Writers’ lawsuit against Anthropic highlights tensions between AI developers & artists

By Webb Wright, NY Reporter

August 20, 2024 | 

A proposed class action lawsuit threatens to tarnish Anthropic’s reputation as a beacon of safety and responsibility in an industry mired in controversy.

Anthropic launched its Claude 3 family of models earlier this year. / Adobe Stock

Amazon-backed AI developer Anthropic is being sued by a trio of authors who claim that the AI company has illegally used pirated and copyrighted materials to train its Claude chatbot.

Filed yesterday in San Francisco by authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson, the proposed class action lawsuit accuses Anthropic of training Claude using pirated copies of books gathered from an open source training dataset called The Pile.

It also argues that Anthropic is depriving authors of revenue by enabling the creation of AI-generated lookalikes of their books. The rise of large language models (LLMs) has made it "easier than ever to generate rip-offs of copyrighted books that compete with the original, or at a minimum dilute the market for the original copyrighted work," the complaint states. "Claude in particular has been used to generate cheap book content ... [and it] could not generate this kind of long-form content if it were not trained on a large quantity of books, books for which Anthropic paid authors nothing. In short, the success and profitability of Anthropic is predicated on mass copyright infringement without a word of permission from or a nickel of compensation to copyright owners, including Plaintiffs here."

It’s the first time that Anthropic has been sued by writers, though the company is facing another legal challeng from a group of music publishers, including Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group. In a lawsuit lodged last fall, the groups allege that the company trained Claude with copyrighted lyrics, which the chatbot then illegally distributed through its outputs.

Anthropic released its Claude 3 family of models in March, shortly before Amazon completed a $4bn investment in the company.

The new case arrives at a historic moment of reckoning between the AI and publishing industries. The rise of popular generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude have caused many online publishers to fear that the technology could undermine their flow of web traffic. Meanwhile, a growing chorus of actors, musicians, illustrators and other artists are calling for legal protections against what they’ve come to view as a predatory AI industry built upon their creative output without compensating or often even crediting them.

As Motti Peer, chairman and co-CEO of PR agency ReBlonde, puts it: “This legal challenge is emblematic of a broader struggle between traditional content creators and the emerging generative AI technology that threatens the relevance of quite a few long-standing professions.”

He notes that this dilemma “is not ... specific to Anthropic.”

In fact, thus far, OpenAI has been the primary target of the creative industry’s AI ire. The company – along with Microsoft, its primary financial backer – has been sued by a fleet of newspapers, including The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune, who claim that their copyrighted materials were used illegally to train AI models. Copyright infringement lawsuits have also been filed against both OpenAI and Microsoft by prominent authors like George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Franzen and Jodi Picoult.

In the midst of those legal battles, OpenAI has sought to position itself as an ally to publishers. The company has inked content licensing deals with publishing companies including Axel Springer, The Associated Press and, as of Tuesday, Condé Nast, giving them the right to use their content to train models while linking back to their articles in responses generated by ChatGPT, among other perks.

Other AI developers, like Perplexity, have also debuted new initiatives this year designed to mitigate publisher concerns.

But both Anthropic and OpenAI have argued that their use of publisher content is permissible according to the ’fair use’ doctrine, a US law that allows for the repurposing of copyrighted materials without the permission of their original creators in certain cases.

Anthropic would do well to frame its response to the allegation within the broader discourse about ”how society should integrate transformative technologies in a way that balances progress with the preservation of existing cultural and professional paradigms,” according to Peer. He advises treading “carefully” and says the company should ”[respect] the legal process while simultaneously advocating for a broader discussion on the principles and potential of AI.”

Anthropic has not yet replied to The Drum’s request for comment.

The new lawsuit raises key questions about Anthropic’s ethics and governance practices. Founded by ex-OpenAI staffers, the company has positioned itself as an ethical counterbalance to OpenAI – one that can be trusted to responsibly build artificial general intelligence, or AGI, that will benefit humanity. Since its founding in 2021, Anthropic has continued to attract a steady stream of former OpenAI engineers and researchers who worry that the Sam Altman-led company is prioritizing commercial growth over safety (the highest-profile being Jan Leike, who headed AI safety efforts at OpenAI).

The future of Anthropic’s reputation may hinge in part on the company’s willingness to collaborate on the creation of state and federal regulation of the AI industry, suggests Andrew Graham, founder of PR firm Bread & Law. “Being available and engaged in the lawmaking and regulatory process is a great way for a company in a controversial industry to boost its reputation and attract deeper levels of trust from the stakeholders that matter most,” he says. “This is the core mistake that crypto firms made back a handful of years ago.”

