A public spending watchdog has stated that around £50 billion worth of banknotes in UK circulation are currently unaccounted for.
What does this mean though?
Well, in simple terms, this means that there’s a heck of a lot of money out there and no one actually knows where it is.
It could be in the pockets of a pair of jeans not warn in a while, at the bottom of a handbag, stashed down the side of the sofa, or even placed into overseas holdings, but it for sure isn’t being spent in shops or kept in savings accounts.
The National Audit Office (NAO) – the watchdog that made the claim – said that little is known about the massive amount of cash and there’s even suggestions that it might be being held for use in the “shadow economy”, which includes, but is not completely limited to, money that comes from illegal endeavours.
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At present, there is little reliable information to quantify how much is likely to be held where.
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Five public bodies – the Treasury, the Bank of England, the Royal Mint, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) – play a role in administering or overseeing the cash system.
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The NAO said that a “fragmented” approach is being taken by these bodies and a co-ordinated effort is needed.
Gareth Davies – the head of the NAO – explained to The Metro that: “As society progresses towards the wide use of digital payments, the use of cash in transactions is dwindling.
“It may become harder for people to access cash when they need it and those without the means to pay digitally will struggle if cash is not accepted.”
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He continued: “HM Treasury now works more closely with the public bodies in the cash system to achieve the Government’s goal of safeguarding access to cash, however the approach is fragmented, and it is not clear that the action being taken will keep up with the pace of change.”
Bank of England
It comes after it was announced last week that the Royal Mint has no plans to produce new 2p or £2 coins for at least 10 years, with the NAO saying it could take at least a decade for current stocks of the coins to run out.
Coin production shrank by 65% in the last decade to 383 million UK coins a year in 2019-20, from around 1.1 billion in 2010-11.
The NAO also said that it is likely the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has potentially accelerated the decline.
Industry data suggests market demand for notes and coins from cash centres plunged by 71% between early March and mid-April, however cash use appears to have been recovering more recently as businesses have re-opened.
The NAO said older people and those on low incomes are particularly likely to rely on cash.
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Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to step down from Strictly Come Dancing
Danny Jones
Long-serving Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have announced that they will be stepping down from the beloved reality TV competition after more than three decades between them.
The Strictly team will, of course, ‘keep dancing’, but this still feels like the end of an era.
While Claudia Winkleman only became a joint co-anchor back in 2010 in preparation for the legendary Sir Bruce Forsyth’s eventual retirement in 2014, Tess Daly has been one of the two lead presenters since the hit smash-hit UK show first started way back in 2004.
Boasting a cumulative and incredible 31 years as the respective lead faces on one of the nation’s favourite IPs, Daly and Winkleman released a joint video on their social media pages confirming the bittersweet news.
Writing in the caption on Instagram, the pair said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together, and now feels like the right time.
“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series, and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
“They’re the most brilliant team, and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’, but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
Although Winkleman, 53, began as the presenter of the spin-off programme ‘It Takes Two’, it now seems hard to imagine the main show without either of them.
Confirming that they will be departing the British telly favourite at the end of the current series, which is around a month into its 23rd series.
Daly, 56, went on to share a further statement addressing the decision to quit the Strictly lineup after such a lengthy stay on BBC One.
It goes without saying that, much like when ‘Brucey’ left 11 years ago now, the show just won’t be the same without them.
For now, all we can say is thanks for all the memories, and we’d better see them back in the ballroom or popping up for special cameos in Blackpool again one day soon.
What do you make of the announcement, Strictly fans – and who do you think should replace them?
Featured Images — BBC Media Centre/Screenshot (via BBC)
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Morrisons set to close more than 100 brand locations across the country
Danny Jones
UK supermarket company Morrisons is set to close more than 100 specific locations across the UK, including multiple here in Greater Manchester.
Despite still being considered one of the giants of the sector here in Britain, Morrisons is continuing its previously announced ‘restructuring’ by adding a number of other shops to the chopping block.
The chain had already announced that a slate of 50 Morrisons Cafes would be closing earlier this year, but now other brand branches are expected to follow suit.
While their major supermarkets will remain virtually untouched, several Morrisons Daily convenience stores, florists, pharmacies and Market Kitchens, like the busy lunchtime spot on Piccadilly Gardens – but don’t panic: the corner store itself is staying as far as we’re aware.
Fortunately, major mainline Morrisons supermarket locations look to be safe from closing. (Credit: JThomas/Jaggery via Geograph)
Despite insisting the business is in good shape and has a “bright future” ahead, Morrisons‘ chief executive, Rami Baitieh, confirmed that “a minority [of sites] have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.”
It’s also believed that 35 butchers’ counters and the same number of fishmongers are set to wrap up as part of the shake-up.
You can see the full list of Morrisons Cafes closing down below; thankfully, we Mancs have managed to avoid closures in this particular department.
Morrisons Cafe Locations closing
Bradford Thornbury
Paisley Falside Road
London Queensbury
Portsmouth
Great Park
Banchory North, Deeside Road
Failsworth, Poplar Street
Blackburn, Railway Road
Leeds, Swinnow Road
London, Wood Green
Kirkham, Poulton Street
Lutterworth, Bitteswell Road
Stirchley
Leeds, Horsforth
London, Erith
Crowborough
Bellshill, John Street
Dumbarton, Glasgow Road
East Kilbride, Lindsayfield
East Kilbride, Stewartfield
Glasgow, Newlands
Largs, Irvine Road
Troon, Academy Street
Wishaw, Kirk Road
Newcastle, UT Cowgate
Northampton, Kettering Road
Bromsgrove, Buntsford Industrial Park
Solihull, Warwick Road
Brecon, Free Street
Caernarfon, North Road
Hadleigh
London, Harrow, Hatch End
High Wycombe, Temple End
Leighton Buzzard, Lake Street
London, Stratford
Sidcup, Westwood Lane
Welwyn, Garden City, Black Fan Road
Warminster, Weymouth Street
Oxted, Station Yard
Reigate, Bell Street
Borehamwood
Weybridge, Monument Hill
Bathgate
Erskine, Bridgewater Shopping Centre
Gorleston, Blackwell Road
Connah’s Quay
Mansfield, Woodhouse
Elland
Gloucester, Metz Way
Watford, Ascot Road
Littlehampton, Wick
Helensburgh
Sadly, it seems that plenty of people saw this coming, with early reports of the off-license/corner shop-esque Daily shops following soon after cafes were confirmed to be closing back in March.
Morrisons closing 52 cafes, 17 convenience stores, and potentially 365 people redundant
Just before new NI tax laws kick in from next month
Retail is 10% of total UK employment, a notoriously low margin business
This is where Greater Manchester comes in, as a handful of florists and Market Kitchens in the region are to join the wider collection of closures by the end of the year.
Emily Sergeant -
21st September 2020 
