This page contains data and analysis published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from 29 June to 3 July 2020. Go to our live page for the most up-to-date insights on COVID-19.
3 July 2020
Postponed weddings
An estimated 73,600 weddings and same-sex civil partnership ceremonies may have been postponed in England during the three-month period of lockdown restrictions between 23 March and 3 July 2020.
From 4 July, weddings in England will be able to take place with a maximum of 30 people who must maintain social distancing measures, avoid singing unless behind a screen, avoid consuming food or drink and avoid playing instruments that must be blown into.
These figures are the four-year average of the number of weddings that took place between 23 March and 3 July 2014 to 2017, plus the number of same-sex civil partnerships between the same dates in 2015 to 2018. They do not include residents who got married abroad, same-sex couples who have converted their civil partnerships into marriages following the changes in law from 10th December 2014, or civil partnerships among opposite-sex couples which have been possible from 31 December 2019.
It is estimated that 73,400 marriages have been postponed along with 300 same-sex civil partnerships (numbers have been rounded to nearest hundred).
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Marriages and civil partnerships | 73,600 |
| Marriages | 73,400 |
| Opposite-sex marriages | 71,600 |
| Same-sex marriages | 1,800 |
| Civil partnerships | 300 |
Download this table Approximate number of marriages and same-sex civil partnerships postponed during lockdown in England
.xls .csv3 July 2020
Infections in care homes
A new study looking at the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in 9,081 care homes providing dementia care or care for older people estimates that more than half of care homes (56%) reported at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 in staff or residents. It is estimated that 20% (95% confidence interval: 19% to 21%) of care home residents and 7% (95% confidence interval: 6% to 8%) of care home staff tested positive for COVID-19, as reported by care home managers, since the start of the pandemic.
The study looked at factors affecting the rate of infection in residents and staff. For residents, we found:
for each additional member of infected staff working at the care home, the odds of infection for residents increases by 11% (95% confidence interval: 10% to 11%)
care homes using bank or agency nurses or carers most days or every day are more likely to have more cases in residents (odds ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval: 1.50 to 1.65), compared with care homes that never use bank or agency staff
care homes in which staff receive sick pay are less likely to have cases of COVID-19 in residents (odds ratio 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.82 to 0.93%), compared with those care homes where staff do not receive sick pay
The study also reports factors affecting the rate of infection in staff.
For each additional member of infected staff working at a care home, the chance of infection for residents increases by 11%
Odds of care home residents testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) relative to comparison groups, England, 26 May to 20 June 2020
Embed code
Notes:
Estimated odds ratios are adjusted for care home size, closure status for new resident admissions, timing of closure to visitors, use of other bank or agency staff, Index of Multiple Deprivation, number of care homes in provider group, whether the care home pays sick pay, care home cleaning level, staff training level, PPE usage, and frequency of staff caring for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 residents.
The study managed to conduct telephone interviews with 5,126 care home managers of 9,081 approached, all with responsibility for providing dementia care or care for the elderly between 26 May and 20 June 2020. The survey gathered information on their staff and residents and each setting.
3 July 2020
Care home resident deaths
Between 2 March and 12 June 2020 (registered up to 20 June 2020), there were 66, 112 deaths of care home residents, of which 19,394 involved COVID-19. This represents 29.3% of all care home resident deaths.
Between 2 March and 12 June 2020, registered up to the 20 June 2020, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in male care home residents, accounting for 33.5% of all deaths, and the second leading cause of death in female care home residents, after Dementia and Alzheimer disease, accounting for 26.6% of all deaths.
Of deaths involving COVID-19 among care home residents, 74.9% (14,519 deaths) occurred within a care home, and 24.8% (4,810 deaths) occurred within a hospital.
But since mid-April 2020, we have seen a slowdown in both the total number of deaths and deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents.
3 July 2020
Impact on financial accounts
The early assessment of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the UK’s financial accounts article focuses on the balance sheet of the financial account in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020.
Most of the early impacts of the pandemic can be seen in the financial accounts balance sheets, which detail the estimated market value of institutional sectors’ financial assets and liabilities. Balance sheets are largely affected by transactions and price changes.
Increased investor concerns of the coronavirus pandemic led to increased market volatility, and this was the main driver in all sectors’ steep, unprecedented falls in the value of listed shares in their balance sheets. This was the biggest fall since records began in 1987.
All sectors experienced a record simultaneous fall in the value of listed shares
£ Billions, non-seasonally adjusted, Q2 2008 to Q1 2020
Source: Office for National Statistics
Notes:
- The fall in the value of listed shares filters through to all sectors, seeing falls in the market value in both shares held or shares issued by corporations.
Download this chart All sectors experienced a record simultaneous fall in the value of listed shares
Image .csv .xlsPrivate non-financial corporations (PNFCs) were vulnerable to falling share prices because they comprise of sectors that were most negatively impacted by lockdown restrictions in the UK and overseas, such as airlines, leisure and hotels. The substantial change in the market value of shares is almost entirely because of price changes that knocked £401 billion off the worth of PNFCs’ listed shares.
In Quarter 1 2020, the impact of the pandemic has been different to other financial crises in the sense that there has been a reduction in both supply and demand.
30 June 2020
Consumer trends
Household spending in the UK decreased between Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2019 and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020. The growth of negative 2.9%, when adjusted for inflation, was the largest fall since Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 1979.
