Published: 08 November 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
The Government set out its legislative programme for the rest of this parliament yesterday. The King’s Speech announced a focus on “increasing economic growth and safeguarding the health and security of the British people for generations to come,” with bringing inflation back down to the 2% target toted as its first priority. The King went on to outline plans to “strengthen the United Kingdom’s energy security and reduce reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile foreign regimes” by supporting the future licensing of new oil and gas fields, in stark contrast with Labour Party policy which pledges to end new licences. “My Ministers will seek to attract record levels of investment in renewable energy sources and reform grid connections, building on the United Kingdom’s track-record of decarbonising faster than other G7 economies,” the speech continued. It other moves impacting business, it also promised a bill to promote trade and investment; new legal frameworks to “support the safe commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles;” new competition rules for digital markets; a Bill to support the creative industries and protect public interest journalism; and proposals to “reform welfare and support more people into work”. Plans to reform the NHS were also laid before parliament, including delivery of the “NHS workforce plan, the first long-term plan to train the doctors and nurses the country needs, and minimum service levels to prevent strikes from undermining patient safety”. Record levels of investment into mental health services was also promised. The Government will also “introduce legislation to create a smokefree generation by restricting the sale of tobacco so that children currently aged fourteen or younger can never be sold cigarettes, and restricting the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children,” the King said. The long-anticipated Renters (Reform) Bill is also finally being brought forward. The Bill proposes making it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to purchase their freehold; tackling punitive service charges; and introducing safeguards so renters can benefit from stronger security of tenure, alongside reforms to give landlords certainty they can regain their properties when needed. Legislation to safeguard the future of football clubs and “regenerate towns and put local people in control of their future” were also announced, as was investment in “Network North” to deliver faster and more reliable journeys between, and within, the cities and towns of the North and Midlands.
Another, surprise announcement in The King’s Speech included a crackdown on the “scourge of unlicensed pedicabs” which are fast becoming ubiquitous in London’s West End. In fact, none are licensed in the capital at the moment, meaning they can charge different fares per journey, which has led to complaints that customers can be charged extortionate amounts in fares. Last month a Belgian tourist was coerced into paying £464 for a seven-minute, one-mile ride and, according to the London Evening Standard, they are the preferred use of transport for some sex trade traffic. In 2022, Westminster City Council slapped £30,000 in fines on the vehicles which it called “unlicensed and unsafe,” and launched a marketing campaign s warning of their “dangers”. “This is one of the biggest issues in Westminster,” Nickie Aiken MP told City A.M., after the announcement. The former leader of Westminster City Council has spent a four years’ campaigning to remove a loophole on unlicensed pedicabs, and the Government will build on a private member’s Bill she presented 2021 to bring in licence requirements, administered by Transport for London.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver the Autumn Statement in the House of Commons at lunchtime today - a full run down tomorrow.
Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said yesterday that he is seeking to tackle “out-of-date” UK regulations by amending several post-Brexit retained EU laws, including annual leave, holiday pay, the Working Time Regulations, to ensure they are “fit for purpose” and encourage jobs growth. He also wants to “streamline” the regulations that come with new-owner business transfers, he said. “Seizing these benefits of Brexit, including a saving of £1bn for businesses, will support the private sector and workers alike and are vital to stimulating economic growth, innovation and job creation,” Hollinrake said, insisting that the proposals will not disrupt workers’ rights, but remove bureaucracy. While trade unions will no doubt scrutinise the detail, Martin McTague, the National Chair of the Federation of Small Business said: “We welcome these sensible changes, striking a balance for workers while offering clarity for employers. It’s good to see the Government cutting through excessive burdens without losing the benefits of regulations. We’re eager to see a system that’s clear-cut, cost-effective and easy for small businesses to roll out, so these announcements are a crucial step forward.”
The number of complaints from customers about being ‘de-banked’ has risen in the wake of Nigel Farage’s debanking scandal, new figures show. The Financial Ombudsman opened 1,613 new in the six months to the end of September, equivalent to around 268 cases each month, whereas there were just 2,708 cases across the whole of 2022-23, a rate of just over 225 a month. The data has been revealed in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee (TSC), which is investigating the issue.
Reach Plc, the London-listed publisher of the Mirror and Express newspapers, is to cut 450 jobs amid a 14% downturn in digital advertising revenues and a 20% dip in print ad revenue. The total workforce will shrink by around 10% in 2024 as part of a plan to reduce costs by between 5-6%, it said, in addition to plans already announced to cut 600 roles. Reach blamed soaring inflation for the ad revenue downturn and its own cost increases. Reach also publishes the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo.
Marks and Spencer (M&S) has announced it will resume paying dividends to shareholders for the first time in four years, following a buoyant half year which delivered a pre-tax profit of £360.2m, up by nearly £100m on the previous six months. last figures of £205.5m. This is despite M&S’s losses from its partnership with shopping delivery firm Ocado rising sharply. Ocado knocked more than £23m off M&S’s profits in the first half of the year, compared to a £700,000 loss on the business in the same period a year earlier.
ITV has warned shareholders it is facing weaker demand from free-to-air broadcasters for its studio business. However, the broadcaster also posted a 1% improvement in total revenue for the first nine months of the year this morning, to £2.98bn. Shares are down more than 6% at the time of writing.
The National House Building Council (NHBC) is warning that bungalows are “on the critically endangered list” because the numbers of new one-storey buildings under construction has fallen to an 80-year low. Builders registered just 228 new bungalows for construction between July and September this year, the NHBC said, down 70% compared to the same period a year earlier and the lowest number in the organisation’s history. It seems that as society becomes older, and that older population looks to downside to a bungalow - buyer demand for bungalows doubled between 2019 and the start of 2022, according to property website Zoopla - developers are looking to get the biggest bang for their buck. Steve Wood, NBHC CEO told The Daily Telegraph: “Land is a scarce resource… On a plot for a single bungalow, it may be possible to build three or even four houses.”
London estate agent Foxtons bought lettings agency Ludlow Thompson for £10m in cash.
Housebuilder Vistry has signed a £819.0m deal with Leaf Living and Sage Homes for the delivery of more than 2,900 mixed-tenure new homes.
Construction firm Galliford Try has won an £87m contract to expand its work at a build-to-rent development in London's Brent Cross. It has been appointed by property developer Related Argent and real estate investment firm Invesco Real Estate to deliver a further 286 apartments across three blocks, having already won a contract earlier this year to build 249 new homes at the site. Galliford will also work on a new retail and amenity space, including a leisure suite with a swimming pool.
Government outsourcer Serco has won a £200m contract to deliver electronic monitoring services for the Ministry of Justice. The contract starts in May 2024 and will run for six-years.
Tate & Lyle has David Hearn as its new chair after a four-month search. Hearn is currently the chair of UK-listed Safestore Holdings and New Zealand-based The a2 Milk Company, and has also held senior roles in Del Monte, PepsiCo and United Biscuits. Tate's former chair Gerry Murphy announced in July that he would step down in September after more than six years to become the new chair of Tesco.
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