Water: Tougher regulation will attract ‘global investment’, Steve Reed claims September 5, 2024 Steve Reed has claimed that toughening up water regulation will “attract global investment” to rebuild the UK’s sewage and pipeline infrastructure. The environment secretary today insisted his efforts to reform the under-fire industry—including the threat of prison time for rogue water bosses—would create “growth and opportunity.” It comes after Reed unveiled the Water (Special Measures) [...]
Water bosses risk prison time as government launches crackdown September 4, 2024 Bosses of water companies who obstruct watchdog investigations could face up to two years behind bars, as the government unveils tough new laws to ramp up enforcement. The Water (Special Measures) Bill was introduced in Parliament on Wednesday and will grant sweeping new powers to the Environment Agency (EA), the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Ofwat [...]
Grenfell: Firms involved to be barred from public contracts, Starmer vows September 4, 2024 Companies involved in the failings that led to the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy will no longer be awarded government contracts, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Prime Minister apologised for the disaster – which saw 72 people die in the tower block blaze in June 2017 – in a grave statement to the House of [...]
Airspace reform is being ‘shackled by needless bureaucracy,’ Easyjet chief warns September 4, 2024 UK and European airspace reforms that would reduce flight times and emissions are being “shackled by needless bureaucracy,” according to the chief executive of Easyjet. Speaking at a Net Zero conference in Bedford, Johan Lundgren said airspace modernisation was the “quickest way to reduce carbon emissions” but warned it couldn’t be “kicked down the road [...]
Government approval paves way for new Thames Water ‘mega-reservoir’ in South Oxford September 4, 2024 The government has endorsed Thames Water’s plans to manage water supply for the next 50 years, paving the way for a controversial new £1.5bn ‘mega-reservoir’ in South Oxford. Steve Reed, the environment minister, has approved the embattled water firm’s proposal—called its Water Resource Management Plans—in which the firm maps out its strategy to secure the [...]
Grenfell Tower fire: ‘Systematic dishonesty’ by construction firms, report reveals September 4, 2024 The 72 deaths in the Grenfell Tower fire were avoidable, and the blaze was a result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry, a report into the disaster has concluded. Scores of people who lost their lives in the blaze which engulfed the 24-storey tower block in north Kensington, on June 14, [...]
Spending without productivity improvements won’t lead to better public services September 4, 2024 Restoring the differentials in public and private sector pay to those which prevailed in 2010 without quid pro quo increases in productivity is simply stirring up trouble for the future, says Paul Ormerod The decision by the government to stuff money into the bank accounts of the train drivers and junior doctors has been widely [...]
Pension tax relief: Reeves warned of ‘backlash’ – but offers up roadmap for firms September 3, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has declined to rule out increasing taxes on pensions in the upcoming Budget, sparking fresh warnings over “anti-growth” policies. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Reeves refused to “speculate about what will be in the Budget” when asked to give savers “peace of mind” over rumoured annuity levies. Despite failing to give [...]
Michelmersh: Profit sags at brick maker but order book hits multi-year high ahead of building boom September 3, 2024 Brick maker Michelmersh reported a decline in operating profit during the first half of 2024 as economic uncertainty and high interest rates hit housebuilding. Michelmersh’s operating profit fell to just £4.1m in the first half of the year, down 32.8 per cent from the first six months of 2023, the group disclosed in its half-year [...]
Supermarket and McDonald’s bosses to meet ministers over workers’ rights reforms September 2, 2024 Bosses from UK supermarkets and McDonald’s are set to meet government ministers to be updated on plans for new laws around workers rights. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will join John Lewis CEO Nish Kankiwala; Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts; Claire Costello, chief people and inclusion officer at the Co-Op; and [...]