IBISWorld presents a collection of fast facts for the different sectors of the UK economy.

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According to Defra, total income from farming is estimated to have been £4,119 million in 2020, a fall of £768 million or 15.7% from 2019. Agriculture’s contribution to the UK economy was £9,435 million in 2020, a 6.7% decrease from 2019.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), agriculture output recorded a 0.1% increase in July 2021.
According to Defra’s latest annual report released in June 2021, the total organic land area in the UK has grown slightly for the second consecutive year, increasing by 0.8% in 2020, with a total of 489,000 hectares of land farmed organically.
On 30 June 2021, the environment secretary confirmed that farmers will be able to earn up to £70 per hectare for actions to improve the health of their soil. As part of an update on the Agricultural Transition Plan, the government also announced that livestock farmers will be eligible for a free vet-led annual health and welfare review.
According to The National Pig Association, more than 70,000 pigs could be destroyed instead of being sold for meat due to worker shortages.

According to data from the ONS, mining and quarrying output increased by 21.9% in July 2021, contributing the most to the production sector’s growth. This was mainly attributed to the reopening of an oil field production site, which was previously temporarily closed for planned maintenance. However, output in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas remained low, at 19.1%, below its July 2020 level.
North Sea oil and gas producers are pushing the government to back up to 18 new fossil fuel projects, with trade body UK Oil and Gas arguing that not granting support for new fields will leave the United Kingdom dependent on imports as existing production declines. Approving all projects would mean spending as much as £21 billion on developing the new fields or extending the life of existing reservoirs, over the next five years, boosting UK production by 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent, as reported by The Financial Times. However, granting approval would also pose a question over the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Campaigners have warned that members of the Oil and Gas Authority hold shares in fossil fuel firms, which raises concerns of conflict of interest.
Mining giant BHP has decided to leave the FTSE 100 index and instead move its listing to Australia.

According to manufacturing association Make UK, the UK manufacturing sector is expected to grow by 7.8% in 2021. This represents an upgrade on previous forecasts, which estimated growth of 3.9%.
According to the ONS, the manufacturing sector remained broadly flat in July 2021. As a result, manufacturing output remained 2.3% below pre-pandemic levels recorded in February 2020.
The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI decreased slightly to 60.3 in August 2021, from 60.4 in the previous month. This signalled the 15^th consecutive month of expansion, aided by increased new business volumes. However, August PMI represented the slowest rate of expansion in five months, owing to supply chain issues.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, UK car production was 50.6% lower in July 2021 than in July 2019. This decline has been attributed to a global shortage of microchips and staff absences. Year-to-date UK car production was 28.7% lower for the first seven months through July 2021 than during the same period in 2019. Nevertheless, UK car production was 18.3% higher in the first seven months of 2021 than it was for the same period in 2020, in which manufacturing output was affected by the initial COVID-19 lockdown period.
In the ONS Business Insights and Impact on the UK Economy survey conducted between 9 August and 22 August 2021, 35.1% of firms in the manufacturing sector reported that their revenue was lower than would normally be expected for the time of the year. Approximately 7.3% of firms surveyed in the sector between 23 August and 5 September 2021 stated that they had either temporarily or permanently ceased trading.
According to provisional estimates published by the ONS, 155,900 employees in the manufacturing sector remained on furlough at the end of July 2021. This was down on the previous month and is significantly below the peak of 911,000 employees furloughed on 17 April 2020.

In the ONS Business Insights and Impacts on the UK Economy survey conducted between 9 and 22 August 2021, 31.2% of businesses in the wholesale and retail sector reported a lower turnover than would normally be expected for the time of year. Meanwhile, 41.8% reported that turnover has not been affected. The number of employees in the sector still on partial or furlough was 3.9% over the same period.
The end of the EU transition period, in combination with tax reforms and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including driving test backlogs, has left the United Kingdom short of an estimated 100,000 hauliers to carry goods to warehouses and retailers, as reported by The Financial Times. The chief executive of Wincanton, Britain’s largest logistics outsourcer, has stated that the UK’s truck driver shortage is expected to deepen as demand picks up ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas period.
The government has delayed imposing checks on EU goods entering the UK until July 2022 in an attempt to avoid further supply chain disruptions. This could be of benefit to trade and wholesalers.

