Funds to remove 'thoughtless discarded' gum from Wolverhampton's streets
"Thoughtlessly discarded gum is unpleasant, unsightly and unacceptable. It has a negative effect on the local environment and is very difficult to remove."Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal's thoughts on gum came as it was announced Wolverhampton has been given more than £20,000 to remove chewing gum from its streets.Keep Britain Tidy said more than three quarters of UK streets are blighted by chewing gum, costing councils an estimated £7m to clean up each year.The money could be used to purchase jet washer-style equipmment to remove gum from streets, as well as signage encouraging gum-chewers to bin it when finished.
"Our Street Scene teams work tirelessly to make our streets welcoming to residents and visitors alike and this extra funding will boost their efforts in tackling the problem of thoughtlessly discarded gum," Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services, said.City of Wolverhampton Council has been awarded a grant of £20,155 from the Chewing Gum Task Force (CGTF), run by Keep Britain Tidy and funded by major chewing gum manufacturers.Wolverhampton is one of 52 authorities across the country to have successfully applied in the latest round of funding.
Keep Britain Tidy said last year, an area the equivalent of 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools was rid of gum thanks to the funding, and littering was reduced by an estimated 68% two months after measures had been implemented."Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces," said the charity's chief executive, Alison Ogden-Newton OBE."People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally and ultimately costs the public purse to clean it up."
Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
23 minutes ago
- Sky News
GPs can prescribe weight loss jabs on the NHS from today - but strict eligibility criteria in place
Why you can trust Sky News GPs will be able to prescribe weight loss jabs on the NHS from today. - with strict criteria for the first year of the rollout. Initially, only those with a body mass index of over 40 who have at least four other health problems linked to obesity will be eligible. 0:21 Some doctors have raised concerns about the additional workload this new programme will bring, while pharmacists fear it could lead to supply shortages. While an estimated 1.5 million people are now taking weight loss drugs across the UK, they could previously only be accessed through specialist services or private prescriptions. Dr Claire Fuller from NHS England said: "We urgently need to address rising levels of obesity and prioritise support for those who are experiencing severe ill health - and greater access to weight loss drugs will make a significant difference to the lives of those people." She added: "While not everyone will be eligible for weight loss drugs, it's important that anyone who is worried about the impact of their weight on their health discusses the range of NHS support available with their healthcare professional." 1:22 The chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs welcomed NHS England's decision to pursue a phased rollout, and said current workloads must be factored in to ensure the jabs can be prescribed safely. Professor Kamila Hawthorne went on to say: "While weight loss medications have a lot of potential benefits for patients who are struggling to lose weight and who meet all the clinical criteria for a prescription, they mustn't be seen as a 'silver bullet' to aid weight loss. "We also need to see a focus on prevention, stopping people becoming overweight in the first place so they don't require a medical intervention later." 9:19 Her remarks were echoed by the National Pharmacy Association's chairman Olivier Picard, who says "prescribing these medications alone misses the point". He argued that they need to be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes lifestyle coaching, exercise and nutritional guidance - but many GPs currently "lack the bandwidth" to provide this support. "As a result, we could end up in a situation where patients are prescribed the medication, lose weight, and then experience rebound weight gain once the course ends - simply because the foundational lifestyle changes weren't addressed," Mr Picard added. Estimates suggest about 29% of the adult population is obese.
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Ministers urged to provide more graduate training slots for UK medical students
A doctor-turned-MP has called on the Government to provide more guaranteed graduate training slots for UK medical students, ahead of the doctors' union voting on a motion which will urge Whitehall to take urgent action. Dr Peter Prinsley, a retired ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who was elected for Labour last year, said thousands of British medicine graduates were missing out on doing further training every year because of a lack of places combined with the pressures from international medical graduates in the NHS. The British Medical Association has said about 20,000 applicants will miss out this year, if the number of available posts are the same. It added that according to the latest figures, there were 4.7 applications per post. The MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket said it had led to graduates moving abroad to do further study who sometimes do not return. He added there should be reserved spaces for UK graduates to be able to specialise and do further study. Dr Prinsley told the PA news agency: 'The problem is that we've got a distorted competition ratio for the professional training slots. 'It should be a reasonable expectation that if you graduate from the UK medical school, you should have a reasonable chance of getting into higher professional training. 'There should be some competition. It shouldn't just be that you automatically progress with no effort, there should be a bit of competition, but the competition ratios have been hugely distorted by the requirement of the hospitals to provide junior doctors to staff their rotas.' It comes as Wes Streeting said UK medical graduates will be given priority for NHS jobs under the upcoming 10-year health plan. The Health Secretary told medical website on Thursday: 'I want to make sure that if you go through your medical training here in the UK, that you're able to work in the UK.' Mr Streeting added it was 'completely bonkers' to invest in training doctors but not ensure they can stay in the UK to work. The latest figures from the BMA showed there were 33,108 medical graduates applying for around 13,000 posts. This includes 12,305 UK graduates and 20,803 from overseas. The number of international medical graduates has doubled in two years, the figures show, while the UK ones have only risen by a third. The sharp rise in the number of international medical graduates has been down to the increased demand for doctors in the NHS to fill hospital vacancies. In 2023 more than two-thirds of new doctors (68%) joining the NHS were non-UK graduates, up from 47% in 2017. In a statement, the Department for Health