Fostering in crisis: can flexible care models fix England’s child placement shortfall?

OBR says that living standards are forecast to rise by just 1% over the whole post-Covid decade Budget 2026: key points at a glance Martin Lewis said that, when he met John Healey this morning, the chancellor said that, having removed standing charges from gas bills, he would also like to get rid of them from electricity bills. Lewis said: The chancellor said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is ‘trickier’ apparently and will take longer. Continue reading...

Amid global economic storms, the new chancellor has promised to steer the course – with promises of more help to come. Will it be enough? Continue reading...

Rachael Field, from Rhondda Cynon Taf, had her tongue and voicebox removed and windpipe reconstructed.

Chair of membership council says legal advice obtained at own expense suggests offences could have been committed Bafta trustees may have breached charity and company law by accepting free tickets for guests at the organisation’s awards ceremonies, the chair of its membership council has claimed. Michael Pritchett told members at Bafta’s annual general meeting that legal advice obtained at his own expense suggested offences could have been committed by trustees who approved the charity’s accounts, which stated that no trustees had received remuneration or benefits. Continue reading...

A nine-month Guardian investigation has revealed that when a landlord evicts someone in Louisiana, they can choose to file the eviction in a venue where a portion of the court fee goes directly into the pocket of the judge. The Guardian found one justice of the peace in the suburbs of New Orleans who may well be the highest paid judge in the country. His court took in nearly $1m in revenue last year – and he personally took home over $400,000. Somehow, this is all legal. Kai Wright speaks with Guardian US southern bureau chief Oliver Laughland and data editor Will Craft about the real-life ramifications of this system for tenants, and Laughland and Craft explain how they dug through more than 11,000 pages of eviction records to discover this little noticed judicial system that evicts thousands of people a year. A former judge called the system 'blatantly unconstitutional'

Exclusive: Health secretary to extend role of watchdog, which backers say helps hold service in England to account Yvette Cooper has abandoned plans to abolish the NHS’s independent patient champion after an outcry from MPs across the political spectrum. The health secretary has decided to keep and extend the role of Healthwatch England, which was due to be axed as part of the government’s reorganisation of the health service in England. axe the Health Services Safety Investigations Body. end councils’ automatic representation on the boards of ICBs. remove the requirement for a nurse on every NHS foundation trust board. Continue reading...