Family courts in England and Wales ‘not good enough’ for women and children, minister says

Family courts are “not good enough” and have treated women and children unfairly for decades, a government minister has said.Announcing a major overhaul of the family justice system in England and Wales that will play a central role in “rebalancing” the family courts, Alison Levitt said often brutal legal showdowns will be replaced with a “problem-solving”, child-focused model.Part of a move across the Ministry of Justice to tackle court backlogs, the department said child focused courts – which centre on child welfare and seeks out-of-court resolutions – have reduced child trauma, cut a backlog of cases and reduced waiting times.They will now become the standard model for all section 8 cases, which involve child arrangements including where that child lives, who they have contact with and how long they spend with each parent.The Labour peer, who was Keir Starmer’s principal legal adviser when he was the director of public prosecutions, said that she had been repeatedly accused of sexism since she became a minister last autumn, including as a result of the proposed repeal of the legal presumption that both parents should be involved in their children’s lives in the Courts and Tribunal bill, which passed its second reading earlier this month

Experts consider expanding meningitis vaccine eligibility after Kent outbreak

Experts are considering the case for routinely vaccinating more people against meningitis B in response to the fatal outbreak in Kent.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s review was announced after the health secretary, Wes Streeting, asked it to “re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines” for a wider range of people than those who now qualify.Health officials in Kent, where there have been two fatalities, said cases could spread outside the county as students return home for Easter. On Friday the UK Health Security Agency said there were 18 confirmed cases, and 11 more under investigation.The Guardian understands the JCVI started a review of the outbreak in Kent and is considering a wider review of eligibility for routine meningitis B vaccinations

Volunteers in the UK: what happened when your local charity shut down?

Across the UK, many small charities face increasing financial pressures, forcing some to shut their doors. When this happens, it can leave the people who relied on those services without support - and volunteers and communities trying to step in and keep things going.We’d like to hear from volunteers who have experienced a charity closing. Have you or others tried to continue the work informally and what were the challenges of doing that? Did you try to keep it going - and what difficulties did you face? What happened to the people who depended on the service?You can share your experience using this form.Please include as much detail as possible

‘It all feels very natural’: Britain’s sauna boom heats up as people seek warmth of human connection

From fields to floating pontoons, in horseboxes, barrels and beach huts, saunas are springing up across Britain. The British Sauna Society now lists about 640 saunas – up from 540 at the start of the year – while a recent report predicted that the UK could become the world’s largest sauna market by 2033, outpacing even Finland and Germany.“The continuing growth suggests that the peak has still yet to come – if there is one,” said Gabrielle Reason, the society’s director. But are saunas a tonic for the nation’s health – or a wellness fad with hidden risks?When it comes to measurable health effects, the strongest evidence relates to the cardiovascular benefits of sauna use. These are “substantial”, said Prof Setor Kunutsor, the Evelyn Wyrzykowski research chair in cardiology at the University of Manitoba in Canada

Kent meningitis outbreak may have peaked as UKHSA reports slowdown in cases

The Kent meningitis outbreak may have reached its peak after only two new cases were reported by officials on Friday.The UK Health and Security Agency said that as of 12.30pm on Thursday, there were 18 confirmed and 11 probable cases of meningitis linked to the Kent outbreak, taking the total number of people with the disease to 29. Of the confirmed cases, 13 were meningitis B.While the growth in cases may have slowed, the situation remains serious, with all cases requiring hospital admission

The Kent meningitis outbreak: what is happening and why?

The deadly outbreak of meningitis in Kent has fuelled concerns about how far the disease will spread and seen the return of people wearing masks and queueing for vaccines. The scenes are reminiscent of the Covid crisis, but meningitis is very different. Here we look at how the outbreak has unfolded.Meningitis is a potentially lethal but uncommon disease caused by viruses and bacteria that trigger inflammation of the meninges, the protective linings that cover the brain. The Kent outbreak is driven by meningococcal bacteria which are found in the nose and throat of about 10% of the population