The UK economy begins 2021 on the back foot as record numbers of coronavirus infections and tougher restrictions cloud the outlook for growth and limit the chances of a rapid recovery from the country’s worst recession in 300 years. There had been hopes that the arrival of successful Covid vaccines could prompt a rebound in…
A hotel group controlled by the multi-billionaire tax exile Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been fined by the government along with 138 other “rogue employers” who failed to pay their staff the national minimum wage. Ratcliffe, who has an estimated £12bn fortune, owns 55% of Home Grown Hotels, a boutique group he co-founded with Robin Hutson,…
Holidays Will my Ehic card still work? Yes and no. Under the agreement if you have a European health insurance card (Ehic), which entitles visitors to necessary state healthcare (such as accident and emergency) for free or at a reduced cost, it remains valid in the EU until it expires. The good news is that…
Britain’s independent shops had a sales boost in 2020 despite an overall drop in retail spending, as Covid travel restrictions and working from home prompted consumers to shop on local high streets instead of city centres. Data from Barclaycard shows spending at independent food and drink shops, including off-licences, butchers and bakeries, jumped 28.6% in…
The UK property market could cool rapidly in 2021, according to forecasters, as the stamp duty holiday ends and unemployment rises. House prices rose to a six-year high at the end of 2020, according to Nationwide building society, rising 7.3% in the year, but the mortgage lender expects the market to slow “sharply” over the…
Last January we bought a semi-detached new-build. Last month the developer, Redrow, twice attempted to appropriate part of our front garden to widen the communal drive. It did this without any prior notice or explanation and only stopped when we threatened to call the police. We became prisoners in our own home as we awaited…
