The head of the Home Office has admitted that officials got the figures "so, so wrong" on how much it would cost to convert military barracks into asylum accommodation Wethersfield and Scampton were assessed to cost £5m each to set up. It was actually £49m and £27m respectively

Permanent secretary Sir Matthew Rycroft said there was "very significant optimism bias" and staff genuinely "thought £5m was the right figure for both" sites "Some costs we absolutely should have foreseen," he admits. They include fireproofing, removing asbestos, security, CCTV

Fascinating thread. Agricultural land classification is clearly going to be dramatically altered by climate change. It’s important in defining land value and identifying the most important land to be protected. Huge can of worms but it’s got to be opened!

The problem is that your members are not willing to 'learn lessons' or listen to residents, including those of us who live in unremediated buildings. No one actually believes housing associations are capable of learning lessons.

"Water company bosses could face prison time in new Labour crackdown on sewage infested rivers, lakes and seas." That idea is already part of the Companies Act and has been for almost 20 years. Wanna know how many company bosses have ever been prosecuted never mind gone to jail

Labour to tighten up right-to-buy to stop house ‘flipping’ which is one of the direct causes of the current shortage of social housing thetimes.com/article/f8e8a9…

Ed Miliband has approved a number of mass-scale solar panels on UK farmland despite huge local community objections. Solar panels shouldn’t be used on fields that are cultivated for our food growing. Instead, put them on brownfields, car parks, roofs and roads.

Tower Hamlets Council has removed a 90-minute journey time limit on temporary accommodation. bbc.in/4dVNnA0

. Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP so depressing driving by Wickham Market seeing the preparations for an unwanted schrme, and for 8-11 years (& with no bypassing the 4 villages): “The Sizewell C Project, new nuclear power station, includes a Park and Ride site located north of the village in

Italy 🇮🇹 The Italian government recently announced a ban on large-scale solar panels on farmland. The decision aims to "avoid desertification" of Italian agricultural land.

Our reaction ⤵️ Although some of the measures being brought in by the Water Bill are welcome, it remains our view that they do not go anywhere near far enough. Banning executive bonuses is a nice soundbite but, realistically, water companies can get round this easily in a

GP partners were forced to make the ‘devastating’ decision to hand back the contract for their practice, due to 10yrs of financial cuts ICB has decided to award the contract to Malling Health, after a ‘robust procurement process’ Could have just funded GPs pulsetoday.co.uk/news/practice-…

Why is it that it seems the more housing estates you build round our fab old East Anglian market towns the more impoverished - deprived - they appear. They remind us of the quality & affluence of how things were Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP what can be done to breathe new life into say

Britain has to end this insanely dangerous culture of picking firms for really important technical jobs based on who will do it the cheapest. It's not giving us value for money, it's giving us incompetence and lethal disasters.

Campaigners claim the roads are gridlocked and residents struggle to see a doctor or dentist essexlive.news/news/essex-new…

Inquest to find how boy, 5, died in luxury store bbc.in/47waOgV

Trial prevents fatbergs by turning oil into fuel bbc.in/4edSoUi

🔴 Severe court delays will see more landlords sell up – making the rental crisis even worse Find out everything you need to know 👇 telegraph.co.uk/money/property…

The UK's latest renewable-energy auction was a success, but its 2030 wind power target looks increasingly like a moonshot, writes Lara Williams trib.al/zMQpNnW via Bloomberg Opinion

House prices continued to rise during the summer albeit at a slower pace. Increasing 0.3% on July’s efforts to £292,505. On an annual basis Northern Ireland led the house price comeback, increasing +9.8%, followed by Wales +5.5%, the North West at +4.0%, then Scotland at +1.7% &