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Observer
17 hours ago
- Business
- Observer
Firms shed more jobs as tax rises start to hurt
Employment levels in the UK deteriorated considerably by the end of the first quarter, official data has suggested, in signs that Chancellor Rachel Reeves £20 billion tax raid on employers has squeezed firms' profits. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the number of pay-rolled employees fell by 53,000 over the first three months of 2025. The early estimate of payrolled employees for April showed a decrease by 33,000. Signs that inflation may remain sticky in the months ahead were also represented by high levels of annual pay growth, which reached 5.6 per cent in the three months to March. It could increase challenges for interest rate-setters at the Bank of England though wage growth in the three months to March was slightly lower than the 5.7 per cent figures pencilled in by Bloomberg, which polled several economists in the lead-up to the release. It also came in below recent figures showing wage growth was 5.9 per cent in the three months to February. Total pay growth, which includes bonuses, was 5.5 per cent between January and March while unemployment edged up to 4.5 per cent. 'Wage growth slowed slightly in the latest period but remains relatively strong, with public and private sectors now showing little difference,' Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS said. 'The broader picture continues to be of the labour market cooling, with the number of payroll falling in the first quarter of the year. The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, with the rate of decline increasing in the last few months.' Institute of Directors policy advisor Alex Hall-Chen said the figures showed the government needed to take 'urgent action' on improving employment levels. 'The business case for hiring has been weakened by a perfect storm of (April's) increased employer national insurance contributions (NIC's) and above-inflation increases to the minimum wage, alongside a wave of measures in the Employment Rights Bill which will make hiring riskier and costlier,' Hall-Chen said. A poll of 31 major retailers has found the Employment Rights Bill, currently still going through parliament, will lead to early job cuts and price rises, in the latest sign the government's legislative agenda risks harming economic growth. The bill introduces sweeping changes to zero-hours contracts, sick pay, leave, flexible working and dismissal, and is set to pile extra costs on employers. The retail sector is already facing significant pressures from high taxes in addition to NIC's which is stifling employment and undermining investment. The British Retail Consortium has now found that major retailers are increasingly concerned about the hits they will suffer from the government's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner's workers' rights reforms. Seven in 10 HR directors at big retailers believe that the workers' rights reforms will have a negative impact on their businesses, according to BRC's survey, highlighting the widespread pessimism about the damage the bill could do in its current form. More than half of respondents also said that the Employment Rights Bill would lead to a reduction in staff members while 61 per cent said it would 'reduce flexibility' in job offerings. The 31 retailers surveyed employ some 500,000 people, the BRC said. Among the proposed changes to employment rights are outlawing 'exploitative' zero-hours contracts and providing guaranteed hours. The BRC said they would limit the number of part-time job offerings which comprise half the sector's workforce. The BRC's chief executive, Helen Dickenson, warned that the changes to the employment rights risked 'putting retail job numbers further into reverse.' She added: 'Those in charge of retail hiring are clear: unless amended, the bill will make it even harder to keep and create jobs and reduce the flexibility that defines many existing retail roles.' The BRC also warned consumers face paying more for items at high street shops as most HR directors said the cost of the bill would have a knock-on effect on the price of goods.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
England's yellow and parched land: How soaring immigration and a 30-year failure to build reservoirs could trigger drinking water crisis
Just over 200 years ago, William Blake wrote of England's 'great and pleasant land' in the poem that would later be set to music as the hymn Jerusalem. Fast forward to the 21st century and the green and pleasant land, and its people, are in danger of becoming parched. This week ministers admitted that the country could run out of drinking water within 10 years as they unveiled plans to fast-track the building of two new reservoirs. Astonishingly, they will be the first new man-made bodies of water created for human consumption in more than three decades. There are fears that, without action, demand for drinking water could outstrip supply by the mid-2030s due to rapid population growth, crumbling assets, Nimby opposition and a warming climate. And that population growth is set to be fuelled by immigration. The UK population is projected to reach 72.5 million by mid-2032, up 4.9 million from 67.6 million in mid-2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The jump of 4.9 million is projected to be driven almost entirely by net migration, with natural change – the difference between births and deaths – projected to be around zero due to the aging population. Beyond 2032, the population is projected to continue to grow and pass 75 million in 2041. Writing for Mail Online today, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Water doesn't lie. It's a basic test of whether a country can support the people in it, and Britain is failing that test because Labour refuses to confront reality. 