Sunak to ease energy efficiency requirements in rented homes to not ‘overburden landlords’
Rishi Sunak is planning to delay energy efficiency targets for rented homes following pressure from landlords about the cost of the improvements.
The overhaul is part of a wider review of the government’s environmental policies, which some Tory MPs fear are too expensive and will hurt the party’s chances at the next general election.
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The current proposals would see all new tenancies required to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above by 2025 – where A is the best and G is the worst – with this expanded to all existing tenancies by 2028.
The policy is intended to reduce bills for tenants and stop leaky homes adding to emissions, but on Tuesday night, a Whitehall source pointed to the cost it would have on landlords.
They told Sky News: “We remain committed to our environmental objectives but we cannot overburden landlords facing cost of living pressures…we support delaying requirements for new minimum energy efficiency requirements in the private rented sector.”
As well as delaying the targets, the government wants to overhaul the EPC system.
The source said: “More generally, we recognise that the EPC system which was designed as an informational tool to meet the requirement of EU membership, needs fundamental reform. Further details will be set out as soon as possible.”
The change, first reported by the Financial Times, is likely to anger campaigners who earlier this week urged the government to stick to its plan.
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What is the UK’s net zero climate plan?
After Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, said he believed ministers were asking “too much too quickly” of landlords, Chris Venables, political director of the Green Alliance think tank, said: “With millions of people on the front line of a cost-of-living crisis driven by sky-rocketing energy bills, it is alarming to see Sunak proposing to weaken already insufficient plans to make sure renters have well-insulated homes.
“Letting landlords off the hook will only further risk the government missing its legally binding climate and fuel poverty targets, never mind playing politics with the lives of the elderly and the vulnerable as we head into another difficult winter.”
Climate change think tank E3G estimated that improving energy efficiency would save renters an average of £570, but landlords would be expected to pay the first £10,000 of any energy efficiency work themselves.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said ministers need to develop a proper plan that includes a fair financial package to support improvements in the private rented sector.
Flagship recycling policy to be delayed
The government also confirmed on Tuesday that it is delaying its flagship recycling reforms by a year following industry warnings the scheme will drive up food prices.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said plans to force manufacturers to cover the costs of collecting and recycling packaging will be pushed back by a year to help drive down inflation.
The Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) scheme was due to come into effect in October 2024, but will now take off in October 2025.
The change follows months of campaigning from food and retail bosses, who argued the reforms will cost manufacturers £2bn annually and likely prompt further price increases.
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DEFRA said it will use the additional year to discuss with industry ways to “reduce the costs of implementation wherever possible”.
The government is reviewing its green policies after the Conservative’s narrow and unexpected by-election victory in Uxbridge last week.
Labour’s loss was widely attributed to a backlash over the expansion of ULEZ, which would charge drivers of old polluting petrol and diesel vehicles at least £12.50 per day.
The result has reignited a debate on the cost and speed of policies to reduce carbon emissions.
Some Tories believe creating a dividing line with Labour on the issue will help them gain ground on the Opposition in the polls.
On Monday, Downing Street said that ministers are scrutinising existing net zero pledges “in light of some of the cost-of-living challenges”.
And Rishi Sunak said that while the UK is still committed to reaching the climate target by 2050, any legislation to encourage a green switch would have to be “proportionate and pragmatic” and not add extra costs and “hassle” to households.
Donations being held by Zarah Sultana will be transferred over to Your Party in tranches from this week, Sky News has been told, but the party stand-off remains.
Ms Sultana has sole control of over £800,000 of Your Party donations following an internal fallout.
Her spokesperson told Sky News £600k would be transferred over in three tranches starting with £200k from Wednesday, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.
But a Your Party source told Sky News she should transfer the full £800k worth of donations now.
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It follows a major row over finances behind the scenes of the new left-wing party, which Ms Sultana co-launched with Jeremy Corbyn in July.
At the time, a company called MOU Operations was used to collect donations, with the idea this would be transferred over to Your Party once it was formally registered with the Electoral Commission.
The registration happened on 30 September, but no transfer of funds has been made – despite Ms Sultana stepping in to take ownership of MOU last month after its previous three directors quit.
MOU is holding around £800k of donations in total, as well as around £500k in fees collected as part of Ms Sultana’s unauthorised membership launch, Sky News understands.
Ms Sultana’s spokesperson said £600k would be transferred over in three tranches, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.
The Your Party source told Sky News that Ms Sultana has been told Your Party can’t accept the money related to her membership launch due to legal risks and accused her of trying to “offload” it.
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Can Your Party get it together?
Ms Sultana agreed to take over MOU to break a standoff between Your Party and the company’s previous three directors – former Labour MP Beth Winter, former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll and former South African politician Andrew Feinstein.
The trio set up MOU in April to assist with a new left-wing party centred around Mr Corbyn but resigned on 29 October, claiming the role of holding donations had been “thrust upon” them and raising concerns about a “lack of appropriate governance” within Your Party.
The statement said they hadn’t transferred over the funds because they were worried about legal liabilities and wanted Your Party to take over the company instead – but five of the six founding MPs refused.
Ms Sultana said her stepping in would “bring the chapter to a close” and “these resources will now be used for Your Party, as was always intended”.
However that angered some within Your Party who say this is a mess of her own making because of the membership fiasco, which is still being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
‘Low trust environment’
While Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana have since patched things up, one Your Party source described operating in a “low trust environment”.
