Supermarkets ‘in limbo' over Government action on deforestation in supply chains
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Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Robot brickies that can work around clock to be trialled in Britain as 25,000 more workers needed to meet housing plans
ROBOT brickies that can work around the clock are to be trialled in Britain - amid a chronic shortage of construction workers. This is despite unemployment being at a four-year high across the country. 3 The robot brickies could help solve Britain's chronic worker shortage 3 They can be programmed to work around the clock 3 Experts say the UK needs around 25,000 more brickies to meet housing demand Credit: Getty The machines, developed by Dutch firm Monumental, use a pair of mechanical arms that dispense mortar and lay bricks at a similar rate to human workers, reports the Daily Telegraph. Per eight-hour shift, each robot would be able to lay around 500 bricks - though they can be programmed to work 24/7. They can build straight line brick walls and some cornering, though they always need to be supervised by human eyes. One person can oversee two robots at once, but they don't need to be a qualified bricklayer. Britain is currently experiencing an unprecedented shortage of real brickies, with a report by report by the Home Builders Federation and the Construction Industry Training Board warning at least 25,000 more are needed to meet the Government's housing plans. The same company's machines have already built facades for scores of houses as well as canal walls on housing estates. London bricklaying contractor Galostar - which worked on the Olympic Stadium in Stratford and Sadler's Wells Theatre - is set to trial the technology. It's understood the scheme will begin next month, with the focus on whether the robots can be deployed on scaffolding and meet British building standards. Galostar boss Tony Chapman said: 'We don't think they [the machines] will ever completely replace brickies, but they can certainly help with the skills shortages we are dealing with. 'From our point of view it also helps because the robots don't need breaks, they don't take time off, and so if you have several of them you will know exactly what your output is going to be.' Monumental co-founder Salar al Khafaji said: "Your labour pool will now be much bigger, and you can work multiple shifts." He estimates the charge will be around £1 for every brick layed. The robots open the potential for more elaborate brickwork not seen since the Victorian era in the UK due to how labour-intensive it is. 'Today, if you want to ask for a very nice, patterned facade with two brick colours, you'll get an outrageously expensive quote, because it's quite hard and it will slow the masons down,' Mr al Khafaji added. UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS It comes after official figures show the numbers on company pay rolls fell by 25,000 in May on the back of 41,000 just last month. But the unemployment rate edged up from 4.6 per cent to 4.7 per cent, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. Average earnings growth, not including bonuses, slowed to five per cent in the three months to May, its lowest level for almost three years. Lord Matthew Elliott, of the Jobs Foundation, said Chancellor Rachel Reeves "must deliver a pro-growth, pro-jobs plan in the Autumn Budget'. Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said that unemployment 'is the only thing growing under Labour'. There will now be mounting pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates early next month to help kick-start the sluggish economy. Business are also braced for the new workers' rights package that is going through Parliament that will only add to firms' costs. Government estimates say that business will be hit for a staggering £5 billion as a result of the package that includes day one workers rights and a boost for trade union powers. Do you know more? Email
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Iconic homeware chain with 58 stores to close branch in DAYS in a blow to shoppers
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A POPULAR homeware chain is set to shut one of its high street stores in days in a blow to shoppers. Lakeland is closing its Broad Street store in Reading on August 8, the store has confirmed to The Sun. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Lakeland is closing its store in Reading next month in a blow to shoppers Credit: Alamy Signs in the shop window say that the store is closing and everything must go. Disappointed customers shared the news on Facebook, with one saying: 'Oh nooo! I love Lakeland products! I hate being forced to have to shop online for my favourite items of kitchen and homeware.' They added: 'Reading used to be a vibrant shopping centre which I loved visiting, but not anymore!' Another said: 'What? I love that shop. There's going to be nothing left soon.' Meanwhile, a third commented: 'It's sad when shops have to close especially in my home town Reading.' Lakeland has 58 shops across the UK, employs around 1,000 staff and is based in Windermere in the Lake District. The popular chain sells thousands of homeware and kitchen products including spatulas, food containers and baking suppliers. But the chain's future was thrown into question this year as it searched for a new owner. The company began talks with investor Hilco Capital in April in a deal that would provide a new funding package to support the struggling retailer. Lakeland had been searching for tens of millions of pounds of funding to navigate difficult economic conditions, including the increase in national insurance costs for employers. It also hired financial advisors earlier this year to explore its options. The family-run business was created in 1964 and is now spearheaded by three sons of the founder Alan Rayner. The brothers chose advisory company Teneo to help them navigate a potential sale back in January. Months of discussion with various potential buyers followed, including Modella Capital, which this year acquired WHSmith's high street shops. Why are retailers closing shops? EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline. In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping. Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed. The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing. Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns. Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead. In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few. What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online. They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. The Reading closure follows the shuttering of another popular store last month. The Lakeland shop in Syon Park, west London, closed its doors for good on June 6. Meanwhile, the store in the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness, was shut down and relocated to the Simpsons Garden Centre in mid-March. Lakeland did not give a reason for the move. At the time customers described the decision as a big loss for the shopping centre. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@ Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
Evening Standard
13 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal FC in Eze bid; Gyokeres medical; Isak to Liverpool twist; Chelsea eye Rogers; Man Utd
A summer window which has already seen one record-breaking deal is gearing up for another as Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all continue to splash the cash ahead of the new Premier League season. Alexander Isak has told Newcastle he wants to leave, and Liverpool are his most likely destination - but he will cost far more than the British record £116million already spent on Florian Wirtz this summer. Benjamin Sesko could replace Isak.
