Podcasts about national statistics

This week on The Curve, Faiza Shaheen is in the hosting chair and is joined by Laurie Macfarlane - co-director of Future Economy Scotland. They discuss the latest research on UK unemployment and whether or not we can confidently trust the figures coming out of the Office for National Statistics.In the extended episode, available to Macrodose members on Patreon, Faiza and Laurie discuss Trump's brand of authoritarian capitalism and it's implications for other economies.Subscribe to support the show at patreon.com/Macrodose. Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support.

UK inflation has risen more than expected to 3.8 per cent today, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. It's the highest since January 2024, and when Labour came to power last summer, inflation was just 2.2 per cent. We're joined by Jaya Sood, a senior economist at the New Economics Foundation to discuss. And in part two, The Standard's Culture Writer India Block joins us to talk about the frenzy caused by Labubu collectibles - and the growing backlash against blind box toys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England goalkeeper and Lionesses legend Hannah Hampton joins Nuala McGovern on Woman's Hour fresh from winning the UEFA European Women's Championship. Born with a serious eye condition, doctors told her she should never play football. She came into the recent Euros with questions over her ability to fill the gloves of recently retired Mary Earps. To add to that, she revealed her grandfather had died just days before the biggest tournament of her life began earlier this summer. Despite this, Hannah had an extraordinary tournament, particularly in those agonising penalty shootouts. She joins Nuala McGovern to chat all about it. In June this year in Pakistan, Bano Bibi, a mother of five, and Ehsanullah Samalani, a father of three, were accused of having an affair and were shot - on the orders of a tribal leader, according to police. The event caused outrage, not just because it was another so-called ‘honour killing', but because the authorities only took action after a video of the shootings went viral, more than six weeks later. Nuala is joined by Azadeh Moshiri, Pakistan Correspondent for BBC News, and Sheema Kermani, a woman's rights activist, dancer and theatre director who has been working with women in rural and marginalised communities for 50 years. Writer and director Celine Song's semi-autobiographical debut Past Lives earned her two Oscar nominations and a host of other accolades when it was released in 2023. She talks to Nuala about her second film, Materialists, a romantic dramedy starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, and how it was inspired by her own time working as a matchmaker for high-net-worth individuals in New York. Construction employs around 1.4 million people in Great Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics, but only around 15% of those people are women. And they don't always have a positive experience, with 30% having reported sexual assault at work and 64% saying men were paid more for the same role. So, as the industry faces a recruitment crisis, how could it evolve to become a safer and fairer place to work and encourage more women into construction? Nuala explores the problems and the opportunities with Faye Allen, author of Building Women, and Dr Carol Massay of Unity for Construction, who've both worked in the industry for more than 30 years. And we remember long-serving Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter, renowned for turning the children's show into a television institution, who has died at the age of 92.Presented by: Nuala McGovern Produced by: Sarah Jane Griffiths

