Rail firms unveil plans for mass closure of England’s ticket offices to ‘modernise’ railway
Gwyn Topham
Rail firms have announced plans for the mass closure of England’s ticket offices to “modernise” the railway, ramping up the battle with unions and infuriating disability and passenger groups.
The move, pushed by the government to save costs, was confirmed by the industry body, the Rail Delivery Group. Train operators told staff on Wednesday morning of proposals to shut down almost all of the 1,007 remaining offices, bar at the busiest stations, within three years.
The RDG said ticket office staff would move on to station platforms and concourses in “new and engaging roles”. However, many fear job losses, with any guarantees offered over compulsory redundancies in pay talks set to expire at the end of next year.
Labour has warned that “rushed” plans could worsen the “managed decline of our rail network”, while transport campaigners said it would put more vulnerable people off rail travel.
However, the industry argues that only 12% of tickets are now bought at offices, down from 82% in 1995, with moves continuing to expand contactless payments and online purchasing.
Key events
Closing summary
Rail firms have announced plans for the mass closure of England’s ticket offices to “modernise” the railway, ramping up the battle with unions and infuriating disability and passenger groups.
The move, pushed by the government to save costs, was confirmed by the industry body, the Rail Delivery Group. Train operators told staff on Wednesday morning of proposals to shut down almost all of the 1,007 remaining offices, bar at the busiest stations, within three years.
The RDG said ticket office staff would move on to station platforms and concourses in “new and engaging roles”. However, many fear job losses, with any guarantees offered over compulsory redundancies in pay talks set to expire at the end of next year.
The RMT union called it “a savage attack on railway workers, their families and the travelling public” and claimed operators had issued statutory redundancy notices affecting hundreds of staff.
Our other main stories today:
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Take care – JK
The Commons business and trade committee has written to Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa asking him to clarify remarks made by the supermarket’s chief commercial officer on fuel pricing, and fire-and-rehire tactics.
The chair of the cross-party committee, Darren Jones, wrote that MPs are “concerned about apparent discrepancies” between Kris Comerford’s evidence on fuel pricing and a Competition and Markets Authority market study published this week.
During his session in front of the committee, Comerford claimed that Asda’s fuel pricing strategy policy had not changed, but the CMA found “a significant weakening of competitive pricing” from Asda.
Asked if Asda were still using fire-and-rehire tactics – when an employer fires an employee and offers them a new, potentially less favourable contract – Comerford said they were “not something that Asda employs.”
However, letters from Asda and the GMB union also published today make the accuracy of this statement unclear. GMB told the ccommittee that Asda had issued the threat of using fire and rehire that Asda characterised as ‘dismiss and reengage’ as ‘a last resort’ in its own letter.
Jones has asked Issa to appear before the committee to discuss these concerns on 19 July.
Savills: 70% of central London properties sold this year bought with cash
Rupert Neate
More than 70% of “prime central London” properties sold so far this year have been bought entirely in cash, according to a report by estate agents Savills that fuels concerns that rich overseas buyers are snapping up properties at the expense of working Londoners.
A total of 71% of prime central London – an estate agent term for an area that stretches from Chelsea to Camden and Notting Hill to Westminster – have been bought mortgage-free in the seven months from January. That compares with about 35% for the UK as a whole.
It comes as soaring inflation has led the Bank of England to push interest rates to a 13-year high of 5%, which has in turn led banks to raise mortgage rates, making large home loans increasingly difficult to afford.
JPMorgan sees risk of 7% rates and ‘hard landing’
JPMorgan sees a risk that the Bank of England will have to raise interest rates as high as 7% and trigger a “hard landing” in the economy to bring inflation down.
JPMorgan economist Allan Monks says his central forecast is that rates will peak at 5.75% by November, but there is a risk that “elevated inflation expectations could require the Bank of England to take rates up to 7%”. Inflation unexpectedly rose to 7.9% in May, from 7.8% in April. Monks wrote in a note:
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We see 5.75% peak rates by November, but absent an adverse global growth shock, rates could go higher
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Delaying a necessary tightening risks more ultimately needing to be delivered…
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…as an increasingly domestic inflation problem risks becoming more entrenched
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We use two metrics to show how rates could reach 7% under some scenarios: A battle to control inflation expectations and delayed tightening is already pushing the bar higher
He added:
A break in behaviour, or hard landing, looks increasingly likely at some point over the next year if inflation is to be brought under control in the UK. The main question is whether the BoE will get some help from external sources in delivering this adjustment, or whether it will have to do all the heavy lifting itself.
