Business
Dad-of-three turns to Worcester food bank after job loss
BBCA single dad-of-three said he was forced to move in with his parents and rely on a food bank when “things just went downhill quick” after losing his job.
Luke Harborne worked as a roofer up until December but admitted he did not know what he would do if he had no access to Worcester’s food bank.
“I don’t know what would happen, I really don’t,” the 30-year-old said.
“The people here are absolutely brilliant, they’re such lovely people and all of them have a heart of gold to do what they do.”
Mr Harborne had been in shared accommodation in Kingstanding, Birmingham, but when he became unemployed, he fell behind with his rent payments and lived on the streets before his parents in Worcester took him in.
“My mum and dad agreed to let me live back there but I’m just struggling at the minute,” he said.
“It’s very, very tough [providing for three children]. It’s hard to survive off benefits, it really is.”
Mr Harborne said he was even struggling while he was employed.
“I managed to cope with the wages I had coming in but all my money was going on rent and bills,” he said.
“The rest went on food but that didn’t last me until my next payday.
“I need to get myself back in employment and I am actively looking but it’s tough because I have to work around child arrangements so it’s hard to commit to a full-time job.
“You need a really good job, that pays really well just to get a one-bedroom flat. But I will get there. It’s just hard to survive.”
At the food bank, Grahame Lucas said he worked to “turn frowns upside down”.
“It’s a bit corny, I know, but people come here perhaps not feeling the most positive but they walk away with a smile on their face,” he added.
Mr Lucas has been manager of Worcester Foodbank since 2014 and said in that time the charity has “grown out of all recognition”.
“We started out feeding about 3,000 people a year and prior to Covid up to about 9,000 people and now we’re up to 18,000 people,” he said.
“We’re now braced for the autumn rush, when people start getting their energy bills on the doormat. This is by far the busiest period.”
Mr Lucas and his team provide about 250,000 meals annually, at a cost of £500,000.
The service also provides “cooking parcels”, which include herbs and spices, as well as a toiletries hamper too.
“Clients have said to us that we’re lifesavers and without us people have admitted they would be forced to shoplift just to survive,” Mr Lucas said.
Mr Lucas said the charity had served “all age groups” which “goes right through to people who are retired”.
“That group is much less because, what we find, the state pension system works well – whereas the benefits system is still deficient,” he said.
“I think the system is broken.”
The food bank manager said he sympathised with government and described changing the system as an “oil tanker moment” that would be a “long-term project”.
Susan Campbell, deputy warehouse manager at Worcester Foodbank, is responsible for greeting clients.
“The stories are really sad and you want to do more than just give them food,” she said.
“You hear all sorts and you just try to make them feel better about the whole thing.”
She added the numbers coming to them have “got much, much worse” and they were seeing more and more families.
“People tend to assume we’re serving the homeless but it’s just not true,” Ms Campbell said.
“Lots of people that come here are working and they just can’t afford to live.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson told the BBC it was “determined to tackle the unacceptable rise in food bank dependence”.
They added: “Our child poverty taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy later this year.
“We are also overhauling job centres and reforming the broken welfare system to support people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most.”
Kayla Epsteinand
Osmond Chia
Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump has said Venezuela “will be turning over” up to 50m barrels of oil to the US, after a surprise military operation that removed President Nicolás Maduro from power.
The oil will be sold at its market price, Trump posted on social media, adding that the money would be controlled by himself and used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US.
His comments come after he said the US oil industry would be “up and running” in Venezuela within 18 months and that he expected huge investments to pour into the country.
Analysts previously told the BBC it could take tens of billions of dollars, and potentially a decade, to restore Venezuela’s former output.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday: “I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!”
His comment came a day after Delcy Rodríguez, formerly Venezuela’s vice-president, was sworn in as its interim president. Maduro has been brought to the US to face drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
On Monday the US president told NBC News: “Having a Venezuela that’s an oil producer is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil down.”
Representatives from major US petroleum companies planned to meet the Trump administration this week, the BBC’s US partner CBS reported.
Analysts who previously spoke to the BBC were sceptical that Trump’s plans would have a major impact on the global supply – and therefore price – of oil.
They suggested that firms would look for reassurance that a stable government was in place, and even when they did invest, their projects would not deliver for years.