With migration continuing to make headlines in the media, we unpack what actually defines a “migrant”, and how the UK's largest producer of official statistics goes about counting them.  We also shed light on the misuse of migration figures.    Transcript    MILES FLETCHER  Hello and a very warm welcome to a new series of Statistically Speaking - the official podcast of the UK Office for National Statistics. This is where we hear from the people producing the nation's most important numbers, about how they do it and what the statistics are saying.   Now it's hard to think of one statistic that could be said to have been more influential these past few years than net international migration. Suffice to say it's the one ONS statistic that probably draws more media attention than any other.  But to fully understand the migration figures, and the swirling debate around them, we'd say it pays to know a little about how they are put together. And the first thing you need to know about that is what, or who, is a migrant in the first place. As usual, to unpack and explain the migration statistics we have the top experts from the ONS and beyond. Mary Gregory is director of population statistics here at the ONS. Madeleine Sumption is director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, and new chair of the National Statistician's Advisory Panel on Migration. And to help us understand how the numbers are used and abused in public debate, we're also delighted to welcome Hannah Smith, senior political journalist at fact checking charity Full Fact. Welcome to you all.   Madeleine, to start with you if I may, with that fundamental question, quite simply, what is a migrant?   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Well, there are actually lots of different definitions of a migrant and we use different definitions at different points in time. The standard definition of migration that we use in this country is long term migration, so people moving for at least 12 months, and so the Office for National Statistics figures on immigration, emigration and net migration are all using that definition. And people in that data, they're migrants regardless of whether they are British or not British. So you could have a British person who's gone to live overseas for a few years and coming back they would be counted, in theory, at least in the data, as a migrant. There are other definitions though that are very useful for policy. So sometimes people talk about migrants, meaning people who don't have British citizenship, and the value of that is that these are people who are subject to immigration control, effectively that the Home Office is regulating their status. But it's also sometimes quite useful not to look at whether someone's a citizen now, because of course people can change their citizenship, and many migrants to the UK do become British citizens. So it can be useful to look at whether someone has migrated in the past. The standard definition for that is whether someone is born abroad. But now we've got all these exciting new data sets from administrative data, and so there's a new definition that's creeping in and being used a lot, which is someone who was a non-citizen at the time they registered for their National Insurance Number, regardless of whether they've subsequently become a British citizen. So it's a bit confusing sometimes for the external user, because for various reasons, we have to have all of these different definitions. You just have to know which one you're looking at at any point in time.    MILES FLETCHER  But the basic headline definition, as far as the ONS is concerned -and I guess internationally too because it's important that these figures are comparable- is that it is a person traveling from one country to another for a period of 12 months.   MADELEINE SUMPTION  That's right  MILES FLETCHER  And I guess that is something that is perhaps not widely understood. People understand that migration has a degree of permanence, so they move from one country to another, and yet you can be a migrant in quite a sort of transient way.   MADELEINE SUMPTION  That's right, we have short term migrants as well. So we have a lot of people who come to this country to do seasonal work. For example, they spend up to six months in the country. Then you have people who are long term migrants by the ONS definition and they may spend two to three years here, for example, if they're a worker or an international student. So you're right. I think in people's minds, often when they think about who is a migrant and who comes to mind, they will typically think of someone who is moving permanently. But actually a lot of migrants to the UK only stay for a couple of years.   MILES FLETCHER And none of these people, when it comes to measuring them, none of these people arrive Paddington Bear style with labels around their necks saying “I am a migrant”. The ONS in measuring migration has to classify whether these people qualify or not.   MADELEINE SUMPTION  That's true, and that is very tricky. And it's something I think the non-technical user of the statistics finds it difficult to appreciate quite how hard it is for ONS to work out who is a migrant or not. Because we have millions of people crossing our borders every year, most of them not migrants. We have tourists or people who come in to visit family members. There are all sorts of people and reasons why those people come and go, so ONS is really looking for the needle in the haystack, and a relatively small share of people who are crossing the borders are actually migrating.   MILES FLETCHER  Well, that seems a good moment to bring in the person who is in charge of finding that needle in the haystack statistically. Mary, tell us how we approach this task. Perhaps start off by explaining how we used to do it. MARY GREGORY  Previously we used a survey called the International Passenger Survey, and there we would ask a sample of people as they came into the country, or as they left the country, what their intentions were, and we'd be able to provide very early estimates based on people's intentions to stay or to leave.   MILES FLETCHER  This is people at airports and other ports of entry, ferry ports, for example, simply approaching people as they wander along the corridors, almost in a random sort of way.   MARY GREGORY  Exactly that, you might have seen them. If you have travelled through an airport you may have seen a desk that sometimes says Office for National Statistics. And there would sometimes be people there with very carefully scheduled timetables to make sure that we collect a good cross section of people.   MILES FLETCHER  So the International Passenger Survey is essentially a big sample survey. Nothing wrong with that, and yet, the number of people being stopped at airports who did actually identify themselves as being migrants was quite small, and that made for some very broad-brush estimates didn't it?   MARY GREGORY  Yes, as you can imagine, people travel through airports or ports for many different reasons, and a lot of those people traveling will be traveling for a holiday or business or to visit family. And so the proportion of those people who are actually going to become residents or leaving for more than 12 months is very small, which makes it really difficult to pick up a good sample of those people.   MILES FLETCHER  And because it's fair to say the International Passenger Survey was never set up to measure migration in the first place, and that was something ONS found itself pointing out for a long, long time before things actually changed. MARY GREGORY  For a number of years we made clear that it was being stretched beyond its original purpose, and that it was the best measure we had at the time but now we think we can do better. And I think one other really important aspect of that is understanding that the survey was asking about people's intentions, and intentions don't always match reality of what we then see.   MILES FLETCHER  Because you might arrive as a student, end up working, settling, starting a family...   MARY GREGORY  Yes. Or you might find that you've arrived planning to stay for a year and then change your mind and you've left again. So it could go in either direction.   MILES FLETCHER  So the case for change was strong. What has changed? How is migration measured now?   MARY GREGORY  So now we have a variety of different ways to measure depending on the nationality of the people arriving. So for anybody from outside the EU, we have good data around visas from the Home Office, so we can use that to understand who is coming and what their reasons for travel are, and we can come on to that a little bit later. For people within the EU, that was a bit more difficult because prior to exiting the EU nobody needed a visa. And so at the moment, we use administrative data, so that's data collected for other purposes, and we use data from DWP, so the Department for Work and Pensions, to understand who has come into the country and who is staying in the country for more than 12 months. And for British nationals, we still, at the moment, use the International Passenger Survey, but we hope to change that very soon.   MILES FLETCHER  And essentially, the last use of the IPS, as far as migration is concerned, is to capture British passport holders leaving the country because nobody else is counting them out.   MARY GREGORY  That's right, and it's actually just stopped collecting that data. So we will move to the new methods very soon.   MILES FLETCHER  Okay, so how successful would you say this shift has been?   MARY GREGORY  I think we've definitely improved the data we can provide. It's a better reflection of people's behaviours. We know that because we've compared the different methods and looked against the census and how the population has changed there. But there are also other advantages as well. So we can now look a lot more at why people have come to the UK, or which are the people who are leaving, so we know more about the reasons for migration as well.   MILES FLETCHER  Madeleine, you run what's recognized as one of the leading think tanks in this area. How much of an improvement is the current system?   MADELEINE SUMPTION  I think the data that we have, particularly on non EU citizens, is much better than it was in the past. Just to give an example, back in the early 2010s there was a big political debate about what the right level of net migration should be, and the government had a target of getting net migration down to under 100,000 from where it was. It was around 200 to 300 thousand at the time. So of course, the biggest question was, how do we do this? And the problem was that, based on those old data, we had no idea how many students were leaving the country. If someone came on a student visa we maybe caught them coming in but there were various problems. We just couldn't measure accurately enough the students going out. And so this most basic of questions, how can the government meet its net migration target, was not possible to answer with the data. Fast forward now ten years, and at least for non EU citizens, we now have pretty detailed data so we can say, okay, this number of people came in on student visas, this share of them left, that share is actually a bit lower than people were expecting. So those are quite interesting data. At the moment we can do the same for work visas, family members, refugees - so that's a dramatic improvement. There's still work to do I think on EU citizens. The ONS is measuring quite high levels of both EU immigration and emigration, of people who don't seem to be coming on visas and probably have a status from before Brexit, but we don't have a great sense of that. And as Mary mentioned, we currently don't really have any data on British citizens migrating, so that will need to be fixed. But yeah, I think the overall picture on immigration and emigration is much better than it was. Separately in the system, there are some challenges, let's say, with the surveys that give us data on the population of people in the country, their characteristics and so forth. And that, I think, has deteriorated a little but hopefully will come back on track.   MILES FLETCHER  And bedding in the new system has brought about the need for some pretty big revisions. And that, of course, brings challenges doesn't it. Around confidence in the numbers when you have to revise by several hundred thousand the number of people that have been classified as migrants. And you get these sort of headlines about the ONS, you know, missing the population of Cambridge or wherever it was. But it wasn't a question of missing people as such, was it? It was just getting better data to understand which of the people coming and leaving should actually be classified as a migrant.    MADELEINE SUMPTION  Yes. There were a number of issues there. There were a couple of cases where it was a case of missing people. There were some Ukrainians, for example, that got lost in the data. But that was a relatively small part of the overall revisions. Mostly, I think there's a challenge, and this challenge is not going to go away entirely but I think that the situation is improving, that when people's behaviour is changing the ONS still has to make assumptions about how long people are going to stay if they want to produce the data quickly. And so when you have a big policy change, you've got new groups of migrants coming in who don't necessarily behave, you know, leave and arrive after the same amounts of time as the previous groups of people who came in. Then you're more likely to have some revisions. And that's one of the things we've seen over the past few years.   MILES FLETCHER  Let's trace the story of migration, if we can, just over the course of this century so far because it's been one of, if not the biggest, political stories. And you might argue, one of the factors that has determined the course of political events in this country. Obviously the ONS is not a political organization, but its figures do tend to have an enormous influence in that direction. Migration really became a big issue in that sense around about the early part of the 21st century when countries were joining the EU from the old Eastern Bloc. And suddenly there was a perception not only that there were large numbers of people arriving as a result of EU enlargement, but that the ONS was struggling to actually keep track of them as well.   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Yeah. I mean, I would say that the increase in migration was even a few years earlier than that. The EU enlargement was one of the biggest events in migration in the last 30 years but there had already been a bit of an uptick in non EU migration, even from the late 1990s, and that is something that we saw across a number of countries. So the UK has been a major destination country, and is, if you look at comparable European countries, towards the top of the pack. But interestingly, we've seen some broadly similar trends in quite a lot of high income countries towards higher levels of migration. And that, of course, you know, as you've said, it's made migration much more salient in the political debate, and it's greatly increased the demand for accurate migration stats. And not just stats on the overall numbers, which of course are important, but really understanding who is coming to the UK. You know, what kinds of visas are they on? What do we know about their characteristics, their nationalities? How do they do when they get here...So I think that the demand for good migration statistics is just much higher than it was at a time when the UK experienced relatively limited migration.   MILES FLETCHER  It's arguable that it was indeed rising EU migration that actually led to the events that led to Brexit. What has changed in terms of migration flows because of Brexit?   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Well, the changes have been really big actually. I mean before Brexit quite a substantial share of all migration was from EU countries. After the referendum, even before the UK left the EU but after the referendum vote had been taken, there was already a decline in EU migration for a host of reasons including the exchange rate and so forth. So in some ways Brexit did what it was expected to do in reducing EU migration to the UK, because when free movement ended we saw quite a dramatic decrease in EU migration. And net migration from EU countries is now actually negative. So we've got the EU citizen population in the UK shrinking. But what was unexpected about Brexit was that then there was quite a big increase in non EU migration for various reasons. So partly policy liberalisations that at the time didn't necessarily look like a massive liberalization, but I think that the take up from migrants was much more enthusiastic than perhaps the government had expected. Lots of things came together. More international students, more workers, the war in Ukraine of course and lots of Ukrainians coming to the UK. And all of those came together at the same time and meant that we then ended up unexpectedly with these record high levels of net migration, peaking at just over 900,000 between 2022 and 2023. And now, of course, the numbers are coming right down again. So we had a record increase, we've then had a record decline to back to what are actually still pretty high levels of over 400,000. So we've really been on a roller coaster ride in terms of the migration patterns in the last few years.   MILES FLETCHER  Yes, and statistically the contrast between what's happened recently is that these migrants have become much more conspicuous and much more measurable because they're being covered by visa data, whereas previously, the EU migrants in the early part of the century weren't actually picked up until the until the census in 2011 were they?   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Yes and my hope is that because we're now measuring migration using visa data, when we get to the next census hopefully it will mean that those revisions - especially given that we'll have planned revisions over the next few years to the data - the hope is that that will mean we won't need such big revisions at the next census because we will have had a slightly more accurate measure between the censuses.   MILES FLETCHER  And I guess the three elements in this recent wave of migration that have attracted particular attention, yes, people have come to work and people have come to study as previously, but in this latest wave, people were bringing more of their dependents with them weren't they? Perhaps because they were coming from further afield?   MADELEINE SUMPTION  There's a bit of a puzzle about precisely why that increase in the number of dependents happened when I think it seems like there were probably two main factors. You've got international students bringing family members. We saw a shift in the countries as you mentioned, the countries that students were coming from. A lot more students from Nigeria, and they're more likely to come with their family members. We also saw a really big increase in the number of people coming to the UK as care workers after the government opened up a route for care workers. And so in one year alone, in 2023, there were visas issued to over 100,000 care workers, and they brought more than 100,000 family members with them, partners and children, that is. But that's now changing, because in response to these changes the government then introduced restrictions on the migration of family members, specifically of care workers and international students. So we've seen over the last year that fewer people are now bringing their family members with them.   MILES FLETCHER  Interesting example of better data enabling a policy response in that sense.   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Yes, and I think it has been very helpful that we've had these data on dependents. Ten years ago we would not necessarily have known. We would have seen that migration was high but it wouldn't have been very easy to distinguish whether people were coming as the partner of an international student or the partner of a health and care worker and now we do have those figures which is incredibly helpful for the policy debate.   MILES FLETCHER  Oh, Mary, one thing we haven't spoken about so far is the impact of COVID. How did the system cope with that period? In measuring the negligible flows to start with, but then the turning on the taps again as things returned to normal...   MARY GREGORY  I think in terms of measuring the statistics it was a massive challenge because the International Passenger Survey stopped and then it was agreed that it wouldn't restart measuring migration, and it actually accelerated our progress to what is now a better measure, but it happened under very difficult circumstances. So we very quickly moved to using administrative data. So data collected by government already to help us measure. And of course there was so much going on then that added to the challenge. Exiting the EU, changes to the immigration system etc. So it was really important we were very careful about how we make sure we understood what had caused the changes and how we measured it really accurately.   MILES FLETCHER  There was indeed another test of the credibility of the ONS migration estimates when it was announced that a very large number of people had applied for settled status just as we were about to leave. These are EU citizens applying for settled status in the UK just as we're about to leave the EU. How do we reconcile those two very different estimates, because a lot of people use them to suggest that there were far more people here than you've been telling us for all these years.   MARY GREGORY  What we can do is we can look at the data sources available to us. The census is a really valuable source in that respect because it gives us the most comprehensive view of the whole population for England and Wales, done by ONS. Obviously, Scotland and Northern Ireland are done by their own statistical offices but we can look at that to get a much better understanding of the full components of the population. But of course, it was really difficult. When there was free movement across the EU we wouldn't know for sure how many people have come and how many people have left. And that's actually become a little bit easier in terms of a statistical viewpoint, because now people do need to have visas in order to travel unless they've got settled status already.   MILES FLETCHER  The new system has been bedding in these last couple of years, and you've had the unenviable job of announcing some pretty large revisions to the figures. Have things settled down now?    MARY GREGORY  So I think we've made really good progress on people traveling from outside the EU as Madeleine already referred to. We know a lot more about them. We're more confident in that aspect, and we would hope therefore, that the revisions in future will be much lower in scale. There will always be some revisions because we are making assumptions about people. Just to pause on that for a second. We publish data five months after the reference period, but obviously it's 12 months before somebody meets the definition of being a migrant. So we have to make some assumptions about who will stay and who won't, but those are relatively small and should be small in terms of revisions. So I think with non EU numbers we have made really good progress and that is the largest part of the picture. So just to put that in perspective, in terms of immigration just over four in five people immigrating in in our latest data are from outside the EU, so that's positive. Where we do have more work to do is those people coming from within the EU and British nationals, and we've got plans to develop the methods for both of those so we will see revisions coming up in both of those areas. We will put out more information in the autumn about the progress we've made, and if they're ready and we think the quality is good enough, we will implement those methods in November. Otherwise, we'll wait until the following publication because for us it's really important that when we do this we do it properly.   MILES FLETCHER  And important for everybody to remember that the ONS, in the job it does, can only make the best of the information that's made available to it at any given time.    MARY GREGORY  Yes absolutely. And I think especially with the British nationals where there are a lot of challenges. Because, of course, if you're a British national you come and go as you please. The other things that we are looking to improve are going to be less significant in terms of the headline numbers but are also really valuable. So if we can change the methods for EU, for example, we should be able to do more on people's reason for migration. And we also hope to do more on breaking down those from outside the EU, to understand a bit more detail about how long people are staying and if they change visas, that kind of thing.   MILES FLETCHER  Mary, thank you very much. That seems a good moment to bring in Hannah.   Hannah, then, from what you've heard, as someone who's in the business of tackling misinformation and ensuring that debates are properly understood, what is your assessment of how useful, how reliable, the ONS migration data are?   HANNAH SMITH  Now as we've been hearing from Madeleine there's been some significant improvements in the way that the data is collected and published. I think another thing that can give people confidence is how transparent the ONS has been with not only the strengths of the data, but also the limitations and the work they're doing surrounding ongoing development with that. I think that's absolutely key when we're talking about access to good information –transparency- understanding what the data can tell us and what the data can't tell us, and what the ONS is looking to do to change that. I think ultimately this is, as we've been hearing, a really complex issue, and trying to reconcile that with the fact that it's of massive public interest. And, as Madeline has been saying, someone who is not a technical user of the statistics, it's really important for someone like that to be able to understand these issues in a straightforward way, and trying to find that balance between getting the right level of detail that can be understandable for a general user is difficult. But I think the ONS has been really open about the challenges with that, and this conflict between the idea of timeliness and completeness of data, as Mary was just saying, we don't have complete data at the moment that the first statistics are published, but obviously the alternative is just to wait a really long time until that full data is available. So I think trying to strike that balance is also key, and something that, like I say, just being transparent about that is the best way to approach it.   MILES FLETCHER  In your work for Full Fact, what do you come across as the major misuses of migration figures, the deliberate misunderstanding of migration figures. And how well equipped Are you to combat those?  HANNAH SMITH  It's hard to know how much of it is deliberate misuse of migration figures, and how much of it is, as you say, due to just misunderstanding the data. I think there are obviously some things that we don't know, some information gaps. So, for example, the scale of illegal migration is something that's perhaps a bit harder to capture, just by the very nature of it. That's something that we found is a really common theme in the things that we're fact checking. You know, we've seen surveys that show that a quite significant proportion of the public thinks that the data shows that more people are entering the country illegally than legally. We fact check politicians who make similar claims. So we know this bad information does cause real harm, and I think that's why the information that the ONS is publishing is really, really important for reasoned debate, and just having that information available is the first step to help counter the bad information that's out there. MILES FLETCHER  You mentioned illegal immigration or undocumented migration, that by its very nature is a tricky one, because it's difficult to accurately measure isn't it, and to come up with a robust estimate that can counter exaggerated claims.   HANNAH SMITH  Yeah, of course. And we know that some of the people who are arriving in the country, either undocumented or illegally are captured in the data. So for example, the data we have on small boat arrivals, but it is ultimately, like you say, hard to estimate. And I think similarly to what Madeleine was saying earlier about the different definitions of what constitutes a migrant. Different people will have different views or different understandings of what constitutes illegal migration. So that's another thing that we have to bear in mind when we're talking about this issue.   MILES FLETCHER  And do you feel you've got the tools to effectively combat the worst excesses of the Wild West that social media often is?   HANNAH SMITH  Yes we do work with social media companies. So we have a partnership with Meta which allows us to directly rate misleading content that we see on their platforms. And we definitely do see a lot of content specifically related to migration which thanks to that partnership we are able to have influence on. But at Full Fact I think we're always calling for improvements in how better to combat misinformation, not only in this space, but just generally. So media literacy, for example, we think is a really vital step that's needed to ensure people are equipped so that they can spot what's fact and what's fiction. And we've been making a lot of recommendations in what can be done to improve media literacy to meet the public's needs. We also think that legislation needs to be strengthened to tackle this kind of misinformation and other sorts of harmful misinformation that crop up online. So yeah, we do have a lot of tools at our disposal, but we think that the information environment and the regulations surrounding it could always be strengthened.   MILES FLETCHER  That's interesting. And what sort of areas do you think it could specifically be strengthened? As far as the production of statistics are concerned?   HANNAH SMITH  I think, as I say, transparency and accessibility is key. I think perhaps trying to anticipate where misunderstandings could crop up. A lot of the work we do, or an approach that we can take with fact checking, is something we call pre bunking, which is trying to look at what topics are resonating with the public, what things we think might crop up, and then producing content that puts the correct information out there. Ideally, trying to get ahead of the bad information. I don't know if I'm going to butcher this saying, but a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth had time to put his boots on. I think that pre bunking is an effort to try and reverse that. And I think there's a parallel there with anticipating, as producers of information, where the misunderstandings might be likely to fall, and putting content warnings on or health warnings as prominently as possible, and also making sure that the people that are using the information, whether that's the media, politicians, other people, are aware of potential pitfalls to try and minimize the risk of that spreading to a wider audience.   MILES FLETCHER  Survey information we have from our own sources - the public confidence in official statistics survey - suggests that people who have heard of the ONS tend to recognize the fact that it is independent, that we are not subject to political control, and therefore you might think people should have confidence in the figures. Is that corroborated by your experience?   HANNAH SMITH  That's really interesting. I'm not entirely sure. I think from a fundamental point of view, I think trust in organizations like the ONS, knowing that you're getting impartial evidence, knowing that you're getting unbiased information that's been put through the most robust scrutiny that it can be, can only be a helpful thing. We know that trust in politics is at a very low level, so having those impartial producers of information that we know aren't subject to any political control or affiliation, I think can only be beneficial for that.   MILES FLETCHER  Madeleine, this is where the National Statistician's Advisory Panel on Migration comes in, the body that you chair. Can you just tell us a little about its work? What its role is?   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Yes. So this is a new body that will advise the ONS on migration statistics. Obviously, the ONS migration teams have been soliciting expert advice in various ways for several years. I know this because I've been part of that process as well, but the arrangements are being formalized now, actually building on the model that I think has worked quite well in some other areas of migration statistics, like labour market data, for example, to have a panel of independent experts who help advise on things like whether the statistics are really answering the questions that users have. Obviously ONS has a lot of excellent statisticians, but they're not expected to be deep in the weeds of the policy debate and really sort of understanding exactly how people want to use the data and so forth. So the idea of this panel is to have some of that independent voice to help ONS shape its vision of what kinds of data it can produce. How can it make them more relevant and accessible to users, that kind of thing?   MILES FLETCHER  And I guess when you ask most people whether they think migration does have a role to play, particularly in modern economies, answering that question depends on having good data, having data that meets the needs of experts in economics and so forth. So we can see whether indeed, migration is having a positive economic benefit.    MADELEINE SUMPTION  Yes there are lots of things that the data are needed for. So looking at the impacts on the economy is one of them that the Office of Budget Responsibility, for example, uses the migration data when it's making its forecast of how much money there is effectively. So you know, how big is the population? What are people likely to be paying in tax? What are we likely to be spending in addition on services? Because we have more migrants, more people in the population. So it's important for the financial impacts. It's important for planning public services. How many school age kids are we going to have? How's that changing? What do we need to do to plan school places? And yeah, then it's important for the broader policy debate as well, understanding different categories of migration, what should the Home Office do? What should other government departments do, and thinking about how to respond to the impacts of migration.   MILES FLETCHER  Yeah. And you can't calculate GDP per head of population until you know how many heads there are, to reduce it to its most simple terms.   MADELEINE SUMPTION  Indeed. Yep. And that's been one of the challenges. There are more challenges along those lines, when thinking about the impacts of migration, we're getting a lot more administrative data, so data from basically the records of different government departments and agencies around the country, that will tell us things like how many migrants are claiming benefits, or how many migrants are imprisoned, or any number of things. And it's really important that if you want to be able to interpret those statistics, you really must have a good idea of how many migrants are from different countries, different parts of the world, are in the country in the first place. Otherwise you might make your calculations wrong. And I think there is still more work to be done in that area, in particular looking at population. We've been talking mostly about migration in and out of the country. There's still a fair amount more to be done on making sure that we have really accurate statistics on the number of people who are here at any one point in time.   MILES FLETCHER  Mary, finally from you then, do you support that good progress has been made, but important steps are still to come?   MARY GREGORY  I think so. I mean, there's always improvements that can be made. No matter how good we get, we will always want to do better. But I think also it's such a privilege, but a huge responsibility, to work on something so important, and we don't take that lightly in ONS. We know that these numbers make a difference to so many people, and as Madelene said, the number of people in the country is a really important number, but so often the thing driving that is the migration figure. So without the really good migration data, we don't have the really good population data, and so we will keep working on that together as well as we can.   MILES FLETCHER  And on that positive note we must come to the end of this podcast. Thanks to you, Mary Madeleine and Hannah, for your time today, and as always, thanks to you at home for listening.   You can subscribe to future episodes of Statistically Speaking on Spotify, Apple podcasts and all the other major podcast platforms. You can also follow us on X, previously known as Twitter, via the @ONSFocus feed.   I am Miles Fletcher, and from myself and producer Steve Milne, until next time, goodbye.    ENDS  

