Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has declared that the UK is living the “most acute housing crisis in living history” as she announced a radical reform to the country’s housing planning system.
Addressing the Commons, the housing secretary has promised to fix the Tories’ legacy by bringing back mandatory housing targets of 370,000 a year on councils.
Under the plans, Ms Rayner announced a review of the green belt if councils do not meet the housebuilding targets.
Responding to Rachel Reeves spending announcement, Diane Abbott has sparked a Labour rebellion against the chancellor over her public cuts labelling the move “renewed austerity”.
It comes as Ms Reeves warned “more difficult choices” are coming after axing winter fuel payments for many pensioners in a bid to help plug a £22bn black hole in the public finances.
Also challenging the government, Labour peer Lord Sikka argued the move was “taking away” £300 from pensioners by “a measure that was not in our manifesto”.
Following her speech, Ms Reeves doubled down on accusations that Jeremy Hunt “lied” to the public and to MPs during the election campaign about the state of public finances.
Key Points
- Angela Rayner declares UK faces ‘most acute housing crisis in living memory’
- Abbott leads Labour rebellion over Reeves’ spending cuts
- Chancellor faces Labour backbench rebellion over winter fuel payment
- Labour introduces mandatory housebuilding targets of 370,000 per year
- Badenoch: Labour already breaking planning reform election pledges
Rapid review of environmental plans aim to ‘save nature’ – minister
06:00
Salma Ouaguira
The Environment Secretary has pledged to “turn the tide and save nature” as he announced a rapid review of improvement plans.
Steve Reed said a review of the environmental improvement plan (EIP) would be completed by the end of the year as part of efforts to deliver legally binding targets.
He said the Government would develop a statutory plan to meet each of the Environment Act targets – which include halting the decline in species by 2030, cleaning up water bodies and cutting air pollution.
He warned that “nature is dying” and England’s “precious landscapes are in decline”, as an annual report showed mixed progress towards goals in the EIP, including deterioration in some measures for helping wildlife, using resources from nature sustainably and delivering clean air.
The EIP was published by the previous government in 2023 to deliver its goals to boost nature and the environment, including protecting and restoring habitats, cleaning up water and air, boosting recycling and improving flood defences.
But earlier this year, the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog warned the government remained “largely off-track” to meet legally binding green targets and the goals of the EIP .
It warned the government had not been clear enough on how its ambitions will be delivered, and must speed and scale up its efforts.
Tory leadership hopeful Jenrick says party must end ‘mass migration'
05:33
Salma Ouaguira
Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said his party has been “unable or unwilling” to do what is required to cut the number of people coming to the UK.
The former immigration minister said hundreds of thousands of people “we didn’t need” had arrived legally while “dangerous” immigrants could not be deported.
Mr Jenrick, who backs pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to tackle issues around small boat crossings, said “our people and Parliament must be sovereign”.
In a video to launch his leadership campaign, he said: “When I was minister for immigration, I saw dangerous people coming into our country. I saw us unable to deport them. I saw hundreds of thousands of people we frankly didn’t need coming in legally.
“But our politics was unable or unwilling to deliver what was needed. The new government aren’t going to fix things. They have too many delusions.
“Our party is our country’s best hope. But we have a mountain to climb and real choices to make. We won’t regain people’s trust with platitudes.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Labour Government of selling a ‘fiscal fairytale'
05:00
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused Labour of selling a “fiscal fairytale” with the chancellor’s claim that the Tories had left behind a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
The former Tory MP said the figures had been “invented” and accused the government of being “simply dishonest”.
He told GB News: “When the Labour chief secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne wrote [in 2010] that there was no money left, he was telling the truth.
“But in what has been dubbed the ‘biggest lie in British politics’ Rachel Reeves, the Artful Dodger of 11 Downing Street, takes us for fools in an effort to pick your pocket.
