As I understand it, in registering, you are signing up to a set of standards.
Those standards apply to the quality of the ship (enough lifeboats?), the training of the crew (do they speak English? Are they trained for the job?), the Safety standards, etc.
During my years, in the MN, I saw some amazing negligence from some without the above standards.
(By the way, there were plenty of ships, in the late 50s, which were registered on little Islands with small populations!)
Ever see a Tanker, going up the Gulf, with no-one on the Bridge?, ever see some of a crew without lifeboat training?
British Ships, in my experience, were very strong when it came to these standards - but having them would have been much more expensive than if you hired a “bunch” who had none!
Sadly, I think we needed to have a Titanic experience to make us toe the line, but the UK did it.
The budget this year has given us a 3.1% rise in our state pensions though.
Not a lot, but better than a poke in the eye with a wooden stick I suppose.
The government broke an election promise & removed the triple lock, which means that although pensions will go up by 3.1% it will result in a loss of close to £2,500 per year, due to the real cost of inflation, which is estimated to be 4%. So 3.1% is in reality a cut in pensions.
The Telegraph reports.
Household costs have risen faster for pensioners than for the working population over the past decade, according to the Office for National Statistics, and are tipped to soar again this winter.
Ian Browne of Quilter, the wealth manager, said pensioners had been dealt a “huge blow” from the Government’s refusal to increase any social security payments, such as the winter fuel payment, the cold weather payment or the warm homes discount.