 Critical Thinking  Combatting Domestic Abuse (Part 2) Black Spy Podcast 199, Season 20, Episode 0010 Below is a concise yet data-rich overview of the current domestic violence situation in the UK, as discussed in Part One of the Black Spy Podcast, featuring host Carlton King (“The Black Spy”), neuroscientist Dr Rachel Taylor, and journalist Firgas Esack. Host Carlton King (“The Black Spy”) sits down with Dr Rachel Taylor, a leading neuroscientist, and journalist Firgas Esack, to dive deep into these figures. This episode explores not only the statistics but the human, systemic, and gendered dimensions of domestic violence—shining light on under‑reported experiences, prevention strategies, and why these numbers matter. This is Part Two of an extremely informative series on Combatting Domestic Violence—essential listening for anyone looking to understand and address this crisis in modern Britain.

The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week include: Joe FitzPatrick To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Sarcoma UK report, Unique Among Cancers. Tim Eagle To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that several local authorities are delaying the introduction of a visitor levy. Marie McNair  To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the latest Office for National Statistics inflation statistics and any implications for its work to support low-income households.   A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-26-06-2025

We're joined by The Guardian newspaper Biodiversity Reporter, Phoebe Weston in this months MiniPod and we discuss...The news that water contamination by forever chemicals from an airport in eastern France has resulted in 3000 vulnerable residents unable to drink their tap water.A groundbreaking tree-planting programme that is uniting farmers and rewilders in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.UK data shows 60% of adults think climate and the environment are important issues – we'll explore the role of the media in portraying these topics responsibly.Useful LinksRead Phoebe's article on ghost woodlands and rewilding hereRead the Office of National Statistics – public and business attitudes to environment and climate change 2024 survey hereJoin our mailing list to be the first to hear about new episodes - click here to sign up Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland

The great un-retirement is a term that has been coined to explain the fact that people are working longer or even coming out of retirement completely to return to work. Find out why this is happening in this episode. In a poll by Rest Less, a digital community that supports the over-50s, 32% of members said they would consider returning to work or that they were already working again. And statistics back this up. The Office for National Statistics reports that there are now more people aged 50 and older in work or looking for work than before the pandemic, while figures from the Centre for Ageing Better show that the number of people aged 65 or over entering the workforce rose by 173,000 in the first quarter of 2022. Why are so many people coming out of retirement? What problems do older people face when looking for a job? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: ⁠Why do we get addicted to social media?⁠ ⁠What are the dangers of using Botox?⁠ ⁠How can I wake up refreshed every morning?⁠ A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. First Broadcast: 24/10/2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A parade of pauses WAR! Middle East at it again Oracle earnings - wow! Tesla robotaxi spotted PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter ** Look At Album Art ** - So bad  Warm-Up - More pausing floated - We have a CHYNA deal -  kind of - Saying goodbye to Brian Wilson - Tesla - back in buy mode Markets - War! Middle East again (US seems to be helping ?) - Within 2% if ATH and then... - Oracle blows the roof off - UK economy shrinks - bigly ***A NEW Closest to the Pin! Middle East Again - Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran early Friday morning local time, targeting locations it said were related to Iran's nuclear program, sparking market fears of a wider conflict. - Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of the Iranian Armed Forces and the country's most senior military official, was killed during the strikes, alongside the commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, Iranian state media reported. - The Israeli airstrikes also targeted and killed two of Iran's leading nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, according to Iranian news outlets. - Odd timing? - Markets initially took it better than expected - until Iran stuck back Valuations - As of the most recent update on June 5, 2025, the forward P/E ratio of the S&P 500 is 21.70. This reflects a decline from 22.44 in the previous quarter and 25.20 one year ago, 10 -year average is about 19 PE Forward Chart Something we discussed on TDI  - Presidential Cycles - The U.S. stock market tends to follow a four-year cycle aligned with presidential terms. Historically, the first year of a president's second term (4 years apart in this case) often mirrors the first year of a new presidency in terms of market behavior—marked by uncertainty, policy re-calibration, and sometimes muted performance - While the first half of the first year can be choppy due to post-election adjustments and early policy moves, the second half—especially Q4—has historically shown stronger performance. This is often attributed to: Stabilizing policy direction after early-year volatility Investor optimism around fiscal planning and budget cycles Seasonal tailwinds like the holiday rally and year-end portfolio rebalancing Presidential Cycle UK Economy- This is why we need to dig further than the headline (more beneath the surface) - The U.K. economy shrank sharply in April as global trade tariffs and domestic tax rises kicked in, data showed Thursday. - The latest monthly growth figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the U.K. economy contracted 0.3% month on month in April, following growth of 0.2% in March. - It was also more than the 0.1% fall economists were expecting. - “After increasing for each of the four preceding months, April saw the largest monthly fall on record in goods exports to the United States with decreases seen across most types of goods, following the recent introduction of tariffs,” --- The real culprit: ----- Domestic tax rises have also been blamed for the steep decline in economic activity. British businesses have been confronted with an increase in national insurance contributions and rise in the minimum age from the start of April, while a temporary tax break on property purchases also came to an end in March. - ----The change in the Stamp Duty Land Tax (paid when buying property or land) in April meant there was a decrease of 63.5% in U.K. residential property transactions from the previous month, the ONS noted, with buyers rushing to complete purchases before the tax break ended. US Economy - U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in...

What do you wish you'd known when you were a teenager? That's what today's podcast is all about. Sixteen to 24 year olds are the loneliest age group in the UK, according to Office of National Statistics research. Inspired by the issues raised in crime drama Adolescence, experts at Swift Psychology in Birmingham asked people from different backgrounds to share advice they'd like to have received when they were younger. They have created a series of I Wish I'd Known videos to help trigger conversations between the generations.  Today I'm talking to Child & Adolescent Therapist Laura Gwilt about the ways we can help and reassure our children. Discover more of Laura's advice on the BirminghamLive website and Brummie Mummies Facebook and Instagram pages and via  swiftpsychology.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first quarter of 2023 has seen food inflation in the UK surpass 16%, according to the Office for National Statistics. Such inflation rates hadn't been seen for forty years. It's contributed to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and an increasing number of people are struggling to afford to buy enough food. With all that in mind, many people's number one concern right now is keeping their supermarket bill as low as possible, regardless of how healthy what they're eating is. But there are ways of sticking to a balanced diet even on a shoestring budget. Isn't healthy food always expensive? What are the tips to buy healthy food at a low cost? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here : ⁠Are men still being paid more than women?⁠ ⁠What makes us ticklish?⁠ ⁠Why are there calls for a halt to AI research?⁠ A Bababam Originals podcast. A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 12/4/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters, Dame Diane Coyle argues that traditional measures like GDP no longer capture economic realities.Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is also the director of the Productivity Institute, a fellow of the Office for National Statistics, and a member of the UK's Competition Commission. Drawing on her deep expertise, she proposes an alternative framework for measuring productivity that enables better policymaking.In her conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, she discusses the shortcomings of GDP—such as a lack of accounting for immaterial goods or natural capital, alternative measures of progress, and how corporate leaders should rethink their approach to measurement.Key topics discussed: 01:32 | The shortcomings of GDP as a measure of productivity09:14 | The issues of inflated GDP statements11:12 | Alternative measures of productivity and progress13:47 | A time-based approach to measuring productivity16:39 | How productivity measurement works in practice18:57 | Implications for corporate leadersAdditional inspirations from Diane Coyle:Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be (Princeton University Press, 2021)GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (Princeton University Press, 2015)The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters (Princeton University Press, 2009)Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Intro to Economics (Texere, 2002)

As summer heats up, deodorant becomes a faithful ally. But this product can be very dangerous. On May 2022 a 14 year old girl, Giorgia Green, died from inhaling deodorant. The teenager, who was on the autistic spectrum, liked to spray deodorant on her blankets as she found the smell comforting. "The smell of it gave her a certain sense of relaxation," said her father. Sadly her cause of death was found to be "unascertained but consistent with inhalation of aerosol” and although it is not common she is not alone. According to the Office for National Statistics, (ONS) "deodorant" was mentioned on 11 death certificates between 2001 and 2020. Though, it is likely that the actual number of deaths are higher than this, due to the fact that specific substances are not always mentioned on death certificates. What is dangerous in deodorant? Why are people not being made aware of the danger? Should we stop using aerosol deodorants? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠What are earworms, the songs we just can't get out of our heads?⁠ ⁠Is it a good idea to sleep with my pet?⁠ ⁠Who are digital nomads, the new generation of remote workers?⁠ A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. First Broadcast: 23/2/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of smokers in the UK is estimated at 6.6 million. The proportion has been steadily dropping for years now. Given the health risks, you'd think smokers would be delighted to give up, but the prospect of putting on weight is a cause of concern for many. To be fair, it i's a well-founded fear to some extent. In 2014, Addiction journal reported that the average prevalence of weight gain after quitting smoking was 80%. In such cases, the average weight gain is 5 - 10lb. Of course, putting on a few pounds is far less dangerous than continuing to smoke, so the choice to quit should still be a no-brainer. Nevertheless, let's delve deeper into the post-quitting weight gain phenomenon. What effects do cigarettes have on the body? It must be difficult not to start compulsive eating, mustn't it? What about going on a diet? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠What is eatertainment, the "next-level" dining experience?⁠ ⁠Should vapes have the same restrictions as cigarettes?⁠ ⁠Why do we get goosebumps?⁠ A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 2/3/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, September 26 was the most popular day to be born over the last two decades, which falls 39 weeks and two days after Christmas day. Babies are born with certain reflexes that result in involuntary movements. These are called primitive reflexes, and the movements happen automatically without the baby sending a message to their brain. Such reflexes develop during the foetal period and indicate that the baby's brain is functioning well. What are some examples? Isn't it just the cutest when a baby grabs your finger? Do these reflexes remain with babies as they develop into children? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Is it bad to drink water with a meal? Are Skyr yoghurts really good for you? Why is physical contact important for our health? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First broadcast : 20/11/2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to measure the good life? According to Cambridge University's Professor of Public Policy, Diane Coyle, quantifying progress doesn't involve traditional economic metrics. In her new book, Measure of Progress, Coyle discusses how economic metrics like GDP, designed 80 years ago, are increasingly inadequate for measuring today's complex economy. She argues we need new approaches that account for digital transformation, supply chains, and long-term sustainability. Coyle suggests developing human-centric balance sheet measures that reflect true progress beyond simple growth numbers. Five Key Takeaways * Economic metrics like GDP were developed 80 years ago and are increasingly outdated for measuring today's complex digital economy with global supply chains.* We lack adequate tools to measure crucial modern economic factors such as data usage, cloud services, and cross-border supply chains.* Economic statistics have always been political in nature, from their historical origins to present debates about what counts as progress.* Coyle advocates for a "balance sheet" approach that considers long-term sustainability of resources rather than just short-term growth figures.* While productivity growth has slowed for many middle-income families over the past 20 years, Coyle rejects "degrowth" approaches, arguing instead for better metrics that capture true progress in living standards.Professor Dame Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Her latest book is 'Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be', exploring the challenges for economics particularly in the context of digital transformation. Her current research focuses on productivity and on economic measurement: what does it mean for economic policy to make the world ‘better', and how would we know if it succeeds?Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, and an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission. She has served in public service roles including as Vice Chair of the BBC Trust, member of the Competition Commission, of the Migration Advisory Committee and of the Natural Capital Committee. Diane was Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester until March 2018 and was awarded a DBE for her contribution to economic policy in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Some Labour politicians have been calling for a wealth tax, claiming a 2% tax could raise £24bn. Where are the numbers from and do they add up? A listener asked why housing in the UK is the oldest in Europe. We explain what's going on. The Office for National Statistics has changed how it measures the value of pensions and knocked £2 trillion off its estimates of wealth. Not everyone thinks it was a good change. We find out why.And Lent is here, but how long is the Christian fasting period? We look at the history of a very flexible 40 days. Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news, and the world around us. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Producers: Nathan Gower and Charlotte McDonald Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the UK economy unexpectedly shrunk by 0.1% in January. This comes only a few weeks after the Chancellor's pro-growth speech, and a fortnight ahead of her Spring Statement. Just how much pressure is Rachel Reeves under? And how likely is it that Labour will change their approach? Economics editor Michael Simmons and deputy political editor James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to discuss, as well as a look ahead to next week's expected announcement on reducing the welfare bill. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

It's a double celebration for Rachel Reeves today. Not only is it her birthday, but the UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the last three months of 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics' latest report. December, when the economy expanded by 0.4 per cent (the market consensus had been 0.1 per cent), was the saving grace. This helped tip the final quarter of 2024 onto the right side of positive growth. But it's not all rosy for the Chancellor. This morning's update won't take anyone in the Treasury off high alert, and there has been a development in the story about her CV. The BBC has been looking into her expenses during her time at Halifax bank. The Chancellor's response is that she had no knowledge that there was an investigation into wrongdoing. Will it be a happy birthday after all? Elsewhere, it's a big day at The Spectator. In this week's issue, we have launched The Spectator Project Against Frivolous Funding (SPAFF). This online tool lets readers explore the wastelands of government procurement contracts, reckless credit card splurges and absurd research grants. Spoiler alert: there's no shortage of material. Can you find more wasteful funding? Go to: spectator.co.uk/spaff Oscar Edmondson speaks to Kate Andrews and Michael Simmons. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

