UK car sales hit eight-year high in August; Volkswagen approves another 50,000 job cuts – business live

Exclusive: As millions of people face hosepipe bans, many companies are not required to report, let alone cut, use of public supply Less than 1% of businesses in England use more water than the daily needs of 10 million people, as millions of households face hosepipe bans and three-quarters of the country is in drought. Businesses across England use 2.6bn litres a day from the public water supply, which includes potable and non-potable water provided by water companies. In total, businesses account for about 30% of public supply use, with two-thirds of their consumption in water-stressed areas, according to Mosl, the organisation that operates England’s business water market...

Paris converted tens of thousands of on-street parking spaces into docking stations, fundamentally changing its approach to public space Agustin Guilisasti is founder and CEO of the London ebike operator Forest Shared ebikes have become a key part of London’s transport network. From Hounslow to Greenwich, it’s rare to step on to the street without seeing one, and they now facilitate millions of journeys every month. Forest recorded 3m rides this July alone, a new high. Demand keeps rising, and operators are logging ever-higher ride-per-bike ratios, a key measure of how intensively fleets are being used. This is good news for London, which gains a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable way to get around – one that eases reliance on private car ownership. And, with new research revealing that air-quality improvements driven by the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) have led to better lung health in children, the benefits of reducing polluting journeys are increasingly clear. Agustin Guilisasti is founder and CEO of the London ebike operator Forest..

Exclusive: New environment secretary insists ‘nothing is off the table’ in dealing with ailing Thames Water Britain’s insolvency laws cannot deal with the aggressive behaviour shown by the companies that control Thames Water, the environment secretary has said, as she confirmed ministers were prepared to take it into public ownership. Angela Eagle told the Guardian she was determined to reform the water industry after being told by Andy Burnham to make it her top priority...