Business Briefs - June 26

The UK population grew by almost half a million last year to 64,596,800, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The “above average” increase of 491,100 from mid-2013 to mid-2014 included net migration adding 259,700 to population growth, the ONS figures show.

This was more than “natural growth” - births minus deaths - which added 226,200.

The ONS said a quarter of births were to mothers born outside the UK.

The overall number of births was down compared with the previous year, continuing a downward trend seen since a peak in mid-2012.

Wood Group warns of further savings

Aberdeen-based oil services firm Wood Group PSN has said it is being forced to deliver savings “significantly in excess” of original cost reduction targets.

It said this was due to challenging conditions in the oil and gas industry.

In a trading update to the Stock Market, the company said it expected its financial performance to be down on last year, reflecting lower activity and pricing pressure.

HMRC to invest £45 million in customer service

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed it is setting aside £45 million to improve its levels of customer services after official figures showed that 7.2 million phone calls made in the last year went through directly to a ‘busy’ tone.

Between April 2014 and March 2015, 64.7 million phone calls were made to HMRC, of which almost 47 million were successfully dealt with.

Subsequently, 72.5 per cent of calls were answered successfully during these months, falling short of the tax authority’s target of 80 per cent.

The £45 million investment will come from the current spending settlement and is not additional revenue requested from the Treasury.

It’s anticipated the investment will pay for around 3,000 additional staff to join customer service teams, while a further 2,000 staff are being moved temporarily to assist with the tax credits deadline and any other letters or forms.

Post Office premium bonds sales to end

Premium Bonds will no longer be sold over the counter in Post Office branches from the end of July.

National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which runs the savings lottery, said all sales would be online, by phone, by post or by electronic transfer.

It will be writing to people who have previously bought Premium Bonds over the counter to tell them of the change.

NS&I said 65 per cent of contact with customers occurred online or on the phone.

“Moving to 100 per cent of direct sales is a natural next step for NS&I. It should also be intuitive and straightforward for these customers, given that they already manage and repay their Premium Bonds with us directly,” said Jane Platt, chief executive of NS&I.

“After such a longstanding relationship, we know it is important that we help our customers with the transition.”