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The British government secretly dropped a series of climate pledges in order to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, leaked emails appear to show.Liz Truss, the trade secretary, and Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, decided to “drop both of the climate asks” from the text of the UK-Australia agreement in order to get it “over the line”, according to the email from a senior official.A binding section that referenced the “Paris Agreement temperature goals” was scrubbed from the accord after pressure from the southern Hemipshere country’s government – which has a notoriously weak record on climate action. The embarrassing revelation comes just weeks before the government is due to host a landmark UN climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow – where it is supposed to ask countries to make stronger commitments to cutting emissions. Just last month Boris Johnson claimed any trade deal with Australia would, “include a chapter on trade and environment which not only reaffirms commitments to multilateral environmental agreements, including the Paris Agreement but also commits both parties to collaborate on climate and environmental issues”.The prime minister claimed that “more trade will not come at the expense of the environment”. In June the two countries reached an “agreement in principle” to cut tariffs and quotas.John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said the government’s actions would signal the start of a “race to the bottom” and accused Boris Johnson of having lied about the issue. “The UK government pledged to embed the environment at the very heart of trade, including supporting the Paris Agreement on climate and zero deforestation in supply chains,” Mr Sauven said.“Signing an Australian trade deal with action on climate temperature commitments secretly removed is the polar opposite of everything Boris Johnson publicly pledged and rips the heart out of what the agreement stands for.”The Greenpeace chief added: “It will be a race to the bottom, impacting on clean tech sectors and farmers’ livelihoods. There should be a moratorium on trade deals with countries like Australia until they improve on their weak climate targets and end deforestation. At the moment the public and parliament are being duped by the Prime Minister into thinking this deal is great for Britain when in reality nothing could be further from the truth.“What’s also clear is that the government’s promise of public consultation and updates on the progress of the negotiations are completely inadequate. It’s time parliament demanded proper scrutiny for trade deals.”Brexiteers in the government like trade secretary Ms Truss have been desparate to secure trade deals with other countries to try and prove that leaving the EU has benefits. But experts say the drive for agreements at any cost has put the UK in a weak negotiating position.The email, first reported by Sky News, was sent last month and details internal discussions between Ms Truss, Mr Kwarteng and Brexit minister Lord Frost It originates from a deputy director in the government’s the trade secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office.The email says: “As flagged in my note to Lord Frost, the Business and Trade Secretaries were due to speak yesterday. “We haven’t yet seen the formal read out, but we understand the conversation took place and the Business Secretary has agreed that, in order to get the Australia FTA over the line, DIT can drop both of the climate asks (ie on precedence of Multilateral Environmental Agreements over FTA provisions and a reference to Paris Agreement temperature goals.)”The change makes the deal weaker than the Brexit agreement with the EU and other FTAs negotiated by the UK. The Paris deal requires countries to set goals in order to limit global warming to well below 2C, preferably to 1.5C. Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison has refused to commit to taking his country to net zero by 2050, even after the UN’s most recent “code red” warning. Instead, Australia’s government is holding to an existing pledge of cutting carbon emissions by 26 per cent to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Australia is the second-largest exporter of coal in the world and has a high per capita carbon footprint, according to European Commission data. Of 176 new coal projects across the world, 79 of them are in Australia, according to Fitch.Caroline Lucas, member of the cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission and a Green Party MP said: “Weeks before the UK is due to host an international summit to secure climate action, this revelation paints a bleak picture of both the government’s priorities and their abysmal negotiating power post-Brexit.”Only yesterday, the government showed they are willing to break any promise they make to the public and their readiness to compromise on the existential challenge of our time raises serious concerns on what else might be on the table in ongoing trade negotiations.”Jean Blaylock, a trade campaigner at the group Global Justice Now, said the episode was “typical of the government’s approach to trade deals”. “Climate commitments will always come second to a free trade arrangement, regardless of the consequences for the planet,” she said. “Even deals that contain specific climate commitments often sign us up to secretive corporate courts that allow big polluters to sue governments for taking climate action.