An information campaign and increased recruitment of call handlers are among the initiatives NHS 24 has put in place to help protect vital front line health and care services over the festive period. First Minister John Swinney visited the NHS 24 call centre in Dundee to observe preparations ahead of the Christmas and New Year period and to express his gratitude to staff.
Seeking views on how to restore the 2030 phase out date for new purely petrol and diesel cars and make the transition to zero emission vehicles a success. consultation launched to shape the 2030 petrol and diesel car phase-out.
Around 3,800 offenders either released from prison or serving a community sentence will wear an alcohol tag over Christmas and New Year. Around 3,800 offenders forced to wear alcohol tags to keep streets safe over Christmas and New Year.
The underlying UK current account deficit excluding precious metals widened to £20.0 billion, or 2.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024; this is a change of £2.1 billion from the previous quarter. The UK current account deficit, when trade in precious metals is included, narrowed by £5.9 billion to £18.1 billion, or 2.5% of GDP in Quarter 3 2024.
The Defence Secretary visited British Army soldiers deployed in Estonia this Christmas to thank them for their service. The Defence Secretary visited UK Armed Forces personnel deployed to Estonia to thank them for their vital service at Christmas.
The average Brit is set to spend over 7 hours online on Christmas Day. We'll be spending an estimated £1.4bn, mostly buying all the things we wished for but didn’t get, says ParcelHero.
UK real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have shown no growth in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024, revised down from the first estimate increase of 0.1%. The quarterly path of real GDP at an aggregate level is unchanged from Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2023 to Quarter 1 2024, however, there have been downward revisions of 0.1 percentage points in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) and Quarter 3 2024.
British soldiers have successful trialled for the first time a game-changing weapon that can take down a swarm of drones using radio waves for less than the cost of a pack of mince pies. Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapons (RFDEW) can take down a swarm of drones for less than the cost of a pack of mince pies.
One gift for the festive season is an absence of data about the economy for the next two weeks. That will be particularly welcome for Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations over the next three months of their: Personal financial situation remained at -3 in December, the same as in November. State of the economy worsened to -27 in December, down from -19 in November.
Real households' disposable income per head is estimated to have shown no growth in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024, following growth of 1.4% in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2024. The household saving ratio is estimated at 10.1% in Quarter 3 2024, down slightly from 10.3% in the previous quarter; the movement in the saving ratio was driven by an increase in household final consumption expenditure.
UKAEA will lead the creation of a new £4.9m nuclear robotics and artificial intelligence cluster across Cumbria and Oxfordshire. The robotics and AI cluster was announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as one of seven new projects to kickstart economic growth and address regional needs: www.ukri.org The robotics and AI cluster will link Cumbria and Oxfordshire to accelerate the decommissioning of the UK's legacy nuclear fission facilities and keep people out of hazardous environments.
Festive workers, including those on short-term contracts, are being urged to check their pay to make sure they aren't missing out on the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. Seasonal staff and students employed over the Christmas period are legally entitled to receive at least the same minimum rates as other workers.
November's retail sales results show a 0.2% rise in the amount of goods Brits purchased but, surprisingly, online spending tumbled by 4.3%, says the home delivery expert Parcelhero. The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail sales figures for the period 27 October to 23 November 2024 show a mixed bag of results for Britain’s retailers, says the home delivery expert Parcelhero.
Flat taxes are great if you want to increase inequality, crush government services, or leave large numbers of people destitute. Is that why the Tories are so keen on them? ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY Richard Murphy is Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School.
More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs.
How much should we be concerned about past two months of negative economic growth when the government have prioritised higher economic growth. Reasons for pessimism and optimism..
The last time Donald Trump was US president, he entered trade wars with China and Europe. But despite his bravado and tariffs, the US trade deficit did not improve.
Donald Trump has promised to introduce a range of new tariffs on imports to the US when he takes office in January. What exactly are tariffs? Why is Trump so keen on them? And why do some people think his plans could backfire and hurt the US economy? #AJStartHere with Sandra Gathmann explains.
Labour found £6 billion in the last week to buy 166,000 houses for the Ministry of Defence. The spending wasn't budgeted, so how did it fund the money all of a sudden?..
