Dr Martens chief to exit as shares hit record low after profit warning

Julia Kollewe
Tue, 16 April 2024

Dr Martens issued four profit warnings last year.Photograph: Dr Martens/PA

Shares in Dr Martens plummeted to a new low as the UK bootmaker warned on profits and poor performance in the US, and announced the departure of its chief executive.

The brand, known for its yellow-stitched thick-soled boots, warned sales would fall by a single-digit percentage in the year to the end of March 2025, compared with a year earlier. Profit before tax could be just a third of last year’s £159m in a worst-case scenario.

It was the latest in a string of profit warnings at the brand, which issued four last year, and prompted the shares to plunge by a third on Tuesday to a record low of 62p.

The company expects US wholesale revenues (for shoes sold via other retailers in their stores) to fall in double digits, explaining that its autumn/winter order book, which makes up most of the second half of its US sales, is significantly down year on year. This will result in a £20m hit to pre-tax profits, with a further £35m hit from cost pressures, including wage bills.

“We do not anticipate increasing prices further this year, and therefore this year we are unable to offset cost inflation as we have in prior years,” Dr Martens said.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said the warning was not a surprise, “but the scale of the impact is much greater than feared”.

The chief executive, Kenny Wilson, who has spent six years at the helm, is to leave at the end of the financial year and will be replaced by Ije Nwokorie, who has served as chief brand officer in the past year, and previously worked as a senior director at Apple Retail.

Wilson described the outlook as “challenging”, adding: “The whole organisation is focused on our action plan to reignite boots demand, particularly in the US, our largest market. The nature of US wholesale is that when customers gain confidence in the market we will see a significant improvement in our business performance, but we are not assuming that this occurs in the [current] financial year.”

The boots were first created in 1945 by a young German army doctor, Klaus Märtens, who designed an air-cushioned sole to help his recovery from a broken foot. They made their debut in Britain in 1960 when a Northamptonshire footwear maker started producing them. Their sturdy design made them popular among postal delivery workers and factory staff, and was later embraced by skinheads and punks. These days, Dr Martens is a mainstream bootmaker.

Dr. Martens names new chief executive amid sales slump in the US

Laura McGuire
Tue, 16 April 2024 

An activist investor in boot brand Dr Martens has urged the company to undergo a strategic review and possibly even sell the company.

Dr Martens will see a change at the top as it looks to turn the tide on a miserable couple of years.

Aberdonian Kenny Wilson will step away from the top job after six years to be replaced by the iconic shoe manufacturer’s chief brand officer Ije Nwokorie.

Wilson’s tenure began with a bang, taking the shoe manufacturer public in early 2021 with a near £4bn valuation.

However, operations issues at an LA distribution centre and then weak consumer demand in the States took their toll on the share price, which now sits at around a fifth of the offer price.

Though the share price has slipped, revenues have spiked under Wilson, doubling the numbers of pairs sold during his tenure.

PICTURED: New CEO Ije Nwokorie:

Wilson said the time had come to step away.


“Dr. Martens is an incredible brand powered by our fantastic people. After six years in the role, I feel that the time is right to hand over this year, and I am excited that Ije will be my successor. I have enjoyed working with Ije, both as a Board member and in the executive leadership team in recent months, and I have seen his brand knowledge and passion first-hand. I look forward to working with him closely in the year ahead.”

In a separate announcement, Dr Martens said it was trading in line with expectations but was continuing to be weighed down by lagging sales in its US market.

The iconic shoe maker said for the year ahead USA wholesale revenue is anticipated to be double-digit down year-on-year.

Dr Martens said: “We have recently finalised the Autumn/Winter order book, which makes up the majority of the second half of USA wholesale, and this is significantly down year-on-year.”

The firm said a decline in wholesale has a significant impact on profitability, and could result in £20m hit on profit-before-tax.

America is one of the business biggest markets but it faced a number of challenges in the region, including the hangover from bottleneck issues in its Los Angeles warehouse.

Dr Martens said: “Given the ongoing challenging performance of our USA wholesale business, we expect to continue to require the additional inventory storage facilities in this market through FY25, and therefore the majority of the £15m of additional costs incurred in FY24 are expected to repeat in FY25.”

FY24 results expected to be in line with guidance with profit before tax reaching of £97.4m

It comes after an investment firm, which owns roughly five million shares of Dr Martens, wrote to the board last month and suggested the company would perform better as a private company or as part of a larger, multi-brand holding company.

New York based Marathon Partners Equity Management, LLC argued the company’s stagnant growth and 83 per cent slide in share price since its IPO three years ago have not valued the company at its true worth.