Trump has argued in recent days that American oil companies can fix Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
The country has an estimated 303bn barrels – the world’s largest proven reserve – but its oil production has been in decline since the early 2000s.
The Trump administration sees significant potential for its own energy prospects in Venezuela’s reserves.
Increasing the country’s production of oil would be expensive for US firms.
Venezuelan oil is also heavy and more difficult to refine. There is only one US firm, Chevron, currently operating in the country.
Asked for comment about Trump’s plans for US oil production in Venezuela, Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said the company “remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets”.
“We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations,” Turenne added.
ConocoPhillips, a major US oil company that no longer has a presence in Venezuela, “is monitoring developments in Venezuela and their potential implications for global energy supply and stability”, said spokesman Dennis Nuss.
“It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments,” Nuss said.
A third company, Exxon, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While justifying the seizure of Maduro from Caracas, Trump also claimed that Venezuela “unilaterally seized and stole American oil”.
Vice-President JD Vance echoed those claims on X after Maduro was taken, writing that “Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narcoterrorist activities”.
The reality is more complex.
US oil companies have a long history in Venezuela, extracting oil under licence agreements.
Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in 1976 and in 2007, President Hugo Chavez exerted more state control over the remaining foreign-owned assets of US oil firms operating in the country.
In 2019, a World Bank tribunal ordered Venezuela to pay $8.7 billion to ConocoPhillips in compensation for this 2007 move.
That sum has not been paid by Venezuela, so at least one US oil company has outstanding compensation which is owed to it.
But BBC Verify’s Ben Chu said the claim Venezuela has “stolen” American oil is too simplistic, as experts said the oil itself was never actually owned by anyone except Venezuela.
Sainsbury’s has announced it is launching a new graduate programme focused on developing skills in artificial intelligence.
The FutureMaker programme, which will take on nearly 50 graduates in the firm’s store support centre, will last for two years and aims to help graduates develop critical digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skills, which the retailer views as vital for supporting future business growth.
The decision to focus the new graduate programme on digital and AI skills was informed by “extensive research” into the future needs of the business, the company said.
Graduates on the scheme will also develop skills in areas including data and analytics, as well as business decision-making.
It comes after warnings earlier this year that UK graduates were facing the toughest job market in years, according to job search site Indeed.
The number of roles advertised for graduates was down 33% on the previous year, its lowest level in seven years.
By focusing its programme on these skills, Sainsbury’s hopes to open more accessible pathways for graduates, improving their digital confidence by demystifying AI and machine learning and enabling more responsible use of these tools.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “As a proud people-first business, our colleagues are at the heart of everything we do.
“We’re committed to investing in early careers and have spent time identifying the skills our future leaders will need to help us build a sustainable retail talent pipeline.”
In 2024, the retailer announced a partnership with Microsoft to enhance customer and colleague experience with AI, including “upskilling programmes for Sainsbury’s colleagues, helping them learn and grow in the new AI-driven economy”.
Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s chief retail and technology officer, said of the partnership at the time: “It’s one of the key ways we’re investing in transforming our capabilities over the next three years, enabling us to take another big leap forward in efficiency and productivity.”
But the supermarket stressed that the new graduate programme was not specifically connected to that partnership.
Applications for the graduate scheme open on January 9.
Over the past two years, Sainsbury’s has announced two rounds of job cuts, axing 1,500 jobs in February 2024 and 3,000 jobs in January 2025, as part of plans to simplify its business and cut £1 billion in costs in a challenging economic environment.
Part of its overhaul has also included increasing investment in automation and AI.
CCI has invoked section 48 of the law, which extends liability to senior executives in charge of company operations. Under this provision, individuals can be held personally accountable and face penalties of up to 10% of their average income over the last three financial years if the violations are proven.Last week, TOI had sent questionnaires to several companies that are under probe but they did not respond to the queries.Based on the investigation by its director general (DG) investigation, the CCI issued an order to the 31 steel companies named in the probe. The firms were directed to submit their audited financial statements, including balance sheets, income and expenditure accounts and profit & loss accounts, for the period from 2015-16 to 2022-23. They have also been asked to provide certified details of turnover linked to the alleged violations, this information is usually used to assess potential penalties, if any.
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