Employers intend to hire despite confidence being at record lows, survey shows May 29, 2019 Employers’ confidence in the UK economy in May stayed close to the record low figure recorded in April, a survey has shown, as the Brexit deadlock continues to weigh on sentiment. Read more: UK wages rise again as employment rate stays at record high Confidence among bosses in making hiring and investment decisions also stayed [...]
Our healthcare system is trapped in an impasse as pharmaceutical firms struggle to fund medical innovations May 1, 2019 The price of technological innovations in health care has once again been brought into focus. Orkambi, a new pharmaceutical treatment for a specific type of cystic fibrosis has not been approved for availability on the NHS because its price is deemed too high. Meanwhile, there is panic at the relentless rise of fatal antibiotic-resistant infections [...]
DEBATE: Should we be concerned about our freedoms as the UK is placed fourth in the Nanny State Index? May 1, 2019 Should we be concerned about our freedoms as the UK is placed fourth in the Nanny State Index? Alex Deane, a Conservative commentator, says YES. The Institute of Economic Affairs is right to criticise the UK by ranking it as one of the least free countries in terms of excessive regulation of alcohol, food, and tobacco. [...]
The anti-vax movement is a symptom of our expert malaise April 26, 2019 The anti-vaccination movement is deadly. According to the charity Unicef, more than half a million UK children were not vaccinated against measles, a highly dangerous but preventable disease, between 2010 and 2017 – which is part of a terrifying global trend. When less than 95 per cent of a population are vaccinated, herd immunity is weakened, [...]
US owner of healthcare firm The Priory Group eyes £1bn sale amid scandal over quality of care April 21, 2019 The US healthcare firm behind The Priory Group is mulling a £1bn sale of the mental healthcare provider amid a scandal over the quality of care in its hospitals. Acadia Healthcare has appointed a financial adviser to explore a possible sale of the firm, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing City sources. Read more: Only [...]
Just ticking the wellbeing box isn’t enough April 10, 2019 According to the NHS, one in four people in the UK are likely to suffer from mental health issues over the course of their life. In London, where half a million people are employed, loneliness is becoming an increasingly damaging problem, with GPs calling it an epidemic “affecting all ages”. More than a social issue, [...]
Drones, Gatwick, and the future: how this new aerial technology can benefit the UK economy and the public good April 7, 2019 New technologies always stir emotion, and as we’ve seen with the drone incidents at Heathrow and Gatwick, they can even result in new legislation. Following the announcement by the government and Civil Aviation Authority regarding an extended no-fly zone and stop-and-search powers for police, it is clear that the time is right to increase our [...]
The Matrix was released 20 years ago – how close are we to the film’s vision of a tech dystopia? April 1, 2019 The Matrix first premiered in US cinemas yesterday 20 years ago. It revolutionised the way that we viewed the potential power of machines, and simultaneously marked the dawning of an age of suspicion and fear surrounding our relationship with technology. Yet far from the apocalyptic fears of artificial intelligence (AI), the applications of this emerging [...]
Veteran investor Michael Spencer in funding boost for femtech startup Elvie March 31, 2019 Former Conservative Party treasurer Michael Spencer is reportedly leading a funding round for female health start-up Elvie. Spencer’s private investment vehicle IPGL is backing the company with an investment worth around £20m, Sky reported this evening. Read more: Nex Group founder to invest millions in blood testing startup Elvie, which last year partnered with the [...]
NHS to banish pagers from its hospitals — but is this a good idea? March 20, 2019 | City Talk By Professor Andre Spicer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Cass Business School. Remember pagers? Simple devices that were used fairly widely before the advent of mobile phones and SMS messaging. If you had a pager, you could receive simple messages, but you couldn’t reply. One of the few places you will find a pager today [...]