Falling at fences

Activists from an animal rights group were secretly filmed apparently plotting to disrupt the Grand National, protesting in part at the number of horses killed at the event.

– Since 1839, 88 horses have died either during the race or were put down as a result of injuries. Four died in the past decade and nine in the decade before that. The deadliest race was 1954, when the event was held on soft ground. Of the 29 horses entered, only nine finished. Four died. The longest periods without a fatality were 1908-22, 1892-1900, 1873-81, 1961-66 and 2013-18.

State of the unions

How much are public sector unions costing the taxpayer? The figures given show the public sector bodies with the highest bill for ‘facility time’ (wages paid to union officials to have meetings during working hours) and the number of union officials in 2021/22:

Wages paid to union officials

Transport for London £6.40m

Ministry of Justice £2.29m

HMRC £1.97m

NHS Lothian £1.50m

Scottish Prison Service £1.45m

Glasgow City Council £1.33m

Birmingham City Council £1.21m

Home Office £894,000

Number of union officials

Transport for London 880

Ministry of Justice 639

HMRC 914

NHS Lothian 38

Scottish Prison Service 103

Glasgow City Council 264

Birmingham City Council 42

Home Office 329

Source: Cabinet Office

Certified failure

The government wants to ban the letting of homes which fail to reach an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C. What percentage of homes would comply? 

Existing properties

A 1%

B 4%

C 44%

D 39%

E 10%

F 2%

G 1%

New-builds

A 3%

B 82%

C 11%

D 3%

E 1%

F <1%

G <0.1%

Source: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Going broke

Who went bust in 2022?

– The personal insolvency rate in England and Wales was 25 per 10,000 adults. Only 1.4 per 10,000 were bankruptcies, with most being Individual Voluntary Arrangements. The insolvency rate has been on a rising trend since 2015. The rate was higher among women, at 27.4 per 10,000, compared with 22.3 for men. The north-east had the highest rate, at 32.4 per 10,000. London had the lowest rate, at 16.5. People were most likely to become insolvent in North East Lincolnshire (54.1 per 10,000) and least likely in Westminster (9.7 per 10,000).

Source: The Insolvency Service

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