The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committees has criticised the government’s response to their digital exclusion report as the government highlighted they would not be creating a new strategy to address digital exclusion within the UK. The response to the Committees recommendations has been described as lacking ambition and failing to engage with the […]
Jeremy Hunt is being urged to make next month’s autumn statement a “small business moment” by extending business rates relief, getting the long-term sick back to work and reforming the planning system. The chancellor will deliver his key economic announcement a month today against a backdrop of high inflation and shortages of workers after the […]
Shoppers cut back on spending on clothes and other non-essential items last month as cost of living pressures and high energy prices began to bite on households. Retail sales volumes fell by 0.9 per cent last month, exceeding economist expectations of a fall of 0.3 per cent, and wiping out the 0.4 per cent rise […]
A “fire sale” of land bought for HS2 north of Birmingham is set to cost the taxpayer more than £100 million, analysis has revealed. The government is poised to sell off land within weeks to prevent future administrations from reversing the decision to cancel swathes of the scheme. HS2 Ltd, the government-owned company set up […]
Elon Musk has said his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions. “One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads,” the billionaire said in a post on X. It comes as the […]
Many English winemakers say they are expecting to harvest their biggest ever crop over the next few weeks as a combination of favourable weather conditions and expansion boosts production. Gusbourne, the Kent-based producer and one of the first major wineries to complete its harvest, said it had gathered its largest ever crop, up 25% on […]
Amazon is trialling humanoid robots in its US warehouses, in the latest sign of the tech giant automating more of its operations. Amazon said the move was about “freeing employees up to better deliver for our customers”. It said it was testing a new robot called Digit, which has arms and legs and can move, […]
Nestle will close down a baby formula factory in Ireland due to a falling birth rate in China, placing 560 jobs at risk. The factory, in Askeaton County Limerick, makes products nearly entirely for the Chinese market and is set to close in 2026. It is understood that the company is looking to transfer the […]
Britain’s biggest police force is using facial recognition technology to tackle London’s worst shoplifters by matching CCTV stills to mugshots. The Metropolitan Police said 149 suspects were identified within days after asking the capital’s 12 leading retailers last month for images of their 30 most prolific unidentified offenders. Some of the suspects have links to […]
House prices in the capital fell further in August, according to the government’s latest house price index, as higher interest rates continued to weigh on the market. Data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday showed the region’s house prices fell by 1.4 per cent in August year-on-year. London’s average house prices remained […]