Anthropic has already signaled its willingness to collaborate with policymakers: The company recently helped to amend California’s controversial AI bill, SB 1047, designed to establish increase accountability for AI companies and mitigate some of the dangers posed by the most advanced AI systems.

The company might bolster its reputation as the conscientious, responsible force within the AI community that it markets itself as by engaging directlywith artists, authors and the other professionals whose work is being used to train Claude and other chatbots. Such an approach could turn the negative press surrounding Monday’s lawsuit “into an opportunity,” according to Andrew Koneschusky, a PR and crisis communications expert and founder of the AI Impact Group, an AI-focused consultancy firm.

He suggests that the company has the chance to set a positive standard for similar debacles in the future, saying, “If the rules for training AI models are ambiguous, as the responsible and ethical AI company, Anthropic should take the lead in defining what responsible and ethical training entails.”

China Builds the World’s Largest Oil Platform

By Irina Slav - Aug 15, 2024

China has built the world's largest offshore oil platform for Saudi Arabia's Marjan field.

Chevron's new high-pressure extraction technology signals continued investment in oil exploration.

Despite the push for renewable energy, these developments indicate strong long-term demand for oil.


China, the world’s biggest maker of solar panels, EVs, and wind turbines, has built the world’s largest offshore oil platform that will be used at the Marjan field in Saudi Arabia.

The structure, according to Chinese media, represents a breakthrough in the country’s development of large-scale offshore energy infrastructure. It also signals that there is enough demand for oil to motivate the investment in such a massive structure.

Indeed, the parameters of the platform are impressive. At 24 stories high, the platform weighs over 17,000 tons, has a deck the size of 15 basketball courts, and has an annual capacity for 24 million tons of crude oil, which is about 176 million barrels, and 7.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The platform will now travel to Saudi Arabia where it will be installed at the Marjan field, which is currently undergoing an expansion aimed at boosting production. The program will cost $12 billion and add 300,000 barrels daily to the field’s capacity, bringing the total to 800,000 bpd. It would also add another 360,000 bpd in ethane and natural gas liquids production. The gas production capacity of the field is set to rise by 2.5 billion cu ft per day.

All this is happening while the International Energy Agency forecasts peak oil demand before 2030. It seems that with or without that peak, there will be plenty of demand for new production capacity, even as Saudi Arabia canceled its broader production capacity expansion program amid falling oil prices.

The completion of the Chinese mega platform also coincided with another breakthrough, this time from Chevron. The company announced last week it had successfully tested a new high-pressure extraction technology at a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico. The success of the technology means more resources could become recoverable.

“The Anchor project represents a breakthrough for the energy industry,” a senior Chevron executive said. “Application of this industry-first deepwater technology allows us to unlock previously difficult-to-access resources and will enable similar deepwater high-pressure developments for the industry.”

Energy analyst David Blackmon commented on the news in an opinion piece for The Telegraph, noting that the two stories—the Chinese platform and the Chevron technology—were evidence that offshore drilling was in full swing again, undermining predictions that the energy transition was slowly killing the oil industry.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency issued its new monthly oil report, keeping its forecast for oil demand growth at less than 1 million barrels daily both for this year and next. Yet investments such as the Marjan platform and the Chevron high-pressure technology are not of the short-term variety. These are investments betting on the sustained long-term demand for hydrocarbons. And it looks like a certain bet—even if growth peaks in less than 10 years.

The biggest killer of oil demand, according to all forecasts, would be the electrification of transport. This electrification is faster and more ambitious in China. And yet, while EV sales rise, China is working to boost its domestic oil production to reduce its reliance on imports. Incidentally, the rise in EV sales includes a massive jump in hybrid sales, which added 70% in the first seven months of the year.

Oil demand is very far from dying, and news such as the completion of the Marjan platform and Chevron’s high-pressure extraction technology is hard proof of that. However much governments spend on transition technology, it is the market that ultimately decides what energy source will live and what will die. For now, it looks like oil and gas are quite healthy, even with the state-sponsored proliferation of alternatives such as wind, solar, and EVs.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry.

Why Hedge Funds Are Pouring into Energy Right Now

By Alex Kimani - Aug 20, 2024

Goldman Sachs: Hedge funds are selling industrial equities and buying energy equities at the fastest pace since December.

