News – World and UK

Police Scotland have lost more than one million days to staff absence in the past four years, figures show. Since 2020, 1,020,930 working days have been lost by staff absence, with each full year between April 2020 and April this year showing at least 200,000 days lost. Of those lost days, 239,507 were as a result of “psychological disorders”, according to the figures released by Police Scotland to the Scottish […]

The UK economy is set to grow slower than previously expected over the next two years amid cautious consumer spending, according to new forecasts by economists. EY Item Club’s latest quarterly economic forecast also suggested that caution by Bank of England rate-setters not to cut interest rates too quickly will contribute to “steady rather than rapid” growth. It represents a potential blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves days ahead of the […]

The majority of Year 10 pupils did not do any work experience last year, a report has suggested. There is a wide gap between the proportion of teenagers doing work experience in the south of England and in other regions, according to the school support organisation The Key Group. Some secondary schools reported that they can no longer afford to run placements, while others said it had become harder to […]

The ban is set to come into force on 1st June 2025 The sale of disposable vapes will be banned by next summer, the Government has said. New legislation to ban the sale of single-use vapes from June 1, 2025 has been laid out in Parliament, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed on Wednesday. It added that businesses will have until the deadline “to sell any remaining stock they hold […]

Rachel Reeves has promised her first Budget will be an economic “reset” for the UK. The Chancellor said her statement on October 30 will invest in the “foundations of future growth”. Ms Reeves was speaking before talks with finance ministers from around the world in Washington DC at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting. She said: “A Britain built on the rock of economic stability is a Britain that is a […]

Venom: The Last Dance star Tom Hardy has said he is “very proud” of director Kelly Marcel who he has been friends with for “decades”. Speaking at the film’s premiere in London on Wednesday, Hardy told the PA news agency he was “loving every moment” and said the film is “monumentally brilliant”. The film, which will be released in the UK on Friday, will see the 47-year-old return to play […]

Geoff Capes, twice the world’s strongest man and a three-time Olympian, has died aged 75, British Athletics has announced. The Lincolnshire-born athlete won Commonwealth shot put gold in 1974 and 1978 and was crowned World’s Strongest Man in 1983 and 1985. He set the British record with a 21.68m throw in 1980, which remains the best ever ratified, and also enjoyed success at the European indoor athletics championships the decade […]

Police investigating the deaths of three people at a care home in Swanage are pursuing potential carbon monoxide poisoning as their “primary line of inquiry”. Dorset Police Chief Superintendent Heather Dixey told the press that seven people were also in hospital as a result of the incident at Gainsborough Care Home in Ulwell Road on Wednesday. However, she said there was “nothing to indicate” danger to the wider community. “The […]

Households in England dumped 5.6 million tonnes of packaging last year, according to an analysis by councils as they called for changes to Government waste reforms. Findings from the study – commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA), County Councils Network (CCN) and District Councils Network (DCN) – prompted calls for ministers to ensure that upcoming reforms focus on making recycling easier and reducing unnecessary waste created in the first […]