The former business secretary, who lost his seat at the general election, claimed that “inventing a £22 billion black hole and blaming the Tories while spending £8 billion on green energy that won’t cut your bills and £11 billion on overseas climate aid is simply dishonest”.
Sir Jacob added: “Do not be fooled by their fiscal fairytales. Labour has not been in office for a month and already its spin has turned into outright dishonesty.”
New scheme opens for postmasters with overturned convictions
04:30
Salma Ouaguira
Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal whose convictions have been quashed can now apply to a new compensation scheme.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he hoped the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme would bring “some relief to postmasters who have waited far too long to get back the money that is rightfully theirs.”
Postmasters with overturned convictions will begin to receive written confirmation of their exoneration this week, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.
Those eligible for the new scheme can either accept a fixed settlement of £600,000 or, if they believe their losses exceed that amount, can choose a full claim assessment route.
This would mean their application will be fully examined by a team of dedicated caseworkers in the DBT.
Mr Reynolds said: “Postmasters have suffered immeasurably so I hope today’s new redress scheme brings some relief to postmasters who have waited far too long to get back the money that is rightfully theirs.
“Any postmaster who thinks they are eligible for this scheme can come forward and register. We know that every case is different, and this government fully supports the right of every postmaster to choose what is best for them.”
Basic IT security failings left electoral register vulnerable – data watchdog
04:00
Salma Ouaguira
Basic IT security failings allowed Chinese state-linked hackers to access the election watchdog’s register containing the details of 40 million voters.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the Electoral Commission had failed to keep its servers updated, allowing hackers to exploit the vulnerability.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, has previously said it was likely that Beijing-affiliated hackers stole data from the electoral register.
Hackers gained access to the system in August 2021 but the breach was not identified until October 2022.
The security patches for the vulnerabilities exploited in the cyber attack were released in April and May 2021, months before the attack, but not installed.
The data watchdog issued a formal reprimand to the Electoral Commission, which has already put in place a series of steps to improve its security.
Stephen Bonner, deputy commissioner at the ICO, said: “If the Electoral Commission had taken basic steps to protect its systems, such as effective security patching and password management, it is highly likely that this data breach would not have happened.
“By not installing the latest security updates promptly, its systems were left exposed and vulnerable to hackers.
“I know the headline figures of 40 million people affected caused considerable public alarm when news of this breach emerged last year.
“I want to reassure the public that while an unacceptably high number of people were impacted, we have no reason to believe any personal data was misused and we have found no evidence that any direct harm has been caused by this breach.”
Watch: Jeremy Hunt sends message to Rachel Reeves after ‘liar’ accusation
03:33
Salma Ouaguira
Badenoch claims Labour reforms will result in ‘1.5 million ugly homes’
03:00
Salma Ouaguira
Kemi Badenoch accused Angela Rayner of giving the go-ahead to build “1.5 million ugly homes” in England as part of the new government’s planning reforms.
Shadow housing secretary Mrs Badenoch bemoaned Labour’s move to drop the requirement for new homes to be “beautiful”, with the government arguing it is subjective, difficult to define and leads to inconsistent decision-making on applications.
Mrs Badenoch, who is among the Tory leadership hopefuls, said the requirement previously introduced by her party “means so much to local communities” and people “deserve to live in beautiful homes”.
She also claimed the changes proposed by Labour would result in the “worst of all worlds” by not addressing the “basic economics” of housebuilding and “centralising decision-making”.
Deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner defended the changes and insisted the government will build “beautiful” homes.
Labour’s manifesto previously outlined its aim for “exemplary” development to be “the norm not the exception”.
Responding to Ms Rayner’s proposed overhaul of the planning system, Mrs Badenoch said the government was seeking to reduce the housing need calculation for London and put pressure on suburban and rural areas.
In full: Rachel Reeves accuses Jeremy Hunt of of lying about public finances as war of words escalates
02:30
Salma Ouaguira
Rachel Reeves has accused Jeremy Hunt of lying about the state of the public finances after revealing a £22bn hole in the public finances.
