Category: Uncategorized

The government should introduce an apprenticeship guarantee for all 16 to 24-year-olds to help young people into work as the UK labour market continues to cool, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Responding to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market data, James Cockett, senior labour market economist at the CIPD, warned that rising employment costs — driven by higher National Insurance contributions and minimum wage increases — risk discouraging employers from hiring young workers.
Vacancies have fallen to their lowest level since early 2015, with notable declines in hospitality and retail over the past year. These sectors, Cockett said, are vital entry points for young people starting their careers.
“The government needs to go further than the youth guarantee and introduce an apprenticeship guarantee for all 16 to 24-year-olds, to provide valuable opportunities to both learn and earn,” Cockett said.
“Better training and employment opportunities will ensure young people start their working lives on the right foot while helping employers build future talent pipelines.”
The ONS data also shows that pay growth remains high, particularly in hospitality and retail — the same sectors most affected by rising employment costs. However, real wage growth has now fallen to its lowest level in two years, with inflation eroding much of the headline pay increases.
Cockett said an apprenticeship guarantee could support both sides of the labour market by offering young people stable employment and training, while giving employers access to a pipeline of skilled staff at a time when vacancies are shrinking.
Read more:
CIPD urges apprenticeship guarantee for young people as UK labour market cools

Pasta Evangelists has unveiled ambitious plans to open 100 restaurants across the UK over the next five years, in a £30 million expansion drive that is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs.
The London-based fresh pasta brand, which began as a recipe kit delivery service before branching into dining, is seeking new sites and franchise partners across the South of England, the Midlands and Scotland. The company says it is also exploring a ‘Pasta Apprenticeship’ scheme to attract new talent and help current staff develop long-term careers in hospitality.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves hailed the announcement as “great news and another vote of confidence in the UK,” adding that it demonstrated “the dynamism and resilience of British businesses” as the government focuses on economic growth.
Co-founder and CEO Alessandro Savelli said the company’s goal is to become “the UK’s fastest-growing casual dining hotspot” for pasta lovers.
“The demand for our fresh, beautifully cooked artisan pasta is growing. We expect our plans to create up to 1,500 new jobs. We already employ 350 people and as part of our recruitment drive, we’re looking into options for a ‘Pasta Apprenticeship’ scheme to encourage young people into the workplace.”
Savelli said sustainable growth is key to the company’s strategy, noting that while the hospitality sector is under pressure, Pasta Evangelists has “bucked the trend” with five confirmed new openings in just three months.
The group recently opened its first restaurant outside London in Guildford and a new site in Farringdon. Three more London restaurants – in Fulham, Queensway and New Oxford Street – are due to launch in the coming weeks, bringing the total to 11.
Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Finn Lagun credited the brand’s success to offering more than just dining: “A big part of our success is the experiential element, with our famous fresh pasta-making courses. Over 100,000 people have already learnt the art of pasta-making at our Pasta Academy, and with our growth plans, we could see over a million Britons learning from our chefs.”
The expansion marks the latest phase in the company’s evolution from an online food start-up into a multi-channel hospitality brand combining restaurants, experiential events, and its original pasta delivery business.
Read more:
Pasta Evangelists to open 100 UK restaurants creating up to 1,500 jobs

