Latest news with #SouthernWater
Metro
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
A whole lot of monkey business! Readers discuss gorilla costume clad dad
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. Regarding your story about the dad who dressed up as a gorilla to collect his daughter from school (Metro, Tue). I think the world's gone mad. The school governors appear to have had a sense of humour bypass. He did it for a joke. As for the other parents who were allegedly concerned, I cannot see how this is a safety issue. What with this and the 12-year-old girl being removed from a diversity class for wearing a Union Jack dress last week, I just think schools are becoming too serious at times. Kim Redding, Hornchurch Chris Napthine says he has had lots of messages of support after being reprimanded for dressing up in a gorilla outfit outside a school, with people asking, 'What on earth is this country coming to?' Well, what I want to know is what on earth was he thinking of, putting on a gorilla suit in the middle of a sweltering summer? Surely there are a multitude of other ways he could have achieved his goal. Nonetheless, I'm glad that he had the sense to remove the mask at the school so that the school were well aware it was him – otherwise they may well have thought that a gorilla had driven up to the school, parked the car, removed its seatbelt and closed the door behind him when getting out. Dec, Essex I fully support the school on the gorilla costume fallout and feel that their response has nothing to do with being 'woke' – as the dad, Mr Napthine, suggests. He just sounds like an attention-seeker to me. I can well imagine he is the village 'comedian'. Steve, Staplehurst Well done gorilla man, you got your five minutes of fame. But this isn't the school being woke, it's about being considerate to all the other children at that school. Jane, London Chris Napthine got his moment in the spotlight with his tale of woe after turning up to collect his daughter dressed as a gorilla (as you do). He also perfectly exemplified the casual, misinformed use of the word 'woke', applying it to mean a perceived overreaction to his own odd behaviour rather than what it actually means. He then threw a perfect lack of understanding of trans issues into the mix, with his observation of how 'a kid can identify as a cat but a dad can't dress up as a gorilla'. I would suggest that some self-reflection on Chris's part, regarding his own lack of accountability and awareness, might be more fitting before running to the papers trying to gain sympathy for his unusual behaviour catching up with him. David, Birmingham Re the fuss over Superman being woke (MetroTalk, Tue), I like to think 'woke' means 'not racist'. Ergo if you are not woke… Separately, thanks for giving Nigel Farage's Reform plans a brief outline (Metro, Tue). These preposterous plans are unfunded, unenforceable and a bit silly. Imagine trying to send our criminals to El Salvador? I did chortle. Neil Dance, Birmingham Regarding Southern Water boss Lawrence Gosden's 'outrageous' pay rise (Metro, Mon). If this represents 'common industry practice' then that, to me anyway, is rewarding failure. Nice work if you can get it. John, Langley I was disappointed to read the article about Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss saying the show is not for 'grumpy old' fans (Metro, Fri). As a bit of a 'Whovian' who has watched just about every episode there has been since 1963, I would like to think the show is for everyone, from seven to 70 (and beyond), not just for the woke, trendy few. Perhaps viewing figures might improve if there were more Daleks and Cybermen etc. Come on BBC, realise what a good family show it should be. John Coyne, Leeds Being marooned at home for weeks following a cardiac arrest in June, I was delighted to enjoy the Metro – supplied courtesy of Brighton and Hove buses – when I attended the local hospital for a vital cardiac consultation last Friday. What a super newspaper the Metro is. Handy-sized, with news, politics, world, technology, kids stuff, puzzles, sport and such fascinations as Guilty Pleasures, travel and entertainment – and all this in glorious colour. It is phenomenal for a freebie. As an impoverished pensioner I ask myself who really needs a paid-for paper when the Metro is so comprehensive, colourful and complete? Well done team Metro – long may it continue. Keith Jago, Brighton I had to laugh reading Monday Metro's Today in History. In 1904, the 4,607 miles of the Trans Siberian railway was completed after 13 years. More Trending It was built across great steppes, rivers, mountains, forests and marshes – many uncharted and often frozen by snow and ice. It was an extraordinary achievement for the engineers of the day. Meanwhile, this nation of ours, having invented the railway, cannot even build a 140-mile connection across gentle countryside – and six years after construction began, it is reported that not even a single mile of track has yet been laid for HS2. Yet many companies, consultancies and advisers have made an absolute mint in fees and profits from HS2. It is just a shame they never made an actual railway. Peter, London MORE: TikTok fave beauty brand finally hits UK stores — and everything is under £15 MORE: The Metro daily cartoon by Guy Venables MORE: Going on holiday? We've found the luxe looking swimwear set to rival Monday Swimwear
Glasgow Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Water industry may be added to list of sensitive business sectors, says minister
