New legislation set for April 2020 (increasing small claim limit for PI claims, introducing a range of fixed costs tariffs, encouraging more litigants in person) will negatively impact on the revenues and margins of PI law firms and claims management companies (CMCs). In the next year or so, it is likely that these providers will embark on contingency plans and strategies ready for the 2020...
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19 October 2017 The in-depth results of the International Passenger Survey (IPS) published earlier in October 2017 showed both inbound and outbound tourism continued to grow. The number of overseas resident visits to the UK in the first six months of 2017 increased by 9.3% to reach 19.2 m visits. Similarly, the number of UK resident visits overseas increased by 6.1% to reach 33.9m visits...
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Deficit of defined benefit funds at £220bn in August 2017 Data from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) shows that of the aggregate deficit of defined benefit pension funds in the UK reached £220.4 billion in August 2017, compared with £180.1 billion at the end of July 2017. However, the deficit is much smaller than the £413.1 billion deficit seen in August 2016. This is based...
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Almost 80% of eligible employees auto enrolled Auto enrolment (AE) has led to a dramatic change in the UK pension landscape. Data from the Pension Regulator shows that by August 2017, 8.527 million employees had been auto enrolled into pensions. Since the auto enrolment reforms were introduced in 2012, the overall proportion of all employees saving into a workplace pension has increased from 47% to...
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Ogden Rate to be increased The Government has announced that it is to change the Ogden Rate, the rate used by UK courts in the calculation of personal injury (PI) lump sum settlements for serious injuries or death in a PI claim. In February 2017, the Government had announced a reduction in the Rate from 2.5% to minus 0.75% with effect from 20 March 2017,...
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Unsecured debt arrears affect just over 8% of debtors Using data from the 2016 Bank of England/NMG household survey, IRN Research found that 4% of consumers have fallen into unsecured debt arrears over the past year, representing 8% of all consumers owing money on an unsecured loan product. The IRN Research brief Consumer Debtor Brief, July 2017 looks at consumers who have problems repaying their unsecured debts,...
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For the last eight years first half year freight traffic on the English Channel, Eurotunnel and Irish Sea routes has grown each year. The cumulative eight years of growth increased the traffic by nearly a third from 2.4 million accompanied and unaccompanied trailers to exceed 3.1 million. The Short Sea and Eurotunnel sector has been the most successful with an increase of first half year...
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The growth in ferry travel by car in the last few years continued into 2017. Following a fourth year of growth for ferry travel by car in 2016 the trend has continued into the beginning 2017. In the four months to the end of April 2017 the total number of cars on UK ferries increased by 2% over the comparable four-month period in 2016. This...
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Figures released last month by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) revealed that a record 1.9 million cruise holidaymakers from the UK and Ireland took an ocean cruise in 2016. It puts the UK and Ireland as the third largest ocean cruising market in the world after USA and Germany. Germany overtook the UK and Ireland as the second largest market in in 2014 and the gap widened...
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According to CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) the world market for ocean cruising increased by 4.4% in 2016 to reach 24.2 million passengers. Similarly, the European cruise market increased by 3.4% to reach 6.7 million passengers while the UK and Ireland market increased by 5.6% to reach 1.9 million passengers. On the face of it, it appears that the cruise market is growing at a...
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