Rajesh Nair, chief executive of Tata Steel UK, has been appointed as the new Chair of UK Steel, the trade association representing Britain’s steel sector. He will take on the position alongside his current role leading Tata Steel’s UK operations.
Nair brings more than 36 years of experience across the Tata Steel Group to the role. Since joining Tata Steel UK as chief operating officer in 2021 and becoming CEO in 2023, he has played a central part in reshaping the business, driving its transition to low-CO₂ steelmaking, and securing the future of domestic steel production in South Wales and beyond.
A graduate in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Nair has held senior operational and commercial posts across Tata Steel’s global operations, from managing the Cold Rolling Mill complex at Jamshedpur to helping integrate Corus Group into Tata Steel in 2007.
Commenting on his appointment, Nair said: “It is an honour to be appointed Chair of UK Steel at such a pivotal moment for the industry. This is a period of profound change – with significant challenges, but also real opportunities to strengthen the sector for the long term. I look forward to working with UK Steel members and stakeholders to help secure that future – working closely with Government on its Steel Strategy and addressing structural issues like uncompetitive energy costs and the growing threat of high-emission imports.”
UK Steel director-general Gareth Stace welcomed the appointment: “Rajesh will bring a wealth of experience across both the global and UK steel industry to this role. His appointment could not have come at a better time as our industry looks to modernise and grow as Government prepares to publish its Steel Strategy this autumn.”
In addition to his UK Steel role, Nair is a board member of Tata Steel UK and chairs Surahammars Bruks in Sweden. A Fulbright Scholar with advanced management training from Carnegie Mellon University and CEDEP-INSEAD, he is a recognised technical innovator with published research and patents in galvanised steel products. He has also served on industry committees and been an active member of the Indian Institute of Metals.
Read more:
Tata steel UK CEO Rajesh Nair appointed chair of UK Steel

Poundland is closing 49 stores across the UK over the next five weeks, with 10 branches shutting their doors for good today, as part of a major restructuring under its new owners.
US investment firm Gordon Brothers, which bought the discount retailer from Polish parent Pepco Group in June for a nominal £1, is cutting almost 70 stores from Poundland’s 800-strong network by mid-October. Three locations have already closed, leaving 16 more to be confirmed later this year.
The closures begin today with stores in Ammanford, Birmingham Fort, Cardiff Valegate, Cramlington, Leicester, Long Eaton, Port Glasgow, Seaham, Shrewsbury and Tunbridge Wells. Fifteen more will shut on 17 August, followed by 12 on 24 August, and 11 on 31 August. The final of this wave – in Irvine, North Ayrshire – will close on 14 September.
Poundland retail director Darren MacDonald said the aim was to maintain a “sizeable” network of 650–700 stores, but acknowledged the closures would be “sincerely regrettable” for customers. Staff in affected stores are in consultation, with redeployment options being explored.
The restructuring plan includes rent negotiations at some locations, closure of the frozen and digital distribution centre in Darton, South Yorkshire, later this year, and the closure of the Bilston, West Midlands distribution hub by early 2026. Frozen products will be dropped entirely and chilled food ranges reduced.
Online sales will also end, while the retailer plans to expand its womenswear and seasonal product ranges. These changes still require High Court approval later this month.
Poundland has struggled with falling sales, posting a 6.5% drop in revenue to £830m in the six months to March. Pepco blamed “highly challenging trading conditions” across all categories.
Stores closing 17 August
Bedford, Bidston Moss, Broxburn, Craigavon, Dartmouth, East Dulwich, Falmouth, Hull St Andrews, Newtonabbey, Perth, Poole, Sunderland, Stafford, Thornaby and Worcester.
Stores closing 24 August
Brigg, Canterbury, Coventry, Newcastle, Kings Heath, Peterborough, Peterlee, Rainham, Salford, Sheldon, Wells and Whitechapel.
Stores closing 31 August
Blackburn, Cookstown, Erdington, Kimberley, Horsham, Hull Holderness, Kettering, Omagh, Shepherds Bush, Southport and Taunton.
Read more:
Poundland to close 49 more UK stores as new owners push ahead with restructuring