Senior Your Party figures have accused Ms Sultana of deliberately withholding MOU’s funds for political leverage despite privately and publicly committing to the transfer. Organisers expressed frustration at operating on a “shoestring” ahead of the founding conference at the end of this month.
However, allies close to the Coventry South MP have dismissed the “hostile briefings” and insist she has been conducting “due diligence” before sending the money over.
Sky News understands Ms Sultana has been seeking Your Party’s constitution and financial scheme as registered with the Electoral Commission, to help her understand the party’s governing structures.
A source close to her claims there has been an unwillingness to share the documents from within Your Party, so she has requested them from the elections watchdog directly.
It is not clear who wrote the documents and who is controlling access to them – or why one of the party’s founders should not be able to see them.
A spokesperson for Ms Sultana said: “Zarah did not choose to become the sole director of MOU Operations Limited, but was prepared to take on this responsibility to ensure funds are transferred as quickly as possible and preparations for the founding conference can progress.
“As sole director, she is legally responsible for ensuring the company’s costs, liabilities and expenses are settled, and this process may take some time. To ensure funds are available for the founding conference, she will transfer £600k in tranches over the next couple of weeks. The first £200k is scheduled to be sent 12 November.
“All remaining funds will be transferred once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full.”
A Your Party spokesperson said: “We are completely focused on putting together a successful founding conference for our members, so they can democratically decide Your Party’s structures and programme, and Britain can get the socialist alternative it so badly needs. Hundreds of volunteers are working tirelessly on a shoestring budget to make this a reality, a testament to the grassroots power of our mass movement.”
Excitement in the crypto community is growing over the potential launch of XRP funds, as the US Senate advances a deal aimed at ending the longest-ever government shutdown.
The Senate reportedly reached a deal on a budget bill to end the government shutdown on Sunday, sending a bullish signal to numerous markets, including crypto.
The XRP (XRP) community is anticipating multiple XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to launch shortly, with several already appearing on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website ahead of a possible launch this month.
The price of XRP has rallied more than 12% on the bullish news over the past 24 hours, with the token trading at $2.56 at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko.
11 XRP products listed on DTCC
As of Monday, the DTCC website featured 11 XRP ETF products on its “active and pre-launch” listing, including those by 21Shares, ProShares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, Volatility Shares, REX-Osprey, CoinShares, Amplify and Franklin Templeton.
Although a DTCC listing does not equal actual launch and does not guarantee regulatory approval, it signals that the ETF infrastructure is ready to be traded on US markets.
It’s worth noting that Grayscale’s XRP Trust (GXRP) has not yet appeared on the DTCC website, and the list also does not currently include an XRP fund from WisdomTree.
“Government shutdown ending = spot crypto ETF floodgates opening,” ETF expert Nate Geraci wrote in an X post on Sunday, adding: “In the meantime, could see first ‘33 Act spot xrp ETF launch this week.”
Related: End to US gov’t shutdown sparks institutional buying, ETF ‘floodgate’ hopes
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also posted on X on Sunday, noting that the “shutdown is over” and highlighting a subsequent uptick in US equity futures.
“The SEC had open litigation against Ripple for the past five years, up until three months ago. IMO, the launch of spot XRP ETFs represents the final nail in the coffin for the previous wave of anti-crypto regulators,” he wrote in an X post on Nov. 2.
He also highlighted a post from Canary Capital, which claimed last Friday that its XRP ETF is “coming soon,” speculating that the product could go live by the end of this week.
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Acting Chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline Pham is in talks with regulated US crypto exchanges to launch leveraged spot crypto products as early as next month.
In a Sunday X post, Pham confirmed that she is pushing to allow leveraged spot crypto trading in the US and that she is in talks with regulated US crypto exchanges to launch leveraged crypto spot products next month.
Pham also confirmed that she continued meeting with industry representatives despite the government shutdown. The regulator is also currently considering issuing guidance for leveraged spot crypto products.
The news comes after the CFTC launched an initiative in early August to enable the trading of “spot crypto asset contracts” on exchanges registered with the regulator. In an announcement at the time, Pham invited comment on the rules that governed “retail trading of commodities with leverage, margin, or financing.”
According to the Federal Register, the Commodity Exchange Act “provides that a retail commodity transaction entered into with a retail person which is executed on a leveraged or margined basis” is “subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction, unless the transaction results in actual delivery of the commodity within 28 days of the transaction.” Consequently, leveraged crypto spot positions would only be allowed if their duration were limited to 28 days or they would be illegal.
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Crypto pushes forward despite shutdown
A US government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass an annual spending bill or a short-term continuing resolution, blocking much of the federal government’s spending. In such situations, non-essential services are paused, some workers are furloughed, and others work without pay.
The current shutdown started on Oct. 1. However, Sunday reports suggest that the shutdown is likely nearing its end as the Senate moves to consider a continuing resolution to fund the government.
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The report follows speculation about the impact of the government shutdown on progress in US crypto regulation. Early October reports noted that the SEC began its shutdown by announcing that it would “not engage in ongoing litigation,” except for emergency cases.
Despite this, at the end of October, many US senators reportedly moved to advance a bill on crypto market structure rules, despite the shutdown. Reports from earlier this month also suggest that meetings on the bill are still taking place in the US Senate despite the shutdown.
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