Asda hires autistic man who was let go by Waitrose after years of volunteering

An autistic man who was let go as an unpaid shelf stacker at a Waitrose supermarket despite volunteering there for years has been offered a job at Asda.Tom Boyd, 28, had worked in the Cheadle Hulme Waitrose store since 2021 with a support worker, as his mother, Frances Boyd, said the role gave her son “a sense of purpose and belonging”.In a Facebook post last Friday, she wrote that her “autistic son has been treated so unfairly, and we feel deeply let down” by Waitrose. She said the supermarket declined to give him a paid job despite him offering more than 600 hours to the store “purely because he wanted to belong, contribute, and make a difference”, and that he was a well-liked member of the team by his co-workers.Boyd added that they had only asked for a few hours of paid work “not as charity, but as recognition for all the time, effort, and heart” Tom had given to the store, and that she and her family were “shocked by how dismissive and cold” the management’s response was, and that Tom was asked not to return

Ministers confirm plans to reduce London’s affordable housing quotas

Ministers have confirmed plans to reduce affordable housing quotas in London as they try to reverse the recent collapse in housebuilding in the capital.Steve Reed, the housing secretary, said on Thursday that developers would be allowed to qualify for fast-track planning status if their projects included 20% affordable housing, down from the current target of 35%. Of those 20% however, 60% will have to be available at the cheapest social rents.The plans, which were revealed last week by the Guardian, come after new housebuilding in London shrank to just a few thousand units a year, with developers saying they are constrained by high interest rates and sluggish planning procedures.They have caused anger among homelessness campaigners and some Labour MPs, however, who say the government is undermining its pledge to tackle homelessness

Dozens of Labour MPs warn of chaos for firms over gender recognition advice

Dozens of Labour MPs have written to ministers warning that upcoming regulations on how to implement rules on gender recognition could cause chaos for many businesses.In a private letter to the business secretary, Peter Kyle, the MPs said they had been contacted by large numbers of companies that were deeply alarmed at the implications of the guidance, citing significant potential costs and a “minefield” of competing legal rights.Ministers are still considering the final guidance, drafted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), so it is not yet public. Sources at the watchdog, however, have briefed that it is broadly similar to interim advice issued shortly after April’s landmark supreme court ruling that sex in the Equality Act refers only to biological sex.The interim advice, which was withdrawn last week, said the supreme court ruling meant transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets meant for the gender they live as, and that in some cases they could not use toilets consistent with their birth sex

Care Quality Commission chief quits over maternity inquiry into NHS trust he led

The chief executive of the Care Quality Commission has quit after the announcement of an independent inquiry into maternity failings at an NHS trust he led for a decade.Sir Julian Hartley said staying in his current role was “incompatible” with the investigation into Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust (LTH), which he led for 10 years until 2023, and said it could “undermine trust and confidence in the regulator”.In a statement, he said: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision. However, I feel that my current role as chief executive of CQC has become incompatible with the important conversations happening about care at LTH, including during the time I was chief executive there.“I am so sorry for the fact that some families suffered harm and loss during this time

NHS health checks in England to have questions on menopause for first time

NHS health checks are to include questions about the menopause for the first time, ministers have announced, with millions of women in England expected to benefit.Adults aged from 40 to 74 who do not have a pre-existing long-term health condition are eligible for an NHS health check every five years. The checks are intended to identify those at higher risk of heart and kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and stroke.The checks will also include questions about the menopause, which the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) estimates could help as many as 5 million women. The questions will be written over the next few months and ministers hope the change will take effect from 2026

The housing crisis needs better solutions than this | Letters

John Harris’s article on poverty and housing in the UK’s hinterlands is both moving and a vital element of the combined analytical framework that describes the situation in modern Britain (A waiting list of thousands, and just five new homes for social rent: this city shows the depth of Britain’s housing crisis, 19 October).Harris notes, though, that “On the upside, the renters’ rights bill … is about to receive royal assent”. I appreciate the sentiment, but it misses two vital points. First, does anyone believe that a bill imagined by the previous Tory government and written by this current Labour one will be effectively worded and enforced? This would require courage and competence.Second, and more importantly, the new bill actively alienates landlords rather than viewing them as partners in a process of reciprocal and mutual need