Sudoku 6,925 easy
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Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9.
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Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Prince William: Our 20-year plan to save Dartmoor
The Prince of Wales has launched an ambitious 20-year Dartmoor restoration plan that sets out a return to seasonal grazing patterns and heavily wooded river valleys to combat habitat loss and cope with increasingly dry summers and frost-free winters. Climate projections by the Met Office for the Duchy of Cornwall, the private estate of the heir to the throne, show the national park will face greater heat stress for crops and livestock in summer and increased and more extreme rainfall in winter. Climate scenarios predicting 2C of warming suggest Dartmoor may even stop being suitable for blanket peatland, leading to erosion and carbon release. The duchy, which owns about 68,000 acres — 28 per cent — of Dartmoor, has worked in collaboration with the Central Dartmoor Landscape Recovery (CDLR) project on a plan to support wildlife alongside farming by re-establishing more traditional summer grazing seasons for cattle, sheep and ponies. It will also enforce rest periods for the land to give it time to recover and allow biodiversity to blossom. Writing in the foreword to the Landscape Vision for Dartmoor, William says that to 'keep Dartmoor special we must respond to the twin challenges of global warming and the requirement to restore nature, while ensuring the communities on Dartmoor can thrive'. He writes: 'Like the thousands of young people who set out on the Ten Tors Challenge each year, knowing your destination is essential before setting off on any journey. The Dartmoor Vision provides that destination. It shows us what might be possible and how that might be achieved. It is bold and ambitious and something that I hope, by working together, can be delivered for not just the current generation but for generations to come.' • William urges leaders to 'act now' on ocean pollution The national park contains three of the largest moorland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the country, but none is in a 'favourable condition', with rare moorland birds, such as golden plover, red grouse and ring ouzels, all but disappearing from the area. The CDLR project, which covers 90,000 square miles of the national park, involves about 40 landowners and farmers. Some of the other key aims set out in the 130-page plan include restoring peatlands, sheltering rivers with heavily wooded valleys, carrying out large-scale natural flood management, prioritising native species-rich grasslands, developing the rural skills pool and providing affordable housing for landscape managers and retiring workers. Matthew Morris, rural director for the Duchy of Cornwall, said Dartmoor has been a grazed landscape for millennia, but 'I think we are all agreed things need to change'.'Having hiked a lot of the moor last year myself, parts of it are generally quite barren,' he said.'We want the right type of grazing in the right time and right place, particularly bringing cattle back into the mix. There are a lot of sheep but cattle are more effective grazers and create mini habitats.' • Extend wild camping rights across England, says Dartmoor boss The current grazing rights held for Dartmoor are for 145,000 sheep, 33,000 cattle, 5,450 ponies and 12,330 other potential grazing units, but these are not historically out of step. Records going back as far as the duchy's ownership starting in 1337 show that upward of 10,000 head of cattle were moved to the moor annually from nearby Devon parishes. The report authors suggest the decline in biodiversity on Dartmoor could be 'linked with the loss of nutrient cycling delivered by seasonally large herds feeding on mineral-rich grass for a summer grazing cycle'. 'It is likely that the high moor was not grazed until as late as July or August,' the report says.'Changes in farming today may lead to the first break in generational wisdom ever seen. This would be a huge loss considering the time it takes to re-learn extinct ways.'
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Sudoku 6,928 hard
Click here to access the print version. Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9. To see the completed puzzle, buy the next issue of the Guardian (for puzzles published Monday to Thursday). Solutions to Friday and Saturday puzzles are given in either Saturday's or Monday's edition.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Free school meal plan requires key change to stop children ‘missing out', Labour told
The government has been urged to make a key change to its plans to expand free schools meals to all pupils in England on universal credit. The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has said ministers must go further and introduce a national auto-enrolment system for free school meals, in order to reduce inequality. The group found distinct variations in free school meal registration practices across England. Their report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, calls for a national auto-enrolment scheme to ensure all eligible families are registered. The call comes after ministers announced its plans to expand free school meals last week. Currently, households in England on universal credit must earn below £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals. The expansion, set to be implemented in September 2026, is expected to make 500,000 more children eligible for free lunches, according to the Government. Parents currently have to apply for their children to receive free school meals, rather than eligible children being automatically enrolled. The report said: 'Despite this expansion in FSM (free school meals) eligibility, without further action from the Government, children may continue to miss out on the free meals they are entitled to. 'The barriers to registration and differences in registration practices across LAs means children still face inequalities in access to free meals.' Authors added: 'In terms of barriers families face in applying to FSM – including English as an additional language, stigma, confusion about eligibility – auto-enrolment would largely eradicate these issues.' Despite efforts to boost registration, language barriers and a lack of digital access are preventing the meals reaching children that need them, it said. An additional 77,700 children became eligible for free school meals in the past year, according to recent data published by the Department for Education. More than one in four (25.7%) pupils in England were eligible for free school meals in January, the equivalent of 2.17 million children – up from 24.6%, or 2.09 million, in January 2024. But the report from EPI – which is based on surveys and interviews with local authorities and multi-academy trusts in 2024 and early 2025 – found where a child lives or goes to school determines how hard it is for families to register for free school meals. In some local authorities, parents are required to make their own application while facing significant barriers and if found ineligible at the time must reapply when circumstances change. While in others, they use local auto-enrolment to proactively identify entitled children without relying on parents sharing details or making an application. The report also found that some children who attend maintained nurseries before and after lunch are missing out on free meals to which they are entitled. Dr Kerris Cooper, senior researcher for early years and inequalities at EPI, said: 'Our research shows that while the extension of free school meal eligibility is a very positive step, more needs to be done to ensure that all children entitled to free meals can actually access them. 'First, there are still significant barriers for families to register for FSM, and where a child lives plays too big a role in their chances of being registered. 'Second, the youngest children, who face the highest risk of poverty, will not benefit from this expansion in eligibility unless all children attending early education are also included and settings are supported to deliver this. 'Introducing national auto-enrolment and including children in early education would enable this expansion in FSM eligibility to more meaningfully extend access to more children in poverty.' Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The expansion of free school meals, to include all children in households on universal credit, is a positive move that recognises there are children living in poverty who have been missing out. 'Moving to a national system of auto-enrolment would be the next logical step to ensure that everyone who is now eligible under the new criteria will actually receive a meal and the intended benefits.' He added: 'We see no reason why a national system of auto-enrolment cannot be established relatively straightforwardly. 'This is something that would make a big difference to vulnerable families.' Last week, education minister Stephen Morgan told MPs in the Commons that the Government would be working to make it easier for people to apply. He said the announcement on expanding free school meals was a 'significant, straightforward process for parents to know whether they are eligible'.
