Sunday newspaper round-up: Housebuilding, Brexit, CYBG, Rolls-Royce

The planning system is broken and unfit for purpose, according to a new report by a former housing minister. The Raynsford Review of Planning, to be published this week, concludes the system is no longer working in the long-term public interest of communities or the country. It is weak, deregulated and less effective than at any time in the past three-quarters of a century, according to the report. - Sunday Times

Michael Gove has said he would not back any delay to the UK leaving the customs union beyond the transition period to allow new border technology to be developed, as Ireland’s foreign minister said any form of infrastructure or technology on the border would be unworkable. The environment secretary, speaking to the BBC, also expressed scepticism about the merits of an alternative customs proposal, saying the customs partnership model had flaws and needed to be tested. - Observer

At least a dozen members of Theresa May’s Cabinet are lining up to block her plans for a new “customs partnership” with the European Union. Two pro-Remain ministers say they were among a growing number of figures around the Cabinet table who opposed the proposals described by Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, as “crazy”. - Sunday Telegraph

Two chief executives of collapsed mortgage bank HBOS were involved in the cover-up of a notorious fraud that ruined scores of firms, according to a secret report. A damning internal review alleges that executives at the highest level tried to conceal details of the HBOS Reading fraud, including Andy Hornby, his predecessor James Crosby and onetime head of corporate banking Peter Cummings. - Mail on Sunday

The only times British shares have been cheaper than they are now was during the two world wars, as global investors have withdrawn from the UK in droves, according to new analysis of the gap between the dividend yield from the FTSE All Share and the yield available from 10-year gilts. The unpopularity of British shares has driven prices down and dividend yields up. The FTSE All Share index has gone nowhere this year and now yields close to 4pc. - Sunday Telegraph

Police are investigating CYBG over alleged fraud against an entrepreneur, David Taylor, who is also planning to launch a compensation claim against CYBG after his haulage business, TT Express, collapsed into administration last year. The probe emerges as CYBG launches a £1.6 billion takeover bid for rival Virgin Money a champion of high standards in banking. - Mail on Sunday

Struggling baby chain Mothercare plans to tap long-suffering investors for tens of millions of pounds as it embarks on a sweeping restructuring plan to revive its fortunes. The Telegraph understands the troubled firm will hit major shareholders with an equity share placing when it outlines a rescue plan alongside full-year results this week. - Sunday Telegraph

The Government has been warned that plans for a ban on junk food advertising before the watershed risk permanent damage to British broadcasters and will divert as much as £250m a year into the pockets of unregulated tech giants Facebook and Google. A coalition of television companies including ITV, Sky and Viacom, the owner of Channel 5, is frantically battling moves by Number 10 and Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, to outlaw advertising for products that are high in fat, sugar or salt before 9pm. - Sunday Telegraph

An estimated £500m bailout of the Crossrail train line is expected to be announced within weeks, to prevent work on the colossal infrastructure project from grinding to a halt. Faced with problems over the power supply and signals, the £14.8bn London rail scheme — one of the largest construction projects in Europe — is drifting substantially over budget. - Sunday Times

Senior figures in Britain’s £80 billion-a-year car industry want the UK to remain in the EU’s customs union and dismiss the two alternatives being considered by the Government as unworkable. Bosses say the benefits of the customs union have been the ‘foundation’ for the growth of an industry that now supports 800,000 jobs. An end to the arrangements would create ‘major disruption’ and imperil the sector, with firms slashing staff and moving operations abroad. - Mail on Sunday

The UK has no need to build new large gas-fired power stations to replace the coal plants that the government has pledged to switch off by 2025, the World Wide Fund for Nature has argued. The gap can instead be filled by renewables, battery storage and flexible technologies, allowing the UK to go from “coal to clean” and skip new gas completely, according to a report by the environmental group. - Observer

The cash crisis at Rolls-Royce caused by the spiralling costs of fixing a faulty jet-engine model has prompted a ban on all but essential travel at the blue-chip engineer. The company spends up to £150m a year on travel and accommodation but staff are now under intense pressure to slash this by 30pc. - Sunday Telegraph

BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg is the latest boss to face flak from shareholders for ‘overboarding’ – taking on too many directorships. Svanberg, who enjoys a £785,000 pay and benefits package at BP, also holds the role of chairman at Volvo. - Mail on Sunday