Financial markets are currently pricing in a peak in interest rates of around 6.25% by March.
In other corporate news, the family-owned food giant Mars has struck a deal to buy Kevin’s Natural Foods, which makes sauces and entrée kits.
The American snackmaker is reportedly paying nearly $800m for the health food brand, Reuters reported. Shaid Shah, global president at Mars Food & Nutrition, said:
We are trying to deliver on a mission we have to enable more healthier and more flavourful diets for consumers worldwide, while Kevin’s is trying to empower the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavours.
Sarah Butler
Leicester City FC has been fined £880,000 by the UK’s competition watchdog after admitting restricting online sales of its football kit with JD Sports.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Leicester City and JD had both admitted that they broke competition law.
The companies had a deal in which JD agreed not to sell Leicester kit for the 2018-19 season and then said it would apply a delivery charge to all orders of Leicester City-branded clothing for the following two seasons in order not to undercut the club’s own online store. During that period JD was offering free online delivery for all orders of more than £70.
JD was not fined by the CMA as it reported the illegal conduct and admitted its participation.
Mark Sweney
Here is our full story on Crispin Odey:
The UK’s financial regulator is investigating whether Crispin Odey, the hedge fund manager facing allegations of sexual misconduct, is a “fit and proper person” to work in financial services.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has told MPs it was investigating claims that Odey, who was forced out of his firm Odey Asset Management (OAM) by its board last month, dismissed the firm’s executive committee “for an improper purpose”.
Rail firms have announced plans for the mass closure of England’s ticket offices amid opposition from rail unions and concern voiced by disability and passenger groups.
The move, pushed by the government to save costs, was confirmed by the industry body, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Train operators told staff on Wednesday morning of proposals to shut down almost all of the 1,007 remaining offices, except the busiest stations, within three years.
It is not yet known how many jobs will be lost, though the RDG said ticket office staff would move on to station platforms and concourses in “new and engaging roles”.
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A senior police officer has been appointed head of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the agency which investigates major cases of bribery and corruption.
Nick Ephgrave, who was an assistant commissioner at London’s police force, the Metropolitan Police Service, will replace Lisa Osofsky, who has led the SFO for the last five years. He will take up the job at the end of September.
Osofsky, a former US federal prosecutor, said:
As an experienced criminal justice leader, he will take forward our fight and help ensure we continue delivering for victims and the public.
The SFO has tackled some of Britain’s biggest fraud cases, including a recent high-profile case involving Swiss commodity trader Glencore. However, the agency has also been criticised in recent years over its resources and criminal disclosure rules.
Chip wars: how semiconductors became a flashpoint in the US-China relationship
As US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen heads to Beijing in an attempt to steady economic ties, high on the agenda will be how to navigate the growing chip war between China and the US.
Despite diplomatic overtures from both sides, the competition in advanced technology between the two superpowers shows no sign of letting up.
On Monday, Beijing set a hostile tone for Yellen’s trip as it set export restrictions on two minerals that the US says are essential to the production of semiconductors and other advanced technology. Chinese state media tabloid the Global Times said on Wednesday: “There’s no reason for China to continue exhausting its own mineral resources, only to be blocked from pursuing technological development…”.
The measures came as the Biden administration reportedly prepares to expand its own restrictions on the sale of advanced microchips to China.
What is the US worried about?
Washington’s concerns are twofold. The first is that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could surpass the US military in terms of overall power. The second is that it could use US technology to do so.
Rail firms unveil plans for mass closure of England’s ticket offices to ‘modernise’ railway
Gwyn Topham
Rail firms have announced plans for the mass closure of England’s ticket offices to “modernise” the railway, ramping up the battle with unions and infuriating disability and passenger groups.
The move, pushed by the government to save costs, was confirmed by the industry body, the Rail Delivery Group. Train operators told staff on Wednesday morning of proposals to shut down almost all of the 1,007 remaining offices, bar at the busiest stations, within three years.
The RDG said ticket office staff would move on to station platforms and concourses in “new and engaging roles”. However, many fear job losses, with any guarantees offered over compulsory redundancies in pay talks set to expire at the end of next year.
Labour has warned that “rushed” plans could worsen the “managed decline of our rail network”, while transport campaigners said it would put more vulnerable people off rail travel.
However, the industry argues that only 12% of tickets are now bought at offices, down from 82% in 1995, with moves continuing to expand contactless payments and online purchasing.