Energy is now at its highest proportion in hedge fund portfolios since the beginning of the year.

Signs of demand weakness in China aren’t strong enough to discourage hedge funds from taking positions in energy.


Energy markets have kicked off the new week on the backfoot after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a cease-fire proposal to stop the war in Gaza. Blinken made the revelation on Monday after meeting with top Israeli officials in Jerusalem, and markets have lately been having a knee-jerk reaction to any news coming out of the Middle East, with oil prices tanking every time ceasefire talks are underway, only to reverse when they fail.

Crude oil futures have declined by the biggest margin in two weeks after reports suggesting that a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza could be closer. Earlier, Iran had suggested a willingness to at least delay a retaliatory attack on Israel following the July 31 killing in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh if Israel and Hamas agreed to a permanent ceasefire. Brent crude for October delivery was quoted at $77.11 per barrel at 12:45 hrs ET in Tuesday's intraday session, down from $81.20/barrel a week ago, while WTI crude for September delivery was trading at $73.94 per barrel compared to $78.85/barrel a week ago.

On Tuesday, Iran helped further solidify the downward trend in oil prices when a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards said an attack on Israel could be delayed for some time, noting that time is in Tehran’s “favor”.

Signs of demand weakness in the pivotal Chinese market are not helping matters, either. The prospect of weak demand in China is offsetting any gains from risks to supply, with government data showing that crude demand in the country fell 8% Y/Y in July.

However, the oil markets might be able to regain some momentum if the latest spate of buying by money managers continues. According to a Goldman Sachs note via Reuters, hedge funds sold industrial stocks at the fastest pace since December, while buying energy stocks for the fourth straight week last week. Energy is now at its highest proportion in hedge fund portfolios since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, traders have been betting against passenger airlines as well as companies offering professional services, ground transportation and machinery. The latest pivot into energy stocks comes amid expectations of an interest rate cut in September.

"Global growth will be better than expected if the Fed manages to engineer a soft landing and that's probably why these traders are making the switch," Paul O'Neill, chief investment officer at wealth management firm, Bentley Reid, told Reuters.

Trump Trade

It appears that the so-called ‘‘Trump Trade’’ is still alive and well despite U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris surging in the polls ever since she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate a month ago. Many institutional investors still give Trump the inside track, and are examining how a second Trump administration could impact everything from inflation and monetary policy to consumer spending. Investors are also betting that Trump's return to the White House would mean less regulation, a potential tailwind for heavily regulated sectors such as energy and banking.

On the contrary, Trump's recent comments about jacking up tariffs on China and requiring Taiwan to pay for U.S. military protection triggered a sell-off in semiconductor, AI and Big Tech stocks, with even heavyweights like Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) taking a tumble.

However, Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, has sounded a cautionary note, "The things that get said and proposed on the campaign trail are often difficult to put into place once you get to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," he said.

To be fair, the Oil & Gas sector will probably do just as well under a Harris presidency, especially since she is likely to continue pushing Biden’s policies. After all, under most key metrics, the U.S. oil and gas industry has flourished under the Biden administration despite its push towards a carbon-free future, proving that not even Washington has sufficient power to single-handedly sway large, globally interconnected markets like oil and gas. Republicans have repeatedly railed against Biden’s climate policies, blaming them for compromising U.S. “energy independence” by limiting U.S. oil and gas production and raising fuel prices. Meanwhile, Trump has promised to “drill baby, drill” and restore America's energy independence.

However, Trump will have his work cut out: U.S. crude and natural gas production have both hit all-time highs under the Biden administration. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil production in the United States, including condensate, averaged 12.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2023, breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million b/d, set in 2019. Average monthly crude oil production set a new monthly record high in December 2023 at more than 13.3 million b/d. Ironically, the current administration issued a total of 10,070 onshore drilling permits during its first three years in office compared to 9,892 under Trump over a similar period

Fossil fuel investors have hardly been complaining under Biden: energy shares have jumped 124% so far since Biden took over at the Oval Office vs.-65% decline for the comparable period under Trump.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

Alex Kimani is a veteran finance writer, investor, engineer and researcher for Safehaven.com

CAPITAL $TRIKE

North Sea Oil Producers Warn of Mass Exodus

By Irina Slav - Aug 20, 2024, 

• UK oil and gas producers like Serica Energy are considering moving operations to countries with more stable tax regimes, such as Norway.
• The UK government's increased windfall profit taxes and removal of tax incentives are driving this exodus.
• This shift could lead to significant job losses and decreased energy security for the UK, as it becomes more reliant on energy imports.

