Sales of Christmas pet lines up 964% year-on-year at Waitrose online as people spend more on pet care
Unlike buying a present for a fussy father-in-law or an awkward aunt, a dog won’t complain if their treats aren’t the latest, and a cat is not likely to turn its nose up at a Christmas tree-shaped scratch tree.
Perhaps that’s why Britons are so happy to spend on their pets this Christmas, with sales of seasonal pet treats, toys and food booming.
Continue reading...National Audit Office finds ‘significant uncertainty’ as to whether pledge for extra 1.5m treatments will be fulfilled
Plans to end the deepening crisis in access to NHS dental care are failing, leaving patients unable to get treatment, according to a warning from the government’s spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office’s (NAO) damning verdict on the “dental recovery plan” prompted patient groups to voice alarm that people’s struggles with decayed teeth represents “a serious public health concern”.
Continue reading...Gambling minister says measures will be ‘instrumental’ in helping those most at risk of addiction
Bookmakers and casinos will be forced to fund NHS services that tackle problem gambling, after Labour rubber-stamped the previous government’s plans, which also include a cap of as little as £2 on the sums that can be staked on online slot machines.
The Guardian revealed on Monday that the government was poised to approve the new “statutory levy”, using proceeds of around £100m a year to fund research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms.
Continue reading...Stellantis says it will shift production from Bedfordshire to plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
The owner of Vauxhall has announced that it plans to close its van factory at Luton, in a decision that will put 1,100 jobs at risk of being cut or moving location despite the UK government preparing to relax rules on electric cars.
Stellantis said it would shift van production from Luton, Bedfordshire, to another factory at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, blaming the UK’s economic conditions and the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
Continue reading...Members’ venue in central London popular with the media and arts world closes as police inquiry explores recent crime
The Groucho Club has been forced to close as police investigate whether the venue was the scene of a serious criminal offence.
On Tuesday Westminster council ruled that the licence of the club, which counts many A-list celebrities among its members, should be immediately suspended for 28 days. A full hearing will then take place.
Continue reading...Kiena Dawes left note saying she was ‘murdered’ by Ryan Wellings, who is standing trial for her manslaughter
A young mother killed herself and left a note saying “I was murdered” after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, a court has heard.
Kiena Dawes, 23, a hairdresser, said in her note that “Ryan Wellings killed me”, a jury heard.
Continue reading...Moscow bans Labour figures including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves under new sanctions
Russia has banned cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves from entering the country under new sanctions announced by Moscow’s foreign affairs ministry.
More than a dozen other senior Labour politicians are among the 30 British citizens on the Russian “stop list” after tensions between London and Moscow rose following Ukraine’s recent use of British missiles to strike deeper into Russia.
Continue reading...Kremlin bans UK cabinet ministers including Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Yveette Cooper from entering country
The Federation of Small Businesses applauds the ambition in the government’s Get Britain Working, but says that overcoming the “pervasive poverty of ambition” about employment in the public sector won’t be easy. This is from Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chair.
This is a start – but only a start – in fixing the pervasive poverty of ambition in the Jobcentre, health and other state systems when it comes to getting people back into work. Increasing employment is ultimately the most sure-fire way to drive up living standards and economic growth.
Ministers have a huge job to persuade public institutions that work is good for health and that everyone who needs work should be helped to get a job or start-up in self-employment – not least getting rid of the idea that the only good work is in graduate jobs, the public sector or volunteering.
The ambition behind the 80 per cent employment target is both clear and important ..
To deliver on this policy agenda, government and small businesses must work in partnership to drive real change through the whole employment system and make sure the country is helping those who most need work.
It is right to ensure that young people who are seeking work are helped to find a job or training. Positive early experiences in the jobs market are vital for young people’s future life chances. They must be supported to take part, not faced with self-defeating sanctions.
Success will also depend on ministers making the investment that’s needed in health services and quality training. Jobcentre staff must have a central role in redesigning their services, and devolution must never come at the cost of staff terms and conditions.
Continue reading...City of London Corporation rejects plan for new Dagenham site and will offer traders about £300m in compensation
London’s historic Smithfield meat market is to close for good after the City of London Corporation voted to pull out of plans to relocate it and Billingsgate fish market to Dagenham.
The corporation, which owns and operates the central London site of the centuries-old market, had earlier this month put on hold relocation plans to a new £1bn site in Dagenham, east London, to review the “financial sustainability” of the planned move.
Continue reading...Leanne Lucas, who was seriously injured trying to protect children, says she plans to speak out more after trial
A dance teacher who survived the knife attack in Southport where three children were killed has said she is hoping her voice “will get louder and louder” after the trial of her alleged attacker.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July, and 10 other people were injured, eight of them children.
Continue reading...Most claims from 400 men on vessel moored in Portland, Dorset have been processed, with majority accepted
The final asylum seekers housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge left the boat on Tuesday and crew members are set to leave on Wednesday, with the controversial vessel’s final day in port expected to be 8 January.
The accommodation on the barge, moored in Portland, Dorset, will now be dismantled after the Labour government decided to discontinue the previous government’s contract to house asylum seekers on the vessel.
Continue reading...Welsh first minister to ask UK government for more money to make coal tips safe after Cwmtillery landslip
More than 500 homes and businesses were flooded across Wales and England during Storm Bert, it has emerged, as forecasters issued another severe weather warning for rain in parts of southern Britain.