In episode 85 of the Eyes on Jesus podcast, Drew and Tim address the urgent and daunting issue of trafficking and its impact on the church and next generation. They discuss alarming global and U.S. statistics, including the fast-growing prevalence of platforms like OF among 18 to 24-year-olds. Highlighting the spiritual battle and the church's responsibility, they stress the importance of action, from partnering with organizations fighting trafficking to individual spiritual vigilance and repentance. What can you do to fight against the lucrative culture of perversion? Get the most comfortable shirts we've ever worn with powerful Christian messages! And support the show! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kingdomandwill.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Use code: EYESONJESUS for 15% off Get all our links in one easy place! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/eyesonjesuspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Group on Facebook- Eyes on Jesus podcast community ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/eyesonjesuspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email feedback, questions or show topic ideas to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠eyesonjesuspodcast@outlook.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more information on Drew Barker: Follow Drew on ⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pastordrewbarker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Drew's church's website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://yes.online/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more information on Tim Ferrara: ⁠ ⁠ Get all his links in one place- to his social media, all 3 of his books, and more ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/discerning_dad⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Personal updates 03:42 Addressing the Pervasive Issue of Trafficking 06:19 Global and National Statistics on Human Trafficking 10:14 The Lucrative and Dangerous Industry 12:23 The Church's Responsibility and Action Plan 15:02 Hotspots and Organizations Fighting Trafficking 16:45 Partnerships and Success Stories 17:34 The Dark Side of Major Events 18:07 Supporting Victims and Nonprofits 19:47 The Rise of OF 22:04 The Impact on Relationships and Society 25:02 A Call to Action for the Church 29:28 Repentance and Living for Christ 32:03 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

In this month's Deals Deals Deals podcast, we welcome Grant Hutchby who with his wife Kay make up KG Short Stay, based in South Wales.    Grant shares how he managed to leave his corporate career in 2019 to focus full time on their business and how they have both successfully joined the Property Entrepreneur Board to help them level up their business.    They manage over 140 properties for their clients and their own portfolio in South Wales and in selected cities in England. We discuss their ideal type of property, the service users they specialise in and all the key metrics within the business like average length of stay and all the typical costs as well as how Grant analyses deals. We also discussed the VAT situation and potential issues to avoid.    Grant and Kay also Joint Venture with clients where they add their knowledge and expertise and the client adds the cash funds to purchase the property, refurb and other costs etc and they split the profits on a 50/50 basis.    Grant takes us through a recent example of a 6 bed pub with a 3 bed cottage where they added 6 studios and created £150k of equity, with over £70k pa of cashflow whilst using none of their own funds.    The key numbers are :   Purchase price £370,000 Refurb £160,000 Other costs £20,000 Total £550,000 GDV £700,000 Equity £150,000   Revenue £190,000 Operating costs £99,000 Flat rate VAT £19,950 Profit before tax £71,050 shared with JV partner    This equates to about the current average earnings based on Office of National Statistics , £36.660 on one deal.   Want to contact Mark or his guests?   www.thepropertybrokerage.co.uk mark@thepropertybrokerage.co.uk   Grant Hutchy WhatsApp: +447866365040 Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/granthutchby/discoverycall Email: grant@kginspiredproperty.com       Want to learn more?   Want to know the ONLY 5 PROBLEMS you need to overcome to become a High Net Worth Property Entrepreneur making 6 and 7 figure annual profits? Click here now to download our FREE PDF report   Daniel Hill's brand new, first-ever published book Karma Credits: The Universal Law of Wealth, Health and Happiness can be purchased on Amazon. Click here now to purchase a copy.   If you've not already joined the 12.2k Property Entrepreneurs for FREE in the Property Entrepreneur Facebook Group, click here to join now:  The Property Entrepreneurs Community   If you're listening to this podcast but have not yet subscribed, click the subscribe button to listen to what Daniel and other industry leading guests have to say on a weekly basis on all things business, investment property and lifestyle: The Official Property Entrepreneur Podcast    Keep up to date with Daniel's unique and proven Blueprints by subscribing to The Blueprint YouTube Channel now   Follow Daniel on Social:   Instagram: @propertyentrepreneur_  Facebook:  @PropertyEntrepreneurOfficial LinkedIn: @propertyentrepreneur  

Joseph and Paula bring you Part 1 of one of their most listened to episodes. They will continue to bring you these Encore episodes in between their new ones, as requested by many listeners. We continue to be grateful for the engagement. This multi-episode topic is a tough one. Joseph and Paula are talking about abuse. This is not a pleasant topic, but definitely a necessary one. According to the National Statistics on Domestic Violence, nearly 20 people each minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. For one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. Those figures only take into account domestic violence. We are covering 8 different types of abuse. We are examining the different types of abuse, their symptoms, and how to seek support if you find yourself experiencing any of them and how to support a person who has.  Part 1 addresses Physical, Emotional, and Verbal Abuse. Due to the nature of the content, we hope you will take care while listening. Resources: You can visit the website we acquired our sourced material at ⁠HealthyPlace.com⁠. Should you need support for any of the topics we discuss, please use any of these hotlines: Child Abuse Hotline – 1-800-4-A-CHILD (800 422 4453) National Domestic Violence Hotline – 1-800-799-7233 Missing & Exploited Children Hotline - 1-800-843-5678 Suicide Hotline: Dial 988 4UTrevor for gay and questioning youth - 1-866-488-7386 Questions? If you have a question, you would like Joseph and Paula to answer during an episode of Questions for Counselors, feel free to reach out through the website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.lifelivedbetter.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or email them directly at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Info@lifelivedbetter.net ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find information about this and other episodes on the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.lifelivedbetter.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Just a reminder - anything shared by the pair during this and all other episodes is based on personal experiences and opinions. It is not to be viewed as professional counseling or advice and is solely the opinion of the individual and does not represent their employers or profession.   We would love for you to rate our show and tell others about us. And remember, Knowledge leads to a Life Lived Better.

Rob discusses two significant topics affecting the UK: projected net migration and its impact on the population, as well as alarming council tax hikes across various regions. The Office for National Statistics forecasts that the UK population will rise to 72.5 million by 2032, primarily driven by net migration, which could lead to increased demand for housing. Rob encourages listeners to consider investing in property, emphasising that a growing population will necessitate more housing. KEY TAKEAWAYS The UK population is expected to rise to 72.5 million by 2032, marking a 7.3% increase over the decade, primarily driven by net migration. An increasing population will likely lead to a higher demand for housing, which presents opportunities for those looking to invest in property despite prevailing negative sentiments about the housing market. Council Tax Hikes: Significant council tax increases are planned in various regions, with some councils proposing hikes as high as 25%, which could affect nearly 4 million residents. Financial Mismanagement: Many local councils, particularly in the South, are facing financial difficulties, with some declaring bankruptcy due to mismanagement of public funds, leading to increased tax burdens on constituents. Call for Efficiency: There is a need for local councils to streamline operations and reduce workforce sizes to improve efficiency, drawing parallels to successful practices in the private sector, such as those implemented by Elon Musk at X. BEST MOMENTS "Net migration is to push the UK population up to 72.5 million, a projected population growth of 7.3% between 2022 and 2032." "If the population is set to increase sustainably, then from a housing point of view, that could be quite beneficial." "Council tax hikes are going to be taking place from April, and it seems that councils are really taking the piss." "We've been taken for a ride in the UK, and it's really not good. It's not healthy by any stretch of the imagination." VALUABLE RESOURCES GET YOUR PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT FINANCE HERE: https://propertyfundingplatform.com/WharfFinancial#!/borrowerinitialregistration SOCIAL MEDIA/CONTACT US https://linktr.ee/thepropertynomadspodcast BOOKS Property FAQs = https://amzn.to/3MWfcL4 Buy To Let: How To Get Started = https://amzn.to/3genjle 101 Top Property Tips = https://amzn.to/2NxuAQL uk property, Investment, Property, Rent, Buy to let, Investing for beginners, Money, Tax, Renting, Landlords, strategies, invest, housing, properties, portfolio, estate agents, lettings, letting, business: https://patreon.com/tpnpodcast

Today, the BBC's special correspondent Fergal Keane travelled with the first Jordanian helicopter delivering aid inside Gaza.Adam speaks to Fergal about what it was like to be the first international correspondent to fly with the Jordanians into Israeli-held territory in southern Gaza. And, the Office for National Statistics has projected a population growth of 7.3% between 2022 and 2032; the number is almost entirely based on the net migration of an estimated 4.9 million people over the 10-year period. Adam is joined by Stephanie Hegarty, BBC population correspondent, and Professor Sarah Harper, an expert on demography and Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, to discuss today's ONS findings and what population scientists say about how demographics are changing around the world.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Gray with Miranda Slade, Anna Harris and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Richie Allen with two hours of news analysis like no other. On today's show Richie discusses the UK's Assisted Dying Bill. A committee of MP's has begun hearing evidence from doctors and legal professionals to help shape the controversial legislation. Also on the show, The Office for National Statistics says the UK population will grow by 5 million people in the next decade through migration alone, Labour backtracks on broadening the definition of extremism and much more.Support YOUR Richie Allen Show here:

In the period from 2018 to 2020, the life expectancy at birth for women in the UK was 82.9 years, while it was just 79 for men. That's according to data from the Office of National Statistics. And that disparity is a common trend across various countries and even among certain other species of mammals, like great apes. There certainly are, and they span both biological and behavioral factors. Dr. Perminder Sachdev is a professor of neuropsychiatry at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Talking to Time.com for an article published on the subject in 2019, he highlighted that men are more likely to take “life-threatening risks” which could lead to them dying, in a fight for example, or a car accident resulting from driving too fast.  What kind of differences are we talking about? What about the impact of female hormones? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What are the biggest misconceptions on beating heatwaves? What are the health benefits of using sex toys? Which foods should I avoid after their expiry date? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First broadcast: 29/1/2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A damning report into the state of the NHS has revealed patients are dying in corridors and can go undiscovered for hours.The Royal College of Nursing published findings, based on the experiences of more than 5,000 UK nurses, into the state of care in England's hospitals as staff try to manage the number of people needing care.The “harrowing” report comes amid soaring ambulance waiting times and tells of patients sitting for days in chairs due to a lack of beds, patients lying in corridors and treatment delays.The Standard podcast is joined by Mathew Hulbert, a volunteer patient leader at Just Treatment, which campaigns for public health investment, fair pay for NHS staff and an end to outsourcing of NHS services.His 78-year-old mother, Jackie, died in July 2022 from sepsis in hospital - after waiting 11 hours for paramedics following a fall at home in Leicestershire.In part two, the deputy of Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled cutbacks in some public spending to channel more funds into the Labour government's dash for growth.It comes as Office for National Statistics data released on Wednesday showed GDP increased by just 0.1 per cent.The London Standard's political editor, Nicholas Cecil, examines what's to come in the months ahead for government departments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK inflation rate unexpectedly fell slightly to 2.5 per cent in December in a surprise boost to embattled Chancellor Rachel Reeves.Figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed a slight drop from 2.6 per cent in November and fell below City forecasts.It comes amid record government borrowing and falls in the pound over the past week.How does this all fit into the wider economic outlook, what might it signal for our shopping baskets - and what about the spectre of ‘stagflation'?The Standard podcast is joined by Jo Michell, professor of economics at the University of the West of England in Bristol.In part two, influencer Adam McIntyre on concerns about the financial impact of a TikTok ban on digital creators and small business ahead of a US supreme court decision on the Chinese ByteDance-owned app's future in the States mid data security concerns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to the British Fertility Society, between 9% and 15% of couples will encounter fertility problems, while Fertility Network UK says that “over 3.5 million people in the UK go through some kind of fertility challenge.” Interestingly, the total fertility rate in England and Wales actually increased slightly in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. But that was the first increase in a decade, with the general trend being towards lower fertility, a pattern also seen elsewhere in the world, and in developed countries in particular.  Why are more people facing fertility challenges then? What about environmental factors? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Why is sugar bad for our memory? Does the law of attraction really work? How can I stay trendy buying only second hand clothes? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 28/2/2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As summer heats up, deodorant becomes a faithful ally. But this product can be very dangerous. On May 2022 a 14 year old girl, Giorgia Green, died from inhaling deodorant. The teenager, who was on the autistic spectrum, liked to spray deodorant on her blankets as she found the smell comforting. "The smell of it gave her a certain sense of relaxation," said her father. Sadly her cause of death was found to be "unascertained but consistent with inhalation of aerosol” and although it is not common she is not alone. According to the Office for National Statistics, (ONS) "deodorant" was mentioned on 11 death certificates between 2001 and 2020. Though, it is likely that the actual number of deaths are higher than this, due to the fact that specific substances are not always mentioned on death certificates. What is dangerous in deodorant? Why are people not being made aware of the danger? Should we stop using aerosol deodorants? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What are earworms, the songs we just can't get out of our heads? Is it a good idea to sleep with my pet? Who are digital nomads, the new generation of remote workers? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. First Broadcast: 23/2/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FREEDOM - HEALTH - HAPPINESS (WARNING - This podcast is highly addictive and seriously good for your health.) SUPPORT DOC MALIK To make sure you don't miss any episodes, have access to bonus content, back catalogue, and monthly Live Streams, please subscribe to either: The paid Spotify subscription here: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/docmalik/subscribe The paid Substack subscription here: ⁠https://docmalik.substack.com/subscribe ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION: James Freeman transitioned from working at the Office for National Statistics to serving as an MEP for the Brexit Party, later hosting a popular political show on TNT Radio until its closure. James and I discuss everything from studio setups to big shifts in health and politics. He shares his path from the ONS to Brexit Party MEP, tackling Brexit's cultural divides, EU lobbying, and democracy myths. We also cover his weight loss journey, health advice, and why lifestyle changes matter most. I hope you enjoy it. For further details and Wendy's links, visit my website, www.docmalik.com or my substack, www.docmalik.substack.com Ahmad x Links Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@TheFreemanReport X https://x.com/james_freeman__ IMPORTANT INFORMATION AFFILIATE CODES Waterpure I distil all my water for drinking, washing fruit and vegetables, and cooking. If you knew what was in tap water, so would you! ⁠https://waterpure.co.uk/docmalik BUY HERE TODAY Hunter & Gather Foods Seed oils are inflammatory, toxic and nasty; eliminate them from your diet immediately. Check out the products from this great company https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/?ref=DOCHG BUY HERE TODAY Use DOCHG to get 10% OFF your purchase with Hunter & Gather Foods. IMPORTANT NOTICE If you value my podcasts, please support the show so that I can continue to speak up by choosing one or both of the following options - ⁠Buy me a coffee⁠ If you want to make a one-off donation. Join my Substack To access additional content, you can upgrade to paid from just £5.50 a month Doc Malik Merch Store⁠ Check out my amazing freedom merch To sponsor the Doc Malik Podcast contact us at ⁠hello@docmalik.com⁠ Check out my website, visit ⁠www.docmalik.com

The first quarter of 2023 has seen food inflation in the UK surpass 16%, according to the Office for National Statistics. Such inflation rates hadn't been seen for forty years. It's contributed to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and an increasing number of people are struggling to afford to buy enough food. With all that in mind, many people's number one concern right now is keeping their supermarket bill as low as possible, regardless of how healthy what they're eating is. But there are ways of sticking to a balanced diet even on a shoestring budget. Isn't healthy food always expensive? What are the tips to buy healthy food at a low cost? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here : Are men still being paid more than women? What makes us ticklish? Why are there calls for a halt to AI research? A Bababam Originals podcast. A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 12/4/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of smokers in the UK is estimated at 6.6 million. The proportion has been steadily dropping for years now. Given the health risks, you'd think smokers would be delighted to give up, but the prospect of putting on weight is a cause of concern for many. To be fair, it i's a well-founded fear to some extent. In 2014, Addiction journal reported that the average prevalence of weight gain after quitting smoking was 80%. In such cases, the average weight gain is 5 - 10lb. Of course, putting on a few pounds is far less dangerous than continuing to smoke, so the choice to quit should still be a no-brainer. Nevertheless, let's delve deeper into the post-quitting weight gain phenomenon. What effects do cigarettes have on the body? It must be difficult not to start compulsive eating, mustn't it? What about going on a diet? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What is eatertainment, the "next-level" dining experience? Should vapes have the same restrictions as cigarettes? Why do we get goosebumps? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 2/3/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