The UK’s oil industry has had a tough few years. The future does not promise a change in a positive direction, either. It seems all hope for this has been lost, and some oil drillers are looking at other jurisdictions for their future survival.

This is certainly the case for Serica Energy, one of the biggest suppliers of oil and gas to the UK, operating fields in the North Sea. Once upon a time, the North Sea was one of the biggest oil- and gas-producing regions in the world.

Serica Energy chairman David Latin recently dropped what should have been a giant bomb for any government concerned with energy security. “The UK is now fiscally more unstable than almost anywhere else on the planet,” he said, as quoted by the Telegraph. “That means we are looking for new places to invest our money. And Norway is a place where potentially we could recreate our business model.”

The statement by Latin is nothing but a confirmation that a Labour government fixated on boosting the amount of wind and solar capacity in the country and funding this boost with oil and gas tax money is driving the industry away. Plans to further increase windfall profit taxes on the industry and the removal of a tax incentive that kept producers at home until the Keir Starmer government took over might prove the last nudge out the door.

There is also uncertainty about future energy policies that make North Sea oil and gas operators reluctant to invest in local production. 

“[Policy uncertainty] reduces our willingness to spend money to do things quickly because if we spend and the policy changes, then we have to start all over again,” the chairman of one relatively small producer, Ping Petroleum, told the Financial Times this week. “People are walking away from fields with significant reserves,” Robert Fisher said.

As Serica’s chairman suggests, those who are walking away from the British North Sea will probably find other places to invest their money. The British government, however, would be hard-placed to find another industry it could fleece that deeply and get away with it. And this is a big problem because Labour has promised a fast and ambitious transition to wind, solar, and hydrogen. And fast and ambitious costs more money than just one or the other.

The Financial Times reported that tax income from the oil and gas industry had reached close to 10 billion pounds last year, but the amount is set to drop off a cliff over the next five years to just above 2 billion pounds in 2028. This will not be enough to fund what the Labour government calls Great British Energy—the state-owned transition vehicle for financing the transition.

“If the government implements the kind of windfall taxes they are talking about, then you end up with a cliff edge in UK energy production because the industry will be taxed into uncompetitiveness,” Stifel analyst Chris Wheaton told the Financial Times. “That is going to cause a very dramatic decline in investment and therefore production and jobs, and a big hit to energy security.”

In other words, if oil and gas producers currently operating in the British section of the North Sea want to ensure their long-term survival, they’d better look for opportunities abroad. For Serica, Norway is the no-brainer destination. If it doesn’t work there, the company will look elsewhere, per its chairman. The important bit is that it will no longer supply oil and gas to the UK. And if others follow, there will be thousands of jobs lost, and the UK will, rather ironically, become even more dependent on energy imports.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

Job boards advertising roles paying below UK minimum wage

by Kavitha Sivasubramaniam

 21 Aug 2024

Job boards are advertising roles that pay below the UK national living wage, a new study has found.

Research from the TUC revealed that websites including Reed, Indeed and CV-Library posted 46 vacancies offering salaries under the annualised minimum wage of £20,820 on a single day in July.

The union body believes this could be just “the tip of the iceberg”, with many more underpaying roles being posted online weekly.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Nobody should be cheated out of the pay they are owed by their employer. But our research has found that lots of employers are advertising jobs at less than the legal minimum wage.

“Workers are not the only victims. These pay cheats undercut all those good employers who do the right thing. And that creates unfair competition.”

UK minimum wage

Employer wins appeal in travel time minimum wage case

Minimum wage rise ‘must not lead to poor treatment of workers‘

Greggs among 500 listed in minimum wage underpayments

Since 1 April 2024, the national living wage hourly rate has been £11.44, which equates to £20,820.20 for a full-time employee working 35 hours per week.

The TUC has warned that abuse of the minimum wage isn’t restricted to illegal or insecure employment. It highlighted that although people under 21 can be paid below the national living wage, advertising jobs at these rates could exclude older applicants and therefore lead to indirect discrimination.

However, CV-Library said it has checks and processes in place to ensure all its job postings are compliant with the national living wage, which includes an automatic prompt system.

A representative from its customer service team commented: “If a recruiter using our platform tries to post a job with a salary that falls under the national living wage, the job post will fail due to not meeting the minimum hourly wage and they will receive a message to correct this. Our customer service team also regularly screens our on-site postings to ensure compliance.

