Tag: Featured

    NHS hospital trusts have been accused of levying a "tax on sick people" after it was revealed some are making more than £3m a year from car parking charges. Year on year, hospitals across England are raising increasing amounts of money from staff, patients and visitors, including those who are disabled, Freedom of Information requests show. It has also been revealed that hospitals are giving millions of pounds to private companies to run their car parks for them, and allowing some to profit from parking fines. The investigation by the Press Association found others are tied into private finance initiative (PFI) contracts, where all the money raised from charging patients, staff and visitors goes to private companies under long-term contracts. Of the more than 90 trusts tha...

    Police are investigating a hate crime after two pigs' heads were left outside a Muslim school in Lancashire. One head was thrown over the fence of Markazul Uloom boarding school in Blackburn, while another was found by the school gates. They are believed to have been left between 5pm on Friday 18 and 8.30am on Saturday, when police were called. Eating pork is forbidden in Islam. Chief Inspector Sheena Tattum, of Blackburn Police, told the Lancashire Evening Post: "This is being treated extremely seriously and we understand the concern that incidents like this, while thankfully rare, can cause in the community. "An investigation is underway to identify those responsible and a team of detectives are carrying out numerous inquiries." She added: "We have carried out house to h...

    The Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed a series of proposals in a bid to improve safety on Britain’s roads. A series of consultations on each of the specific proposals will take place in 2016, and they could come into force over the next few years. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Britain has some of the safest roads in the world but we are always looking to improve that record. “Today we are delivering common sense proposals that balance tougher penalties for dangerous drivers with practical steps to help youngsters and other more vulnerable groups stay safe on our roads.” The proposals, outlined below, come after a series of new laws were introduced in 2015 – including a ban on smoking in cars containing children, and an increase in speed limits of ...

    The prime minister has ordered a review of the use of guns by police in England and Wales following the Paris attacks, the BBC understands. The review will examine whether the law gives enough support to officers making a "split-second" decision to shoot. It follows concerns from senior police that firearms officers do not have the necessary legal or political backing to work with confidence. Labour has warned of possible damage to community relations with the police. Gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in Paris when they attacked a concert hall, a major stadium, restaurants and bars almost simultaneously on 13 November. BBC political correspondent Chris Mason says the atrocity has provoked deep soul-searching within government and among the police, raising the qu...

    The Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, has asked officials to review home schooling amid fears that thousand of children are having their minds filled with poison by radicalised parents. Between 20,000 and 50,000 children are thought to be educated at home – but the Government has no idea of the exact number because parents are under no obligation to inform their local council. Ms Morgan has already announced a crackdown on unregistered schools and “weekend madrassas” after some were found to be promoting extremist ideology. But senior government sources have revealed that home schooling is now “on the radar”. Under proposals being considered in Whitehall, parents and teachers will be given a specific point of contact at local councils in order to raise concerns about a ch...