Shares in Dr Martens are down 26 per cent in early trade.

Incoming Bank of England deputy governor rejects calls to scrap OBR

Henry Saker-Clark, 

PA Deputy Business Editor
Tue, 16 April 2024 


The incoming deputy governor of the Bank of England has rejected calls for the UK’s fiscal watchdog to be scrapped and stressed there is “widespread support” for the central bank.

However, Clare Lombardelli, who will join the Bank in July, said she hopes for a shake-up over forecasting at the Bank of England after criticisms in last week’s Bernanke review.

Ms Lombardelli, who will take over from Ben Broadbent, made the comments amid questions from Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee.

It came days after former prime minister Liz Truss said Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey should resign over his response to the 2022 mini budget which triggered market turmoil, and said she wants to “see the back” of the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) watchdog.

Ms Lombardelli told MPs on the committee she believes there is “widespread support” for the structure of the Bank of England and the Governor.

She also provided her backing to the OBR, the Government’s official forecaster, describing herself as a “big fan” of the institution, having seen its economic assessments while working in the Treasury.

“It’s very valuable to have that independent expert judgment on fiscal policy,” she added.

The session also came less than a week after a report by former US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke found that models that the Bank of England uses to make economic forecasts had “significant shortcomings”.

Mr Bernanke also found that Bank staff were using “out-of-date” software which had not been properly maintained.

Ms Lombardelli stressed that here will be “a shake-up in response” to the findings in the report.

The deputy governor was also asked about when interest rates – which reman at 15-year high of 5.25% – will next be reduced.

“I’m not going to put a date on when I expect the UK to start to process of loosening monetary policy but is clearly the direction of travel, certainly for European economies,” she said.

UK unemployment rate leaps to 4.2% amid fears of job cuts


Phillip Inman
Tue, 16 April 2024 

The unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in February, well above the 4% expected by City economists.Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters

The number of people out of work rose by more than expected in February, raising concerns that employers are beginning to lay off staff in response to high interest rates.

The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in February from 3.9%, well above the 4% expected by City economists.

Analysts said the cooling effects of higher interest rates were leading to more redundancies and discouraging employers from hiring staff.

Related: UK unemployment is rising – and there are worrying signs

Despite rising unemployment, regular pay growth excluding bonuses was stronger than expected at 6% in the three months to February, underlining the dilemma facing the Bank of England over when to start cutting interest rates. Pay growth of 6% was down from 6.1%, but stronger than the 5.8% expected by economists polled by Reuters. Total pay growth, which includes bonuses, was unchanged at 5.6%.
Interactive

Yael Selfin, the chief economist at KPMG UK, said that overall the latest ONS data suggested the Bank would be on track for a summer cut in interest rates.

“The slight easing in regular pay growth will bring some comfort for the Bank of England which has relied on the pay data as a key gauge of domestic inflationary pressure,” she added.

“Moreover, the rise in unemployment rate paints a picture of a less tight labour market. The exact timing of the first rate cut will be a hot debate for the monetary policy committee in the coming months.”

The hospitality sector handed workers an average 8.4% pay raise and City workers secured an 8.1% increase.

When falling headline inflation rates were taken into account, real wages rose at the fastest pace in two and a half years.

Real total pay growth adjusted for consumer price inflation was 1.8%, while real regular pay grew by 2.1% – both were last higher in July to September 2021.

Much of the boost to wages in low-paid sectors such as hospitality came from April’s 9.8% rise in the national minimum wage to £11.44 an hour.

The National Institute for Economic and Social Research said the increase “may keep wage growth elevated” for much of the year.

“Although this is good news for employees the persistence of high wage growth together with the minimum wage hike means inflation may be stickier than previously thought, leading the Bank of England to remain cautious against an early rate cut,” the thinktank said.

Some of the highest-paying sectors were among those to see the biggest falls in pay growth. Employees in professional, scientific and communications roles were at the bottom of the pay league, after an average median salary rise of 3% in the year to February. IT workers had an average 4% pay rise over the same period.

The inactivity rate, which measures the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 who are not working and not seeking or available to work, also increased in February as workers continued to leave the jobs market due to ill-health.

Bank of England officials have said the rising inactivity rate is a worry as it reduces the workforce and forces employers to pay higher wages, pushing up costs and inflation.

There are about 850,000 additional jobless working-age people than before the pandemic began because they are no longer seeking roles or are unable to start.

Economists believe the rise was driven primarily by higher levels of long-term sickness among younger and older workers.

