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STORY

The Charity Commission has said £2.5 million has been recovered for the Players Foundation after an inquiry found serious mismanagement at the football charity. The organisation was previously known as the Professional Footballers’ Association Charity and was established to support former and current professional players.

The regulator said £1.9 million had been transferred from the charity’s bank account to the Professional Footballers’ Association trade union without adequate explanation or governance. It also found that the charity had allowed the union to occupy its properties rent free for several years, causing financial loss to the charity.

The Charity Commission said the transferred sum, interest and outstanding rent had been repaid after it raised concerns. It said trustees had let down the players the charity was intended to support, and one trustee had been disqualified from serving as a trustee or holding a senior management position in a charity for four years.

STORY

Plaid Cymru has used the start of the new parliamentary session to press the UK Government for further devolution following its victory in the Welsh election. The Guardian reported that the party had tabled an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for additional justice, infrastructure and welfare powers to be transferred to the Senedd.

The move follows a major shift in Welsh politics, with Plaid Cymru taking office after an election in which Labour lost power and Reform UK became the main opposition in the expanded Senedd. Rhun ap Iorwerth’s party narrowly missed an absolute majority, leaving the new administration to define its relationship with Westminster.

The amendment is unlikely to force immediate constitutional change, but it signals that the new Welsh Government intends to test Labour’s stated openness to reform. It also creates an early political challenge for Starmer at a time when his Government is already facing pressure from within Labour and from opposition parties.

STORY

The debate over Britain’s future relationship with the European Union has returned to Westminster politics after senior Labour figures raised the prospect of closer ties or eventual re-entry. The Independent reported that former European officials warned the UK should not expect a bespoke arrangement if it sought to rejoin the bloc.

Sandro Gozi, a former Italian Europe minister and current MEP, said any future UK application would have to address the issues expected of any candidate country. The report said this could include questions around the euro, Schengen and the absence of the budget rebate the UK previously secured as a member state.

The issue has re-emerged after Wes Streeting (in photo) made pro-European arguments in his first speech from the back benches and Andy Burnham distanced himself from previous comments about reversing Brexit as he seeks support in Makerfield. Starmer has also suggested that rejoining the EU could be discussed years in the future, while maintaining that it is not the Government’s current policy.

STORY

A proposed rescue deal for Thames Water has reportedly been affected by political uncertainty around the future of the Government. The Guardian reported that ministers have been negotiating with a consortium of creditors led by Elliott Management over a possible takeover deal for the heavily indebted water company.

Government sources told the newspaper that the talks had run into difficulties partly because of uncertainty over whether Keir Starmer would remain Prime Minister. The report said some potential investors were concerned that Andy Burnham, if he eventually entered Downing Street, could take a more interventionist approach to utilities and public ownership.

A Government spokesperson said ministers would act in the national interest and that Thames Water remained financially stable, while the Government remained ready for all eventualities, including special administration if necessary. Thames Water has been attempting to avoid financial collapse after building up debts of more than £17 billion.

STORY

Andy Burnham has emerged as the clear favourite among Labour members in a poll on a possible future leadership contest. Sky News reported that a YouGov survey of Labour members placed the Greater Manchester mayor on 47% as first-choice candidate, ahead of Keir Starmer on 31%.

The poll was published as Burnham seeks to return to Parliament through the Makerfield by-election, although he has not yet been selected as Labour’s candidate. The by-election was triggered after Labour MP Josh Simons announced his intention to stand down, creating a possible route back to Westminster for the former cabinet minister.

The survey found Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last week and said he would stand in any leadership race, on 4% as first choice. Starmer has continued to insist that he wants to lead Labour into the next general election, while allies have said the party should focus on governing rather than internal speculation.

STORY

UK employers cut hiring and posted fewer vacancies in April, according to official data that added to pressure on the Government over the state of the economy. Reuters reported that early payroll figures from HM Revenue and Customs showed a fall of 100,000 employees between March and April, the largest monthly drop since the early stages of the pandemic, though the Office for National Statistics said the estimate was likely to be revised.

The unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in the three months to March, while vacancies fell to their lowest level since early 2021. The ONS said lower-paying sectors including hospitality and retail had seen some of the largest falls in payroll numbers and vacancies over the latest period and across the year.

The figures come as ministers seek to demonstrate that the Government can deliver growth despite domestic political pressure and international economic uncertainty. Employers have warned that higher labour costs and employment law changes are affecting hiring plans, while the Government argues that its wider economic programme is designed to support investment and living standards.

STORY

Severn Trent has become the latest major employer to back the Government’s Youth Guarantee, pledging to create 400 employment opportunities for young people across the East and West Midlands. The Department for Work and Pensions said the roles would be created over three years and would include six-month paid work placements across the water industry.

The Government said 25 of the opportunities each year would be ringfenced for young people with experience of being in care. The scheme is intended to support 16 to 24-year-olds into work or training and forms part of a wider package of employment and skills measures.

Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith (in photo) visited Severn Trent’s training academy in Coventry to mark the announcement. Ministers said the partnership would also help address skills shortages in the water sector, where the Government said 35% of skilled jobs were currently going unfilled.

STORY

The Pensions Commission has warned that 15 million people in the UK are currently undersaving for retirement, with the number potentially rising to 19 million without action. Its interim report said low and middle earners, self-employed workers and women were among the groups most at risk of inadequate retirement income.

The Commission said automatic enrolment had brought millions more people into workplace pension saving, but that the system remained unfinished. It found that 45% of working-age adults were not saving into a pension at all, despite many being in work, and that only a small proportion of wholly self-employed people were saving for retirement.

Pensions Minister Torsten Bell said Britain had got back into the pension saving habit but that tomorrow’s pensioners were still on track to be poorer than today’s. The Commission will take evidence over the next year before publishing final recommendations in early 2027.