Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit border checks, Evri, UK bond sales

29th Oct 2024 07:24

(Sharecast News) - A lack of social mobility is costing the UK £19bn a year, a report produced by the cross-party thinktank Demos and the Co-op has found. The Social Mobility Commission, which advises the government, defines social mobility as "the link between a person's occupation or income and the occupation or income of their parents". - Guardian

New Brexit border checks are reducing consumer choice and compromising Britain's food security, according to fresh produce sellers and plant growers. A joint letter from the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) and the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has called for an urgent meeting with the government over the continued problems their members face when importing plants and cut flowers under the current border system. - Guardian

Delivery giant Evri has been named the UK's worst parcel distribution company for the second year running, with around one in two customers reporting a problem with its service. The courier, which rebranded from Hermes two years ago following a wave of parcel mishandling allegations, has been dogged by complaints over issues such as delays and parcels being left in the wrong place. - Telegraph

Ed Miliband has been urged to dispose of Britain's nuclear waste by drilling boreholes up to five kilometres deep into the Earth's crust. University academics said advances in tunnel-digging technology mean the previously-dismissed idea is viable and could be put into action more quickly and cheaply than alternatives. - Telegraph

The chief executive of one of the country's biggest commercial property developers has said he would be investing "hundreds of millions and more" in building new data centres if he could secure the electricity supply that those sites demand. David Sleath, chief executive of Segro, the FTSE 100 developer and landlord, told Times Radio that, in some cases, his teams were waiting "a number of years" for local substations to be upgraded, increasing their grid capacity. If that capacity was available now, Segro, which already owns and operates 35 data centres around the UK, would already be building many more, he said. - The Times

Investment banks anticipate a jump in UK government debt sales this year to finance a rise in public investment. On average, global investment banks expect the value of gilt sales this year to reach nearly £300 billion, the second-highest total on record. The figures were compiled by the Financial Times based on an analysis of seven investment banks' estimates. - The Times