Devon Business Portal

1. How to develop a strategy. Developing a strategy is a process that involves thoughtful planning, analysis, and a clear path forward. Whether you're crafting a strategy for a business, launching a new product, or working toward personal goals, the core idea is the same: how do you achieve what you set out to do in the most effective and efficient way possible? READ MORE

2. Reasons to be cheerful in 2025. It’s good to remind ourselves now and again that, for all of today’s problems, many trends are still going right. Take infant mortality. For most of history, about half of all children died before the age of five. But in 2024, according to the UN, the global rate hit 3.6%, the smallest percentage since the dawn of humanity. The figures on extreme poverty - defined as having less than $2.15 per day, adjusted for inflation - are equally heartening. The share of the world’s people living in such a state has been plummeting and hit a new low in 2024 of about 8.5%. Then there’s literacy rates. Until the mid-1960s, most of the human race was illiterate. Now, we’re approaching 90% literacy worldwide. Yes, the world is a mess, but despite all our challenges, there has still been no better time to be alive. Editor

3. Population to hit 72.5m by 2032. Net migration is expected to add almost 5 million more people to the population over the course of a decade, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The projection suggests that almost 10 million people will arrive in the UK between 2022 and 2032, while about five million will leave, bringing net migration to 4.9 million. The natural change, which is the difference between births and deaths, is forecast to be close to zero. Last year deaths exceeded births for the first time in decades due to declining birth rates. The ONS predicts that in the years ahead this trend will accelerate significantly. BBC

4. Shoplifting reaches new record. There were 20m incidents of shoplifting reported in the UK last year, responsible for a record £2.2bn in losses. Attacks on retail workers tripled in four years to 2,000 a day, while organised crime has driven the rise in theft with criminals reportedly stealing high-value goods to order. Businesses spent £1.8bn on security measures in 2024, including CCTV, body cameras, trolley-stopping tech and security tags on items like butter and steak. To tackle the problem, policymakers have pledged to scrap the £200 low-level theft threshold and impose tougher penalties for retail crimes. British Retail Consortium

5. Record number of families fined over term-time holidays. Parents must ensure their children are in school or face the consequences, the education secretary has warned after record numbers of families in England were hit by fines for unauthorised holidays. In the last school year more than 443,000 fines were issued to parents taking their children out of school during term time to go on holiday, a 53% increase since before the Covid pandemic, when parents seemed to become more relaxed about attendance. In 2018-19 - the last full year before the pandemic closed schools to most children - just 288,000 penalty notices were issued by local authorities. What do you think about the increase in fines for term-time holidays? Please share your thoughts in our latest poll: VOTE HERE

6. Royal Mail should cut second-class delivery days. Royal Mail is set to be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays and to stop Saturday deliveries under proposals to shake up postal service rules announced by the industry regulator. Ofcom said cutting the deliveries to every other weekday with a price cap on second-class stamps, while maintaining first-class letters six days a week, would still meet the public’s needs. Its provisional recommendations also included cutting delivery targets for first-class mail from 93% to 90% arriving the next day, and for second-class mail from 98.5% to 95% within three days. Ofcom’s consultation on the proposed changes will run until 10 April, and it expects to publish its decision in the summer. London Evening Standard

7. Exercise may reduce risk of dementia. A study suggests that staying active can help prevent dementia by preserving brain volume in areas linked to thinking and memory. It found that lifelong exercise reduced cognitive decline, even in those with early Alzheimer’s markers like amyloid build-up. Researchers analysed data from 468 people in their 70s from the Insight 46 study, which tracked individuals born in 1946. They looked at physical activity levels - walking, swimming, and sports - over three decades, and found that those who exercised regularly had better cognitive function at 70. The effects were particularly strong in women. The Times

8. Surge in gender dysphoria diagnosis. The number of under-18s with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria has risen 50-fold in England over ten years, a study of GP records has found. Based on data from 20% of GP practices, researchers at the University of York estimate the prevalence of such diagnoses increased from one in 60,000 in 2011 (equating to 192 people nationwide) to about one in 1,200 in 2021 (10,291). Among 17-to 18-year-olds, it was one in 238 by 2021. From 2015, there was a sharp rise in the number of children registered female being diagnosed with the condition; by 2021, they outnumbered those recorded male by about two to one. The Telegraph

9. Heat-related deaths could rise 50%. Temperature-related deaths in Europe could increase by 50% by 2100 because of changing temperatures, research has found. Between 8,000 and 80,000 more people could die a year, depending on how much temperatures change. The biggest increase will be in southern Europe because of heat waves, followed by central Europe. A slight drop in deaths was projected for northern Europe. The number of people who will die in Europe because of high temperatures is projected to outnumber those saved from milder cold weather. The Guardian

10. The bottom line. 58% of British millennials support the return of the death penalty; 27% are against, according to a More in Common poll taken after the sentencing of the Southport killer. Among all British adults, 55% support capital punishment, up from 50% in the autumn. In a separate poll by Craft, 52% of UK Gen-Zers (aged 13 to 27) agreed that the country would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with Parliament and elections. Daily Mail