Monday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, spending review, John Lewis
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 09 Jun 2025
(Sharecast News) - Ministers could bring water companies into public ownership for minimal cost through a process designed to safeguard vital public services when the companies running them are failing, a thinktank report has argued. According to the report by Common Wealth, ministers could use a process known as special administration to take over a company like Thames Water and, rather than transfer it to another private company, keep it under permanent public ownership. - Guardian
Rachel Reeves has been locked in a standoff over the policing and council budgets just days before this week's spending review, which is set to give billions to the NHS, defence and technology. Yvette Cooper's Home Office and Angela Rayner's housing and local government ministry were the two departments still at the negotiating table on Sunday fighting for more cash, after weeks of trying to reach a settlement. - Guardian
Employers have perhaps never faced more challenging or extensive legal obligations than those present today. From the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill that is set to become law later this year to the rise of sensitive social and political issues within the workforce, our recent survey of more than 500 businesses found there is a new legal landscape that many employers are struggling to navigate. - Telegraph
John Lewis is preparing to radically slim down an influential staff committee in a bid to accelerate decision-making. The retail giant will cut the size of its partnership council by a quarter from this autumn, meaning the number of staff sitting on the committee will fall from 57 to 43. It forms part of an attempt to bolster turnaround efforts at John Lewis, as bosses scramble to improve productivity. - Telegraph
The government will deliver just over half of the 1.5 million new homes it has promised to build by 2029, according to a new forecast, and there are fears that the spending review could exacerbate the housing crisis. Subdued demand from first-time buyers and housing associations, coupled with falling planning consents, means there will be about 840,000 home completions in Labour's first five years in power, according to Savills, the property agent. - The Times
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