“Today’s jobs figures are surprisingly poor, with a steep fall in employment and a sharp rise in those out of work, including an unexpected rise in unemployment,” Tony Wilson, the director at the Institute for Employment Studies, said.

“However, most concerning is the rise in economic inactivity, which is the measure of those not in work but not looking for work, which is even higher now than it was in the depths of the pandemic.”

Ben Harrison, the director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said the UK workforce was “sicker and poorer”, and “an international outlier”.

A record 2.82 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness. Between December 2019 and February 2020 717,000 people had become economically inactive due to ill health, Harrrison said, “and the tide is not turning”.

Red flags: Recruiter Hays the latest to sound alarm on 2024 economy

Elliot Gulliver-Needham
Tue, 16 April 2024

Total fees brought in by Hays dropped 17 per cent compared to last year, the firm revealed in a trading statement for the first three months of the year.

Hays became the second recruiter in as many days to sound the alarm on the hiring market and the state of the global economy this morning, with fees crashing across the world.

The update comes just a day after a similarly downbeat assessment by headhunter peer Pagegroup.

Total fees brought in by Hays dropped 17 per cent compared to last year, the firm revealed in a trading statement for the first three months of the year.

The drop-off was especially bad in Australia and New Zealand, where revenue fell 29 per cent versus a year ago.

However, in the UK and Ireland figures were still dire, with fees declining by 16 per cent. This was also a comparable decline to Germany.

Most regions traded broadly in line with the overall UK business, apart from the Scotland and South West & Wales, which were down 26 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

London, the group’s largest region, fell by 18 per cent, while Ireland only saw fees drop by 11 per cent.

Hays saw a greater drop in fees from its permanent segment, which saw fees drop 21 per cent, while temporary positions only declined by 14 per cent.

All big recruiters noted a marked slowdown in activity in 2023, with Hays citing a weak December and a poor finish to the end of last year, so it is unsurprising to see the trend continue.

The group saw a two per cent improvement in consultant productivity throughout the quarter, while group consultant headcount decreased by six per cent throughout the quarter and by 16 per cent compared to the start of last year.

Recruiters are often bellwethers for the state of the wider economy.

Hays’ chief executive Dirk Hahn only began in the role from previous CEO Alistair Cox on 1 September 2023, leaving him to cope with a challenging start.

Hahn described market conditions as “challenging throughout the quarter“, and the company said that it expected near-term market conditions to remain challenging “but broadly stable.

“While economic uncertainties remain, we have a strong and clear strategy and will continue to build a more resilient business through greater focus, increased operational rigour and strong cost management,” the CEO added.

“As set out at our H1 results, we are firmly focused on targeting the many structural growth opportunities we see and, over time, rebuilding our conversion rate.”

UK households face second year without improved living standards, says IMF

Larry Elliott 

Economics editor

THE GUARDIAN
Tue, 16 April 2024 

The IMF said the cost of living crisis would not be over until 2025.

Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

Britain’s households will endure a second year without an improvement in their living standards in 2024 as the effects of high inflation take time to abate, the International Monetary Fund has revealed.

In its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO), the Washington-based IMF said it was forecasting modest 0.5% UK growth this year – but only as a result of a rising population.

Growth per head – one of the key measures of living standards – is expected to remain flat this year after a 0.3% drop in 2023.

Related: Central banks must resist pressure for early rate cuts, says IMF head

The IMF said there would be a pick-up in the economy as 2024 wore on – something the government is banking on to reduce its opinion poll deficit with Labour – but it would not be until 2025 that the cost of living crisis would be over.

Although official figures due out on Wednesday are expected to show a fall in the UK’s annual inflation rate to about 3%, the IMF believes the Bank of England will be cautious about cutting interest rates, and has pencilled in only two 0.25 percentage point cuts in official borrowing costs this year.

The tightness of the UK’s labour market – dating back to before the arrival of Covid – might explain why inflation had been higher than in the US or eurozone after the onset of the pandemic, it said. “Growth in the UK is projected to rise from an estimated 0.1% in 2023 to 0.5% in 2024, as the lagged negative effects of high energy prices wane, then to 1.5% in 2025, as disinflation allows financial conditions to ease and real incomes to recover.”Interactive

Overall, the WEO found a marked divergence between the faster-growing US and the sluggish performance of the UK and other European economies.

While the US is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2024, the eurozone is predicted to expand by 0.8%. Germany is on course to be the slowest growing member of the G7 group of big developed nations, with the IMF projecting growth of 0.2%. France and Italy are expected to grow by 0.7%, Japan by 0.9% and Canada by 1.2%.Interactive

As in the UK, the IMF says growth will be weaker across much of the G7 once population changes are taken into account. US per capita growth is projected to be 2.1%, Germany 0.1%, France 0.5%, Italy 0.8%, Japan 1.3% and Canada -1.1%.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s economic counsellor, said the US overperformance relative to other rich countries might not last, since it was in part due to unsustainable tax and spending policies by the federal government.

