Cost Of Living

RSPCA warns of ‘spike’ in animal cruelty over summer 

New figures have shown that the RSPCA sees a “spike” in reports of cruelty during the summer months. The charity has now warned that with pet ownership on the rise, coupled with ongoing financial pressures, it is “braced for a summer of suffering”. While the RSPCA typically receives around 90,000…

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Footfall set to remain below 2019 for foreseeable future

Footfall is set to remain below 2019 levels for the “foreseeable future” as the cost of living crisis deepens and working from home becomes a permanent fixture, according to the latest Footfall Monitor and Insights from Springboard. Springboard found that footfall strengthened for the third consecutive month in June, with…

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Pet population remains steady, PDSA report finds

The estimated population of dogs, cats and rabbits remain similar to pre-pandemic levels, however 24% of all owners acquired their pet in the last two years, according to the latest report from PDSA. This equates to 5.4 million pets acquired since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. 2022…

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Cost of living crisis impacting ability to care for pets, survey reveals

A new survey by Benchmark Kennels has revealed that just under half (42.1%) of the surveyed pet owners said that they are cutting back on eating and drinking out to pay for increasing pet costs as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. Just 1.7% of pet owners confirmed they don’t…

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RSPCA offers new guidance to pet-owners amid rising costs

The RSPCA has launched new guidance for worried pet owners to help them through the ongoing cost of living crisis after it warned that the cost increases could impact pet-owners’ abilities to take care of their pets. The charity revealed it received 3,644 calls last year (2021) categorised as ‘help…

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High street footfall continues to lag behind pre-pandemic levels

Footfall levels remain 23% below pre-pandemic levels in February 2022 as rising costs are reportedly set to “batter” retailers from 1 April, according to RSM. The latest data from Datscha, analysed by RSM, shows the overall decline in footfall is the worst in London with numbers on Oxford Street down…

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Retail responds to ‘underwhelming’ Spring Statement

Both Bira and CBI have expressed disappointment in the chancellor’s Spring Statement, with Bira having declared it is “underwhelmed with the offerings for independent businesses”. In his speech yesterday, Rishi Sunak outlined a series of measures to help combat the rising cost of living in his latest spring statement, including…

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Spring Statement: Chancellor raises NI threshold to £12,570

The chancellor has outlined a series of measures to help combat the rising cost of living in his latest spring statement, including increasing the national insurance threshold by £3,000.  Speaking in parliament today (23 March), Rishi Sunak began his speech by warning it is yet unclear what the impact of…

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13 Spring Statement predictions

With both the global and UK economies coming under pressure from the rising cost of living crisis, which has only been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all eyes will be on the chancellor when he makes his Spring Statement speech on 23 March 2022. Here, Christy Wilson, tax associate…

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BoE raises interest rates to 0.5%

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised interest rates for the second time in three months to 0.5%, up from 0.25% previously. The BoE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) confirmed it voted by a majority of 5-4 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.5%. Interestingly, it revealed those…

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