(Sharecast News) – A leading thinktank has called for action to make Britain a fairer country after its research showed that the Covid-19 pandemic had led to greater inequality. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the most vulnerable – those on lower incomes, the young, the least-educated and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds – had been hit hardest by the crisis. – Guardian
Aldi UK has reported a record Christmas performance, with sales rising 10.6% year-on-year in the four weeks to 24 December boosted by demand for premium products and champagne. All UK supermarket groups benefited in the run-up to Christmas from unprecedented demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by a large part of the population working from home and restrictions on cafe, pub and restaurant openings. – Guardian
Best Western is spearheading a plan to turn as many as 500 hotels into “cottage hospitals” that could ease the pressure on the NHS as it reels from surging Covid cases. The reconfigured sites would handle pre-surgery assessments, IV treatments such as for antibiotics or dialysis as well as MRI and CTI scans and post-Covid recovery support, according to proposals sent to the Cabinet Office this week. – Telegraph
Thousands of businesses will be forced to sack staff or go bust without fresh financial support to get through a new national coronavirus lockdown, bosses have warned. On Monday evening Boris Johnson announced an imminent lockdown in England until at least the middle of February, implementing by far the strictest measures seen since March. – Telegraph
Two serving postmasters will join the board of the Post Office as it seeks to repair relations with local managers and move on from the IT scandal that led to some being wrongly imprisoned. The state-owned enterprise will appoint two new non-executive directors in the spring, in a move that it hailed as a “progressive” step to ensure that the views of its 8,000 postmasters are “directly reflected” at the top.- The Times