The chancellor branded her predecessor as a liar, in her strongest condemnation yet of Mr Hunt and Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
MPs are barred from referring to other members as liars in the chamber as it is deemed unparliamentary, but even outside of the commons it is unusual for senior politicians in the UK to accuse one another directly of lying.
“It is even worse than that, because during the general election campaign I was clear everything I put forward was fully funded,” she told Sky News on Tuesday.
‘First collective action by GPs in 60 years would bring NHS to standstill’ – BMA
02:00
Salma Ouaguira
GPs have threatened to bring the NHS to a “standstill” with unprecedented industrial action.
Family doctors across England are being balloted by the British Medical Association (BMA) on whether they are in favour of staging collective action amid a row over the new contract for GP services in England.
This collective action could potentially mean GPs limit the number of patients they will see each day to 25, they may choose to stop performing work they are not formally contracted to do, and they could potentially ignore “rationing” restrictions by “prescribing whatever is in the patient’s best interest”.
In an interview with the PA news agency, one of the nation’s top GPs said the action could bring the NHS to a “standstill very quickly” – though medics have said they do not want to make patients “piggy in the middle” and are directing the action at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The ballot of GPs is to close on Monday and, if medics vote in favour of collective action, it will start on August 1 and could last for “months”.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chairwoman of the BMA’s England General Practitioners Committee, said the last time GPs took “collective action” was in 1964 when family doctors collectively handed in undated resignations to the Wilson government.
This led to reform including the Family Doctor Charter of 1965.
Rachel Reeves’ spending axe at a glance: What was in Chancellor’s speech?
01:30
Salma Ouaguira
Rachel Reeves has announced billions of pounds in spending cuts, after ordering the Treasury to carry out an audit of the UK’s public finances.
The chancellor said her aim was to “expose the scale of what has been uncovered” after Labour came to power, pointing to a £22 billion black hole left by the previous government.
Here is a quick look at the headline announcements from Ms Reeves’ speech in the House of Commons.
- £22 billion spending black hole: Ms Reeves told the Commons Labour had inherited “a projected overspend of £22 billion” beyond what the previous government had planned for, which she said the Tories had “covered up”.
- Overspends: The projected overspend by the previous Tory government on the asylum system, including the “failed” Rwanda plan, was more than £6.4 billion for this year alone, she said.
- Ukraine: There is “not enough money set aside for the reserve” to fund costs associated with Ukraine, the Chancellor said.
- Pay rises for doctors, teachers and other public sector workers: Among the pay offers was a deal agreed with junior doctors which will see them get a 20% pay rise over two years in a bid to resolve their long-running pay dispute with the government.
- Advanced British Standard: Rishi Sunak’s proposed new qualification, due to bridge the gap between A-levels and T-levels, will not go ahead.
- Pensions and social care: Adult social care charging reforms delayed by the Tories will not be taken forward, saving more than £1 billion by the end of next year, she also announced.
- Budget date set: October 30 will be the date of the new government’s first budget. The chancellor it will involve taking “difficult decisions” to meet Labour’s fiscal rules, and said this would include decisions on spending and tax.
- Office of value for money: The government will set up a new watchdog aimed at ensuring all public spending provides value for money.
Budget for new clean power schemes gets boost to record £1.5bn
01:00
Salma Ouaguira
The government is increasing the budget to support the next wave of renewable energy schemes to a record £1.5 billion, it has announced.
Labour has focused heavily on making Britain a “clean energy superpower” with a target to achieve clean power by 2030 to shore up energy security and cut bills while tackling climate change.
The new government was under pressure to up the support for renewables to meet its goals, after a faltering auction process last year which saw no companies submit bids to build new offshore wind farms.
Auctions for the so-called Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme see developers bid to secure a fixed price they can charge for each megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable power they generate.
