Category Archives: UK news

Ministers criticised as 200,000 eligible children in England miss out on free school meals

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Around one in 10 pupils who would qualify for assistance are not registered with the scheme

The government has been accused of “standing idly by while children go hungry” after new analysis showed that more than 200,000 of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSMs) in England are missing out because they are not registered.

Campaigners have urged ministers to automate the enrolment process using social security records, amid fears that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are going hungry because they have not signed up.

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Home Office urged to reunite Eritrean family separated as they boarded boat

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Appeal for UK authorities to bring over mother who was left in France after smugglers departed shore with her three children

The Home Office is under pressure to reunite a family of Eritrean asylum seekers after smugglers forced three children, the youngest aged just five, to cross the Channel on a small boat before their mother could get on board with them.

The woman, 31, who was staying in northern France hoping to reach the UK, paid smugglers for places on a dinghy for herself and her three children, a boy aged 14 and two girls aged nine and five, to cross the Channel on 16 December. She said she believed the UK was the place where she would find safety and a respect for the human rights of her family.

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Rishi Sunak needs ‘exit strategy’ from ‘1980s playbook’ on strikes, says TUC

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Incoming general secretary, Paul Nowak, says PM has overestimated public support for confronting unions

Rishi Sunak needs an “exit strategy” from ongoing industrial disputes to avoid them escalating in the months ahead after overestimating public support for his “1980s playbook” approach to widespread strikes, the incoming TUC general secretary has said.

Paul Nowak, who takes over as Britain’s top union leader next month, predicted the government’s “war of attrition” against the unions would fail and accused ministers of having their “hands over their ears” about the severity of the situation.

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UK free-range egg rules could be relaxed in line with EU for avian flu outbreaks

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Ministers considering change that would class eggs laid by hens kept in barns for months under restrictions as free range

Free-range egg rules in the UK could be relaxed in response to the European Union preparing to overhaul regulations after the biggest avian flu outbreak on record.

Ministers are understood to be considering a change to the rules that would mean eggs laid by hens kept in barns for months on end could be classed as free range.

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Woman in Wales arrested after death of child, 8, linked to strep A

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Dyfed-Powys police arrested 33-year-old on suspicion of child neglect after sudden death of child in Lampeter

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect in Wales over the death of an eight-year-old linked to the strep A infection.

According to the BBC, a 33-year-old woman was arrested by Dyfed-Powys police on 23 December after the “sudden death” of a child the day before in Lampeter, Ceredigion and has been released as inquiries continue.

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US ‘bomb cyclone’ to cause wet and windy weather in UK, says Met Office

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Storm that sent US temperatures plunging triggers yellow weather warning for heavy rain over Scotland on Friday

The deadly bomb cyclone that has sent temperatures plunging in the US is also causing the UK to experience wet and windy weather, the Met Office has said.

On Wednesday, the forecaster issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain from 3am on Friday for 15 hours for much of Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling. The Met Office said heavy rain could bring some flooding and travel disruption.

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Velvet sofas and opulent curtains: the Sunaks’ makeover of No 10 flat revealed

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PM and Akshata Murty got rid of ‘very tired’ decor largely installed for former chancellor George Osborne

Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, undertook a makeover of the No 10 flat with opulent curtains and velvet sofas in jewel colours at their own expense, according to a new profile of the couple in the society magazine Tatler.

John Challis, the upholsterer behind the transformation, told the magazine that the redesign got rid of the “very tired” decor largely installed for the family of former chancellor George Osborne.

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Civil service union warns of possible strikes by junior doctors and teachers

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General secretary Mark Serwotka predicts ‘coordinated and synchronised’ action from January

The head of the largest civil servants union has warned ministers that “coordinated and synchronised” strike action across the economy will “significantly escalate” from January.

Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), was speaking as his members employed in passport control for Border Force set up picket lines at Britain’s largest airports on Wednesday, in a four-day strike set to continue until New Year’s Eve.

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Bank branches ‘still vital’ as squeezed UK households seek cash and advice

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Quarter of consumers more likely to visit branches amid struggles with surging energy, food and housing costs, finds KPMG survey

Cost of living pressures have increased the number of customers relying on bank branches to help manage their squeezed budgets, research shows.

While the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online-only banking, particularly during lockdowns, research from the accountancy firm KPMG showed a quarter of UK consumers were more likely to visit bank branches now that households were grappling with surging energy, food and housing costs.

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NHS on track to eliminate hepatitis C five years ahead of global targets

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England to become first country to eliminate virus thanks to targeted screening campaigns and effective treatments

The NHS is set to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 due to targeted screening campaigns for those at risk and effective drug treatments, according to health officials. NHS England said the measures are helping to dramatically cut deaths from the virus five years ahead of global targets.

Deaths from hepatitis C – including liver disease and cancer – have fallen by 35% since NHS England struck a five-year deal worth almost £1bn to buy antiviral drugs for thousands of patients in 2018.

