Restaurateurs grapple with food costs as dairy prices spike July 20, 2022 Restaurateurs are being forced to fork out more and more to create Brits’ favourite dishes, with the sharpest price hikes among dairy, grains and meat. Dairy costs have surged the most, with increases of up to 40 per cent, according to data from around one thousand pubs and restaurants collected by Fourth. Grains, including pasta [...]
Martin Lewis warns government of ‘financial time bomb’ as cost of living crisis worsens July 20, 2022 Martin Lewis warned the government of a “financial time bomb” due to explode in September as the UK’s cost of living crisis intensifies. The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com issued an “open video letter” to the current Conservative Party leadership candidates and warned of even higher energy costs and civil unrest as the UK struggles with record [...]
MPs claim Covid PPE contract ‘failures’ cost UK taxpayer £2.7bn July 20, 2022 There were “significant failings” in the government’s management of personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during Covid that cost the taxpayer £2.7bn, according to a crossbench committee of MPs. A report from Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the government is in dispute with 176 contract holders for PPE, worth £2.7bn, around the effectiveness of the [...]
Property and rent price rises speed up as low stock and inflation grip households July 20, 2022 The pace of property and rental price rises in the UK has sped up, according to the latest figures, as a cost of living crisis shrinks household budgets. Rents in the UK rose by three per cent in the year to June, up from 2.8 per cent in the 12-months to May. House prices increase [...]
Inflation races to new 40-year high – but worst is yet to come July 20, 2022 UK inflation raced to a fresh 40-year high last month, but economists have warned the cost of living squeeze is set to get even worse. Prices surged 9.4 per cent over the year to June, the quickest acceleration since 1982 and up from an already historic level of 9.1 per cent in May, according to [...]
Planned redundancies down by a fifth as firms spooked by pandemic’s impact on labour shortages July 20, 2022 Firms are putting off planned redundancies despite rising business rates and inflation, after being spooked by the pandemic’s impact creating severe staff shortages. The number of redundancies has fallen by 21 per cent from in the last quarter according to law firm GQ|Littler. The figures show it dropped from 50,382 to 39,669 up to the [...]
Last orders? Bittersweet summer for pubs as rising costs out-shadow post-pandemic demand July 20, 2022 Packed beer gardens herald the arrival of summer in Britain. For publicans, this summer presents a chance to rebuild after two years’ of Covid-19 restrictions battering trade. Yet, with inflation surpassing 40-year highs and strike action threatening to severe revellers’ passages into city centres, will publicans be able to make up for those long, lost [...]
Consumers turn to instant noodles in cost of living crunch, says Premier Foods boss July 20, 2022 Shoppers are increasingly turning to budget meals amid the cost of living crisis in the UK, the boss of consumer goods giant Premier Foods said today. The popularity of its instant ramen brands Nissin and Batchelors, which own Cup Noodle and Super Noodles respectively, in the second quarter of this year have jumped, as household [...]
Tax and spend? We can’t save public services without a unified tech policy July 20, 2022 There are numerous ways in which to judge a potential leadership candidate. Their sheer electoral appeal, their reputation within the party, their communication style and authenticity, their experience, or their policy agendas. Or often all of the above. In regards to the latter, the candidates are unsurprisingly fixated on the same old conventional arguments about [...]
It would be madness to arm the unions with acquiescence July 20, 2022 THE continuing rail disputes are understandable given that two years of on-off lockdown have disrupted normal pay settlement processes. But the railways have been massively subsidised by the taxpayer over this period, and cannot expect such largesse to continue. Revenue is down to less than 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and patterns of use [...]