The previous government had already been forced to boost the pot to a record-breaking £1 billion for green power, to attract investment amid rising costs and international competition.
Now Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has announced a further increase to £1.56 billion.
That includes £1.1 billion for offshore wind – up £300 million on the previously announced pot for the technology this year.
Mr Miliband said: “Last year’s auction round was a catastrophe, with zero offshore wind secured, and delaying our move away from expensive fossil fuels to energy independence.
“Instead, we are backing industry to build in Britain, with this year’s auction getting its biggest budget yet.
“This will restore the UK as a global leader for green technologies and deliver the infrastructure we need to boost our energy independence, protect billpayers, and become a clean energy superpower.”
Ministers plan to ‘make work pay’ with ‘genuine’ living wage
Wednesday 31 July 2024 00:00
Salma Ouaguira
The Government has announced plans to introduce a “genuine” living wage and remove age bands for the statutory rate.
Ministers said the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) remit will be overhauled to factor in the cost of living when it recommends minimum wage rates.
Age bands described as “discriminatory” will be removed, in changes promised by Labour in the run-up to the election.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “For too long working people have faced the worst of the cost-of-living crisis, but this Government is taking bold action to address it and make work pay.
“The new remit to the LPC is the first of many vital steps we will take to support more people to stay in work and improve living standards.
“Our focus remains on putting more money in working people’s pockets and boosting economic growth.”
The LPC has been told to narrow the gap between the minimum wage rate for 18 to 20-year-olds and the National Living Wage, which the Government said will be the first step towards achieving a single adult rate.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Economic growth is our first mission, and we will do everything we can to ensure good jobs for working people. But for too long, too many people are out of work or not earning enough.
“The new LPC remit is an important first step in getting people into work and keeping people in work, essential for growing our economy, rebuilding Britain and making everyone better off.”
Proposed law to bring train services into public ownership clears first hurdle
Tuesday 30 July 2024 23:30
Salma Ouaguira
Government legislation designed to help nationalise train operation in Britain has moved closer to becoming law.
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill would ensure that appointing a public sector train operator as existing contracts expire becomes the default position rather than a last resort.
It would mean privately-owned operators such as Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and Thameslink would be gradually brought into public ownership.
MPs voted 351 to 84, majority 267, to give the Bill a second reading on Monday evening and it is expected to clear its remaining stages in the Commons on September 3.
Transport secretary Louise Haigh said there was “nothing ideological about fixing what’s broken” and also pledged to “rip up contracts early” if train operators do not meet their obligations to passengers.
Shadow transport secretary Helen Whately labelled the Bill “a rushed piece of left-wing ideology”, although Liberal Democrats’ transport spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse said passengers were “repeatedly failed” under the previous Conservative government.
Nursery group urges parents not to hold door open for anyone after knife attack
Tuesday 30 July 2024 23:00
Salma Ouaguira
A nursery group has urged parents not to hold the door open for others at drop-off and pick-up following an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Childbase Partnership, which looks after 6,000 children in 44 day nurseries across England, has sent out a “high priority” email to parents about security measures after three children died in the knife attack in Southport.
An “alert” was issued to all nurseries in the group on Tuesday morning to reassure parents that the settings were reviewing established security procedures which staff must follow to meet “a variety of threats”.
Lorna Wigley, quality and health and safety director of Childbase Partnership, called on parents to refrain from holding the door open for others at nursery and to report any concerns to staff “immediately”.
The email, seen by the PA news agency, reminded parents that only people registered on a form will be permitted to pick up their child from nursery.
Ms Wigley said: “Following the tragic event in Southport on Monday 29th July 2024, I am writing to reassure you that an alert has been issued to all nurseries which are currently reviewing both security equipment and the established procedures staff must follow in meeting a variety of threats.
“As always, your support and vigilance are vital in ensuring that the efforts of your highly trained nursery staff team achieve the desired results.
