UK's Reeves says more pensioners will receive winter fuel payments this year
LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday more pensioners will receive winter fuel payments this winter, following the government's U-turn on the widely criticised cuts in the payments to the elderly.
"People should be in no doubt that ... more people will get winter fuel payment this winter," Reeves told a press conference in northwest England.
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Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Show us your BritCard: Minister confirms Government looking at introducing ID app in illegal immigration crackdown
The Government is 'absolutely' looking at the idea of introducing a BritCard ID app as it seeks to tackle illegal immigration. a Cabinet minister confirmed today. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that ministers 'know we need to look at all the actions we can take' to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats. The phone app would display a person's right to live, work and rent in the UK on a smartphone. And as well as blocking illegal immigrants from working, supporters say it would also tackle benefit fraud through links to government records. It has already received support from several cabinet ministers, including cabinet office minister Pat McFadden and technology secretary Peter Kyle. And today Mr Reed told Times Radio on Friday morning, Mr Reed said: 'It's absolutely something that we are looking at, and that we should be looking at.' He added: 'We know we need to look at all the actions we can take to stop the levels of illegal migration that we were seeing particularly under the last government. 'We have to stop the number of people that we've seen who don't have a right to come here.' Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that ministers 'know we need to look at all the actions we can take' to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats. Asked whether he thought digital IDs should be mandatory, Mr Reed told the same station: 'There's a discussion going on and I'm happy to take part in that discussion as well. Advocates think the scheme will send the message that Britain is not 'a soft touch' on illegal migration and will decrease the 'pull' factor, which many European countries blame for the ongoing small boats crisis. Britain remains the only European nation without an ID card system, with Tony Blair 's famous attempt to introduce one collapsing in 2011, after the coalition government pulled the plug on it. It is also hoped the app can tie a number of different services together, including ordering passports, displaying driving licences and national insurance numbers, and offering NHS services. Labour Together, a think tank run by Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, from 2017 to 2020, has collated plans for the card and sent them to Downing Street. They include a requirement to 'show' the ID when renting a property or starting a new job, with the system automatically checking their right to work or rent against government records. Existing documents to check identity can be easily forged, potentially deceiving landlords or prospective employers. A mock up of the app, seen in the plans, shows a screen with an individuals' face and name on it, as well as his right to work and rent statuses, driving licence, and options to share identity or age. The report, published on Friday, urges the Prime Minister to make digital identity a 'top prime ministerial priority' and commence a 'fundamental transformation in the way British citizens interact with the government'. It points to a poll which suggests 80 per cent of the public back the implementation of digital right-to-work credentials, with just under one in three believing it would act as a deterrent against people entering the country illegally. The report said that those who did not want to have a digital ID card on their phone would be allowed to carry a physical one instead. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has placed herself in opposition to some of her colleagues, including many from the 'Red Wall' wave of Labour MPs, with Home Office sources describing her position as 'nuanced'. Sir Keir Starmer has admitted the public has 'every right to be angry' about the issue after more than a thousand migrants made the journey in a single day for the first time this year. Home Office data showed 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats on Saturday. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper , pictured in May, has placed herself in opposition to some of her colleagues, including many from the 'Red Wall' wave of Labour MPs But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Sir Keir's words as 'rubbish', claiming that even Defence Secretary John Healey had acknowledged ministers had 'lost control' of the borders. Saturday's figures were the first time daily crossings topped a thousand in 2025, and prompted Mr Healey to claim Britain had 'lost control' over the last five years, implicating the former Tory government. Writing on social media site X on Monday, the Prime Minister said: 'You have every right to be angry about small boat crossings. 'I'm angry too. We are ramping up our efforts to smash the people smuggling gangs at source.' He claimed hundreds of boats and engines had been 'seized', raids on illegal working were up, and 'almost 30,000 people' had been returned. But Mrs Badenoch hit back, responding: 'Rubbish! Even the Defence Secretary admits the govt has 'lost control' of our borders.' Small boat arrivals are 'up 95% from this point in 2023', she said, and claimed ministers had 'scrapped the only viable deterrent': the previous Conservative government's Rwanda plan. Sir Keir had earlier insisted the Rwanda plan 'didn't deter anybody', after his decision to scrap it was highlighted while he visited Glasgow for a major defence announcement. He added: 'I'm not up for gimmicks. I'm up for the hard work of working with partners, enhancing the powers that law enforcement have, in my determination to take down the gangs that are running this vile trade.' Saturday's crossings brought the provisional annual total so far of migrants who have made the journey to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the same point last year (10,448) and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610). It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022.