“The kinds of trade deals that we are pursuing are completely incompatible with decarbonisation. Tweaking the text of trade deals is not enough. We need to fundamentally reshape our system of global trade to save us from climate catastrophe.”Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said: the revelation “underscores yet again that this greenwashing government cannot be trusted on climate”. “With COP26 round the corner, the Government should be flexing every political muscle to ensure the summit is a success,” he said.“Australia is one of the world’s biggest polluters and key to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. But rather than piling pressure on them, the Government has simply rolled over.“This government is pursuing trade deals at the expense of our farmers and now our climate targets. This is simply a massive betrayal of our country and our planet.”A Government spokesperson said: “Our ambitious trade deal with Australia will include a substantive article on climate change which reaffirms both parties’ commitments to The Paris Agreement and achieving its goals, including limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Any suggestion the deal won’t sign up to these vital commitments is completely untrue.””The UK’s climate change and environment policies are some of the most ambitious in the world, reflecting our commitment as the first major economy to pass new laws for net zero emissions by 2050.” More

Around 800,000 homes have been built to lower emissions standards or without carbon offsets because the government scrapped tough environmental rules six years ago, it can be revealed. Ministers were accused of wasting “years of vital progress” in the fight against the climate emergency, baking in high-carbon housing stock for decades, and driving up energy bills for families.The last Labour government introduced a legal requirement for new homes to be made net zero carbon by 2016, but in 2015 the Conservative government scrapped the plan at the last minute.796,710 new dwellings have been built since then, according to official figures – practically none of them net zero and all expected to last well beyond when the whole economy must hit net zero. It comes amid concern about the influence of property developers on the Conservative party, with the party having taken £891,000 in donations from the sector in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Companies linked to property developers have donated over £10 million to the governing party since the start of 2019 and Labour says Tories have consistently put the interests of donors ahead of the public.Approached about the policy change, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government said the net zero requirement’s inclusion of “carbon offsetting” as a possible way for homes to hit net zero justified ending the requirement altogether.However, the government could have changed the rules of the schemes to simply not allow carbon offsetting.Offsetting, which involves strategies like planting trees to reduce the net emissions of a project, is also used in other areas of government policy, including as part of the government’s own national net zero emissions target.Labour’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said: “The Government’s dither and delay means we’ve lost six years of vital progress in reducing emissions and lowering energy bills. “Sadly this mistake isn’t just a one-off but part of a damaging pattern. Just this year, the Government axed the Green Homes Grant scheme which could have helped households insulate their homes, reduce their emissions, and save money on bills. “800,000 households could have had lower energy bills and zero carbon homes by now if the zero carbon hones standard had not been abolished. Hundreds of thousands more homes will also be built before this standard comes in.”The Conservatives cannot be trusted to deliver, whether it’s on reducing emissions or protecting family finances.”The government has now said it will require homes to be made net zero by 2025, with higher emissions standards phased in. Offsets will also be used as part of the government’s plan to eventually make homes net zero.A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government said: “The Zero Carbon Homes policy involved carbon offsetting, rather than making homes zero carbon, and would have would have provided limited benefits to consumers as it wouldn’t necessarily have increased the efficiency of their homes.“By delivering carbon reductions through the fabric and building services in a home, rather than relying on wider carbon offsetting, the Future Homes Standard ensures new homes will have a smaller carbon footprint than any previous government policy.” More

