How new rules could tackle ‘compulsive' phone use in children
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle is exploring these measures to tackle "compulsive" phone use among young people.
Concerns include the detrimental effects of excessive screen time on children's sleep, concentration for studies, and overall well-being.
A recent survey indicated that one in five children spend a minimum of seven hours daily using phones and tablets.
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North Wales Chronicle
22 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Nurses threaten industrial action ballot after pay offer rejected
It comes after members of the union rejected a 3.6% pay increase for 2025/26 in England. Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the RCN, said nurses feel 'deeply undervalued'. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the Government 'hugely' values the work of nurses, but stressed the profession has had 'two above-inflation pay rises'. The RCN represents hundreds of thousands of nurses across the NHS in England. According to the union, 91% of members voted to reject the pay award on a 56% turnout, with more than 170,000 staff taking part. It warned the profession faces widespread vacancies, stunted career progression and years of pay erosion, and it urged ministers to use the summer to agree an investment plan or face a formal escalation to a dispute and a ballot on industrial action. Prof Ranger said: 'My profession feels deeply undervalued and that is why record numbers are telling the Government to wake up, sense the urgency here and do what's right by them and by patients. 'Record numbers have delivered this verdict on a broken system that holds back nursing pay and careers and hampers the NHS. 'As a safety-critical profession, keeping hold of experienced nursing staff is fundamentally a safety issue and key to the Government's own vision for the NHS. 'Long-overdue reforms to nursing career progression and the NHS pay structure aren't just about fairness and equity but are critical for patient safety.' Nurses in Wales and Northern Ireland were consulted on the same pay award and voted to reject it, according to the RCN. Prof Ranger added: 'We deliver the vast majority of care in every service and deserve to be valued for all our skill, knowledge and experience. 'To avoid formal escalation, the Government must be true to its word and negotiate on reforms of the outdated pay structure which traps nursing staff at the same band their entire career.' A DHSC spokesperson said: 'After receiving two above-inflation pay rises from this Government, new full-time nurses will earn £30,000 in basic pay for the first time this year, so it's disappointing that RCN members are dissatisfied with this year's pay rise. 'We hugely value the work of nurses, and through our 10-Year Health Plan, we are rebuilding the NHS for the benefit of patients and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice. 'This Government is clear we can't move any further on headline pay but will work with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns on career progression and wider working conditions.' Nurses staged unprecedented industrial action over pay in 2022 and 2023. In June 2023, the threat of more strikes ended because a ballot on further walkouts failed to meet the legal threshold of 50%. In response to the RCN's announcement, the shadow health secretary said 'short-sighted decisions have lasting consequences'. Stuart Andrew added that the Tory party 'warned Labour that giving an inflation-busting pay rise to junior doctors would inevitably raise questions among other hardworking NHS staff, like nurses, about their own value to this government'. An RCN executive director claimed nursing salaries need to be 'raised at the bottom' with clearer career progression opportunities to head off a 'crisis'. Patricia Marquis told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: 'Nursing pay has fallen further and further behind after years and years of below-inflation pay rises. 'We could argue about the level of inflation over the last few years, but their salaries are really worth less than they were previously. 'But the issue is bigger than that. The issue we can see is not going to be solved in one year with a simple percentage pay rise. 'We need to see nursing salaries raised at the bottom and the career progression recognised for nurses across all of their experience ranges – so it's not about the percentage pay rise, it's about the crisis in nursing and the solutions that the Government needs to come to the table to discuss to ensure that nursing is a profession that people want to join and that there are enough nurses to provide the care that the patients and the public need.' Responding to a question on the prospect of industrial action, Ms Marquis said 'if we have to go there, we will have to go there'. A poll published earlier this week found Britons are split on the idea of nurses striking over pay. The YouGov survey found 19% of 4,300 British adults 'strongly support' nurses going on strike, while 28% 'somewhat' back them. Meanwhile 23% said they 'strongly oppose' strike action while one in five (20%) 'somewhat oppose' it. The RCN warning over a potential ballot for industrial action follows a five-day walkout by resident doctors in England, with medics returning to work at 7am on Wednesday. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has since written to the British Medical Association saying he is willing to meet the union's resident doctors committee to resume talks. However, he warned resident doctors have squandered the 'considerable goodwill' they had with Government after the strike. On Thursday, a Cabinet minister urged health staff to work with the Government on 'delivering the NHS they want to see and we want to see'. Speaking to reporters in Swindon, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'We know the workforce of the NHS had a difficult decade-and-a-half. We know how they feel. 'But we ask them to work with us on delivering the NHS they want to see and we want to see. We've got to be partners with each other.'
