'Drinks companies bracing themselves for Budget duty rises'

Drinks companies are bracing themselves for rises in alcohol duties in next week's Budget, amid calls from a senior government health adviser for higher taxes to tackle the binge drinking culture - Financial Times​

The Government has said that the national minimum wage will rise in line with inflation to £5.73 an hour in October, a decision that drew praise from employers groups but criticism from unions - Daily Telegraph​

Restaurant Group, which runs 300 pubs and restaurants including the Garfunkel's and Frankie and Benny's chains, doubled annual profits but cautioned that higher interest rates and inflation would dent consumer spending this year. Like-for-like sales rose 5.5 per cent with almost 70 per cent coming from restaurants with more than 30m meals sold - an increase of 3m - Financial Times​

Healthy drinks such as fruit juices and smoothies should get a tax break to end an "illogical" anomaly which is undermining the government's wider drive to make people eat well, ministers have been told - Guardian​

Children under eight have been admitted to A&E for alcohol-related problems 95 times in the past year - Daily Mirror​

Coffee companies are raising prices on jars of instant coffee and packets of ground coffee with unprecedented speed after being surprised by the surging cost of unroasted coffee beans - Financial Times​

Millions face water rationing and soaring bills as experts warned that Britain is heading for a drought crisis. A growing population and increasing demand for water means that the country is as much at risk as the Sahara Desert - Daily Express​

The cost of milk and butter has gone up by about 33 per cent over the past two years -The Mirror​

A national "sat lav" scheme will be launched today to help people find the nearest public loo. Cafes and shops taking part will receive £500 a year. Pubs get the cash if they open their loos to non-customers- The Mirror​

Food prices in the shops are soaring at their fastest rate for over a year, it was revealed yesterday. They were up 4.6 per cent in February on the same month last year, said the British Retail Consortium - The Sun​