10 h. ago "My council house was killing my kids" Mum's horror as sons 'poisoned' with toxic lead

Joanne Skinner, from Falkirk, was left terrified after discovering her two young sons were being poisoned by toxic lead in their council house—after months of unexplained illness and medical mystery.

Events

18 h. ago Mum who needed emergency heart transplant vows to 'live best life' in honour of donor

Her condition was so severe that she was placed at the top of the UK's super-urgent heart transplant waiting list

Politics

34 h. ago ‘The crux of all evil’: what happened to the first city that tried to ban smartphones for under

It’s a year since teachers in St Albans asked parents not to give younger children smartphones. How successful have they been? What do the kids think about it? And has it made the adults think about their own ‘addiction’?At 3.12pm on a sunny spring afternoon in St Albans, Yasser Afghen reaches for the iPhone in his jeans pocket, hoping to use the three minutes before his son emerges from his year 1 primary class to scroll through his emails. As he lifts the phone to his face, Matthew Tavender, the head teacher of Cunningham Hill school, strides across the playground towards him. Afghen smiles apologetically, puts his phone away, and spends the remaining waiting time listening to the birdsong in the trees behind the school yard.A one-storey 1960s block with 14 classrooms backing on to a playing field, Cunningham Hill primary feels like an unlikely hub for a revolution. But a year ago, Tavender and the school’s executive head, Justine Elbourne-Cload, began coordinating with the heads ...

Politics

46 h. ago The worst areas in London for roadworks revealed — how bad is your neighbourhood?

Damning new league table uncovers the worst boroughs for motorists to be caught up in street repairs - see if your area is on it with our interactive map

Politics

47 h. ago London school closures: Prominent Labour MP says cost of living crisis means families can't afford capital

Family seeking housing in Camden offered a place in Manchester - while Enfield council considers buying homes in Liverpool

Events

67 h. ago NEIL KINNOCK: 'Labour must be relevant to people’s everyday lives and offer realistic hope'

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock says extra funding from Westminster and NHS waiting lists falling won't be enough by itself for the party to win the fight ahead in Wales

Politics

4 d. ago Reform UK chairman vows to use 'every instrument of power available' to stop migrants being housed in council areas his party now controls

Reform, led by Nigel Farage, gained more than 600 council seats and took control of 10 local authorities in Thursday's local elections .

Society

6 d. ago Margaret Drabble: ‘Our family had a passion for Georgette Heyer’

The author on re-reading The Mill on the Floss, discovering the eccentric genius of Georges Perec and the comforts of Lee ChildMy earliest reading memory I remember very clearly being taught to read by my father, who had just returned from the second world war in Italy with the RAF. We were living in a council house in Pontefract, having been evacuated from Sheffield. I was three or four, and we used a primer called The Radiant Way which I loved. I later used the title for one of my novels.My favourite book growing up I loved the Alison Uttley stories and was shocked to find in later life that the creator of Little Grey Rabbit was not a good mother and did not like children. I also loved Mary Poppins by PL Travers. I didn’t like the film, which was saccharine, but I loved the much sharper book. Travers too was a very difficult person. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Rod Stewart pays for autism diagnosis of boy waiting for three years

Singer steps in to help non-verbal four-year-old Iain Gregori, who was ‘lost in the system’Rod Stewart has offered to pay for the autism diagnosis of a child who has spent three years on a waiting list.The singer stepped in after reading about the case of four-year-old Iain Gregori, who is non-verbal and is due to start school this summer. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Rod Stewart to pay for autism diagnosis of boy waiting for three years

Singer steps in to help non-verbal four-year-old Iain Gregori, who was ‘lost in the system’Rod Stewart has offered to pay for the autism diagnosis of a child who has spent three years on a waiting list.The singer stepped in after reading about the case of four-year-old Iain Gregori, who is non-verbal and is due to start school this summer. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Scottish government should 'hang its head in shame' after Rod Stewart was forced to step in to pay for autism diagnosis of boy stuck in waiting list limbo for three years

The musician stepped to help youngster Iain Gregori, who is nonverbal and has waited three years for a diagnosis.

Politics

7 d. ago Sir Rod Stewart help offer is great but waiting lists are far too long for young Scots

Record View says as a “knight of the realm”, Sir Rod Stewart sees it as his duty to help people whenever and wherever he can.

Events

7 d. ago Housing site that could have delivered hundreds of homes is scrapped

There was a lot of opposition to the potential housing site in north east Barry, but the council is now saying it won't be considered due to "deliverability" issues

Society

8 d. ago Revealed: Map shows worst traffic hotspots for May bank holiday as Brits brace for double whammy of chaos on the roads and rails

The worst jams on Friday are expected in the late afternoon and evening when holiday and commuter traffic combine - with motorists urged by experts at the RAC to travel before 10am.

Events

9 d. ago Councillors support transferring ownership of site in Chapelhall to community

North Lanarkshire Council’s communities committee agreed to sell the land, which currently houses the former Chapellhall Senior Citizens Centre, to Chapelhall Community Development Group.

Sport

2 w. ago Little boy left waiting years for autism diagnosis as dad says kids getting "lost in system"

Health chiefs no longer put young people with suspected conditions like autism on waiting lists with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

Politics

2 w. ago Struggling kids deserve better as autistic children are shunted off waiting lists

Record View says this is an intolerable situation for the families involved.

Politics

2 w. ago Developer's anger at Falkirk Council's £20,000 demand to build two houses

The council says the two houses are part of a larger site that could have more than 30 homes built on it eventually.

Economics

2 w. ago Thousands of households to get £195 of free supermarket vouchers

Wakefield Council has decided to offer supermarket vouchers to households who are in receipt of Council Tax Support - see the exact eligibility criteria below

Economics

2 w. ago Martin Lewis urges hundreds of thousands of homeowners to check if they are owed tax refund

The Money Saving Expert said that 800,000 households could be eligible for a huge refund in overpaid council tax without even knowing it - here's how you can check

Economics