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New Statesman
9 hours ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Ed Miliband keeps winning
Photo byIt's been a cheery couple of weeks for Ed Miliband. Despite a raft of negative briefings in the weeks prior to the spending review, Miliband's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ended up being one of Rachel Reeves' biggest winners. Alongside the cancellation of a previously trailed cut to the Warm Homes Plan, DESNZ received a 16 per cent increase in spending power (more than any other department). And now, following a period of internal wrangling with the Number 10 and the Treasury, the former Labour leader has announced the extension of the Warm Homes Discount, a policy which offers a £150 energy bills discount to those on low incomes. Insiders tell me it is something the Energy Secretary has been working on behind the scenes for months. Energy bills – and the government's pledge to cut them by £300 before the end of the parliament – will be a key metric of Labour's success at the next election. Frustration over the slow pace of reduction, alongside fury over the Winter Fuel Payment, were big issues on the doorstep during the locals (it wasn't a good night for Labour). In the wake of voting, one insider close to Miliband pointed to the Warm Homes Discount – which was first introduced in 2011 – and questioned why the government did not make more of it following the decision to cut Winter Fuel. It is, after all, a means-tested benefit intended to support not just elderly people, but millions of households on low incomes to reduce their energy bills. The extension announced on Thursday will see a further 2.7 million households eligible to receive this benefit; over 6 million households will now be able to access the discount. It will be paid for via a deal which the government has struck with the energy regulator, Ofgem. Currently, energy bills include the socialised costs of energy companies' unpaid debts, the government has done a deal to reduce the overall debt burden on energy companies. This accompanies the recent cut to the Energy Price Cap, which comes into effect in July, meaning a double whammy of energy bill reductions. All of this suggests that despite speculation that Keir Starmer might be about to make an about-turn on support for net zero, the Prime Minister is firmly staying put. Not only has Miliband's funding been bolstered, but his department has been responsible for some of the government's most recent positive news: 100,000 new jobs at Sizewell C, solar panels for newbuild homes, schools, and hospitals, and now the extension of the Warm Homes Discount. And Starmer has made clear that, in directly taking on Nigel Farage, he won't look to ape the Reform UK's net zero scepticism but will seek to prove how the green transition can help low-income, marginalised communities, as well as slashing the UK's carbon emissions. That Starmer is staying close to Miliband is unsurprising. The PM has, after all, always been environmentally minded (he is a pescatarian, did you know?). Perhaps his most famous case as a human rights lawyer was representing two Greenpeace Activists against McDonalds in the 1997 McLibel trial. Starmer, who's former Kentish Town home is a short walk from Miliband's ends in Dartmouth Park, was also encouraged to run to be an MP in 2015 by his predecessor as Labour leader. The pair have a shared political history; it's easy to speculate that Starmer feels some loyalty there. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Connections aside, it's clear Starmer sees the electoral benefit of his Energy Secretary's clean power drive, particularly after the disastrous Winter Fuel Payment saga and the government's subsequent U-turn. Reducing the UK's reliance on imported natural gas and other fossil fuels will lead to lower energy bills; a result on which Starmer's premiership will be heavily judged (and to some extent, already is). And in this new turbulent international climate – the arguments for energy security remain; Miliband was the first to make them. After months of underestimation from his detractors, the Energy Secretary and his agenda are safe, for the time being. It all now rests on the success of his delivery. Related
India Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Government workers in the UK used AI to do their jobs, here is what they found
A recent trial involving 20,000 civil service workers in the UK has found that artificial intelligence tools, when integrated into daily workflows, can save government employees an average of 26 minutes a day, equivalent to roughly 13 working days a year. 'The objective of this experiment was to understand the value that an AI tool such as M365 Copilot would bring when deployed across a large portion of the UK government. Value was defined as improvements in efficiency, task completion rates, and overall user satisfaction,' the report findings are part of a three-month pilot conducted across several government departments, including the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and agencies handling welfare, pensions and child services. The initiative tested Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI assistant built into Microsoft tools such as Word, Outlook, Teams, Excel, and used Copilot to manage routine tasks like drafting documents, replying to emails, setting up meetings and preparing presentations. According to the final study, 'trial participants saved an average of 26 minutes a day when using M365 Copilot.' The trial was launched as part of a broader push to modernise government operations and explore how new technologies could increase efficiency and reduce bureaucracy. UK Technology Secretary Peter Kyle presented the findings at SXSW London, noting that artificial intelligence has the potential to 'help us work smarter, reduce red tape, and make better use of taxpayers' money.'advertisementThe report showed a high level of satisfaction among users, with 'user sentiment overwhelmingly positive, with 82 per cent expressing they would not want to return to their pre-Copilot working conditions.' Additionally, 'over 70 per cent of users agreed that M365 Copilot reduced time spent searching for information, performing mundane tasks, and increased time spent on more strategic activities.'That said, the trial also revealed challenges and limitations. Some users raised concerns over security and data handling, especially when dealing with sensitive or complex material. As noted in the report, 'perceived concerns with security and the handling of sensitive data led to reduced benefits in a minority of cases. Limitations were observed when dealing with complex, nuanced, or data-heavy aspects of work.'Still, the majority of feedback was optimistic. The experiment reported high engagement levels, with '39 per cent of users using it multiple times a day, and a further 43 per cent using it at least multiple times a week.' Satisfaction scores also reflected this enthusiasm, with users rating their overall experience at 7.7 out of 10, and 8.2 out of 10 for recommending the tool to AI assistant was most frequently used within Microsoft Teams, which saw the highest adoption rate of 71 per cent. However, adoption was notably lower for other tools: Excel peaked at 23 per cent and PowerPoint at 24 per cent. Usage of Word and Outlook declined slightly toward the end of the experiment, while Copilot Chat showed a small recovery after a brief trial found that 'results were consistent across grades and professions, with differences observed in how the tool was used and where benefits were realised.' Some employees with conditions like dyslexia and dyspraxia also found the AI tools especially helpful, enabling them to complete work more 'only 17 per cent [of users] did not notice any clear time savings,' more than a third of respondents reported saving over 30 minutes a day. The study concludes that if such results were applied across the wider civil service, the time saved could significantly improve productivity and free up workers for higher-value tasks.