In Wales, the first minister, Eluned Morgan, said 400 homes had been damaged as well as businesses and infrastructure, and reviews were being done to find out why some householders appeared not to have received warnings in time.
Continue reading...Arthur tells Vernon Kay on Radio 2 he left ransom notes in place of garden ornaments in seaside town in 1977
The closest that residents in the sleepy seaside town of Formby got to violent crime in 1977 was, the BBC solemnly reported, by watching Kojak.
So the mysterious disappearance of garden ornaments, replaced by sinister ransom notes, was big news. It led to a media circus as journalists were dispatched to investigate the “phantom gnome snatcher of Formby”.
Continue reading...Security service accuses diplomat of ‘reconnaisance and subversive activities’ amid rising tension
Russia said it was expelling a British diplomat for alleged spying as tensions between London and Moscow rose after Ukraine’s recent use of British weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
The FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, announced on Tuesday that it had acted on documents accusing a British diplomat of engaging in “reconnaissance and subversive activities that threaten the country’s security”.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: A police visit to a Daily Telegraph columnist about a tweet unleashed a barrage of coverage – but the story is more complicated than it appears
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Good morning. A journalist visited by police over an erroneous tweet. A barber accused of racism over a dodgy haircut. And someone in Warwickshire reported for refusing to shake hands. These are some of the examples cited in recent days in an escalating media storm over “non-crime hate incidents” recorded by police.
The problem, frequently laid at the door of the woke mob, is so catastrophically vexing that former Conservative MEP and Daily Telegraph columnist Daniel Hannan declared it evidence of “the bleak reality of our DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] police state”. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has now said that the police should apply a “common sense and consistent approach”, an apparent nod to the criticisms of how the system works. And there are some reasonable objections to the status quo. But there are also important reasons for its existence that have very little to do with haircuts or handshakes.
Unemployment | Teenagers will get training at the Premier League, Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel 4 in a government drive to get hundreds of thousands into jobs or education. The scheme is part of a suite of changes to the welfare system and out-of-work support being announced today.
US politics | Donald Trump said on Monday he would sign an executive order imposing a 25% US tariff on products from Mexico and Canada. He said the tariffs would only be lifted if Mexico and Canada clamp down on migrants and illegal drugs crossing the border, and promised an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
Storm Bert | Forecasters, environment officials and politicians have been criticised over the warnings issued before Storm Bert and the fitness of flood defences to cope with increasingly common extreme weather. The Met Office defended its work, saying that the storm was “well forecast, 48 hours in advance”.
Regulation | Britain’s financial sector watchdog is “incompetent at best, dishonest at worst”, according to a damning report by MPs and Lords which called for a big shake-up. An examination of the Financial Conduct Authority found “very significant shortcomings” after a series of financial scandals.
Health | Weight-loss drugs can reduce the risk of worsening kidney function, kidney failure and dying from kidney disease by a fifth, according to a study. Compared with placebo, GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic reduced the risk of kidney failure by 16% and the worsening of kidney function by 22%,
Victim-led hate reporting has had significant and important positive impacts for police, and communities, in diagnosing harm, extremism, and failing integration or community-cohesion efforts … We all know that recording rules can be complex, but they should not be a concern to a victim at their time of distress.”
Continue reading...The Royal Ballet and Opera have created a new role, allowing Jones to drive development and new commissions
The Royal Ballet and Opera today announces that Netia Jones has been appointed to the newly created position of associate director of The Royal Opera.
Over the past two decades the British-born Jones has carved a career spanning opera, theatre, concerts and immersive installation projects as a director, designer and video artist. Recently she directed the Royal Opera’s first ever virtual reality opera Current, Rising, and her staging – as director and designer – of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Garsington Opera this summer was hailed as “stylish and very funny”.
Continue reading...‘Worrying evaporation’ in skills among professionals meant to protect victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse, report says
Safeguarding agencies are failing to listen to children who have been sexually abused by family members with devastating consequences, amid a “worrying evaporation” of skills among the professionals meant to protect them, a report has found.
A review of the experiences of 193 children in England who were victims of sexual abuse by a family member found seven went on to commit suicide, while 14 more – including a seven-year-old – either attempted suicide or talked about killing themselves.
Continue reading...Ministers to announce sweeping changes to welfare and out-of-work support, aiming to get people off benefits
Teenagers will get skills training at the Premier League, Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel 4 as part of a government drive to get hundreds of thousands into jobs or education and make sure “no young person is left behind”.
Some of Britain’s biggest cultural and sporting institutions will provide work or training opportunities as part of a £45m “trailblazer” scheme across eight English regions, including Liverpool, Tees Valley and the East Midlands.
Continue reading...British Retail Consortium figures come alongside data showing a fall in household disposable income
Shoppers’ ability to afford Christmas treats has been put under threat as retailers warned November could mark a turning point for inflation, with the recent fall in prices slowing amid increased fresh produce costs and fewer discounts on the shelves.
Shop prices fell by 0.6% in November, compared with a fall of 0.8% in October, according to the latest report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and research firm NielsenIQ. The slowdown in deflation was driven by non-food goods and a slight increase in fresh food prices, including seafood.
Continue reading...Study also finds that number of female couples receiving IVF or DI treatment doubled between 2012 and 2022
The number of single women in the UK undergoing fertility treatment to start a family has more than trebled in a decade, a report has revealed.
In total, 4,800 women without a partner had in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or donor insemination (DI) treatment in 2022. This represents a 243% increase from the 1,400 single women who had fertility treatment in 2012, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
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