United Kingdom

Social disadvantage is now so entrenched in “left behind” areas that a young person growing up poor in parts of London has a significantly better chance of going to university and getting a good job than a child of a similar background from the north-east of England, the UK’s social mobility commissioner has said.

Alun Francis, whose remit is to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England, said the “geography of disadvantage” had become increasingly marked in recent years, with deprived northern post-industrial and rural areas and seaside towns falling further behind England’s thriving south-east in terms of economic and social opportunity.

Francis called for “decisive and bold” government action to drive economic growth in left-behind areas and narrow a widening north-south divide, arguing that past attempts to drive social mobility by focusing mainly on educational achievement to drive life chances had failed to shift the dial for many young people.

The report found that working-class teenagers in areas of London with high levels of poverty such as Islington, Hackney and Newham were 19 percentage points more likely to experience upward mobility than contemporaries in similarly deprived places in the north of England such as Sunderland, Hull, Gateshead and Barnsley.

The capital’s superior economic and job opportunities were likely to partly explain these differences, the commission suggested. Ethnicity could also be a factor, with London’s larger immigrant population more likely to see educational attainment as a tool to improve their children’s life chances.

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In an interview with the Guardian before the Social Mobility Commission’s 2024 State of the Nation report, Francis called for an “honest” assessment of why white British youngsters from the poorest backgrounds consistently under-attained educationally and were less socially mobile compared with their peers.

He said white British people were “at the top of the social mobility tree and the bottom, like bookends”, adding: “We need to ask harder questions about why, and not be constrained by being anxious about what we might find, because if we want to bridge people’s outcomes of life we need to be really honest, to find a better answer.”

Francis, who is principal of Blackpool and the Fylde further education college, said while white British children on free school meals persistently underperformed at school, children with a Chinese background on free school meals outperformed the national average for non-free school meal children at ages 11 and 16.

It was important to avoid “simplistic and misleading” accounts that assumed social mobility was getting worse on all counts, he said. Poverty was not the only determinant of life chances, he added: “What are the things that enable some people to do well despite their circumstances, where others really do not?”

Asked whether there was a link between the August riots and deprivation in many of the communities where disorder took place, Francis acknowledged many of those towns had been ignored in terms of economic opportunity, saying: “In those areas we certainly created a climate where people do feel left behind.”

He added: “I would say in those areas the vast majority of people in straitened circumstances feel frustrated, a bit defeated, sometimes a bit sad, but I don’t think they always go on to the streets and become violent about it.”

More than 10,500 requests have been received by Welsh councils from residents to reassess roads that saw their limit lowered when the policy was introduced in September last year.

Police point to a drop in road causalities and crashes to suggest Wales' flagship policy is working, although a recent poll said seven in 10 people still oppose the new limit.

One motoring organisation has said traffic calming measures like speed bumps should be installed to force drivers to do 20mph.

Welsh ministers said a 20mph limit would reduce deaths and noise and encourage people to walk or cycle when it was implemented in September 2023 - but it caused controversy with some drivers.

The limit changed on about 35% of Welsh roads - about 22,000 miles (35,171 km) in total - last year where lamp-posts are no more than 200 yards (183m) apart.
[…]
Statistics show a drop in casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Wales in the first three months of 2024, after the default built-up area limit was reduced.

The number of serious casualties or fatalities has dropped 23%, and Wales' largest police force says there have been at least 11 less deaths on the roads in their area.

The chances of Northern Ireland hosting matches at the Euro 2028 football tournament appear to have gone.

The UK government announced on Friday night that the estimated cost of rebuilding Casement Park stadium in Belfast has "risen dramatically" to more than £400m.

The government said it will not be providing funding to redevelop the stadium in time for the tournament.

It said there was a "significant risk" that the stadium would not be built in time.
[…]
In order to be ready for the 2028 tournament, Casement Park needs to be rebuilt by the summer of 2027.

Northern Ireland could have a role as a training base or host warm-up matches at the existing Windsor Park stadium, but hosting tournament fixtures appears to be over.

