Month: January 2025

People should be “protected from the catastrophic costs of upfront care” that see them forced to sell their homes, Wes Streeting has suggested. The Health Secretary was speaking as he announced the first steps towards creating a National Care Service, with an independent commission expected to begin in the spring. The timeline means that proposals for the long-term funding and major reform of social care in England may not be […]

Large parts of the country will face disruption from heavy snow and freezing rain over the weekend after forecasters issued two amber weather warnings. Stranded vehicles on the roads, delayed or cancelled rail and air travel and power cuts are all likely as the UK grapples with a week-long spell of wintry conditions, the Met Office said. There is also a “good chance” that rural communities could be cut off […]

The number of people in hospital with flu in England is rising at a “very concerning rate” and is more than four times the level it was a month ago, according to NHS data. Figures from NHS England show an average of 4,469 flu patients were in beds in England each day last week, including 211 in critical care. This is up 17% from 3,818 the previous week, when 184 were in […]

A “drab” December has capped a disappointing year for retailers and the second in a row of falling shopper numbers, figures show. Even the Golden Quarter, typically the peak of shopping activity ahead of Christmas, provided little relief, with shopper visits down 2.5% over the period on 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic Footfall Monitor. Total UK footfall over the year was down 2.2% on the year before. […]

EasyJet said it has become the world’s first airline to use a lower-weight paint method to reduce its planes’ fuel burn. The carrier is trialling a new approach which cuts the number of paint layers needed to create its orange and white livery. It said the system generates a “relatively modest” weight reduction of 27kg per plane, but it is part of “many incremental steps” to make its aircraft lighter, […]

Long waits for A&E care, ambulances and GP appointments are among the biggest worries that Britons have about the NHS, according to a survey. It comes as more than eight in 10 people said they have concerns about the health service overall, with half not confident that the Government’s plans for the NHS will lead to improvements in the next five years. Only about a quarter of those who responded […]

UK businesses employing staff on minimum wage will see costs jump by more than £2,000 per worker this year – with the tax burden hitting the highest on record, new analysis has shown. An increase to the rate of employer national insurance and a lowering of the threshold at which it is paid will make it more expensive to employ the lowest paid, according to think tank the Centre for […]

Proposals for the long-term funding and major reform of social care in England may not be delivered until 2028, the Government has confirmed. It comes as ministers announced the first steps to creating a National Care Service, with an independent commission expected to begin in spring. The work forms part of a wider package of support for the sector, which includes more funding for elderly and disabled people to make […]

Glastonbury Festival has reported profits more than doubled last year, as the event faces criticism for being too corporate. The festival brought in £5.9 million in pre-tax profit for the year to March 2024, up from £2.9 million the year before, according to accounts filed with Companies House. Glastonbury gave £5.2 million to organisations including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid during the period, continuing its policy of handing most of its […]