Dunstable Community Information Portal

1. How to avoid losing sleep through overwork. Experts suggest your day job could be affecting your sleep. And sleep deprivation can have serious implications in the long run, leading to various health issues as well as impacting your work performance. READ MORE >>

2. Our 77th Prime Minister. Liz Truss is “heading for No 10” said The i after a survey revealed Rishi Sunak’s tax-cutting announcement failed to win over Tory voters. The poll, by BMG Research, showed that Sunak is 11 points behind among people who voted Conservative at the last election and 19 points behind those who voted to leave the EU. However, both Tory hopefuls are behind Keir Starmer in the poll. The Labour leader beats Truss by 37% to 32%, and Sunak by 37% to 31%. In the meantime, a majority of voters believe a general election should be called immediately after the Tory leadership election. A poll found that 56% support the proposal that whoever wins the leadership contest “should call a general election immediately”. The Independent

3. Crime rates hit new high. Recorded crime in England and Wales has hit a 20-year high, as the proportion of offences resulting in a charge has fallen to a record low. In the year to March 2022, 6.3 million crimes were recorded by police (up from a previous high of 6.1 million in the year to March 2020), according to the ONS. Meanwhile, the Home Office has reported that just 5.6% of offences in England and Wales in the year to March 2022 led to a suspect being charged within a year, down from 7.1% the previous year, and from 15.5% in 2014-2015. The charge rate for rape was just 1.3%; in 42% of cases, the case was closed because the victim did not support further police action. The Guardian

4. UK has ‘done least’ on fuel prices. The RAC said the UK has done less to ease the burden of high petrol prices than other European countries. In a table of European governments that have taken action to slash petrol taxes only Luxembourg performed worse. Sky News said the 5p per litre reduction implemented by the government in March is “dwarfed” by fuel tax cuts in Germany (25.1p per litre), Italy (21.2p per litre) and Portugal (16.2p per litre). An RAC spokesman said that Boris Johnson’s government has “pretty much done the least to support drivers through the current period of record high fuel prices”. BBC

5. Good news story of the week. Some 56 years ago, when England last won a major international tournament, they thought it was all over. This time, you sense it is just the beginning. How else to characterise the scale of this achievement by England Women who now call themselves the champions of Europe? How else to contextualise the magnitude of the winner, stabbed in with the tenacity. The 110th-minute strike not only won the Women’s European Championship but delivered the Lionesses the first tournament success of their history. Now that is something worth celebrating. Editor

6. Inflation pushes retirees back to work. The impact of Covid and inflation are reshaping the workforce, with many forced out of retirement due to living costs. Chronic illness has shrunk the labour market significantly keeping people from seeking or returning to work. But the number of over-50s looking for work has risen to levels last seen pre-pandemic, with more than half the rise among men over 65. Polling shows the cost of living is to blame, with most "unretirees" doing it for financial reasons. Research also shows a third of people – and half of under-50s – believe they will never get a state pension. The Financial Times

7. Are hybrid workers happier? Hybrid work arrangements make people less likely to quit, research shows. Quit rates are down and satisfaction is higher at a range of global firms that offer hybrid work options, with attrition falling 35% at one tech firm. Surveys have shown that workers prefer hybrid work, citing benefits such as less frequent commuting and better work-life balance. It's these advantages that lead us to believe hybrid work will thrive, even in the face of economic downturn. Do you think hybrid work is now key to staff retention? CONTACT US >>.

8. Long Covid bill revealed. Long Covid is costing the UK £1.5bn in lost earnings per year, according to a new study. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that 110,000 of the two million people suffering from long Covid – which is when symptoms have been reported for at least three months – were signed off sick over the last 12 months. The findings will “heap further pressure on the government to tackle a problem which is expected to grow further as infections rise again”. The Independent

9. Charles accepted £1m from Bin Ladens. Prince Charles accepted a £1m payment from the family of Osama bin Laden. The Prince of Wales secured the money from Bakr bin Laden, the patriarch of the Saudi family, and his brother Shafiq - half-brothers of the founder of al-Qaeda who masterminded the September 11 attacks. Charles reportedly accepted the money despite objections of advisers, with one household staff member “shouted down”. A Clarence House spokeswoman said: “The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund has assured us that thorough due diligence was undertaken in accepting this donation.” The Sunday Times

10. The bottom line. The IMF said it expected the UK to slow down markedly in the second half of the year, and slashed its growth forecast to 3.2% in 2022. The picture next year is forecast to be uglier, with growth of just 0.5% – the weakest of the G7 economies. The fund identified the UK and the eurozone as places where cost-of-living pressures had particularly intensified. The Daily Mail