New national guidance includes measures to support and retain staff and ‘break the stigma’ of menopause
Menopausal women working in NHS England will be able to work flexibly should they need to under new guidance.
Launching the first-ever national NHS guidance on menopause, the NHS England chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, has called on other employers to follow suit to help “break the stigma”.
Continue reading...Party leader is reluctant to hint he will allow thousands into UK but wants to avoid upsetting his pro-migration MPs
In his speech to a hall packed with business leaders, Keir Starmer came with the message that Labour had changed, hoping to sweep away the years of antipathy between his party under its previous leadership and growth-hungry executives.
But another change in position was clear to see: on immigration, Starmer held up the recruitment of overseas workers as a sticking plaster solution to the problem of significant worker shortages in the UK.
Continue reading...Eric Pickles says former health secretary did not consult Acoba before appearing on reality TV show
Matt Hancock breached the government’s business appointment rules by not consulting the watchdog before appearing on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, the chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) has said.
In a letter to the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, Eric Pickles wrote: “I am writing to you in my capacity as chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to bring to your attention a breach of the government’s business appointment rules.
Continue reading...Exclusive: senior staff submit multiple complaints about deputy PM’s first stint at justice ministry
Dominic Raab is facing multiple formal complaints from Ministry of Justice (MoJ) civil servants over allegations of bullying behaviour during his previous stint running the department, the Guardian has been told.
The justice secretary has vowed to “thoroughly rebut and refute” the two official complaints he is already facing, one from the MoJ and one from his time as foreign secretary, but further formal allegations will be a blow to his attempts to clear his name.
Continue reading...Tribunal hears there were grounds to suspect the then 15-year-old had been groomed as a child bride
Police should have helped Shamima Begum return to Britain after she joined Islamic State in Syria because there were grounds to suspect she had been groomed as a child bride, a court has heard.
Samantha Knights KC told a tribunal that the police had an obligation to investigate whether Begum, who was 15 when she left the UK, was a victim of human trafficking, and then help her return if she was.
Continue reading...Rochdale Boroughwide Housing says ‘we got that wrong’ after two-year-old killed by exposure to mould
The landlord of the flat lived in by a two-year-old boy who died because of long-term exposure to mould has admitted it made false assumptions about his family’s lifestyle when they raised complaints.
Awaab Ishak’s parents, who originally came from Sudan, last week accused Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) of racism over its handling of the damp and fungus they faced. The landlord failed to fix the mould or improve ventilation despite complaints and had suggested issues such as bathing habits and cooking techniques might be a cause when they were not.
Continue reading...Tory government eager to focus on trade rather than Cyril Ramaphosa’s refusal to put sanctions on Russia
The South African president has started a two-day state visit to the UK, the first since King Charles took the throne, with the Conservative government eager to focus on trade rather than challenge South Africa’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s trip has been much delayed due to Covid and only by chance became the first state visit of the king’s reign.
Continue reading...Independent assessor deeply critical of proposals to discard up to 4,000 pieces of EU-derived legislation
The plans for discarding EU-derived laws following Brexit have been called “not fit for purpose” by the government’s own independent assessor.
Under new legislation that was the brainchild of the former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, thousands of laws copied from the EU to Britain’s statute book will be “sunsetted” by the end of next year if they are not each signed off by ministers to be kept.
Continue reading...Latest updates: Labour’s Keir Starmer is speaking to the CBI
Starmer says Britain is trapped in a “vicious cycle of stagnation”.
The UK has had the worst record for growth in centuries, he says. He says a new model is needed. And this should be a turning point.
They put our public finances in a perilous position, wasted the chance to transform our potential in an era of low interest rates, and created an economy with weak foundations.
But the war didn’t ban onshore wind. The war didn’t scrap home insulation. And the war didn’t stall British nuclear energy.
Continue reading...Finlay Fisher, who has cerebral palsy, thanks England footballer for keeping promise to celebrate goal with special dance
A young football fan with cerebral palsy said seeing Jack Grealish perform their special goal celebration was “a dream come true” – and urged the England star to do “the Finlay” each time he scores.
Grealish had promised Finlay Fisher he would perform the shoulder waggle celebration after the 12-year-old wrote to him upon learning that the player’s sister Holly also has cerebral palsy. True to his word, the Manchester City forward pulled out the dance after scoring the sixth goal in England’s 6-2 win against Iran at the World Cup in Qatar on Monday.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 staff who deliver money to firms such as Barclays, Asda and Tesco to take action
More than 1,000 security workers who deliver cash and coins to some of the UK’s biggest banks and supermarkets have voted to strike in December, raising the prospect of potential cash shortages in the run-up to Christmas.