It comes amid an overhaul of regulation for the troubled sector and as firms including Thames Water and Southern Water face financial woes. Communications, energy and data infrastructure are among the 17 sectors that must notify the investment security unit of certain business deals since the list was created in 2021. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the Government was taking action to 'hone the type of transactions facing greatest scrutiny' (James Manning/PA) Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has asked for businesses' views on extending this requirement to the water sector. It is not expected to affect large numbers of deals but reflects 'increasing risks to the sector's resilience in a growing threat landscape', the Cabinet Office said. 'Data shows our investment security powers are working well, but there's more we can do to ensure our tool kit keeps pace with the modern economy,' Mr McFadden said. 'We're taking action to hone the type of transactions facing the greatest scrutiny, as well as consulting on updates to the sectors of the economy specified in the legislation.' Thames Water is battling to secure funding to shore up its creaking finances and stave off temporary nationalisation by the Government. Southern Water sought an extra £2.1 billion from its Australian owner earlier this month (Chris Ison/PA) Southern Water asked its owner, Australian investment firm Macquarie, for an extra £2.1 billion earlier this month to help boost its struggling finances. Making semiconductors and critical minerals into their own standalone categories and moving computing hardware to fall under semiconductors is also being proposed. Mr McFadden also said he planned to remove some requirements that are 'very unlikely to present risk'. Businesses will no longer need to notify the unit of certain internal reorganisations or when appointing liquidators, special administrators and official receivers. Secondary legislation would be brought to Parliament to put these changes in place.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Hosepipe bans: How are they enforced?
Millions of people in England are facing temporary hosepipe bans this summer, following the country's driest start to the year since bans - also known as Temporary Use Bans - are introduced by water companies during periods of high demand or low supply. Four companies have so far issued bans - Southern Water, Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and South East breaking the rules could be fined up to £1,000 - but how are the rules enforced? Caroline Loup, a garden landscaper who lives in Overton, Hampshire, where Southern Water's hosepipe ban has just begun, said people should be encouraged "to be nosy neighbours" to make sure the rules were being followed - but she wouldn't report someone."This ban isn't going to work unless everybody does their part," she said. "I'd probably go up to them and say, 'Have you heard about the ban?' I'd rather be up front than snoop on a neighbour."Ms Loup said action had to be taken by the water companies, including fining people who had broken the rules to deter others. "There needs to be some teeth behind the action." On the Isle of Wight, also supplied by Southern Water, gardener Tim Parry said he had received calls from "very emotional" clients who were worried about their gardens and the "intimidating" prospect of a said one client of his, a 90-year-old lady, asked him: "Do I have to walk a watering can up my garden? I don't think I can do that.""They don't want their neighbour looking out a window and thinking, 'She's out there with a hose'."He said he would be helping customers follow the rules because "our gardens aren't as important as the environment". Fines are a 'last resort' The BBC asked the four water companies whether they had ever issued fines for Yorkshire Water directly answered this, saying it had never issued a single fine and would prefer not to do so, instead asking customers to "respect" the company said it had received at least 100 reports of people who had continued to use hosepipes since the ban came into effect for more than five million households on 11 July. "If we are told repeatedly about someone breaking the restrictions, the first thing we do is remind them of their obligations - that is usually enough," a spokesperson said."However, if they continue to use a hosepipe, we may escalate our enforcement accordingly."The other three suppliers did not say if they had ever issued fines, but they all said enforcement would be the very final Water will first write to a customer who has been reported for using their hosepipe to remind them of the ban. The company said it might take enforcement action for "repeated or serious breaches". On its website, South East Water says prosecution is "very much a last resort" and "something no company wants to have to do".Police have told people not to contact them to report breaches of the ban, and instead to report them to their water company directly. But Thames Water has said customers do not need to report breaches at all, adding that it "may get in touch with customers who repeatedly don't follow the rules... just to make sure they're aware of the restrictions and how to use water responsibly".Trade body Water UK said it was not aware of anyone having ever been fined for using a hosepipe, though it did not hold data. But some people are exempt from the ban - those who are registered disabled, blue badge holders, and those who have paid a business to sow a lawn in the last 28 Meredith is a blue badge holder who lives in Oxford, where