Lammy could be fined up to £2,500 over fishing error
Anglers aged 13 or over in England and Wales are legally required to possess a rod licence for freshwater fishing, with potential fines for non-compliance reaching up to £2,500.
A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed the absence of a licence was due to an administrative oversight, and Mr Lammy promptly purchased the required licences upon realising the error.
Mr Lammy also formally notified the Environment Agency of the mistake in writing, outlining the steps taken to rectify it.
During the visit, Mr Vance described Mr Lammy as a "good friend" and "gracious host," humorously noting that his own children caught fish while the Foreign Secretary did not.
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The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Large drop in number of pupils studying Welsh at A-level since 2005, data shows
There has been a dramatic drop in the number of pupils studying Welsh at A-level, with almost a third fewer taking the subject than two decades ago. More than 500 fewer students studied Welsh to a high level this year than in 2005, the latest data shows. The drop has come despite the Welsh Government having set a target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050. Around 538,000 people can speak the language in Wales. Data examined by the PA news agency shows some 372 students took Welsh as a first or second language at A-level this year, down from 927 in 2005. The lowest year on record was 2023, when just 353 pupils took the subject. This year has been the lowest year for people taking Welsh as a first language, with 185 entries, compared with 260 in 2020. Some 187 pupils took the subject as a second language, with 209 having taken it in 2020. Efa Gruffudd Jones, the Welsh Language Commissioner – an officer appointed by the Welsh Government to oversee an independent body aiming to promote the use of the Welsh language – described the drop as a 'matter of concern'. Speaking to PA, Ms Gruffudd Jones said she supported calls from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (Welsh National College) for Welsh to become a protected subject. She said: '(This would) make sure that every educational institution post-16 offers the course. 'What I hear from people who get in touch with my office, if only you know three or four people want to study it, then schools don't offer the subject at all. 'I believe they need 12 before they decide to run the course. I don't think that's right. 'I think it should be offered at every educational institution post-16.' Ms Gruffudd Jones also said the qualification itself is under review, and the content needs to be made more attractive and relevant to students. She added: 'The other thing is that you can study many more courses through the medium of Welsh now than you used to be able to. 'You can study psychology, criminology, etc, through the medium of Welsh. 'Maybe people in the past who would have wanted to study through the medium of Welsh chose Welsh, but now they have a wider range of choice.' The commissioner stressed that Welsh is not the only language to have seen a decline, with many European languages having seen a drop across the UK. Total entries for French, German, and Spanish were down by 20% from 443 to 352 in Wales this year, with Ruth Cocks, director of British Council Wales, describing the drop in interest in international languages as a 'concerning story'. Ms Gruffudd Jones said the reason for the move away from studying languages was unclear, but may be due to pupils being encouraged to study more Stem subjects. 'I understand that we need people with technical ability, but I would argue that you also need linguistic ability in order to communicate with people in workplaces, to articulate yourself well in future,' she said. 'I would argue that literature gives you some insight into the world. 'I don't think really that it should be either or. 'What's important is that it doesn't go any lower, and we continue to make efforts to attract people to learn Welsh to a high standard.' The Welsh Government's aim to have one million Welsh speakers by 2050 was first set out in 2017. Earlier this year, a new five-year plan was unveiled by the commissioner to help achieve the goal. And the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill, which aims to close the gap in Welsh speaking ability among pupils from different schools, passed in the Senedd. Figures from the 2021 census showed a decline in the number of people who can speak Welsh compared with a decade earlier. Around 538,000 people in Wales – roughly 17% of the population – said they could speak Welsh, compared with 562,000 in 2011, around 19% of the population. Recent years have seen Welsh place names take prominence over English as the default, with Eryri replacing Snowdonia on official communications from the national park authority. In response to the decline in A-level entries, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: 'We would like more learners to take Welsh as a subject. 'A consultation is taking place to look at creating new Welsh AS and A-levels, making them engaging and attractive to learners. 'We see the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 as a means to provide more children and young people with access to the language within the education sector than ever before. 'We want all young people to leave school with better Welsh skills, regardless of whether they do A-level Welsh or not.'
