Ministers urged to explain plans which could re-establish Hong Kong extraditions
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
China's financial offer to boost births
China has introduced a nationwide annual childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan (£376) for each child under three years old. The scheme, effective from 1 January 2025, aims to combat the country's declining birth rate and is projected to benefit nearly 20 million families. This initiative follows China's population falling for the third consecutive year, with a decline of 1.39 million in 2024. The long-term decline in birth rates is linked to the former one-child policy, rapid urbanisation, and a cultural preference for male children. Critics argue that financial incentives alone may not be enough, pointing to high childcare costs, job uncertainty, and gender discrimination as key factors discouraging family growth.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Issuing prison officers with Tasers won't make them safer
If you have read anything on the prison system over the past few years, you will have noticed a few common themes: overcrowding, understaffing, reoffending, crumbling infrastructure, and abject conditions. Our prisons are increasingly places of despair – full of drugs, drones, self-harm, violence and deaths. The recent annual report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons lay testament to the extent of the crisis gripping the prison system. And the government knows this. Its own research sets out that people living in overcrowded cells were 19 per cent more likely to be involved in assault incidents – and 67 out of the 121 adult male prisons in this country are overcrowded. In the context of rising violence across the prison estate, what is the government's solution? To recruit and train more prison officers? To address overcrowding by reducing capacity in particularly troubled jails and across the system? To invest in infrastructure? To increase education and training budgets to give prisoners access to the means to turn their lives around? No. While we wait for bolder action to fix the broken prison system, the government's response is to trumpet the fact that Tasers will now be used behind bars. The introduction of Tasers has been linked to horrific incidents involving attacks on staff at Frankland and Belmarsh – although it is far from clear that access to these weapons would have prevented either incident taking place. Staff in adult male prisons already have access to batons and PAVA spray, which we know undermine positive relationships between staff and those in their care. The escalating use of force brings with it a multitude of concerns. Inspection reports have consistently revealed inappropriate use of force, including against people threatening to self-harm; problems with lack of staff training; inadequate use of body-worn cameras; and disproportionate use of force against people from Black, Black/British, and Muslim backgrounds. While Tasers are being piloted in a limited manner – just the 'operational response and resilience unit' will be authorised to use them – the fear must be that this is the thin edge of the wedge. Indeed, speaking to journalists about Tasers, the secretary of state for justice, Shabana Mahmood, remarked: 'This is very much the beginning'. It seems that the rollout of further weapons in prisons has been foretold. And that would track; two months ago, the secretary of state approved of the use of PAVA spray – an otherwise illegal chemical incapacitant – in prisons holding children, despite evidence that it won't reduce violence and will be disproportionately used against Black and minority ethnic children, Muslim children and children with disabilities. Last week, the Howard League issued legal proceedings to challenge this decision. Almost every week, I visit prisons across the country and speak to people being held in and working in dreadful conditions. Many of this country's jails are filthy, overrun simultaneously with drones and rats. People eat – and go to the toilet – in cramped cells with poor ventilation. There are more than 22,000 people sharing a cell intended for a single person. Facilities have become dilapidated as the maintenance backlog has grown. Restricted regimes, often due to staff shortages, mean that people have little to do but stay locked in their cells. I speak to prison governors doing their very best to keep the people in their care safe, though they are often uncomfortable with the job they are doing, feeling powerless to attract the resources they need to run a better jail. They all want fewer people in their prison, higher staff confidence and capability, and more time to spend with prisoners to help turn their lives around. But there is no money for any of that. And so, prisoners are held in ghastly conditions, and when this leads to unrest and violence, the government is sanctioning yet more use of force against them. There is no question that the government is facing a crisis in its prisons. But this will not be solved with easy, reactionary policies. What is needed is political courage to explain the problems honestly to the public – as Keir Starmer started to do last July – and long-term investment in evidence-based policy that addresses the roots of the overcrowding and reoffending in our prison system. Violence will not be stemmed by more violence. The government must look at its own evidence and acknowledge that, rather than adding to the pressure in our overstretched jails, the best response to rising levels of violence is to reduce the prison population and offer productive and positive regimes for people in custody. We will be waiting until September for legislation to deliver changes proposed in David Gauke's sentencing review, which will hopefully ease some of this pressure. But otherwise, the government's plan seems to be to build more prisons, and weaponise them at pace. Which feels a long way from the promise of the prime minister's first press conference last July.
North Wales Live
2 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Closure plan for toilets in Flintshire leaves people desperate for solutions
Three public toilets facing closure in Flintshire could be transferred to local ownership, the county council has said. A decision to axe the facilities has caused uproar, with petitions attracting hundreds of signatures over the weekend. Flintshire Council said the toilets are 'no longer financially sustainable'. They were due close on September 8, 2025, unless a viable alternative is found, but a public consultation is now being organised amid complaints the decision was not properly scrutinised. The sites include the Bus Station in Mold, off High Street in Holywell and Station Road in Talacre. Since the announcement, a special council meeting has been called by opposition councillors and the proposal will be debated on August 7. Oppoisition to another cut in public services is being fueled by Flintshire's 9.5% Council Tax hike this year, following a 9% rise in 2024. A petition, organised by Mold resident Sue Price, is fast closing in on 600 signatures with the aim of reaching 3,000 names. You can find this here. She argues that everyone will lose out if the Mold bus station facility closes – from parents to commuters and elderly bus passengers. The facility is also used by tourists, shoppers and bus drivers, she said. Sue stressed the loss of public toilets would compromise the Welsh Government's climate change and active travel agendas – to get more people using public transport as well as walking and cycling. 'Closing essential facilities at a major transport interchange like Mold Bus Station discourages the use of active and public transport – undermining both climate goals and public health efforts to promote healthier lifestyles,' she wrote. Vulnerable people and disabled groups were likely to suffer the most, which could amount to 'indirect discrimination', she added. Another petition has been launched to save Holywell's toilets. This one, by Nathan Evans, highlighted the damage closing them would cause to the town centre already in 'gradual decline'. It can be found here. Calling for greater resources, not just to retain the toilets but to upgrade the High Street, he wrote: 'Closing them would not only inconvenience many people but also discourage foot traffic into our local businesses, potentially leading to a further economic downturn of our beloved High Street. 'Investing in the High Street must be a priority. Improving the business environment, perhaps by offering incentives to local shops or improving the aesthetic appeal with greenery and seating areas, can make a significant difference.' Flintshire Council wants to explore funding options or partnerships – it is seeking expressions of interest from town and community councils to take on the ownership and ongoing operation of the toilets. In addition, a public consultation will be held from September, seeking ideas for 'alternative solutions' to keep the facilities open. Without a viable transfer agreement in place, the facilities will have to close, said Council leader Cllr David Hughes. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox He added: 'This is not a decision the council has taken lightly. We recognise the importance of these amenities to the local communities and visitors. 'We are committed to working constructively with partner organisations to explore all available alternatives. "I want to reassure the public that, whilst we seek alternative providers to run these facilities, and until we have exhausted all viable options, these amenities will continue to operate.'
