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The scheme will give grants of £20,000 or more The Government will go ahead with a £15 million fund to help get surplus food from farms to homeless shelters, food banks and charities. The scheme to be launched in 2025 will give grants of £20,000 or more to the not-for-profit food redistribution sector in England. It continues a pledge by Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak to launch a food […]

Sir Phil Redmond says social media is the “big issue” children are facing nowadays Soap supremo Sir Phil Redmond says that “courage has gone out of broadcasting” in recent years, and suggested that TV watchdog rules should be broken more often. TV writer Sir Phil, who created Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside, pushed for future schools-set soaps to be more gritty, and said social media is the “big issue” children […]

One in three workers plan to find a new job or make a career change in the coming 12 months, new research suggests. A survey of 2,000 workers by flexible jobs site Indeed Flex indicated that only half intended to stay in their current role in 2025, with almost a fifth undecided. Nearly half of younger workers – aged 18 to 24 – are planning to switch jobs, compared to […]

The teenage actress who became a viral star as the mysterious masked figure scaring children at a botched Willy Wonka event has looked back on her “crazy” year. Felicia Dawkins, 17, captivated the internet as The Unknown, one of many alternative characters – including Oompa Loompas renamed Wonkidoodles – from February’s disastrous Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow. The unlicensed nod to Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory went viral […]

Parents are being urged to ensure seat belt wearing becomes “second nature” for children as figures show 40% of rear seat car passengers killed in crashes are not belted up. Motoring research charity the RAC Foundation made the plea in response to PA news agency analysis of Department for Transport (DfT) statistics. The percentage of car occupants who die in crashes that are unrestrained falls to 23% for drivers and […]

Rachel Reeves will enter 2025 with the economy flatlining, inflation rising and a looming Whitehall spending review which experts warn will be “difficult”. The Chancellor believes the Government has taken tough decisions to get the public finances back on track and the benefits of public investment and planning reform will boost growth. Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said her focus on investment was “commendable” and […]

Some 35 human organs were made available for transplant after being donated over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, new figures have shown. The organs were provided by 11 donors across the UK after their death and included a heart, lungs, kidneys, livers, pancreas and bowel, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said. No details have yet been given on the circumstances of those receiving the transplants. It comes as there are […]

200 years of saving animals in distress A swan crash landing on Leicester's National Space Centre, a cat high up on a viaduct in Huddersfield, a deer wedged in railings in East Grinstead.These are just a few of the RSPCA's top 17 saves of the year, picked out from the million or so calls they get every year.The Society, which relies entirely on donations to keep going, has been celebrating […]

Membership of Reform UK has surpassed that of the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s party has said. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Mr Farage said it was a “historic moment” as he posted on X: “The youngest political party in British politics has just […]