
Lincolnshire's tourism boost despite ongoing challenges
It was the first time Greater Lincolnshire's visitor economy had exceeded £3bn, the council said, despite challenges with fluctuating visitor numbers and rising costs.Ms Toyne said: "We're really pleased to see growth because it's been really a challenging season for the visitor economy in 2024."There were lots of challenges really from the cost of living rising, through to just things as simple as the weather."She said it was still a challenging time for businesses and the number of events held in the county last year had brought people in.Ms Toyne said there was a focus on film and television tourism with fans coming to see locations, for example the Netflix horror Frankenstein, which was filmed at Burghley House, near Stamford.The council said nearly 30% of travellers now said television shows and movies influenced their travel plans. Councillor Liam Kelly, executive councillor for growth at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "Rising costs weren't helped by poor weather last year, so it is a real testament to their hard-work, resilience and for Lincolnshire's pull as a great holiday destination."
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The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Free childcare crisis as surge in demand leaves Labour with funding black hole
Ministers have been warned the childcare sector is at risk of 'collapse' after a boom in demand for free care left a major government scheme in financial peril. A plan to expand free childcare for British families is set to cost the government an extra £1bn per year at a time when ministers are grappling to fill the gaping black hole in public finances. Labour has not spelled out how the funding gap will be filled, but experts predict the shortfall will create 'substantial pressure' on the government and could put the entire childcare sector under threat. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Bridget Phillipson insisted the unexpectedly high take-up – a quarter higher than predicted – was a 'good problem to have' and would not leave children without places. But the education secretary could not guarantee that parents would get a space at their local nursery in September, when the scheme expands to offer eligible children aged nine months and older 30 hours a week of free childcare. Industry leaders said parents would be left 'disappointed' while nurseries warned a a lack of staff meant they were already struggling to deliver the government's pledge. CEO of the Early Years Alliance Neil Leitch told The Independent: 'One thing is absolutely clear: if 80 per cent of all hours delivered are government hours, and those hours are inadequately funded, the infrastructure will collapse over a period of time. 'I can't say it will be one year or five years, but you can bet your bottom dollar if you don't give somebody enough money to deliver a service, at some point they stop.' Figures published in March show the number of people newly entitled to free childcare was 26 per cent higher than originally estimated – 379,000 compared to 302,000. This meant that the Department for Education spent £2bn on the policy last year, up from a planned £1.6bn. But this is only set to grow as further hours of free childcare are rolled out. According to the highly-respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, the cost of extending free childcare to under-3s could end up costing £1bn more a year than previously expected, from 2026/7 onwards – up from around £4bn to approximately £5bn. A boost to funding announced in Rachel Reeves' Spending Review, of £640 million, would 'go some way to filling this gap… (but) could still leave substantial pressure from higher-than-expected take-up', the IFS said. Associate director Christine Farquharson said the DfE will still likely face 'difficult choices' within its budget and may have to 'trim back' spending in other areas to meet its childcare commitments. 