:00:13. > :00:17.The Church of England is to start promoting the use of credit unions
:00:18. > :00:22.in two London diocese, in an attempt to challenge payday lenders.
:00:23. > :00:26.The Archbishop of Canterbury has previously said he'd like to put
:00:27. > :00:33.The new scheme is being piloted in London first, but the church
:00:34. > :00:37.hopes it can build up a national network of community`based support.
:00:38. > :00:40.Payday lenders. They offer quick credit to people in need.
:00:41. > :00:43.But the interest rates can go sky high.
:00:44. > :00:47.Now, they've got competition from the church.
:00:48. > :00:50.They will work with you, how much you can afford a month.
:00:51. > :00:54.Meet Rosemia Brown, a financially savvy vicar.
:00:55. > :00:57.She's on a mission to recruit people to her local credit union.
:00:58. > :01:01.I had to borrow some money, and then...
:01:02. > :01:06.18 months ago, this grandmother took out a payday loan for ?1200
:01:07. > :01:13.She's only managed to pay back the ?700 worth of interest.
:01:14. > :01:17.I thought I would be able to pay it back, you know?
:01:18. > :01:22.Over the period, in the short, given time.
:01:23. > :01:25.But it doesn't work, you plan to do this
:01:26. > :01:31.It may not hand out the cash, but should the Church
:01:32. > :01:36.Money is a thing that we need to use every day.
:01:37. > :01:40.But we have to be responsible with it.
:01:41. > :01:44.We have to make it work for us and not become slaves to it.
:01:45. > :01:47.That's why I think it's important from the church.
:01:48. > :01:52.But with some 16,000 parishes, the Church of England
:01:53. > :01:54.believes that it has the potential to create
:01:55. > :01:58.the biggest branch network in the country.
:01:59. > :02:02.So, what's the difference between a credit union and a payday lender?
:02:03. > :02:05.Well, a credit union is not for profit, with interest
:02:06. > :02:13.at a maximum of 3% a month. So, a ?400 loan would cost ?12.
:02:14. > :02:16.A payday lender is a commercial enterprise.
:02:17. > :02:23.That same loan could cost around ?127.
:02:24. > :02:28.But payday loan companies say they fill a gap in the market.
:02:29. > :02:30.Credit unions aren't really interested in getting into the
:02:31. > :02:34.They're more interested in savings, longer term loan products rather
:02:35. > :02:38.than immediate access, short`term loans.
:02:39. > :02:40.And that's a very different product, which is something that
:02:41. > :02:42.the payday lending industry will continue to provide.
:02:43. > :02:45.But the Church of England is now taking them on and
:02:46. > :02:53.it hopes there will be many more signing up for its new service.
:02:54. > :02:58.The congestion charge is to increase from ?10 to ?11.50 from mid June.
:02:59. > :03:03.Those using the auto pay system will see the cost rise to ?10.50.
:03:04. > :03:07.TfL says that since the congestion charge was introduced in 2003, more
:03:08. > :03:13.than ?1 billion has been re`invested in London's transport network
:03:14. > :03:15.Nobody ever particularly welcomes a rise in a charge for anything.
:03:16. > :03:18.But this is about maintaining the effectiveness of the congestion
:03:19. > :03:20.charge, which has been very effective in terms of reducing
:03:21. > :03:25.They reduced by something like 20%, more or less since the day it came
:03:26. > :03:30.It's about maintaining that and making sure we can provide
:03:31. > :03:33.the road space for everything that needs to go on in central London
:03:34. > :03:41.I like the idea that there's less cars on the road,
:03:42. > :03:47.It enhances the experience of being in the city for everybody.
:03:48. > :03:50.We're still driving. We have to, it's part of the job.
:03:51. > :03:53.We just have to pay it, and the client will pay it.
:03:54. > :03:56.Landlords in the capital can now join a new accreditation scheme,
:03:57. > :04:00.Boris Johnson says his initiative will protect London's 2 million
:04:01. > :04:04.But critics says it's a meaningless gimmick, which lacks teeth.
:04:05. > :04:09.This is not your average student house.
