Friday newspaper round-up: Net zero, National Trust, Apple
The government is “absolutely up for the fight” over net zero, Ed Miliband has said, as he accused the Conservatives and Reform of “a total desertion and betrayal” of future generations by failing to tackle the climate crisis. After a turbulent week for Labour in which it has been charged with abandoning its values by slashing disability benefits, the energy secretary sought to focus attention on the party’s plans for the green energy transition. – Guardian
The National Trust has frozen all but essential recruitment and is pausing some projects as it faces a £10m jump in labour costs this year as a result of higher employment costs stemming from last autumn’s budget. The conservation charity, which looks after 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, as well as 780 miles of coastline and 250,000 hectares of land, said the extra costs were the result of changes to employers’ national insurance contributions and an increase in the legal minimum wage, which both come into force next month. – Guardian
Rachel Reeves has demanded government departments provide her with real-time public spending updates, as she ramps up a Treasury power grab ahead of next week’s Spring Statement. As part of the Chancellor’s plan to save billions of pounds, officials have been told they must provide instant and accessible data on how much they are spending and what it will achieve. – Telegraph
Expats will be cut off from scores of BBC radio stations and podcasts in a shake-up of the public service broadcaster’s international output. Starting in a matter of weeks, the BBC will no longer allow access to Sounds – its audio streaming service – from abroad. Instead, international audiences will need to tune into radio and podcasts on a new advertising-funded service on BBC.com or the broadcaster’s app. – Telegraph
The American technology behemoth Apple is said to be losing $1 billion a year on its streaming service as competition with rivals such as Netflix intensifies. The Cupertino-based group has spent more than $5 billion a year on content since launching Apple TV+ in 2019 but cut it by around $500 million last year, according to The Information. – The Times