Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over social care dispute

The housing, communities and local government secretary has been accused by a Labour council of showing “arrogance, indifference and moral bankruptcy” towards children in social care.In an unusually forthright attack, Labour leaders of Hartlepool council said they were “furious and appalled” at Steve Reed after a meeting with him last week. A cross-party delegation had asked the secretary of state for £3m to help alleviate the growing cost of social care.The town in County Durham is one of the most deprived in England. It has the third highest number of children in care per capita in the country

Most senior council officers in England say building work hit by delays

Almost two-thirds of senior council officers have said they are seeing construction projects delayed, despite the key role of local authorities in creating the wave of new housing and infrastructure promised by Labour.Before Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast on Tuesday, a survey of senior council officers showed that 40% do not think the local authority they work for is well placed to follow through on its construction plans.Local authority finances have been under sustained pressure for more than a decade. Labour recently announced a shake-up of the funding formula for England’s local councils, to redirect resources from affluent parts of the country towards more deprived areas.Among those surveyed, 64% reported project delays, with as many as 94% calling for more certainty about future financing – such as multi-year funding settlements

Three in four women unaware menopause can trigger new mental illness, poll finds

Nearly three-quarters of UK women do not know menopause can trigger a new mental illness, polling shows.This lack of understanding is so acute that the Royal College of Psychiatrists has launched its first targeted “position statement” to raise awareness about menopause and mental health.A YouGov poll, commissioned by the college, which represents more than 20,000 psychiatrists, found that only 28% of women know a new mental illness can be associated with menopause. In contrast, 93% of women associate menopause with hot flushes and 76% with reduced sex drive.As a result, many women are not seeking or receiving vital help, the RCPsych’s report says

The decline in healthy life expectancy in Britain should shock us all | Letters

The decline in healthy life expectancy (HLE) is so momentous it should have ejected the former prince from the front page (Female healthy life expectancy falls three years, print edition, 20 February). The shocking fall of three years for women and two years for men, in just three years, reveals the cumulative impact of the Tory/Liberal Democrat austerity programme and the gross mismanagement of the pandemic.In contrast to the lowest HLE since these figures were first estimated (2011-13), Swedish HLE has continued to rise and is an average of five years higher than the UK’s. It is blindingly obvious that unless the government urgently prioritises extending HLE, it cannot hope to stem the flow of older workers out of the labour market.Alan WalkerEmeritus professor of social policy and social gerontology, University of Sheffield Falling healthy life expectancy and a rising pension age – so work until 67 possibly 68, then spend your last years recovering

UK health official recused from puberty blockers trial after bias claims

A health official who reportedly intervened to pause a clinical trial on the use of puberty blockers has been removed from any further involvement due to accusations of bias.Prof Jacob George, who was appointed chief medical and scientific officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in January, raised concerns that led to the Pathways trial being put on hold by the government, according to the Sunday Times.But the regulator announced on Saturday that George would be recused from involvement in the trial after gender-critical social media posts made last year emerged.In one post he described the author JK Rowling, known for her gender-critical views, as being a “treasure of our time”. In another he said “the denial of basic biological fact is concerning”, in relation to questions about whether the Olympic boxer Imane Khelif was a woman

‘Viruses don’t know borders’: US anti-vaccine rhetoric could impact global measles crisis

The US government has amplified anti-vaccine rhetoric and signaled that it does not consider measles to be a priority, which could have global ramifications as countries around the world have lost or are on the brink of losing measles elimination status.The World Health Organization announced in late January that six European countries: the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan had all officially lost their measles elimination status, which means the virus has been circulating continuously in those countries for more than 12 months. In order to contain measles, at least 95% of children should be fully vaccinated against it, according to health recommendations, but vaccination rates have been falling across Europe.Measles vaccination in the UK has fallen especially dramatically, with only 84% of five-year-olds receiving both recommended doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine as of 2024. The UK is also “ground zero”, for vaccine hesitancy, according to Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University