‘Chaotic’ £1.9bn kickstart scheme ‘fails to deliver’
82,000 fewer young people helped by scheme than predicted.
First budget surplus during COVID-19 pandemic
January 2022 sees budget surplus of £2.9bn.
Retail sales pick up in January after December slump
Sales grew by 1.9% in January 2022.
Inflation wipes out wage growth
Regular pay is down 0.8% in real terms.
UK economy contracted by 0.2% in December 2021
GDP equal to its pre-pandemic level.