Upgrades and plans for 30,000 new jobs depend on adding up to £156 extra a year on billsAnalysis: who will pay for the water industry plan?Competitors report falling ill after triathlon eventWater companies are asking customers to pay for a record £96bn investment into fixing raw sewage leaks, building new reservoirs and cutting leaks.The main water and sewerage companies are asking the regulator Ofwat to approve their spending plans for 2025-2030. They will publish their individual investment plans on Monday for Ofwat to examine, although some details may be withheld from public scrutiny...

Placating Conservatives in marginal seats, inflation in construction and a maze of bureaucracy have seen the cost balloon from £32bn to £71bnShould the enormous engineering feat of HS2 become Rishi Sunak’s white elephant, these could be its expensive tusks.At what was once a staging post but now looks like the end of the line, Old Oak Common, two brand new tunnel boring machines are to be buried underground, unused, ready for action – a mere £40m of kit that may never now drill the route’s last six miles east into central London. Continue reading...

From a state-of-the-art showstopper with a vast double-height kitchen-diner to rustic chic with a bread oven and flagstone floors Continue reading...

The annual influx of billionaires is leading to ‘odious’ practices in the French Riviera townIt’s probably the world’s only fishing village where it’s easier to buy a €25,000 “mini” Celine handbag, a €4,000 Christian Dior trench or a €2,000 Rimowa suitcase than it is to pick up a rod and tackle.Ever since Brigitte Bardot started cavorting on its beaches in the 1950s, Saint-Tropez has been better known as a place to catch a glimpse of a celebrity than a fresh sea bass. But now longsuffering locals are warning that the annual influx of the global super-rich is becoming too...

Rehab. the innovative haircare brand which has been making waves in the industry since its launch last year has announced that TV personality Stacey Solomon has joined the company as a partner and Investor.Read more: Stacey Solomon to become official Business Partner and Investor of British haircare brand, REHAB

House prices fall but some young buyers are considering smaller homes and longer-term loans, surveys suggest.

In a transformative development for the construction, infrastructure and energy sectors, Igne emerges as a result of the consolidation of industry titans with over 350 years of combined experienceRead more: Igne goes live – merging six brands into one to re-shape the pre-construction services industry

Just three years old, Pura is now knocking household names off the shop shelves and gaining much deserved respect.Read more: Want to know how to change an entire industry? Ask Guy Fennell, Founder and CEO of Pura

82 per cent of businesses have changed their office space needs to accommodate a flexible working approach which includes more than half of businesses opening offices or working spaces outside of city centres, according to a new survey from IWG.Read more: Over 80 per cent of firms have changed to accommodate hybrid working

The Royal family’s official website was forced offline after being targeted in a cyber attack for which Russian hackers have claimed responsibility.Read more: Royal Family website targeted in cyber attack

A technology company has cancelled its trial of a four-day working week after finding the scheme increased staff stress, made them unhappy and did not improve productivity.Read more: Four-day week made staff more stressed, says tech firm

Tens of thousands of benefit claimants will face lower payments if they fail to look for work, under a clampdown to be announced by Jeremy Hunt.Read more: Hunt tells jobless: Make more effort to find a job or face benefit cuts

With the news that FTSE bosses received an average 16 per cent pay rise last year, relations between senior leaders and employees in the corporate world are becoming increasingly strained.Read more: Stability in SMEs: Why is cultural change key to bridging leader-worker gaps?

The industry says it needs the cash to fund £96bn of investment to cut sewage spills and build reservoirs.

Firms have said that they were not aware of a ban in England on single-use plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays that comes into force on Sunday.Read more: Some firms unaware of England’s new single-use plastic ban which is just days away

On the eve of the Conservative and Labour Party Conferences, new analysis reveals the acute need for greater support to help British businesses navigate a pivotal 15 months of new rules related to international trade.Read more: Political leaders urged to support businesses navigate ‘seismic’ period promising transformational benefits for international trade

UK households are facing an average tax rise of £3,500 a year by the next election, the country’s leading economics thinktank has said – the biggest increase over a parliament on records dating back more than 70 years.Read more: UK households face tax rise of £3,500 a year by next election, thinktank IFS finds

Mortgage approvals fell to the lowest level in six months in August as prospective homeowners stayed away from the property market and average mortgage costs approached 5 per cent.Read more: UK mortgage approvals drop to six-month low in August

UK business leaders have been urged to follow five key tokens of advice before they implement any new artificial intelligence (AI) programmes or technologies within their organisations. Read more: UK economy grew faster than Germany and France after Covid

Government must give pubs which serve as the beating hearts of their communities greater support with tax rebates to safeguard the nation’s locals as vital social lifelines, a report from the think-tank Localis has urged today.Read more: Local pubs deliver invaluable socio-economic value, ministers must act to save them – new report highlights

New figures show the economy has grown by 1.8% since the start of the pandemic, outpacing France and Germany.

Inspire new capabilities within teams with AgiliteaRead more: Secrets of Success: Kubair Shirazee, Agilitea

2,500 ambitious tech talents will be recruited into digital roles in government by June 2025 through new apprenticeship and early talent programmes, the Cabinet Office has announced.Read more: Government ramps up digital skills with 2,500 new tech recruits

There are reports the leaders of the heavily indebted Chinese property giant have been detained.

Plastic cutlery is banned under new rules but plastic containers for takeaway and shop bought meals are not.