Local News

With record numbers of children in England now in insecure temporary housing, the commissioner warns that poor educational prospects could leave a generation of disadvantaged children "trapped" in poverty.The research proves for the first time the negative impact housing insecurity has on educational attainment, showing a direct relationship between the number of times a child moves home and declining GCSE pass rates.Each additional address move was linked to a fall […]

The King has cancelled engagements on Friday due to "temporary side effects" from his cancer treatment.Buckingham Palace said after "scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer" on Thursday morning, the King "experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital". "His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed," the statement added. Image: The King and Queen in Belfast last week. Pic: PA The palace said the 76-year-old […]

A 60-year-old woman has been charged by police investigating the alleged stalking of Madeleine McCann's family.Karen Spragg, of Caerau, Cardiff, has been charged with one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress, Leicestershire Police said.The incident is alleged to have taken place between 3 May 2024 and 21 February this year.She is due to appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Friday.Julia Wandel, 23, of Lubin, Poland, is also due […]

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a motorist was struck by another driver.Police said both men were involved in an altercation in Oldham, Greater Manchester. They were called to reports of a fight in Broadway, Chadderton, close to the Elk Mill roundabout, at about 6.40pm on Wednesday.Officers said it is believed that the drivers fought before one got back into his vehicle and struck the other […]

Among families struggling to make ends meet, there's an uneasy sense that the people who can least afford it are being forced to bear the brunt of the nation's financial woes.As the impact statement of the government's welfare cuts was released - revealing tens of thousands of children will be tipped into poverty - at a community centre in Wolverhampton, families shared their frustration that sick and disabled people will […]

Network Rail will set up a new property company to build 40,000 homes on its rail estate over the next decade in a drive to meet the government's housing target.The Treasury on Thursday announced the launch of a new cross-government taskforce to release surplus public land for housing, with unused Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites also to be among the first to be released. Announcing the plan, Chancellor Rachel Reeves […]

The Chinese owner of British Steel has rejected a £500m state rescue package in a move which raises fresh doubts about thousands of steel industry jobs.Sky News has learnt that the offer was made by Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, in a letter sent to Jingye Group on Monday. The proposal - aimed at facilitating the Scunthorpe-based group's transition to green steel production - follows years of talks aimed at […]

The Office for Budget Responsibility has halved the UK growth forecast for 2025 from 2% to 1%, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.However, the fiscal watchdog said that while growth has been downgraded for this year, it had been upgraded for every year after for the rest of this parliament - which is due to end in 2029. The chancellor said she is "not satisfied with these numbers" as she delivered […]

The University of Sussex has been fined £585,000 by the higher education regulator for failing to uphold freedom of speech. The Office for Students (OfS) criticised the university's policy statement on transgender and non-binary equality, saying that it could lead staff and students to "self-censor". The policy has a requirement to "positively represent trans people" and asserts that "transphobic propaganda [would] not be tolerated".The university said it will legally challenge the […]