“Please do not hold the door open for anyone when you and your child enter the nursery building and report any concerns you have to staff immediately.”
She added: “The security of our children in nursery is an absolute priority and our policies and practices are therefore subject to continuous review and evaluation by the company’s Health and Safety team and, where necessary, external specialists.”
Decision to end universal winter fuel payments ‘too narrow’, says Martin Lewis
Tuesday 30 July 2024 22:30
Salma Ouaguira
The Chancellor’s decision to end the previously universal winter fuel payment for pensioners unless they are on benefits has been branded “too narrow with the winter we have coming”.
The payments of up to £300 have been made available to everyone above state pension age.
However, from this winter pensioners will only receive a payment if they are receiving pension credit.
The Treasury said the winter fuel changes would see the number of pensioners receiving the payments fall from 11.4 million to 1.5 million – so just under 10 million would miss out.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, immediately warned the targeting of the payments was “too narrow with the winter we have coming”, adding: “The energy price cap is likely to rise 10% this October and stay high across the winter, leaving most energy bills nearly double those pre-crisis, at levels unaffordable for millions.”
He added: “Plus, with this announcement, the Government has a huge moral imperative to ensure the 800,000 people eligible for pension credit who don’t get it, are informed, educated and helped through the process.
“It is planning an awareness-raising campaign, but it needs to ensure that reaches every corner – and, if possible, proactively and personally contact people.
“Pension credit is a crucial gateway benefit, giving access to a host of other entitlements, and now with the link to the winter fuel payment, it makes it even more important to ensure fewer miss out.”
Hospitals inquiry chairman to rule on admission of health board’s report
Tuesday 30 July 2024 22:00
Salma Ouaguira
The chairman of a public inquiry into safety and wellbeing issues at two Scottish hospitals said he will make a decision “later in the week” on whether to admit as evidence an expert report from one of the health boards involved in the scandal.
The inquiry was launched in the wake of deaths linked to infections at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main.
It is also examining problems that led to the delay in the opening of the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.
At a hearing in Edinburgh on Tuesday, lawyers representing a number of parties to the inquiry called on chairman Lord Brodie KC not to admit the report from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) as evidence, ahead of hearings scheduled to start on August 19.
Counsel to the inquiry Fred Mackintosh KC said the report “appears to reach the significant conclusion that there were no excess infections in the hospital after 2015”, which, he said, seems to contradict the views of many others.
Mr Mackintosh also raised concerns about the level of co-operation with the inquiry by NHSGGC, saying the report contained a “major epidemiological study” the inquiry was unaware was being undertaken, and the inquiry had not been provided with all the data supporting the report’s findings.
He also said the report had not addressed the question of whether there were any issues with “key building systems” including water supply and ventilation, which are a central focus of the inquiry.
What is the universal winter fuel payment?
Tuesday 30 July 2024 21:30
Salma Ouaguira
The chancellor has confirmed she is ending universal winter fuel payments, which are currently paid to all pensions.
She said those not receiving pension credits or other means tested benefits will not receive winter fuel payments from this year onwards.
Under the previous plans, those born before September 25, 1957, could have received between £250 and £600 to help pay for the heating over the winter period.
Most received the grant, which was available to those on a State Pension, Pension Credit, Carers Allowance and Income Support.
Ministers urged to intervene after Bannockburn horse track approved
Tuesday 30 July 2024 21:00
Salma Ouaguira
Conservation campaigners have been left “shocked and disappointed” after councillors backed a development on Scotland’s “historic” Bannockburn battlefield site.
The National Trust for Scotland is now urging Scottish Government ministers to intervene and “call in” the decision to grant planning permission for a trotting track for harness racing.
Such a move would give ministers – and not Stirling Council – the final say on the planning application.
The National Trust for Scotland had already objected to the plans, saying the development is “in the vicinity of where Bruce’s army faced off against the vanguard of Edward’s army on the first day of the battle”.
