Ecotricity makes fourth takeover bid of Good Energy for £60m July 22, 2021 Ecotricity has made a new higher offer in its takeover pursuit of fellow green energy supplier Good Energy, after a series of rejected offers since June. The latest cash offer, announced this morning, is at 340 pence per share, valuing the Chippenham-based company at around £59.5m. It marks a rise on Ecotricity’s initial indicative offer [...]
Pingdemic: Government urged to expand self-isolation exemption list July 22, 2021 MPs and industry leaders have called on the government to include supermarket staff, lorry drivers and other essential workers on the self-isolation exemption list to prevent supply chains from buckling under the weight of the “pingdemic”. Shelves across the UK have been depleted this week as a result of workers at each stage of the [...]
Six million SMEs risk ‘being forgotten’ in net zero transition, banks warn July 22, 2021 The UK’s six million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be “forgotten or left behind” in the country’s net zero transition, warns Bankers for Net Zero in a report. The initiative – supported by Barclays, Handelsbanken, Triodos, Ecology Building Society, ClearBank and Tide – argues that measures need to be implemented to avoid leaving SMEs unprepared [...]
Turn the volume down: London could be revolutionised by the silent automation of the noisiest parts of city life July 22, 2021 Cities have always been the future. Development is nearly always metropolitan, regeneration usually urban. London is one of the world’s major cities, and we might expect it to be one of the fastest to bounce back from the turmoil of the last year. But will a post-pandemic world view cities in the same way? Covid [...]
London Mayor offers financial support to Hongkongers settling in the capital July 22, 2021 City Hall has announced to use a £900k grant to provide advice on housing, employment and education for the newly arrived Hong Kong migrants. London is expected to welcome a larger proportion of the projected 153,000 new arrivals from Hong Kong to the UK this year after the government introduced a new visa for Hong [...]
Raising the money to fund social care reform is half the battle, we need steely determination to mend the system July 22, 2021 Proposals to hike national insurance by 1 per cent to fund adult social care reform has caused much excitement in the media. But raising the money is barely half the battle. The tax raising options are, after all, well understood, even if the political challenge of implementing one remains formidable. As great a challenge is [...]
Food supply chains ‘on edge of failing’, meat industry warns July 21, 2021 The country’s food supply chains are “on the edge of failing” as the so-called “pingdemic” aggravates a critical shortage of labour, a sector body said tonight. The British Meat Processors’ Association (BMPA) said the shortage of skills was so critical, some plants had reported vacancies of 10 per cent to 16 per cent of permanent [...]
US drops opposition to Nord Stream 2 pipeline July 21, 2021 The US and Germany have today struck a deal allowing the completion of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has long been a bone of contention between the two countries. In return for the $11bn pipeline being finished, the two will invest $200m into energy security in Ukraine, as well as renewable energy [...]
BP closes small number of petrol stations due to lorry driver shortage July 21, 2021 BP said that the current shortage of lorry drivers meant that it had had to close a small number of its UK petrol stations. The oil giant said that the majority of its shortages of petrol and diesel were being resolved within a day. But the warning is yet another sign of how deeply the [...]
Government confirms 3 per cent pay rise for NHS staff in England July 21, 2021 The government has this evening announced a 3.0 per cent payrise for NHS staff in England after apparently failing to do so earlier today. In a statement tonight the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that it had accepted the recommendations of NHS independent pay review bodies in full. The pay rise covers [...]
