Category Archives: England

Medically fit patients waiting months to be discharged from England’s hospitals

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Charities say social care crisis is ‘crippling patient flow’ in hospitals and has created a ‘miserable situation’

Patients are waiting up to nine months to be discharged from NHS hospitals in England despite being medically fit to leave, according to “shocking” figures that will pile pressure on ministers to tackle the social care crisis.

Health experts say the incredibly long-delayed discharges are yet more evidence of the impact of the shortage of social care beds and provisions to get patients home safely.

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Gypsies and Travellers fear missing out on energy bills support

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Government urged to ensure thousands living in park homes in Great Britain receive £400 payments

Gypsy and Traveller groups are calling on the government to ensure thousands of households living in park homes are not excluded from its energy bills support scheme this winter as bills soar.

The scheme will pay out a total of £400 to all households in Great Britain with a domestic electricity connection between October and March, with monthly payments administered by their energy supplier.

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All of south-west of England in drought, says Environment Agency

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Announcement means 11 of agency’s 14 areas in England now in drought status after record dry spell

All of south-west England is in drought after some of the driest conditions in nearly 90 years, the Environment Agency has said.

The Wessex area – which includes Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, south Gloucestershire and parts of Wiltshire – has been declared in drought status.

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‘Campaigning to keep the lights on’: the desperate plight of England’s schools and universities

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Despite their costs going ‘through the roof’, education leaders fear they will be a low priority for the next occupant of No 10

Education leaders in England fear one thing: that schools, colleges and universities will be hammered by the cost of living crisis but will not be enough of a priority to get the help they need from government. And they see little hope from a change in leadership at No 10.

“Our costs are going through the roof, our staff badly need pay rises and are going to strike, our students are suffering, but our income is stuck,” said one vice-chancellor, echoing their peers in schools and colleges around the country.

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Revealed: black and Asian people wait longer for cancer diagnosis in England than white people

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Exclusive: Analysis of 126,000 cases over a decade shows ‘deeply worrying’ racial disparities in NHS wait times

Black and Asian people in England have to wait longer for a cancer diagnosis than white people, with some forced to wait an extra six weeks, according to a “disturbing” analysis of NHS waiting times.

A damning review of the world’s largest primary care database by the University of Exeter and the Guardian discovered minority ethnic patients wait longer than white patients in six of seven cancers studied. Race and health leaders have called the results “deeply concerning” and “absolutely unacceptable”.

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Dominic Raab made Parole Board’s ‘difficult job next to impossible’

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Justice secretary criticised by senior officials after board is ‘last to hear’ about important policy changes

Dominic Raab was accused by a senior Parole Board official of making a “difficult job next to impossible” after making big policy changes without notice, newly uncovered documents show.

Members of the Parole Board also said the justice secretary would have to increase the number of prison places by 800 every year if he was to force through major changes.

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IOPC rules out inquiry into armed police stop of Ricardo dos Santos

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Watchdog refers case back to Met police for its own investigation over sprinter’s claims of aggression and racism

The police watchdog has ruled out an investigation into the Metropolitan police’s treatment of an athlete who was pulled over in his car by seven armed officers.

Ricardo dos Santos, a Portuguese sprinter based in London, released a video of the incident in central London that took place earlier this month.

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GCSE results expected to confirm widening of north-south attainment gap

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Tory leadership candidates called on to commit to fixing growing regional disparities in education

This year’s GCSE results for England and Wales are expected to confirm a widening north-south education gap, prompting a prediction that the government will miss one of its key levelling-up targets if it continues to hold back pupils in the north of England.

A coalition of school leaders, charities and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership has written to the Conservative leadership candidates urging them to commit to fixing growing regional disparities in education.

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Sewage monitors faulty at seaside spots in England and Wales, data shows

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Environment Agency figures indicate people could be swimming in human waste this summer without warning

Sewage monitors at some popular seaside destinations in England and Wales are faulty or not installed, Environment Agency data has revealed, meaning people could be swimming in human waste this summer without realising.

Seaside holidays this year have been marred by water companies pumping raw sewage into the ocean, with popular beaches in areas including Sussex and Devon having to close.

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Bonuses for water bosses in England up 20% last year despite sewage failures

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Water company executives received on average £100,000 in bonuses, despite most firms missing targets

The annual bonuses paid to water company executives rose by 20% in 2021, despite most of the firms failing to meet sewage pollution targets.

Figures show on average executives received £100,000 in one-off payments on top of their salaries, during a period in which foul water was being pumped for 2.7m hours into England’s rivers and swimming spots.

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UK weather: extreme heat warning in place for England and Wales as near 500% increase in wildfires reported – as it happened

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This live blog has now closed.