'They have a fixed pot of money. When one thing becomes more expensive, that puts more pressure on other areas of the [education] budget,' she told The Independent. Ms Farquharson said predictions for how many parents would take up the free hours were 'complex' but added: 'It does seem like [the Tories] underestimated take-up pretty systematically.' It is just one of many financial decisions facing the chancellor ahead of the autumn Budget after planned welfare cuts, aimed at saving £5bn annually, were reversed. Ms Reeves is being pushed to bend her rules on borrowing or to rise taxes to keep public finances on track. The free childcare policy was launched in December 2023 with great fanfare under former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The first stage was put in place from September 2024, when the government extended 15 hours a week of free term-time childcare to working parents with a child aged nine months and over. From September, that will be extended to 30 hours a week . Labour say they were left a 'pledge without a plan' when they entered government. Ministers have been working to massively expand the number of nursery spaces and staff but the task has been made more difficult by the fact that, unlike schools, many nurseries are private providers. But industry leaders warned that, with 8 in 10 of all nursery hours soon set to be paid for by the government, the infrastructure was at risk of 'collapse' without more money. The sector has already been forced to absorb huge additional costs in recent years, including April's national insurance rise, it warned. Childcare in the UK is one of the most expensive in the world, according to the OECD. Mr Leitch added: 'What we have to bear in mind is that we've already got a recruitment and retention crisis. The reality is, many settings don't have the people to be able to accommodate those additional hours. So I'm afraid there will be parents that will be disappointed.' Sarah Ronan, the director of the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, said the IFS was right to sound the alarm, adding that if the government did not match demand with funding it is leaving providers with 'no choice' but to limit the number of places they offer – or raise fees. 'The harsh reality is that if providers don't do that, they'll face closure and then we'll have an even worse crisis on our hands,' she said. Purnima Tanuk, the executive chair of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said the government's ambitions 'will be put at risk if there is not sufficient investment in early years.' She added that 'almost 70 per cent of nurseries told us that staff shortages mean they cannot offer the children's places they have room to deliver'. Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem education spokesperson, said providers had been left 'hanging by a thread and parents (are) facing the prospect of childcare deserts'. 'The government need to ensure that the funding for childcare hours matches the actual costs of delivery,' she said. Official statistics released last week showed a 7.2 per cent increase in early years staff, the largest annual rise since the series began. The Department for Education would not be drawn on where any extra money might come from. But Ms Phillipson insisted she was unafraid of the policy's popularity. She urged families to check what they are are entitled to, adding: 'I want as many parents as possible to take up the offer. It allows parents to juggle work and family life, but it also sets up children to succeed And the demand that parents are showing is a good problem to have, because it also brings economic dividends as well. 'If people are able to work, or work a few more hours… that helps us all as a society as well and it gets economic growth going'. Ms Phillipson has previously warned that, as the policy expands again in September, parents in the first wave might not get their first choice of nursery. Asked if she could say that all parents who want a space would get one, she told The Independent: 'What I can't guarantee is that it will be as close to home as they would like or it will be their first choice, but we're confident that the roll out will go well in September.' Ms Farquharson did add that the higher uptake of free childcare could ultimately be a good sign for the economy, even if it is more expensive in the short term. 'This higher uptake might mean that we're getting a lot more parents moving into paid work because of these entitlements than first predicted,' she said. 'If the goal for this policy is to drive growth, then this would be a fantastic success story.' However, the extent to which that is the case will only become apparent over the next few years, she said. A DfE spokesperson said: "High-quality, affordable childcare plays a vital role in our Plan for Change, which is why early years funding will rise to over £9 billion next year helping us meet our target of getting tens of thousands more children each year ready for school. 'We're backing families with this record investment including a £75 million grant this year to support providers in delivering more places and a 45 per cent uplift in early year pupil premium, building on the real difference this is making for families as highlighted by the Coram survey who say costs for some has halved.'