and Social Care said the Government should not be 'over-reliant' on overseas recruitment. Doctors can go on to do further training after two foundation years in the NHS. If they apply and miss out on further study, they then move on to so-called foundation three status, where they can work as locums and apply for jobs within individual trusts. Some, however, opt to move abroad to work or study. The number doing another foundation year has risen in recent years. In its latest workforce report, the General Medical Council said the number of doctors not going into speciality training had grown and was a 'sizeable' part of the workforce. Dr Prinsley said he believes priority should be given to UK graduates and physician associates – who have less training – could be used to fill some of the roles taken up by overseas recruits. He said: 'The change that we need is not very difficult. We just need to make a situation in which we prioritise the UK training slots for the UK medical graduates. If we've got any slots we can't recruit to, then, of course, we extend it.' He added: 'The problem has two solutions. We need less international medical graduates being recruited by the hospitals. We need to find an alternative way of staffing the rotas to run the hospitals. 'There's a sort of golden mean, which would allow us to sort out the ratios of international medical graduates to British graduates, and also provide a meaningful role for these graduates as physician associates.' The British Medical Association will discuss the issue at its annual conference in Liverpool on Monday. In a motion put forward by members in the East Midlands, it asks the Government to 'significantly increase the number of training posts available for resident doctors'. It echoes a similar call by the Royal College of Physicians, who wrote in February 'UK graduates must be supported and enabled to enter postgraduate training schemes to continue their training in the NHS'. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We are committed to building home-grown talent and ensuring UK medical graduates can find work in Britain – our 10 year health plan will tackle bottlenecks in the system. 'Internationally-trained staff remain an important part of the workforce but we should not be over reliant on overseas recruitment.'
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Ministers urged to provide more graduate training slots for UK medical students
Dr Peter Prinsley, a retired ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who was elected for Labour last year, said thousands of British medicine graduates were missing out on doing further training every year because of a lack of places combined with the pressures from international medical graduates in the NHS. The British Medical Association has said about 20,000 applicants will miss out this year, if the number of available posts are the same. It added that according to the latest figures, there were 4.7 applications per post. The MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket said it had led to graduates moving abroad to do further study who sometimes do not return. He added there should be reserved spaces for UK graduates to be able to specialise and do further study. Dr Prinsley told the PA news agency: 'The problem is that we've got a distorted competition ratio for the professional training slots. 'It should be a reasonable expectation that if you graduate from the UK medical school, you should have a reasonable chance of getting into higher professional training. 'There should be some competition. It shouldn't just be that you automatically progress with no effort, there should be a bit of competition, but the competition ratios have been hugely distorted by the requirement of the hospitals to provide junior doctors to staff their rotas.' It comes as Wes Streeting said UK medical graduates will be given priority for NHS jobs under the upcoming 10-year health plan. The Health Secretary told medical website on Thursday: 'I want to make sure that if you go through your medical training here in the UK, that you're able to work in the UK.' Mr Streeting added it was 'completely bonkers' to invest in training doctors but not ensure they can stay in the UK to work. The latest figures from the BMA showed there were 33,108 medical graduates applying for around 13,000 posts. This includes 12,305 UK graduates and 20,803 from overseas. The number of international medical graduates has doubled in two years, the figures show, while the UK ones have only risen by a third. The sharp rise in the number of international medical graduates has been down to the increased demand for doctors in the NHS to fill hospital vacancies. In 2023 more than two-thirds of new doctors (68%) joining the NHS were non-UK graduates, up from 47% in 2017. In a statement, the Department for Health and Social Care said the Government should not be 'over-reliant' on overseas recruitment. Doctors can go on to do further training after two foundation years in the NHS. If they apply and miss out on further study, they then move on to so-called foundation three status, where they can work as locums and apply for jobs within individual trusts. Some, however, opt to move abroad to work or study. The number doing another foundation year has risen in recent years. In its latest workforce report, the General Medical Council said the number of doctors not going into speciality training had grown and was a 'sizeable' part of the workforce. Dr Prinsley said he believes priority should be given to UK graduates and physician associates – who have less training – could be used to fill some of the roles taken up by overseas recruits. He said: 'The change that we need is not very difficult. We just need to make a situation in which we prioritise the UK training slots for the UK medical graduates. If we've got any slots we can't recruit to, then, of course, we extend it.' He added: 'The problem has two solutions. We need less international medical graduates being recruited by the hospitals. We need to find an alternative way of staffing the rotas to run the hospitals. 'There's a sort of golden mean, which would allow us to sort out the ratios of international medical graduates to British graduates, and also provide a meaningful role for these graduates as physician associates.' The British Medical Association will discuss the issue at its annual conference in Liverpool on Monday. In a motion put forward by members in the East Midlands, it asks the Government to 'significantly increase the number of training posts available for resident doctors'. It echoes a similar call by the Royal College of Physicians, who wrote in February 'UK graduates must be supported and enabled to enter postgraduate training schemes to continue their training in the NHS'. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We are committed to building home-grown talent and ensuring UK medical graduates can find work in Britain – our 10 year health plan will tackle bottlenecks in the system. 'Internationally-trained staff remain an important part of the workforce but we should not be over reliant on overseas recruitment.'
