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In today’s newsletter: Amid many other crises, the standard of NHS care for patients’ families is declining – this is what it feels like• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. It is no secret that NHS England has many problems: it is crumbling (literally), patient care backlogs are at record highs, there is a recruitment and retention crisis, and quality...

Exclusive: Independent examination of rape prosecutions hears lawyers are ‘obsessed’ with credibility of victims and use victim-blaming languageAnalysis: CPS report makes for grim reading – and it’s only the start Lawyers in the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales have trivialised teen sexual abuse, are “obsessed” about the credibility of rape victims and used victim-blaming language, according to a critical official examination into...

Inspector says he was ‘deeply shocked’ by incidents with no female officer present at young offender institutionAn “incredibly vulnerable” girl held in a young offender institution was pinned down and stripped by an all-male group of officers on at least two occasions, a watchdog has discovered.Charities have called for all female offenders to be removed from YOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire after the damning...

Food Standards Agency advises consumers with dairy and fish allergies to check labels carefullyPeople with dairy and fish allergies are being advised not to buy vegan products without checking the label carefully as they may contain animal products due to cross-contamination.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a campaign to make consumers aware of the dangers after research released by the regulatory body showed...

David Willetts suggests policy would help spread wealth among millennials amid deepening inequalitiesMinisters should hand all 30-year-olds a £10,000 “citizens inheritance” amid fears a £1.5tn wealth transfer to millennials will deepen inequalities, a Conservative peer has urged.David Willetts, who leads the Intergenerational Centre thinktank, called for the next government to implement a major new policy to spread wealth in Britain. Continue reading...

Women’s groups urge chancellor to ignore calls for tax cuts in next week’s spring budgetFurther cuts to public services in England will put gender equality “into reverse”, according to women’s groups and unions that have urged the chancellor to ignore calls for tax cuts from the right of his party in next week’s spring budget.The Fawcett Society, the TUC and Women’s Aid are among...

Fears for impact on NHS workforce as leaked letter reveals ministers stall on aim to increase trainee doctors to 15,000 by 2031Ministers have dramatically stalled plans to double the number of doctors being trained in England by 2031 in a move that has caused dismay across the NHS, as well in medical schools and universities, the Observer can reveal.In June last year, ministers backed...

CAA proposals would allow operators to fly drones at low heights beyond the line of sightDrones could be used for critical medical deliveries, as well as inspections of railways, powerlines, and roads under new proposals put forward by the UK’s air travel watchdog.The proposals, set out in a consultation published on Monday by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), would allow operators to fly...

Insecure jobs and high housing costs make it hard to maintain decent living standard, says abrdn Financial Fairness TrustBritain’s insecure jobs market and high housing costs are leading to the growth of a precarious middle class struggling to maintain a decent living standard on household incomes as high as £60,000 a year, a report has said.A study released by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, a...

Amina Noor travelled from north London with the child to Kenya where the procedure was carried out in 2006A woman who was found guilty of handing over a three-year-old British girl for female genital mutilation (FGM) during a trip to Kenya has been jailed for seven years.Amina Noor, 40, was convicted last year of assisting a Kenyan woman to carry out the procedure overseas...

In today’s newsletter: A good night for Keir Starmer and a bad one for Rishi Sunak – who now has more to worry about from Reform UK• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. While you were sleeping, the Conservative party was having another meltdown. As was widely predicted, it lost two previously safe seats to Labour after yesterday’s byelections, with...

Clinics de-listed people without warning, forcing them to go private or find another NHS practicePatients across England who failed to visit their dentists since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic have been systematically barred by some clinics from getting NHS treatment.Dental practices across the country informed patients they could no longer get NHS treatment, citing non-attendance over a period of two years or more...

Teenagers are coerced into committing crime for someone else’s benefit, according to social justice groupsAlmost half of the victims of criminal exploitation in the UK are British boys aged under 18, according to a report calling for new laws to acknowledge them as ­victims of modern slavery.The analysis, by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) thinktank and the charity Justice and Care, found that...

Charlotte Nichols says Brianna gave people someone to identify with and humanised discussion on gender issuesBrianna Ghey’s murder has “humanised the debate” around transgender people in her native Warrington, and stopped local Conservative politicians from using trans issues for “culture war” attacks, according to Brianna’s local Labour MP.“Most people haven’t necessarily met a trans person. And I think what happened to Brianna really gave...

Social housing resident Filippe Scalora alleges a stranger moved into his flat while he could not get home in pandemicA social housing tenant is suing his landlord for £1m in damages, alleging that a housing officer illegally sublet his home when he was stranded abroad at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.Filippe Scalora’s case against Clarion will allege that when he returned...

Families who suffered harmful effects of hormone pregnancy tests not included in Patient Safety Commissioner’s reviewUK ministers are facing a backlash after families affected by the hormone pregnancy test Primodos were excluded from a review about redress for victims of health scandals.A report by the Patient Safety Commissioner says there is a “clear case for redress” for thousands of women and children affected by...

Exclusive: As NHS targets are being missed nearly 300,000 people paid for chemotherapy in last five yearsHundreds of thousands of cancer patients in the UK are being forced to pay for private treatment amid record NHS waiting times, according to data obtained by the Guardian.The figures emerged as King Charles began treatment for the disease within days of being diagnosed. Buckingham Palace has not...

Exclusive: Local voluntary groups forced to cut services or close as council funding pulledWhen a Citizens Advice has to close despite demand being ‘off the scale’Charity leaders have warned of the “devastating knock-on impact” of the financial crisis in English town halls, as evidence emerges of cuts and closures at local voluntary groups, where vital grant funding has been cut by stricken councils.Citizens Advice...

In Mansfield, the council could not afford the funding needed by a service that is vital to one of the UK’s most deprived areasIn the end it was just £27,000. That was as much as the local district council said it could scrape together, but it was still a 50% cut in core grant funding and ultimately not enough to prevent Mansfield Citizens Advice...

Treatment for ailments including sore throats, earaches and shingles to be offered without a GP appointmentPatients in England can get treatment for seven common conditions without needing to see a GP, under a shake-up of pharmacy services.From Wednesday, thousands of pharmacists will be able to assess and treat patients for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections...

Coroner concluded 14-year-old girl took her life after prolonged and sustained bullying in person and onlineThe father of a 14-year-old girl who killed herself after being bullied has said his family are victims of a “failing system” after an inquest into her death.Mia Janin, a year 10 pupil at the Jewish free school in Kenton, north-west London, was found dead at her family home...

Study by Appeal finds there was a desire to dilute influence of minority ethnic and working-class jurorsThe introduction of majority verdicts in criminal trials in England and Wales was partly motivated by a desire to dilute the influence of minority ethnic people and the labouring classes serving on juries, according to research.The study, by the miscarriage of justice charity Appeal, said that while the...

Charities call on government to prioritise outside spaces for play as MPs begin inquiry into planning and children’s wellbeingChildren and young people are suffering huge damage to their health and wellbeing from policymakers refusing to prioritise the need for outdoor play, charities have said.As MPs begin an inquiry into how better planning could enhance the wellbeing of children, the charities said urgent change was...

Royal college voices concern at rise in number of prosecutions of ‘deeply traumatised’ womenMedical staff in the UK should not report women to the police if they believe their patients may have illegally ended their own pregnancy, a professional body has said.The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has said it is never in the public interest to report women who have abortions...