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5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Thursday 23rd December 2021
5. Businesses in the hospitality industry hit by customers' renewed concerns over Covid have said a new grant of up to £6,000 is not enough.
Earlier this week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £1bn fund allowing firms to apply for a cash injection but a pub owner in North Lincolnshire said his firm was losing "a lot more" than £6,000 each week.
4. More than a million scam texts will be sent in the UK this week, and more than half (56%) will use parcel deliveries to try to trick consumers.
Organisations monitoring "smishing" fraud are warning people to be extra vigilant this Christmas.
3. UK car production in November hit its lowest level since 1984 as Covid continued to affect supply chains, a motoring industry group has said.
Output fell by 28.7% to 75,756 units, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
2. The UK economy grew at a slower pace than first estimated between July and September, revised figures show.
The ONS said during the quarter before Omicron took hold, the economy grew by 1.1%, rather than 1.3%, as Britain emerged from lockdown blaming weaker consumer spending, and the impact of energy companies going out of business.
1. The UK government says it is monitoring Covid data after early studies found the Omicron variant may cause milder illness than the Delta variant.
Boris Johnson has ruled out any changes before Christmas and it is not expected that there will be an announcement of post-Christmas rules before then.