Latest news with #Teesside-based
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
North East and Cumbria illegal working fines 25% higher than average
Fines for employing immigrants illegally have been issued in Cumbria and the north-east of England at a rate 25% higher than the UK 150 firms - mainly takeaways, restaurants, car-washes and barber shops - have been told to pay more than £2m in the last five years, according to Home Office penalties ranged from £10,000 to £90,000, and 11 businesses have been fined more than Labour MP for Hartlepool, Jonathan Brash, said: "British workers are being undercut by illegal immigrants." Using Office for National Statistics data for the number of local business units, the rate at which fines were issued from July 2019 to September 2024 can be calculated. Across the UK, about 1 in 1,200 companies received a fine; in the North East and Cumbria that figure was 1 in 960. In Hartlepool, a town of 90,000 people, more than 1 in 250 firms were fined. One - Marmaris Barber in Guisborough - is still trading despite having to pay out £80, shop confirmed it was still giving haircuts but did not respond to further requests for comment. Brash said a blind eye had been turned to the issue and that Hartlepool was a place already struggling when it came to employment and its local economy. "We can't afford to be undercutting illegal workers," he said. "It is something we've got to crack down on. It is in plain site."I have no issue with people coming here to work but they have to do it legally."The government said, since it came into power in July last year, arrests and illegal working visits by enforcement officers had gone up 38% compared with the same period 12 months previously. The chairman of Reform UK's Sunderland Central branch, Chris Eynon, said the government needed to do "way more". "We don't have a clue about how many illegal workers are actually in the North East and that's part of the problem," he said."We have a crisis of unemployment."We need to get British people who've lived here and paid in to the system for many years, they need to be going for these jobs not people who shouldn't be working illegally." Immigrants and asylum seekers Illegal working laws apply not only to those who are in the UK illegally, but also to those who are allowed to be in the country but cannot work, such as asylum someone claims asylum, they are provided with basic accommodation and usually just under £50 per if their claim is refused, they may be permitted to stay but can no longer receive any public money, or money from any employment. Pete Widlinski, who co-founded the Teesside-based Mary Thompson Fund which supports asylum seekers, said he understood why some people might take work despite not being allowed to do many cases, after having an asylum claim refused, "you're still legally allowed to be in the UK", he said."So they have every right to be here but they've got nothing. "You can understand that the least worst thing they can do is working illegally, rather than go robbing, burglary, or mugging people in the street." The minister for border security and asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said people coming to the UK have often been sold false promises."This ends up with unscrupulous employers undercutting law-abiding businesses and exploiting migrant workers, often treating them in inhumane ways," she said."That's why, as part of our plan for change, we are cracking down on illegal working at every level to end the abuse of vulnerable people, the immigration system and our economy." Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Lifeline' neonatal service in the North East is saved by new funding
A neonatal unit hailed as a 'lifeline' in the North East has been saved by new vital funding after facing an uncertain future due to financial difficulties. Leo's Neonatal, the only dedicated neonatal trauma support service in the region, has received backing from law firm Slater and Gordon. The Teesside-based charity, which supports the mental health and wellbeing of families affected by neonatal trauma, had been at risk of reducing its services due to a drop in funding and donations. (Image: LEO'S NEONATAL CHARITY) Founded in 2018, Leo's provides therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), trauma-focused talking therapies, Flash and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The charity has thousands of contacts with families across the North East each year and has seen increasing demand, with a 100 percent referral rate for mental health support from clinical staff. However, due to a drop in funding and donations, Leo's was forced to consider the future of some of its services – including its neonatal trauma support, which is the only dedicated service of its kind in the region, offering specialist lived experience mentoring and targeted trauma interventions. (Image: LEO'S NEONATAL CHARITY) Leo's founder and CEO, Lottie King, said losing the trauma support service would have been devastating for parents facing grief and trauma. Lottie established the charity in memory of her son, Leo, who died shortly after birth in 2015. His twin, Oska, was in the Special Care Baby Unit at North Tees Hospital for over 100 days after being born four days later. Now, law firm Slater and Gordon has partnered with Leo's – which received a Points of Light award from then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson for its life-changing impact – to deliver the funding to enable its specialist support for families in need to continue. Lottie said: 'Our neonatal trauma service has proved a lifeline to so many parents and it would have been absolutely devastating if we had to close. 'The need for specialist support for neonatal parents who have been impacted by grief and trauma is massive and increasing all the time, and it doesn't bear thinking about if we had to turn them away. "In addition to the huge pressure on NHS resources and long waiting lists for mental health support, there is no guarantee parents affected by neonatal trauma will be able to see a specialist – and at Leo's, our team know through their own lived experience how vital it is that specialist support is available." READ MORE: Fight for charity helping sick babies in North East UK's first Neonatal Mental Health Awareness Week launched by Leo's Baby's hearts to beat on forever with Leo's 'heartbeat bears' John Lowther, senior associate at Slater and Gordon in Newcastle, said: 'Leo's Neonatal has supported countless families across our region during some of their darkest days, and demand for their services is growing all the time. "This charity was born out of lived experience and has identified a range of areas in which specialist therapies, support and interventions can positively impact the lives of parents and children at times when they need it most. 'We are really delighted to partner with Lottie and her amazing team, and to be able to give our backing to the dedicated neonatal trauma support service, which we know plays such a critical role in the mental health of so many parents. "Knowing the impact of this service, and the growing demand Leo's faces to deliver it, its closure is unthinkable. We are so pleased we can help them to continue their life-changing work.'