'The only serious solution is to tackle immigration head-on. 'We cannot keep adding the pressure and pretending the system will hold. We cannot build our way out of a problem we refuse to name. Until we slash migration numbers, the shortages will only get worse.' Last week, official figures showed net migration to the UK had halved to 431,000 last year compared with 860,000 across January to December 2023. This was after reaching a record high of 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023. But although net migration is predicted to continue to fall in the years to come, the home-grown population is predicted to also shrink, as deaths outweigh births. It means that while the rate of population growth may slow, it is expected to inexorably climb. While politicians have long claimed immigration will have an impact on services such as housing, schools and the NHS, where everyone will get their drinking water has remained largely out of the spotlight until now. In England this year, the North West and North East both saw their driest start to a calendar year since 1929, while the country as a whole endured its driest February to April period since 1956. On Thursday The Environment Agency (EA) said Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, and Cumbria and Lancashire, moved from 'prolonged dry weather' to 'drought' status. Water companies in England have committed to bringing new reservoirs online, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex and the West Midlands, with the potential to supply 670 million litres of extra water per day. But they are not expected to be ready until 2050. The Fen Reservoir project between Chatteris and March in Cambridgeshire is set to supply 87 million litres a day to 250,000 homes, and to be completed in 2036. The Lincolnshire reservoir south of Sleaford would provide up to 166 million litres a day for up to 500,000 homes, operational by 2040. It is the latter two that ministers have now designated as 'nationally significant', taking planning responsibility out of the hands of local politicians in order to streamline and fast-track them. Speaking to Times Radio Environment Minister Emma Hardy said: 'We've been in an infrastructure crisis because we haven't built the reservoirs that we need. 'In fact we built no reservoirs for the past 30 years. If we don't take action we are going to be running out of the drinking water that we need by the mid-2030s. 'This is why the Government's taking unprecedented action to make these reservoir projects... into projects that are nationally significant projects. 'This means the planning process is taken away from the local authority. The power is put into the hands of the Secretary of State... to make sure that we deliver them. 'It means that we can unlock tens of thousands of new homes and we can make sure that everybody has the drinking water that they desperately need.' A lack of water supplies is also holding back the construction of thousands of homes in parts of the country such as Cambridge, officials have warned. Labour has a target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2029. But demands from migrant-fueled population growth is not the only problem. Last year a report by the Environment Agency found that almost a fifth (19 per cent) of water supplies are lost by water companies before reaching customers' taps. This figure was down 10 percentage points since 2018 but the agency said By 2050, in order to support a growing population, the economy, food production and protect the environment, an extra five billion litres of water will be needed every day. Andy Brown, its water regulation manager, said: 'Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon. As we see more impacts from climate change heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent. This poses an enormous challenge over the next few decades. Prof Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at the University of Newcastle, said the dry and drought conditions the UK was experiencing were consistent with what was expected from climate models, especially in the summer months. 'With global warming we expect more prolonged and intense droughts and heatwaves punctuated by more intense rainfall, possibly causing flash floods. 'In recent years, we have experienced more of these atmospheric blocks, causing record heat and persistent drought,' she said. 'We are a northern European nation not short of rain ... this should be a wake-up call for the government, says Chris Philp This week, ministers admitted that parts of Britain could run out of drinking water within a decade. Let that sink in. We are a northern European nation not short of rain. We are certainly not an arid and sandy desert land. Yet apparently we can't guarantee water will come out of the tap. This should be a wake-up call for the government. And we know what drives demand for water: people do. So it is very relevant that for decades the British people have demanded, and politicians have promised, dramatically lower immigration. But for decades, successive governments, including the last one, have failed to deliver that. That failure has undermined faith and trust in democracy itself. It is now time to actually deliver what the public want. Under new leadership, the Conservative Party has recently brought forward a number of serious, credible and detailed plans to tackle immigration - all of which Labour voted against in Parliament in the past few weeks. While homes go unbuilt, schools burst at the seams, and A&Es overflow, Labour's answer is to import more people and deny there's even a problem. The Home Secretary admitted Labour's plans will only bring