:04:10. > :04:14.Six bedrooms, a handsome entertaining space, one jacuzzi.
:04:15. > :04:16.Nor was this an average morning for its tenants.
:04:17. > :04:19.They'd clearly done some cleaning, for example, and they welcomed
:04:20. > :04:25.Right, so this is the main room, here? The main living room?
:04:26. > :04:32.More often than not, we didn't have hot water.
:04:33. > :04:36.We also had some furry friends living with us.
:04:37. > :04:38.So, for the owners of a decent property, being part
:04:39. > :04:42.of the Mayor's new landlord accreditation scheme seems ideal.
:04:43. > :04:44.If you are unable to present yourself effectively,
:04:45. > :04:47.with the badge, as an accredited landlord, then it's something the
:04:48. > :04:51.landlords should be doing, because if you're not doing it, they're
:04:52. > :04:55.Under the new London rental standard, a landlord must offer
:04:56. > :04:58.his property in good condition, must offer clear communication with
:04:59. > :05:01.the tenants and must respond quickly to any problems.
:05:02. > :05:05.But the scheme is only voluntary and there are no fresh ways
:05:06. > :05:10.And there are fears that the new scheme will create a double layer
:05:11. > :05:14.of renting in London, for those who can afford good quality, which is
:05:15. > :05:19.To what degree with this offer protection to a tenant,
:05:20. > :05:24.a guarantee of tenure or, indeed, rental protection that things will
:05:25. > :05:30.It's very interesting, all the markets where they have tried to
:05:31. > :05:34.do that, what happens is they drive properties off the market and you
:05:35. > :05:37.That's what happened in Germany, they tried to bring
:05:38. > :05:41.in rent controls and people say, "Well, stuff that, I'm not going to
:05:42. > :05:46.And, low and behold, there is a shortage and the rents go up.
:05:47. > :05:48.The trouble is, it's very much a landlord's market.
:05:49. > :05:50.Tenants don't have choice at the moment.
:05:51. > :05:53.A lot of tenants have to go for the first thing they can afford,
:05:54. > :05:56.whether or not a landlord is any good or not.
:05:57. > :06:00.He claims he had to withhold his rent to get
:06:01. > :06:09.I don't think... It's hard to say.
:06:10. > :06:15.In my opinion, his skills as a landlord were not that great.
:06:16. > :06:23.Maybe an accreditation scheme might help him have better communication.
:06:24. > :06:26.The capital's property problems are already well publicised.
:06:27. > :06:28.Whether this latest scheme works will depend
:06:29. > :06:46.now let me hand you over to Stav Denaos for a look at the weather.
:06:47. > :06:51.I think many of us are fed up of the damp weather. The good news is that
:06:52. > :06:54.many of us will see glimmers of sunshine through the afternoon
:06:55. > :06:58.tomorrow. Overnight it remains cloudy for much of the capital.
:06:59. > :07:02.Still spots of rain, mist and fog. With the cloud cover, another mild
:07:03. > :07:05.night with temperatures in double figures. Tomorrow, after a great
:07:06. > :07:08.start, we'll start to see the sunshine break into the cloud in the
:07:09. > :07:14.afternoon. That may trigger some heavy showers. Some misty
:07:15. > :07:17.conditions, are breaking up, sunshine developing. As temperatures
:07:18. > :07:21.left, some showers develop. Some of them might be heavy or thundery
:07:22. > :07:25.across northern areas. Top temperatures in the capital are 17
:07:26. > :07:29.or 18 Celsius. I'll leave you with a summary for the next few days. It's
:07:30. > :07:30.turning bright as we head into the weekend. My colleague John Hammond
:07:31. > :07:32.will have your weekend. My colleague John Hammond
:07:33. > :07:37.will have your national details right now.
:07:38. > :07:43.Hello. Some of us had a nice day. Others of you will be wondering if
:07:44. > :07:48.the sun will ever shine again. It's been another cloudy and damp day
:07:49. > :07:51.across many parts of the country. No more so than across the heart of
:07:52. > :07:55.northern England, where, through the heart of the day, with persistent
:07:56. > :07:56.rain, temperatures were