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on Boris Johnson to “reassess” plans for the new Cambo oil field near Shetland following an outcry by climate campaigners.In a letter to the prime minister, the SNP leader said the UK government should reconsider drilling licenses for the waters around Shetland where no development had yet taken place.Ms Sturgeon – who has been under intense pressure from the Scottish Green Party and environmental activists on the issues – also asked for a four-nation summit on the climate crisis.“I am also asking that the UK government agrees to reassess licenses already issued, but where field development has not yet commenced. That would include the proposed Cambo development,” she said.The first minister said licenses should be reconsidered because of the urgency of the climate emergency and need to move away from fossil fuels. “We must ensure that the decisions and investments we make now are aligned with that ambition,” she wrote in her letter.But Greenpeace UK slammed her letter as a “PR exercise” – with campaigner Sam Chetan-Walsh saying: “Nicola Sturgeon is deferring to Boris Johnson to check the climate impact of Cambo, but until she makes her own stance clear this is just a PR exercise.”Friends of the Earth also accused Ms Sturgeon of “deferring to Boris Johnson on the future of North Sea oil and gas.”The group’s climate campaigner Caroline Rance said: “She has failed to actually state her government’s opposition to Cambo or any new oil and gas. If the first minister wants to show leadership she must go further than calling on someone else to review their position.” Both the first minister and prime minister have come under fire over plans by Shell and Siccar Point Energy to drill in the Cambo oil field in the face of runaway climate change.At the weekend Ms Sturgeon was cornered by anti-oil campaigners in her Glasgow Southside constituency – but insisted the decision on Cambo lay with the UK government.Challenged on whether she would oppose the oil field in Shetland, Ms Sturgeon said: “Look, I’m not going to stand here … it’s not an issue for the Scottish government. We are thinking about all of these things … There’s no doubt we should be moving away [from oil].”Campaigners at the Green New Deal Rising group also responded with dismay to Ms Sturgeon’s letter on Thursday, saying it was “not enough” to stop the oil field development.Jennifer Kowalski, who had challenged the first minister face-to-face in her constituency, said: “Asking the government to ‘reassess’ is not enough. She needs to stop hiding behind the Conservatives and commit to no new oil fields in Scotland.”Calls to oppose the Cambo development intensified after Monday’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which painting a stark picture of the impact of humanity on the climate due to the burning of fossil fuels and other pollutants.While not a full-throated opposition to Cambo going ahead, the first minister’s intervention is her first on the issue. It also marks a significant shift away from SNP talk of an oil “bonanza” in Scotland. Ms Sturgeon said Shetland was on the cusp of a “second oil boom” in 2014.Explaining her stance on Thursday, she tweeted: “Oil and gas supports thousands of jobs in Scotland so our transition away from fossil fuels must be a just one. But the climate emergency demands that it happens at pace.”In her letter to Mr Johnson, Ms Sturgeon said: “We are both well aware of the importance of oil and gas over many decades – not least in terms of jobs – to the Scottish and UK economies. However, the answer to these challenges, given the urgency of the climate emergency, cannot be business as usual.”The SNP leader added: “Indeed, I am asking that the UK government now commits to significantly enhancing the climate conditionality associated with offshore oil and gas production.”The proposed Cambo oil field development is estimated to produce 132 million tonnes of carbon during its lifetime – a figure that would need a land mass 1.5 times bigger than Scotland to counter.Last week Mr Johnson claimed that the government “can’t just tear up contracts” as campaigners urged him to block the Cambo project.“This was a contract that was agreed in 2001 and we can’t just tear up contracts,” the prime minister told Sky News. “There’s a process to be gone through.” More

The president of the Cop26 summit Alok Sharma has said the UK is already experiencing the impact of climate change, as a group of Tory MPs shared their concerns about the cost of pursuing green policies.The government minister said he was shocked by recent photographs of the wildfires in Greece – but pointed to last month’s flash flooding in London as an example of extreme weather events in Britain.Mr Sharma told BBC’s Newscast podcast: “Unfortunately it’s not just Greece, we’re seeing around the world. And even in our country, right? In July when I was hosting a meeting of climate ministers here in London, London experienced in 24 hours one month of rainfall.”It comes as Conservative MPs in “red wall” seats across the north of England were caught out complaining to one other about the possible costs involved in cutting carbon emissions.Discussing the government’s green agenda, Tory Ashfield MP Lee Anderson reportedly told a WhatsApp group of Tory MPs: “This will not go down well in Red Wall seats at all.”Mr Sharma has been criticised for refusing to rule out new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea or an underground coal mine in Cumbria.Grilled about the plan for a coal mine near Whitehaven, Mr Sharma told the BBC: “When it comes to this coal mine I’m pleased there’s going to be a public inquiry. And we’ll see what comes out of it.”He added: “It does get raised by civil society groups when I talk to them. And I explain to them there is no coal mine – there’s going to be a public inquiry about this. There isn’t one at the moment, that’s the point.”The Cop26 minister has also come under fire over the number of flights he has taken around the world since the new year, but environmentalists have defended his attempts to hold face to face talks with leaders.Defending plane travel for the purpose of forging vital international agreement, Mr Sharma said it was particularly important for developing nation delegates to take part in talks “face-to-face” at Cop26 in Glasgow this November.