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The right-to-buy scheme must be reformed to ensure those most in need have access to secure accommodation, councils have warned.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said the scheme, that enables social tenants to purchase their homes with big discounts, meant that 7,449 social homes were lost on a net basis during the last financial year.

Its figures showed that of 10,896 social homes sold through right-to-buy in 2022/23, only 3,447 had been replaced since, in breach of government commitments.

The cross-party body said the budget, due on 6 March, was an opportunity to address a number of flaws that were exacerbating shortages.

The LGA said the main concern was that rising discounts, alongside other measures that restrict councils’ use of right-to- buy receipts, meant that home ownership was increasingly being prioritised over access to secure, safe, social housing.

It said a commitment made by government in 2012 that promised to replace each home sold under right-to-buy with a new social home, had not been met.

LGA analysis found more than 110,000 properties had been sold under the scheme since, but only 44,000 replaced.

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The discount rate is set to increase again in April, by 6.7%, providing maximum purchase discounts of £136,000 in London and £102,000 elsewhere.

“At a time of acute housing shortages, where more than one million people are on council housing waiting lists and councils are spending £1.74bn annually on temporary accommodation, the LGA is calling for major reforms,” its statement said.

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January: Priorities for social housing

The list included giving councils control over how money raised from the scheme is spent on development and property acquisitions.

Councils are also seeking powers to protect their investments in housing and greater flexibility to shape right-to-buy schemes to suit the needs of local areas.

The housing issue has been a thorn in the sides of successive governments, with supply failing to meet demand over decades and placing upwards pressure on prices as a result.

More recently, the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates to tackle that inflation have resulted in surges to everyday household bills.

Some councils, including Liverpool, have said they are witnessing record rough sleeper numbers, with local authority and other accommodation being further squeezed by asylum claimants.

Housing minister Lee Rowley told Sky News on Tuesday that the government has “got to have targets”, piling pressure on the Conservative party’s position after an election manifesto pledge in 2019, for 300,000 new houses each year by the mid-2020s, was watered down.

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‘Where should I go? What should I do?’

The government has argued that councils are part of the problem, dragging their feet on planning applications especially for building on brownfield sites.

Its focus in England is on smoothing planning processes covering derelict sites to deliver more homes in towns and cities.

Labour says an overhaul of the planning system that it would introduce, if elected, would unlock the construction of 1.5 million new properties over the course of the next parliament.

Darren Rodwell, LGA housing spokesperson and Labour leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “We are facing a significant housing shortage in this country which has pushed council budgets to the brink as they struggle to find suitable homes for an ever-increasing number of people.

“Whilst the right-to-buy can and has delivered homeownership for many, the current form does not work for local authorities and those most in need of housing support are simply unable to access secure, safe social housing.

“It is time for the government to overhaul a system that has seen our social housing stock significantly diminish.”

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson responded: “The government remains committed to the right-to-buy, which since 1980, has helped over two million social housing tenants to become homeowners.

“We are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing, and our £11.5bn Affordable Homes Programme is delivering well over a hundred thousand affordable homes – including tens of thousands of new homes specifically for social rent.

“We have also made it easier for councils to deliver replacement homes and to provide more safe, secure and decent council housing for those that need it, and we have given them more control over how they spend their right to buy receipts.”

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has ordered hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre to stay at home as it grapples with the unfolding impact of a cyberattack on Britain’s best-known retailer.

Sky News has learnt that roughly 200 people who had been due to undertake shift work at M&S’s vast Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands have been told not to come in amid the escalating crisis.

Agency staff make up about 20% of Castle Donington’s workforce, according to a source close to M&S.

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The retailer’s own employees who work at the site have been told to come in as usual, the source added.

“There is work for them to do,” they said.

M&S disclosed last week that it was suspending online orders as a result of the cyberattack, but has provided few other details about the nature and extent of the incident.

In its latest update to investors, the company said on Friday that its product range was “available to browse online, and our stores remain open and ready to welcome and serve customers”.

“We continue to manage the incident proactively and the M&S team – supported by leading experts – is working extremely hard to restore online operations and continue to serve customers well,” it added.

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It was unclear on Monday how long the disruption to M&S’s e-commerce operations would last, although retail executives said the cyberattack was “extensive” and that it could take the company some time to fully resolve its impact.

