A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia.

Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's.

Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed.

The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, looked at 168 elderly people experiencing levels of mental decline known as mild cognitive impairment.

This condition, marked by mild memory lapses and language problems, is beyond what can be explained by normal ageing and can be a precursor to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

The Bank of England has kept UK interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5% for the 18th consecutive month.

The Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision had been expected, but calls have been growing for an increase in rates to curb inflation.

CPI inflation was 3.1% in July, above the Bank of England's 2% target rate.

And minutes from last month's MPC meeting showed that one member, Andrew Sentance, had voted for a rate rise for the third month in a row.

'Order to shoot'

The Bank has left rates unchanged at the historic low of 0.5% since March 2009.

The MPC also announced it was continuing with the Bank's £200bn quantitative easing (QE) regime, and some believe the programme is about to be expanded.

"The Bank of England has held fire for another month, but we think the quantitative easing gun is about to be reloaded and the order to shoot given," said IoD chief economist Graeme Leach.

"Whilst above target inflation has stopped the MPC pulling the trigger on a further extension in QE this month, the economic threat from weak money supply growth looms ever larger."

The latest rate decision comes a day after forecasters at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research predicted that the Bank would keep interest rates at 0.5% until mid-2011 at the earliest.

'Bumpy and slow'

The UK economy grew by 1.2% in the second quarter, but there have been indications that the pace of growth has slowed since then.

Lai Wah Co, CBI head of economic analysis, said the MPC decision had been widely expected.

"In recent weeks there has been more talk about the need to expand monetary policy, amid concerns about how quickly growth momentum will fade in the coming quarters at home and abroad," she said.

"However, economic indicators still suggest the UK recovery is on track, although we expect it to be bumpy and slow."

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the decision to leave interest rates unchanged was the right one.

"The government's tough deficit-reduction measures, although necessary to repair the public finances, will increase the threat of an economic setback," said David Kern, the BCC's chief economist.

"Since sustaining the recovery must remain the priority, it is absolutely vital that the MPC maintains the current low level of interest rates until the middle of 2011 at the earliest."

An explosive EastEnders plot that will see the departure of Peggy Mitchell, played by Barbara Windsor, has begun.

Windsor, 73, announced she was leaving the show last October, so she could spend more time with her husband.

On Thursday Peggy watched the Queen Vic pub go up in flames, marking the end of 16 years of brawls and bust-ups behind the bar during her tenure on the show.

Thursday's episode ended with her saying "Let it burn" as flames engulfed the pub.

In response to an urgent question raised in the Commons, Mr Gauke said that the repayments would be sorted out "as painlessly as possible", and the government was looking to reform the "outdated and inefficient" PAYE system.

He said that there was a total of £2bn owed, and that the country could not afford to write off all of this amount.

However, individuals who owed less than £300 in underpaid tax are not being pursued and will not receive letters. This was higher than the previous threshold of £50.

Extra tax charges will average £1,380 and most of these will be recovered via changes to next year's tax codes.

A number of tax experts have suggested that those who have underpaid tax should challenge these underpayments.

A procedure called the extra statutory concession allows HMRC to write off tax, if it was provided with all the relevant information but failed to use it within 12 months of the end of the tax year in which the information was received.

However, Mr Gauke said that people should not "build up their hopes" that appeals would succeed.

"Of course the government is very keen that everybody who is in a position of having underpaid their tax is treated sympathetically," he said.

Completing this year's line-up are EastEnders' and former Bill star Scott Maslen, comic and psychologist Pamela Stephenson, DJ-turned-actor Goldie and film actor Jimi Mistry.

Mistry, another former resident of Albert Square, has film credits including East is East, The Guru and Blood Diamond.

Tointon played Dawn Swann in EastEnders but left last year, while O'Brien played Sarah-Louise Platt for eight years in Coronation Street.

Daniels, 72, said: "I feel sorry for anyone who gets lumbered with me because they are really going to have their work cut out.

"I guess they shouldn't be very tall!

It was recently announced that Strictly's co-host, Bruce Forsyth, would not be presenting the Sunday night results show this year.

He is being replaced by Claudia Winkleman, who will appear alongside Tess Daly.

Forsyth will continue to host the BBC One Saturday night competition shows and will also host the launch show.

Judges Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon all return to the panel.

Dixon received criticism for her role last year after she replaced former Strictly judge, Arlene Phillips.

"It was hard last year because there was a lot of negativity before I'd even started," she said.

"But I am a fighter and I was determined to not let any of the negative opinions get to me," she added.

How might someone have under or overpaid income tax?

There are a number of reasons why people may have under or overpaid their tax:

• Your employer may have used the wrong tax code, because you started a new job or you had an emergency tax code for a while.
• You may have only worked for part of the year or you had more than one job at the same time.
• You may not have told HMRC right away about changes to benefits you got through your work, or your circumstances changed.
• You were made redundant or became self-employed and therefore your income reduced.
• Other income such as investments or rental income may have reduced but you didn't tell HMRC.
• It could also be that HMRC made a mistake with your tax.

