Author: Loveworld UK

Engine maker Rolls-Royce is investing £150m in UK aerospace facilities in a move that will safeguard more than 7,000 jobs. It is the Derby-based group’s biggest single investment in the UK for more than a decade. The announcement was welcomed by the Government amid fears that some companies are putting off decisions due to Brexit uncertainty. Rolls-Royce said it was investing over the next few years in new and existing facilities across the East Midlands. It is creating a new facility in Derby for testing large aero engines, resulting in up to 200 jobs, while plans to close a precision…

Theresa May has secured a majority for her Queen’s Speech in her first Commons test of the new Parliament. The House voted 323 to 309 to support the Government’s legislative agenda for the next two years, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) giving the Conservatives their backing following the “confidence and supply” deal struck earlier this week. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a rebellion as 49 Labour MPs defied the party leadership to back an amendment by former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna on Brexit. Shadow ministers Andy Slaughter, Catherine West and Ruth Cadbury were sacked by the Labour leader…

The Government has defeated a Labour bid to end the cap on public sector pay in the first parliamentary test of the Tory-DUP deal. Labour had attempted to push through an amendment to the Queen’s Speech calling on ministers to recruit more police officers and firefighters and to end the 1% limit on annual pay rises for public sector workers. But their efforts were defeated in the House of Commons, with 323 MPs opposing the amendment versus 309 in favour. The result gave the Government a majority of 14. Wednesday night’s vote was the first test of the minority Conservative…

Britain will maintain duty-free access to its markets once it has left the European Union for goods from dozens of developing countries. Forty-eight developing countries – including Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Haiti and Ethiopia – will continue to benefit from the arrangements on all goods bought by the UK, excluding weapons. Some £20bn a year of goods are shipped to the UK from these countries, accounting for around half of UK clothing, and a quarter of UK coffee. The Government said that once it has left the EU in 2019 it will explore options to expand trade relations further. International Trade…

Sixty high-rise buildings in 25 local authorities have failed fire cladding safety tests carried out in the wake of the Grenfell blaze, the Government has said. The figure amounts to a 100% failure rate as all buildings that were inspected have failed, according to the Department for Communities. The number rose from 34 tower blocks in 17 local authorities – and hundreds more authorities have yet to be tested. Officials are conducting inspections across the country after at least 79 people are believed to have been killed in the Grenfell Tower fire in London this month. The tower’s cladding is…

Tests have revealed that at least seven tower blocks across England are fitted with combustible cladding. Among them are the Chalcots Estate in Camden, north London, where the cladding is being removed, and the Mount Wise Tower in Plymouth. Theresa May said local authorities and fire services are “taking all possible steps” to ensure the towers are safe, while hundreds more buildings are due for checks. Details of at-risk structures will be revealed after residents are informed, the Department for Communities and Local Government says. Cladding on the outside of Grenfell Tower is suspected to have hastened the spread of…

First passengers travel on Elizabeth line train ahead of Crossrail launch Passengers have travelled on a train built for London’s Elizabeth line for the first time. The inaugural service went from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Essex, travelling on the existing TfL Rail route. The Elizabeth line, also known as Crossrail, opens in stages from December next year. The fleet of 66 trains have walk-through carriages, air conditioning and free wifi. The trains will be up to 656ft (200m) long, which enables them to carry as many as 1,500 passengers. The £14.8bn Elizabeth line project features 26 miles of tunnels…

The Government has purchased apartments at an upmarket development to rehouse survivors of the Grenfell Tower blaze. Sixty-eight new social housing units at the Kensington Row development in Kensington High Street have been acquired, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said. Prices for homes on the site – which includes a private cinema and a 24-hour concierge service – range from £1.5m to £8.5m. Developer St Edward, a joint venture between the Berkeley Group and Prudential, has committed extra construction staff and relaxed working time restrictions to complete the project by the end of July. Tony Pidgley, chairman of the Berkeley Group,…

The initial response to the Grenfell Tower fire was “not good enough”, Theresa May has said, blaming “a failure of the state, local and national”. “As Prime Minister, I apologise for that failure,” she told MPs. Speaking after the Queen had laid out the new Government’s legislative programme, Mrs May said: “The whole country was heartbroken by the horrific loss of life and the utter devastation that we have seen. “One lady I had met ran from the fire wearing no more than a t-shirt and a pair of knickers. She had lost absolutely everything.” The Prime Minister continued: “So…

The Queen announced 27 bills as she revealed the Government’s legislative agenda to Parliament on Wednesday. The majority of the legislation planned for the next two years is dominated by Brexit measures, but there are also details on counter-terrorism plans, infrastructure projects and the economy. After the Tories’ failure to win a majority at this month’s snap General Election, there are also notable absences from the Government’s plans. :: BREXIT :: Great Repeal Bill – A huge piece of planned legislation that aims to replicate all existing EU law into British law by the time of Britain’s departure from the…