Young care leavers in England to get free prescriptions, dental and eye services
Young people leaving care in England will receive free prescriptions, and dental and eye services up to their 25th birthday, the government has said.A pilot to trial paid internships for care leavers in the NHS and a guaranteed interview scheme for NHS roles also forms part of a package of measures announced by the Department of Health and Social Care.A separate three-year pilot aims to improve access to mental health support for children in care, the DHSC said.There were about 53,230 care leavers aged 17 to 21 in 2025 and a further 44,430 care leavers aged 22 to 25, although this may be an underestimate, the DHSC said.The health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Those in care face the toughest start in life and as a result suffer from a barrage of health inequalities, hampering their chances of going on to lead a happy, successful and fulfilling life.
”Ministers will also bring in safeguarding measures that will alert GPs if young patients are in care, while a new regulation will allow for information to be rapidly shared across health services.The government has accepted recommendations from Josh MacAlister, who was the first children’s social care adviser and is a former teacher and founder of the charity Frontline, a graduate social worker training programme.MacAlister, the minister for children, families and wellbeing, said: “The disadvantage faced by children who’ve grown up in care is a huge social injustice.That’s why we’re taking cross-government action to transform life chances for these children and care leavers.“This package of health measures will make a tangible difference to reduce health inequalities, keep more children safe and help more families with intensive support.
“It also delivers on recommendations from the independent review of children’s social care that I published in 2022.This government is delivering meaningful change to break down barriers to opportunity, especially for those in care.”The guaranteed interview scheme is similar to existing NHS policies that guarantee interviews for people with a disability and aims to provide a level playing field for people from a background of being in care, the DHSC said.The job application system will feature an option for candidates to declare if they are a care leaver.If they meet the minimum criteria in the job description, they will then be invited to an interview alongside other shortlisted candidates.
Research cited by the DHSC said adults who spent time in care as children between 1971 and 2001 were 70% more likely to die prematurely and care leavers were more likely to experience an unnatural death.The forthcoming children’s wellbeing and schools bill will enshrine in law a requirement for the government and public bodies to take into account the challenges faced by children in care and care leavers and the support they may need when leaving the care system.Local authorities will be required to publish their arrangements for supporting care leavers in their transition to adulthood, as well as helping them find suitable accommodation and access other support through the Staying Close initiative.
‘I’ll never say I’m popping to Jones’s’: shoppers yet to feel love for WH Smith’s high street replacement
“It’s just the same.” Six months on from the sale of WH Smith’s high street business, the name above the door may have changed to TG Jones, but many shoppers have not noticed a splurge of investment or change.“The layout is the same and what they are selling is the same,” says Gillian Parsons as she exits TG Jones on a busy high street in the market town of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where a steady flow of visitors are picking up cards, wrapping paper and the odd present in the week before Christmas.“Even the branding is similar,” says Jazz Minhas, another shopper. Others had not even noticed the name above the door had changed – such was the similarity of the signage, which sticks to a similar blue
Bitcoin’s buzz is gone. Investors chose real gold in 2025 | Nils Pratley
Another week, another record high for the price of gold. And another blow to the bitcoin fan club’s hopeful thesis about owning “digital gold”. This year has been hard for the bitcoin brigade: while real gold soared in value, their cryptocurrency didn’t. Correlation went out of the window. Gold is up 70% so far in dollar terms; bitcoin is down 6%
European leaders condemn US visa bans as row over ‘censorship’ escalates
European leaders including Emmanuel Macron have accused Washington of “coercion and intimidation”, after the US imposed a visa ban on five prominent European figures who have been at heart of the campaign to introduce laws regulating American tech companies.The visa bans were imposed on Tuesday on Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner and one of the architects of the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), and four anti-disinformation campaigners, including two in Germany and two in the UK.The other individuals targeted were Imran Ahmed, the British chief executive of the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate; Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of the German non-profit HateAid; and Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index.Justifying the visa bans, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, wrote on X: “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organised efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship
‘A gamechanger’: 200,000 UK small businesses sign up to TikTok Shop
It is better known for its viral dances and for making hits out of forgotten songs, but the social media site TikTok is becoming a force to be reckoned with as a shopping platform.Major retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Samsung, QVC, Clarks, and Sainsbury’s are now selling their wares on the site’s e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, alongside more than 200,000 UK small and medium businesses.Launched in Britain in 2021, TikTok Shop recorded its biggest sales day in the UK on Black Friday, with 27 items sold every second. Across the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, sales were up by 50% on last year.The service works by letting brands sell directly inside TikTok through videos and livestreams with embedded links to items for sale, as well as through a separate shop tab on their profiles
Koepka’s departure is a blow for LIV but also raises questions for PGA Tour | Ewan Murray
It was portrayed as amicable when it felt so inevitable. News that Brooks Koepka will step away from LIV Golf in 2026 comes as no shock. This never felt a particularly sensible alliance; an individual who craves glory at the top level and a disruption regime that has grasped for relevance with only varying degrees of success.Koepka has looked unhappy in his professional domain for some time. He has all but admitted he would never have joined LIV but for fears over a potentially career-threatening injury
The Spin | Women’s cricket team of the year: from Jemimah Rodrigues to Alana King
The Spin’s annual selection marks a history-making World Cup triumph for India, and work to do for EnglandIndia’s mission to build a global women’s cricket dynasty advanced apace in 2025. Few will forget the sight of Harmanpreet Kaur’s team converging joyously on the field at the DY Patil Stadium to celebrate a fairytale World Cup win that was five decades in the making.That final was the highlight of a year that included only one Test match – the Ashes affair at Melbourne at the end of January. As ever, therefore, the Spin’s team of the year is cross-format, though we gave substantial weight to performances at crunch moments in the aforementioned World Cup.And if anyone is wondering why there are only two England players in this team, you must have forgotten how 2025 started
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