United Kingdom

Clothes rental for children is one of the latest chapters in how “libraries of things” are becoming an increasingly common way to save money, space and waste. The theory is simple: instead of buying a household item or a piece of clothing or some equipment you might use once or twice, you take it out and return it.

The London-based Library of Things opened three new locations across the city this year and are planning two more. Co-founder Rebecca Trevalyan says their mission is to make “borrowing better than buying”.

“We really want to make rental go mainstream, make it more affordable, convenient and socially rewarding than buying something from Amazon,” she says.

There are many success stories of previous borrowers from her locations. One person hired a metal detector to hunt down the wedding ring they lost when camping in Sussex and found it within 20 minutes. Another rented a planer at £11 a day to fix two doors in her flat after being quoted £245 for a handyman to come in and do the three hour job.

In Wales, Benthyg Cymru runs a network of more than two dozen libraries across the country. And Edinburgh’s Tool Library has thousands of options to choose from. In Bath, you can book in a cargo bike delivery and collection to pick up your item from its Share and Repair shop.

All libraries have a selection of items that people may normally find too bulky, expensive or not useful enough to buy. Some are keen to try something to see if it’s worth the investment. The number one most popular thing to borrow is a carpet cleaner, followed by a cordless drill and a hand sander, according to Trevalyan.

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One in 10 people now chooses to rent rather than buy brand-new, a rising number since 2022, according to figures from Barclaycard Payments and economic analysts Development Economics.

Linda Weston, managing director of Barclaycard Payments, says the rising cost of living and a move towards more sustainable habits are shifting shopping habits. “Our data shows we’re increasingly opting to shop second-hand, or rent items for a short period of time, rather than buying outright. The trend is permeating a range of sectors, from childcare to pet care and from fashion to fitness.”

Full text archive link: https://archive.is/SDX09

Brewer will put £40mn annually into refurbishing its UK estate as pub groups regain confidence

Heineken is reopening 62 UK pubs it had closed in recent years and will put about £40mn annually into refurbishing its estate in the latest sign that pub groups are regaining confidence as cost of living pressures ease.

The move by the world’s second-largest brewer, which owns 2,400 pubs in the UK through its Star Pubs and Bars arm, will restore the number of operating outlets in its estate to pre-pandemic levels.

“Now is clearly a significant moment in terms of the resilience of pubs coming back and showing how they can still work very well for consumers up and down the country,” said Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs’ managing director.

Heineken, which leases out most of its pubs, has spent more than £200mn maintaining them over the past five years and plans to continue investing at a similar level.

This year it will put £39mn into the reopenings and makeovers across 94 outlets, mainly in suburban areas where more people work from home. The spending will include increasing kitchen space and improving gardens, as outdoor space has become more popular since the pandemic. A total of 612 pubs will benefit from investment.

“I would envision us investing at around those levels for the next four years or so,” Mountstevens said. Continued investment was Heineken’s “massive vote of confidence in the longevity of pubs in the UK”, he added.

Britain’s hostelries have been hard hit by the cost of living crisis; consumers are spending less money in pubs and bars than at any time since Covid lockdowns ended, according to recent research by Deloitte. Beer is one of the consumer goods they have particularly cut back on, FT research recently found.

Rising operating costs and financing challenges have also affected the sector. But the bullishness of Star Pubs is the latest sign that large players in the industry are shifting to the offensive. The pub sector expects improvements in trading and financing this year.

Greene King announced last week that it would invest £40mn in a new brewery in Bury St Edmunds, with plans for this to replace the existing brewery there in 2027. Punch Pubs announced last week that it had acquired 24 pubs from the Milton Three pub group, which fell into administration in November. The deal is believed to be worth about £15mn.

“Consumer confidence is beginning to return, which is reflected in the tentative signs of an uplift in pub sales,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, the industry body. “Investors are making big investments into the UK in our sector and confidence in the beer and pub sector for the long-term is strong.”

The UK has 45,300 pubs but 530 of them shut their doors last year, according to the BBPA. The number of closures was higher than even the height of the pandemic in both 2020 and 2021 when the government provided support.

Peel Hunt analyst Douglas Jack warned that borrowing costs still remained high for many private companies but added: “Confidence is improving as real disposable income is growing and interest rates are forecast to fall.”

10 years without an increase in funding for SEND pupils is outrageous. Austerity is very much alive and well.

The recent stopkillinggames campaign has been my first exposure to UK petitions.

Link to petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/659071
Link to campaign: stopkillinggames.com
Link to the campaigner’s video

Update: Link to the campaigner’s video on the response

The timing of the announcement on the Rwanda scheme, which is estimated to cost more than £500m over five years, has prompted scorn Labour.

A party source said: “Is there any more blatant sign that [former immigration minister Robert] Jenrick was right about this all being symbolic before an election than this mad flurry of stories?

“The core substance though hasn’t changed. This is a tiny scheme at an extortionate cost and the criminal gangs will see through this con.”

Downing Street categorically denied this. The prime minister’s press secretary said: “From our part there isn’t really a day to lose when people are dying in the Channel having been induced into boats by gangs.

Cross posted from: https://feddit.de/post/11646748

Belgium reportedly denied Ahmed Alhashimi asylum by arguing that Basra, his hometown in Iraq, was classified as a safe area. He said his children spent the last seven years staying with a relative in Sweden, but that he was recently informed that they would be deported, with him, to Iraq.

"If I knew there was a 1% chance that I could keep the kids in Belgium or France or Sweden or Finland I would keep them there. All I wanted was for my kids to go to school. I didn't want any assistance. My wife and I can work. I just wanted to protect them and their childhoods and their dignity," he continued.

Eva Jonsson, Sara's teacher in Uddevalla, Sweden, described the seven-year-old as "kind and nice".

"She had a lot of friends in the school. They played together all the time… In February we heard she would be deported and that it would happen quickly. We had two days' notice," she said.

After learning of her death, the class gathered in a circle and held a minute's silence.

"It's very unfortunate that it happens to such a nice family. I have taught [other] children in that family, and I was really shocked about the deportation," said the teacher.

"We have Sara's picture in front of us still, and we will keep it there as long as the children want."

(They were on bail, but have now been charged)