Shares in M&S slid a further 2.4% on Monday morning, following a sharp fall last week, as investors reacted to the absence of positive news about the incident.

M&S declined to comment further.

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

Shares in meal delivery platform Deliveroo have surged by 17% as investors react to news of a £2.7bn takeover proposal.

The company revealed after the market had closed on Friday that it had been in talks since 5 April with US rival DoorDash.

Deliveroo suggested then it was likely the 180p per share offer would be recommended, though full terms were yet to be agreed.

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At that price, the company’s founder and chief executive, Will Shu, would be in line for a windfall of more than £170m.

Deliveroo further announced, before trading on Monday, that it had suspended its £100m share buyback programme.

The opening share price reaction took the value to 171p per share – still shy of the 180p on the table – and well under the 390p per share flotation price seen in 2021.

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Deliveroo’s shares have weakened nearly 50% since their market debut.

The deal is not expected to face regulatory hurdles as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence.

But a takeover would likely represent a blow to the City of London given the anticipated loss of a tech-focused player.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “If the deal is done at that price, the company will fail to shake off the ‘Floperoo’ tag it was saddled with after its disastrous IPO debut in 2021.

“Even though Deliveroo has finally broken through into profitable territory, the prolonged bout of indigestion around its share price has continued.

“The surge in demand for home deliveries during the pandemic waned just as competition heated up. Deliveroo’s foray into grocery deliveries has helped it turn a profit but it’s still facing fierce rivals.”

She added: “The DoorDash Deliveroo deal will be unappetising for the government which has been trying to boost the number of tech companies listed in London.

“If Deliveroo is purchased it would join a stream of companies leaving the London Stock Exchange, with too few IPOs [initial public offerings] in the pipeline to make up the numbers.”

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US trade deal ‘possible’ but not ‘certain’, says senior minister

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US trade deal 'possible' but not 'certain', says senior minister

A trade deal with the US is “possible” but not “certain”, a senior minister has said as he struck a cautious tone about negotiations with the White House.

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “a serious level of engagement going on at high levels” to secure a UK-US trade deal.

However, Mr McFadden, a key ally of Sir Keir Starmer, struck a more cautious tone than Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the prospect of a US trade deal, saying: “I think an agreement is possible – I don’t think it’s certain, and I don’t want to say it’s certain, but I think it’s possible.”

He went on to say the government wanted an “agreement in the UK’s interests” and not a “hasty deal”, amid fears from critics that Number 10 could acquiesce a deal that lowers food standards, for example, or changes certain taxes in a bid to persuade Donald Trump to lower some of the tariffs that have been placed on British goods.

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And asked about the timing of the deal – following recent reports an agreement was imminent – Mr McFadden said: “We’ll keep working with the United States and keep trying to get to an agreement in the coming weeks.”

As well as talks with the US, the UK has also ramped up its efforts with the EU, with suggestions it could include a new EU youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s from the bloc to live, work and study in the UK and vice versa.

Mr McFadden said he believed the government could “improve upon” the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson, saying it had caused “an awful lot of bureaucracy and costs here in the UK”.

He said “first and foremost” on the government’s agenda was securing a food and agriculture and a veterinary agreement, saying it was “such an important area for the UK and an area where we’ve had so much extra cost and bureaucracy because of Brexit”.

He added: “But again, as with the United States, there’s no point in calling the game before it’s done. We’ve still got work to do, and we’re doing that work with our partners in the EU.”

The Cabinet Office minister also rejected suggestions the UK would have to choose between pursuing a trade deal with the US and one with the EU – the latter of which has banned chlorinated chicken in its markets – as has the UK – but which the US has historically wanted.

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On the issue of chlorinated chicken, Mr McFadden said the government had “made clear we will not water down animal welfare standards with either party”.

“But I don’t agree that it’s some fundamental choice beyond where we have to pick one trading partner rather than another. I think that’s to misunderstand the nature of the UK economy, and I don’t think would be in our interests to put all our eggs in one basket.”

Also speaking to Trevor Phillips was Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the government should be close to closing the deal with the US “because we got very close last time President Trump was in office”.

She also insisted food standards should not be watered down in order to get a deal, saying she did not reach an agreement with Canada when she was in government for that reason.

“What Labour needs to do now is show that they can get a deal that isn’t making concessions, so we can have what we had last month before the trade tariffs, and we need serious people doing this,” she said.

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