The Care Leavers Association says accessing files from a childhood in care can be one of the most important experiences of a care-leaver's life. But the information watchdog warns that people trying to access their own care records are being let down. vimeo.com/1143488115?f...

"You have to take a lot of bad pictures. Don't be afraid to take bad pictures… You have to take a lot of bad pictures in order to know when you’ve got a good one." RIP Martin Parr, a unique photographer and an inspiration to others who love photography. bit.ly/3XFBlUI

Dismal and short-sighted.

A new crackdown on tax evasion is forecast to glean £2.6bn, making it the 3rd largest revenue-raiser in the budget. But research by TaxWatch shows that HMRC is already struggling. Just 26 of 6,700 new compliance staff promised in 2024 are recruited and working. @taxwatch.bsky.social #budget25 #tax

Consultants aren't cheap. They cost the government at least £1.4bn a year. But there's a lack of data about why consultants are used. It could be that government isn't building the inhouse capabilities it needs. @nao.org.uk bit.ly/3KcIicC

Rachel Reeves implies that everyone should pay more tax. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says 10% of the UK population owns 57% of wealth, while 50% own less than 5%. Inequality is fuelled by a tax system stacked in favour of the ultra-rich. Here's how things could be fairer. bit.ly/47C9462

We're so fortunate to have the completed work on public view in Tate Britain.

Anyone using an ultrasound machine can call themselves a sonographer and offer baby scans. The consequences can be devastating. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

NHS leaders warn that without £3bn emergency fundiing hospitals will start rationing treatment. This, while the Home Office is squandering billions by mismanaging private contracts worth an unbelievable £15.3bn to house asylum seekers. bit.ly/3J6t7Bv

Blustery but exhilarating weather along the north Wales coast this weekend. #Wales

The beloved BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time has been awarded the 2025 British Academy President’s Medal! Professor Susan J Smith, President of the British Academy, praised the programme for bringing rigorous yet accessible discussion of complex ideas to millions of listeners: buff.ly/1bn63FD

Not content with being the King of America, Donald Trump seems bent on becoming the King of the World. Latest Politics Weekly America, featuring my excellent colleague Andrew Roth open.spotify.com/episode/4e7F...

The 'independent' IFS argues that our most vulnerable citizens should pay to fix the UK's financial woes. It says nothing about tackling tax abuse by rich individuals and companies, nor stopping private providers of public servies from robbing taxpayers' money. bit.ly/43odP1E

Ada Lovelace used mathematics to design the world’s first algorithm intended for a machine. This was done decades before computers were even built! Who is a woman in STEM that inspires you? 👩‍🔬🧪 #AdaLovelace #WomeninSTEM #Science

Bank of England Governor warns of vulnerable global financial system & possible crash. Inflated stock markets AI overvalued No regulation of shadow banking Excessive debt - if one domino falls Deregulation of finance Trump tariffs Who will pick-up the cost of bailouts? archive.md/gQ3x2

New figures out today show an increase in unemployment, as well as a decrease in employment and economic inactivity in June-August compared to May-July. Our updated explainer has the figures 👇 fullfact.org/economy/empl...

Would comprehensive social care free to those who need it, regardless of income and savings work for the UK? This would be similar to the way the NHS works and how adult social care works in Denmark and other countries too. bit.ly/42Bssyt

BREAKING: The National Union of Journalists describe the Conservative Party's banning of Byline Times journalists from covering their conference as a threat to media freedom which "undermines the Conservative Party leader’s repeated pledge to fight for free speech" bylinetimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

What could the implications be if #NHS continuing healthcare (CHC) - a package of NHS funded care - is not improved? @rachelhutchings.bsky.social's latest blog explains some concerning findings from her research on this poorly understood service. 👇 www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/nh...

Thanks @orielcolwyn.bsky.social for a great day 1 of the North Eye photography festival. Including an inspirational talk by the great Martin Parr. To paraphrase Parr: the beauty of photograph is that you never know what you are going to get. Here is young Parr with his dad. bit.ly/4o4h7PJ

"Residents receive exceptional health & personal care, promoting their overall wellbeing & ensuring they lead a joyful, satisfying life in a surrounding that is nurturing, comfortable and supportive," says Morar Care Homes of its "luxurious" facilities. The BBC uncovers the truth. bit.ly/4mIkCdm

"As I wheeled my cleaning trolley round the corridors, I was acutely aware of pleading faces peering out of bedrooms, hoping for a few minutes of company and conversation." And for £1,800 a week. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It's National Black Dog Day 2025, dedicated to celebrating them and encouraging people to adopt them from shelters. So here's beautiful Whizz, adopted from @dogstrust.bsky.social in 2021. She's a joy.

Theatr Clwyd's £50m refit is a triumph for #Wales. On a first visit to the 'new' theatre this week, much enjoyed Ayckbourn's Snake in the Grass. Its Welsh-English bilingual Romeo & Juliet is off on tour ending at London's Globe, the 1st time Welsh will heard on the South Bank. bit.ly/46yiErv

Think the Tony Blair Institute looks sinister? You've not seen anything yet. Crucial investigation by @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Democracy for Sale: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-the...

Patients have complained about disruption to outpatients bookings and waiting lists following the introduction of a new electronic patient record (EPR) system at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. www.digitalhealth.net/2025/09/pati...