“Everyone has been invited and we hope as many world leaders as possible come to this,” said the conference president. “The best way of getting this done is doing it face to face.“It’s really important that developing nations are able to sit at the same table as the big economies, the big nations, look them in the eye, face to face, and have this negotiation.”Mr Sharma said he expected more countries to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – their own national climate action plans – before the Cop26 summit begins, urging major polluters like China and India to come up with new targets.“At the current count around 112 have submitted their NDCs,” he said. “What we need of course is all the big economies to come forward. We want to see what China’s going to do. We want to see what India is going to do.”“We’re also trying to get countries to commit to going to net zero in their economies by the middle of the century,” Mr Sharma added.The UK government said earlier this week it would relax some travel restrictions to help delegates attend the climate conference, including a shorter quarantine period for those from so-called “red list” countries who have been vaccinated. More

The government could be about to significantly curb the scope of a scheme that pays consumers to return drinks bottles and cans for recycling, green experts are warning.A coalition of environmental charities says ministers could be about to make a “costly and misguided mistake” that will allow plastic to continue to pollute the countryside and seas, devastating wildlife.The start date of a planned deposit return scheme has been put back a year from 2023 to 2024.And one option being “seriously” considered is restricting the scheme to drink containers under 750ml in size and excluding those sold in multipacks.The Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition whose members include Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF, warns in a report today against the moves.Under a deposit return scheme, the price of drinks in bottles or aluminium cans includes a small amount that goes towards recycling. The sum is returned to the buyer as an incentive to recycle when the empty container is returned.In its election manifesto, the government promised a scheme this Parliament, with an original start date of 2023, but a government consultation document earlier this year said the coronavirus had forced a delay in rolling it out.The consultation also considers restricting the scheme to smaller “on-the-go” containers rather than a wider “all-in” arrangement.Paula Chin, chairwoman of the coalition’s resources and waste group, said: “The evidence is clear that an ‘all-in’ deposit return scheme will provide a huge boost to the environment, helping make our streets, parks and natural spaces cleaner and healthier.“The government’s own figures show that there’s over £5bn in benefits by introducing this scheme in full.“However, ministers are currently weighing up whether to back a watered-down proposal which would cover just a third of drinks containers placed on the market and which may possibly exclude glass containers.”“As we face the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, it’s essential that the government back the strongest possible scheme for tackling litter without delay.”In a first official consultation in 2019, public backing for a deposit return scheme was high, but held a fresh one because of the pandemic.A decision on that is imminent, and the coalition says it understands there is a “strong possibility” the watered-down option will be adopted.A scheme covering all types of containers is predicted to lead to 23.7 billion being recycled each year, against only 7.4 billion under the scaled-down option.The Link coalition says an “all-in” scheme has been judged to have benefits of £11bn against only £3.5bn for an “on-the-go” model – calculated from reduced litter, carbon dioxide savings and the value of recovered materials.The Link members also point out that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already indicated their support for the “all-in” model, with Scotland set to introduce their scheme next year, ahead of the rest of the UK.“The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the economy and society in unimaginable ways, with many people reassessing their values, decisions and priorities,” the government document said.Lockdown has led to unprecedented levels of litter, evidence has suggested.Of the 13 billion plastic drinks bottles sold each year, less than half are recycled, and around 700,000 are dropped into the environment every day.Countries already operating deposit return schemes, such as Germany, have plastic bottle recycling rates of over 90 per cent, against 59 per cent in the UK.The government has set a target of eliminating all ‘avoidable’ plastic waste by 2042, with measures including a plastic packaging tax.In 2019, Greenpeace created a giant bottle out of plastic bottles, delivering it to the government in an effort to persuade ministers to introduce a bottle return scheme.The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee last month launched an inquiry into plastic waste, sayig just a third of the five million tonnes of plastic used in the UK is recycled.Plastics that are not recycled are exported abroad, where some has been found being burnt or dumped, polluting waterways, not recycled.The Independent has asked the government to respond to the report. More