It claimed the trotting track would “fundamentally alter the experience of the site”, on the outskirts of Stirling, for both current and future generations.
The battle, fought in June 1314, famously saw Robert the Bruce and the Scots defeat the English troops led by King Edward II.
With the development having parking for more than 200 cars and access roads, the National Trust for Scotland warned the traffic could result in an “elevated risk of collision on the main road, endangering residents and visitors”.
It added that crowd noise, together with the public address system at the track, would “greatly detract from the visitor experience at a nationally important historic site”.
Electoral reform and proportional representation: Ask us anything
Tuesday 30 July 2024 20:30
Salma Ouaguira
It’s almost been a month since Labour’s historic election victory, which sparked renewed conversation about electoral reform.
Even a fleeting glance at July’s election results shows that Britain’s first-past-the-post system can produce some interestingly disproportionate outcomes.
Labour scored about 35 per cent of the popular vote – modest by historic standards – but managed to secure 63 per cent of seats in the House of Commons, and thus also a landslide 174-seat majority.
Political columnist Andrew Grice is here to answer your questions on the alternatives to first-past-the-post and whether there’s enough appetite for reform in Westminster.
Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article.
Scroll down or click here to leave your comment.
Rapid review of environmental plans aim to ‘save nature’ – minister
Tuesday 30 July 2024 20:00
Salma Ouaguira
The Environment Secretary has pledged to “turn the tide and save nature” as he announced a rapid review of improvement plans.
Steve Reed said a review of the environmental improvement plan (EIP) would be completed by the end of the year as part of efforts to deliver legally binding targets.
He said the Government would develop a statutory plan to meet each of the Environment Act targets – which include halting the decline in species by 2030, cleaning up water bodies and cutting air pollution.
He warned that “nature is dying” and England’s “precious landscapes are in decline”, as an annual report showed mixed progress towards goals in the EIP, including deterioration in some measures for helping wildlife, using resources from nature sustainably and delivering clean air.
The EIP was published by the previous government in 2023 to deliver its goals to boost nature and the environment, including protecting and restoring habitats, cleaning up water and air, boosting recycling and improving flood defences.
But earlier this year, the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog warned the government remained “largely off-track” to meet legally binding green targets and the goals of the EIP .
It warned the government had not been clear enough on how its ambitions will be delivered, and must speed and scale up its efforts.
The annual progress report into EIP, published on today, showed improvements across the 10 goals but also highlighted there had been a deterioration in some areas in six of the goals and areas of little or no change in five.
Editorial: Reeves didn’t just point the finger at the Tories – she crucified them
Tuesday 30 July 2024 19:33
Salma Ouaguira
The chancellor was relentless: a £22bn black hole of unfunded promises. The national reserves not just blown, but double-spent. She did not quite bellow ‘J’accuse’, but that was the gist, writes Joe Murphy:
Lammy: Thousands of UK nationals risk becoming trapped in a warzone in Lebanon
Tuesday 30 July 2024 19:00
Salma Ouaguira
Thousands of UK nationals risk “becoming trapped in a warzone” if they fail to leave Lebanon, the Foreign Secretary has warned.
Speaking at the House of Commons despatch box on Tuesday, David Lammy issued a one-word message to British nationals in the Levantine nation: “Leave.”
He confirmed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had chaired a Cobra emergency meeting on Tuesday amid tensions in the Middle East.
The meeting followed a rocket strike which killed 12 young people on a football field in the mainly Druze town of Majdal Shams.
Mr Lammy told MPs: “On July 27, Hezbollah launched a series of rockets into northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
“Tragically in Majdal Shams, one strike killed at least 12 civilians, young people, one just 10 years old, who were playing football. I extend my deepest sympathies to their families and to the Druze community as they grieve for their loved ones.
“The government is unequivocal in condemning this horrific attack and calling on Hezbollah to cease their rocket strikes. This atrocity is a consequence of indiscriminate firing, paying no heed at all to civilian life.
