The great indoors

How to get the Winter Olympics experience without leaving England:
— The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead: ‘London’s closest indoor real snow slope.’ A 160-metre slope with alpine restaurant.
— SnowDome, Tamworth: ‘The original and ultimate snow, ice and leisure experience.’ Includes Santa’s Winter Wonderland.
— Chill Factore, Stretford: A 180-metre slope with button lift and seasonal moguls. Parents go free in Mini Moose Land.

Crowded house

The government is considering early release for prisoners to cut overcrowding. How many people do we incarcerate compared with other countries?
— The UK’s imprisonment rate is 143 per 100,000, putting us 109th out of 222 nations.

HIGHEST RATE

Seychelles
738

US
666
El Salvador
614
Turkmenistan
583
Virgin Islands
542
Cuba
510

LOWEST RATE


Guinea-Bissau
10

Central African Republic
16

Guinea
23
Congo
27

Democratic Republic of Congo
29
India
33

Source: prisonstudies.org

On the move

The IFS reported that homeownership among 25- to 34-year-olds has fallen from
65 per cent to 27 per cent in 20 years. Where in Europe should they move to if their priority is owning a home?

HOME OWNERSHIP RATE


Romania
96%

Lithuania
92%

Slovakia
91%
Hungary
90%

Croatia
89%
Bulgaria
86%

Source: European Mortgage Federation

Generous Britain

The Oxfam scandal has led to worries that we will reduce our donations to charity. How much do we actually give?
— In 2016 Britons gave £9.6 billion of their own money, an average of £160 per head.
— The median value of each donation was £18 and the mean was £40.
— We are at our most generous in May,
July, October and December, and least generous in June and November.

Source: Charities Aid Foundation