Banking giant Santander is working on plans to launch a stand-alone digital bank in the UK, following in the footsteps of RBS. The Spanish-owned lender is gearing up to launch a business banking service under a separate brand within months, amid intensifying competition in the market. - Sunday Telegraph

Thousands of British high street jobs may be under threat now that Poundworld's US owner has ditched a rescue plan to bring the loss making discount chain back from the brink, opting to sell up instead. American private equity backer TPG is said to have instructed Deloitte to find a buyer for Poundworld, which employs around 5,500 staff across the UK, by April. - Sunday Telegraph

The recent blockbuster floats of petrol station chain Vivo Energy and cyber security group Avast have failed to spark a boom in stock market listings as the number of share sales plunges to a five-year low. Less than 20 companies have floated in London since January, according to Dealogic, a third less than the total this time a year ago and the lowest number since 2013. - Sunday Telegraph

Universal Music could soon be tuning up for a float valuing the world’s largest record label at more than $20bn (£15bn). French media giant Vivendi has been weighing a spin-off of its recorded music arm since last year, which has enjoyed a renaissance thanks to a boom in streaming revenues. - Sunday Times

Foreign advertisements promoting the interests of political parties may be banned from social media in the UK under proposals being considered by the government. The move reflects concern around the world about the way that overseas groups are using ads on Twitter, Google and Facebook to try to skew the results of domestic elections. - Sunday Times

Scientists believe they have found a therapy that will consign Viagra to history after showing a single injection of stem cells can cure men of erectile dysfunction. In trials they found that injecting 20m stem cells into the base of the penis could reinvigorate the nerves and blood vessels and even make the organ larger — something Viagra has never achieved. - Sunday Times

Club 18-30 — which was sending about 100,000 people abroad every year at its peak and even spawned a cult TV series — could soon be coming to an end. The high street tour operator Thomas Cook is understood to be calling time on the brand it has owned since 1998, and promotes under the slogan: “It’s go big or go home and only the legendary will do.” - Sunday Times

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will this week come under attack from a powerful group of MPs over its failure to protect Carillion pensions prior to its collapse. An inquiry by the joint business and pensions select committee is expected to call for the watchdog to be scrapped and its responsibilities handed to a new more powerful body that would also include the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). - Sunday Telegraph

Britain’s railways are to enter a new steam age with up to 100 ageing commuter trains poised to be converted to run on eco-friendly hydrogen. They could be on the network within three years and will be almost silent, with the same range and speed as traditional diesel and electric trains. - Sunday Times

Move over Elon Musk — a British billionaire has decided to bet on space. The financial services tycoon Peter Hargreaves has taken control this weekend of the Goonhilly satellite tracking station in Cornwall with bold plans to expand its services. - Sunday Times

Facebook is considering launching its own cryptocurrency and allowing its 2bn-plus users to make seamless electronic payments. The $530bn (£390bn) social media giant has quietly spent the past year exploring possible uses of blockchain technology, the decentralised ledger system that underpins bitcoin, ethereum, ripple and the thousands of other digital currencies that have been spawned recently. - Sunday Times

Britain's information watchdog may block government use of a new Google feature that allows someone to delete an email once it is sent. Users can set an expiry date for when the email is permanently deleted and allow it to lock itself after a certain time if left unopened, though concerns have been raised over its potential misuse in public office, by enabling someone to easily destroy documents remotely. - Sunday Telegraph

A clutch of Chinese smartphone giants are scoping UK launches as the technology giants look for a slice of Britain’s premium phone market. One of them, Oppo, China’s second-largest smartphone vendor, quietly launched a UK arm in February, according to filings on Companies House. The move is thought to be part of plans to launch in Europe this summer. - Sunday Telegraph

The drugs minister has been accused of a “massive conflict of interest” after it emerged that her husband operates Britain’s largest cannabis farm. Victoria Atkins has now stopped speaking for the government on cannabis and other aspects of her drugs brief. The Home Office said she had “voluntarily recused herself from policy or decisions relating to cannabis”. - Sunday Times

Just 350 of the 15,600 wealthiest households in Westminster, one of the country’s richest boroughs, have answered the local authority’s call to voluntarily pay extra council tax to help tackle the homelessness crisis in the heart of London. In February, the Westminster council leader, Nickie Aiken, wrote to all residents in the most expensive band H properties to ask them to consider paying an extra £833-a-year 'community contribution' to help fund youth clubs, homelessness services and visits to lonely people.- Observer