Concerns have been raised about the UK’s economic recovery post-pandemic, as retail sales fell for the fourth consecutive month in August 2021. According to the ONS Retail Sales index, the volume of monthly sales in August fell 0.9%, and 0.3% in value terms, over August, although this may be the result of seasonality and individuals opting to eat out and travel abroad during the warmer months. Non-food stores reported a fall of 1% fall driven by lacklustre demand for department stores, which have recorded five consecutive months of falls, as well as dispensing chemists, toy retailers and outdoor equipment retailers.
The decline in sales is not equal among all retail operators. According to the Local Data Company, a net total of 804 locally run convenience stores, barbers, bakeries, cafes and fast-food joints opened in the first half of 2021, compared with the net 5,251 chain stores, hospitality and leisure establishments that closed down during the period. The spur in independent businesses may be the result of the going local trend, as well as smaller players benefiting from government support measures such as business rates relief.
Retailers continue to battle with labour shortages and supply chain issues due to the UK’s exit from the European Union, red tape and COVID-19 restrictions. According to the ONS, 7% of retailers have reported not being able to secure inventory they needed for August. This percentage rose to 18% for department stores, and 11% for clothing retailers. Uniqlo, for instance, has warned of inventory delays due to COVID-related lockdowns across Vietnam, while athletic shoe store Nike has also warned of losing the production of 160 million pairs of shoes after the closure of a factory in Vietnam.
Industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned 80% of high-street retailers are at risk of closure without reform to the business-rates systems. According to a BRC survey, 85% of respondents said rates were a key issue for them, with 83% stating they would have to close some shops if the government did not make changes to the tax. This is in addition to the 8,700 stores, or 50 establishments per day, closed over the six months through June 2021, According to the Local Data Company. Clothing and footwear retailers recorded the largest decline, following the exit of Arcadia group at the start of the year. Car showrooms, betting shops and bank establishments also followed a downward trajectory. City centres saw the greatest drop with lower tourist and commuter footfall.

On 17 September 2021, the government announced plans to simplify rules for international travel. Under the new proposals, the current traffic light system will be replaced, with destinations simply ranked low or high risk. From 4 October 2021, fully vaccinated passengers arriving from low-risk countries will no longer be required to take expensive privately administered PCR tests.
According to data published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the total number of terminal and transit passengers passing through UK airports was 85.5% below 2019 levels in July 2021. The total year-to-date number of passengers was down 91.9% on 2019 levels according to the July data published by the CAA.
According to European airport body ACI Europe, passenger volumes are not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2025. It also states that revenue at European airports was down €30 billion during 2020 and they stand to lose a further €29 billion in revenue this year.
According to the ONS, the transportation and storage sector contracted by 0.1% in July 2021. Output in the sector remained 7.6% below pre-pandemic levels recorded in February 2020.
In the ONS Business Insights and Impact on the UK Economy survey conducted between 9 August and 22 August 2021, 16.2% of firms in the transportation and warehousing sector reported that their revenue was lower than would normally be expected for the time of the year. Approximately 22.3% of firms in the sector surveyed between 23 August and 5 September 2021 stated that they had either temporarily or permanently ceased trading.
According to the Road Haulage Association, the UK currently has a shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers. This has been attributed to several factors, including an exodus of European lorry drivers during the pandemic, restricted access to UK labour markets and a large backlog of HGV driver tests.

In the ONS Business Insights and Impacts on the UK Economy survey conducted between 9 and 22 August 2021, 37.5% of businesses in the accommodation and food service activities sector reported a lower turnover than would normally be expected for the time of year. Meanwhile, 30% of businesses in the sector reported vacancies being more difficult to fill than normal, with more vacancies in the sector as a result of furloughed workers leaving.
According to UK trade body, UK Hospitality, an estimated 40% of hospitality venues have either totally or partially closed owing to lack of staff. Rising vacancies are the result of workers having returned to their home countries, taken other jobs during the pandemic, tightening immigration rules, as well as the ‘pingdemic’. The scarcest employees are mid-level chefs, many of whom came from Europe or elsewhere and do not earn enough to qualify for skilled worker status under the government’s new immigration system. As a result, many restaurant owners have cut lunch and dinner services and have raised wages and recruit trainees.
The UK’s largest pub group, Stonegate, has filed a £845 million lawsuit against a trio of insurers for losses it suffered during the pandemic. According to the initial filings, Stonegate recognises that the insurers do not dispute that the policies should have paid out, but contend their liability is limited to £17.5 million, of which £14.5 million has already been paid. Other upmarket hospitality groups such as Corbin & King, the owner London restaurants including The Wolseley and The Delaunay, and a group of hoteliers led by Black & White Hospitality, are also pursuing claims against their insurers tied to the pandemic.
UK hotels are facing a flood of last-minute cancellations as individuals rush abroad following the relaxation of travel restrictions, although international travel has largely been confined to couples with families opting to stay at home and visits to heritage site such as Cambridge and Bath rising.
On 18 September 2021, the government announced a simplified the traffic light system, removing the amber list, and is reducing testing requirements from 4 October 2021. This is expected to boost international travel and has been welcome by the travel industry.
Nightclubs were permitted to reopen from 19 July 2021, delayed from the initial reopening date of 21 June 2021, for the first time since the initial lockdown in March 2020.
Plans to introduce vaccine passports in nightclubs in England have been scrapped by the government.