“The exceptional recent performance of the United States is certainly impressive and a major driver of global growth, but it reflects strong demand factors as well, including a fiscal stance that is out of line with long-term fiscal sustainability,” he said.

“This raises short-term risks to the disinflation process, as well as longer-term fiscal and financial stability risks for the global economy since it risks pushing up global funding costs. Something will have to give.”

Gourinchas said growth in the eurozone would pick up from “very low levels” during 2024, while China was being held back by the downturn in its property sector.

World output is expected to grow by 3.2% in both 2024 and 2025 – unchanged on 2023. “The global economy remains remarkably resilient, with growth holding steady as inflation returns to target,” Gourinchas said.

The half-yearly WEO was completed before last weekend’s attacks on Israel by Iran, but the report stressed a broader Middle East conflict was one of the downside risks to its forecasts. “The conflict in Gaza and Israel could escalate further into the wider region. Continued attacks in the Red Sea and the ongoing war in Ukraine risk generating additional supply shocks adverse to the global recovery, with spikes in food, energy, and transportation costs,” it said.

The UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said: “The IMF’s figures today show that the UK economy is turning a corner. Inflation in 2024 is predicted to be 1.2% lower than before, and over the next six years we are projected to grow faster than large European economies such as Germany or France – both of which have had significantly larger downgrades to short-term growth than the UK.”

PwC to investigate ‘false allegations’ over collapse of Chinese property titan

Adam Mawardi
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Evergrande

PwC is planning to investigate an anonymous letter containing “false allegations” over how the firm “turned a blind eye” to its audit of Chinese property giant Evergrande.

The Big Four accountancy firm has rejected accusations that senior figures committed failures while auditing the world’s most indebted property developer, which filed for bankruptcy last year.

The letter, written in Chinese and entitled “Who brought PwC into the fire pit of Evergrande?”, claims to have been signed by some unnamed partners at the firm.

PwC Hong Kong said: “We believe the letter contains inaccurate statements and false allegations concerning PwC and certain of our partners. The inaccurate statements and false allegations could tarnish PwC’s reputation and infringe our legal rights.”

“Our firm is treating this incident with high priority and is taking a series of appropriate measures and will fully investigate this matter.”

PwC Hong Kong said it has reported the incident to the relevant authorities.

The anonymous letter claimed that the Chinese property giant’s financial fraud was so serious that PwC “turned a blind eye” to its audit for more than a decade.

It also accused certain senior partners at PwC of refusing to participate in regulatory inspections by Hong Kong and US regulators.

The open letter urged PwC to hire independent experts to review the firm’s governance, culture and accountability.

The anonymous authors purportedly warned they will release a second open letter and relevant audit documents if there is retaliation against any PwC partner.

The Telegraph is unable to verify who wrote the letter and its claims.

It comes after Evergrande was accused last month of fraudulently inflating its revenues by 560bn yuan (£62bn) in the years leading up to its collapse in 2021.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission fined Evergrande 4.175bn yuan (£456m) and its founder, Hui Ka Yan, 47m yuan (£5.1m). Mr Hui was also given a lifetime ban from participating in China’s stock markets.

The anonymous letter comes weeks after reports that Chinese authorities are now scrutinising PwC’s role in the alleged accounting fraud.

Chinese officials are reportedly in contact with some former PwC accountants who audited Evergrande, although no decision has been made on whether to penalise PwC, Bloomberg reported.

PwC declined to comment on the investigation by Chinese authorities.

PwC resigned as Evergrande’s auditor last year following disagreements relating to the developer’s 2021 accounts.

It joined the list of international auditors resigning from heavily indebted Chinese property developers amid concerns over hidden debts.

In January, Evergrande was handed a winding-up order by a Hong Kong court after repeatedly failing to devise a plan to restructure its debts since officially defaulting in 2021.

The Guangzhou-based developer has become a symbol of China’s property crisis, with more than $300bn owed to banks and bondholders.


PwC Hong Kong denies claims about China Evergrande audits in anonymous letter


Ben Lucas
Tue, 16 April 2024 

The Big Four firm has come under scrutiny after Chinese authorities launched one the biggest-ever fraud investigations into Evergrande. (Photo by Getty Images)

PwC Hong Kong has denied claims set out in an anonymous letter circulating on Chinese social media about its audit work for property developer China Evergrande Group.

