Office for National Statistics

Will there be coronavirus help for small company directors who are paid by dividend?

The financial plight of limited company directors has been raised by the Tory chairman of the Treasury select committee. Mel Stride, a former Treasury minister, said chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to view company directors as a tranche of people who have ‘slipped through the net’ of all the other largesse…

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Online pet food prices increase amid Covid-19 virus outbreak, report finds

A new report by the Office for National Statistics has revealed an increase in online prices on pet food amid the coronavirus pandemic. The report revealed a 3.1% increase in price for the two weeks between 16-22 March and 23-29 March, with an average of an increase of 1.1% per…

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Flybe’s pensions in doubt; Poorest 20% no better off than before, 1m Virgin customers on unsecured database

Flybe’s pension pot for 1,350 current and former workers is at risk, as the fallout from one of the first casualties of the coronavirus business threat manifests in full. Flybe of course was already embattled before the new Covid-19 virus came along, and was the subject of a controversial bailout…

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Retail sales see first increase in two months

Retail sales increased by 0.8% in February this year compared with the previous month, with increases seen across all main sectors except non-food stores. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the first uptick after two monthly declines in December and January, resulting in an overall…

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December 2017 sees retail sales slump

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that December 2017 had the weakest retail sales in over four years. The quantity of items bought in December decreased by 1.5 per cent when compared with the stronger sales in November 2017. Although retail sales increased by 1.3 per cent in…

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Small firms ‘squeezed’ by inflationary pressure, says FSB

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) remains above the Government’s 2 percent target. The CPI is a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services. Its 12-month rate rose to 2.9 percent in May 2017, up from 2.7 percent in April, reported the Office for…

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UK retail sales drop as inflation rises

UK retail sales dropped by 1.8% in March marking the largest year on year decline since 2010 and exceeding economists’ predictions of a 0.5% decline. Coinciding with the rise of inflation, the volume of goods sold in store and online fell 1.4% in the first quarter of the year. The…

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Retail sales increase in Britain

Retail sales in Britain increased by 5.9 percent in November compared with November 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics. All store types showed growth with the largest contribution coming from non-store retailing. Although many claimed that ‘Black Friday’ events may not have been popular, sales were boosted by…

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Under 20% of autistic adults are employed full time

Just 16 percent of autistic adults are in full time work, according to The National Autistic Society. New research reveals that this figure has remained the same for the last decade. The charity feels it is time to change. The charity states: “We’re calling on the Government to tackle the…

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UK inflation rate reaches 0.5% in March

The UK inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, rose to 0.5 percent in March 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics. Although the rate has increased gradually since last October – reaching 0.3 percent in February – in terms of historical context it is still relatively low.…

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