Wednesday newspaper round-up: Energy price cap, Burberry, net zero targets

(Sharecast News) - The majority of British households expect to restrict their home heating this winter to try to keep rising costs in check, according to research released as the price cap that dictates most bills rose again. The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action said 58% of households told its survey they were likely to trim their energy use, a nine-percentage-point increase from the level in January. - Guardian Rachel Reeves is to lift the two-child benefit limit in the budget, a key demand of Labour MPs and child poverty campaigners, with officials exploring options of a tapered system instead. The chancellor and Keir Starmer have said they expect to respond to recommendations of the child poverty taskforce at the budget, which is expected to say that lifting the two-child limit for universal credit and child tax credit would be one of the most effective ways to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. - Guardian

Burberry has axed its diversity chief as part of a sweeping overhaul at the luxury goods giant. In a move that could signal a retreat from its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, the retailer has made Geoffrey Williams redundant and scrapped his role altogether. Mr Williams, who was global vice president of colleague attraction and inclusion at Burberry, said he had been "phased out" as part of a company-wide cull. The business is pursuing a radical turnaround plan aimed at cutting at least £60m worth of costs, with bosses suggesting in May that this could lead to 1,700 roles being axed by 2027 - equivalent to around a fifth of its workforce. - Telegraph

Ed Miliband's net zero targets are facing fresh scrutiny after Britain was found to be paying the highest electricity prices in the developed world. New data published on Tuesday showed the price paid by UK industry for power was 63pc higher than in France and 27pc higher than in Germany. Britain is also the second-most expensive country in the world for household electricity, with billpayers paying twice as much as those in the US. - Telegraph

One of Britain's biggest household energy suppliers has been forced to warn that its future could be in doubt after it failed to meet Ofgem's financial resilience targets. Ovo Group, which supplies about 4 million households, said it had agreed "a required capitalisation plan with Ofgem to improve its capital position" but that there was "uncertainty" around the timing and extent of the implementation of a capitalisation plan. - The Times