The letter, according to multiple reports, detailed several allegations of auditing failures by the firm. Many of the reports said they were unable to verify the authenticity of the letter.

PwC Hong Kong said it was aware of the letter, which was purportedly authored by individuals claiming to be partners at the firm, and was investigating the matter.

“We believe the letter contains inaccurate statements and false allegations” concerning PwC and its partners, the firm said in a statement on its website, adding that these allegations “could tarnish PwC’s reputation and infringe our legal rights”.


“We have promptly reported this matter to the relevant authorities and reserve our right to pursue appropriate action,” the firm said.

The Big Four firm has come under scrutiny after Chinese authorities launched one the biggest-ever fraud investigations into Evergrande.

The developer and its founder, Hui Ka Yan, have been accused of inflating its revenue by $78bn (£61.6bn) in the years before the firm defaulted on its debts.

Following an investigation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission last month fined Evergrande’s mainland business, Heganda Real Estate, and its founder, Hui Ka Yan, $580m and $6.5m respectively following the investigation. It also banned Hui from China’s markets for life.

Evergrande and PwC have also been under investigation by Hong Kong’s audit regulator since 2021, while Bloomberg reported last month that mainland Chinese authorities are also investigating PwC’s potential role in Evergrande’s accounting practices. PwC formally resigned as Evergande’s auditor in January last year following disagreements over matters related to the company’s 2021 accounts.

Facebook’s ‘Supreme Court’ investigates deepfake nudes after Taylor Swift controversy


Matthew Field
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Fake explicit images of Taylor Swift on X in January sparked concern over online misogyny and abuse - Allison Dinner/Shutterstock

Meta’s oversight board is investigating the spread of deepfake nude pictures of women and celebrities on Instagram and Facebook, weeks after explicit fake images of singer Taylor Swift went viral on social media.

The oversight board, which reviews moderation decisions and has been likened to Facebook’s “Supreme Court”, is examining two incidents where images of naked women generated by artificial intelligence were reported on Meta’s platform.

One incident involved a synthetic nude image of a public figure from India on Instagram. The second centred around an “AI-generated image of a nude woman with a man groping her breast”. The woman resembled an unnamed American celebrity, with the board declining to provide details on who the person in question was when asked.

While not mentioning Ms Swift, the investigation comes after explicit fake pictures of the singer spread rapidly across Facebook, Instagram and X in January, prompting an outcry about online misogyny and abuse directed at women.

The controversy reached the White House, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declaring the spread of deepfake nudes of the singer “very alarming”.

The oversight board said it would investigate the effectiveness of Meta’s enforcement practices, as well as “the nature and gravity of harms posed by deepfake pornography including how those harms affect women, especially women who are public figures”.

The deepfakes of Ms Swift also sparked concerns that AI tools will be misused on a grand scale to create huge volumes of deepfake pornography. Fake images of celebrities have also been used to promote scams on social networks.

The oversight board said it was investigating “whether Meta’s policies and its enforcement practices are effective at addressing explicit AI-generated imagery”.

The picture from India was not reviewed within 48 hours and remained online until it was appealed to the board, before Meta ultimately decided to take the picture down.

The deepfake of the US celebrity was blocked under Meta’s bullying and harassment policy, specifically its rules on “derogatory sexualised photoshop or drawings”. The user who posted the image has since appealed for a review.

Meta has a policy of labelling images uploaded to Instagram or Facebook, in some cases automatically, if it detects the image is made with AI.

Launched in 2020, Meta’s oversight board has reviewed thorny moderation decisions made by the technology giant, such as its decision to ban former US President Donald Trump.

The 22-person board features figures such as former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former prime minister of Denmark.

Some critics have raised questions over its impact, and its decisions are not binding on the tech giant.

Seeing fake porn of myself ‘shocking’, says AOC as she launches AI bill

Last-minute deal saves Britain’s biggest train factory from closure

Christopher Jasper
Tue, 16 April 2024 


Alstom had earlier told unions that a redundancy process for 1,200 staff had to be restarted - Asadour Guzelian/Guzelian

Britain’s biggest train factory is to be saved from closure following crisis talks, after Transport Secretary Mark Harper agreed to sign off on a vital new order.

Alstom’s plant in Derby, which employs 3,000 people and completed its last remaining trains in March, is set to be awarded a deal for 10 new commuter units after crunch discussions between Mr Harper and the French company’s boss Henri Poupart-Lafarge.

The new work will commence in the first half of 2025 and cover a gap in activity before the Derby plant begins construction of a fleet of express trains for the HS2 line in mid-2026.

