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In 2019, the government put the goal of reaching net zero by 2050 into law, but recently the future of the Conservative Party’s green agenda has been the subject of intense debate.

Sparked by its narrow win in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election – a battle fought and won by the Conservatives’ opposition to London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) scheme – some in the party have been calling for a rethink of their current climate commitments, while others demanded the government stayed on track with its pledges.

But the former camp seems to have won over the prime minister, with Rishi Sunak announcing his plans to ditch or delay a number of climate policies.

Making a surprise speech in Downing Street, he insisted he believed in achieving the net zero goal, but said there needed to be a change in approach or we would “risk losing the consent of the British people” for the policies.

Standing in front of a lectern promising “long-term decisions for a brighter future”, he said families should not face “unacceptable costs” to go green, adding: “No one in Westminster politics has yet had the courage to look people in the eye and explain what’s really involved. That’s wrong, and it changes now.”

So what were the climate pledges from the government? And which ones are now being axed by Mr Sunak?

Reaching net zero by 2050

The overarching promise from the Conservative government was to ensure the UK reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% from 1990 levels by 2050.

The measure was made law by Theresa May in the dying days of her premiership back in 2019 and it was backed by Boris Johnson throughout his time in Number 10.

But when Liz Truss entered Downing Street, she ordered a review into the target – though her stint ended before it came to pass – showing not everyone in the party was on board.

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Johnson criticised those against net zero pledge in 2020

Mr Sunak has insisted he is committed to the pledge – even after the changes he has announced.

But questions have been raised over whether the government is doing enough to even meet the target, with the Climate Change Committee warning progress had been “worryingly slow”, and time is “very short” to correct the path.

Phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2030

In 2020, then prime minister Mr Johnson made a commitment to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK after 2030 – bringing the target forward by 10 years.

The £12bn plan promised to accelerate the rollout of charge points for electric vehicles, as well as the development and mass production of electric vehicle batteries, in an attempt to lower emissions and clean up the air.

Electric car
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The government pledged to build more charging points and develop batteries

Number 10 was saying as recently as August that Mr Sunak was committed to the 2030 date, though they hinted the ban was to be kept under review to ensure the prime minister’s promise to be “proportionate and pragmatic” with climate policies was kept.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove also doubled down over the summer on keeping to the pledge, saying the target is “immoveable”.

But Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch was understood to be pushing back on one element – fining car manufacturers if they don’t meet the target of making at least 22% of the cars they sell electric by 2024.

Current rules would mean a company would be subject to a £15,000 fine for every vehicle that does not comply.

Now, Mr Sunak has confirmed the deadline will be pushed back by five years to 2035 – despite calls from the industry to keep the measure.

He said by 2030 “the vast majority of cars sold” would be electric, but he said he believed that “at least for now, it should be you the consumer that makes that choice, not government forcing you to do it”.

Energy efficient landlords

Another pledge made by Mr Johnson in 2020 was to ensure all privately rented homes had an energy efficiency rating of C or better – where A is the best and G is the worst – by 2028.

While the plan could be costly for landlords, it would lead to a reduction in bills for many renters and stop leaky homes adding to emissions.

Mr Gove, the former environment secretary who is now the minister in charge of housing, said back in July he wanted to see the government “relax the pace” of the 2028 deadline, adding: “We’re asking too much too quickly”.

But Mr Sunak has now insisted no property owners would be “forced” into making “expensive upgrades”, and will only have to do so “when they can”.

Read more:
Podcast: The challenges of getting to net zero
Watch: Breaking down the UK’s net zero plan
Rich polluting nations must ‘fast forward’ net zero target

The future of boilers

The ambition for all new heating system installations to be low carbon by 2035 – accompanied by a pot of £450m to help with household grants – is being watered down.

The prime minister confirmed there would be a new exemption for around a fifth of homes, so that “households who will most struggle to make the switch to heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives won’t have to do so”.

However, he said the grant available for boiler upgrades for those who do want to change to a greener alternative would increase from £5,000 to £7,500.

There had been a target in place to ensure all new homes were built with an alternative to a gas boiler – such as a heat pump – after 2025, but Downing Street would not confirm if that target remained in place.

But Mr Sunak did announce that the plan to ban all off-grid oil boilers by 2026 was now being delayed to 2035.

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From May: ‘There’s a lot of myths around heat pumps’

Hydrogen levy

Another move that already appears to have been shelved is the introduction of an annual levy to cover the cost of producing low-carbon hydrogen, instead of using fossil fuels, for energy at home.