Plans have been in place to build a new stadium at Casement Park since 2011.

The initial estimated cost of rebuilding Casement was £77.5m, with £62.5m coming from the Stormont executive and £15m from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

That was more than a decade ago, and since then costs have risen dramatically.

To try to cater for soccer as well as GAA matches increased the cost further, as UEFA requires a higher specification of stadium.

Although hopes of being part of the Euro 2028 tournament may be over, it does not mean the stadium cannot be rebuilt for the GAA, which was the original purpose.

However, that will not be cheap either, and the GAA will be hoping that even though the UK government has said it will not be funding a Euro 2028 compliant stadium, it may still contribute to the redevelopment whenever it happens.

The Irish government has already pledged more than £40m.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, was previously due to be sentenced on 2 September - but proceedings were adjourned when the court learned the boy's mother was on holiday in Ibiza.

The boy was accompanied by his uncle instead, but District Judge Joanne Hirst told Manchester Magistrates' Court she was "frankly astonished" and ordered a parental summons for the mother to explain herself.

The 30-year-old single mother, who also cannot be named because that would identify her son, appeared at the court on Wednesday alongside him and told the judge the Spanish island break had cost £1,200.

She had decided to fly abroad for the five-day trip the day before her son was due to appear in court last week to be sentenced after admitting two counts of violent disorder.

Explaining her absence, she told the judge she spoke with her solicitor and the Youth Justice team: "It was not put to me how much I needed to be there. Each one said, 'Is there an appropriate adult?' My brother - which is why I went on holiday."

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She told the youngster, who has ADHD, he had been involved in "the worst type of feral behaviour in our country" and if an adult, he would be going to jail for up to five years.

However, the judge said she was giving him a "chance" and instead ordered him to complete a 12-month referral order.

He was described as a "lovely" child by his mother, but who had at times a "chaotic" home life.

The boy told the judge he was "sorry" and that he was receiving help from social workers and had taken up boxing.

Previously; Boy, 12, cannot be sentenced over riots after mum left for Ibiza holiday

Think of British cultural exports in the 21st century and you might reach for the familiar examples: James Bond, Downton Abbey, Adele.

But in the algorithm-driven universe of TikTok where a trend known as “Britishcore” is one of the most in demand movements of the moment, it’s the mundane aspects of life in the UK which are going viral.

Britishcore first emerged as a cultural term at the turn of the decade, to describe ramshackle symbols of British life such as dilapidated pubs and lone traffic cones.

Now it has spread to include videos inspired by Trainspotting, lip-synching to Towie stars and satirical celebrations of the Oasis reunion.>

TikTok has flagged a surge in interest for UK fashion, comedy and travel on its platform as evidence of renewed interest in British culture – and typically wry takes on it.

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In one TikTok, US content creator @the_quivey10 lists the things he wants to do when he comes to England. They include everyday activities popularised by BritishCore TikToks such as going on a “cheeky Tesco run” and grabbing a Greggs sausage roll.

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Alwyn Turner, senior lecturer at the University of Chichester and an expert in British popular culture, said a “sense of cheekiness” is what links together some of the UK’s most popular cultural exports.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/2686908

One of UK's oldest nuclear waste storage silos is currently leaking radioactive liquid into the ground. That is a “recurrence of a historic leak” that Sellafield Ltd, the company that operates the site, says first started in the 1970s.

Sellafield has also faced questions about its working culture and adherence to safety rules. The company is currently awaiting sentencing after it pleaded guilty, in June, to charges related to cyber-security failings.

An anti-corruption charity says it has identified significant concerns in contracts worth over £15.3bn awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, equivalent to one in every £3 spent.

Chinese car giant Chery is weighing up the possibility of building cars in the UK, according to a senior executive.

Its UK head Victor Zhang told the BBC it was a "matter of time" before the company made a final decision.

He said Chery, which is already preparing to build cars in Spain, was determined to take a "localised" approach to the European market.

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Chery, which was set up in 1997, is one of China’s largest car companies. It is already the country’s biggest exporter of vehicles, but has ambitious plans to expand further.