The Sun
8 minutes ago
- The Sun
Strictly's Anton Du Beke opens up about wife Hannah's ‘cruel and inexplicable' diagnosis in heartbreaking comments
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has opened up about his wife Hannah Summers' deeply harrowing experience with endometriosis and the effect it had on their journey to parenthood. The 59-year-old, who recently joined Celebrity Gogglebox, got married to marketing executive Hannah in 2017 and the pair welcomed their twins George and Henrietta through IVF. 4 4 4 Now Anton has revealed that his spouse had big reservations about her ability to start a family as a result of her condition. While appearing on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, the BBC One star expressed: 'I knew I wanted to be with her, I saw her with her nephews. She's so kind and so caring, I just couldn't understand the universe. 'And whoever is upstairs, if anyone's upstairs, looking down and going 'you are the most perfect person to have children, but I'm not going to let you have any children because I'm going to give you this'. "And I'm going to say 'you're going to have this endometriosis, and you're going to suffer with this all of your life, chronically, and I'm not going to let you have any children. "I thought that was peculiar, cruel, and inexplicable and unforgivable. And if ever I go up to somewhere and meet this person I would say 'I think you're not OK with decisions like this, this doesn't make any sense to me,' he lamented. The dancer went on to praise women for the things they have to go through with their bodies and health and shared his sadness about not being able to take Hannah's pain away. He continued: 'Then we went through the process of IVF, well crying out loud. You girls are extraordinary. As much as I want to get involved, all I can do is hold your hand. 'It makes me emotional every time I talk about it. The injections, the stress, the anxiety. I have anxiety and stress but it's not my body. "She has these injections and the bruises in the bum, in the thigh, in the stomach. And you're trying to help but what can you do? 'Whatever you want, tell me and I'll do it but that's all you have and it's horrendous as a man to watch it. Fuming Strictly viewers accuse 'mean' judge Anton DuBeke of being 'horrible' to celeb - did you spot it? 'You feel so inadequate and you want to do so much more but I can't do anything. And that's why you girls are so extraordinary, you're extraordinary that you do all this stuff." Anton and Hannah were fortunate enough to conceive after their first round of IVF and are now a happy family of four. This isn't the first time Anton has opened up about Hannah's endometriosis as he discussed her battle while appearing on Loose Women in 2020. He told the ladies: 'For a woman, it affects the quality of your life to a degree because it sort of comes in three parts. "First, there's the excruciating pain, second there's the swelling. It sometimes makes you look like you're pregnant, which is quite a perverse thing because people come up to you and say 'congratulations' and you're like 'actually, no'.' 4


Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Queen Camilla is elegant in an all-white ensemble as she attends the King George Racing Weekend at Ascot solo
Queen Camilla was typically elegant in an off-white ensemble as she arrived at Ascot Racecourse without King Charles this afternoon. The Queen Consort, 78, was attending the annual King George Racing Weekend in Berkshire - and she more than dressed the part. The royal opted for a monochrome look, in a tailored, off-white dress. She styled the long-sleeved dress with a matching wide-brimmed hat, and carried an umbrella to shield from any impending rain. Camilla completed her look with natural make-up, and kept her blonde hair in its usual bouncy style. It's been a busy week for the Queen Consort, who attended the Sandringham Flower Show with King Charles just days ago. She saw the funny side as she met a royal fan who has had her royal cypher tattooed on his leg - and revealed that one of her police officers also has one too. King Charles and the Queen were attending Sandringham Flower Show, held in the grounds of the Norfolk royal residence, where they marvelled at exhibits, toured stands and met hundreds of well-wishers in their final large-scale joint public engagement before they begin their summer holidays. Phil Smith, 61, from Northampton pulled up his shorts to show Her Majesty his latest royal inking, telling her that it had 'bloody hurt', prompting her to laugh uproariously. She then turned to her one of her police protection officers and said 'look, he's got one too'. Mr Smith said afterwards that he had been writing to Camilla since before her marriage to the King as he thought 'she was great' and that she frequently responded. He has a total of four large tattoos along the outer side of his left leg, starting with Queen Elizabeth's royal cypher and including both Charles and Camilla's individual ones. His latest - situated on the top of his thigh - is of their joint royal cypher and took about an hour and a half to do. He waited at the front of the crowd at the Sandringham Flower Show to show the Queen. Wearing a black shirt, large cross, denim shorts and sliders, Mr Smith said after their meeting: 'I just think she's fabulous and have got to know her a bit. We just hit it off. 'I love the royal family and she in particular has got a good sense of humour. She frequently responds. 'I waited to see her to show her my latest [tattoo] and she laughed. She said one of her security men has also had it done too.' He said he thought it was of their joint royal cypher and the police officer was there with her that day. He added: 'Honestly, she's just great. We exchange letters. She knew who I was. She asked how long it [the latest one] took and I told her about two and a half hours. 'But I told her this one bloody hurt. She just finds it hilarious.