Parents of critically ill children ‘crushed’ by lack of support, say campaigners
Parents of critically ill children are being “crushed” by a lack of statutory financial support when they need to take time off work, the parents of a six-year-old boy who died of cancer have said.Hugh Menai-Davis was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease when he fell ill suddenly in October 2020.The boy, then aged five, had been happy and healthy before he developed severe stomach pains.A GP initially told Hugh’s mother, Frances Menai-Davis, over the phone that it was probably gastroenteritis and would pass in a few days.She decided to take Hugh to hospital after growing concerned about his abnormally swollen stomach.
Tests showed Hugh had a rare type of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, which affects muscles attached to the bone and is diagnosed in about 50 children every year.He underwent 10 months of treatment, including 16 weeks of intense radiotherapy, when his parents had to sacrifice work to be at his bedside at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge.Although the treatment was initially successful – Hugh was “jumping around the house” and the family thought he had overcome the disease – the cancer remained.Hugh died the following September.His father, Ceri Menai-Davis, said the nightmare of seeing their son seriously ill was worsened by worrying whether they could afford to be at his hospital bedside.
They realised there was a “devastating” gap in the support afforded to families whose children are seriously ill,At present, parents of babies who are born unwell are entitled to financial support under UK law – however, this stops once the child is a month old,Ceri Menai-Davis, 42, said this meant parents of critically ill children were expected to either take four weeks of unpaid leave, five days of unpaid carer’s leave, or apply for benefits, which are often slow to process and exclude many,“Parents are being forced to make impossible decisions between staying by their child’s bedside or going to work to keep a roof over their heads,That pressure should never sit on a family in crisis,” he said.
The family are pushing for a new statutory provision – known as Hugh’s law – entitling the parents of children in hospital long-term to financial support.Ministers have agreed to consider the policy as part of a review launched in November.About 4,000 children a year spend more than two months continuously in hospital.The Premier League football club Brentford will become the first UK company to adopt the principles of Hugh’s law on Monday, when its staff will be entitled to 12 weeks of full pay if a child becomes seriously ill.Menai-Davis, from Hertfordshire, said it was “overwhelming” to see the club take up its proposals and for the government to be considering introducing it as a policy.
“When Hugh passed away, we made a vow that we would work as hard as we could to change the life of at least one person in his name,” he said,“What we now hear daily from families is that alongside the absolute nightmare of watching their child fight for their life, there is a constant, crushing fear about money and work,“Even if this helps just one parent, one family, then we have succeeded,To see Hugh’s name written into policy feels like purpose pulled from pain,Wherever Hugh is, I know he would be proud of his mum and dad.
”Nity Raj, Brentford FC’s general counsel, said there was “no question” the club would introduce the support when they heard about Hugh’s case.He said: “Anyone who faces the tragic situation of a critically ill child is undoubtedly experiencing an extremely challenging and distressing time; work should not be an added pressure or worry.“Our people are important to us and staff wellbeing is a priority for the club.By adopting this policy, which provides paid leave and employment protection, we hope we can provide a source of support and reassurance at a time when it is needed most so families can focus on caregiving responsibilities.”
Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn latest banking boss in line for huge bonus hike
Lloyds Banking Group boss, Charlie Nunn, could be in line for a maximum annual pay packet worth more than £13m, as he becomes the latest boss to benefit from the UK’s controversial decision to lift a cap on banker bonuses.The bank’s remuneration committee has begun drafting a new three-year executive pay policy that, for the first time, will take advantage of looser pay rules that have sent potential payouts soaring at rival banks.That includes Barclays, where chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, was handed a 45% rise in maximum pay last year, giving him the chance to be paid up to £14.3m if he hits important business targets. HSBC similarly offered a 43% increase to boss Georges Elhedery, for a maximum payout of about £15m
Cream of the crop: small brewers take on Guinness with rival ‘nitro’ stouts
Famously, according to the advertising slogan anyway, Guinness is good for you. But for the past couple of years, Guinness has been practically inescapable.Backed by its owner Diageo’s £2.7bn marketing war chest, the brand has shaken off its “old man” reputation, becoming a staple of gen Z pub culture, exploiting its Instagrammable colour scheme and social media trends such as the “splitting the G” drinking game.The resulting increase in younger drinkers and women catapulted its market share in pubs to a new high of 17
Why Russia’s economy is unlikely to collapse even if oil prices fall | Phillip Inman
Pacing inside the Kremlin last weekend, as news feeds churned out minute-by-minute reports of Donald’s Trump’s Venezuelan coup, Vladimir Putin may have been wondering what it would mean for the price of oil.Crude oil has lubricated the Russian economy for decades – far more than gas exports to Europe – and so the threat of falling oil prices, prompted by US plans for control of Venezuela’s rigs, will have been a source of concern.Opinion is divided on how quickly the South American country’s creaking oil industry can be revived. But some analysts believe that Venezuela, home to the world’s largest proven reserves, could be pumping millions of additional barrels as early as this year, hitting the global price and squeezing Russia’s income.US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil last year and a rise in the rouble, depressing income from oil sales in dollars, have already reduced receipts for Moscow
Wessex Water bosses handed £50,000 in extra pay despite Labour government’s bonus ban
The bosses of Wessex Water received £50,000 in previously undisclosed extra pay from a parent company, in the same year that the utility was banned from paying bonuses, the Guardian can reveal.Chief executive Ruth Jefferson and chief financial officer Andy Pymer were paid £24,000 and £27,000 respectively in the year to June 2025, according to a spokesperson for Wessex Water’s owner, the Malaysian YTL group.The payments came from Wessex Water Ltd, which is the parent company of Wessex Water Services Ltd, the regulated water supplier for 2.9 million customers in south-west England. YTL said the payments were not bonuses
US hiring held firm in December capping weakest year of growth since pandemic
Hiring held firm in the US last month, official data showed, amid uncertainty over the strength and direction of the world’s largest economy.Employers added 50,000 jobs to the US labor force last month, capping the weakest year of growth since the pandemic, according to data released from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.The closely watched reading was slightly shy of the approximately 73,000 jobs economists expected to be added in the US economy in December.Previous readings for October and November were also revised lower, with the BLS now estimating that the US added 76,000 fewer jobs during those two months. In October, during the longest US government shutdown in history, the US economy shed 173,000 jobs
Glencore and Rio Tinto are at it again – and it seems the markets smell action
Here we go again. A combination of Rio Tinto and Glencore has been talked about for years and the duo held aborted negotiations at the end of 2024. With the global mining industry in deal-making mode – frenzies come along every 15 years or so – the idea of RioGlen or GlenTinto was due another whirl. On Friday, the two FTSE 100 companies said they were in “preliminary discussions” about a “possible combination of some or all of their businesses”. A full-blown tie-up would be worth about $260bn (£120bn), including debt
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