The last days earlier than MPs break up for parliamentary recess are a superb time for the Government to attempt to bury unhealthy information.
Rishi Sunak is already below fireplace after refusing to apologise for a transphobic jibe he made at PMQs on Wednesday. The PM made the comment because the mum of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was in Parliament – and resisted a name by her dad to ask for forgiveness.
In the background, his ministers have been trying to slide out unhealthy information about crumbling concrete disaster in faculties and a surge in rotten tooth extractions amongst youngsters. As the Government tries to benefit from ‘Take Out the Trash Day’, The Mirror has rounded up all of the unhealthy information from as we speak so the Tories do not get away with hiding any.
More faculties recognized with crumbling RAAC concrete
An additional three faculties have been recognized as having crumbling and unstable concrete, generally known as RAAC, the Department for Education introduced as we speak. It takes the full variety of faculties and schools with confirmed circumstances of RAAC in England to 234.
The division introduced 119 faculties are being included throughout the School Rebuilding Programme as work to take away RAAC is “more extensive or complex”.
The Lib Dems hit out on the announcement, saying youngsters in faculties affected by RAAC “are facing massive disruption”. The social gathering’s Education Spokeswoman Munira Wilson stated: “It is a national scandal that children are being taught in crumbling classrooms. Children in the schools affected by RAAC are facing massive disruption to their education day in and day out.
“Learning in temporary classrooms, dealing with cold and draughty conditions and not having specialist teaching facilities like science labs and design technology spaces is having a direct impact on these pupils’ learning experience and their educational outcomes. This Conservative Government must stop sitting on its hands and speed up the rebuilding programme to ensure that these schools are all rebuilt as quickly as possible and provide practical advice and support to minimise the disruption to pupils whilst work is ongoing.”
Steep rise in no-fault evictions
New figures launched on Thursday confirmed a steep rise in repossessions after renters had been handed no-fault evictions, which permit tenants to be evicted on a whim and with out cause.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) information confirmed that some 26,311 accelerated possessions have been constituted of the second quarter of 2019 till the tip of 2023. There had been 9,457 such repossessions final yr, up from 6,339 in 2022 – a 49% rise.
The Tories first vowed in April 2019 to abolish part 21 notices – however the laws, which has been set again by repeated delays, continues to be going via Parliament Labour’s shadow minister for housing and planning, Matthew Pennycook, stated: “The stark rise in section 21 notices served last year lays bare the devastating impact that the Tories’ failure to abolish them is having on hard-pressed renters.”
Polly Neate, chief govt of Shelter, stated: “It’s utterly shameful that the Government is bowing to vested interests while renters are marched out of their homes in their thousands.” Referring to the following election, Ms Neate stated: “When they head for the ballot box, England’s 11 million renters will remember who stood with them.”
Kids’ rotten tooth extractions shoot up
The variety of youngsters needing tooth extractions in hospitals jumped to 48,000 final yr, new information exhibits. Teeth removals for under-18s of a number of enamel surged by 17% amid a collapse in entry to NHS dentists.
Two thirds of extractions had been on account of tooth decay that means there have been 119 operations a day to take away rotten enamel in youngsters. Youngsters in poorer areas, that are much less prone to have an NHS dentist, had been three and a half extra prone to require hospital extractions.
It comes as 70% of dental surgical procedures now refuse to just accept under-18s as new NHS sufferers. The Mirror is campaigning for a return to entry to an NHS dentist for all and our on-line petition is anticipated to prime 100,000 in its first 24 hours.
Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association (BDA), warned “the oral health gap is widening for our youngest patients, and it won’t be halted by holding another consultation”. “Ministers are trying to turn supervised brushing into a political football,” he stated. “They need to grow up, and double down on tried and tested programmes.”
Housing for asylum seekers
The Government has deserted plans to loosen up guidelines for landlords who hire houses to asylum seekers. Ministers had been accused of permitting migrants to be positioned in sub-standard housing after saying houses would now not must be registered as houses in a number of occupation (HMOs).
Draft laws would have spared them having to take action for 2 years in the event that they rented to folks searching for asylum. This was challenged by eight asylum seekers, and on Wednesday the Government withdrew the plan. A Government spokesman stated: “Our success maximising using present websites and delivering different lodging means it’s now not essential to pursue the elimination of licensing necessities for homes in a number of occupation.
“We are making important progress shifting asylum seekers out of motels, which price UK taxpayers £8.2m a day. We have already returned the primary 50 to their communities and we are going to exit extra within the coming months.”
Draconian new rules to stop firefighters going on strike
Draconian new rules that will stop firefighters going on strike has sparked anger. In a statement Policing Minister Chris Philp announced minimum service levels during industrial action, insisting forces will be expected to crew 73% of fire engines.
It means employers will have to issue ‘work notices’ making staff come in on strike days. Fire brigades union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “This is an outrageous and authoritarian plan to seek to ban strikes in the Fire and Rescue Service. The government wants this in place so that it can attack the pay and conditions of firefighters and other workers.” He went on to explain it as “one of the worst assaults in the last century on the rights of working people to defend themselves”.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak stated: “This is a flagrant assault on the suitable to strike of firefighters. No one needs to be sacked for exercising their proper to strike. But that’s precisely what the federal government is threatening. These new legal guidelines are undemocratic, unworkable and are seemingly unlawful. And they’ll do nothing to resolve industrial disputes.”
Infected blood scandal backlash
Concerns have been raised after the Government announced Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery has been appointed to advise ministers on compensation for victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
Families affected by the scandal – widely deemed to be the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS – raised concerns about Sir Jonathan’s role at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where he has been chairman since 2019, and his membership of Bayer’s bioethics council.
The Factor 8 campaign group said: “The Oxford NHS Trust is on the coronary heart of the contaminated blood scandal and Bayer manufactured and provided a lot of the HCV (hepatitis C virus) and HIV contaminated Factor VIII merchandise to the UK throughout the Eighties.” Its director, Jason Evans, said the group was worried that ministers were “searching for to water down” the Infected Blood Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation.
Thousands of patients were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. The Government has previously been accused of dragging its feet over compensation and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was heckled when he appeared before the inquiry last year as he vowed to pay compensation “as swiftly as potential”.