Labour is demanding an apology from Boris Johnson after he said Britain owed its escape from reliance on coal energy to Margaret Thatcher’s closure of the mines in the 1980s.The prime minister was reported to have chuckled as he made the comment about his Tory predecessor’s wholesale closure of pits, which led to the bitterly divisive miners’ strike of 1984-85.Speaking during a visit to a wind-farm off the coast of Scotland, Mr Johnson said that the UK’s dependence on coal for its electricity had fallen from 70-80 per cent in his childhood to less than one per cent now largely “thanks to” Lady Thatcher.“We’ve transitioned away from coal in my lifetime,” he said. “Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we’re now moving rapidly away from coal altogether.”Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy called on the PM to apologise.“These are shameful comments from the prime minister, and reveal the Conservative party’s utter disregard for the communities still scarred by Thatcher’s closure of the mines and failure to deliver good new jobs in their place,” she said.“Without investment in good, green jobs as we move away from fossil fuels, the Conservatives risk repeating the mistakes of the past. It is vital that the green transition is a fair transition.“The prime minister should apologise.”Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also condemned the comments.“Lives and communities in Scotland were utterly devastated by Thatcher’s destruction of the coal industry which had zero to do with any concern she had for the planet,” she tweeted.“To treat that as something to laugh about is crass and deeply insensitive.” More

Keir Starmer has branded Boris Johnson and his government “climate delayers”, as he warned that the biggest threat to international efforts to stem global warming is no longer outright denial but failure to act with the necessary urgency.Speaking to The Independent, the Labour leader said the prime minister was “letting the country down” with his inaction on climate change, less than 100 days before he is due to host the United Nations Cop26 global warming summit in Glasgow.Warning that “the sense of urgency just isn’t there with this government”, Starmer pointed to internal cabinet rows over the replacement of gas boilers, as well as the sell-off of the Green Investment Bank and the scrapping of green homes grants as markers that Conservative rhetoric on sustainability was not matched by action.And he revealed new figures suggesting that some 75,000 green jobs have been lost over five years at a time when Tory prime ministers were publicly committed to action against climate change.Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed an overall loss of 33,800 direct jobs in the low carbon and renewable sectors between 2014 and 2019, along with a further 41,400 jobs in the supply chain, said Labour. These included falls in jobs in onshore wind, solar panels and energy efficient equipment.“Those 75,000 jobs are an example of this government’s and this prime minister’s trademark rhetoric not matched by reality,” said Starmer.But the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) challenged the claim, insisting that the apparent decline was due to a change in the way the statistics were compiled. The department pointed to an ONS report in March this year which said the sector had seen “no significant change in size” between 2014 and 2019. The ONS said that methodological changes in 2015 made direct comparisons “difficult”.The Labour leader, who on Tuesday told The Independent that he was recommitting Labour to the ambitious target of cutting the “substantial majority” of carbon emissions by 2030, was speaking during a two-day visit to Glasgow to mark 100 days to go until the conclusion of the UN summit, where it is hoped that almost 200 nations will unite behind a plan for action to keep warming to no more than 1.5C.But he warned that, after slashing the UK’s aid budget and embarking on a series of rows with European allies, Mr Johnson’s reputation was “at a low ebb” internationally at the very moment when he has the task of brokering a deal to build on the Paris Agreement of 2015.Cop26 will be “arguably the biggest global event for Britain since the Olympics in 2012, when the eyes of the whole world will be on us”, said Starmer.“Paris told us what we have got to do – the ambition to get to 1.5 degrees. But Glasgow has got to deliver the reality of how we get there.“That means diplomacy, it means building coalitions, it means leading by example. Acting globally on the diplomatic stage is all about reputation and trust and the reputation of this prime minister is at a low ebb.