South East Coast service stops providing onsite paramedic at airport to focus on 999 response
An NHS ambulance service is cutting back its presence at Gatwick airport and major sports events so it has more crews available to answer 999 calls, amid unprecedented pressures.
The South East Coast ambulance service (Secamb) has ended a longstanding arrangement under which Gatwick paid it to have an ambulance car and paramedic on site.
Continue reading...Prime minister ridiculed over apparent location confusion in since-deleted tweet
Boris Johnson is facing ridicule after he appeared confused about the location of his campaign activity in north-east England.
In a since-deleted tweet, the prime minister called for his followers to vote Conservative in Thursday’s local elections and stated that he was in Teesside where the Conservatives are “delivering a massive programme of investment as part of our plan to level up the whole of the UK”.
Continue reading...Dozens of seats going uncontested as candidates step down due to ‘truly toxic’ environment
More must be done to protect councillors from abuse, according to local government bodies, as those on the frontline of local democracy describe a “truly toxic” political environment where online aggression spills over into real-life behaviour.
Candidates for council elections on Thursday across the UK have shared their experiences of escalating hostility as the chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), councillorJames Jamieson, warned that “an increasing number … are being subjected to abuse, threats and intimidation both online and in-person, undermining the principles of free speech, democratic engagement and debate”.
Continue reading...Liberal Democrats condemn ‘environment scandal’ as party releases figures compiled from Environment Agency data
Untreated sewage was discharged into England’s coastal bathing waters for more than 160,000 hours last year, according to figures collated by the Liberal Democrats to mark the start of the summer sea-swimming season.
Data compiled by the party using Environment Agency figures on 2021 discharges shows that water companies released raw sewage 25,000 times into designated bathing waters off the English coast.
Continue reading...Experts call on ministers to tackle chronic staff shortages, with delays worsened by pandemic
Tens of thousands of patients are still waiting to start cancer treatment in England due to disruption during the pandemic, according to NHS figures, as medical charities called on the government to tackle chronic staff shortages in the health service.
Following a dramatic slump in cancer referrals in 2020, the number of people being investigated for the disease bounced back in the past year, data from NHS England and NHS Improvement show, rising from 2.4 million to a record 2.66 million.
Continue reading...Anne Longfield says ‘exclusions culture’ rewards removal of some vulnerable children from school roll
Primary schools should no longer permanently exclude pupils, and measures of wellbeing should be included alongside exam results in school league tables, according to a report by the former children’s commissioner for England.
The Commission on Young Lives, headed by Anne Longfield, argues that exclusions can be highly damaging to those affected, putting young people at risk of exploitation, serious violence and criminal activity.
Continue reading...Dan Ozarow felt terrorised by abuse of him and his family after negative campaigning in Hertfordshire
Conservative councillors in Oliver Dowden’s constituency have been disciplined for a “hate” campaign against a Jewish Labour candidate, according to an independent investigation commissioned by Tory HQ.
The report found the behaviour of five Hertsmere Tory councillors “may well have encouraged” antisemitic abuse of Labour’s Dan Ozarow, as well as multiple breaches of the party’s code of conduct.
Continue reading...Experts site Scottish example, with turbines along roads and rail lines, as a way to make better use of ‘cheap, clean’ energy source
Onshore windfarms need not blight the most beautiful parts of England because there is plenty of room for them next to rail lines and on brownfield land, leading scientists have said.
The government decided to keep the curbs on onshore wind, introduced by David Cameron, in the recent energy strategy. This means that it will be difficult to expand onshore wind in England.
Continue reading...Byelection triggered in Wakefield as MP expelled from Tory party says he is withdrawing from political life
Imran Ahmad Khan, the disgraced MP expelled from the Conservative party after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy, has announced he will resign, triggering a byelection in the Yorkshire seat of Wakefield.
Although Khan is appealing against Monday’s conviction, he admitted in a statement that the legal proceedings would last “many more months” and leave his constituents without proper political representation.
Continue reading...Serious health and safety risks costing NHS £340m a year, public accounts committee report finds
More than one in eight privately rented homes in England pose a serious threat to people’s health and safety, costing the NHS about £340m a year, according to a report from a committee of MPs.
It also uncovered evidence of unlawful discrimination, with an estimated one in four landlords unwilling to let to non-British passport holders.