IntroductionHello Wonderful Readers*,A very contentious topic came up in a conversation with my female friends this week. I discussed with them how I'm single and looking for a partner in bed and in life. But how old is too old? And how young is too young?When I decided to write about this topic, a cultural icon immediately came to mind: founder and innovator Cindy Gallop. She's currently 64, and she has shared her sexual preferences and experiences with dating apps publicly:“I date younger men for sex. I want lots of stamina and very short recovery periods. I don't get those with men my own age...I was completely honest about everything, including my age…I got an avalanche of responses, which was very good for the ego. 75% of those responses were from younger men.”Her perspective got me thinking. How common are big age differences in heterosexual relationships? Is Cindy Gallop a lone wolf (or a lone “cougar”) in today's world? And are relationships with big age gaps less likely to work out?I dug into the science to answer these questions. While I've found some fascinating things, I will say that to get a complete picture, I could have looked at more data from studies on dating apps and whether these findings hold for LGBTQIA couples because these statistics focused solely on heterosexual couples. The reach of my work here is limited, and there's always room for improvement.So, let's dig in!The State of Age AffairsThere's a clear trend in heterosexual marriages in the United States: now, more than ever before, husbands and wives are likely to be the same age. According to Pew, the average age difference in the United States was 4.9 years in 1880, 2.4 years in 2000, and 2.2 years in 2022.In the data below published in 2008, you can see that for marriages in England and Wales (a proxy for “Western” cultures), there is a bell-shaped distribution of the average age differences between couples. Most married couples in recent history have had a husband who is slightly older than the wife. But this is a difference of less than 5 years, and it has been declining since 1963. Indeed, 51% of opposite-sex marriages today have spouses who are two years apart in age or less, which is up from 46% in 2000 (Pew).Are Relationships with Larger Age Gaps Less Successful?To answer this question, I looked at large-scale studies on divorce rates by age difference. Of course, divorce rates are not the perfect measurement of relationship success. A couple can fight every day and stay married, which is probably worse than a couple that divorces civilly and stays friends. As Divorce Therapist Oona Metz has shared, “What the new research shows is that conflict is bad for kids.” Ideally, I could have looked at relationship conflict and age differences between couples, but as far as I'm aware, no such data exists.It turns out that the age difference of a couple is NOT a major predictor of whether the relationship will end in divorce. The bottom line, according to this 2008 study from the National Office of Statistics, is that, at least for now,“propensity to divorce is not strongly associated with marital age difference at an aggregate level, although further research would be required to control for mortality and any other factors that may affect the risk of divorce.”Other studies have suggested that in order to interpret these findings fully, researchers would need to disaggregate the data based on whether one of the partners was married before and who initiated the divorce. It's well known that about two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women, so these divorce statistics may well be skewed toward women's preferences.Unfortunately, as I dug into this data, I found a lot of crappy news outlets that totally blew findings from certain studies out of proportion and came to conclusions that were misleading or just plain wrong. One poorly researched article on a website called MarketWatch concludes, “The bigger the age gap, the shorter the marriage.” This is not true. The second source they cited has since redacted an inaccurate chart where they tried to show the increased likelihood of the marriage ending based on the age difference. I smell b******t! Still, I had to get out my magnifying glass and relearn how to read coefficients from my Statistics classes at Wharton just to determine that this was indeed a shitstorm of statistical insignificance.As far as we know today, an age difference does not significantly impact the success of a relationship. However, there are a couple more interesting insights below the surface.Extra Interesting Tidbits: Things To ConsiderMale Preferences For Younger Females and Vice VersaA study conducted by Professor David Buss at UT Austin investigated sex differences in mate preferences in 37 cultures with 10,047 participants. Its findings might partially explain why men are slightly older on average in married couples than women. Their key result was:“Females were found to value cues to resource acquisition in potential mates more highly than males. Characteristics signaling reproductive capacity were valued more by males than by females.”Basically, females take more than just physical appearance into account when selecting a mate, as they might want a partner who signals resource acquisition for their potential offspring. Additionally, males might prioritize physical appearance and have a preference for younger females because of “a biological adaptation resulting from the greater potential fertility of younger women” (Office for National Statistics), especially if they want to produce offspring and have a family.However, this is a generalization and certainly not a rule. There is also a variety of other social trends happening. For example, women's increased access to education throughout the world has coincided with an increase in the age of marriage. Plus, while women might have preferred older men for their access to financial stability and resources, the gender pay gap is decreasing with more of us females entering and staying in the workforce, so this is becoming less socially relevant. Indeed, among unmarried adults, single women without children now have, on average, as much wealth as single men (Pew).Until Death Do Us Part: Widowhood & Living AloneThe only reason to be concerned about a large age gap with your partner is whoever is much older is obviously more likely to die sooner, leaving the other person widowed and most likely living alone.According to Pew, as the share of husbands who are older than their wives has fallen, widowhood for women ages 65 and older has fallen to 30% today, down from 45% in 2000. Given this spousal age gap and the fact that women tend to live longer than men globally, about 20% of women over 60 live in a solo household, compared to about 10% of men (Pew).Is Everyone Coming to Cougartown?There's been a lot of talk about “cougars” in the news, or “age-hypogamy,” where the female is older than the male in a heterosexual relationship. A study released in 2003 by the UK's Office for National Statistics concluded that the proportion of women in England and Wales marrying younger men rose from 15% to 26% between 1963 and 1998. Still, these forms of relationships are rare, even though they are slightly on the rise. By a different definition, “recent US census data has shown an increase in age-hypogamous relationships from 6.4% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2012.” (Wikipedia).Despite the sensational news, cougars appear to be happier than other females who are in relationships! There is some evidence that “woman-older partners were the most satisfied with and committed to their relationships, relative to woman-younger and similarly aged partners, consistent with socio-cultural predictions” (Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2008). And for all my older, single female readers, there's evidence that age doesn't matter to male partners as much as beauty. Yes, unfortunately, you're still being held to the standard of the male gaze, but being doesn't matter as much as being good-looking. Is that a plus? I'll leave that for you to decide.Second Marriages & MenDigging through the research, I did find that when a husband is marrying for the second time, his wife is often much younger:“Some 20% of men who are newly remarried have a wife who is at least 10 years their junior, and another 18% married a woman who is 6-9 years younger. By comparison, just 5% of newlywed men in their first marriage have a spouse who is 10 years younger, and 10% married a woman who is 6-9 years younger.” (Pew)The “Socially-Acceptable” Cop Out: “Half your age, plus seven.”I came across this concept during my research. While it will have no impact on whether or not your relationship with someone of a different age will work out, this will help you determine whether or not that age difference is “socially acceptable.” To determine the youngest person who you're allowed to date, simply use “half your age plus seven.”So if I'm 29, the youngest person I could foreseeably date without being seen as a complete weirdo is roughly 22 years old. However, studies have shown that this rule applies much more appropriately to the age range that men can date, as opposed to women, which I think checks out. Because unless he is really amazing, dating a 22-year-old guy for me right now would feel very weird indeed.  My Statistically Insignificant StoriesIn addition to the more useful statistics of having a partner who is alive and the potential of being happy as an older cougar, here are my not-so-scientific summaries of my experiences dating younger and older men.Dating Younger MenLargest Age Difference: 3 years younger than me.In the last two years, I have dated four guys who were three years younger than me. I enjoy dating younger men, and it didn't feel like too significant an age difference. Most of them had gotten a decent start in their careers. They were flexible in terms of their life direction, and they felt more malleable to date.Within this, I noticed some patterns. The younger men I slept with had great bodies and even better stamina, à la Cindy Gallop. They were also more likely to want to go out clubbing, drink heavily, and party party party until the wee hours of the morning (or as they say in Mexico, “la madrugada,” one of my favorite Spanish words). I'm not a total grandma, so sometimes I would go out with them, but I generally prefer not to go too hard or drink too much, lest I want to do anything the day after.Dating Older MenLargest Age Difference: 14 years older than me.In the last year or two, I've dated two men who were at least 12 years older than me (aged 42 and 44, I think). Neither of them stuck around for long. The first one was The Photographer, and while age was not a factor in terms of my attraction to him, he was a workaholic who had no intention of ever having a family. He explicitly told me he didn't want anything serious, and when people tell me who they are, I try to believe them.The other 44-year-old guy was recent. We met at a very fancy bar in Mexico City. He was short but very well-dressed, and his daddy vibes were hot enough to get me to have dinner with him. The problem with him was that he had two children with two different women. While money wasn't an issue for him (he worked in hotels and real estate), no matter how much money you have, there are only so many competing baby mamas and children scattered around the city that I want to contend with.Much unlike the younger men I dated, both of these men seemed more stuck in their ways, with more rigid schedules and lifestyles that I would have to box myself into. Both also either had dead or very old parents, and that was also a turnoff for me, as I'd like my children to be able to meet their grandparents if possible, and I don't want to start a relationship with one foot already in the grave.ConclusionDoes age difference matter in relationships? The answer seems to be no. The only potential downside of dating someone much older is the possibility of being widowed at a younger age and then living alone. But I already live alone anyway, so to me, this wouldn't make a difference.Whether you're attracted to people of all ages is a different question. As is somewhat reflected in the statistics, my range of dating men who are older than me is much wider than men who are younger than me. Yet I can imagine that if I'm single, aged 50+, I will want to jump on the cougar bandwagon and get a taste of that potentially more satisfying and committed relationship with a younger man. Whoopee!Ultimately, I believe that if you both like each other, then none of the other “socially acceptable” bullcrap really matters, and you shouldn't care what other people think. Don't try to follow a baseless rule like the “half your age plus seven” method because it won't make a difference to the success of your relationship anyway. Also, try not to judge other people. Love is love, and as long as no one is committing statutory rape, there's literally nothing wrong with dating someone with a wild age difference, as far as I'm concerned. And given the other social trends that women are becoming more financially independent, getting better educated, and acquiring more resources of our own, it seems perfectly fit and well that we might want to date men who are younger than us for the same reasons of attractiveness and youth that older men have traditionally sought out in us for ages.Final ThoughtSo, my wonderful readers, what do you think? Would you date someone 15 years younger than you or 15 years older than you? Can you be brave and admit you wanted to date someone who was outside the bounds of a “socially acceptable” age difference?Paid subscribers can battle it out in the comments.Love to you all, and enjoy the rest of your weekend,Tash

UK inflation has risen to its highest level since April driven by an increase in household energy bills, according to official figures.The Office for National Statistics said Consumer Prices Index inflation rose to 2.3 per cent for October, up from 1.7 per cent in the previous month.It is the sharpest month-on-month increase in the rate of inflation for two years.So, what's behind this jump, and what does 2025 hold for energy bills and Bank of England interest rates?The Standard podcast is joined by Theo Harris, a researcher in economic and environmental policy at the New Economics Foundation think-tank.In part two, six new London Overground lines, each with a new name and colour, were being rolled out by Transport for London on Wednesday.Mayor Sadiq Khan says the £6.3 million rebrand will make it easier for passengers to find their way on the Overground and to “celebrate” London's culture and recent history - but does it offer passengers value for money?The London Standard's transport editor, Ross Lydall, discusses the new direction for London's orange line, which was delayed after a cyberattack against TfL. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where you live could drastically impact how long you live. According to the Office for National Statistics, a person in South Kensington, one of London's wealthiest areas, can expect to live up to 16 years longer than someone in a more deprived area, like Blackpool. In this episode, host Sarah Dawood is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the stark health inequalities across the UK. - Jennifer Dixon DBE, CEO of The Health Foundation- Jonathan Ashworth, CEO of Labour Together, former Shadow Secretary for Health, and former Labour MP- Steve Brine, former Conservative MP, former Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, Chair of Parliament's Health and Social Care Committee, and host of Prevention Is The New Cure podcast The panel discusses the social determinants, or building blocks of health, that shape health outcomes and life expectancy. They discuss the need for a cross-government approach to address these inequalities and highlight the urgency of meaningful, coordinated action to improve public health. We also hear from Dr. Ronny Cheung, Consultant General Paediatrician at Evelina London Children's Hospital and Officer for Health Services at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. This episode is sponsored by Health Equals, a coalition of 27 organisations campaigning to ‘Make Health Equal'. Visit www.healthequals.org.uk Show references: Health at the heart of government https://www.health.org.uk/publications/health-at-the-heart-of-government Health and social care select committee prevention inquiry https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7205/prevention-in-health-and-social-care/ Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – Child health inequalities and poverty toolkit https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/key-topics/child-health-inequalities-poverty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK CPI read for September 2024 as reported by the Office of National Statistics came in at 1.7%, which was below the Bank of England's 2% target, and lower than analysts had been expecting. The BOE had estimated at 2.1% back in August. On a monthly basis, CPI was little changed in September 2024, … Continue reading "UK Inflation Falls Below Target (For Now)…"

The NHS is facing the most difficult period in its history. Just days into office, the new government declared the official position of the Department for Health and Social Care is that the NHS is “broken”. While there's evidence NHS productivity has been growing at a faster rate than other public sectors over the last decade, major barriers still remain. The latest Office for National Statistics figures show NHS productivity in 2021/2022 was still 6.6% below pre-pandemic levels. Emerging trends reveal productivity in healthcare is a complex issue with no single solution. In this episode host Emma Haslett is joined by PwC's Health Services Sector Leader Julian Hunt, CEO of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sir Jim Mackey and CEO of The King's Fund Sarah Woolnough. They discuss the impact of the pandemic, the role of digital solutions and the importance of including staff and patients as new systems are introduced and changes are made. This New Statesman podcast episode is sponsored by PwC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain's economy made a welcome return to growth in August after a pick up on the high street and in factories helped drive overall GDP.The London Standard's business editor Jonathan Prynn reports that output was up by 0.2 per cent in the month following two months of flatlining in June and July, that's according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.It comes a fortnight before Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils the Labour government's first budget. Jonathan joins us with an analysis of the data and also discusses the significance of Santander withdrawing its cheapest mortgage deal - what does it signal?In part two, The London Standard's beauty and wellness editor Madeleine Spencer on secrets from world's best wellness clinics - that you can try at home - as the nights draw in and the capital's cold, drying air whistles over our skin.We also discuss the wellbeing weapons deployed by supermodel Kate Moss, plus, the importance of a boiled egg and a good stretch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, September 26 was the most popular day to be born over the last two decades, which falls 39 weeks and two days after Christmas day. Babies are born with certain reflexes that result in involuntary movements. These are called primitive reflexes, and the movements happen automatically without the baby sending a message to their brain. Such reflexes develop during the foetal period and indicate that the baby's brain is functioning well. What are some examples? Isn't it just the cutest when a baby grabs your finger? Do these reflexes remain with babies as they develop into children? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Is it bad to drink water with a meal? Are Skyr yoghurts really good for you? Why is physical contact important for our health? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. First broadcast : 20/11/2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government is encouraging pensioners to claim pension credit in order to remain eligible for winter fuel payments. Will people sign up - and might that end up costing the exchequer more than it saves?The Office for National Statistics has downgraded the status of a new statistic aiming to measure how many people are transgender. What went wrong?Cancer appears to be on the rise in people under 50. But are more people dying?And try your hand at a puzzle you're likely to get wrong.Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Natasha Fernandes and Bethan Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound mix: Sarah Hockley Editor: Richard Vadon

In this episode, Ralph delves into the controversial topic of "lesbian bed death" and the unusually high divorce rates among lesbian couples compared to their heterosexual and gay male counterparts. Ralph uses statistical data from the Office for National Statistics and explores the psychological underpinnings and societal expectations that might contribute to these phenomena. He discusses the role of neuroticism—a major personality trait prevalent in women—that impacts relationship satisfaction and stability.Join The HFM Brotherhood!