“Just at the point where we need a prime minister that can lead for Britain, we have a prime minister that’s letting Britain down.”Starmer added: “I’m very perturbed about the inaction of the government, because in a sense the biggest challenge here is no longer the climate deniers, it’s the climate delayers. Those that know we’ve got to do something but aren’t acting quickly enough. And the government is in that category.”On a visit to a wind farm in Scotland alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Starmer restated Labour’s call for £30bn in planned investment to be brought forward to support up to 400,000 jobs in manufacturing and low-carbon industries.And he aimed a broadside at the record of the Scottish National Party, after figures showed fewer direct green jobs north of the border than in 2014, despite the party promising to create 130,000 green jobs by 2020.“Tackling the climate crisis must be at the heart of everything we do,” said Starmer. “We are at a critical moment. In less than 100 days, Cop26 will be over and our chance to keep the planet’s warming below 1.5 degrees will have either been grasped or abandoned.“The UK must rise to this moment and lead by example. That means rapid action to create good, green jobs across the country. And it means a proper strategy to buy, make and sell more in Britain, to create good, unionised jobs in clean energy and through supply chains.“We’ve had a decade of broken promises on green jobs and climate action under the Conservatives. And we are going backwards in Scotland, too. For all the rhetoric, both parties have overseen a significant loss of green jobs.“Nobody here in the UK can afford for this issue to be yet another example of Boris Johnson bluster. We need real action, now. It is time for a Green New Deal.”A BEIS spokesperson said: “As we build back better and greener from the pandemic, this government is firmly committed to seizing the economic opportunities presented by the transition to a green economy. “The data from 2019 and 2014 cannot be compared as there was a change in how the survey was conducted. In fact, ONS has concluded that the low carbon and renewable energy economy has remained stable.“We have welcomed the recommendations put forward by the green jobs taskforce, which are a big step forward in delivering the skilled workers and green jobs essential for the UK’s transition to net zero. “This will now be considered by the government, starting with the development of our net zero strategy, due to be published ahead of the UN’s climate summit Cop26 in Glasgow this November.” More

Boris Johnson is “missing in action” ahead of the vital COP26 climate summit in Scotland later this year, Keir Starmer is warning.The Labour leader claims the November talks in Glasgow are at risk of failing because the PM is more interested in “soundbites” than leadership.His comments come ahead of a visit to Glasgow, where he will promote Labour’s own policies aiming to reduce emissions.Mr Johnson also makes a rare trip north of the border on Wednesday, although Downing Street has kept quiet on his itinerary.Prior to his own visit, Mr Starmer vowed to keep a committment to Labour’s target of achieving the “substantial majority” of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2030, as set out in the party’s last election manifesto.With just under three months to go until the world’s attention is focused on CO26, Mr Starmer accused the government of lacking ambition on the climate crisis.“As host of the summit, the world is looking to Britain to deliver,” he wrote in The Guardian. “We cannot afford to miss this moment, but I fear we will.”He added: “All over the world, unusual weather events show that dystopia is not on the horizon. It is here today, all around us,” he wrote.“At this vital moment, our prime minister is missing in action, while his climate spokesperson is busy advising people to freeze their leftover bread.”When the issues at stake are so large, it really is irresponsible for the response to be so small.”The government has come under criticism for its policy and rhetoric on the climate in recent days.Allegra Stratton, the COP26 spokesperson, came under fire after suggesting people should avoid rinsing their plates before putting them into the dishwasher to help reduce emissions.Earlier this week, Mr Stratton, a former journalist, revealed that she continued to use a diesel car because she had to take long journeys to Scotland, Wales and Gloucestershire for family visits.Her remarks were condemned by climate activists and electric car experts, who said the vehicles are suitable for longer journeys with the right planning.Labour has also warned that ministers’ decision to scrap the Green Homes Grant has cost 90,000 jobs.The grant was a central plank of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2020 plan for jobs, which promised a green recovery to improve 600,000 homes and support 100,000 green jobs. But by the time it was closed in March 2021, just 63,000 households had benefited and new Labour analysis has found that only 10,000 jobs were delivered.Shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell described the scheme as “a shambles from the start”.“Once again the government are over-promising and under-delivering, with their failures damaging our Covid recovery and costing vital jobs,” she said. More