The fee – which was expected to cost households around £118 a year – was due to be added to bills in 2025, and would help cut emissions by cleaning up the energy market.

But former energy security secretary Grant Shapps – who was recently appointed defence secretary – made numerous protestations about the cost being borne by people rather than companies, and has pledged numerous times to find another way of funding the change.

What else is being chopped?

A number of policies that hadn’t been announced have been pre-emptively scrapped by Mr Sunak.

He said he would rule out policy ideas requiring people to share cars, eat less meat and dairy, or have seven bins to hit recycling targets.

The prime minister also said he would not put forward any plans to discourage their flying by taxing it further.

“There will be resistance – and we will meet it,” he said.

What about the other parties?

When it comes to Labour, one of Sir Keir Starmer’s missions for government is to “make Britain a green energy super power”.

The party said, if it got into power, it would cut bills and increase energy security by making all electricity zero-carbon by 2030, and carry out upgrades to 19 million homes to make sure they are insulated.

Click to subscribe to ClimateCast with Tom Heap wherever you get your podcasts

It would also create a new publicly owned company called GB Energy, tasked with championing clean energy, increasing jobs and building better supply chains.

But Labour has backtracked on its £28bn a year investment pledge to accelerate the shift towards net zero, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves blaming rising interest rates and the “damage” the Conservatives had done to the economy since the announcement was made.

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January: Energy crisis ’caused by Tory experiment’ – Labour

The Liberal Democrats have a raft of green policy proposals, including upgrading insulation in all existing homes by 2030 and ensuring all new builds are “eco friendly”.

Other measures include investing to get 80% of the UK’s electricity from green energy by 2030, and creating a £20bn Clean Air Fund to create walking and cycling routes to schools, and investment in pollution-free public transport.

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Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

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Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.

The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.

While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.

According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Source: Web.archive.org

Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.

The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph

Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.

Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset

Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”

At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.

“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding: 

“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”

However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.

Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension

Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?

In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan

If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.

Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.

Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’

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Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

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Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.

On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.

Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”

Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.

The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.

“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”

Nasdaq, United States, Stocks

Source: Anthony Scaramucci

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.

Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.

Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks

Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.

Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.

Nasdaq, United States, Stocks

Source: Jeff Dorman

Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.

Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”

Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

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‘We will see closures’: The industries hit the hardest by national insurance hike

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'We will see closures': The industries hit hardest by national insurance hike

The cost of having staff is going up this Sunday as the increase in employers’ national insurance kicks in.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the October budget employers will have to pay a 15% rate of national insurance contributions (NIC) on their employees from 6 April – up from 13.8%.

She also lowered the threshold at which employers pay NIC from £9,100 a year to £5,000 a year, meaning they start paying at an earlier point on staff salaries.

This is on top of the national minimum wage rising, the business relief rate for hospitality, retail and leisure reducing from 75% to 40% and the rising cost of ingredients and services.

Sky News spoke to people working in some of the industries that will be hardest hit by the rise in NIC: Nurseries, hospitality, retail, small businesses and care.

NURSERIES

Nearly all (96% of 728) nurseries surveyed by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said they will have no choice but to put up fees because of the NIC rise, leaving parents to pick up the shortfall.

More on Cost Of Living

The NDNA has warned nurseries could close due to the rise, with 14% saying their business is at risk, 69% reducing spending on resources and 39% considering offering fewer places with government-funded hours as 92% said they do not cover their costs.

Sarah has two children, with her youngest starting later this month, but they were just informed fees will now be £92 a day – compared with £59 at the same nursery when her eldest started five years ago.

“I’m not sure how we will afford this. Our salaries haven’t increased by 50% during this time,” she said.

“We’re stuck as there aren’t enough nursery spaces in our area, so we will have to struggle.”

Karen Richards, director of the Wolds Childcare group in Nottinghamshire, has started a petition to get the government to exempt private nurseries – the majority of providers – from the NIC changes as she said it is unfair nurseries in schools do not have to pay the NIC.

She told Sky News she will have to find about £183,000 next year to cover the increase across her five nurseries and reducing staff numbers is “not off the table” but it is more likely they will reduce the number of children they have.

Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said parents are yet again having to pay for the price for the government's actions. Pic: Pregnant Then Screwed
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Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said parents are yet again having to pay the price for the government’s actions. Pic: Pregnant Then Screwed

Joeli Brearley, founder of the Pregnant Then Screwed campaign group, told Sky News: “Parents are already drowning in childcare costs, and now, thanks to the national insurance hike, nurseries are passing even more fees on to families who simply can’t afford it.

“It’s the same story every time – parents pay the price while the government looks the other way. How exactly are we meant to ‘boost the economy’ when we can’t even afford to go to work?”

Purnima Tanuku, executive chair of the NDNA, said staffing costs make up about 75% of nurseries’ costs and they will have to find £2,600 more per employee to pay for the NIC rise – £47,000 for an average nursery.

“The government says it wants to offer ‘cheaper childcare’ for parents on the one hand but then with the other expects nurseries to absorb the costs of National Insurance Contributions themselves,” she told Sky News.

“High-quality early education and care gives children the best start in life and enables parents to work. The government must invest in this vital infrastructure to make sure nurseries can continue to deliver this social and economic good.”

HOSPITALITY

The hospitality industry has warned of closures, price rises, lack of growth and shorter opening hours.

Dan Brod, co-owner of The Beckford Group, a small southwest England restaurant and country pub/hotel group, said the economic situation now is “much worse” than during COVID.

The group has put plans for two more projects on hold and Mr Brod said the only option is to put up prices, but with the rising supplier costs, wages, business rates and NIC hike they will “stay still” financially.

Read more:
Reeves admits it won’t be easy for businesses to absorb NI hike
UK businesses issue warning over ‘deeply troubling’ Trump tariffs

Dan Brod, co-owner of The Beckford Group, said the government does not value hospitality as an industry. Pic: The Beckford Group
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Dan Brod, co-owner of The Beckford Group, said the government does not value hospitality as an industry. Pic: The Beckford Group

He told Sky News: “What we’re nervous about is we’re still in the cost of living crisis and even though our places are in very wealthy areas of the country, Wiltshire, Somerset and Bath, people are feeling the situation in their pockets, people are going out less.”

Mr Brod said they are not getting rid of any staff as their business strongly depends on the quality of their hospitality so they are having to make savings elsewhere.

“I’m still optimistic, I still feel that humans need hospitality but we’re not valued as an industry and the social benefit is never taken into account by government.”

Chef/owner Aktar Islam, who runs two Michelin starred Opheem in Birmingham, said the rise will cost him up to £120,000 more this year. Pic: Opheem
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Chef/owner Aktar Islam, who runs Opheem in Birmingham, said the rise will cost him up to £120,000 more this year. Pic: Opheem

Aktar Islam, owner/chef at two Michelin-starred Opheem in Birmingham, said the NIC rise will cost him up to £120,000 more in staff costs a year and to maintain the financial position he is in now they would have to make “another million pounds”.

He got emails from eight suppliers on Thursday saying they were raising their costs, and said he will have to raise prices but is concerned about the impact on diners.

The restaurateur hires four commis chefs to train each year but will not be able to this year, or the next few.

“It’s very short-sighted of the government, you’re not going to grow the economy by taxing hospitality out of existence, these sort of businesses are the lifeblood of our economy,” he said.

“They think if a hospitality business closes another will open but people know it’s tough, why would they want to do that? It’s not going to happen.”

The chef sent hundreds of his “at home” kits to fellow chefs this week for their staff as an acknowledgement of how much of a “s*** show” the situation is – “a little hug from us”.

RETAIL

Some of the UK’s biggest retailers, including Tesco, Boots, Marks & Spencer and Next, wrote to Rachel Reeves after the budget to say the NIC hike would lead to higher consumer prices, smaller pay rises, job cuts and store closures.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), representing more than 200 major retailers and brands, said the costs are so significant neither small or large retailers will be able to absorb them.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, told the Treasury committee in November that job losses due to the NIC changes were likely to be higher than the 50,000 forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Big retailers have warned the NIC rise will lead to higher prices, job cuts and store closures. File pic: PA
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Big retailers have warned the NIC rise will lead to higher prices, job cuts and store closures. File pic: PA

Nick Stowe, chief executive of Monsoon and Accessorize, said retailers had the choice of protecting staff numbers or cancelling investment plans.

He said they were trying to protect staff numbers and would be increasing prices but they would likely have to halt plans to increase store numbers.

Helen Dickinson, head of the BRC, told Sky News the national living wage rise and NIC increase will cost businesses £5bn, adding more than 10% to the cost of hiring someone in an entry-level role.

