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The National Living Wage (NLW) rises by over 6% in April. The 6.2% increase to £8.72 an hour equates to £15,870 a year based on a 35-hour week. The substantial rise is not down to inflation – which ended 2019 at only 1.3% – but due to a policy of George Osborne’s. When he made […]

What do you remember about the 2010s? A decade is a long time and a lot happens, but important details can be lost in the big headline moments. The one that has just ended makes the point. The 2010s started with Gordon Brown as prime minister and, four elections and two referendums later, closed with […]

The intestacy rules for England and Wales have been amended.     The intestacy rules automatically apply to the distribution of estates where there is no will. There are three different sets of rules in the UK: one for England and Wales, a similar set for Northern Ireland and a much more different set for […]

Whilst awareness and popularity of alternative options for further education, such as apprenticeships and vocational courses, has increased in recent years, so too have the number of university applications. Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) revealed a new record for English UCAS applications last year, with 39.5% of 18-year-olds applying. Closely matched […]

New calculations from the Office for National Statistics have lowered life expectancies.  Every two years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recalculates its national population projections (NPP). As part of the exercise, the ONS reviews and updates its assumptions about future mortality, which in turn will have an impact on population size. The latest figures, […]