Inflation Rate Rise, Luxury Offices, Driving Tests

Available for over a year

The inflation rate in the UK increased to 3.5% in April. It is thought to be due to significant increases in household bills as well as the impact of so-called 'Awful April' – which included rises in national insurance contributions and the minimum wage. Claer Barret from the Financial Times explains what the inflation rate rise means and what you can do to keep your bills down. Delivery firm Evri has been Ofcom's worst parcel delivery firm for the last two years. It is now merging with DHL, a delivery company that is often near the top of rankings. Evri completed over 700 million package deliveries in the UK last year, so will the merger raise standards for its 12 million UK customers? Since the pandemic, companies have tried to persuade workers to return to the office more frequently. This is fuelling growth in ‘Super-Prime’ offices, which provide everything from climbing walls to Gordon Ramsay restaurants, in the hope of luring workers back to the office. But does this work? According to new data from King’s College London, almost half of staff say they would quit if forced to return to the office full-time. The Charities Aid Foundation says that only half of people gave money to charity last year, which was down from 58% in 2019. Whilst fewer people are giving money, those that are still donating are giving more. We discuss why this is and why young people and those living in cities are giving the least. The backlog for driving tests reached a new high at the end of April – with over 600,000 drivers currently waiting to take their booked test. The government has pledged to cut the wait, but how?