A private school in West Yorkshire is to close at the end of the autumn term, blaming VAT on fees and rising budgets for its “unsustainable position”. Moorlands School in Leeds will close on 31 December, 127 years after it opened in 1898. According to a statement from the school, the decision to close was agreed by trustees on Wednesday “in the face of increasingly difficult economic conditions that are impacting many independent schools and show little sign of abating”. The Department for Education said: “Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8bn a year by 2029/30 to help…
Author: dmnews
Staff at the University of Bradford will begin ten days of strike action next week over plans to make £16m of savings by cutting jobs and closing multiple courses. The University and College Union (UCU) said its members would walk out on Monday in protest against the cuts, with further dates planned throughout July. UCU general secretary Jo Grady said staff had “no choice but to down tools” and warned of further disruption if the university did not meet their demands. A spokesperson for the University of Bradford said: “We respect the rights of our staff to take industrial action.”…
A woman has blasted a Devon council for charging £8,000 for a replacement memorial bench in memory of beloved relatives. Jennie Warren said the bench was installed in Brixham in 2003 after her brother Peter died aged 40 and then a plaque for her parents Bill and Lucy was added. It was removed by Torbay Council when it was vandalised two-and-a-half years ago. The 76-year-old said she had now been told a replacement bench would cost her a “crazy” price of £8,000 – and it have would cost £12,000 if the bench was in Torquay. The council said it offered…
A company which saw its plans to build a gasification plant refused by a council is to appeal the decision. North-west Regeneration had wanted to build the energy from waste plant in Rockcliffe, Cumbria, but its plans were denied by Cumberland Council despite being recommended for approval. The Labour-led council rejected the proposals on Friday on the grounds that the impact on human health was unclear. North-west Regeneration said studies it had commissioned by independent experts had concluded there was “no detrimental impact on human health or the environment” A spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the reports had been reviewed…
A woman accused of attempting to murder two police officers has appeared in court. Cumbria Police was called to a property at Lister Court, in the Raffles area of Carlisle, at 09:30 BST on 28 May, where an occupant allegedly assaulted the officers with a knife. Hannah Smaile, 25, is also charged with unlawfully and intentionally threatening two officers with a bladed article in a private place. No pleas were entered by Ms Smaile at Carlisle Crown Court and a provisional trial date of 16 March was agreed. The court heard that a female officer sustained a wound to her…
An inquest into the death of a teenager has been opened and suspended, as police continue to investigate the crash that killed him. Timothy Paul Jolley, 19, of Ulverston, Cumbria, died in the two-vehicle collision on the A5087 Coast Road at Rampside, near Barrow, on 6 June. During a hearing at Cockermouth Coroner’s Court, coroner Margaret Taylor said Mr Jolley was the front seat passenger of a Volkswagen, which was struck from behind by an Audi. Cumbria Police said the Audi driver, a 20-year-old man from Barrow, had been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving…
Progress in vaccinating children against a variety of life-threatening diseases has stalled in the past two decades – and even gone backwards in some countries – a new global study suggests. The situation has been made worse by the Covid pandemic, leaving millions of children unprotected from diseases such as measles, tuberculosis and polio. The researchers are calling for a concerted effort to provide better and more equal access to vaccines. Child health experts warn that cuts to international aid budgets that fund vaccination programmes, combined with vaccine scepticism, are creating a “perfect storm”. The global childhood vaccination programme has been…
A “Trojan horse” therapy that sneaks toxic drugs inside cancer cells is being made available on the NHS in England in a world first. It can halt the blood cancer myeloma for nearly three times longer than current therapies. The drug is an advanced form of chemotherapy that hits cancer with a bigger dose, while reducing side-effects. Paul Silvester, one of the first people to get it, says the therapy has been “life-changing” and he’s now planning history-themed adventures. Myeloma – also known as multiple myeloma – affects part of the immune system called plasma cells. These are made in…
UK scientists say they have developed a test which can help identify women with an abnormal womb lining that increases their risk of miscarriage. They say their work could pave the way for new treatments for those going through repeated pregnancy loss. In some women with a history of miscarriage, the womb lining doesn’t react the way it should – transforming into a supportive place for the embryo to implant, the Warwick University team discovered. Charities say the findings could help provide an explanation, in some cases, for the trauma and devastation of recurrent miscarriage. Around one in six of…
Earlier this month, the Chancellor set out departmental public spending plans through 2028/29 (and to 2029/30 for capital funding), shaping the fiscal landscape for the bulk of the parliament. By most accounts, the NHS emerged as a relative ‘winner’, receiving more funding than many anticipated. However, the uplift remains modest by historical standards and NHS services are under major strain. In this analysis, we assess how far this funding will stretch in the face of various NHS pressures and the government’s policy ambitions. What did the Spending Review allocate to DHSC? The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)’s total budget will…