Daily Mail
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
I've lost 6 stone on Mounjaro - this is the food I've still enjoyed while dropping the weight
A Mounjaro user who 'loved eating out' has revealed what she eats now to lose weight. Lucy Davies has been using the weight-loss drug for nearly a year and has almost lost six stone in that time. The foodie revealed that she has always enjoyed going out to eat, and that she found a way to ensure she hasn't had to curtail that passion. According to Lucy, who creates TikTok using the handle @insightfullucy, she simply makes sure she chooses dishes that will leave her in a calorie deficit. Revealing this on TikTok, she said: 'I've always loved eating now...I still eat out...I just make sure I stick to a calorie deficit. 'And... I still get to enjoy food I love and lose weight.' Pictured alongside her wise words were delicious meals like fish with potatoes and coleslaw, kebabs and grilled meats on a BBQ. Also shown were sweet potato fries, fried chicken, tuna mayonnaise on a jacket potato and mushrooms on toast - meals she ate while dropping from a size 22 to a size 12. However, the Brit has revealed that one food has been off the menu since she started using the weight loss jabs. Lucy told her followers in a separate video that eating white bread has left her bloating at 'another level' and 'wouldn't recommend' it since it has left her feeling so 'uncomfortable and horrible'. In another post, she wrote: 'Calorie count from the beginning to ensure you eat enough calories for your body to function.' Daily calorie needs vary widely based on a person's age, sex and lifestyle, ranging from 1,600 to 3,000 calories per day. But if you're looking to lose weight, a calorie deficit diet can be effective. This is because when you consume fewer calories than you expend, this forces the body to burn extra calories being stored as fat that keep bodily systems functioning. Generally, experts recommend cutting calories down to 1,200 to 1,500 for women per day and 1,500 to 1,800 for men per day. However, everyone's calorie needs are different, so it is important to consult a doctor or nutritionist before starting a new diet plan. Being mindful of the calories in the meals means she can partake in eating out but while still losing weight Lucy is one of an estimated 1.5 million people are now using weight loss jabs through the NHS or private clinics, while millions more are eligible. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents more than 6,000 independent community pharmacies, says that the current booming demand for the medication, which includes Mounjaro and Wegovy, may become unsustainable. Their warning came after a recent poll of over 2,000 people showed an increasing demand for private and NHS-backed weight loss services.
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
RCN: NI nurses lodge dispute after rejecting pay offer
The Royal College of Nursing Northern Ireland (RCN NI) has lodged a formal dispute over failure to implement this year's pay award for nursing dispute, with the Northern Ireland Executive, Department of Health and health and social care employers, follows results of a ballot where RCN nurses voted against the proposed pay award of 3.6%.In what has been described as the largest pay consultation ever run by the health union, 51% of its members took part with 80% of those saying the offer was not have yet to receive the pay award for this year (2025-2026) which their counterparts elsewhere in the UK have been told they will receive in their August pay. The RCN NI said they have made it clear that their members are "not prepared to tolerate a repetition of their experiences" over the last two years, where their pay award was not confirmed for several months after it had been awarded elsewhere across the UK, and the uplift was not paid until the very end of the financial union added that despite the recent welcome intervention of the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt in issuing his ministerial direction, it "appears that we are, once again, in the same position"."Nursing and other health care staff in Northern Ireland are once again on the brink of stepping out of pay parity with colleagues across the UK," said Rita Devlin, RCN Northern Ireland Executive Director."We have worked tirelessly to try and ensure that this does not happen again but there has been a failure in some political quarters to listen."Our members do not understand why, yet again, they are being treated by their own executive as second-class citizens and why, every year, the need to formulate a modest pay offer appears to catch the executive unprepared."The issue of pay should be accounted for in every year's budget and a failure to do this is a failure of government."Without staff there is simply no health service, and we are at an absolute loss to explain this attitude towards nursing staff who are the largest professional group in the health service."As our recent pay consultation has shown, nursing staff in Northern Ireland and across the UK, don't believe a 3.6% pay rise is enough, but to not even get that is an insult," she said. Health minister 'couldn't agree more' with RCN Health Minister Mike Nesbitt issued a statement throughout the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), as leader of the party and health minister, saying he shared the RCN's "frustration".He added he "reflected my commitment" to maintaining pay parity by triggering the ministerial direction process to deliver the pay increases as soon as possible."In line with the ministerial direction process, my decision was referred to the wider executive."Unfortunately, that's where it still sits," he said."Our health workers deserve so much better."I note that the RCN is today saying that the 'first step must be for the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver the long-overdue pay award for this year.'"I couldn't agree more," Nesbitt Department of Health said it would not be issuing any statement on the RCN's formal dispute.