“In a small number of instances, there may be jobs with a salary range advertised with a lower end above the national minimum wage but below the national living wage (eg £17,000-£30,000 per annum). This is where an employer is open to hiring workers under 21 and would adjust salary based on their age, while remaining compliant.”

The TUC’s findings were in line with estimates from the Low Pay Commission which suggest that nearly three in 10 jobs (29%) paying the minimum wage or below are salaried positions.

It discovered that most of the 46 jobs advertised at rates under NLW are full-time, salaried roles. Of these, experience was required for 26 positions and desirable for a further three.

Seven positions required qualifications, including degrees or professional certification and 10 advertised a salary range starting below or paying a total of £20,000.

The research has prompted the TUC to urge the government to take tougher action on all wage breaches under its ‘New Deal for Working People’ and to ensure interns are paid at least the minimum amount. It wants the new Fair Work Agency, whose formation was announced during the King’s Speech, must help change the way breaches are enforced to prevent people being “cheated out of pay”.

The body will be created with the HMRC National Minimum Wage enforcement team, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The TUC welcomed its formation and believes it will also need many more inspectors than the current system, as well as greater powers to punish employers who act unlawfully.

Nowak added: “The new Fair Work Agency is a chance for the government to crack down on offenders and ensure all workers are paid at least the legal minimum.”

Commenting on the TUC’s findings, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) agreed that NMW bad practice needs to be “stamped out”.

REC deputy chief executive Kate Shoesmith, said: “National minimum wage rates should always be paid, and the vast majority of businesses do just that – there were 1.7 million live job vacancy postings last month. In fact, many employers regularly have to pay more than the going rate to attract people to roles because of labour and skills shortages. 

“Where there is genuine bad practice, this needs to be stamped out. We have always shared a view with the TUC that the new Fair Work Agency is a chance for the government to ensure we have a well-regulated labour market. As it is being created, policymakers must maintain the subject expertise of the current enforcement bodies it is merging. For example, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) in our part of the labour market is crucial, especially if regulation is expanded to include all labour suppliers and payroll providers, such as umbrella companies.”

UK
Median pay award drops to 4.5%

by Kavitha Sivasubramaniam

21 Aug 2024

The median basic pay award for the quarter from May to July this year has fallen to 4.5%, according to new figures.

Research from HR data and insights provider Brightmine – formerly XpertHR – revealed that in the three-month period, awards dropped from the revised 5% reported in the previous three rolling quarters to match the lowest level seen so far in 2024.

Pay awards 2024

National living wage hike drives median pay award

Inflation hits target as median pay awards remain under 5%

Pay awards and inflation continue to diverge

The data also showed that this year, most pay deals are lower than the settlements the same group of employees achieved in 2023, with nearly three-quarters (73.1%) now worth less than they were then. The analysis further found only 7.7% of deals in 2024 are worth more.

In contrast, pay awards in the public sector have reached 6.1% in 12 months to the end of July, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves approved a 5.5% salary increase for these workers, meaning they have achieved awards of 1.1% more than those in the private sector over the same period.

However, pay awards in general are expected to remain slow despite a slight growth in inflation, with pay settlements predicted to decline further in 2025 compared to the previous two years.

Sheila Attwood, Brightmine senior content manager, data and HR insights, said: “Our measure of pay awards has fallen to its lowest level since March this year, the first sign that increases may be about to take another step downwards following the fall from the 6% seen in 2023.

“Employers that have made pay awards so far this year have already reacted to the falling inflation environment by putting in place lower pay awards than made last year. This practice is likely to continue among those concluding deals later in the year, with this group also looking like they will agree increases at a lower level than those seen in the year so far.”

The research, which was based on 48 pay settlements covering 743,755 UK employees, also discovered that the most common basic award was worth 5%, accounting for nearly three in 10 (29.8%) awards, while nearly double that percentage (57.4%) are worth between 4% and 5%.

 UK

Mass redundancy awards for ex-SSB and Axiom Ince staff

21 August 2024

Posted by Neil Rose

---

SSB: No consultation before staff made redundant

An employment tribunal has made protective awards in favour of another 82 former staff at SSB Group, after they were made redundant without consultation.

It follows an identical award made by the same judge, Employment Judge Lancaster in Leeds, earlier in the summer in favour of nine ex-SSB employees.

He said each employee were entitled to an award for a period of 90 days beginning on 29 November 2023, when the first redundancy took place.

Nearly 200 staff were made redundant after SSB formally went into administration in January, owing six litigation funders £200m.