In the ONS Business Insights and Impacts on the UK Economy survey, 13.3% of businesses in the real estate activities sector reported a decrease in turnover compared with normal levels between 9 and 22 August 2021, the lowest of all sectors.
According to the ONS, output from real estate activities fell by 10.4% in July 2021 due to the partial end to the Stamp Duty holiday period from 1 July 2021.
According to Nationwide, annual house price growth was 11% in August 2021, up from 10.5% in July 2021. Prices were up 2.1% month on month and the average house price was £248,857. This may be due to strong demand from those buying a property in the £125,000-£250,000 price range, who are looking to take advantage of the stamp duty relief in place until the end of September 2021. Additionally, lack of supply contributed to the price rise in August 2021.
On the contrary, think-tank Resolution Foundation has found that the biggest house price rises came in areas that benefited the least from tax cuts, stating the stamp duty holiday did not cause the boom in prices.
According to HMRC’s tax data, completed residential purchases plunged by 63% in July 2021 compared with June 2021 as the stamp duty holiday break began phasing out from the end of June 2021.
Offices in London currently offer more attractive returns than those in European capitals, partly because the Brexit vote cut supply. However, currently, occupancy rates are very low, with hybrid working models undertaken by many businesses likely to hit landlords. According to Remit Consulting, London offices were at 11.5% of capacity on average in the week through 6 August 2021, with the number of people going to work each day remaining very low despite the lifting of restrictions on 19 July 2021.
Real estate company Colliers says that investment into the Scottish commercial property market is seeing an uplift as the return to the office gets underway. Investment volumes in Glasgow this year have reached almost £150 million to date, with this number expected to rise significantly in Q4. This compares with investment volumes of just £82 million in 2020, which was a record low.

According to the ONS, output in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector fell by 2.3% in July 2021 and it was the largest negative contributor to growth in services. Advertising and market research, as well as legal activities, fell by 7.3% in July 2021.
The government has been urged by professional bodies to delay its digital tax-collection initiative for self-employed people and changes as to how businesses report their profits, as the measures would put huge pressure on companies. The government’s plan to make tax digital has been singled out in particular as it will require 4.3 million self-employed people and small businesses to keep digital records and report their income to HMRC every quarter from April 2023.
The Financial Times reports that the European Commission’s plan to block the United Kingdom from joining the 2007 Lugano Convention would cause severe complications in relation to divorce settlements and child maintenance awards, according to lawyers.
A growing number of UK law firms are betting on the outcome of cases in return for a share of the winnings through closer links with litigation funders. Although this offers financing for clients, critics fear possible conflicts of interest.
The head of the Confederation of British Industry has claimed that corporate tax rises proposed by Rishi Sunak, from 19% to 25%, risk reducing business investment.
HMRC has faced criticism for settling out of court a dispute with US giant General Electric (GE), agreeing for GE to pay US$112 million in deferred tax.

Only four out of 27 top UK universities – Sheffield, Southampton, Sussex and York – are to return to full in-person teaching this term, despite increasing demand from students for face-to-face learning. The remaining 23 universities have planned to adopt a ‘blended’ approach, combining face-to-face and online learning. However, the OECD warned that post-pandemic efforts by universities to shift lectures and other events online would undercut their monopoly power on teaching and erode public support for tuition fees of up to £9,250. Universities will fail to offer value for money to students if they persist with online learning, and risk being outclassed by new digital providers.
Secondary schools will start offering jabs to 12- to 15-year-old pupils this week after approval from the UK’s chief medical officers. The chief medical officers believe one dose will significantly cut the risk of teens getting COVID-19 and transmission, and have decided against recommending two doses after data from the US and Canada indicated a higher rate of an inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, after a second dose.
UK universities are facing rising competition from rivals with mounting fees, visa difficulties and limited marketing. According to UCAS, the number of applications from EU students by the 30 June deadline was down 43% on the previous year to 28,400, though this was offset by a rise of 14% in non-EU students.
Following a second year of grade inflation as A-levels were cancelled and student performance was assessed coursework, 28,880 students have deferred starting university with some universities offering financial incentives, including £10,000 credit towards student accommodation.
Gavin Williamson, the education minister, has stated universities not returning to face-to-face teaching should not charge full fees. However, ministers would give the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, the deciding power in pursuing universities that do not meet student teaching standards.
New technology including air purifiers and ultra-violet lights are set to be trialled in UK classrooms to contain the spread of COVID-19, although full roll-out will not be until 2022. Scientists and education leaders have called upon Downing Street to act now in improving classroom ventilation and consider mask-wearing too amid concerns that the highly transmissible Delta variant will rapidly spread through schools upon their reopening at the start of September 2021.
Ministers are no longer considering making it compulsory for university students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend lectures in England. Plans were abandoned largely due to policing concerns.
The UK government have introduced a £4 million Latin Excellence Programme to level up opportunities for state secondary school pupils, as well as helping them with other subjects such as English, French, Spanish and maths. According to a British Council survey, Latin is only taught at key stage 3 in 2.7% of state schools compared with 49% of independent schools. In addition to learning Latin, the new programme will include activities such as visits to Roman heritage sites to give pupils a deeper understanding of classics and life in the ancient world.