The drought period threatened the factory’s viability and Alstom told unions earlier in April that a redundancy process for the 1,200 blue-collar staff had to be restarted.


Mr Poupart-Lafarge travelled to London on April 16 to impress the seriousness of the situation upon Mr Harper, a source said. The breakthrough was reached when the Government agreed to finance an extra five trains for the Elizabeth Line in addition to five others that had already secured outline funding from the Treasury.

Earlier talks with the Department for Transport failed to result in any new orders.

Mark Harper agreed to sign off on a vital new order - 

Andy Rain/Shutterstock

Mr Harper has now agreed to finance the construction of Aventra trains, featuring a total of 90 railcars, sources close to the talks said. Transport for London, which oversees the Elizabeth Line and will own the new trains, still needs to present a formal business case for the purchase, though that process is not expected to pose significant hurdles, the sources said.

Alstom’s entire Litchurch Lane factory in Derby had faced closure following the completion of final testing work in four or five months, a step that would have thrown the HS2 programme into chaos and made Britain the only G7 country without a combined train design and manufacturing capability.

An Alstom spokesman said: “The parties have agreed to conclude discussions as soon as possible and no later than the end of May. This could help secure the future of the Litchurch Lane site.”

Mr Harper said in a social media post that he’d had a “constructive meeting” with Alstom on the future of train manufacturing in the UK and that intensive discussions will continue with the aim of finalising the accord.

In a letter to MPs with constituencies in the Derby area, Mr Harper said that the onus is on the French firm to provide competitive pricing and transparency on costings to ensure swift closure of the contract. He has asked Alstom for written confirmation that it will invest in Litchurch Lane and make it a hub for design and production.

Alstom would move some other work to Litchurch Lane to help sustain jobs until the start of the new contract. The factory, which traces its history back more than 140 years, helps support 15,000 jobs in the supply chain and contributes about £1bn annually to GDP.

The future of Hitachi’s train plant in County Durham remains uncertain as it prepares to complete manufacturing work on its last orders over the summer. The site at Newton Aycliffe is scheduled to build HS2 trains from the second half of next year before they’re sent to Alstom for completion, but currently lacks work to see it through to that point.

‘World’s most advanced robot’ to be exhibited in Scotland


Sarah Ward, PA Scotland
Tue, 16 April 2024 

A humanoid robot described as the most advanced in the world will be showcased in Scotland.

The National Robotarium, the UK’s centre for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) based at Heriot-Watt University in partnership with The University of Edinburgh, has purchased the robot, named Ameca, from Engineered Arts.

Ameca is described as able “to interact with people in a natural and engaging way”, and facial expressions include “playful” and “pondering”.

Ameca, the humanoid robot, has a range of facial expressions along with embedded microphones and cameras (National Robotarium/PA)

The acquisition is a bid to “demystify complex technologies and foster a greater understanding of the potential benefits of robotics”, and AI.

The robot has embedded microphones, cameras, facial recognition software and articulated motorised components.

The National Robotarium hopes to break down barriers and build trust between humans and robots by exhibiting Ameca in schools and workshops to provide opportunities for people of all ages to interact directly with the robot and learn about the latest advancements in robotics and AI.

The robotarium aims to introduce Ameca as part of its public engagement initiatives by summer.

The facility is supported by £21 million from the UK Government and £1.4 million from the Scottish Government in a bid to turn Edinburgh into the data capital of Europe.

Researchers will also use Ameca to study public perceptions and attitudes towards humanoid robots, gathering valuable insights to inform the development of future technologies that prioritise trust, transparency and user-friendliness.

Steve Maclaren, chief operating officer at the National Robotarium, said: “The arrival of Ameca at the National Robotarium marks a significant step forward in our mission to make robotics more accessible and relatable to the people of Scotland, the UK and beyond.

“Since opening our doors in September 2022, we’ve successfully hosted more than 100 in-person and virtual events and engaged thousands of school-aged children.

“Ameca represents an exciting opportunity to build on that success and take public engagement to the next level.

“By giving people the chance to interact with this state-of-the-art humanoid robot first hand, we aim to demystify robotics, foster trust in human-robot interaction, and showcase the remarkable potential of these technologies to improve our daily lives and benefit society as a whole.”

Will Jackson, founder and chief executive of Engineered Arts Ltd, said: “We are incredibly proud to have Ameca join the many preeminent robots at The National Robotarium.

