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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK consumer spending grew strongly in April, boosted by warmer weather and the late timing of Easter, despite increased uncertainty over US trade tariffs and rising costs, industry data showed.The value of retail sales increased at an annual rate of 7 per cent in April, well above the 12-month average of 1.4 per cent, according to figures published by the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “The sunniest April on record brought with it a boost…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s development minister will tell MPs that “the days of viewing the UK government as a global charity are over”, as she considers suspending aid to overseas projects supporting education and feminist organisations.Baroness Jenny Chapman will set out her vision for aid as the government budget is radically reduced over the next two years, when she appears in front of parliament’s international development committee on Tuesday. The UK’s Foreign Office must pivot from paternalism to partnership and focus more heavily on helping…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK employment myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.A slowdown in the UK jobs market is hitting hiring in education and healthcare as government spending cuts bite, according to surveys that point to headcount reductions across the public sector. Business confidence is at its lowest on record, outside the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a quarterly report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which represents HR professionals, after increases in the minimum wage and payroll taxes took effect last month. In the private sector, the balance of employers expecting headcount to…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Digitising health and adult social care services will cost the UK government £21bn over the next five years, according to research that underscores the significant investment needed to modernise the NHS. The estimate by the Health Foundation on Thursday comes as health secretary Wes Streeting pushes to make “from analogue to digital” one of the three “big shifts” in how the strained health service delivers care.Ministers have not estimated how much digitising the NHS and adult social care would cost. The think-tank…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK’s National Wealth Fund has announced a £600mn loan to Spanish energy giant Iberdrola to upgrade the British power grid, marking its largest commitment so far.The state-backed fund is investing as part of a total £1.35bn financing package led by Bank of America alongside other commercial banks including Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Banco Sabadell. The money will go towards two major subsea transmission cables between Scotland and England that Scottish Power, Iberdrola’s subsidiary in the UK, plans to build, as well as…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A package of reforms to tackle England’s struggling social care system “will be doomed to failure” unless the government presents a robust financial case for changing a “broken” system, a cross-party group of MPs has said.  The warning from the House of Commons health and social care committee on Monday follows the launch of an independent state-commissioned review by Baroness Louise Casey into the crisis facing adult social care. MPs said a lack of official data on how the current system worked meant…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUK government officials have begun exploring whether Donald Trump’s golf course in Scotland could play host to The Open championship later this decade — after extensive pressure from the US president — according to people close to the talks.Trump has regularly asked British ministers, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, why the event has not been played at his Turnberry resort for the past 16 years. He has previously highlighted his interest in hosting the Open at the Ayrshire course,…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.UK food inflation has hit an 11-month high as staples such as bread, meat and fish become more expensive at a time of higher costs for retailers, industry data showed on Tuesday.Food prices rose at an annual rate of 2.6 per cent in April, up from 2.4 per cent in March and the fastest pace since May last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.The trade body’s figures come ahead of official inflation data for April on May 21. Both data series…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK employment myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The UK risks creating a “lost generation” unless ministers take immediate action to stop young people drifting away from the workplace, business leaders warned on Sunday. The British Chambers of Commerce said employers were increasingly concerned by official data suggesting almost 1mn people aged between 16 and 24 were not in education, employment or training (NEET), despite the need to foster new talent as Britain’s population aged. These figures, based on the imprecise Office for National Statistics’ labour market survey, are unreliable. But separate…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s water infrastructure will require £290bn of investment to meet government targets over the next 25 years but ministers and sector regulators have no coherent plan for delivery, the public spending watchdog has warned. The environment department, Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate lacked a “good understanding” of the state of the sewage and water networks and had failed to manage “the rising tide of risk” associated with the sector, the National Audit Office said on Friday.The regulators’ poor…