logo
Cumbernauld town centre evacuated as church fire continues

Cumbernauld town centre evacuated as church fire continues

Yahoo2 days ago
CUMBERNAULD town centre has been evacuated due to smoke from a nearby church fire.
The B-listed St Mungo's Trinity Parish Church has been destroyed after a fire which broke out on Saturday night.
Fire crews have been in attendance since, with local residents evacuated as a precaution.
Now The Centre, a large brutalist structure containing more than 100 retail units, has been evacuated too.
It is understood that the decision was made for health and safety reasons, as the surrounding areas are very smoky from the ongoing blaze at St Mungo's.
It is not clear when people will be able to access The Centre building again.
"It smells really smoky everywhere," one person evacuated told The National.
The latest fire comes after another blaze ripped through the historic Cumbernauld Cottage Theatre just last week.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The truth hurts
The truth hurts

Washington Post

time16 minutes ago

  • Washington Post

The truth hurts

Cookie Choices for EU, Swiss & UK Residents We and our 914 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting I Accept enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. Selecting Reject All or withdrawing your consent will disable them. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Manage Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage . Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy. If you click 'I accept,' in addition to processing data using cookies and similar technologies for the purposes to the right, you also agree we may process the profile information you provide and your interactions with our surveys and other interactive content for personalized advertising. If you are an EU, Swiss, or UK resident and you do not accept, we will process cookies and associated data for strictly necessary purposes and process non-cookie data as set forth in our If you click 'I accept,' in addition to processing data using cookies and similar technologies for the purposes to the right, you also agree we may process the profile information you provide and your interactions with our surveys and other interactive content for personalized you are an EU, Swiss, or UK resident and you do not accept, we will process cookies and associated data for strictly necessary purposes and process non-cookie data as set forth in our Privacy Policy (consistent with law and, if applicable, other choices you have made).

Why did shared parental leave fail in the UK?
Why did shared parental leave fail in the UK?

Yahoo

time38 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Why did shared parental leave fail in the UK?

When shared parental leave was introduced in 2015 in the UK, the coalition government described it as a 'radical' policy that would transform the lives of new parents. By sharing up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay, it was touted as a way to narrow the gender pay gap and give dads the opportunity to bond with their babies. A decade on, however, it's difficult to see shared parental leave as anything but a failure. A 2024 study by researchers at the University of Bath, which used data from 40,000 households across the UK, found the scheme hasn't affected the number of fathers taking leave – nor the length of leave they choose to take. In 2023, a government evaluation of shared parental leave found that only 1% of eligible mothers and 5% of fathers took it. Meanwhile, the pay gap between mothers and fathers has grown by 93p per hour since 2020. Sharing maternity leave 'The problem with parental leave is that what it is actually offering is the chance for partners to take a share of the mother's maternity leave, which means that mothers need to reduce their time off for their partner so that they can have more time,' explains Rachel Grocott, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed. Effectively there is no individual entitlement, only existing maternity leave rights transferred by the mother to the other parent. The effect is to entrench, rather than right, the gender pay gap. Read more: How to stay motivated during a long job hunt But other flexible parental leave schemes around the world have been far more successful. In 2022, for example, Finland reformed its parental leave system to give parents equal amounts of leave. Now, each parent gets a quota of 160 paid days off to be used before the child turns two. As a result, paternity leaves have nearly doubled. 'Other schemes allow for both parents to take a good amount of leave as two parents – it's a real nod of recognition to the value that parents play in a healthy society,' says Grocott. 'In the UK, dads get a measly two weeks of leave, which pales in comparison to other countries. The thing is, other countries have proven the worth of decent shared leave and we're still dragging behind.' Complicated eligibility requirements Another key problem is that shared parental leave is incredibly complex. Eligibility for the scheme is based on the employment status and earnings of both parents. Only employees who have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks can take shared parental leave. Both parents must meet strict criteria related to employment status, income and length of service. They must also coordinate the transfer of unused maternity leave, give specific notices, and submit formal declarations. Read more: Does mental health first aid work? 'It is ridiculously complex,' says George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift. 'Most people in the UK work for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and it's just totally unrealistic to expect a pub or gardening business to have the HR capacity needed to get shared parental leave set up.' And, although agency workers and workers on zero-hours contracts may be entitled to shared parental pay, parents who are self-employed or working in the gig economy aren't eligible. Low rates of pay The poor rate of shared parental leave uptake is often placed on the shoulders of men simply not being interested, but this is not the case. For the vast majority of men, shared parental leave is simply not a financially viable option. Maternity, paternity and adoption pay are 43% less than the national living wage – making the UK's parental leave system one of the least generous of all developed countries. 'UK statutory paternity leave is so bad, many families never get a real choice about how they want to share childcare,' says Gabriel. 'In most households, men still earn more on average than their partners, so when it comes to them taking shared parental leave, it's even more expensive for them to take the time off at the measly rate of statutory pay.' Better pay, use it or lose it So, what makes a flexible parental leave policy successful? First and foremost, it must offer adequate pay and include all types of parents, regardless of their employment status. Just as important is individual entitlement – giving fathers and secondary caregivers their own right to well-paid leave. When this leave is non-transferable, each parent has a clear incentive to use it, which leads to higher uptake, especially among fathers. Countries with the highest rates of parental leave uptake among men have shared parental leave policies which are financially supported and ring-fenced. In Sweden and Iceland, which offer non-transferable leave for the father, men's uptake is much higher (about 90%) than it is in Denmark (24%), which doesn't offer it, according to an EU study. Read more: Why the pressure to be liked at work is holding women back 'Maternity Action is calling for an entitlement to six months' maternity leave and an additional six months' parental leave for each parent to be taken flexibly within 18 months of the birth. Also, the government should increase parental pay to the level of the national living wage. "We recognise the government may not be able to deliver all this at once, but we would like to see a plan for phasing in improved parental leave and pay.' Read more: How to speak to your boss about miscarriage How to stay motivated during a long job hunt Does mental health first aid work?Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Brazen selfish parking or 'residents left with no choice'
Brazen selfish parking or 'residents left with no choice'