The consumer trends publication provides household final consumption expenditure information for the UK, a measure of economic growth. These estimates are subject to more uncertainty than usual because of the challenges faced in collecting the data during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The suspension of data collection for the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF) and International Passenger Survey (IPS) on 16 March impacted two important data sources for these figures.
The largest negative contribution to the decline in household spending came from expenditure on Transport, including motor vehicles. There were also falls for Restaurants and hotels and Clothing and footwear. There was, however, an increase of spending on Food and non-alcoholic beverages.
30 June 2020
GDP, January to March 2020
UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms fell by 2.2% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020, revised downwards by 0.2 percentage points from the first quarterly estimate; this is now the joint largest fall in UK GDP since Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 1979.
The GDP quarterly national accounts release captures the first direct effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The contraction in GDP reflects the imposing of public health restrictions and voluntary social distancing put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The services, production and construction sectors provided a negative contribution to growth in the output approach to GDP in Quarter 1 2020, with services output falling by a record 2.3% in the latest quarter.
The expenditure approach to GDP captured falls in both private consumption and government consumption, alongside a net trade deficit. The decline in government consumption in Quarter 1 2020 reflects falls in health and education expenditure. The initial impact of the coronavirus on government healthcare consumption was mixed, with increased activity in some areas (calls to NHS 111) and reduced activity in other areas (elective operations and accident and emergency).
The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) shows that a greater stringency of lockdown is associated with lower GDP growth in Quarter 1 2020. When compared internationally, it implies that the size of the contraction in the UK economy in Quarter 1 2020 was broadly in line with what might have been expected, given the policies that were in place in the UK in Quarter 1 2020.
Greater stringency of lockdowns is associated with lower GDP growth in Quarter 1 2020
Selection of countries, Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020
Embed code
30 June 2020
Investment, saving and borrowing
The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought major changes to the financial account in the UK’s Institutional sector accounts in the first quarter (Jan to Mar) of 2020.
A great deal of volatility was observed in individual financial instruments on the balance sheet of the financial account.
UK monetary financial institutions (MFIs) saw record increases in deposits placed with them on the quarter of £819.6 billion as investors switched to safer investments. In part, these deposits have been funded by the issuance of new loans by MFIs. They recorded their highest rise ever in short-term loans of £304.8 billion. This provides evidence of a “dash for cash”.
In the non-financial accounts, UK net borrowing from the rest of the world increased. General government saw an increase in its net borrowing position to negative 4.4% of gross domestic product (GDP). The increase in borrowing was the largest since Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2013 and was particularly driven by the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) late in the quarter.
A fall in private non-financial corporations’ gross operating surplus of £5 billion was seen in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020 as a fall in profits was seen across almost all industries.
UK net borrowing from the rest of the world increased to 3.9% of GDP in the latest quarter
Net Lending (+) or borrowing (-) position as a percentage of GDP, non-financial account, seasonally adjusted, Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2008 to Quarter 1 2020
Source: Office for National Statistics – Quarterly Sector Accounts
Notes:
- Sum of net lending or borrowing positions may not sum to zero in later years due to unbalanced Supply and Use tables in the compilation of GDP.
Download this chart UK net borrowing from the rest of the world increased to 3.9% of GDP in the latest quarter
Image .csv .xlsThe quarterly sector accounts also show that the households’ saving ratio increased to 8.6% in the latest quarter, compared with 6.6% in the previous quarter. This came as households reduced their total consumption spending.
30 June 2020
Imports and exports
In Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020, total trade exports (£159.5 billion) decreased to their lowest levels since Quarter 1 2018 and imports (£160.7 billion) decreased to their lowest level since Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2016 as the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic took hold and countries introduced lockdowns.
Balance of payments, UK: January to March 2020 presents a measure of cross-border transactions between the UK and rest of the world.
There is evidence of the coronavirus starting to impact on global supply chains in Quarter 1 2020, with many businesses reporting notable falls in trade in goods during March 2020. Trade in manufactured goods was significantly impacted, with declines for both imports and exports.
There were also large decreases for imports and exports of the trade in travel services, as governments around the world introduced travel bans to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The primary income balance deficit – which records income the UK receives and pays on financial and other assets, along with compensation of employees – widened by £2.4 billion to £13.6 billion in Quarter 1 2020. There was a larger fall in UK earnings on foreign investments (credits) than the fall in payments to foreign investors on their UK investments (debits), as other countries entered lockdowns earlier and businesses aimed to maintain cash buffers by reducing or cancelling dividend payments.
The trade and primary income figures both affect the UK’s current account balance. The UK current account deficit widened to £21.1 billion in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020, or 3.8% of gross domestic product (GDP). This was also affected by erratic movements in the trading of precious metals, especially non-monetary gold, in the final quarter of 2019 and more subdued trading in Quarter 1 2020.
29 June 2020
People who are shielding
An estimated 2.2 million people in England were advised to shield by the government, having been identified as being clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Our latest survey results from 9 to 18 June 2020 reveal that almost half (46%) of CEV adults have not left the house at all since receiving the advice. Video or telephone calls with family and friends, prescription deliveries and food deliveries or food boxes are the most common things that have helped them continue shielding during this period.
More than one-third (37%) of people asked to shield report a worsening in their mental health. This rises to around half (49%) among 50- to 59-year-olds, compared with 26% for those aged 75 years and over. Women are more likely than men to report a worsening in their mental health, regardless of age.
Meanwhile, those currently receiving treatment for mental health problems were more likely to report their mental health being slightly worse or much worse since receiving shielding advice (68% compared with 28% of those who had never previously received treatment).