£36 billion will be invested in the health and care system over the next three years, to ensure it has the long-term resource it needs. The new funding is expected to fund an extra nine million checks, scans, and operations. The NHS long-term plan committed to increasing activity year on year. In recognition of pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic, this will now increase to 110% of the planned activity levels by 2023-24.
From April 2022, the government will introduce a new, UK-wide 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy, ringfenced for health and social care. This will be based on National Insurance contributions and from 2023 will be legislatively separate. To ensure everyone contributes fairly, all working adults, including those over the state pension age, will pay the levy and the rates of dividend tax will increase by 1.25% to help fund this package.
Surgical operations are also at risk from carbon dioxide (CO2) shortages. CO2 is used in some operations, as well as to freeze meat and in the brewing and nuclear power industries. Surging natural gas prices have pushed seven energy suppliers out of business this year, with concerns other may also go bust.
The British Medical Association has warned NHS England is short of 50,000 doctors. The number of doctors in England has fallen to 2.8 doctors per 1,000 people, which is lower than the EU average of 3.7.
Social care is facing unprecedented crisis over staff shortages. Care providers are struggling to recruit with low wages, the pandemic, UK-EU visa related workforce changes and summer-leave. Burnout and increasing workloads and pressure are also posing a problem with staff retention. According to a survey by the National Care Forum, some 60% of care homes have suffered a rise in the rate of staff turnover.
According to analysis by The Health Foundation Charity, an additional £16.8 billion would be needed for the NHS to see 92% of patients within 18 weeks until 2024-25; the maximum amount of time individuals are meant to wait for non-urgent, consultant led treatments. The analysis comes days after groups representing hospitals, doctors and other care providers estimated that an additional £10 billion in funding was needed to cover COVID-19 related costs, deal with the growing backlog of patients and allow for lost efficiency savings.
In an effort to persuade more young people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, companies are offering an array of incentives including free taxi rides, holiday vouchers and discounts. According to NHS England data, 70% of 18- to 29-years-olds have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 90% of all adults. According to the ONS, 11% of 16 to 17-year-olds, 5% of 18 to 21-year-olds and 9% of 22 to 25-years-olds have expressed hesitancy about the vaccine, compared with 4% for the entire adult population.
Pharmacies are to take a central role in UK autumn vaccine boosters as hospital vaccination centres close in an effort to reduce NHS waiting lists. The booster programme is expected to start in September 2021, with COVID-19 and Flu vaccinations given to over-50s at the same time.

According to ukActive Research Institute, the spread of COVID-19 in UK gyms has remained low. The latest results show an overall rate of one case per 100,000 visits, measured from April 12, 2021, to Aug. 15, 2021, indicating that rates of COVID-19 among the gym-going population remain low and that safety measures taken by facilities continue to be effective. Gym operators can capture real-time data based on membership details, allowing for quick and relevant contact tracing if a case is reported by someone who has visited a facility and then gone on to test positive.
Gym and fitness centre membership numbers continue to rise as individuals look to exercise away from home after a year of lockdown. For instance, over the four months through June 2021, The Gym Group recorded almost a third increase in membership numbers to 730,000. Following this uptick, the group have plans to open 40 more establishments, possible also considering the empty high street shops.
Operators in the Gambling and Betting Activities industry have opted to impose spending limits on customers aged 25 and under in a bid to stop or prevent problem gambling. For the small number of customers who can demonstrate income to sustain an increased level of spend, they will need to go through a detailed process before an alternative limit is set.
The British government is currently undertaking a review of The Gambling Act 2005, the basis for all gambling regulation, in order to test its fitness for the digital age. According to the Gambling Commission, while fewer people were gambling during the pandemic, many already engaged online gambling consumers were expanding into new activities and spending more time and money betting.
The Gambling Commission has submitted proposals for affordability checks, an issue that is currently being evaluated in the review of the Gambling Act 2005, which was launched in December 2020. The proposal states that a monthly net gambling loss of as little as £100 would result in bettors having to prove their income to be able to continue to bet. However, the British racing industry has warned the sport would lose at least £60 million a year from lost levy and media rights if consumers were discouraged from gambling due to intrusive financial questioning.

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