Category Archives: England

England has ‘twice as many empty homes as families stuck in B&Bs’

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There are 121,327 in short-term housing, while 261,189 homes are empty long-term, say Lib Dems

England has more than twice as many long-term empty homes this Christmas as there are children living in temporary accommodation, the Liberal Democrats have said, calling this a stark indication of a “broken” housing market.

The numbers of families without a permanent home and in short-term housing, whether hotels and B&Bs or temporary rental properties, has hit a record high this year, with the latest statistics showing it now affects 121,327 children, according to data collated by the House of Commons library.

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Police use of belt over Exeter man’s face may have contributed to death, inquest jury finds

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Thomas Orchard died a week after a mental health crisis in which police put an ‘emergency response belt’ over his face

Prolonged use of a heavy webbing belt by police over the face of a vulnerable man during a mental health crisis may have contributed to his death, an inquest jury has concluded.

The way officers used the belt on church caretaker Thomas Orchard would have hampered his ability to breathe and increased his stress levels, the jury said.

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Cancer and maternity patients at risk if junior doctors strike in January, NHS bosses warn

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NHS Employers writes to British Medical Association warning of dangers of proposed six-day stoppage

Patients have been harmed as a result of doctors striking this year, and others needing time-critical treatment will be at risk during next month’s walkout in England, hospital bosses have said.

Cancer patients and women having induced or caesarean section births will be in danger of damage to their health unless junior doctors in those areas of care abandon their plans to strike for six days in January, they said.

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Teenagers guilty of ‘senseless’ murder of transgender girl Brianna Ghey

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Murder-obsessed 16-year-olds convicted of killing girl who was stabbed 28 times in Warrington park

Two 16-year-olds have been found guilty of the “senseless” murder of Brianna Ghey, a “witty, funny and fearless” transgender girl who was stabbed 28 times in a Warrington park this year.

The murder-obsessed teenagers, known as Girl X and Boy Y to protect their identities, were found guilty unanimously by a jury at Manchester crown court on Wednesday after it deliberated for four hours and 40 minutes.

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NHS leader warns junior doctors’ strikes could lead to tipping point

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Matthew Taylor says there is a risk of health service becoming overwhelmed early in new year as pay row continues

Strikes by junior doctors increase the risk that the NHS will become overwhelmed by winter pressures early in the new year, a senior health service leader has warned.

Their walkouts, happening at the same time as hospitals are struggling with the usual surge in cold weather illness, could propel the NHS towards a tipping point, said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation.

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Avanti West Coast cancellations and delays prompt calls for urgent review

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Transport for the North says service is deteriorating fast, with fewer than half of trains running on time

Northern political and transport leaders have called on the UK government to urgently review Avanti West Coast’s operations amid a renewed surge in intercity rail cancellations and delays.

The intervention came as it emerged that morale at the train operating company has plummeted to the point where only 3% of staff say they feel valued, according to an internal Avanti survey seen by the Guardian.

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Michael Gove threatens action against English councils over housing plans

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Housing secretary aims to bring end to delays, as weakening of housing targets is confirmed

Michael Gove will threaten to take action against councils that miss deadlines to submit their housing plans in a speech on Tuesday designed to highlight the government’s commitment to build new homes across England.

The housing secretary will say he will “call out” local authorities that fail to publish their future development plans with a threat to intervene if necessary.

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National Trust archaeologists find medieval ‘gift token’ in Norfolk

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Coin-like lead piece found near Oxburgh Hall thought to have been doled out by ‘boy bishop’ during Christmas period

They are the last resort for the most challenging of recipients, such as moody teenagers or the eccentric uncle you see once a year – but gift tokens also came in handy at Christmas in medieval times.

National Trust archaeologists have discovered a token dating from between 1470 and 1560 that was probably given by the church to poor people to be exchanged for food.

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Cardinal condemns ‘cold–blooded’ killing of two women in Gaza church

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Vincent Nichols says shooting of mother and daughter did nothing to further Israel’s right to defend itself

The shooting of a mother and daughter allegedly by an Israeli military sniper in a church compound in Gaza City was a “cold–blooded killing”, the most senior Catholic cleric in England has said.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster, said the shooting did “nothing to further Israel’s right to defend itself”.

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Alex Batty to return to UK six years after going missing during holiday

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Teenager believed to have been abducted by mother in 2017 was found in France earlier this week

Alex Batty, the British teenager who has been missing for six years, will return to the UK on Saturday afternoon.

The 17-year-old is expected to be reunited with his grandmother, Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, who has not seen her grandson since he disappeared in 2017.

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Primary schools in England close, merge and shrink as pupil numbers fall

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London boroughs among hardest hit due to falling birth rate and family struggles with Covid and rising costs

Primary schools are being closed, merged and shrunk as councils across England respond to falling numbers of pupils due to the falling birth rate as well as family upheaval triggered by rising costs, Brexit and Covid.