down net migration by microscopic 50,000 a year - nowhere near enough of a reduction. It is no surprise the Labour Government is failing to take action – Starmer once absurdly claimed immigration puts no strain on public services. Tell that to the families in waiting for a doctor's appointment, to the councillors facing impossible housing targets, or to the water companies now forced to warn that we may not have enough to go round. The government's target of building 300,000 homes per year would only cover net migration at 170,000 per year. Instead, Labour's housebuilding target could result in five out of seven new homes going to migrants. What about the British people who want to get on the housing ladder? Naturally, more people means more demand for water. Every person who arrives needs showers, sinks, sanitation. The more pressure we put on the network, the faster it fails, and the harder it becomes to plan or build for the future. And Labour's solution has not been to tackle the influx but rather to crush any local objections and build two giant reservoirs for 10 and 15 years' time. When the Conservatives recently brought forward a plan to slash immigration Labour torpedoed it using their huge Parliamentary majority. We put forward measures to implement automatic deportations of foreign criminals and illegal migrants; to end the human rights madness that stops us controlling our borders; and to create a binding annual cap on migration which is much, much lower than the numbers we have seen in recent years. Water doesn't lie. It's a basic test of whether a country can support the people in it, and Britain is failing that test because Labour refuses to confront reality. The only serious solution is to tackle immigration head-on. We cannot keep adding the pressure and pretending the system will hold. We cannot build our way out of a problem we refuse to name. Until we slash migration numbers, the shortages will only get worse.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Specialist Hospitality Sector Accountants, James Todd & Co, Share Advice for Businesses Hit By Revenue Uncertainty
05/29/2025, Chichester PO20 2EW // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // James Todd & Co, a respected accountancy group with experts focused on the hospitality sector, has offered some guidance for businesses in the industry, following a tumultuous few months where revenues have fluctuated considerably, and in contrast to the general GDP trends. The latest UK GDP figures, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) provided long-awaited relief reflecting a small margin of growth of 0.2% in March 2025, which compares to 0.5% in February and a contraction of 0.1% in January. While improvements in services spending have played an important role, the firm notes that the levels of apprehension currently present require agility and robust financial planning. Why Hospitality Sector Businesses Are Struggling With Uncertainties Over the Future Last year was a significant challenge for many hospitality businesses. Sharp rises in operating costs, high inflation levels, and consumer caution meant that a large proportion of organisations found it challenging to remain profitable. A reported 42% of consumers indicated last year that they intended to reduce spending on dining out, which increased to 46% for 2025. While interest rates have now stabilised to some extent, the 8.5% increase in staffing overheads introduced in the Autumn Budget has painted an uneasy picture for the months ahead. Given the sector's dependency on discretionary spending, record-high utility prices and dips in consumer confidence have had a greater direct impact on the hospitality sector than in many other areas. This culminated in a 2.4% fall in trade in January, far underperforming against overall GDP, which shrank by 0.1%. Although the most recent data shows a more positive outlook, with modest GDP growth largely attributed to services industries, concerns remain. These are particularly relevant following a year when like-for-like sales only occasionally reached above inflation levels and when thousands of hospitality companies closed their doors in just the last quarter—a closure rate of eight businesses or venues a day. In this climate, James Todd & Co has advised that in-built contingency planning, accurate short and long-term forecasting, and continual oversight of cost pressures, profitability, and reserves are crucial. This gives hospitality sector clients the flexibility to adapt and respond to changes while focusing on commercial sustainability. Targeted Guidance for Hospitality Business Owners in 2025 Michelle Buzzard, FCA, Partner at James Todd & Co said, ' There's no doubt that it's been a tough couple of years for most hospitality businesses, and we've seen particular difficulties within economy-focused providers, as opposed to luxury services, who have been hit hardest by drops in consumer spending. It's also no surprise that the measures introduced in the Autumn Budget and Spring Statement seem to compound the challenge, with many owners already struggling to balance their books and looking for better ways to remain buoyant and liquid while dealing with higher costs and lower incomes. Our key advice for any company in this situation or with concerns over the viability of its trade over the year ahead is to seek expert advice sooner rather than later – which means they do not end up in a situation where the stress of uncertainty makes it all but impossible to focus on innovation and efficiency. Hospitality companies are no strangers to volatility, and most already manage seasonality. Many owners already know they need oversight of overheads and cash flows, to account for periods with typically lower incomes and ensure that reserves