A further tax on packaging coming in October means retailers will face £7bn in extra costs this year, she said.

“This huge cost burden will undoubtedly reduce investment in stores and jobs and is likely to lead to higher prices,” she added.

SMALL BUSINESSES

A massive 85% of 1,400 small business owners surveyed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in March reported rising costs compared with the same time last year, with 47% citing tax as the main barrier to growth – the highest level in more than a decade.

Just 8% of those businesses saw an increase in staff numbers over the last quarter, while 21% had to reduce their workforce.

Kate Rumsey, whose family has run Rumsey’s Chocolates in Wendover, Buckinghamshire and Thame, Oxfordshire, for 21 years, said the NIC rise, minimum wage increase and business relief rate reduction will push her staff costs up by 15 to 17% – £70,000 to £80,000 annually.

To offset those costs, she has had to reduce opening hours, including closing on Sundays and bank holidays in one shop for the first time ever, make one person redundant, not replace short-term staff and introduce a hiring freeze.

The soaring price of cocoa has added to her woes and she has had to increase prices by about 10% and will raise them further.

Kate Rumsey, who runs Rumsey's Chocolates in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, said they are being forced to take a short-term view to survive. Pic: Rumsey's Chocolates
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Kate Rumsey, who runs Rumsey’s Chocolates in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, said they are being forced to take a short-term view to survive. Pic: Rumsey’s Chocolates

She told Sky News: “We’re very much taking more of a short-term view at the moment, it’s so seasonal in this business so I said to the team we’ll just get through Q1 then re-evaluate.

“I feel this is a bit about the survival of the fittest and many businesses won’t survive.”

Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the FSB, said the NIC rise “holds back growth” and has seen small business confidence drop to its lowest point since the first year of the pandemic.

With the “highest tax burden for 70 years”, she called on the chancellor to introduce a “raft of pro-small business measures” in the autumn budget so it can deliver on its pledge for growth.

She reminded employers they can claim the Employment Allowance, which has doubled after an FSB campaign to take the first £10,500 off an employer’s annual bill.

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National Insurance rise impacts carers

CARE

The care sector has been warning the government since the October that budget care homes will be forced to close due to the financial pressures the employers’ national insurance rise will place on them.

Care homes receive funding from councils as well as from private fees, but as local authorities feel the squeeze more and more their contributions are not keeping up with rising costs.

The industry has argued without it the NHS would be crippled.

Raj Sehgal, founding director of ArmsCare, a family-run group of six care homes in Norfolk, said the NIC increase means a £360,000 annual impact on the group’s £3.6m payroll.

In an attempt to offset those costs, the group is scrapping staff bonuses and freezing management salaries.

It is also considering reducing day hours, where there are more staff on, so the fewer numbers of night staff work longer hours and with no paid break.

Raj Sehgal said his family-owned group of care homes will need £360,000 extra this year for the NIC hike
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Raj Sehgal said his family-owned group of care homes will need £360,000 extra this year for the NIC hike

Mr Sehgal said: “But what that does do unfortunately, is impact the quality you’re going to be able to provide, at a time when we need to be improving quality, but something has to give.

“The government just doesn’t seem to understand that the funding needs to be there. You cannot keep enforcing higher costs on businesses and not be able to fund those without actually finding the money from somewhere.”

He said the issue is exacerbated by the fact local authority funding, despite increasing to 5%, will not cover the 10% rise.

“It’s going to be a really, really tough ride. And we are going to see a number of providers close their doors,” he warned.

Nadra Ahmed, executive co-chair of the National Care Association, said those who receive, or are waiting to access, care as well as staff will feel the impact the hardest.

“As providers see further shortfalls in the commissioning of care services, they will start to limit what they can do to ensure their viability or, as a last resort exit the market,” she said.

“This is very short-sighted, with serious consequences, which alludes to the understanding of this government.”

Government decided to ‘wipe the slate clean’

A Treasury spokesperson told Sky News the government is “pro-business” but has “taken the difficult but necessary decisions to wipe the slate clean and properly fund our public services after years of declines”.

“Our budget choices have already delivered an NHS with falling waiting lists, a £3.7bn rescue package for social care, and vital protection for Britain’s small businesses,” they said.

“We’re making tough choices today to secure a better tomorrow through our Plan for Change. By investing in economic growth and early years education while capping corporation tax, we’re putting more money in working people’s pockets and giving every child the best start in life.”

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