Your commercial news round-up: Grenfell Tower report, Volvo’s EVs, new water bill, Oasis tickets

Reading time: three minutes

In this week’s commercial news round-up, we look at the recently published Phase 2 report from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and its recommendations to prevent future tragedies. Meanwhile, Volvo has made changes to its electric vehicle targets, water company bosses could face tougher penalties for breaking the law and dynamic pricing looks set to face scrutiny by the European Commission following the sale of Oasis tickets.

• Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower report has found that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable, with residents “failed” by those “responsible for ensuring the safety of its occupants”. On Wednesday 4 September, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry published its second and final report looking into the circumstances surrounding the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 – the worst residential fire in the UK since the Second World War. With 72 people dead as a result, Theresa May (prime minister at the time) announced a public injury to look into the disaster in order to prevent similar tragedies in the future. The Phase 2 report investigated the underlying causes of the fire and “identifies what we think is needed to make sure that the legacy of Grenfell is real and brings about lasting change”, explained the inquiry chair Rt Hon Sir Martin Moore-Bick. He added that the “recommendations” made in the report “place new burdens and responsibilities on people and organisations”. The recommendations include:
   
  • bringing responsibility for all aspects of fire safety under one government department;
  • appointing a construction regulator to oversee all aspects of the construction industry; and
  • a licensing scheme for contractors wishing to undertake the construction or
    refurbishment of higher-risk buildings.

Responding to the publication of the report, the Metropolitan Police has said it’ll need around 12 to 18 months to study the report before any criminal charges can be brought.

• Meanwhile, Volvo has said it expects 90% of its output to be electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2030, abandoning its initial target to be fully electric by this date. Due to a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in key markets and uncertainty due to trade tariffs on EVs made in China, Volvo isn’t the only car manufacturer to scale back its ambitions with the likes of Ford and General Motors doing the same. Despite the change in plans, Volvo is “resolute” in its belief that its “future is electric”, according to the manufacturer’s chief executive Jim Rowan. The transition to “electrification will not be linear, and customers and markets are moving at different speeds”, Rowan added.

• Under new government legislation to tackle pollution – the Water (Special Measures) Bill – water company bosses could lose out on bonuses and be sent to prison. The proposed laws aim to give regulators new powers to challenge water companies that are damaging the environment by making it easier to impose fines. Environment Secretary Steve Reed believes the measures will put an end to the “disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses”. However, as well as these new laws, there have been calls for an “urgent review” of the regulators – James Wallace, chief executive of River Action UK, said: "You can't enforce these laws without effective regulators." 
   
• Elsewhere, Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’ system has faced criticism from fans looking to purchase Oasis tickets, with prices per ticket reaching £350 due to “unprecedented demand”. The band has said that they play no part in decisions around ticket prices and that they were unaware that dynamic pricing was going to be used by Ticketmaster to sell tickets for the initial dates of the tour. As two new dates have since been added, it’s been revealed that a “staggered, invitation-only ballot process” will be used for the additional dates. The Advertising Standards Authority has received more than 400 complaints about Ticketmaster adverts for the Oasis concerts, with claims that the adverts were “misleading”. Following the controversy, the European Commission has announced it’ll be looking into dynamic pricing.

Check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Prefer to listen to your commercial news? Why not check out our Commercial Connect podcast?

Follow LawCareers.Net on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram for regular business news updates.