Carried out by Lloyds TSB International Wealth, the survey, which targeted people with over £250,000 of savings and investments, showed that 17% would like to move overseas in the next two years, compared with 14% six months ago.
Fear of crime has soared during this period, with 61% of those actively considering an overseas move selecting crime and antisocial behaviour as a reason to leave the UK.
A revealing new study has been launched this week identifying the top 20 postcodes for family living. The report looks at all 2,400 postcodes across England and Wales and examines the crucial factors likely to impact on the decisions families make when they consider moving to a new area.
Winkleigh, a picturesque Devon village which describes itself as an “undiscovered treasure”, tops the table thanks to a winning combination of extremely low crime figures, excellent Key Stage 2 results and average property prices of £150,837
The Family Friendly Hotspots Report from the children’s savings provider Family Investments was compiled using more than 60 sets of data including education attainment from Ofsted, Land Registry property prices, police crime figures and Office of National Statistics population data. These helped to generate overall scores for every postcode region in England and Wales.
National Work-Life Week 2011, which aims to shine a light on the growing importance of family-friendly and flexible working, will take place from 26 to 30 September.
Organised by UK work-life charity Working Families, the week kicks off with the announcement of the winners of this year’s Top Employers for Working Families Benchmark and Awards, and is followed by a series of complimentary webinars.
5,000 cycles will be available from special docking stations throughout London, located in Camden, the City, Hackney, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, and several of the Royal Parks. More than 12,450 keys for unlocking the bikes have already been handed out to Londoners. The keys must be activated before the bikes can be removed from the docking stations.
Expatriate organisation FOCUS provides an impressive range of courses and events for international families living in the UK. Adult courses and seminars cover everything from getting a job to interior design and gardening, and there’s also plenty for children, from music to sport, plus lots of holiday activities.
For full details, go to www.focus-info.org
Those relocating to the UK from overseas will find the new website from expatriate organisation FOCUS a very useful resource.
FOCUS, a not-for-profit organisation staffed entirely by expatriates, offers personal advice and professional expertise to help international professionals and their families live and work in the UK successfully. It provides a minimum one-year membership support as well as one-to-one contact, seminars and workshops at its Kensington office, in West London.
The new website, says FOCUS, will make it easier for members to navigate its 7,000+ database of recommended resources, while the new classified advertising section enables members to post items or services directly.
Other new additions are a travel section and an events diary. As well as listing FOCUS’s own events, the diary highlights the organisation’s recommendations for things to do in and around the UK.
See the new website at www.focus-info.org
Following the Emergency Budget announcement that the UK pension age is to rise to 66 in 2016, pensions are again at the top of the agenda, for individuals and organisations.
Faith Dickson, partner at pensions law firm Sacker & Partners LLP, says, "We've learned this week the Government is reinstating the link between the state pension and earnings. But now we've also found out that many of us will need to wait longer to get it, and the default pension age is also likely to go.
“The promise of jam the day after tomorrow is no real surprise. On average, people are living longer, and the Government needs to make savings. The weekly basic state pension is currently higher than unemployment benefit or lower levels of disability allowance that people might end up claiming instead. The problem with averages is, there are always winners and losers. Fit and healthy 65-year-olds will welcome the opportunity to work for longer, but others won't be able to do so.