London boroughs are among the hardest hit, with thousands of school places being lost, but the closures and cuts extend to other cities and areas as they adjust to fewer children being born or moving into their catchment areas.

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Asylum seekers housed at ex-RAF base tried to kill themselves, finds study

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Report calls for immediate closure of Wethersfield as conditions causing irreparable harm to residents

Asylum seekers housed in the UK’s largest mass accommodation site have attempted to kill themselves and set themselves on fire because of conditions “no different from Libya”, according to a report.

The controversial Wethersfield site, on a remote military airbase near Braintree in Essex, is in the constituency of the home secretary, James Cleverly, who said earlier this year in a social media post that the site was not “appropriate”.

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British boy missing since 2017 Spanish holiday found in France

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Alex Batty was 11 when allegedly abducted by mother and grandfather to give him ‘alternative lifestyle’

A British boy who has not been seen by his legal guardian since he went missing on a family holiday to Spain in 2017 has been found in France.

Alex Batty, from Oldham, was 11 and under the guardianship of his grandmother Susan Caruana when he was allegedly abducted by his mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty.

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Cheshire East council says it faces bankruptcy due to HS2 link cancellation

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Local authority covering some of richest areas in England says it spent £11m preparing for rail line

A council in one of the wealthiest parts of the UK has warned it faces potential bankruptcy due to the “devastating” impact of cancelling the northern leg of HS2.

Leaders of Cheshire East council in north-west England said the authority had spent £11m preparing for the high-speed rail link, and this would now have to be written off. Most of this money – £8.6m – had been funded by borrowing and would now have to be funded from the council’s already stretched revenue budget.

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‘High probability’ missing Gaynor Lord went into river, Norwich police say

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Police working with officers who investigated disappearance of Nicola Bulley in January as search continues

Police have said there is a high probability that Gaynor Lord, who has been missing since last Friday, went into the river in Norwich, as detectives confirmed they are working with officers who investigated Nicola Bulley’s disappearance.

Lord, 55, disappeared after leaving work in Norwich city centre earlier than scheduled on Friday afternoon, and her belongings – including items of clothing, her mobile phone, glasses and jewellery – were found scattered through Wensum Park later that day.

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Sadiq Khan: plans to cut migration will trigger London recruitment crisis

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Exclusive: Key sectors of capital’s economy worth billions to exchequer could be left understaffed, mayor warns

Sadiq Khan has said ministers’ plans to cut legal migration will lead to a “full-blown recruitment crisis” in London, with vacancies in hospitality alone still higher than they were pre-pandemic.

Net migration to the UK boosted the UK population by 672,000 in the year ending June 2023, and about half (48%) of the country’s foreign-born population live in London or the south-east of England.

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Boy accused of killing Brianna Ghey admired ‘craftsmanship’ of knife used

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Murder accused, 16, says he saw co-defendant stab girl and denied he was only one strong enough to cut through victim’s bone

A 16-year-old boy accused of killing Brianna Ghey was a skilled kickboxer who “admired the craftsmanship” of the knife used to stab the transgender teenager, a court has heard.

The boy, known as Y to protect his identity, told a jury that he saw his female co-defendant stab Brianna with his hunting knife in a Warrington park, denying that he was the only one strong enough to cut through her bone. Before killing Brianna, the girl was “giddy”, he claimed.

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Boat-shaped church and radar station among English heritage list newcomers

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Historic England highlights ‘remarkable gems’ among 227 places added to national list in 2023

An intact second world war radar station and a 1960s church that resembles an upturned boat have joined some of England’s grandest buildings on the national heritage list.

Historic England singled out 16 “remarkable historic gems” that had been added to the list or had their entries updated in 2023. They include a 400-year-old structure regarded as England’s earliest known “modern-day car wash”, an unusually long railway footbridge, an iron age cave and a Manchester primary school that still has its flashy art nouveau tiling from more than a century ago.

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Peers call for urgent overhaul of secondary education in England

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Lords report says there is too much learning by rote and many key Tory changes should be reversed

A major parliamentary report has called for an urgent overhaul of secondary education in England that would reverse many of the Conservatives’ key education changes of the past decade.

The House of Lords report says the education system for 11- to 16-year-olds is too focused on academic learning and written exams, resulting in too much learning by rote and not enough opportunity for pupils to pursue creative and technical subjects.

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Risk of dying from cancer in England varies hugely between regions, say scientists

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Researchers say ‘astounding’ inequalities are widest where risk can be cut with lifestyle changes

The risk of dying from cancer in England “varies massively” depending on where a person lives, according to a study that experts say exposes “astounding” health inequalities.

Researchers who analysed data spanning two decades found staggering geographical differences. In the poorest areas, the risk of dying from cancer was more than 70% higher than the wealthiest areas. The findings were published in the Lancet Oncology.

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