Barometer | 6 July 2017 | The Spectator

Banking up the wrong tree

The Magic Money Tree is such a neat concept it is a wonder it has not featured more widely in literature. But there is a book of that title by Anna Rashid, self- published in April 2009 — just after quantitative easing began in Britain. In the story, a little girl finds a tree brimming with banknotes, which are given to poor ladies and children at a party. The tree grows back every Christmas but only the girl can see it. The self-published book has not yet lived up to its name — last week it was number 7,413,589 on Amazon UK’s bestseller list.

Healthy salaries

More nurses left the profession than joined it, provoking claims that they are underpaid. Some NHS staff seem less in need of a rise, judging by their total remuneration in 2013/14 (some including severance pay):

Chief executive of Lincolnshire PCT	£479,223
Chief executive of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board	£454,404
Unnamed staff member at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	£390,184
Chief executive of Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust	£384,000
Chief executive of Imperial College NHS Trust	£377,500

What’s the catch?

After Brexit, foreign vessels will be banned from fishing in UK waters, said Michael Gove. How much of a cross-border trade in fish was there in 2015?

Tonnes of fish landed abroad by uk boats

Norway	133,733
Netherlands	72,115
Denmark	38,081
Ireland	30,888
Spain	6,249

Tonnes landed in uk by foreign boats

France	17,460
Ireland	7,406
Norway	5,388
Belgium	4,541
Denmark	4,270

Source: Marine Management Organisation

On the plus side

How the gap between public and private sector pay has changed — expressed as how much more an average public sector worker earns per hour (excluding overtime).