6:45 am, August 17, 2023
Rishi Sunak hopes Britons will feel better off next year despite recession fears
Rishi Sunak has outlined his hopes to ensure Britons feel better off next year, amid warnings that the UK economy faces a ‘very real risk’ of recession due to higher interest rates.
The prime minister attempted to strike an optimistic tone when asked about efforts to tame inflation, as he said there is a need to be ‘disciplined’ and avoid ‘unfunded’ tax cuts.
Sunak’s remarks came after it was revealed inflation has slowed to its lowest level for 17 months in July due to a fall in energy prices. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index inflation was 6.8 per cent in July, down from 7.9 per cent in June, but it still represents a sharp increase in the cost of living for Britons over the past year and is significantly above the government’s two per cent inflation target.
Government confirms two-thirds of cancer targets will be scrapped by autumn
The government has confirmed that NHS England cancer targets are to be streamlined, moving from 10 performance standards to three from October.
The new guidelines will move away from the ‘outdated’ two-week wait target, the government said, which will be replaced with the Faster Diagnosis Standard. Currently, anyone who is referred urgently by their GP with suspected cancer must be seen by a specialist within 14 days.
The Faster Diagnosis Standard was initially introduced in April 2021 but has been under ‘rigorous consultation’, according to the government. It aims to diagnose 75 per cent of people with cancer at an early stage, as well as cutting down the time between referral and diagnosis to reduce anxiety for patients. It also supports a goal outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan – to have 55,000 more people surviving cancer for five years or longer by 2028.
Students receive A-level results as ministers aim to return to pre-Covid grading
School leavers across the country are waking up to their A-level results in a year when ministers in England are aiming to restore pre-pandemic grades.
Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving grades to help them progress on to university, work or training – with the proportion of top A-level results expected to fall on last year.
Last year, more than a third (36.4 per cent) of UK A-level entries were awarded A or A* grades, compared to 44.8 per cent in 2021 and 38.5 per cent in 2020. Students could face more competition for university places this year due to a growth in 18-year-olds in the population and international demand, it has been suggested.
Rayner to detail Labour’s ‘new deal’ for workers in meeting with apprentices
Scottish workers have been ‘left out in the cold’ by ministers in Scotland and the UK, Angela Rayner has said.
The deputy Labour leader will meet apprentices in Glasgow on Thursday to set out her party’s plans for a new deal for working people.
In the event of victory in the next general election, Labour is pledging to tackle insecure work by giving workers the right to protection against unfair dismissal, sick pay from day one and parental leave. The strategy would also ban zero-hour contracts and fire and rehire policies.
Junior doctors in Scotland accept ‘record’ pay deal
Junior doctors in Scotland have overwhelmingly voted to accept a ‘record’ pay offer from the Scottish government.
The British Medical Association (BMA) had recommended its members accept the offer, which will see wages rise by 12.4 per cent in 2023-24, with Scottish ministers further guaranteeing increases in line with inflation until at least 2026-27.
More than four in five (81.64 per cent) of junior doctors who took part in the BMA Scotland ballot voted to accept the offer, with 71.24 per cent of members voting. While the result ends the threat of strike action by junior doctors in Scotland’s hospitals, ministers have been warned that if they fail to live up to their commitments the union could ballot again.
Wednesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Used car dealer Big Motoring World sees profits soar despite tough trading for supermarket sector
- Used car dealer forced to apologise after sending ‘sexist and bigoted’ message to pregnant customer
- Car dealership group Eastern Western suffers pre-tax profit fall
- Swansway boss Peter Smyth questions Global Auto Holdings over ‘high-risk’ Lookers takeover
- Vertu Motors service adviser raises awareness of suicide prevention with gruelling night-time charity challenge
MP urges public wanting answers about Crooked House pub to ‘be patient’
An 18th century pub destroyed by fire will ‘rise from the ashes’, an MP has said as he urged frustrated members of the public who want answers about what happened to be patient.
Dudley North MP Marco Longhi told a meeting on Wednesday that he would ‘love to see a Crooked House law’ put in place to protect other pubs from the same fate.
At the public meeting at nearby Himley Hall on Wednesday, Longhi urged residents to ‘be patient and let due process take its course’ and avoid posting speculation about the circumstances of the fire on social media. He told the audience of more than 100 people that the investigation into the incident would be a ‘marathon not a sprint’, but said he was committed to taking the issue to Parliament and to Michael Gove, secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, when MPs return from summer recess next month.
UK economy set for £185m boost over World Cup final weekend – analysis
The Lionesses battling for the Women’s World Cup trophy is expected to give a £185m boost to the UK economy as supporters flock to pubs and bars to watch the final.
England going head-to-head with Spain on Sunday is set to lead to a spike in consumer spending over the weekend.
Analysis by savings site VoucherCodes.co.uk found that 13.7m viewers around the UK are set to tune into the match, with around a fifth heading to their local pub, bar or restaurant to soak up the atmosphere. Viewers could spend around £138m in supermarkets to stock up on food, drink, merchandise and decorations ahead of the 11am kick-off, according to the report which uses forecasts from GlobalData.
Motorists want noise cameras rolled out to catch offenders – survey
Nearly three out of five drivers (58 per cent) want to see cameras that detect illegally loud vehicles rolled out across the UK, a new survey suggests.
Some 22 per cent of respondents to the poll of 1,424 motorists commissioned by the RAC were against the idea, with a similar proportion (20 per cent) unsure.
The Department for Transport (DfT) began a £300,000 trial of noise cameras in a handful of areas in England in October last year. The technology involves using a camera and several microphones to detect noisy vehicles. The camera records an image of the vehicle and its noise level, creating evidence which can be used by police to issue fines, according to the DfT.
Weather
A day of patchy cloud and light showers for most of the country, reports BBC Weather. The best of the weather will be in the south-east, with temperatures climbing to 27 degrees in central southern England.
Cloud will cover most of the UK tonight, with heavy showers falling in the south-west.
