Potential energy crisis?
An annual energy industry exercise to prepare the UK for a possible gas supply emergency has been scaled up to four days instead of two. The potential scenarios include rationing electricity. Industry links the decision to extend the drill to the seriousness of the energy challenges forecast for this winter. The Government says it is a routine part of the energy industry calendar, and insists there is no risk to winter’s gas supplies. A freedom of information request found that business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has not sought any advice from government officials on possible energy rationing. Energy experts have expressed surprise, particularly as other countries are working on such plans. The Government said this was because the UK had one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world, thanks to investment in renewables, nuclear power, and the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Criminal barristers on strike
English and Welsh barristers will go on an indefinite, uninterrupted strike from 5 September. Recently they have been striking on alternate weeks in a dispute over pay, working conditions and legal aid funding. The strikes will delay thousands of cases, leaving victims and the accused waiting longer for justice. The Criminal Bar Association said the strike action was a last resort, after warning signs coming for many years. Barristers have endured their income collapsing, cuts, and underfunding. Their income has decreased 28% since 2006. Court cases are not going ahead because there are not enough barristers to defend or prosecute. A solution would be an injection of money into the backlog of cases that barristers are working on (currently 60,000 cases). It would cost the government £1.1m per month. It is costing much more for the courts to sit empty.
Back to the office to save jobs
Companies were forced to give bribes to cajole employees to return to the office last year: free breakfast, ice cream and even popcorn to workers who came in. Now bribes are replaced with stern summons issued to workers still wanting to stay at home. Apple’s chief executive ordered every employee to return to the office three days a week from September. That is the latest in similar demands issued by other companies, who all feel that office life improves productivity. But efforts to lure staff back may not be necessary when the country plunges into recession. Experts and City professionals are now saying workers are keen to get back in front of managers to save their jobs as a crisis looms. However, as the harsh reality of the cost-of-living crisis hits, they will still have to escort some of their colleagues to the door anyway.
Back-to-school costs
Parents are facing buying expensive school uniforms in time for the new academicl year. In 2020 the average cost of a uniform was £337 for secondary schools, £315 for primary schools. This year a quarter of parents will try to reuse old school items rather than buying new, according to Barclaycard research. One in five are donating old uniforms to others who cannot afford new ones. Demand for free school uniforms has rocketed recently. Although a new law protecting parents from unnecessary spending on branded items for school uniform costs will come into effect in September 2022, schools have until September 2023 to introduce change. Pray for schools quickly and thoroughly to review their uniform policies to make them more cost-effective sooner rather than later.