are allocated to cover outgoings between peak trading seasons. However, we've seen an increasing number of companies reach the point of crisis, where detailed, diligent financial planning, cost control measures, and budgeting before this point could have highlighted opportunities to restructure, introduce cash flow management strategies, or potentially source financing or capital investment.' Proactive Financial Management Recommendations for the Hospitality Sector Michelle goes on to say, ' Professional accounting isn't just about preparing retrospective accounts, but about giving our clients the tools and resources they need to effectively plan ahead and see barriers to growth before they arrive. We ensure businesses have the support necessary to create contingencies or look at changes to their trading models to adapt to fluctuating consumer trends. Ignoring an issue or hoping for the best is never advisable. We suggest that hospitality businesses with concerns or a lack of forecasting for the summer trading period contact our accountancy teams directly or arrange a convenient time to meet at our Chichester or Fareham offices.' James Todd & Co offers a comprehensive range of hospitality accounting and financial management services, including bookkeeping services, tax planning, VAT reporting, and general accounting expertise. The company also offers bespoke coaching services through its Goals to Growth programme. Read more about James Todd & Co - Accomplished Charity Accountants at James Todd & Co Comment on Calls for New Exemptions and Allowances About James Todd & Co James Todd & Co have been providing accounting services for more than 30 years across Chichester, Fareham, and Portsmouth for businesses across the South East. Their clients trust them to provide bookkeeping, financial auditing and compliance, management accounting and financial advisory services. Media Contact: Oliver Read James Todd & Co 01243 776938
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Miner Vale misses deadline for power to expand Brazil nickel complex
By Leticia Fucuchima and Marta Nogueira SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Brazilian power grid operator ONS told Reuters it denied miner Vale's request to increase power consumption at its northern Onca Puma nickel complex, after missing a deadline to confirm the bid. The denial comes as Vale prepares to start up a second furnace at Onca Puma, a $555 million expansion that should help the miner boost nickel production in coming years. Vale told Reuters that despite the denied request it was maintaining its outlook to start operating the new furnace in the second half of this year. The miner plans to raise its global nickel production to as much as 250,000 metric tons in 2030, from around 160,000 tons last year. The second furnace in Onca Puma is expected to add annual output of 15,200 tons. ONS documents seen by Reuters showed Vale in late 2023 asked to increase power consumption at Onca Puma to 200 megawatts at the start of this year. Over the past year, ONS issued documents attesting to the viability of the power consumption increase at Onca Puma, but ONS said Vale did not sign a contract within the stipulated deadline. Vale filed a new request with ONS in February, ONS said, asking for the power consumption increase at Onca Puma to start in June. The request, however, was denied by the national grid operator, which said the additional power had been allocated to another project in its pipeline. Vale told Reuters it is evaluating "technical alternatives" with ONS to enable the approval of its request for the Onca Puma expansion. The miner said it expects to resolve the issue soon. The nominal nickel capacity at Vale's Onca Puma is currently around 27,000 tons per year. The complex accounted for around 10% of Vale's total nickel production last year. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Miner Vale misses deadline for power to expand Brazil nickel complex
SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO, May 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian power grid operator ONS told Reuters it denied miner Vale's ( opens new tab request to increase power consumption at its northern Onca Puma nickel complex, after missing a deadline to confirm the bid. The denial comes as Vale prepares to start up a second furnace at Onca Puma, a $555 million expansion that should help the miner boost nickel production in coming years. Vale told Reuters that despite the denied request it was maintaining its outlook to start operating the new furnace in the second half of this year. The miner plans to raise its global nickel production to as much as 250,000 metric tons in 2030, from around 160,000 tons last year. The second furnace in Onca Puma is expected to add annual output of 15,200 tons. ONS documents seen by Reuters showed Vale in late 2023 asked to increase power consumption at Onca Puma to 200 megawatts at the start of this year. Over the past year, ONS issued documents attesting to the viability of the power consumption increase at Onca Puma, but ONS said Vale did not sign a contract within the stipulated deadline. Vale filed a new request with ONS in February, ONS said, asking for the power consumption increase at Onca Puma to start in June. The request, however, was denied by the national grid operator, which said the additional power had been allocated to another project in its pipeline. Vale told Reuters it is evaluating "technical alternatives" with ONS to enable the approval of its request for the Onca Puma expansion. The miner said it expects to resolve the issue soon. The nominal nickel capacity at Vale's Onca Puma is currently around 27,000 tons per year. The complex accounted for around 10% of Vale's total nickel production last year.