The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ministers vow to tackle ‘entrenched divides' in A-level results
Ministers have vowed to tackle England's 'entrenched' educational gaps that are leaving some regions and groups trailing far behind their peers and closing off options such as university for many of their school leavers. A-level results published on Thursday showed an improving national picture, with a higher proportion of young people gaining top grades. But the improvements faded outside London, the south-east and big cities. While one in three entries from 18-year-olds in London gained A* or A grades, fewer than one in four did so in the north-east of England, where results remain below pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. London's advantage means that the university application rate for its students remains considerably above all other English regions, even as record numbers of school leavers accepted offers to begin higher education courses this autumn. The Department for Education said that the results 'have exposed inequalities which continue to exist in the education system', which it aims to tackle in a schools white paper later this year. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said: 'Every single young person collecting their results should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams – whether that starts with further study, university, an apprenticeship or the world of work – but too often, opportunities depend on background rather than talent. 'The entrenched divide in outcomes seen over the last few years and the lack of progress for children from white working-class backgrounds is particularly concerning.' Carl Cullinane, director of research at the Sutton Trust, which campaigns to improve social mobility through education, said: 'If the government is going to break down barriers to opportunity, the growth in regional inequalities must be reversed. 'It's positive that increasing numbers of young people from the most deprived areas are getting into university. This is important, because gaining a university degree remains the surest route to social mobility. However, today's figures show the gap between the most and least deprived areas remains wide, and worse than before the pandemic in 2019.' Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'Schools and colleges face severe funding and staffing shortages, and these students were affected by the disruption of the pandemic earlier in their education. They have overcome the odds and we salute the fantastic efforts of our brilliant education staff. 'However, we continue to see big differences in attainment between regions, reflecting socioeconomic factors which represent a massive challenge, not only for the education sector but our society as a whole. 'We have to stop merely talking about these issues and actually address them with investment in communities suffering from generational disadvantage. This cannot be solved by schools and colleges alone but must also involve action to boost the opportunities available for young people.' More than 28% of entries in England gained an A or A* grade, while 9.4% gained the top A* grade, higher rates than in 2024 or 2019, the last year before the disruption of the Covid pandemic when 25.2% of entries received top grades. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Ofqual, the exam regulator for England, rejected accusations of grade inflation, saying that the increase in top grades was the result of fewer students taking A-levels, and young men in particular shifting towards subjects such as physics, maths and economics with greater success. Amanda Swann, Ofqual's executive director for general qualifications, said that 'any change in numbers achieving a grade is entirely due to a change in student performance, not a change in the standard expected', with this year's cohort of students appearing to be academically stronger than last year's. Results in Wales followed a similar pattern to England's, with declining numbers of students taking A-levels and top grades rising among the remaining stronger candidates. For the second year in row the proportion of A* grades rose, to 10.5%. In Northern Ireland, 8.7% of entries achieved an A*, compared with 8.2% in 2024, while 30.4% of entries achieved grades A* or A, fractionally higher than last year. More than 200,000 students across the UK also received BTec level 3 qualifications, but a breakdown of results was not available. One in five working-age adults in the UK has at least one BTec, although the popular qualification remains under threat from government policy in England. In England nearly 12,000 young people received results for T-levels, vocational qualifications first introduced in 2020 that have struggled to attract students. Although entries have increased substantially, T-levels remain less popular than A-level PE. The DfE also revealed that 27% of students originally enrolled on the two-year course dropped out or failed to complete it.
Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Suella Braverman: ‘Labour tried to smear us as racist for opposing migrant housing'
More than 200 years ago, what is now the unremarkable Hampshire town of Waterlooville, was founded by returning soldiers celebrating the defeat of Napoleon. On a damp Wednesday evening over two centuries later, Waterlooville is the scene of another victory party, as residents descend on its high street to celebrate following the news that the Home Office has backed down on plans to house migrants in the town centre. Union flags are draped over shoulders, Sweet Caroline (and AC/DC) blares out of loudspeakers, placards say 'Keep our women & children safe'. Some are dressed head to toe in red, white and blue; even those who have stumbled across the rally by accident while running their errands are getting into the party spirit. The atmosphere is upbeat, but it's also defiant: speakers are also lambasting the 'woke liberal agenda'. Residents' anger at the thought of being neighbours with 35 unknown asylum seekers housed up in flats above a junk emporium on that inauspicious high street – and relief that they now, for the moment, won't – has even been backed by local Conservative MP and former home secretary Suella Braverman who, with her husband Rael and family friends, and carrying a Union flag, is mingling and taking selfies with protesters. Braverman's appearance marks a defiant hit-back at her critics. Philip Munday, who heads up the local Havant council's Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green coalition, had accused Braverman of seeking to 'exacerbate fear in the hearts and minds of our concerned residents' on the migrant housing issue, and said her comments on it were 'deeply inappropriate, potentially inflammatory and ultimately misleading.' He argued that those earmarked for the flats were asylum seekers, not 'illegal immigrants', and joined the fuming chorus from Left-wing politicians and charities who disparagingly frame the protests over migrant hotels and accommodation as a far-Right cause. Yet despite two weeks of outcry in Waterlooville, involving a protest by 1,000 people last month and a petition that has received more than 10,000 signatures, there have been no arrests or violent incidents. Indeed, it is largely ordinary local people – shop assistants, carers, IT workers and pensioners – who have turned out for the evening rally next to Boots. 