Crisis charity to become a landlord in attempt to rectify ‘catastrophic’ housing in UK

The homelessness charity Crisis is going to become a landlord for the first time in its 60-year history, saying the housing crisis in the UK has reached a “catastrophic scenario”.Matt Downie, the charity’s chief executive, said it was preparing to launch a fundraising appeal to buy its own housing stock as it can longer get access to social housing to help homeless people.“We don’t want to do this, but if nobody else is going to provide housing, we’ll do it ourselves,” he said.“It’s something that would have been inconceivable for my predecessors 10, 30, 50 years ago, because people would have expected both councils and housing associations to provide the stock needed for people on low incomes. It’s just no longer available

Social media misinformation driving men to seek unneeded NHS testosterone therapy, doctors say

Social media misinformation is driving men to NHS clinics in search of testosterone therapy they don’t need, adding pressure to already stretched waiting lists, doctors have said.Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a prescription-only treatment recommended under national guidelines for men with a clinically proven deficiency, confirmed by symptoms and repeated blood tests.But a wave of viral videos on TikTok and Instagram have begun marketing blood tests as a means of accessing testosterone as lifestyle supplement, advertising the hormone as a solution to problems such as low energy levels, poor concentration and reduced sex drive.Doctors warn taking testosterone unnecessarily can suppress the body’s natural hormone production, cause infertility, and increase the risk of blood clots, heart problems and mood disorders.The online demand for treatment is so great that medical professionals have now begun to see it mirrored in their clinics

Emma Barnett says she felt ‘mugged, robbed’ after perimenopause at 38

Emma Barnett has said experiencing perimenopause at the age of 38 felt as if she had been “mugged, robbed” of her identity.The broadcaster, now 40, said on her new BBC podcast, Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, that it was the “first time in my life I haven’t really wanted to be a woman – it’s the first time I’ve thought, I’d really quite like to be a bloke”.She said perimenopause made her feel as though she had lost her identity, and that she was still waiting to “come back” to who she was before.Speaking to guest Kate Thornton, she said: “I do feel there has been a theft. I do feel there’s no emergency number to call

Loss of shops is threatening rural communities | Letter

Without shops, fuel supplies and post offices with banking facilities, will remote communities face further depopulation? The closure of the shop in Kilchoan follows a number of other closures of similar local assets in Lochaber and Argyll (‘Morrisons killed us’: Britain’s most westerly mainland village shop closes after half a century, 30 October). But is it a policy failure or just a case of market forces?Nearly 50 years ago, a government-funded scheme offered a lifeline to communities that were keen to save key assets. A programme was initiated by the Highlands and Islands Development Board in 1977 as a way of supporting community-led development. It offered to match local financial contributions and provide practical support through an outreach team, of which I was a member. Tested in the Western Isles, by 1979 it was expanded to the rest of the Highlands and islands

A Neet way to help youth in Dudley | Brief letters

Regarding Dudley having the highest rate of young people not in education, employment or training (How Dudley became centre of UK’s youth jobs crisis, 8 November), this doesn’t surprise me, having taught for 24 years in the Black Country. The area has a large proportion of working‑class communities that value technical education, but the national curriculum makes little provision for this. Investment in technical education from an early age would equip these young people with the skills that would attract employers to the area.Kartar UppalSutton Coldfield, West Midlands In response to Bill Onwusah’s winter fuel payment query (Letters, 6 November), the Department for Work and Pensions calculates it based on your circumstances in the “qualifying week”, principally your age in September this year and if you were living in England or Wales, whereas your actual entitlement to the payment depends on your income in the 2025-26 tax year, which HMRC won’t know until April next year at the earliest.Godfrey KellerDepartment of economics, University of Oxford Regarding the issue of changing the name of Epstein Road in Thamesmead (Letters, 7 November), this could be solved by adding “Jacob” to the beginning

‘Similar pressure to London’: the housing crisis reaches Newcastle

It used to be rare to see people waiting outside the Crisis centre in the heart of Newcastle, but now a queue of people snakes around the building most days before it opens its doors.It is a constant stream of rough sleepers, workers sleeping in their car or sofa-surfing, families reeling from an eviction notice, people fleeing domestic violence or recently arrived refugees with nowhere to go filing in desperate for help.The north-east city used to be considered among the country’s most affordable places to live, but in recent years it has been engulfed in a housing crisis that has pushed the city closer to London with its soaring rents and long waiting lists for social housing.“Five or six years ago, I’d say to colleagues here: ‘You’ve got it easy compared with Brent, this is no problem compared with Croydon.’ The pressure in London is definitely worse, but we’re seeing similar situations in the north-east now,” said specialist housing adviser, Mark Reynolds