman.

Insurer Aviva has already received 400 claims relating to swine flu this summer.

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About half of all final-salary pension schemes will be closed to private-sector employees within the next three years, a survey suggests.

According to figures from actuarial firm Watson Wyatt, of 250 employers surveyed, 75% had closed their final-salary pension scheme to new recruits, while just 9% of schemes were closed to existing employees. However, this year has seen a sharp rise in the number of pension companies closing their pension schemes to all further contributions.

Watson Wyatt said that if its projections about the future of company pension schemes are correct, over 1 million employees currently making contributions towards a final-salary scheme will have to join an alternative pension plan by 2012.

“When employers are cutting jobs and freezing pay, pension arrangements will inevitably be put under the microscope,” said Rash Bhabra of Watson Wyatt.

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The number of house repossessions in the UK fell by 10% in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, according to a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

However, the 11,400 homes repossessed represented a 14% rise on the same period last year, the CML said.

The group said that early advice for struggling homeowners, low interest rates and a willingness on the part of lenders to allow cash-strapped owners to make affordable repayments had all contributed to the rise. However, it warned the number of repossessions could increase in the next months due to rising unemployment.

“With unemployment rising and the economy still weak, the outlook will remain challenging for the rest of this year and into 2010,” said the CML’s head of policy Jackie Bennett.

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Travel agency Thomas Cook has said that cases of swine flu have cost the company £12.6 million in lost revenue as customers cancelled trips to Mexico and other destinations.

The firm added that the impact of the worldwide pandemic had been “more significant than expected”, but said that the strength of its brand in the UK and abroad had enabled it to remain resilient in the face of “challenging economic and trading conditions”.

Thomas Cook lost £49.5 million between September 2008 and June 2009, due in part to expenses from its merger with My Travel.

The company said that the proportion of holidays sold was similar to last year, but noted a rise in last-minute deals. However, sales of holidays to long-haul destinations have gone down as customers shun the Mexican resort of Cancun because of swine-flu outbreaks in the region.

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Over 300 banks in the UK and abroad have been told to hand over details of UK taxpayers who have offshore accounts.

The decision by the newly established First-tier Tax Tribunal will enable HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to identify thousands of people who are hiding untaxed money abroad in offshore bank accounts.

“Today we have successfully applied to get information on the offshore accounts and assets of customers of over 300 further banks,” said Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax at HMRC.

“I urge any of them who have unpaid tax liabilities connected to these accounts now or in the past to come forward and make a full disclosure during the NDO because we will use the information provided by the 300 banks to pursue those people who continue to flout the UK’s tax laws,” he said.

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Dine at Italian restaurant Prezzo this summer and you can get two courses and a drink for a tenner!

Choose from one of Prezzo’s sumptuous starters such as garlic bread or bruschetta, add a main such as Spaghetti Bolognese or Pizza Vesuvio and wash it down with a glass of wine, Peroni beer or soft drink - all for just £10.

Click here to find your nearest Prezzo restaurant.

In order to qualify for this £10 deal, click here to fill in your details. You will then be sent a voucher by email.

Make your selection from the menu options on the voucher, and take it along with you when you next dine at Prezzo to redeem the offer.

This offer is valid until 23rd August, 2009. One voucher per person.

More than half the money earmarked for the government’s “cash for bangers” scrappage scheme has been used up, according to figures from the Department of Business.

So far, 154,927 cars have been bought under the programme, which aims to breathe new life into the UK’s ailing car industry. The government has promised to underwrite 300,000 deals altogether in which motorists receive a £2,000 discount off a new car when they trade in a car over 10 years old.

Half of the cash is provided by the treasury, with the car industry putting up the rest.

The scheme has been most popular in the South East of England, which accounted for 18% of deals under the programme. 12% of purchases were made in the East of England, with 11% in the North West and South West.

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Government proposals to limit house-sharing have been sharply criticised by landlords and student unions alike.

The government has proposed plans to give local councils powers to limit the number of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in one area.

House sharing, whereby people who are not related live together in a single property, is a popular option for students and young professionals, but can prove a nuisance for locals who have complained that too many HMOs in one area can lead to anti-social behaviour as well as streets of empty houses during university holidays.

However, those opposed to the plan say the government proposals are discriminatory, affecting large numbers of students, young professionals and migrant workers.

“It is extremely foolish to propose that we displace all of these people in the middle of a housing crisis,” said Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students (NUS).

A spokesman for Communities and Local Government said: “Students bring benefits to the places they live in, but too many residing in one area can impact negatively on a community. This is a real problem in many communities across England, which is why Communities Secretary John Denham is committed to finding a long term solution to current rental practices.”

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The state retirement age could rise further as Britain’s pensioners live longer, the UK pensions regulator has warned.

David Norgrove, head of the pensions regulator, said increased life expectancy meant that people in the UK may have to work until they are 70 before receiving their state pension. He added that people were “frightened” to save for the future.

“People are going to have to work longer. As a nation we are not going to save as much for retirement as we did in the past,” he said.

“The government’s recent legislation is increasing the state retirement age progressively to 68. I think it will end up higher than that,” he added.

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