Spectator
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Farage plans ‘Minister for deportations'
Machinery of government is not the sexiest of subjects – but it is a useful way of signalling a politician's priorities. Rishi Sunak used his first reshuffle to rebrand the 'Department for Energy Security' and create a new ministry for science. Boris Johnson invented the Department for Levelling Up; Jeremy Corbyn proposed a 'Minister for Peace.' Now, Nigel Farage has floated his own changes to the Whitehall machine, with the creation of a new ministry for deportations. At a Dover press conference this morning, the Reform leader declared that: We will demand a minister for deportations. It will be part of the Home Office but it will be a separate department within it. We will need to recruit new people, as the evidence at the moment suggests those who work in the Home Office would wilfully obstruct policy if we won the next general election. The eye-catching announcement was the top line from a speech which largely reprised Reform's greatest hits: leave the ECHR, repeal the Human Rights Act and clamp down on asylum claims.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Labour has sidelined essential green policies
Rachel Reeves's spring statement (Report, 26 March) has sidelined the nature policies that Britain needs to build a more prosperous economy, and tackle the planetary crisis that is threatening our way of life. Days after Kemi Badenoch ditched net zero, Labour is following suit, with growth trumping net zero, fast-tracked airports, faltering marine protections and the climate and nature bill, backed by 192 MPs, kicked down the road. I first presented the bill in 2020 to lock the UK's climate and biodiversity commitments into law. Labour backed its ambition in 2023, yet whips blocked it in January. The bill could centre nature's importance across decision-making. Instead, billions have been found to prop up flawed carbon-capture technology, while the co-benefits of investing in nature-based solutions – like reforestation, peatlands, wetlands and regenerative farming – are sidelined. The cuts to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, even with a boost to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, ignore the interconnections of climate and nature plans, risking both. This siloed approach, mirrored in Labour's cuts to international aid and a pause to nature-friendly farming payments, must end. The solution? To deliver the joined-up legislative framework we need to weave climate and nature across Labour's cross-governmental missions. And that means making time to advance the climate and nature LucasGreen MP for Brighton Pavilion, 2010-24 Rachel Reeves emphasised her desire 'to get people back to work', but gave no hint of what form that work would take. One country-wide job creation scheme that could be delivered over the next few years would be for the government to double the £6.6bn already committed in its election manifesto to its warm homes plan for improving energy efficiency. This massive increase in investment could be funded by the government announcing the cancellation of further investment in nuclear power. Our report, Redirect Sizewell C funding to warm homes, shows that about £40bn will be spent over the next 15 years on this nuclear white elephant. Were it to be scrapped now, this could free up more than £7bn by 2030. This huge redirection of funds would generate long-term, secure jobs, particularly for young people across the UK. It could be quick to implement, so by the next election, homes across the country will be warmer, healthier and with reduced energy bills. This widespread improvement in living conditions, and the generation of jobs in every constituency, could improve Labour's currently diminishing chances of winning the next election. Colin Hines Green New Deal GroupAlison Downes Stop Sizewell C
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£8m funded for city estate to get new heat network
A council has secured £8m from the government towards installing a new heat network on a city estate, which it says will reduce energy costs for over 1,000 residents. All of the properties on the Heath Town Estate in Wolverhampton are supplied with heat via an "outdated" district heating network. City of Wolverhampton Council said it was first installed around 55 years ago and has undergone minor upgrades since. The estate's existing boiler house was designed to use coal and is "no longer fit for purpose", according to the council, with its concrete panelling "starting to fail". Works on the new heat network are expected to start in April and last for two years. The funding for the work has come from the government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as part of its heat network efficiency scheme. It will contribute towards the £19.5m works, with the remainder coming from the council's Housing Revenue Account programme. The council said the new system would improve efficiency through reduced primary energy consumption, network return temperature and pumping energy costs, following upgrades to the network's control systems, replacement of pumps and pipework, and the installation of new heat interface units for residents. Deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for city housing, councillor Steve Evans, said: "The council's transformative regeneration of Heath Town has seen extensive demolition of vacant buildings followed by 40 new council homes – the first developed on the estate since the 1960s. "This is just the first phase of a total of more than 150 new council homes to be built on the estate over the coming years – and is in addition to existing residential blocks undergoing major improvements by Wolverhampton Homes. All new homes will be connected to the district heating system. "It is important the right infrastructure is in place to support this rejuvenated neighbourhood and this funding from government will enable us to put in place a heat network that is fit for purpose and ultimately reduces energy costs for residents." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. City of Wolverhampton Council