London Fire Brigade has called on people to avoid barbecues during the extreme weather, following a grass fire in Hayes, west London, yesterday.

It tweeted:

Firefighters tackled another grass fire in #Hayes which damaged around 400sqm of grass and shrubland, along with some boundary fencing, a chicken coop & a shed.

Remember - don’t barbecue in parks, dispose of cigarettes properly & clear away rubbish & glass.

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Environment Agency pension fund criticised for owning stakes in UK water firms

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Campaigner Feargal Sharkey says profiteering from firms that dump raw sewage into rivers an ‘obscenity’

The Environment Agency’s pension fund owns stakes in a string of British water firms – despite the watchdog calling for industry bosses to be jailed over shocking pollution levels, the Guardian can reveal.

An analysis of the Environment Agency Pension Fund’s investments shows it holds shares or bonds worth £28m in six of the largest water companies.

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National Trust tells of bats in distress and water features drying up in heat

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Charity says extreme conditions a ‘watershed moment’ and it is planning for long-term hot weather

The National Trust has reported significant effects across its estate from the recent extreme heat including bats in distress, heather struggling to flower and historic water features drying up.

At Wallington in Northumberland, bats were found disoriented and dehydrated in the daylight during the hottest days this summer, while in Cambridgeshire, a waterwheel that powers a flour mill has had to stop turning due to low river levels.

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Universities will adjust to lower exam results in England, says minister

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Government seeks to reassure pupils taking GCSEs and A-levels after sharp rises in grades during pandemic

The government has sought to allay pupils’ fears over GCSE and A-level results, which are expected to be lower in England this summer after two years of record increases, reassuring them that universities will “adjust accordingly”.

The schools minister Will Quince said it was important to “move back to a position where qualifications maintain their value” and reassured students that grades will still be higher than in 2019, before the pandemic.

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No 46 to Le Manoir: Raymond Blanc funds local bus service to restaurant

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Hourly bus serves local villages and brings staff – and sometimes customers – to Michelin-starred restaurant

With rural buses in long-term decline and a funding crisis putting more routes in peril, a surprising service has appeared on the English transport menu: the No 46 bus to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

Raymond Blanc’s celebrated restaurant and hotel in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside may not appear classic bus territory. The Michelin-starred establishment’s seven-course dinner with matching wines starts at £350 a head, rising to just over £1,000 if you want to drink the good stuff.

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New arrival to UK among four victims of Oldham mill fire

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Police name four Vietnamese nationals who died in Greater Manchester in May

A 21-year-old man who arrived in Britain only eight months ago is believed to be among four Vietnamese nationals who died in a mill fire in Greater Manchester in May.

Greater Manchester police (GMP) have released the identities of the four men for the first time after the remains of three victims were recovered from the building in Oldham.

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Women’s Euros final set for a female flypast and a full house at Wembley

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Famous fans get behind England for a gripping contest against Germany that is expected to set records

An all-female RAF flypast will grace the skies above Wembley on Sunday in celebration of a women’s football team that this weekend received good-luck messages from the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and the royal family before the Women’s Euro 2022 final against Germany.

“Your passion for the game, your tenacity in tricky spots and above all your astounding talent on the pitch have already created a summer of fantastic memories for millions of us,” Boris Johnson wrote in a letter to the England team.

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Medieval pendant with Three Lions unveiled ahead of women’s football final

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Detectorists uncover 12th century horse harness pendant with England’s heraldic emblem

Football may or may not be coming home to England in Sunday’s Euros 22 final at Wembley, but a new archaeological discovery illustrates quite how long the Three Lions have been cherished in the team’s home country.

A tiny medieval pendant, made from copper alloy and featuring the famous heraldic emblem, has come to light after being found late last year by metal detectorists in Wormleighton, Warwickshire. Dating from the 12th century, the pendant was designed to hang from a horse harness, its motif picked out in red enamel and gold.

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‘Alarming’ rise in children trying to lose weight in England, say experts

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Research suggests one in four children are on diets, including one in seven who are considered a healthy weight

One in four children in England are on diets, research suggests, with the proportion who are considered healthy but trying to lose weight almost tripling.

Britain is engulfed in a child obesity crisis, with one in four 10- and 11-year-olds officially obese.

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Barristers in England and Wales stage first five-day strike over legal aid funding

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Members of Criminal Bar Association take fight for a 25% rise in legal aid fees to parliament

Barristers are heading to parliament as they begin their first whole week of strike action over levels of legal aid funding they say are bringing the criminal justice system to its knees.

Members of the Criminal Bar Association, which represents advocates in England and Wales, began action with a two-day strike at the end of last month and have been escalating it by an extra day every week.

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