Continue reading...Just Stop Oil says action will affect fuel availability at petrol pumps across south-east and Midlands
Clean energy campaigners claim to have disrupted supplies from three oil terminals in the Midlands and south-east of England, as motorists complain that some petrol stations are running short of fuel.
The government said only one terminal was out of action on Sunday afternoon as a result of the Just Stop Oil protests, and that local police forces were working with the industry to ensure that fuel supplies can be maintained.
Continue reading...High rates of staff absences due to Covid and fallout from P&O Ferries scandal contribute to disruption over busy spring break
Holidaymakers looking to get away for Easter are facing major disruption to travel, as airlines cancel more than 100 flights a day because of staff shortages and ferry operators struggle to meet demand following the suspension of P&O Ferries services.
The rise in passenger numbers over the spring break has coincided with high rates of staff absences due to the latest wave of Covid infections.
Continue reading...William Renny, Callum Lewis and Evan Lorne pleaded guilty to public order offences at December hunt in Lacock
Three hunt supporters have been fined for public order offences after admitting clashing with saboteurs at a post-Christmas meet in Wiltshire.
William Renny, 30, Callum Lewis, 26, and Evan Lorne, 18, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause unlawful violence.
Continue reading...Gardeners warned of frost damage to blooms on Saturday night ahead of a week of unsettled weather
The UK is braced for more wintry weather across the weekend with frost creeping in overnight and temperatures set to plummet as low as minus 6C in some areas.
Forecasters said the “peaks and troughs” of spring will hit most of the country over the next week, with sunny spells and windy intervals expected in most regions.
Continue reading...Nice says wearable tech reduces need for finger-prick testing by up to 50%
Hundreds of thousands of people with type 1 diabetes in England are to be offered a hi-tech skin sensor to monitor their blood sugar levels in seconds.
The device, the size of a £2 coin, sits on a patient’s arm and constantly checks their glucose levels. It comes with an app that tells them whethertheir blood sugar levels are at an appropriate level.
Continue reading...From 1 April most people will have pay for a test even if they have symptoms, ministers confirm
Free Covid testing will end for most people in England from Friday, ministers have confirmed, meaning most people who want to know if they are infected will have to pay for a test, whether they have symptoms or not.
Details of the new testing regime, released in a written ministerial statement on Tuesday, reveal that from 1 April, free symptomatic testing will be available only to hospital patients when it is required for their care and to people living or working in “high-risk settings”, such as care homes and prisons.
Continue reading...Colonies mix annually at Winspit caves near Swanage, a hibernation site for rare greater horseshoe bats
Three sea caves hewn into the rocky coastline of Dorset that are the bat equivalent of a speed-dating site, attracting crowds of the flying mammals from as far as 40 miles away, have been acquired by the National Trust.
The bats gather at Winspit caves near Swanage in the late summer and early autumn, dart around the cliffs and, if all goes well, find a mate from a different colony.
Continue reading...A cold front will push down from the north in midweek and temperatures will plummet, Met Office says
Snow could fall in parts of the UK this week, with temperatures set to plummet over the coming days, forecasters say.
The Met Office said the country would see colder, cloudier and more unsettled weather from Monday, with the risk of wintry weather in the middle of the week.
Continue reading...Boat dwellers stage demonstration about new moves by the Canal & River Trust to restrict mooring spaces
Hundreds of boaters converged in west London’s Little Venice area on Saturday to protest about what they say is a “cull” of a traditional way of life along the capital’s waterways.
The boat dwellers staged a demonstration about new moves by the Canal & River Trust (CRT), a charity which manages the waterways in England and Wales, to restrict mooring spaces in some parts of the capital and to issue enforcement notices against some who officials say are mooring their boats in the wrong areas. The CRT began issuing enforcement notices in January of this year.
Continue reading...ONS says one in 11 people in Scotland had coronavirus in week ending 20 March – country’s highest figure since survey began
The number of coronavirus infections across the UK rose by an estimated 1m compared with the previous week, with figures in Scotland at a record high, data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed.
According to the latest information from the ONS, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, an estimated 9% of the population in Scotland had Covid in the week ending 20 March, about one in 11 people. The figure is the highest recorded by the survey since it began looking at the situation in Scotland in October 2020.
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