Category Archives: Wales

Storm Bert flooded 500 properties in England and Wales

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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.

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Wales may introduce visitor levy for people staying overnight

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Proposal would give councils option to charge 75p-£1.25 a night to help alleviate pressure on local services

People who stay in Wales overnight, including children, are set to be charged a visitor levy under a scheme that could raise up to £33m a year to be ploughed back into tourism and culture.

All visitors would be charged 75p a night to stay in campsites and hostels and £1.25 for all other accommodation including hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets.

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Storm Bert: roads and trainlines blocked with reports of lack of warning for communities – live updates

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Natural Resources Wales to investigate whether sufficient warnings of Storm Bert and the flooding it caused were given to people in advance

Northamptonshire Police have warned people in the area “while the flooding remains ongoing, please avoid all unnecessary travel and do not drive through floodwater of any depth – it is not worth the risk.”

In Yate in the west of England, BBC Bristol reports that about 100 properties were flooded overnight, and residents had to be evacuated.

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Storm Bert: forecasterse and politicians criticised after devastating floods

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Critics claim warnings and defences were inadequate but Met Office says storm was ‘well forecast’

Weather forecasters and politicians have come in for strong criticism after hundreds of homes and businesses across the UK suffered devastating flooding in Storm Bert but the Met Office has said it issued sufficient warning.

There were growing complaints in south Wales, one of the areas most heavily hit, that the Met Office issued only a yellow warning, rather than an amber or red, and that not enough new defences had been put in place by the Welsh government since storms last wreaked havoc in the area four years ago.

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Several people killed amid ‘unprecedented’ flooding as Storm Bert batters Britain

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Rhondda Cynon Taf declares emergency as at least four deaths reported across England and Wales

Several people have been killed as Storm Bert battered the UK, with a major incident declared in south Wales.

At least four deaths have been reported in England and Wales since the storm hit amid flooding brought by heavy rain and thawing snow. Thousands of homes have been left without power.

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Millions of tourists in UK could be asked to pay local visitor levy

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Councils, politicians and campaigners hope a ‘tourist tax’ would raise money to fund services in areas affected by high visitor numbers

Millions of tourists to the UK could soon be asked to pay a local visitor levy as cash-strapped councils try to raise money to fund services.

Nearly half of Scotland’s local councils are considering a mandatory levy on overnight stays, known as a tourist tax, to help cope with a surge in visitors that has overwhelmed places such as Skye, the Callanish stones on Lewis and Orkney’s neolithic sites.

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Ministers speaking out against assisted dying ‘are giving false impression’, says peer

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Labour’s Charlie Falconer says vocal opponents are leading voters to think government is against change

Senior ministers who have spoken out against assisted dying are giving voters a “false impression” about the government’s position, a leading proponent of changing the law has said.

Charlie Falconer, a Labour peer and former justice secretary, said opponents to the change were “getting more coverage” because ministers in favour of legalising assisted dying were “playing by the rules”.

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Snow closes roads and railway lines as Storm Bert hits UK

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Weather warnings for wind, rain and snow cover much of country, with 16 flood alerts in place

Storm Bert has hit the UK, with snow closing roads and strong rains and winds expected to cause further travel disruption and potential flooding.

Weather warnings and 13 flood alerts have come into effect across much of the country.

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Prison blueprints leak sparks security alert in jails in England and Wales

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Plans are understood to show where cameras and sensors are, triggering fears of weapon smuggling and escapes

Detailed prison blueprints have been leaked, triggering a security alert at jails in England and Wales, it has emerged.

The leak, first reported by the Times, involves prison layouts being shared on the dark web in the last fortnight, prompting an investigation by the National Crime Agency.

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UK weather: Met Office warnings as ‘multi-hazard’ Storm Bert approaches

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Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predicted

Storm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a “multi-hazard event”.

The Met Office has issued several weather warnings – mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland – for Saturday and Sunday.

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Regulator stops customers from being billed for ‘undeserved’ bonuses

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Ofwat uses new powers to ensure investors pay at Thames, Yorkshire, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water

Investors at Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will be forced to pick up the tab for executive bonuses after the regulator determined that the sector had awarded “undeserved” extra payments, worth £6.8m.

Ofwat said on Thursday it had used new powers to ensure that shareholders and bondholders at the three companies paid for bonuses because they had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”.

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UK failing animals with just one welfare inspector for every 878 farms – report

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Only 2.5% of more than 300,000 farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, researchers find

There is just one local authority inspector for every 878 farms in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a report, which says that the current welfare system is continuing to fail animals.