“This attack is part of an intensifying pattern of fighting around the Israeli-Lebanese border. For months now, we’ve been teetering on the brink.
“The risk of further escalation and regional destabilisation is now more acute than ever.”
Yes, the chancellor’s raid is going to pinch… but it’s time us boomers gave something back
Tuesday 30 July 2024 18:25
Salma Ouaguira
Rachel Reeves has done the right thing by cutting annual winter fuel payments for pensioners like me, says Susan Elkin:
In full: Rayner’s planning ‘revolution’ slashes London house building target
Tuesday 30 July 2024 18:00
Salma Ouaguira
Angela Rayner’s planning “revolution” will see London’s housebuilding target slashed by 20,000 homes, despite a wider push to boost the number of houses being built each year.
The deputy prime minister and housing secretary unveiled a major overhaul of the planning system today, which will see all councils in England given new, mandatory housing targets as part of a plan to deliver 1.5 million more homes in the UK.
She warned that Britain is facing the “most acute housing crisis in living memory”, claiming that the number of new homes is set to drop below 200,000 this year – something Ms Rayner dubbed “unforgiveable”.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:
French border control zone at Dover to be expanded ahead of new EU rules
Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:30
Salma Ouaguira
The French border control zone at the Port of Dover will be expanded to reduce the risk of queues at peak times when new EU rules come into force.
Under the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), expected to come into force in the Autumn, travellers entering from the UK and other non-EU countries will have to register their details at the EU border and provide biometric data.
As the Government prepares for the change, Home Office Minister Seema Malhotra laid a statutory instrument in Parliament on Monday to allow French border officials to operate in an expanded zone at the Port of Dover.
It will commit the Home Office to working with the French Government, local authorities and businesses to streamline EU border checks at the port.
The change in law is part of the preparations to minimise the risk of traffic disruption. The aim is to create more space to process passengers for a better customer experience.
The Home Office is working with the French Interior Ministry to amend the border control arrangements between the two countries to accommodate the expanded zone.
The port plans to change the location of passport control for passengers arriving to board the ferry from the Eastern Docks to a new border control zone at its Western Docks.
The port has also been making major upgrades to its port infrastructure, including building bespoke facilities to carry out the checks.
‘Ambitious’ UK-EU agri-food deal will help ease NI trade issues, says minister
Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:00
Salma Ouaguira
Securing an “ambitious” agri-food deal with the EU will allow for a more free flow of goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland, a government minister has insisted.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, who is minister for EU relations in the Cabinet Office, said a negotiated sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement between the UK and EU would be mutually beneficial to both sides.
The minister, who will lead the UK side in talks about new links with the EU, was in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to hear from various stakeholders about the post-Brexit trade barriers that have created the need for checks on goods entering the region from across the Irish Sea.
Labour has pledged to “reset” relations with Brussels, with the striking of a deal on food safety and animal and plant health among the new government’s priorities.
Mr Thomas-Symonds told reporters in Belfast that negotiations would not be able to start until early next year – as the new-look European Commission is not yet in place following recent EU-wide elections – but he said the Government wanted to undertake the groundwork before then.
The Cabinet Office minister said Northern Ireland would be at the “forefront” of his mind when it came to the discussions with Brussels.
“I wouldn’t expect hard-edge formal negotiations to begin until the early part of next year, but do I hope that an SPS agreement, an ambitious SPS agreement, is going to ease the situation in terms of GB-NI trade, absolutely,” he said.
Rapid review of environmental plans aim to ‘save nature’ – minister
Tuesday 30 July 2024 16:30
Salma Ouaguira
The Environment Secretary has pledged to “turn the tide and save nature” as he announced a rapid review of improvement plans.
Steve Reed said a review of the environmental improvement plan (EIP) would be completed by the end of the year as part of efforts to deliver legally binding targets.
