United Kingdom

I don't know if people are aware of the fact that you can see the wholesale price of energy but there are is a website that tracks it.

https://energy-stats.uk/wholesale-energy-pricing/

This clearly shows that wholesale energy prices this year have been lower than they were in 2021. Yet the price of electricity charged to people is much higher now than it was then.

The hospital's top manager demanded the doctors write an apology to Letby and told them to stop making allegations against her

"Two consultants were ordered to attend mediation with Letby, even though they suspected she was killing babies

"On 29 June 2016, one of the consultants sent an email under the subject line: "Should we refer ourselves to external investigation?"

"I believe we need help from outside agencies," he wrote. "And the only agency who can investigate all of us, I believe, is the police.*

The Metropolitan police has won its battle to stop attending most of the mental health calls it receives after a tense behind-the-scenes row with the health service, the Guardian has learned.

From 31 October the Met will start implementing a scheme that aims to stop officers being diverted from crime fighting to do work health staff are better trained for.

In May, the Guardian revealed that the Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, had written to health and social care leaders setting a deadline of 31 August – leading to furious reaction from health chiefs who wrote to the commissioner protesting that it would put vulnerable people at risk.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/rzWwd

The future for Wilko’s 12,500 staff hung in the balance on Thursday as they waited to hear whether a serious bidder for the budget retail chain had emerged.

Interested parties in the household goods retailer, which has 400 stores, had until Wednesday night to put forward their best offers for the company that called in administrators last week as it faced running out of cash.

It is expected that dozens, if not hundreds, of Wilko stores will have to close because a bid for the whole group as a going concern is unlikely to have been made, say industry insiders.

However, the full chain is expected to continue to trade into next week as talks on parcelling up the group’s assets are expected to drag on. Administrators are negotiating with potential suitors, including Poundland, B&M, Primark and Home Bargains, for groups of up to 50 stores each.

Bidders that could potentially rescue the Wilko brand include Hilco, which holds £40m of the chain’s debt, the Bensons for Beds owner, Alteri, and the Laura Ashley owner, Gordon Brothers, although it is not clear if any put forward a formal bid.

The GMB union, which represents thousands of workers at Wilko, said it still believed there was a chance of a rescue deal.

Andy Prendergast, the union’s national secretary, said: “GMB is in talks with administrators and there is still hope.”

The union has accused the firm’s management of allowing the retailer to lose its place in the market by failing to invest in technology for home shopping and other improvements while “much-needed cash was taken out of the business” by the owning Wilkinson family.

The GMB said: “We are seeking clarification regarding pensions, but have concerns. The Wilkinson family took tens of millions from the business in the decade up to the collapse. If they were serious about supporting working people, they should have invested in their staff.”

The family paid themselves £3m in dividends in the 12 months to the end of February 2022 despite a loss-making year for the Wilko group, as first revealed by the Guardian.

The last reported deficit for the group’s defined benefit pension fund was £16m, but the fund has a £20m security over Wilko property assets. John Ralfe, a pensions expert, believes the hole in the fund is likely to have closed because of the rise in interest rates.

Wilko customers expressed anger about difficulties in getting information on refunds and deliveries after the group’s helpline and chat service shut down last week.

The customer helpline reopened this week, but was overwhelmed with queries from shoppers seeking a refund or information about held-up deliveries.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/TTSEJ

An MP has told a public meeting he will pursue a law granting better protection for heritage venues in the name of a pub which was demolished after a fire.

About 100 people attended the meeting after the 18th Century Crooked House, near Dudley, was destroyed less than two days after the fire.

Marco Longhi, Conservative MP for Dudley North, said he would love to see a Crooked House law protect other venues from the same fate.

The fire is being treated as arson.

South Staffordshire Council has said it was looking at possible enforcement action against those responsible.

Speaking at Himley Hall, Mr Longhi urged patience and asked residents to avoid speculating about the circumstances of the fire on social media.

He said the building, which sank due to subsidence caused by mining works in the area, would "rise from the ashes", but it would be a "marathon, not a sprint".

"I don't believe our current legislative framework is strong enough," he said. "I would love to see, in future, a Crooked House law.

"It is important we make a change in the law. Our historic pubs and buildings are not protected adequately."

The MP pledged to bring the matter to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as soon as parliament reconvened in September.

The pub, known for its sloping walls and floor, was bought from Marston's by ATE Farms Limited in July.

On Tuesday, the BBC revealed its owners had experienced a huge fire on other land they owned.

Members of the public voiced concerns about a smell from the stream that runs alongside the pub and rubbish being dumped at the site.

Speaking after the meeting, residents reiterated their support for the venue to be rebuilt.Dawn and Paul Craig said the landmark should be reconstructed in the same spot, but better lighting would be needed on the approach to avoid people using the driveway as a "tip".

John Hutchinson, who ran the pub as a relief manager in the 80s and 90s called for the new owners to explain what had happened. "Where are they, why haven't they come on camera and faced the public?" he asked.Others expressed disappointment South Staffordshire Council did not attend the meeting.

Fencing has now been erected around the ruins, after the Health and Safety executive ordered the owners to make the site safe.

Mr Longhi said the behaviour of people who had been removing bricks and other debris from the rubble was "disgusting" and said he was happy the fencing was up.

South Staffordshire Conservative MP Sir Gavin Williamson has also voiced his support for restoration of the site.

Private equity firms have bought up dozens of UK healthcare companies including ambulance fleets, eye-care clinics and diagnostics businesses over the past two years as they seek to cash in on spiralling NHS waiting lists.

Private equity firms have struck 150 deals for UK healthcare companies since 2021, according to consultancy LaingBuisson, with the past two years the highest in terms of volume since at least 2014.

....

Tim Read, director of research at LaingBuisson, said private equity firms were increasingly buying up “organisations that are an integral part of healthcare delivery”.

“The pandemic has demonstrated the value of investing in healthcare services as it showed the resilience of operators which are underpinned by public funding.”

The jokes about liberating items write themselves, I'm sure.