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Grammar school myths
There is an iron law in English education: as any given argument about any problem with schools progresses, the probability that someone will claim grammar schools are the solution rapidly tends...
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Ealing and Kensington: a tale of two London cities
Today’s census data release offers a fascinating picture of linguistic diversity in England and Wales. In particular, it sheds useful light on London’s population. The capital city differs strongly...
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Landlords are the real winners in the UK housing market
An interesting picture of the changing face of the UK housing market is provided by an analysis of census data by estate agency Savills, given exclusively to the FT. The private rented sector is the...
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Self-employment rising only in the UK
The number of self-employed in the UK rose by 60 per cent between 2011 and 2012 and now accounts for about 14 per cent of all people in employment. This is a striking contrast with the rest of the OECD...
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Day trippers’ delight
(c) Bloomberg The latest weekly passenger data for London mayor Boris Johnson’s Thames cable car is out – and it’s not good. The cable car (sponsored by Emirates, and thus officially known as the...
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Reforming league tables
Later this morning, Michael Gove, education secretary, will announce several big things. First and foremost, he is dropping his plan to introduce the EBC, his proposed new qualification for 16...
View ArticleHow we analyse education statistics
For the past two years, the Financial Times has had exclusive access to the National Pupil Database, which provides anonymous exam performance data for every individual secondary school pupil in...
View ArticleHow fast is the London Fire Brigade?
Two Conservative-led London councils have joined opposition mayor Boris Johnson’s plan to close or shrink fire stations in their boroughs as part of £48m in budget cuts over two years. This...
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The horsemeat scandal: what the industry is scared of
The scandal over horsemeat found in processed meat products has echoes of a previous industrial food production crisis. While the current controversy is not of the same severity, it is interesting to...
View ArticleLondon has 73 fires each day – and 161 false alarms
The London Fire Brigade has published its incident data for the past four years in the London Data Store, the capital’s open data repository. The data, originally obtained by the Financial Times under...
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How can you be sure what’s in that tasty meat pie?
by Kate Allen and Hannah Kuchler Food-related law enforcement, that’s how. On the face of it, the UK has a fairly strict food hygiene and safety system. But the rapidly-widening horsemeat scandal has...
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UK incomes more closely tied to growth than those in US
Britain’s official statistics agency, in its analysis of how median income households have fared over time, has found a small consolation for those on the eastern side of the Atlantic. While UK income...
View ArticleStart-ups tap into open data
Can businesses be based on bus timetables and weather reports? Maija Palmer visits the Open Data Institute to learn how entrepreneurs are exploiting valuable government data.
View ArticleMagic money
Money doesn’t grow on trees, right? That’s what UK chancellor George Osborne will be sighing as he prepares for tomorrow’s annual Budget, which is expected to be stringent. But actually, some British...
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Here’s what’s driving that house price confusion
The UK’s main house price indices have been diverging noticeably in recent years, as this blog pointed out last week. A look at the trends in housing sales helps explain why. Here are some useful...
View ArticleThe London schools mystery
Today, I gave a brief presentation – based on our previous stories – on the performance of London schools to the excellent Centre for London. Some slides are a little mysterious without my burbling...
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Surveyors are happy — but so what?
by Claire Jones and Kate Allen As today’s FT reports, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ latest poll of their members shows that the industry is very optimistic. They believe that activity...
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Here’s why care for the elderly is such a big economic problem
Anyone wondering why the issue of paying for long-term care is rising so swiftly up the political agenda need look no further than the latest UK census. Much of the conversation about older people to...
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Immigrants: demographics and need
For all the antipathy that migrants are generating in Europe, a look at the numbers suggests they may be sorely needed. In much of the European Union, migrants are filling the ranks of the working age...
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Big is beautiful? The world’s largest legislatures
Thirty new peers have been appointed to the British House of Lords. The second chamber of the UK’s legislative system, the unelected body is the second-largest legislative body in the world, after the...
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