Nine out a 10 people in England live in areas that have not seen a Covid-19 case in a month and new lockdowns are not needed, an expert has said. Professor John Clancy, from Birmingham University, has warned that fears of another shutdown are based on ‘dodgy data.’ Writing in a blog, he said: ”91 … Read more
Britain will be battered by high winds with some areas seeing nearly a month’s rainfall in just a few hours today after ‘intense’ thunderstorms caused misery for thousands on Monday. Up to 1.96inches (50mm) of rain could pour in just a few hours today, potentially flooding homes, shutting roads and causing massive transport delays, the … Read more
An unofficial postcode-checking website has been launched to allow users to find out what the coronavirus lockdown rules are in the area where they live. Some areas of the country – notably in the North West of England and Leicester – have stricter rules than others because of spikes in Covid-19 cases there. As a … Read more
How to rethink the tax system: An expert’s view on five areas that change is needed, from merging income tax and NI to capital gains and inheritance By Paul Falvey For This Is Money Published: 07:36 BST, 13 August 2020 | Updated: 07:36 BST, 13 August 2020 Paul Falvey of business advisory firm BDO Paul … Read more
The parts of Britain that are claiming the most Government help since lockdown started have been revealed. Blackpool topped the list of areas where working-aged residents claim Universal Credit, with 12.3% of the population, representing an increase of 5.1% since March. Birmingham is next with 10.9%, with Thanet third on 10.5%, then Wolverhampton on 10.4%, … Read more
NHS Test and Trace is now calling for local councils to help with the ailing coronavirus contact tracing system and track down people at risk of being infected. The Government today announced it is slashing its army of call centre contact tracers by a third – from 18,000 to 12,000 – and relying more on … Read more
Eating Out IS Helping Out! Town centre shoppers surged by 25% after 6pm in first days of August compared to last week of July as thousands dined out on Rishi Sunak’s meal deal scheme New scheme gave shopping areas a boost in footfall in its first week in action Eat Out to Help Out gives … Read more
Affluent areas will be forced to build more new homes in a radical shake-up of the planning system that will see computers decide on applications. Boris Johnson last night admitted the controversial reforms will be seen by some as ‘too much change too fast’ and ‘too much of a break from what has gone before’. … Read more
An interactive map that breaks down new coronavirus cases by postcode has revealed a neighbourhood near a university in Bradford was the worst-hit part of England last week. Public Health England figures show that Shearbridge, in the south west of the city in West Yorkshire, recorded 32 cases in the week that ended July 26. The … Read more
Music lessons do NOT help children’s other areas of study like reading and maths, research suggests Music lessons do not help children improve cognitive skills for reading or maths Findings come from a review of 54 scientific studies involving 7,000 children But lessons can improve general intelligence, memory and sound perception By Victoria Allen Science … Read more