“Meeting an AI-embodied humanoid robot is a unique experience that very few people have witnessed and we are very excited to be able to share what can be a profound moment with a wider audience.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for AMECA 

Ban smacking children in England and Northern Ireland, say doctors


Denis Campbell

 Health policy editor

The Guardian
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Smacking children made them much more likely to suffer poor mental health, do badly at school and be physically assaulted or abused, the college said.

Photograph: Mark Waugh/Alamy

Parents in England and Northern Ireland should be banned from smacking their children because doing so is unjust, dangerous and harmful, leading doctors have urged ministers.

It was “a scandal” that Scotland and Wales had outlawed smacking but not the other two home nations, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said on Wednesday.

Smacking children made them much more likely to suffer poor mental health, do badly at school and be physically assaulted or abused, it added, condemning the practice as “a complete violation of children’s rights”.

It said parents in England and Northern Ireland should no longer be able to claim that hitting their child was “reasonable punishment”, as was allowed under the current law.

The paediatricians want the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, to change the law before the general election expected later this year. All political parties should include a commitment to do so in their election manifestos, they added.

“The laws around physical punishment as they stand are unjust and dangerously vague,” said Prof Andrew Rowland, a consultant paediatrician, who is the college’s officer for child protection. “They create a grey area in which some forms of physical punishment may be lawful and some are not.”

The vagueness created by the “lack of legislative clarity … makes it extremely challenging to talk to families about what the rules are on physical punishment of children, thus making it more difficult to talk about the best interests of their children”, he added.

Rowland said that he saw children “sometimes once a week” at his clinics in Manchester who had been hit by a parent.

“I see children who have been physically punished with a smack or a slap [or] sometimes with an implement. They can be hit on their leg, arm, back or bottom.

“I’ve seen children who have been hit with a belt or blunt implement from the kitchen, like a spoon, or cables from a phone or laptop charger that’s been used as a whip. That can leave a child needing medical attention for an injury such as a bruise, open wound or even a fracture.

“I’ve seen this happen to children aged two to 18. This is wrong for all children, no matter what the circumstances, and it leaves them upset, angry and confused. It shouldn’t happen.”

Bess Herbert, an advocacy specialist at the campaign group End Corporal Punishment, said “hundreds of studies” had found that, besides physical and mental harm, the damage from being smacked could include poorer cognitive development, a higher risk of dropping out of school, increased aggression and perpetrating violence and antisocial behaviour as adults.

Sixty-five countries had banned smacking and 27 others had committed to doing the same, Rowland said. “England and Northern Ireland are out of step, internationally speaking.”

The NSPCC backed the college’s call. “All children deserve the same protection from assaults as adults,” said Joanna Barrett, the charity’s associate head of policy.

“In England and Northern Ireland, children continue to be exposed to a legal loophole that can undermine their basic right to protection under the guise of ‘reasonable chastisement’,” Barrett said.

“Hitting a child can have harmful and lasting consequences. We know from Childline that physical punishment can impact a child’s mental and emotional health and damage the relationship between parent and child.”

Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, did not express a definitive view on the issue when she answered questions from MPs on the Commons education committee at her confirmation hearing in December 2020.

However, she indicated to Times Radio in April 2022 that she wanted ministers to consider banning smacking. “I absolutely abhor, and I’m against, violence of any kind against children,” she said.

“Because children are more vulnerable than adults, I think we do need to ensure that their rights are supported.”

The Guardian has approached the Department for Education for comment.

'Social inequalities' pushing disproportionate number of children into care in north of England, new report finds

Sky News
Updated Tue, 16 April 2024



One in every 52 children in Blackpool is in care compared with one in 140 across England, according to new analysis which researchers said exposes "deeply rooted social inequalities".

The report also found the North of England accounts for just over a quarter (28%) of the child population, but more than a third (36%) of the children in care, the analysis by the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said.

Professor David Taylor, the co-author of the report, said the findings reflect a "doom loop", with poverty pushing children into the care system at an additional cost to local and national government.


He said: "Cuts to prevention services, things like Sure Start, family support, investment in youth services have been cut, particularly in the areas where they're needed most.

"In those places poverty has gone up, that's increased the number of children in the care system and it's putting incredible pressure on health and care systems."

The report was researched and funded by Health Equity North - an organisation focused on finding solutions to public health problems and health inequalities across the North of England. It used existing data including official statistics and academic studies.

The analysis also suggested the higher rates of children entering care are estimated to have cost the North at least £25bn more in the past four years.

In the light of the report's findings, APPG members and the report authors have made a number of recommendations, including policies to reduce child poverty such as scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap, as well as more investment in prevention strategies such as targeting additional investment in the North.

