Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Santander UK to quit lending standards body
Santander UK, Britain’s fifth-biggest high street bank, is cancelling its membership of a key lending standards body because of the duplication of regulatory standards to which the industry is required to adhere.
Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank served notice last week of its intention to quit the Lending Standards Board, citing the establishment of the City watchdog's Consumer Duty and the imminent implementation of new fraud reimbursement rules overseen by the Payment Systems Regulator.
In its letter to the LSB, Santander UK said the new regulatory frameworks would "supersede the existing voluntary industry standards that are set out in the current LSB codes".
"This inevitably leads to duplicative regulation and can create confusion among staff and customers about which standards apply."
UK rent rises forecast to outpace wage growth for three years
Rent rises in Britain are forecast to outpace wage growth, despite having already surged at the fastest pace on record after the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
The Resolution Foundation expects added pressure on millions of households and said average rents could increase by 13% over the next three years as current high growth in the private rental market work their way through existing tenancies.
Forecasting 4.2% growth in average rents in each year up to 2027, the thinktank said this rate was much faster than the 7.5% growth in average workers’ earnings (2.4% a year on average) predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility over that period.
New flexible working rules risk turning Britain into a ‘couch potato nation’
Britain’s new flexible working rules risk turning the country into a “couch potato nation”, critics have claimed, as they say it will allow thousands more people to work from home.
New measures introduced over the weekend mean employees have the right to ask for flexible working from their first day in a new job.
This could include requests for remote working, staggered hours or job sharing.
While many have supported the move, for some it has fuelled fears that it could increase red tape for companies as they receive an avalanche of requests.
EDIT: North-east artists and makers celebrated as lifestyle shop opens at new location
Eclectic lifestyle store EDIT has returned to Aberdeen to showcase talent from across the north-east.
Products created by more than 30 artists, designers and makers are now available to purchase from a new shop in the Bon Accord Centre.
EDIT, delivered by Look Again at Gray’s School of Art and Deemouth Artist Studios, started as a three-month pop up on Upperkirkgate in 2022 to help activate empty shop units in the city.
Due to its overwhelming popularity, it ended up staying open for more than a year.