STIRCHLEY COMMUNITY PORTAL- local, church & global news, useful info brought to you by your parish church

1. How to overcome executive isolation. In many large organisations, senior executives are surrounded by assistants, chiefs of staff, and advisors. The purpose of this entourage is to leverage the leader’s time - but, intentionally or not, too many executives receive only news and opinions that have been filtered, orchestrated, or even censored to include what the “senior circle” thinks they should hear. READ MORE 

2. Inflation is expected to drop next week. The Consumer Prices Index – which measures the average increase in the prices of goods and services purchased by many households – is expected to fall significantly from its current rate of 10.1 per cent to between 8 and 8.5 per cent. Lower inflation “could spell good news for many mortgage holders”, “as experts say it may decrease the likelihood of a further interest rate rise next month”. i News

3. Leadership training crucial to organisational success. Each leader's capacity for achievement is the result of natural talent combined with intentional development, but organisations often fail to intentionally develop their leaders. However, when leaders grow, the effect can be powerful. [1] When employees strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organisation, they are 4x as likely to be engaged. [2] Employees who strongly agree that leaders help them see how changes made today will affect their organisation in the future are 7.5x as likely to feel connected to their company culture. [3] When employees strongly agree that the leadership of their organisation communicates effectively with the rest of the company, they are 73% less likely to feel burned out at work. Want to know more? CONTACT US

4. One in five taxpayers facing 40% tax rate by 2027. One in five taxpayers, or 7.8 million people, will be paying a higher tax rate by 2027 due to the six-year freeze in income tax allowance and thresholds, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The freeze will affect more than one in eight nurses and one in four teachers. The move is aimed at reducing the UK’s budget deficit. The Guardian

5. Number of people not working due to ill health hits record high. Around 2.55 million people were out of work due to long-term sickness in the first quarter of 2023. The new ONS data indicated that one out of 13 in full time work suffers from long-term ill health. Mental health issues, back and neck pain are also on the rise, particularly among young people. BBC

6. Young people hit hardest as happiness levels drop in the UK. The UK’s happiness levels haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to the ONS. Overall, 23% of Britons reported “very high” levels of life satisfaction in the last quarter of 2022, down from 30% in 2019. The proportion dropped to 19% for people in their 20s, as soaring living costs took their toll. Sky News

7. Cohabiting couples fastest-growing family type. Families with an unmarried co-habiting couple are the fastest-growing groups, found the Office for National Statistics. Nearly one in five families, or 19%, are made up of those living together but not married, with or without children. There were 3.6m such families in 2022, up by 700,000 from 2.9m in 2012. The ONS said this “accounted for almost three-quarters of the total growth in the number of families in the UK over the ten-year period”. However, married-couple families still account for 65%. The Times

8. Massive cost of obesity to NHS revealed. Obese patients cost the NHS twice as much as those of healthy weight, a new study has found. The “first of its kind” report, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, “lays bare the costs of obesity to the taxpayer”. An average of £1,375 a year is spent on each of the heaviest patients but those who are not overweight only cost the health service an annual average of £638. Two in three adults in the UK are overweight or obese. It came as a study in the US foundling that nearly half of children who were assigned the “skinny jab”, sold under the brand name Ozempic, lost enough weight to no longer be classed as clinically obese. The Telegraph

9. Volunteering at record low in England. New research has revealed that volunteering has fallen as a historic low in England post-Covid. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations [NCVO] surveyed 7,000 adults for its Time Well Spent report and found that those raising money or taking part in sponsored events was down from 11% to 6% since 2018. Meanwhile, the Charities Aid Foundation’s UK Giving report found there were 1.6 million fewer people volunteering compared to five years ago. The Guardian

10. The bottom line. 35% of Britons have a favourable opinion of Keir Starmer, whereas 51% have an unfavourable opinion. 31% have a favourable opinion of Rishi Sunak and 59% have an unfavourable one. YouGov