To help take that plan forward, it has set up two new brands focused entirely on the international market, Omoda and Jaecoo.

Last month, Omoda was officially launched in the UK. It has begun selling a mainstream SUV, the Omoda 5, in both electric and petrol-powered versions.

It has built a network of 60 dealerships, and hopes to have more than 100 here by the end of the year.

But it is far from the only Chinese manufacturer to see the British market as potentially lucrative.

BYD, which has been vying with Tesla for the title of the world's biggest manufacturer of electric cars, has also opened dozens of dealerships here.

SAIC is already well-established in the UK, selling cars under the classic British MG marque.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/2595305

Two sanctioned Russian oligarchs have become part-owners of the UK's largest oil producer after it completed a deal to buy a German firm.

LetterOne, the investment company part-owned by oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, now owns nearly 15% of Harbour Energy.

LetterOne itself is not sanctioned, and the two Russians have no contact with the firm and don't receive any share of its profits.

Harbour Energy is the largest oil and gas producer in UK waters. It has bought most of the oil and gas production assets of a Germany-based firm, Wintershall DEA, from the chemicals giant BASF.

"A mass grave containing more than 300 bodies, including babies and children, has been uncovered.

An unmarked burial site at Royton Cemetery in Oldham contained 145 stillborn children, 128 babies and young children and 29 adults, local councillors said..."

The UK's competition regulator has launched an investigation into Oasis ticket sales after widespread complaints over pricing.

The investigation is also set to include a wider probe into how "dynamic pricing" was used during the sale.

Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing meant that when reunion tour tickets went on sale, prices would rise in-line with demand.

The 90s Brit rock icons announced two extra Wembley Stadium shows as part of their 2025 UK tour on Wednesday, after "phenomenal demand" for tickets left many fans empty handed during the main sale on Saturday.

Tickets for the band's tour went for up to £350 per ticket, around £200 more than had been advertised.

In response to widespread uproar over pricing, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today announced it has launched an investigation.

The CMA confirmed it is now scrutinising whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law.

The probe follows Oasis' comments hitting out at Ticketmaster's pricing policy, with many fans pay over the odds to secure access to the tour.

In an apparent response to the anger about dynamic pricing, they say tickets will be sold by a 'staggered, invitation-only ballot process'.

Was aware of the 7726 short code for spammers

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/phone-internet-downloads-or-tv/stop-getting-nuisance-calls-and-texts/

but never heard of 159 before.

Heads up?

Ministers have been urged to treat suicide as a public health crisis after the rate at which people killed themselves in England and Wales reached the highest level in more than two decades.

The official figures, described by the suicide prevention charity Samaritans as “worse than expected”, showed 6,069 suicides were registered in the two nations in 2023, up from 5,642 in 2022 and the highest rate since 1999.

Three-quarters of the deaths were of males, but the female suicide rate reached its highest level since 1994, according to the annual Office for National Statistics figures.

“Rates increased across all age groups compared to 2022, especially among those aged 45 to 64 years,” said Vahé Nafilyan, the head of data and analysis for social care and health at the ONS.

“Suicide rates either increased or remained unchanged in each of the nine English regions, but the north-west saw the largest rise.

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In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Archived link

UK government to equip teachers with AI tools to help them "mark and plan lessons"

The project, which has £4 million of government investment behind it, will feed government documents – including curriculum guidance, lesson plans, and anonymized pupil assessments – into AI models, which will then spit out "accurate, high quality content."

[...]

The £4 million in funding will be divided into £3 million for the content store itself – which will consist of teaching standards, guidelines, and lesson plans – and £1 million for AI companies that come up with "the best ideas to put the data into practice to reduce teacher workload."

Moves to deal with teacher workload have been broadly welcomed, although the use of AI was greeted with caution.

[...]

The journalists asked the government how anonymity will be protected in the training set and how the scenario where an AI might end up marking homework generated by an AI from a lesson plan produced by an AI might be avoided, but they have yet to receive a response, the article says.