How does PAYE work?

If you are an employee your employer will deduct income tax directly from your wages and pass it on to HMRC.

The amount deducted is based on your total taxable income, taking into account any tax allowances and your individual tax code as provided by HMRC.

At the end of the financial year, HMRC compares the amount of tax it has received from each taxpayer with the amount it would expect to receive according to their tax code and income. Anyone on the wrong tax code could end up paying too much or too little.

Why have so many discrepancies occurred?

The PAYE system was originally devised around employers since at the time it was introduced many people tended to stay with a single firm for life.

Until recently it was possible to keep an accurate record of employees, but since the 1970s work patterns have been transformed with workers now often having many jobs during their lifetimes. Taxable benefits like health cover and company cars have complicated matters further.

In response the system was overhauled, and in June 2009 a new IT system was introduced focusing on the employee. Where previously, all the data for an individual could be spread across as many as 12 databases, it is now all in one place.

An HMRC spokesman said the new system enables it to keep much more up-to-date records, so initially more mistakes will be highlighted. However, in the future more people will pay the correct tax at the right time, thus reducing the number of corrections.

How will I know if I am affected?

If you are one of the estimated six million people affected you will receive a letter from HMRC sometime between now and Christmas.

The first 45,000 people will receive their letter, known as the p800, in the week of 6 September. The majority of these have paid more tax than they should but some 15,000 have not paid enough.

If I have underpaid, how will I pay the extra I owe?

In most cases, underpayments will be recovered during the 12 months of the financial year 2011/12 through your salary. This will happen automatically, so you will not need to do anything unless you believe the information in your p800 letter is wrong. If so, you should contact HMRC.

HMRC say that in some circumstances they will consider writing off underpayments, but only if they are provided with sufficient evidence to prove that an individual did provide all the information needed to get their tax right and could have reasonably expected their PAYE deductions to be correct.

What if I cannot afford to repay the tax? Can I refuse to repay?

HMRC says that if someone genuinely can not afford to repay the tax , they should contact their local tax office. However, if a tax debt is legally due it should be paid.

If I have overpaid, how will I get the money back?

Money that was overpaid will be returned via your wages.

How can I find out my tax code and keep it up-to-date?

You will find your code on your P45 form, given to you by your employer when you stop working for them, which is why you should make sure you give that form to your next employer. If you have lost your P45 and want to find out your code you should contact your local Tax Office or ask your employer.

If you think your tax code is wrong or you think you may need to update it, you should also contact your Tax Office.

Sometimes when you start a new job your employer will put you on an emergency tax code until HMRC has worked out what it should be. While you are on this emergency code you may be over or underpaying the right tax.

This has reconciled separate HMRC databases for tax and national insurance payments, and has highlighted where tax had previously been overcharged or undercharged.

Repayments to 4.3 million people will be worth on average £420 each and will be made via changes to their tax codes for the next tax year, 2011-12.

Extra tax charges will average £1,380 and most of these will also be recovered via changes to next year's tax codes.

Where the tax charge is more than £2,000 the taxpayer will, in theory, be asked to pay a lump sum.

But a Revenue spokesman said those could be staggered in cases of hardship.

HMRC will use its experience of the first 45,000 letters - form P800 and its guidance notes - to see just how many recipients write to it, phone or visit its inquiry centres.

Tax experts say that anyone who appears to owe extra tax should first check the facts on their letter to make sure the updated record of employment and income is accurate.

"Look back through your coding notices and compare them to your payslips to ensure your employer has applied the correct coding," said Tony Bernstein, tax partner at accountants HW Fisher.

"Study the PAYE codes, particularly the last one, and check that all the figures in the code reflect your circumstances.

"If there has been a mistake somewhere, then get in touch with your tax office and make them aware of this," he added.

Appeal

If someone wants to challenge the new calculation, they can simply phone HMRC to ask for a recalculation.

In some limited circumstances, it may be possible to ask the authorities to write off the extra money being demanded.

A procedure called the extra statutory concession allows HMRC to write off tax, if it was provided with all the relevant information but failed to use it within 12 months of the end of the tax year in which the information was received.

"In those cases where HMRC had all the information needed and the taxpayer could reasonably have thought they were being accurately taxed, [but] an underpayment has still arisen, it can be written off," said an HMRC spokesman.

"In fairness to all taxpayers, this is not a blanket exemption and very much depends on the specific circumstances of each case."

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group said: "If you disagree with HMRC's decision on that, you can refer the matter to the Adjudicator, but you cannot appeal.

"However, it is important to know that the concession exists, something about which HMRC are notoriously reticent," it said.

 

Dummy of letter - form P800 - from HM Revenue & Customs which will be sent to nearly six million taxpayers

 

 

Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts say.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) warns only 7% of patients receive a new type of radiotherapy, compared with 20% in Europe.

Writing in the BBC's Scrubbing Up column, CRUK experts said patients were receiving older types of radiotherapy - or having to travel abroad for care.

The UK's cancer tsar said plans were being developed to improve care.