A protective award is compensation of between 45 and 90 days’ pay that can be awarded where more than 20 employees are made redundant from one location within specific time frames and without consultation.

If the former employer is insolvent, the National Insurance Fund will pay the award, but the amount is capped at eight weeks’ pay.

Judge Lancaster said it was clear from the evidence that the employees met the criteria for a protective award.

“There has been no response submitted on behalf of [SSB], and therefore no explanation offered for the failure to consult even though it is apparent from ye papers that the business was in financial difficulties from at least about September 2023.

“It is therefore just and equitable to make the awards for the maximum 90 day period (though it is acknowledged that under the relevant legislation [Insolvency Service] will not be obliged to make payment for that full period).”

Five of the employees were representing themselves, with Leeds firm Morrish & Co acting for the rest.

There has been a similar mass award in favour of former staff at Axiom Ince, again for being made redundant without consultation.

Employment Judge Nicolle consolidated various group and individual claims against the now-defunct firm solely in relation to their entitlement to protective awards, stressing that his decision did not compromise their ability to pursue claims in respect of any other matter.

Judge Nicolle ordered that they receive the full 90 days as well.

Axiom Ince closed on 3 October 2023 after the Solicitors Regulation Authority shut it down, with the redundances taking place between then and 31 October.

The judge found that all of the claimants were dismissed without any consultation with appropriate employee representatives and with a failure to provide information about the proposed redundancies in writing prior to their dismissal, in breach of section 188 of the Trade Union Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The decision is not clear because the list of 10 offices from where 357 staff referred to in the ruling were made redundant included several where there were fewer than 20 employees.

Leeds (152 redundancies) and the City of London (134) the two were the largest offices; these were previously the headquarters of Plexus Law and Ince Group respectively.

There have already been other rulings on individual claims which have seen some substantial awards for redundancy pay, notice pay, unpaid wages and holiday pay – more than £20,000 in one case – but three also featured decisions not to make protective awards because the staff concerned were based in the Manchester office, where there were fewer than 20 staff.

Alan Lewis, a partner at Manchester firm Pearson Solicitors, said that, as far as he was aware, the judgment just related to the 154 staff members he represents, all of whom were made redundant from offices with more than 20 staff.

Axiom Ince’s administrators did not take part in the proceedings but confirmed that any shortfall in payments from the National Insurance Fund will rank as unsecured claims in the administration.

UK
Red-hot rent rises cool but tenants still struggling

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent, BBC News
BBC
Mike and Lisa Buller say they are stuck in a rent trap


The "red-hot" rental market is starting to cool, exclusive data provided to the BBC reveals, but tenants say they are still caught in a price trap.

The cost for renters who move home and take on a new tenancy has risen at its slowest rate for nearly three years, according to property portal Zoopla.

But it is still going up, and 17 prospective tenants on average are chasing every available home.

The picture also varies considerably in different areas. One couple in Birmingham said they felt "defeated, isolated, panicky and angry".

"It’s hard to stay motivated at work when it feels like all of the hard work that you do is just to keep your head above water," said Mike Buller, who is aged in his 40s and lives with his wife Lisa.

Rent rises for new lets - people moving home to take on a new tenancy - have slowed in the UK's second largest city but - as in the vast majority of areas - are still going up.

The couple, who are trying to save to buy their own home, said only a big drop in rents would have a noticeable impact.




The Zoopla data, shared with the BBC, shows that affordability of renting has improved, with rent rises for newly-let homes now roughly on a par with increasing earnings. The data does not include those people who are renewing a rental agreement in existing properties.

The 5.7% increase in UK rents in the year to the end of June was the slowest rise recorded since September 2021, the data suggests.

The cost went up by only 1.6% in the first six months of this year - again the slowest rise during any half year for three years.

"We have moved from a red-hot market over the last couple of years, to one which is still hot, but cooling," said Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla.

Despite the slowdown, renting is still 20% more expensive than a couple of years ago, he said, forcing some tenants to share with other tenants or lower their expectations.



More children in damp rental homes, figures show

'Buying a first home is harder when you're single'

'I put off starting a family because of a £300 rent rise'



Less intense competition is partly behind the slowdown. Last year, about 30 to 35 tenants were chasing every available property. That has dropped to 17, according to Zoopla figures, but that is still two or three times the level of competition seen before the pandemic.

Various lettings agencies have also reported shorter queues to view.

A number of factors are at play when it comes to falling demand, with students and graduates among the key drivers.