I’ve been to Los Angeles many times over the years — for work, for pleasure, and occasionally for that curious hybrid of both that journalists tell their accountants is “business travel”. I’ve always loved the place: the optimism in the air, the palm-lined streets, the sun-washed hills rolling down to the Pacific.
But this time was different. The hills were scorched. The air was acrid. Driving into Altadena, I was met not by the familiar suburban hum but by the sight — and smell — of destruction. Houses gutted. Trees reduced to brittle, blackened bones. A haze that clung to the lungs.
The Altadena fires had not just burned through land. They’d burned through lives. People who had built homes, memories, and futures there now stood in the ash, holding nothing but what they’d managed to carry out in the scramble to safety.
And it wasn’t just the physical damage. It was the mood. Conversations were quieter, eyes heavier. You could feel the shared trauma — the knowledge that the place they loved could, at any moment, be taken again.
I was so moved by what I saw that I did something I rarely do on the road: I stopped, set up my phone, and recorded a short video for the EV Powered YouTube channel. Standing there in the still-smouldering aftermath, I spoke about the urgency of action on climate change. You can watch it here: EV Powered – LA Fires.
And yet, despite the unarguable evidence — the rising temperatures, the worsening storms, the lengthening wildfire seasons — there are still those who stand before cameras and insist that climate change is some elaborate hoax. In the US, Donald Trump has made a sport of it. His casual dismissal of climate science has been a defining theme of his politics, playing to the crowd but abandoning the planet.
It’s a dangerous luxury, this denial. It allows leaders to dodge difficult policy decisions, to swerve the costs of action, to keep the machine humming exactly as it always has. But it comes at the expense of people like those in Altadena, and the farmers in Oxfordshire, and communities everywhere that are already paying the price in floods, droughts, fires, and food shortages.
And climate denial is not confined to the MAGA circuit. In Britain, we too have our own chorus of sceptics — some in the press, some in the pub, and some, regrettably, in positions of real influence, and then there is Reform UK’s very strong opinion on the topic. They cloak themselves in the language of “common sense”, as though ignoring a problem is somehow more practical than solving it.
This is where my LA trip connected in my mind to my previous column on Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson is no Trump — he’s not campaigning to roll back environmental protections, and he’s done more to educate the public on the realities of farming than any politician I can name. But when he waves away the link between extreme weather and climate change, it feeds the same complacency that lets fires burn hotter, seas rise faster, and communities like Altadena bear the brunt.
Here’s the hard truth: the cost of action is high, but the cost of inaction is ruinous. Businesses know this — supply chains are disrupted by floods, crop yields are hit by droughts, insurance costs soar with every “once-in-a-century” disaster that now happens every other year. Whether you’re running a farm in Chipping Norton or a logistics hub in California, climate change is a line on your P&L whether you acknowledge it or not.
The lesson from Altadena is not simply that wildfires happen. It’s that they are happening more often, more intensely, and in places that didn’t used to burn. And unless we accept the link to our changing climate — and act accordingly — they will keep happening.
Flying home, I thought about the people I’d met there. Not activists, not lobbyists, not political operatives — just residents, trying to rebuild. They don’t have the luxury of debating whether the climate is changing. They are living in the aftermath of the answer.
If there’s one thing the business community can take from this, it’s that leadership means facing reality, even when it’s inconvenient. We can’t keep treating climate change as someone else’s problem, or tomorrow’s problem, or — worst of all — not a problem at all. Because by the time the flames are at your door, it’s too late to deny they’re real.
Read more:
From Altadena to Westminster: climate denial is a luxury we can’t afford

Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) has struck a deal to broadcast GB News on its US-based streaming platform, Truth+, in a move that will make the UK right-leaning channel accessible to audiences worldwide.
TMTG – which operates Truth Social, Truth+, and the financial services brand Truth.Fi – confirmed the agreement on Friday, saying GB News will be available with the free basic Truth+ package on multiple devices and platforms, including iOS, Android, Web, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire.
The deal will significantly expand GB News’s footprint, particularly in the US, where it will now sit alongside a roster of other content on the streaming service. The British network, known for hosting figures such as Nigel Farage, positions itself as a champion of free speech and an alternative to what it calls “mainstream” news.
The move comes as Donald Trump continues his sustained criticism of US mainstream media, labelling outlets “radical-left monsters” and accusing them of “illegal” reporting. The White House’s communications director, Steven Cheung, recently accused “liberal media” of spreading “fake news” following reports linking Trump’s name to US Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein – a claim Trump has denied.
Speaking about the deal, TMTG chief executive and chair Devin Nunes said: “GB News is a terrific source for news, facts and commentary. By expanding its global reach, we aim to connect an enormous new, international audience to the network’s unique reporting and opinion, while putting another dent in the global woke news monopoly.”
GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos described the partnership as a strategic step: “As the fearless champion of freedom of speech in Britain, it is important that we launch across the United States of America and globally on the Truth+ streaming platform.”
The rollout reinforces GB News’s ambition to grow its international audience and aligns with Trump Media’s push to expand its streaming offering beyond the US.
Read more:
Trump Media to stream GB News on Truth+ in global expansion deal

Nigel Farage’s uncompromising assault on Britain’s climate commitments is facing pushback from within his own party’s expanding support base, with polling revealing that younger Reform UK voters are markedly more sympathetic to net zero and renewable energy than their leader.
The former Ukip and Brexit Party chief has dismissed the UK’s 2050 net zero target as “complete and utter madness”, while his deputy, Richard Tice – also Reform’s energy spokesperson – has branded the renewables industry a “massive con”. Their manifesto pitch includes scrapping the legal net zero goal, ending subsidies for green power, taxing renewable developers and even levying farmers who install solar panels.
But new research by More in Common, shared with The i Paper, suggests this hardline rhetoric is increasingly out of step with the party’s own voters, particularly those who have joined its ranks since the 2024 general election.
Among new supporters, opinion on net zero is finely balanced: 30 per cent support ditching the target, but 35 per cent oppose the move and another 35 per cent sit on the fence. Support for renewables is stronger still, with 56 per cent of newer recruits and 50 per cent of 2024 voters saying they view investment in green energy as positive. The party’s proposal to tax farmers for solar panels finds scant backing, with just 24 per cent of new supporters and 29 per cent of existing voters in favour.
The findings underscore a potential electoral fault line. Farage’s populist climate scepticism may energise his base in some constituencies, but risks capping Reform’s broader appeal at a moment when the party is seeking to woo disaffected Conservative and Labour voters alike.
Senior Reform figures have doubled down on their position, with Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the party’s mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, recently claiming she did not believe climate change “was a thing”. Yet nationwide, support for renewable energy remains overwhelming. A separate YouGov survey for Friends of the Earth found 80 per cent of Britons favour expanding renewable infrastructure. Even among Reform’s own voters – the most sceptical segment – almost two-thirds backed greater investment in the sector.
Political strategists warn the dissonance between leadership and grassroots could prove costly. “The danger for Reform is that its climate policy becomes a ceiling, not a springboard,” one senior campaign adviser told Business Matters. “If they want to be more than a protest party, they’ll have to close the gap between rhetoric and reality.”
Read more:
Farage faces rising tension with younger Reform voters over net zero stance