'These are not skinheads. These are mums and grannies and children,' says Braverman when we meet over a drink in The Denmead Queen, the local Wetherspoons, ahead of the gathering. 'These are families who are feeling cowardice, who are feeling like no one speaks to them and who are feeling like they have no other option but to take to the streets in peaceful protest to represent their views. They feel powerless.' She says the suggestion that her constituents were motivated by racism is 'incredibly offensive.' 'It's not racist to want to have a sense of control and safety in your own country. That is patriotism, that is love of our country, that is decency, and that reflects the vast majority of British people who are welcoming and friendly.' Braverman says that there was always the risk protests would 'attract provocateurs' and extremists, and admits she is 'very concerned' about public order in the coming weeks amid growing anger over illegal immigration. ('We're walking on glass in this country,' she says. 'I think there's a real simmering fury and fear of betrayal, and combined with a sense of powerlessness and the lack of anything on the horizon looking like there will be a solution, I'm very worried about public order to be maintained.') Yet the former Attorney General says that Waterlooville had shown peaceful protests could be effective, and the government should prepare for more demonstrations elsewhere. 'I think where Waterlooville leads, the country can follow. The fact that it's been carried out very peacefully, zero arrests, zero incidents, zero offences, really reflects well on the people from Waterlooville who did this and took the action. I think it does provide a bit of a template for how objections can be successfully maintained.' She says her constituents feel 'a profound sense of fear, anger and betrayal' and claims that Munday is part of an establishment that is out of touch with local people and the country's problems. 'The Labour leader wrote to me and was seemingly more upset that I used the term illegal migrant rather than asylum seekers. They're more interested in terminology and faux outrage and trying to silence people and smear people as racist, xenophobic, divisive and inflammatory than actually being honest with the British people.' As she leaves the pub for the rally, Braverman notes that Sir Keir Starmer could not expect a warm welcome at The Denmead Queen. 'I don't think Keir Starmer will get anyone offering to buy him a pint, let's put it that way,' she adds. 'Keir Starmer is so far detached and insulated from the realities of what is going on that he does need to open his eyes as to what is happening in this country, on the ground amongst regular folk who go to Wetherspoons, because people are fed up. 'There's a real sense of despair, unfortunately, and in the Westminster bubble this might look very, very different to him. He's just deluding himself the more that he stays away from people. His arrogant dismissiveness of the British people is not good for him. It's not good for the Government, it's not good for our country.' At the celebration, attendees share Braverman's anger at being dismissed as racist. 'I've got seven grandchildren,' said Maria Jackson, 56, a shop assistant. 'That's why I'm here. I want them to live in a safe environment. We don't have an issue with letting in a number of people who genuinely need to come here. But this will just be men, not even kids or women. 'These are flats right in the town centre. Why can't they give them to people on the waiting list? If our children wanted to live there they'd be waiting for years. They talk rubbish about racism but Keir Starmer is not in the real world.' Councillor Philippa Gray, deputy leader of Havant Borough Council, says legitimate concerns are not extremist, and the authority respected 'healthy democratic debate'. However, she says Braverman was continuing to use 'inaccurate and inflammatory language', and that the flats were to be used by a mix of families and individuals who were 'asylum seekers' and 'not illegal immigrants'. But locals do not believe these reassurances. 'We have no idea about the history,' says 61-year-old IT worker Paul Crowley, who is joined at the party this evening with his wife Mel Crowley, also 61, who works in retail. 'We don't know who is coming in. If they came through with legitimate reasons because of persecution that's fine, but this is now a concern for me as a grandparent. I care about my children and my grandchildren.' 'We've been slurred a lot with racism,' he says. 'I'm not a racist, I am patriotic. I care about this country and I care about people entering the country who are completely undocumented.' Genevieve Doury, 46, a refuse collector for the same council that criticised Braverman, says she would have been 'neighbours' with migrants who would move into the flats and was worried about her teenage daughter's safety. 'I live here with my 14-year-old girl. If they did actually come here I would have to leave here. I'm right across the road and I would know nothing about who these people are. 'I wouldn't feel safe. There are people who try to get a visa, do the proper route but these people are skipping the queue and that's unfair. There are rules for a reason.' She adds that she will '100 per cent be back' protesting if there are any new plans to house asylum seekers in the town, and hopes similar peaceful protests would spread across the country. 'I hope there will be a domino effect,' she says. 'We've started it and everybody else will follow.' It certainly could provide a template for grounds on which to argue: ironically, for all of Munday's dissent against Braverman's protest, the council did raise concerns over fire safety in relation to the flats earmarked for asylum seekers, and in a statement the council later said that after a consultation, the Home Office 'decided not to purchase the property as the accommodation'. Many of the town's 65,000 people now worry there will be a fresh application from the Home Office to house migrants elsewhere. However, for now Braverman believes residents have done the town 'proud' by peacefully defeating the plans for the high street. 'It's a victory for the ordinary folk who often don't have a voice,' she says. 'This is a victory for the people of Waterlooville.'
