Displaying items by tag: British Isles

A prolonged dry spell and record-breaking temperatures have left rivers at exceptionally low levels, depleted reservoirs, and dried-out soils. Environment secretary George Eustice has urged more firms to take action to mitigate the effects of the prolonged dry weather. But each water company has different thresholds and demands, so we might not see a UK-wide ban. Sir Robert Goodwill, chairman of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee said, ‘It costs water companies money to impose a hosepipe ban and I suspect they have held off longer than they would have done twenty years ago when most people were unmetered and just paid their water rate.’ His comments come as the UK prepares to declare a drought. Water UK say that climate change and an increasing population mean there could be water shortages by 2050. On 10 August Thames Water sent water tankers to residents in the first place in Britain to run dry when Stokenchurch reservoir was found to contain E.coli.

The Environment Agency is expected to declare a drought in England, the Met Office has issued the highest warning in its Fire Severity Index, but UK’s fire brigades are completely unprepared for the risk posed by the soaring temperatures. On 14 August an ‘exceptional’ red fire risk warning will cover much of central and southern England as temperatures exceed 35C for the fourth day in a row for the first time since 1976. The national officer for the Fire Brigades Union said cuts to services across the UK have left fire services unable to cope with a repeat of the dozens of break-out fires and destroyed homes experienced last month. These fires burn at high temperatures, spread at incredible speed, and are brutally dangerous for fire and rescue crews to fight. Over a fifth of the workforce has been cut since 2010, yet they must deal with extreme weather events in increasing regularity and severity.

Most victims of burglary, robbery, and theft in England and Wales are not given the justice they deserve. HM chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke calls current low charge rates ‘unacceptable and unsustainable’. He said ‘Some tackle crimes effectively, but others miss opportunities to identify and catch offenders at all stages from when a crime is first reported.’ Lack of investigative capacity and experience is made worse by detective shortages. In the year up to March 2022 only 6.3% of robbery offences and 4.1% of thefts in England and Wales resulted in charges. Digital, forensic, technological and analytical capabilities are not good enough to allow officers to carry through to investigations. They must improve their approach to personal robbery, theft from a person, theft of and from motor vehicles, and domestic burglary. By March 2023, all police forces must ensure burglary, theft and robbery crime scenes are managed according to national standards and are effectively supervised and directed.

Some say that failure to plan for the millions of people coming to Britain is behind our current woes. Twenty years ago, Migration Watch UK said Britain could expect over two million immigrants every ten years unless curbs were introduced. The Home Office denounced the prediction, but the actual increase is far greater. Since 2002, the UK's population has grown by eight million. 80% of which is attributed to immigration: but no one talked about it. At the 2001 general election, parties promised ‘not to play the race card’ during their campaigns, so the impact of extensive immigration was closed. By the 2005 election it could not be ignored. Population increase is now the fastest in history. Recruiting overseas professionals (doctors, teachers, etc.) helps support our growing needs. However, the extra hospitals, schools, GP surgeries, houses, transport links and the like that are required for such a large number of people have not been provided in sufficient quantity.

When Archie Battersbee’s accident left him unconscious, he was put on life support treatment, but months later he had not regained consciousness and doctors said he was brain-stem dead. They planned to stop treatment. Archie's mother disagreed, wanting a ‘realistic time’ for her child to recover saying, ‘Planned death is euthanasia, which is illegal in this country. It is for God to decide what should happen to Archie, including if, when and how he should die.’ On 22 July we highlighted Archie’s situation and the need for law changes so that the vulnerable and their families are protected in end-of-life matters.  His parents began legal proceedings to keep Archie on life support treatment, but finally on 4 August the European Court of Human Rights refused their application to delay any changes to his treatment. Continue to pray for changes to be made around hospitals' power to make life or death decisions for the vulnerable.

On 1 August almost 700 migrants crossed the English Channel in 14 small boats, a record for the year so far. The French authorities stopped one boat at sea with 35 people on board. Government figures state over 17,000 people have arrived in the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats so far in 2022. Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have both vowed to toughen controls on migration into the UK as part of their bids to become next Tory leader and prime minister. Mr Sunak said he would tighten the definition of who qualifies for asylum and introduce a cap on refugee numbers. Ms Truss said she would increase the number of Border Force staff and extend the UK's Rwanda asylum plan. However, no asylum seekers have been sent to the East African country yet following a series of legal challenges. See

On 3 August thirty police officers and immigration officials raided two properties and detained a 40-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, both originally from Somalia, on suspicion of offences linked to people-smuggling. The pair have lived in Northern Ireland for ten years; authorities believe they are part of an operation being run by an organised crime gang transporting people into the UK. Officers also searched the addresses for cash. Immigration officials say that individuals can pay gangs between £2,500 and £15,000 to be brought into the UK, often exploiting the Common Travel Area with the Republic of Ireland. Priti Patel said the operation showed expertly-trained officers working tirelessly to keep our country safe by disrupting suspected criminal activity. An immigration enforcement officer said this was just one of the ways they worked with the police to act against people-smuggling.

An estimated 585,000 households - 13% of everyone renting in the private market - have energy bills included in their rent. Citizens Advice said renters could miss out on the £400 energy rebate and the warm home discount if they are not the bill payer because those are paid to the landlord. The charity Shelter said tenants whose energy bills were included in their rent or service charge will be at the mercy of their landlord passing on this much-needed support, as there is no specific legal obligation for landlords to do so. They are not allowed to overcharge tenants for energy used or make a profit on it, but this could happen if they pocket the government support and continue to charge the same rate for utilities. The Government is looking into this, as it has acknowledged it is not right. Landlords can only charge for energy used, the standing charge and VAT.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates to 1.75%, the biggest rise in 25 years, as it predicts an even higher peak in inflation of 13%. It fears inflationary pressures are becoming ‘more persistent and broadening’. Many companies have been successfully raising prices which will push up consumer costs in the shops. The latest rise in gas prices has led to another significant deterioration in the financial outlook as the UK is now projected to enter recession. The bank has forecast that the UK economy will start shrinking in the fourth quarter of this year, and then keep contracting through next year. That would be the longest recession since after the 2008 financial crisis. The bank also points to the UK’s ‘tight’ labour market - a signal that it is worried about a wage-price spiral, as workers seek pay rises to help with the worst cost of living crisis in decades.

After the driest July since 1935, hosepipe bans will be introduced in Kent and Sussex on 12 August and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on the 5th. England has been moved into ‘prolonged dry weather’ status (the stage before a drought). Restrictions mean people cannot use hosepipes or anything that connects to an outside tap. Breaking the rules could lead to a £1,000 fine. Water UK said people use twice as much water as they did sixty years ago. Supplies must not be taken for granted. To avoid further bans people could collect water from baths, washing up, and cooking, known as grey water. Water used for cooking vegetables is nutritious for plants. Cutting off the end of a plastic bottle creates a funnel to channel water to the roots of plants, avoiding wastage. People can also reuse paddling pool water, wash dogs outside, and fill ponds with rainwater.