Privatisation of UK industries driving cost of living crisis & inequality. People ripped off by water, energy, rail, mail companies. Profiteering at care homes, dentists, GP surgeries, cataract clinics. Social housing destroyed. Privatisation is a scam. Delivered low investment, poor service.

Private Eye hits the nail on the head. But it isn't responsible for the possibility of us being deemed a nation of losers and getting hammered by a massive tariff. @privateeyenews.bsky.social

NHS GPs provide a wonderful service. But the BMJ finds that one in three GPs in England don't work in the NHS, while it costs taxpayers £430,540 for each GP to qualify. Wes Streeting should start improving retention by addressing burnout. @bma.org.uk @patients-association.org.uk bit.ly/4nc2ee9

Prisons are to cut spending on education by 50%, despite Labour's pledge to improve “access to learning”. How very short-sighted. The Institute for Government reports that education in prison and employment on release are two of the best ways to reduce reoffending. bit.ly/4n3Lzcr

Owen Cooper's record-breaking Emmy win is a result of his time at Drama MOB, a drama school in Manchester. He is living proof of what young people can achieve when they have access to arts education 🏆

Many of the most vulnerable children are not receiving the residential care they need. Costs to councils for residential care doubled between 2019-20 and 2023-24 to £3.1bn, @nao.org.uk reports. There's a shortage of places, so private providers push up prices. bit.ly/4pm0G2v

‘He made white British readers recognise Jamaican patois. Most readers need to articulate the poems in order to understand their meaning: glancing at the page isn’t enough.’ Mendez on Linton Kwesi Johnson: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Rachel Reeves tells private equity bosses she plans to shut down more regulators. Numerous banking scandals. PE is unregulated PE devoured hospitals, care homes, water, high street. Banks continue to engage in predatory practices. What next? Finance sector needs effective regulation.

Almost 1m 16–24 year-olds are not in education, employment and training, up from 800,000 in 2019. One key reason, the TUC reports, is that the Apprenticeship Levy, intended to boost numbers, has fallen short. The outcome has been a decline in apprenticeship starts and achievements.

Less than 40% of councils’ spend goes on services such as street cleaning, waste collection and leisure centres, finds ‪@local.gov.uk‬. 60% goes on social care, with private equity reaping huge profits by providing these services. The answer? Bring social care back into public ownership.

'The Thames at Wapping.' (1931) Algernon Newton painted the Thames in this part of London on many occasions. This picture apes the way Canaletto painted Venice by defining space through light, a technique that makes Newton's work so beguiling.

A scandalous drain on valuable public housing resources. Now, and in the future, people should have the option of social housing. Social housing should be a respected and life-long housing option, which can be passed to the children of tenants. shorturl.at/LbSdk

PE has gobbled up dental surgeries too. It's a significant reason why it's impossible to obtain NHS dentistry in Wales. Many people are forced to wait until they're in pain before seeking NHS emergency care.

New NHS figures show the total waiting list for consultant-led hospital treatment in England rose by almost 10,000 between May and June. What we need from the government is further investment to expand NHS capacity.

Tax abuse costs the world an estimated £363bn in lost tax revenue every year. Well worth reading The Tax Justice Network report on why this matters for healthcare and enabling people to live longer, healthier lives. #TaxTheSuperRich @taxjustice.net shorturl.at/XuH0j

Thatcher’s right-to-buy scheme cost taxpayers £200bn. What distinguishes RTB from other privatisations is systematic under-pricing. Public wealth was given away. Now almost half of RTBs are privately rented. Research by ‪@cmmonwealth.bsky.social‬ bit.ly/46FUkUY

The spirit of Peter Rachman, the notorious slum landlord of the 1950s, is still alive in the private rental market. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Is Wales' government making best use of resources? It's just launched a card scheme to pay for gluten-free food. Way back, I reported in the Guardian the huge £984k cost to the public purse for gluten-free products. Meanwhile, more people - 796,100 - wait to start NHS treatment. bit.ly/4mawhSp

A total treat to spend lunchtime listening to Ravel’s String Quartet and the Piano Quintet by Fauré. Part of the splendid Conwy Classical Music Festival. There's no comparison to hearing music live. bit.ly/45nNlOj

Good news that the government collected an extra £5.2bn of taxes from billionaires last year. But MPs believe the scale of this success suggests non-compliance among the wealthy has got worse, or previous estimates of tax avoidance were too low. bit.ly/3ItwEsN

From May 2024 to May 2025, 4 billion people (half of the world’s population) experienced at least one extra month of extreme heat due to climate change. And what is Trump’s response? He just fired the last remaining State Department employees who work on climate change.

Pockets picked Big pharma made £12bn excess profit from just 10 NHS drugs; profit mark-ups up to 23,000%. Energy companies £514bn operating profit since 2020. England Water companies £85bn in dividends, dump sewage in rivers. Govts subservient to corporations. Abuses continue. Wither democracy.

There's no such thing as 'free' tech. We should be worried. rb.gy/744hmt

Another unmissable exhibition at Wales' groundbreaking and best photography gallery. A must for anyone interested in outstanding photographs, New York - or both! @orielcolwyn.bsky.social