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bradford headteacher welcomes free school meal announcement
A headteacher has welcomed government plans to extend the free school meals scheme to include more September 2026 all children in families receiving Universal Credit credit will be eligible regardless of their income, in a move expected to benefit more than 500,000 government said the changes to free school meals would save parents £500 a year and "lift 100,000 children out of poverty".Joanna Baxendale, headteacher at Green Lane Primary School in Bradford, said: "Without free school meals, our children simply will not be able to access the curriculum, they won't be able to learn the maximum capacity, they wouldn't be able to reach their full potential." She added: "Our children come from a very deprived area and a high percentage of our children access free school meals."We already supplement that with free breakfasts and things like that, because we recognise many of our children don't start the day with a breakfast, so they're already not ready to learn. "We all know if you've got an empty tummy, you can't concentrate. "As an adult you know that." Sue Duffy, Bradford Council's executive member for children and families, said the change to the policy was a "fantastic outcome" for children and families in the also encouraged families to check if they are eligible for the scheme so as not to miss out."Free school meals offer multiple benefits to children's health, well-being, and education, as well as positive economic impacts for families," she said."A nutritious lunch can improve children's concentration, learning, and overall academic performance, while saving families around £500 per child each year." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Sun
18 minutes ago
- The Sun
Major supermarket is selling HUGE 4.5kg Toblerone bar for Father's Day – and it's the cheapest around
MORRISONS have just launched a GIGANTIC Toblerone bar just in time for Father's Day - for the cheapest price around. The bar weighs 4.5kg which is over 12 times bigger than the traditional size bar and heavier than the average new born baby. 3 The limited-edition bar is in stores now and will be until Sunday June 15, 2025 making it the perfect present for Father's day. While the bar weighs in at a hefty weight, so does the price, with the bar on offer at £60 for customers with a More Card. However, those without a More Card will have to pay the full price of £80. The chocolate bar is only available in store at Morrisons but is also currently sold on Amazon for £69.99. This is not the first time that the giant chocolate bar has been released to the public as it was previously stocked in 2017. as they released supersized items for the period. The supermarket is replicating the same trick this year for Father's Day as they sell more big items alongside the Toblerone. A limited edition footlong sausage roll, baked fresh in store everyday, will also be available for just £2 until June 15. Alongside the supersized Toblerone and sausage roll Morrisons have a Father's Day range of indulgent bakery sweet treats, corking deals on beer and ale, and further gifts and cards. 3 3 This announcement follows public outrage at the supermarket after they encouraged customers to spend more but then ran out of promised rewards. The retail giant introduced a special offer in February offering free or discounted luxury kitchen essentials in exchange for spending certain amounts. Customers earn one More Card stamp for each £10 spent in-store. Supermarket loyalty schemes - which has one? MOST UK supermarkets have loyalty schemes so customers can build up points and save money while they shop. Here we round up what saving programmes you'll find at the big brands. Iceland: Unlike other stores, you don't collect points with the Iceland Bonus Card. Instead, you load it up with money and Iceland will give you £1 for every £20 you save. Lidl Plus: Lidl customers don't collect points when they shop, and are instead rewarded with personalised vouchers that gives them money off at the till. Morrisons: The My Morrisons: Make Good Things Happen replaces the More Card and rewards customers with personalised money off vouchers via the app. Sainsbury's: While Sainsbury's doesn't have a personal scheme, it does own the Nectar card which can also be used in Argos, eBay and other shops. You need 200 Nectar points to save up £1 to spend on your card. You need to spend at least £1 to get one Nectar point. Tesco: Tesco Clubcard has over 17million members in the UK alone. You use it each time you shop and build up points that can be turned into vouchers - 150 points gets you a £1.50 voucher. Here you need to spend £1 in Tesco to get one point. Waitrose: myWaitrose also doesn't allow you to collect points but instead you'll get access to free hot drinks, and discounts off certain brands in store. Once shoppers have earned 15 - the equivalent of spending £150 - they can unlock discounts on an array of top quality Pyrex kitchen containers. Or, once reaching 30 stamps or above, the items become free depending on the value of the Pyrex product. One disgruntled customer said: 'How frustrating after saving for dishes in your offer (Pyrex vacuum dishes) to be told that the store doesn't have any…. 'Bad planning on your part and annoying for loyal customers who are supporting you.' In Morrisons Eccles store in Salford, Manchester, a woman was recorded hurling items at the self checkout before throwing another customer to the floor. The police were called to the scene and eventually arrested one woman at the scene on suspicion of assault and assaulting a police officer on June 3, 2025. A Morrisons spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