Executive Producer Daniel Brown joins Louisiana Unfiltered host Kiran Chawla as they discuss the alarming rise in Interstate shootings in the Baton Rouge area. In the last three weeks, there have been four interstate shootings in the Baton Rouge area. Road rage-related shootings in the state have increased by over 400% from 2014 to 2023.While Louisiana ranks 22nd in the nation for road rage incidents involving guns, cities like New Orleans have seen a significant number of fatal and non-fatal shootings. The increase in road rage incidents is believed to be linked to impatience, speeding, tailgating, and aggressive driving.  Law enforcement faces challenges in solving these cases due to limited surveillance cameras on interstates and the difficulty of identifying vehicles involved in high-speed incidents.Solutions to the problem are limited, but individuals can take precautions such as giving aggressive drivers space, avoiding arguments or obscene gestures, keeping windows up and doors locked, and calling 911 if feeling threatened. Slowing down and practicing patience can make a difference in preventing road rage incidents.#interstateshootings #roadrage #louisiana  #BatonRouge  #NewOrleans #podcast #LouisianaUnfiltered #KiranChawla #unfilteredTimestamps 02:29 The Impact of Road Rage Shootings on Families09:52 National Statistics on Road Rage Shootings16:08 Factors Contributing to Road Rage Incidents21:46 Concerns and Precautions for Interstate Travel26:12 Targeted Shootings and Challenges for Law Enforcement29:45 The Importance of Patience and Personal Safety35:29 Taking Precautions on the RoadLocal Sponsors For This Episode: Unspeakable: A True Crime Podcast by Kelly Jennings: Kelly is most recognizable for her sass and humor combined with a “no nonsense approach” to true crime story telling. Her first-hand experiences in a multitude of crime-related fields allow KJ to tell the story from the perspective of an expert. Kelly's style of podcasting is entertaining yet thought provoking. Leather pants and leopard print give her all the podcast super powers a strong woman with southern charm may need!  Listen Here: Capital City Coatings:Whether you're dreaming of a cozy living room retreat or a bold office makeover, Capital City Coating's team of expert painters will bring your vision to life, and with expanded services including carpentry, roofing and full remodels there is nothing that this team of expert tradesmen can't handle. Servicing South Louisiana,Houston and Florida's scenic 30A.Visit CapitalCityCoatingsLLC.com or call 225-831-0656 to schedule your consultation. Neighbors Federal Credit Union: Neighbors FCU is a community chartered Baton Rouge credit union that has served the community for over 60 years.For more information visit them by Clicking Here  Another Chance Bail Bonds  Their goal at Another Chance Bail Bonds is to reunite families and reconnect friends.  They accomplish this goal by providing many services which aide in the bonding process. You can learn more by visiting them Here  Video, Sound and Editing for this podcast by the podcast experts at Envision Podcast Studios in Denham Springs, LA.                                                                                                         

Listener Week is when all the topics, interviews and discussions are chosen by YOU!What is it like to parent a neurodivergent child when you are neurodivergent yourself? Anita Rani speaks to listener Rachel, who discovered she had ADHD after her daughter was diagnosed, and Jo, whose children have dyslexia.How one moment or person can change your life's trajectory. Listener Bettie tells Anita how a childhood invite to a friend's house introduced her to a new way of life—one she says saved her. The menstrual cycle, periods, time of the month. One listener, Tracey, wanted to know what things were like for women dealing with this in centuries past. Anita finds out more from Dr Sara Read, who is a Senior Lecturer in English at Loughborough University, with a specific focus on women's reproductive health and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.A listener asked us on social media: How can childless people leave a legacy? Statistics from the Office for National Statistics found that more than half (50.1%) of women in England and Wales born in 1990 were without a child when they turned 30. Whether it's by choice or circumstance, many women don't have children – what legacy do you leave without them? Anita discusses the idea with author Marianne Power and Nicola Brant who is Head of the Estates, Tax & Succession at the firm Thomson Snell & Passmore. As part of Listener Week, we discussed tummies and feeling confident about your midriff. One listener got in touch to say she'd started belly dancing to help with this. Belly dance instructor Leilah Isaac tells Anita why she finds it so empowering.Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Louise Perry. A British journalist known for her commentary on feminism and gender issues, Perry is the author of the book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution. She also contributes to The New Statesman, UnHerd, and The Daily Mail, and has a Substack at Maiden Mother Matriarch. Perry is a graduate of University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, with a degree in anthropology. Perry and Razib first discuss Britain's current housing crisis, the reasons and possible solutions. Though the Office for National Statistics estimates the UK's population at 67.1 million, Perry believes that the true number is likely higher because individuals who are present illegally or have a “gray” status are unlikely to respond. But even this population would make the UK over eight times more densely populated than the US, with England being 13 times denser. In fact, England's population density is similar to India's. Perry also brings up the reality of massive immigration flows over the last few years; where before 2020 net migration was around ~200,000 per year, since 2021 the figure has been closer to ~500,000. Additionally, many of these immigrants are placed in “social housing,” subsidized or owned by the government. Perry also points out that the legal regulations in Britain stipulate that about 30% of new developments be allocated for social housing, which incentivizes incumbent homeowners to block construction. Additionally, the rate of population growth is much higher than the British construction industry's capacity to keep up with the theoretical demand. The UK does not produce enough bricks, nor does it have the labor pool of homebuilders. The conversation continues to a broader discussion of the ennui in modern British society. Perry asserts that a major problem driving the housing crisis is that the UK has only one major city, London, and any professional who wants to settle in a more affordable region must also take a major salary cut. Setting aside London, and its economic engines of finance and commerce, Perry characterizes the rest of the UK as more akin to a developing Eastern Europe nation. She also believes that the next decade will see a mass flight of the upper-middle-class, the primary tax base of the state. Perry herself has Australian citizenship through her parents (who immigrated from Australia to the UK), while her husband has an American mother. Her situation is common to many upper-middle-class Britons, who have connections to Canada, the US, New Zealand and Australia. Perry believes this is one reason the British political culture is not reforming itself: so many have in the back of their head that they can jump ship if it starts sinking. Ultimately, her thesis is that British openness and intellectual curiosity make the national character a poor seedbed for nationalism, and it may be inevitable that the UK is caught up and tossed about in a vortex of globalization.   If you have a sibling with autism, your future child's risk for an autism diagnosis is increased by a factor of 2 to 3.5×. Orchid's whole genome embryo reports can help mitigate your child's risk by screening for over 200 genetic variants definitively linked to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Discuss your situation with a genetics expert.

A meeting with top chef Hélène Darroze at Mayfair's Connaught Hotel leads Sheila Dillon to ask the question, why aren't there more female Michelin starred chefs? Statistics from the Office for National Statistics suggest 37% of all chefs working in the UK are female, but when you look at the numbers leading Michelin starred restaurants, the number drops to around 8% (according to analysis by Chefs Pencil, 2022). Includes interviews with Nigerian-born chef Adejoké Bakare, who in February, became the first Black woman in Britain to earn a Michelin star; chef Sally Abé who has recently published her first book, "A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen" and Sarah Francis who returned her Michelin star after 8 years running The Checkers (a restaurant in Montgomery, Powys). Plus we hear from young upcoming female fine-dining chefs about how they feel the industry is set up for women wanting to reach the top jobs. Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

*Content warning: childhood abuse, sexual abuse, homophobia, stalking, rape, physical violence, sex trafficking, suicidal ideation, and suicideResources:Darkness to Light: End Child Sexual Abuse - http://d2l.orgThe Army of Survivors - https://thearmyofsurvivors.org/National Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation - https://endsexualexploitation.org/End Violence Against Women International: https://evawintl.org/Survivor Space: https://survivorspace.org/Additional resources + non-profit organizations: http://www.somethingwaswrong.com/resourcesSources: Department of Homeland Security. (n.d.). Human Trafficking. Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.dhs.gov/hsi/investigate/human-traffickingNational Human Trafficking Hotline. (n.d.). National Statistics. https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statisticsDarkness 2 Light. (2023). Child Sexual Abuse Updates. https://www.d2l.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Child-Sexual-Abuse-Updates.pdf​​Strauss Investigation. (n.d.). Ohio State University. https://straussinvestigation.osu.edu/Burga, S. (2023, April 23). Congress Re-Introduces Bill to Protect Kids from Online Sexual Abuse. Here's What To Know. Time Magazine. https://time.com/6273895/congress-re-introduces-bill-to-protect-kids-from-online-sexual-abuse/John-Michael Lander: An Athlete's Silence: ​​https://anathletessilence.com/John-Michael's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmichaellanderSurface Tension by John-Michael Lander: https://amzn.to/3q7K1ptCracked Surface by John-Michael Lander: https://amzn.to/42499ukSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Conflicts in the workplace are not unusual. Co-workers don't always see eye to eye, especially when their occupation is the only thing they have in common. On rare occasions, minor disputes can escalate to violent assaults. According to the Health & Safety Executive and the Office for National Statistics, almost 300,000 assaults were committed in the workplace between 2019 and 2020. While the majority of those attacks were committed by customers or strangers, 3% were committed by colleagues… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED *** This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane.Edited by Joel Porter at Dot Dot Dot Productions.Script editing, additional writing, illustrations and production direction by Rosanna FittonNarration, audio editing assistance, additional writing, and production direction by Benjamin Fitton.Become a ‘Patreon Producer' and get exclusive access to Season 1, early ad-free access to episodes, and your name in the podcast credits. Find out more here: https://www.patreon.com/TheyWalkAmongUsMore information and episode references can be found on our website https://theywalkamonguspodcast.comMUSIC: Beat the System by Cody Martin Bamburgh by Stephen Keech Mighty Hand by Stephen Keech Apex Program by Cody Martin SOCIAL MEDIA: X - https://twitter.com/TWAU_PodcastFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/theywalkamonguspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/theywalkamonguspodcastThreads - https://www.threads.net/@theywalkamonguspodcastSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.