A drop in student numbers, partly those from overseas, has lowered competition in some areas. Meanwhile, some graduates - spooked by the costs involved - have moved back into the family home.

"About 80% of my friends finished university and went straight home to live with their parents," said Monty Savage, who shares a flat with his cousin in Nottingham.

He graduated last year, has a job, and after he has paid his rent of £1,100 a month, relies on his parents to help financially with other bills.

Separate research from estate agency Savills suggests parental support continues into homeownership. Its analysis of industry data found that 57% of first-time buyers - a total of 164,000 - had family assistance in buying their first home with a mortgage in 2023. That was the highest proportion for 11 years.

Postcode differences


Renters moving home in Monty's home city of Nottingham saw prices actually falling slightly in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2023, according to the Zoopla study.

The cost of rents in Brighton, London and Glasgow also dipped.

Mr Donnell said local markets differed, with some seeing more investment in rental property, and some having "overshot" with rising rents. That meant they had to fall to become affordable for prospective local tenants.

On the flipside, some first-time buyers had seen mortgage rates fall sufficiently to be able to stop renting and buy a home.


Imogen Pearson says finding a home to rent was tough


In Derby, despite the proximity to Nottingham, rents are increasing. Imogen Pearson said the intensity of competition had been ridiculous. She said she had lost out on some properties because people paid a deposit before even going to a viewing.

"I would understand that in somewhere like London or Manchester, but not in the suburbs of Derby," she said.

"The more money you spend, the longer you have to rent."

Ultimately, the number of properties available to rent has failed to grow since 2016, according to Mr Donnell, while demand has risen - hence the rising costs for tenants.

Despite a 39% fall in rental demand in the past year, he said the situation would only become more affordable for those on low incomes or reliant on benefits when more homes become available.

In the meantime, people have to hunt around, work out what they can afford and where, and talk to local agents with knowledge about what is available.

Zoopla bases its figures on its listings data, which covers about 80% of homes listed for let.



How you can get to the front of the renting queue


Agents say there are some simple ways to make it easier to secure a rental property, including:Start searching well before a tenancy ends and sign up with multiple agents
Have payslips, a job reference, and a reference from a previous landlord to hand
Build up a relationship with agents in the area, but be prepared to widen your search
Be sure of your budget and calculate how much you can offer upfront
Be aware that some agents offer sneak peeks of properties on social media before listing them

There are more tips here and help on your renting rights here.

UK

Labour policy ‘blitz’ on clean energy backed by public, polling suggests

21 August 2024, 00:04



Keir Starmer standing in front of turbines in onshore wind farm. Picture: PA

But ending winter fuel payments for many pensioners is not popular, the survey for think tank the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows.






The Government’s clean energy policy “blitz” is getting noticed by the public and appears popular, polling suggests.

But removing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners – announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as part of measures to plug a “black hole” in the nation’s finances – is opposed by the majority of people.

The poll of more than 2,100 people by YouGov for environmental think tank the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found nearly two thirds (64%) were aware of the setting up of Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company, and 68% supported the move

Half of those quizzed were aware of the policy to end the ban on onshore wind, with 60% backing the move, while around half (49%) were already aware of the Government’s policy of approving new solar farms and nearly three quarters (74%) were in favour of it when asked.

But two thirds of people (67%) were also aware of the move to remove winter fuel allowance payments from pensioners, apart from those who receive means-tested benefits, and 59% opposed it, with only 28% in favour.

The poll also asked people what would constitute “success” for the Government’s policy to prioritise increasing clean energy and reducing fossil fuels use.

The most popular answers were that the UK would increase its energy independence, chosen by 44% of those quizzed, and cheaper energy bills, picked by 42%.

But there was scepticism that Labour’s clean energy and climate policies would lower bills, with 61% saying they would definitely or likely not deliver cheaper bills, compared with 23% saying they would.

There was more belief that the clean energy policies would deliver more jobs in green industries, with 60% saying that would happen, compared with 22% who said it would not.

59%

Percentage of survey respondents opposed to removal of winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners


YouGov

And nearly half (46%) thought the UK would definitely or likely increase its energy independence, compared with 36% who did not think it would.

Alasdair Johnstone, of the ECIU, said: “The new Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has moved quickly on a number of key manifesto commitments, with an announcement blitz that has been noticed and crucially for the new Government appears to be popular.

“On an election campaign which saw energy security as one of the key dividing lines, the public endorsed a prospectus which focused on more energy independence, delivered through renewable energy, and so less reliant on energy imports.