Thames Water's ban has now has mobility issues that restrict him from using a watering can - which is allowed during the ban - rather than a hosepipe to water his said the onus should not be on blue badge holders to make sure neighbours are aware they are allowed to continue using hosepipes if they decide to."I would not be uncomfortable using a hosepipe during a hosepipe ban," he said, adding that it would depend on what the weather was like or whether someone was around to help. Are warnings enough? Yorkshire Water said since the ban came into effect its customers' water usage dropped by about 26m gallons (100m litres) in just two days - without issuing a single fine and despite more than 100 reports of people flouting the rules. Dr Sianne Gordon-Wilson, who is currently looking into which factors can convince people to save water, said "peer influence" was the biggest driver."It's all about the friends and the social network," the assistant professor in marketing at Queen Mary University of London told the BBC."If they're saying it's something that you can do, it's not too much work, or it can be quite easy... then that is the most influential factor." Nicci Russell, chief executive of water-conservation charity Waterwise, said more had to be done to make the public aware of water scarcity. "We are running out of water right across the UK," she said. "There is nothing you can think of from the minute you wake up until the minute you go to bed that doesn't need water."She added that while her organisation did not advise people to report their neighbours, hosepipe bans did encourage the public to think about how they could save water. Additional reporting by Alys Davies and Michael Sheils McNamee
Powys County Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Water industry may be added to list of sensitive business sectors, says minister
Water companies and their investors could see potential deals face extra scrutiny under plans to add the industry to a list of sensitive sectors. It comes amid an overhaul of regulation for the troubled sector and as firms including Thames Water and Southern Water face financial woes. Communications, energy and data infrastructure are among the 17 sectors that must notify the investment security unit of certain business deals since the list was created in 2021. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has asked for businesses' views on extending this requirement to the water sector. It is not expected to affect large numbers of deals but reflects 'increasing risks to the sector's resilience in a growing threat landscape', the Cabinet Office said. 'Data shows our investment security powers are working well, but there's more we can do to ensure our tool kit keeps pace with the modern economy,' Mr McFadden said. 'We're taking action to hone the type of transactions facing the greatest scrutiny, as well as consulting on updates to the sectors of the economy specified in the legislation.' Thames Water is battling to secure funding to shore up its creaking finances and stave off temporary nationalisation by the Government. Southern Water asked its owner, Australian investment firm Macquarie, for an extra £2.1 billion earlier this month to help boost its struggling finances. Making semiconductors and critical minerals into their own standalone categories and moving computing hardware to fall under semiconductors is also being proposed. Mr McFadden also said he planned to remove some requirements that are 'very unlikely to present risk'. Businesses will no longer need to notify the unit of certain internal reorganisations or when appointing liquidators, special administrators and official receivers.
Leader Live
11 hours ago
- Business
- Leader Live
Water industry may be added to list of sensitive business sectors, says minister
It comes amid an overhaul of regulation for the troubled sector and as firms including Thames Water and Southern Water face financial woes. Communications, energy and data infrastructure are among the 17 sectors that must notify the investment security unit of certain business deals since the list was created in 2021. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has asked for businesses' views on extending this requirement to the water sector. It is not expected to affect large numbers of deals but reflects 'increasing risks to the sector's resilience in a growing threat landscape', the Cabinet Office said. 'Data shows our investment security powers are working well, but there's more we can do to ensure our tool kit keeps pace with the modern economy,' Mr McFadden said. 'We're taking action to hone the type of transactions facing the greatest scrutiny, as well as consulting on updates to the sectors of the economy specified in the legislation.' Thames Water is battling to secure funding to shore up its creaking finances and stave off temporary nationalisation by the Government. Southern Water asked its owner, Australian investment firm Macquarie, for an extra £2.1 billion earlier this month to help boost its struggling finances. Making semiconductors and critical minerals into their own standalone categories and moving computing hardware to fall under semiconductors is also being proposed. Mr McFadden also said he planned to remove some requirements that are 'very unlikely to present risk'. Businesses will no longer need to notify the unit of certain internal reorganisations or when appointing liquidators, special administrators and official receivers. Secondary legislation would be brought to Parliament to put these changes in place.