Yahoo

time38 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Brazen selfish parking or 'residents left with no choice'

Images of a row of cars parked on pavements outside houses on a Liverpool street have sparked criticism and debate. The pictures were taken recently and show a number of vehicles parked fully on the pathway in Bailey Street. Bailey Street is a very small road on the edge of Liverpool City Centre, which lies close to the city's Anglican Cathedral and the Chinatown area. Concerns have now been raised about the parking situation in the street. One worried reader sent the image of several cars parked fully on the pavement of Bailey Street. READ MORE: 'I used to give to foodbanks but I hate them and you should too' READ MORE: Care worker 'fell in love with' boy at children's home where she worked They asked: "Why do residents park directly outside their front doors? Would this block emergency services getting inside?" The image has also been shared on social media discussion site reddit, where many commenters also criticised those choosing to park their vehicles in this way. One user said: "So many drivers don't think about how their parking forces wheelchair and pram users into the road." Another commenter said: "My heart sinks a little every time I see a pensioner with a walker having to take their time on the side of the road because of how common this is." And another reddit user added: "Because god forbid they have to walk a few extra feet just so that disabled people can freely get around." But some on the forum had more sympathy for the residents of the tiny road. One said: "Now to be fair to them where the hell else are they supposed to park? That street is tiny." Another added: "I would say obviously in this situation parking on the road would block the road and they have no choice." Pavement parking is a major issue here in Merseyside and causes great concerns for many. It is a particular problem for people in wheelchairs or parents with prams, who can find themselves forced into roads when pavements and pathways are blocked by parked cars. Liverpool City Council has vowed to crack down on pavement parking in the city, but leaders say they need more powers to do this - similar to how it operates in London. In the capital, pavement parking is generally banned and local councils have the power to enforce this ban. There are exemptions where it can be allowed. But outside of the capital, the same rules do not apply and the same powers are not afforded to local councils to take the same action. Cllr Nick Small, Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for growth and the economy, previously told the ECHO: "Councils outside London need the same legal powers as London councils to be able to determine locally exactly what's right to deal with the problems in their patch as they see fit." Liverpool Council said it is aware of the situation in Bailey Street and is investigating.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store