Good morning all. A veritable smorgasbord of news for you this fine Tuesday.
First up, the cladding costs story rumbles on as Michael Gove has conceded that government must take some responsibility for covering the costs of fixing combustible cladding.
Speaking at a Commons select committee, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities said: “The chancellor will probably shiver to hear me say it, but we have a responsibility here.”
Are these comments a step back from his previously stated ambition to make the construction industry and developers pay in isolation? Maybe. The fact that he also said it is proving hard to hold all of the companies who manufactured combustible cladding materials to account is telling.
This wasn’t the only news on cladding this morning. A fresh blow for government as documents reviewed by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry have revealed evidence dating as far back as 2002 that the dangerous material used on Grenfell Tower should “never, ever” have been installed on tall buildings.
In other news, boardrooms and leadership teams across private businesses could see more gender parity by 2025 amid a renewed push for more women to be appointed to senior leadership positions.
The FTSE Women Leaders Review, a business-led body backed by government, has revealed recommendations that set a target for FTSE 350 companies to increase women’s representation to at least 40% of both boards and leadership teams within the next three years.
Speaking of women in senior leadership roles, JLL’s UK chief executive Stephanie Hyde has been appointed chair of a new CBI vehicle tasked with aiding the role of business in the government’s levelling up agenda. She will now chair the Centre for Thriving Regions. Tony Danker, CBI director-general, said Hyde’s advice and support would “play a critical role in the coming months as we continue to support businesses to overcome the immediate challenges to growth and work with government on our shared ambitions to transform the economy”.
In market news, growth of UK business activity is at its highest rate since June last year. The growth has been fuelled by the fading of the Omicron coronavirus wave and an uptick in consumers venturing out to spend on travel and leisure.
And how about not just one, but two positive investment and growth stories? City insurers are set to unleash tens of billons in investment in light of government moves to ditch swathes of the Solvency 2 rulebook.
Not such good news for employees at Sir Richard Branson’s Hyperloop as 111 jobs are cut off the back of the group’s decision to shift its focus from passengers to cargo.
And finally, public sector staff might “never” return to their desks five days a week as hybrid working is embraced as the norm.
