We’re all now feeling the effects of ‘Covid debt’: physical, mental – and, increasingly, financial.

Between the collapse of 83% of the UK’s department stores, consumers moving online and many high street shops now becoming obsolete, town centres are no longer the beating heart of local economies they once were.

Hearing that we had achieved 98% overall satisfaction was probably the first time in my professional career where I have had an emotional response.

Together with independent thinktank Localis, we hosted a roundtable to consider the challenges and opportunities for local growth and regional development in line with government agendas such as ‘Build Back Better’ and ‘Levelling up’.

Together with independent thinktank Localis we hosted ‘Going long’, a roundtable discussion which brought together national and local experts to discuss the implications of the 2021 spending review in respect to the local government’s ability to deliver for people and place.

As we’ve mentioned in a previous article, 2021 saw smaller UK energy suppliers cease trading and exit the market at an unprecedented rate.

Why should we care about productivity in the public sector? Of course, productivity can raise efficiency, lower prices and make it possible to do more with less.

On Thursday 8 July, Andy Start, CEO of Capita Public Service took part in a roundtable hosted by cross-party think tank DEMOS and chaired by DEMOS CEO Polly McKenzie on the theme of ‘Relational Public Services’.

The climate change crisis, caused mainly by emission of greenhouse gases and burning fossil fuels for energy use, is accelerating at a rapid rate and having catastrophic impacts on our weather, environment and the future of our planet.

The consumer desire for a brighter Christmas amidst continuing Covid-19 restrictions has seen a sharp rise in ‘buy now pay later’ schemes, and with furlough ending and depression rates rising, a perfect storm lies ahead for all collections teams as consumers juggle multiple payment demands.