Your commercial news round-up: Rwanda ruling, Thames Water, NHS, the FA and Google Pixel, LGBTQ+ plaques, ChatGPT

Reading time: five minutes

From the breaking news regarding the latest ruling over the government’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to the latest updates on strikes in the NHS, this week we take you through the biggest commercial developments in the UK, with the aim of increasing your commercial awareness.

• Three senior judges have ruled that it’s unlawful for the UK government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed. The ruling was made by Lord Burnett, Sir Geoffrey Vos and Lord Justice Underhill following a four-day hearing in April. This goes against the previous ruling last December that found it lawful to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed. The Illegal Migration Bill states that all asylum seekers arriving via “irregular means” could face being forcibly removed to Rwanda. However, this has been opposed heavily by the United Nations’s refugee agency (UNHCR), lawyers, charities, the public and a group of asylum seekers. UNHCR gave evidence at the court hearing of Rwanda’s record of human rights abuses towards refugees inside its borders. This latest ruling could face further questioning if it’s taken to the Supreme Court and after that, the European Court of Human Rights.
   
• Thames Water, the UK’s largest water company, is in danger of going into administration if it’s unable to pay off mounting debt. Yesterday (28 June), the government announced it’s prepared to act if the company collapses. Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, said that she was "very concerned" by the situation: "We need to make sure Thames Water as an entity survives." Meanwhile, water regulator Ofwat has criticised the supplier for its “environmental record and leakage performance” as both were “poor". Thames Water came under fire in a 2021/22 report, which found a series of sewage discharges and leaks within its network. According to the report, Thames Water loses the equivalent of up to 250 Olympic size swimming pools every day from its pipes. The company has said that it’s trying to raise the cash necessary to address the issues, stating that it has "strong" cash and borrowing reserves to fall back on. However, it’s understood that the supplier is struggling to keep up with a substantial level of debt sitting at £14 billion.
   
• The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that all four types of NHS doctors could strike before a general election. Junior doctors and hospital consultants may be joined by GPs and specialist doctors in England in their strike, says professor Phillip Banfield, chair of the BMA. Banfield later added that the current situation leaves doctors across the profession “in dispute with the government in the run-up to a general election”. Specialists, defined as experienced doctors working in a specific practice area, are seeking a pay rise due to the “gross injustice” of the real-life value of their pay falling by 25% since 2008. While GPs are frustrated with a “disastrous” new contract and are considering staging an indicative ballot to see how many would support strike action. Junior doctors will strike for five days, between 13 and 17 of July, while consultants are set to walk out for two days on the 20 and 21 of July. “Doctors are the angriest they’ve ever been and the most demoralised they’ve ever been,” added Banfield.
   
• Google Pixel has been announced as the official mobile and earbuds sponsor of The Footballers Association (FA) in a new, long-term partnership. Despite Google previously having worked with The FA, this is the Pixel brand’s first step into sponsorship in the UK, covering both England men’s and women’s senior teams. In a publicity statement, Pixel said it’ll “use its best-in-class camera and AI-powered technology to give fans fresh perspectives on their favourite players”. This signifies Google’s recognition of the importance of content creation within advertising, with long and short-form video content at the heart of the partnership. Pixel is also set to collaborate with Lioness Lauren James this summer for a new campaign titled “Football on Pixel”. Eileen Mannion, vice president of marketing at Google UK, said that football is “more than just a sport in the UK, it’s deeply rooted in our heritage”.Mannion later added: “Phones are such an integral part of the modern sports experience, and we’re thrilled to work with The FA to get fans closer to the action of our incredible men’s and women’s teams more than ever before.”
   
• Five new plaques are set to be installed across London to celebrate remarkable people, spaces and moments in LGBTQ+ history. The new plaques will be placed at sites in:
  • Greenwich;
  • Peckham;
  • Westminster;
  • Ladbroke Grove; and
  • Haringey.

​The plaques join two existing plaques in the City and will be installed in the coming months by the London LGBT+ Forums' Network and Studio Voltaire, helped by funding from the mayor of London's Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm and Wandsworth Oasis. The new plaques will celebrate numerous people and places, including a centre and hospice for people with HIV and AIDS in Ladbroke Grove and the first centre established in Europe to provide advice and support in the community in Peckham. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he wanted public places in London to "fully reflect the many different communities that make up our great City".

• The US company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, has said that its first international office will be based in London. Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, stated that the move is an "opportunity to attract world-class talent". The announcement follows Altman’s criticism of the EU’s proposed legislation to regulate AI, which would require businesses to reveal the content used to train their systems. The UK offers a unique space for AI investment due to its “pro-innovation” regulation, alongside the £2.5 billion the UK has invested in AI since 2014.

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