UK’s economy grows in January

The UK economy grew by 0.3% January, according to newly released official figures, after a sharp drop in December.

Gross domestic product rebounded from December’s 0.5% fall, with the growth understood to have been fuelled by school attendance after more parents pulled children out of school at the end of 2022.

The data comes ahead of the Budget next Wednesday, when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will set out the Government’s strategy to boost UK economic growth.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), told the BBC: “The economy partially bounced back from the large fall seen in December.

“The main drivers of January’s growth were the return of children to classrooms, following unusually high absences in the run-up to Christmas, the Premier League clubs returned to a full schedule after the end of the World Cup and private health providers also had a strong month.

“Postal services also partially recovered from the effects of December’s strikes.”

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