EDITION 1056
10 FEBRUARY 2025

On this day in 1962, U.S. airman Francis Gary Powers, who was the captured pilot of the U-2 plane that had been downed by the Soviet Union in 1960 and who was later convicted of espionage, was exchanged for jailed Soviet informant Rudolf Abel. Spielberg’s movie Bridge of Spies depicted the historical exchange of the spies and was widely commended for its historical accuracy.

So, as another week passes into the annals of history, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did.

Just before you dive in, remember our POTENTIAL workbook [see below] is on offer for only £99. This unique workbook will help guide your organisation to its highest potential. Contact us today to start your transformation.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to regain your focus. Regaining focus can be tough, especially when distractions, fatigue, or lack of motivation get in the way. Whether you are struggling to concentrate at work, while studying, or on personal projects, sharpening your focus can make a huge difference in productivity and mental clarity. Here are some practical ways to regain your focus and get back on track. READ MORE

2. Bank cuts interest rates and slashes growth forecast. The Bank of England has halved its growth forecast for this year as it cut interest rates to the lowest level for more than 18 months. The economy is now expected to grow by 0.75% in 2025, the Bank said, down from its previous estimate of 1.5%. The government has made growing the economy one of its key aims. The Prime Minister said he was "not satisfied with growth" and the downgraded forecast "just spurs us on". The new forecast came as the Bank cut interest rates to 4.5% from 4.75%. Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is now expected to rise to 3.7% and take until the end of 2027 to fall back to its 2% target. BBC

3. UK in zero hours contract epidemic. More than 720,000 UK workers have been on zero-hours contracts with the same employer for over a year, with 130,000 in the same position for more than a decade, new analysis from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals. These workers earn £10.68 an hour – a third less than the median hourly rate of £15.69. The TUC called it an "insecure work epidemic", warning that zero-hour contracts trap people in financial hardship and weaken the economy. The organisation's polling found that only one in seven such workers are happy not to have regular working hours. The Guardian

4. People feel best in the morning. People feel the best about themselves and their lives in the morning and worst around midnight, according to research. Scientists analysed 1m responses by 50,000 people over two years to questions about their feelings, as part of a Covid-19 study. They found that people felt better about their happiness and life satisfaction on Mondays and Fridays, and less so on Sundays. People felt more depressed, anxious and lonely in the winter, while mental health was reportedly best in summer. While no cause was determined in the study, scientists say the body clock may be involved. BMJ

5. Ofsted to replace one-word school ratings. Ofsted has announced plans to overhaul its school rating system in England, moving away from single-word judgments like “inadequate” or “outstanding.” Instead, schools would receive a detailed “report card,” assessing them across at least eight categories, each graded on a five-point scale, with “exemplary” as the highest rating. The proposed changes are now open for public consultation. What do you think of Ofsted’s proposed school rating changes? Please share your views in our latest poll. VOTE HERE

6. Welfare system faces urgent reform. If there’s one area of the British state in desperate need of reform, it’s the welfare system. Recent statistics reveal that 3.3 million working-age people in Britain are receiving incapacity benefits, 700,000 more than four years ago. Of these, 2.5 million are claiming the highest level of benefits, which don’t require them to seek employment up from 1.85 million in 2018. The total cost of all health-related benefits is estimated at nearly £65bn, with projections to reach £100bn by the decade’s end. This is simply unsustainable The government has vowed to take bold steps to get a grip on the benefits bill with a green paper on the issue expected in the spring. The Times

7. AI powered solution to potholes. Scientists have created a groundbreaking self-healing asphalt that could help address the UK’s pothole problem. An international research team used AI to analyze why asphalt becomes prone to cracking. Using these insights, they developed a method to reverse the process. Their solution involves embedding tiny plant spores filled with recycled cooking oil into the asphalt. As traffic causes micro-cracks to form, the spores release the oil, sealing the cracks and preventing oxidation. This stops the bitumen in the asphalt from becoming brittle, reducing the likelihood of larger cracks developing. BBC

8. Electric car demand reaches new high. Battery EVs (BEVs) accounted for 21% of almost 140,000 new car registrations in January, the highest-ever share for the month and a year-on-year increase of 41.6%. It establishes BEVs as the second-largest sector of the new car market, behind only petrol, which contracted by 15% to make up just over 50% of registrations. In an overall market that shrank by 2.5%, diesel registrations declined to just over 6% of registrations. Hybrid electric made up 13% of the market, and plug-in hybrids 9%, underlining the consumer shift towards full or partial electric powertrains. Sky News

9. No better grades from phone bans. Bans on smartphones in schools do not lead to better academic grades or child wellbeing, a study has found. While researchers found a link between extended phone and social media use and lower grades, poor sleep, lack of exercise and disruptive behaviour, there was no difference between pupils of schools that banned smartphones and those that didn't. The study, published in the Lancet's Regional Health Europe journal, looked at 1,227 pupils at 30 schools in the UK, and found that school phone bans did not reduce the amount of time children spent using them. The Guardian

10. The bottom line. More than one million people in the UK missed the deadline for filing self-assessment tax returns on 31 January, according to HM Revenue and Customs. Penalties for filing late include an initial  £100 fine. More than 31,000 finished their self-assessment in the final hour before the deadline period. HMRC