Good morning.
The prime minister has created the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with Michael Gove at its helm. Former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane has been enlisted to assist as the head of the Levelling Up Taskforce.
But turning the phrase ‘levelling up’ into actual policy isn’t the only prickly problem Govey has been given to solve. The PM has also told him to crack the cladding crisis(£) and find a way of pushing through the planning reforms(£) without a major Tory revolt or losing any more Blue Wall seats. No pressure, then. It’s almost as if Boris still bears a grudge…
JLL has unveiled a new short-term urban rental platform, JLL Short Stays, as it takes on Airbnb for a slice of the staycation market.
Tritax Big Box(£) is one of six companies that made super-profits during the pandemic and should face a windfall tax, according to TaxJustice UK.
Vornado has said IWG’s collapse of its Jersey-based subsidiary was “sudden and suspicious”(£).
Prudential has vowed to keep its 10 Fenchurch Street HQ for the “foreseeable future”(£) despite pressure from activist investors and a shift of focus East.
There may be a natural gas shortage, but emissions of greenhouse gases are going “in the wrong direction”(£), says the UN.
For the first time, more than half of new mortgages are being taken out by borrowers who will not pay them off before their 65th birthday(£).
Six senior executives at Evergrande face “severe punishment” for securing early redemptions on investment products that the Chinese property developer(£) subsequently told retail investors it could not repay on time.
The new culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has scrapped the listing of a brutalist coal store in Redcar(£) as her first act in the post, riling Historic England.
Meanwhile, the National Trust has caused outcry with plans to allow the tenant of one of its stately piles to fence off 31 acres of a Wiltshire park.
This week’s EG Like Sunday Morning chats about Govey taking over the ministry and the return of EG’s resident Tech-spert.
And finally, it seems that Michael Gove’s main mission in his new role will be to give substance to the soundbite of ‘Levelling Up’. Along with fixing cladding and planning – oh, and the housing shortage – it may appear that Govey has his plate full. But there is something demonstrably missing from his portfolio – local government. Shame really, as the best way to level up would be to stop cutting LA’s funding, says The Guardian. Although it is possible that local government is only missing in name – after all, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is already enough of a mouthful(£).