Employment minister Alison McGovern has warned that “job deserts” and high rates of long-term sickness are holding back towns and cities across the UK, leaving too many people “on the scrap heap” and stifling local economies.
Speaking as the Government unveiled new plans to boost recruitment through Jobcentre Plus, McGovern said concentrated pockets of economic inactivity were harming both individuals and the regions in which they live.
“We’ve got too many people who’ve essentially been put on the scrap heap and that’s bad for them individually,” she said. “But it’s also bad for those places in our country where there are high concentrations of people in that position, because that town and that city is also held back.”
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s overall rate of economic inactivity stands at 21%. In some areas, more than half of working-age adults are out of work and not seeking employment.
The 2021 census showed that part of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham has the highest rate of inactivity in the UK at 67%. Knowsley in Merseyside has the highest proportion of working-age residents receiving fit notes from their GP, at 31.4%.
McGovern linked the issue to the nation’s health, warning that the number of people leaving the workforce due to long-term sickness has risen sharply since the pandemic.
With only 9% of UK businesses using job centres to hire staff, the Department for Work and Pensions is writing to more than 8,000 of the country’s largest employers to promote the benefits of recruiting through Jobcentre Plus.
The Government is investing in additional staff to provide “comprehensive recruitment support” and launching pre-employment training programmes in partnership with employers.
KFC is among the companies working with the scheme, offering paid work experience to help young people move into full-time jobs. “It’s about giving young people a fair shot at a first job,” said Shaffra Gray-Read of KFC. “So many young people are locked out of opportunity.”
Between January and March 2025, there were 923,000 people aged 16–24 not in education, employment or training, according to ONS figures.ke me to prepare that?
Read more:
Employment minister warns ‘job deserts’ and long-term sickness are holding back Britain

China’s electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are rapidly expanding into Europe, offering cheaper, faster-to-market, and technologically advanced cars – a combination that threatens to disrupt the continent’s traditional automotive giants.
Brands such as Zeekr, a premium EV maker owned by Geely, are already selling in several European countries and plan to enter the UK within two years. Zeekr’s highly automated plants, vertical integration, and proprietary battery and software technology give it an edge over legacy carmakers hampered by complex supply chains, internal silos and slower development cycles.
“All new cars sold in the UK and EU must be zero-emission by 2035, and Europe’s car industry is under huge pressure to adapt,” says Professor Peter Wells, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff University. “Chinese firms are nimble, fast and technologically advanced – especially in software, where European firms have struggled.”
Last year, Europe registered almost two million fully electric cars, but price, charging infrastructure and consumer hesitation remain challenges. While European manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Renault are retooling for an electric future, analysts warn they are a decade behind China in both production capacity and supply chain control for critical battery minerals.
Andy Palmer, former Aston Martin CEO and ex-Nissan executive, says tariffs are a short-term fix that could leave Europe further behind: “Tariffs insulate the baby, so the baby never learns to walk. The price of entry for Chinese brands should be localisation – build here, employ here, invest here.”
He points to Nissan’s Sunderland plant as proof that local manufacturing can create strong automotive ecosystems. “The UK has clout as Europe’s second-largest EV market. We should use it,” Palmer argues.
Chinese EV makers have focused on compact, efficient, and affordable cars – such as Nio’s soon-to-launch Firefly – while European brands have pushed larger, more expensive SUVs. Wells says this mismatch risks ceding the mass market to Chinese rivals.
The EU has imposed tariffs of up to 45% on some Chinese EV imports, but member states are divided: Germany fears retaliation against its exports to China, while France and Italy back stronger trade barriers. Chinese firms are already exploring tariff workarounds, including shifting production to Turkey.
Analysts say Europe must prioritise innovation, affordability and strategic alliances over trade barriers. Al Bedwell at GlobalData believes Chinese brands will take around 15% of Europe’s all-electric market by the mid-2030s – significant, but “not an existential threat”.
“Europe can’t compete on cost, but it has brand recognition, dealer networks and after-sales service that take time to build,” Bedwell says. “Some Chinese brands have entered markets without understanding local customer preferences.”
Partnerships are already emerging – Stellantis has invested in Leapmotor, while BMW and Audi have signed joint projects with Chinese firms.
Felipe Munoz, an automotive analyst in Turin, says Europe’s high costs and complex regulations are a handicap: “These rules were designed when China wasn’t a player. We need lower taxes, less red tape and more R&D incentives.”
Palmer remains cautiously optimistic: “We have a once-in-a-generation chance to reset Europe’s automotive industry. If we act wisely – and quickly – Europe can still lead in EVs. If we rely on tariffs and delay tough decisions, we’ll face terminal decline.”
Read more:
How Europe’s car industry can survive the Chinese EV challenge