The 48-hour strike by 1,156 members of the GMB union who work for the security company G4S is due to take place from 3am on 5 December, after a 97% vote in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay. However, only 665 workers voted in the ballot, a turnout of 58%.
Continue reading...Online electrical store is cutting costs but faces ‘tough environment’ and supply chain problems
The online electrical goods retailer AO World has reported bigger half year losses as it has been hammered by the cost of living crisis and supply chain problems.
AO, which sells kitchen appliances, mobile phones and laptops for home delivery, warned of tough times ahead, but raised its full-year earnings guidance after closing loss-making divisions and its German business. This drove its shares 15% higher, but they are down more than 40% so far this year.
Continue reading...Most countries’ forecasts cut as Ukraine war prompts ‘largest energy crisis since the 1970s’
The UK will be the second weakest performer of the world’s big economies next year as the global economy continues to suffer the knock-on effects of the biggest energy shock in four decades, a leading international institution has warned.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said only Russia of the members of the G20 group of leading developed and developing nations would suffer a bigger contraction than Britain in 2023.
Continue reading...Apparent vacating of Home Office site follows series of concerns including over outbreak of diphtheria
Manston asylum centre, the troubled Home Office site in Kent where people arriving in the UK in small boats are taken for initial checks, is understood to be completely empty, the Guardian has learned.
Just a few weeks ago about 4,000 arrivals were placed there by the Home Office, almost three times the maximum 1,600 capacity of the tented site in Ramsgate.
Continue reading...Indigenous people in Sweden are battling UK firm over plans for iron-ore mine on reindeer-herding lands
The charity founded in Greta Thunberg’s name has donated £158,000 to cover the legal costs of Indigenous people in Sweden’s Arctic north as they battle a British mining company over plans for an iron-ore mine on reindeer-herding lands.
Beowulf Mining, which has its headquarters in the City of London, was given approval in March by the Swedish government for excavation on an area used by the Sami community.
Continue reading...Prime minister stresses ‘enormous benefits and opportunities’ of Brexit before business leaders
Rishi Sunak has laid down a red line for any new attempts to improve post-Brexit trade with the EU and managed to quell a rebellion among furious Tories – but kept open the possibility of closer ties with Brussels.
The prime minister dismissed suggestions the UK could pursue a Swiss-style relationship with the bloc, while a senior business leader called the row a “sideshow” and No 10 sources pointed the finger of blame at the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.
Continue reading...New Earth Theatre said ‘damaging tropes, misogyny and racism’ in show contradict its values
A touring theatre company has pulled a play from the Sheffield Crucible because of the venue’s decision to also stage Miss Saigon, a musical often criticised for its portrayal of the Vietnam war and Vietnamese people.
In a statement, New Earth Theatre, a company of British east and south-east Asian (BESEA) artists and co-producers Storyhouse said: “Miss Saigon remains a very contentious musical since its release over 30 years ago … The damaging tropes, misogyny and racism inherent in the show completely contradict [our] values and beliefs.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Source says MoJ permanent secretary made move to prevent incident from escalating into formal complaint
Dominic Raab behaved so badly in a meeting with the Home Office during his first stint as justice secretary that his department’s top official had to personally apologise to counterparts afterwards, the Guardian has been told.
Whitehall sources said the deputy prime minister, who is facing two official complaints over alleged bullying, had acted “so badly and inappropriately” at a high-level meeting earlier this year that the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was forced to call senior officials of the then home secretary, Priti Patel, to express regret.
Continue reading...Housing secretary says landlords have been ‘defensive’ over dangerous conditions, after death of Awaab Ishak
Michael Gove has accused social landlords of “complacency” and putting bureaucracy above tenants, as he stepped up his demands for higher standards after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from long-term exposure to mould.
The housing secretary told MPs too many landlords had shown “defensive behaviour” when receiving complaints about squalor, but also admitted the extent of dangerous conditions was so great that more funding may be needed fix the problem – potentially setting up a clash with the chancellor.
He and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, have commissioned a review of council tax, which he described as the “second-most unpopular tax in the country”. He promised more detail in the new year.
The government’s target to end rough sleeping is in doubt, with Gove describing it as “a big worry”.
Families hosting refugees from Ukraine will hear within weeks whether they will get continuing payments.
Disabled people in high-rise buildings should have personal evacuation plans, as recommended by the Grenfell Tower public inquiry, despite the Home Office rejecting the call.
Continue reading...Campaigners say poorest people will suffer most as NHS is ‘neglected and private practice becomes the norm’
Rishi Sunak is registered with a private GP practice that guarantees that all patients with urgent concerns about their health will be seen “on the day”.
The west London clinic used by the prime minister charges £250 for a half-hour consultation and, unlike most NHS GPs across the country, offers appointments in the evenings and at weekends, as well as consultations by email or phone that cost up to £150.
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