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Labour reaffirms pledge to fight structural racism amid disparity figures

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Exclusive: ONS analysis shows black households five times more likely to struggle to pay energy bills

Labour has reaffirmed its commitment to tackle structural racism after new analysis showed black households are five times more likely to struggle making energy bills repayments.

Black and minority ethnic people were already 2.5 times more likely to be in relative poverty, and 2.2 times more likely to live in deep poverty (defined as having an income more than 50% below the relative poverty line), than their white counterparts regardless of the energy crisis, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

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UK wildlife ‘devastated by litany of weather extremes’ in 2022

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National Trust’s annual audit reveals a dire year for animals from toads and bats to birds and butterflies

This year’s tumultuous weather – including fierce storms, searing heat, deep cold snaps – has devastated some of the UK’s most precious flora and fauna, a leading conservation charity has said.

The extreme conditions have made survival very difficult for animals from toads and bats to birds and butterflies, and from great trees to meadowland flowers.

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£1.1bn in fees, 3.1m hours, 14 years: the UK cost of winding up Lehman Brothers

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PwC, administrator of Lehman’s London arm since bank’s failure in 2008, secures three more years to finish process

Administrators will spend at least three more years winding up the London-based arm of Lehman Brothers, swelling the almost £1.1bn in fees that PwC has already raked in since the bank’s calamitous collapse in 2008.

PwC has secured court approval to extend the administration process for the investment bank’s European hub to 2025, given the “complexity of unwinding the group’s affairs” after one of the biggest corporate failures in history.

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£1.4bn devolution deal for north-east England announced

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Plan will bring Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Sunderland, Newcastle, South Tyneside and North Tyneside under control of one mayor

A £1.4bn devolution deal for the north-east of England would bring seven local authority areas under the control of an elected mayor in 2024, Michael Gove has announced.

The levelling-up secretary set out the £48m-a-year deal for Northumberland, Durham, Newcastle, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland on Wednesday after months of negotiations over the new devolved area covering 2 million people.

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‘Go for it now’: 74-year-old graduates with merit after once failing 11-plus

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John Wilsher admits there were hurdles to overcome, but hopes his story will inspire others to get back into education

“Time goes quickly” according to septuagenarian John Wilsher who failed his 11-plus, but now at 74 has graduated from university with merit, and is encouraging others to seize the chance to follow their passions.

His return to higher education however was not without its setbacks. It wasn’t easy, Wilsher told PA news, concerned about taking exams for the first time in 35 years and aware his memory was not as sharp as it once was.

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Elle Edwards: Public urged to speak up or be ‘complicit’ in fatal shooting

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Council leader asks people to ‘do the right thing’ as Merseyside force investigates attack of Christmas Eve

People have been told they will be complicit in the “horrendous and abhorrent” killing of Elle Edwards if they fail to share what they know about the deadly shooting on Christmas Eve.

Edwards, 26, was celebrating with friends at a pub in Wallasey village, Merseyside, when a gunman opened fire just before midnight on Saturday.

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Man dies after Boxing Day stabbing at Birmingham nightclub

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Police launch murder inquiry after 23-year-old man was stabbed at Crane nightclub in Digbeth

Police have launched a murder investigation after a 23-year-old man was stabbed on the dancefloor of a nightclub in Birmingham on Boxing Day.

West Midlands police said they were called to Crane nightclub in Digbeth just before 11.45pm on Monday after reports that a man had been stabbed. Despite efforts to save him, the man was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.

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Chuka Umunna advises Czech tycoon accused of Royal Mail plot

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Ex-Labour MP and former critic of privatisation risks claims of hypocrisy over advisory role with Daniel Křetínský

The MP turned banker, Chuka Umunna, is advising a Czech tycoon who was accused of planning a secret takeover of Royal Mail by union leaders.

The former Labour MP is one of a team of bankers working on Daniel Křetínský’s British business interests, many of which are held within Vesa Equity Investment, including a 23% stake in Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS).

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Jamie Oliver calls for expansion of free school meals in England

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Tory ex-chancellor George Osborne also suggests free meals for ‘larger group of the population is the right way forward’

Jamie Oliver has renewed pressure on the government to expand free school meals, with George Osborne suggesting widening the programme could be the right way forward and Tony Blair saying the money could be found if politicians wanted to do it.

The television chef highlighted the issue as he was guest-editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday as part of his long-term campaign on free school meals.

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Melanie C cancels Poland concert over ‘issues brought to my attention’

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LGBTQ+ rights groups praise ex-Spice Girl for pulling out of New Year’s Eve appearance on state broadcaster

The former Spice Girl Melanie C says she has cancelled a performance in Poland on New Year’s Eve after being made aware of issues “that do not align with the communities I support”.

She did not elaborate but was praised by allies of the LGBTQ+ community.

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