Researchers for the Animal Law Foundation found that only 2.5% of the more than 300,000 UK farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, a marginal decrease from 2018-21 when Covid-19 might be expected to have affected inspection rates.

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Welsh Lib Dems leader under pressure after criticism over C of E abuse case

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Ed Davey says Jane Dodds should reflect on her position after failing to take action over allegations of abuse by late bishop of Chester

Ed Davey has said the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats should reflect on her position because of her failure to take action over an abuse case when she was a manager in the Church of England.

Jane Dodds, who was briefly the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and is now the only Lib Dem member of the Senedd, was criticised in a C of E report about abuse carried out by the late bishop of Chester, Hubert Victor Whitsey.

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Houses in national parks in England and Wales sell for 25% more, study finds

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Nationwide says New Forest is most expensive national park with an average property price of £576,000

Buying a home in a national park comes at a 25% price premium, with the New Forest the most expensive of the 13 parks in England and Wales, according to Britain’s biggest building society.

Nationwide said properties in a national park enjoy a valuation almost £67,000 more than a similar property elsewhere, based on the average UK house price of £266,640.

New Forest – £576,000

South Downs – £400,000

Peak District – £375,000

Yorkshire Dales – £353,000

Lake District – £333,000

Dartmoor – £310,000

Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) – £274,000

Eryri (Snowdonia) – £173,000

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With the Tories beaten, Labour’s next threat comes from even further right

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Reform may well be Labour’s new main opponent, and the next battleground may not be where anyone expected

Two key rules of politics are to always look ahead, and to understand your opponent. And so it is that just months after crushing the Conservatives in a general election, many Labour MPs are bracing for fresh challenges and a new foe – Reform UK.

Nigel Farage’s party is in parliamentary terms a minnow, its five MPs giving it little more than 1% of the Commons strength enjoyed by Keir Starmer. But many within Labour believe that by the time of the next election, things could be very different.

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Many NHS staff would use conscience clause if assisted dying is legalised, say doctors

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Christian and Muslim groups say medics who refuse to help patients die not protected in England and Wales bill

A significant proportion of NHS medical staff are likely to exercise a conscience clause if assisted dying is legalised by parliament.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill stipulates that no doctor would be under any obligation to participate in assisted dying.

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Woman from Wales died after gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey, inquest hears

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Janet Savage went into cardiac arrest after injury to abdominal aorta during operation in August last year

A woman died during an operation after travelling to Turkey for slimming surgery, an inquest heard.

Janet Savage, 54, was undergoing a gastric “stomach sleeve” operation but never came around from the procedure.

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Plans for a new national park in Wales met with opposition from local residents

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A proposal to protect part of rural Wales has sparked a furious debate over who the countryside is for

Plans to create a new Welsh national park stretching from the dunes of north-east Wales to the wild Berwyn mountains and the peaceful, wooded slopes of Lake Vyrnwy further south have captured the imagination of many ramblers, cyclists and other outdoor lovers.

But the Welsh government’s proposals to improve access to nature have been dismissed by an opposition group as creating “a play area for townies”, sparking a furious debate about who the countryside is for.

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British voters do not like Trump ‘because they don’t really know him’, Farage claims – as it happened

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This live blog is closed

Keir Starmer has hosted veterans and charities at Downing Street with defence secretary John Healey in the lead-up to Remembrance Day, PA Media reports. PA says:

The informal reception was held after Starmer pledged £3.5m in support for veterans facing homelessness.

Peter Kent, 99, the oldest veteran at the event, said he was pleased by the increase in funding and described Starmer as a “good guy”.

State visits take a while to organise. So in the next year, I’ve got to tell you, I think that would be a bit of a tall order. But [Trump] was genuine in his respect and his affection for the royal family.

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‘You have to disguise your human form’: how sea eagles are being returned to Severn estuary after 150 years

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Use of bird hand-puppets to rear young among innovative methods unveiled as part of project to restore species

Sea eagles were last seen soaring over the shimmering mud flats and brackish tidal waters of the Severn estuary more than 150 years ago. Now wildlife charities have unveiled innovative plans to bring the raptor back to the estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel between south-west England and south Wales, by 2026.

“Sea eagles used to be common in these regions. But they were wiped out through human persecution,” says Sophie-lee Williams, the founder of Eagle Reintroduction Wales, which is leading the project. “We strongly believe we have a moral duty to restore this lost native species to these landscapes.”

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