Public toilets: more than a matter of convenience | Letters

In response to your editorial (Public spaces need public conveniences, 24 April), our research has found that one of the biggest barriers preventing the restoration of existing provision or building new provision of public toilets is our wider cultural taboo of bodily functions.Time and again we have found that regeneration documents refer to public toilets as “amenities”, “necessities”, or “facilities”. Our research has also found that while large percentages of the UK population want more public toilets, nearly the same percentage would not use a public toilet, because of the taboo reputation such provision also carries.It is not simply a question of “build them and they will be used”. There is also an education issue, to highlight how important provision is, and shift the sense of a dirty and unloved space that invites negative behaviours such as vandalism

Calls for ‘student premium’ to support disadvantaged young people after GCSEs

A coalition of 14 social mobility organisations is urging the government to fund a “student premium” to support disadvantaged young people post-16 and prevent them from “falling through the cracks” into joblessness.State-funded schools in England currently receive additional pupil premium funding to support children from low-income backgrounds, who are eligible for free school meals.However, campaigners say a funding “cliff edge” after GCSEs leaves vulnerable students without the help they need post-16 during the final, important years of compulsory education.“Disadvantaged students don’t stop needing support the moment they finish their GCSEs, yet that’s exactly when funding falls away,” said Pepe Di’Iasio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), one of the organisations signed up to the campaign.“A 16-19 student premium would help schools, colleges and sixth forms keep young people engaged, support achievement in English and maths, and reduce the risk of students becoming Neet [not in education, employment or training]

First teenage suicide linked to domestic abuse recorded in England and Wales

The first teenage girl has been identified as having been driven to kill herself after domestic violence, as police chiefs blamed violent pornography and “toxic” influencers for being behind a rise in teen abuse.Suicides after domestic abuse have outstripped homicides for the third year running, according to the Domestic Homicide Project, which records deaths in England and Wales after domestic abuse.Last year, there were 347 deaths, including 150 from suicide and 125 domestic homicides.Across the five-year dataset, victims were predominantly female (73%), and suspects predominantly male (79%). Over the five years, the project recorded 1,452 deaths in 1,410 incidents – 641 of these were domestic homicides, 553 were suicide after domestic abuse, 131 unexpected deaths, 86 child deaths and 41 deaths classified as “other”

Call for UK gambling reform after ‘generous and caring’ woman takes her own life

A family is calling for wholesale reform of the gambling industry after an inquest heard details of the life and death of Ellen Mulvey, a “generous and caring” woman with a high-flying City job who also had a secret addiction.Mulvey’s family believe she lost hundreds of thousands of pounds gambling without their knowledge, first via mainstream operators and then on unlicensed platforms.An inquest heard that the 44-year-old took her own life and was declared dead at Macclesfield district general hospital on 7 November. Before she died, Mulvey wrote a note saying: “Addiction is the worst disease ever.”At work, Mulvey was the managing director of a global financial recruitment firm based in London

UK spring sunshine prompts warnings over unsafe fake designer sunglasses

While many will be enjoying the spring sunshine, experts have cautioned against wearing fake designer sunglasses, warning they could do more harm than good.As the College of Optometrists notes, sunglasses not only protect the eyes against glare on sunny days, but can also shield them from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light.That’s important because UV rays have been linked to a number of eye conditions. In the short term, for example, they can cause a temporary but painful condition called photokeratitis – essentially a “sunburn” on the cornea, which sits at the front of the eye.In the longer term, UV exposure is associated with the development of early-onset cataracts, non-cancerous growths on the cornea known as pterygia, some types of eyelid cancer, and potentially even age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to sight loss

Home blood pressure checks could reduce risks after hypertensive pregnancy

New mothers who had hypertension in pregnancy could reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke and potentially early death through daily blood pressure checks at home, research suggests.Women who regularly monitored their blood pressure in the weeks after giving birth, and had doctors tailor their medication if needed, had better functioning arteries nine months later than those who received routine care, scientists found.When the medication was adjusted to account for blood pressure changes, the women ended up with less stiff arteries, an effect that researchers at the University of Oxford estimate could reduce the future risk of heart attack or stroke by 10%.Paul Leeson, a professor of cardiovascular medicine who led the study, said the findings suggested that the weeks after birth provided a “powerful and often overlooked opportunity” to protect women’s future health.“By simply monitoring blood pressure at home, new mothers with hypertensive pregnancies can protect their bodies from future damage,” he said