He said the Government would develop a statutory plan to meet each of the Environment Act targets – which include halting the decline in species by 2030, cleaning up water bodies and cutting air pollution.
He warned that “nature is dying” and England’s “precious landscapes are in decline”, as an annual report showed mixed progress towards goals in the EIP, including deterioration in some measures for helping wildlife, using resources from nature sustainably and delivering clean air.
The EIP was published by the previous government in 2023 to deliver its goals to boost nature and the environment, including protecting and restoring habitats, cleaning up water and air, boosting recycling and improving flood defences.
But earlier this year, the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog warned the government remained “largely off-track” to meet legally binding green targets and the goals of the EIP .
It warned the government had not been clear enough on how its ambitions will be delivered, and must speed and scale up its efforts.
In the ‘battle of the budgets’, who’s being economical with the truth?
Tuesday 30 July 2024 16:25
Salma Ouaguira
Amid a furious war of words between Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt over the £22bn black hole in Britain’s finances, a clear winner has emerged, says Sean O’Grady:
Starmer says Southport attack ‘touches a nerve with the whole country’
Tuesday 30 July 2024 16:12
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer has said the attack in Southport “touches a nerve with the whole country”.
Speaking to ITV he said: “I think it touches a nerve with the whole country. It’s awful to contemplate, to hear for myself the experiences of the first responders, what they had to deal with.
“It’s really hard to take in for anybody. It’s not what any of them came to work for. But of course, they’re professionals, and they deal with it.”
He added: “I think about the families, the friends, the loved ones, those directly impacted, and, of course, the wider community here. But there’s no pretending I think that anybody in the country is not untouched by what happened yesterday”
Reeves faces Labour backbench rebellion over winter deaths with fuel payment cuts
Tuesday 30 July 2024 16:06
Salma Ouaguira
The chancellor has been tackled by their own side over how many more elderly people will die of cold as a result of stripping 10 million pensioners of their winter fuel payments.
In response to the red-on-red criticism in Parliament, the government frontbench said it understood the “disappointment”, but insisted it was the right, if tough choice, given the state of the public finances inherited from the Tories.
The new administration was also accused of “picking” on pensioners with the move, which it was claimed would wipe out the benefits of the triple lock, which guarantees state payouts rise each year in line with inflation, earnings or by 2.5% – whichever is higher.
Challenging the government, Labour peer Lord Sikka argued the move was “taking away” £300 from pensioners by “a measure that was not in our manifesto”.
He told the upper chamber: “I have received already many messages where pensioners are very, very concerned about this.
“The government could have introduced a taper to lessen the pain to help many pensioners. Would the minister give a commitment that he would have another look at that?”
He also pointed out a document produced by the Treasury “has lots of financial numbers but there is no mention of any human whatsoever”.
Lord Sikka said: “Last year, 5,000 pensioners died because of cold and were unable to afford heating. Has the minister made any estimates of how many more will die because £300 will be taken away from them?”
Pictured: Starmer visits Southport to pay tribute to victims
Tuesday 30 July 2024 16:00
Salma Ouaguira
Angela Rayner’s plans for ‘council house revolution’ welcomed
Tuesday 30 July 2024 15:58
Salma Ouaguira
Social housing plans announced by the Deputy Prime Minister as part of Labour’s overhaul of planning have been welcomed by organisations working with those most impacted by a shortage of homes.
Angela Rayner described the Government’s overhaul of the planning system as “the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation”.
Although not stating a specific figure as a target for the number of social homes to be built annually, Ms Rayner stated an “aspiration” that in 2025-26, which is the first full financial year of the new Parliament, the number of social rent homes “is rising rather than falling”.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, speaking in the Commons in response to Ms Rayner’s announcement, described a “conspicuous absence of a particular target on social homes – not affordable homes but on social homes”.
The Liberal Democrats have repeatedly called for a target of building 150,000 social homes a year.
Charities su