“But with the gas crisis ongoing, bills still £400 higher than they were before the crisis and set to rise again ahead of winter, restrictions on winter fuel payments are unsurprisingly much less popular.”

If the UK is going to insulate itself from gas market volatility in the coming years, the Government needs to “get on with” ramping up home energy efficiency and encouraging the take-up of electric heat pumps, he urged.

“There is a public desire to see a government which delivers, and there is risk for this new Government if it fails to do so on one of its key policy pillars,” Mr Johnstone warned.

There is a public desire to see a government which delivers, and there is risk for this new Government if it fails to do so on one of its key policy pillars

Alasdair Johnstone, Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit

A Government spokesperson said: “We are taking immediate action implementing our long-term plan to make Britain a clean energy superpower – boosting our homegrown supply by radically increasing the deployment of onshore wind, solar and offshore wind.”

They pointed to removing barriers to onshore wind and consenting solar power and said Great British Energy would unlock billions of private investment and deliver new energy projects and jobs.

“Around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive winter fuel payments and our warm home discount is expected to support three million households with £150 off their energy bills,” the spokesperson said.

By Press Association

CO2 purity monitoring in carbon capture projects

By Anthony Wrighton Aug 20, 2024

 

As the global push towards Net Zero emissions intensifies, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies have emerged as necessary tools for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

However, as more industries adopt these technologies, the need for precise carbon dioxide (CO2) purity monitoring becomes increasingly crucial. Thermo Fisher Scientific offers advanced solutions that ensure the integrity and effectiveness of carbon capture systems, particularly through the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).

During a showcase webinar held today, 20th August, Trevor Tilmann, Applications Engineer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Environmental and Process Monitoring, highlighted the importance of monitoring CO2 purity in CCUS networks. 

He revealed that impurities in captured CO2 can have significant implications for both the safety of pipelines and the overall success of carbon sequestration efforts. 

“The number one reason for continuously monitoring a CO2 stream is for safety of both the people around the pipeline and the pipeline itself,” Tilmann explained. 

“Moisture, sulphonated species, oxides of nitrogen, and CO2 itself can react to create acidic conditions within the pipeline. This can cause corrosion, which is a major concern given that many of these pipelines are repurposed from existing oil and gas infrastructure made of carbon steel.”

The rise in carbon capture facilities, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like cement and steel production, underscores the critical need for reliable monitoring solutions. 

According to industry projections shared by Thermo Fisher, the number of operational carbon capture plants is expected to grow from approximately 40 today to over 500 by 2030. As these facilities increase in number and diversity, so too does the complexity of the CO2 streams they handle.

Tilmann noted that the variability in impurities, depending on the source of the CO2 and the capture technique used, further complicates the monitoring process. “It’s really important that we monitor these impurities as they can have an effect on the overall integrity of the pipeline,” he said. 

For instance, CO2 streams captured from combustion sources might contain oxides of nitrogen and sulphur species, while those from ammonia production could carry traces of ammonia and methane. Such impurities, if not adequately monitored, could lead to pipeline degradation or even failures.

To address these challenges, Thermo Fisher Scientific has developed the Max-Bev CO2 Purity Monitoring System, a solution originally designed for the beverage industry but now adapted for carbon capture applications. “The Max-Bev gets its name because it was originally designed for monitoring impurities in beverage-grade CO2,” Tilmann explained. “But it has since been applied to the carbon capture industry with great results.”

©Thermo Fisher Scientific. The Max-Bev CO2 Purity Monitoring System.

The Max-Bev system leverages FTIR technology to provide real-time measurements of CO2 purity and potential impurities, enabling operators to ensure the safe and efficient transport of captured carbon. 

One of the key features of the system is its dynamic range, which allows it to measure compounds from the parts-per-billion level up to 99.99% CO2 concentration. According to Tillmann, this capability is particularly important given the varying impurity levels that can be present in different industrial settings.

The system’s ability to continuously monitor CO2 purity is also vital for companies seeking to qualify for government tax credits, which are often tied to the accurate measurement of sequestered CO2. “We offer a reliable solution with 99.7% uptime that is ready to install in less than 24 weeks,” Tilmann stated.

“As more industries adapt carbon capture and storage, the need for precise, reliable monitoring solutions will become ever more critical. Thermo Fisher is committed to supporting this transition with cutting-edge technology that not only meets but exceeds the rigorous demands of the carbon capture industry.”

The full webinar is available to watch ‘On demand’ at www.gasworld.tv