'A part of you ripped away'

One person who has benefited from this type of grassroots support, is Kirsty, a mother from Newcastle.

She became a mum at the age of 17. Her daughter was taken into care twice, in moments she described as "tragic".

"I've been through a lot in my life, but losing a child is the most traumatic, unexplainable feeling that I could ever imagine," she said.

"It's like having a part of you ripped away, then not understanding and not feeling good enough."

Kirsty previously struggled with a drug addiction and had been a victim of domestic abuse.

She was also previously homeless before eventually joining a narcotics anonymous group, and later being supported by Reform UK, an organisation in the area aimed at improving the outcomes of mothers at risk of child removal.

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Their work involves creating a "sisterhood" in the form of a safe space aimed at allowing women to share their experiences and finding them the right support for issues like addiction, domestic abuse and homelessness.

Reform's chief executive Amy Van Zyl feels the social care system needs to be better equipped and better funded to help people with complex needs.

She said: "Women who come to our service don't have friends and loved ones. What they gain when they come into our service is friends and loved ones, we can then signpost them to services."

Kirsty, who is speaking about her experiences at an event in Parliament on Wednesday, feels she could have benefited from early intervention.

She said: "If there was anything like Reform back then or anywhere else it would have made a massive difference.

"Because I felt like I was the only person, I felt like I not only failed me but I failed my family and I brought shame on everyone because I wasn't able to look after my child and that wasn't the case.

"All of the reports that were done by social services said that I was a good mum, and that I was really good with my daughter. It was just my lifestyle. I didn't have accommodation and my drug use and all that stuff could have been helped. It's curable."

In response to the report, a Department for Education spokesperson said: "Early intervention is at the core of our ambitious children's social care reforms - including a £45m investment in pilot areas across the UK to help us shape a future system where we provide families with the right support at the right time, delivered by the right people.

"For those leaving care, we are investing £250m over three years to help them succeed - providing housing, access to education, employment, and training."

One in 52 Blackpool children in care as poverty soars in north of England

Robyn Vinter 

North of England correspondent

THE GUARDIAN
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Blackpool (pictured) and Hartlepool had the highest rate of children in care.Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

One in every 52 children in Blackpool are in care compared with one in 140 across England, leading to calls for more to be done to urgently tackle the widening north-south divide, brought on by “decades of underinvestment”.

Nine in every thousand children are in care in the north, compared with six in the rest of England, according to a report by Health Equity North.

A total of £25bn of public money would have been saved between 2019 and 2023 if the north had the same care entry rates as the south, the report’s authors said.

Child poverty was the main factor in the disproportionate figures, with the north-east having the highest overall care rates, followed by the north-west, West Midlands and then Yorkshire and the Humber.

Blackpool was followed by Hartlepool, where the highest rate of children in care is one in 63.

The review of existing research, compiled for the child of the north all-party parliamentary group, found a 27% increase in the number of children’s homes between 2020 and 2023 disproportionately affected the north of England.

The north has 1,176 children’s homes – more than 40% of the children’s homes in England – with just 1,704 in the rest of England.

There were more than 83,000 children in care in England in 2023, with the report warning the risk of that number rising was high as health inequalities continued to widen and more and more families were falling into poverty, particularly in the north.

Related: North-south wealth inequality in England on course to grow, report finds

The rise in child poverty between 2015 and 2020 led to more than 10,000 additional children entering care – equivalent to one in 12 care entries over the period.

Dr Davara Bennett, the lead author of the report and head of public health, policy and systems at the University of Liverpool, said: “Our report has exposed the deeply rooted social inequalities reflected in, and exacerbated by, the child welfare system. These need to be tackled head-on by policymakers.”

Underinvestment has left councils “trapped in a cycle” of spending billions on looking after children in care at the expense of providing support for families in need, she said.

She added: “The evidence shows the damage caused by cuts to prevention and failure to address the very real problem of child poverty in the north.

“There are a number of policies that, if implemented, could help reduce the number of children entering care and improve the care and support children and families receive when in need. We urge government to hear our calls for action and commit to addressing them as a priority.”

Emma Lewell-Buck, the MP for South Shields and co-chair of the child of the north APPG, said: “As a former social worker, I have experienced first-hand the immense pressure placed on children’s services in the north. When children and families aren’t given the right support the consequences and damage done can last a lifetime. In my region specifically, shameful levels of poverty coupled with underinvestment has led to dramatically disproportionate rises in the number of children in care, compared with the south.

“Excellent social work happens every single day, yet this report highlights how valuable opportunities to improve social care for both children, families and those who work with them are being ignored. Our children deserve better.”