Leasehold ban in England and Wales unlikely before next general election, minister says

A ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to come into force until after the next election, the housing minister has said, as he defended the government’s piecemeal attempts to dismantle the system.The long-promised end would take years to “switch on”, Matthew Pennycook said, even though the ban of leaseholds on new houses was passed in 2024 and the government intends to pass one on new flats soon.Pennycook was giving a speech defending the government’s approach to bringing a de facto end to the feudal-era system after years of complaints from leaseholders about crippling service charges and crumbling buildings. He said the process needed to be rolled out slowly to avoid undermining housing supply and falling into legal pitfalls.“I think it’s highly likely that we don’t switch on the ban in this parliament,” he told reporters afterwards

The use of advanced practitioners in the NHS is no reason to fear for patient safety | Letters

I am an advanced clinical practitioner in acute respiratory medicine, and the British Medical Association’s (BMA) characterisation of practitioners like me as unsafe “substitute doctors” demands a response (Safety fears as UK hospitals use nurses to cover for doctors due to shortage of medics, 25 April).Every shift, I assess and manage patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, pulmonary embolisms, pneumonia and acute respiratory failure, taking clinical responsibility in a consultant-led multidisciplinary team, underpinned by a master’s-level qualification and over a decade of specialist experience. This is not doctor substitution. This is advanced practice: a distinct, evidence-based clinical role that enhances patient care rather than compromising it.The cases cited in your article (at Rotherham general hospital and a GP practice) represent failures of organisational governance, not evidence that advanced practitioners are inherently unsafe

The landlords’ view of the rental market | Letters

Your article on landlords (I thought landlords were unchallengeable – until I met one of mine at a party, 22 April) paints them as shadowy figures wielding quiet power, but the reality is often more ordinary – and more complicated. I’m an “accidental landlord”. In my 40s, after working long hours to buy a modest home, I became seriously ill with chronic fatigue and had to move back in with my parents. Letting my house wasn’t about exploitation; it was about survival – covering a mortgage I could no longer sustain through work.Over time, I reinvested carefully, and I now own a small number of properties

Visible sign of MPs’ boozing is comical | Brief letters

The Labour MP Alex Sobel says he has never “actually seen anyone smell of booze” (Hannah Spencer riles fellow MPs with attack on parliament’s drinking culture, 27 April). That’s a relief, otherwise I would have wondered whether we were all living in a strip cartoon in The Dandy or Beano.Pete LavenderWoodthorpe, Nottinghamshire Now we know why they make such a cock-up of everything.Michael FullerAmpthill, Bedfordshire In an otherwise sensible article, Nick Bender tells us “Falling is a huge concern for anyone over 60” (All the right moves! 17 personal trainers on the exercise they always recommend – from planks to face pulls, 29 April). My bootcamp, and most of my 60-something friends, would disagree

Swearing banned by one in five councils in England and Wales, report on ‘busybody’ fines shows

One in five local councils have banned swearing under new “busybody” orders, up from one in 20 councils in 2022.A new report by the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life has found that public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) – originally intended to tackle serious antisocial behaviour – are being used by councils in England and Wales to criminalise a wide range of everyday activities, including standing in groups, shouting and picking up stones.“Councils have introduced a swathe of bizarre bans that will turn ordinary people into unwitting criminals,” said Josie Appleton, the director of the group. “Councils have used PSPOs – which allow them to ban any activity they judge to have a ‘detrimental effect on the quality of life’ – to introduce over 1,000 new laws, each of which can contain dozens of separate restrictions.“These orders are not subject to democratic or legal scrutiny: they can be brought through by a single unelected council officer, and do not require public consultation or full council assent

Obesity a key factor for rising cancer rates in young people in England, study finds

Obesity is a key factor for the rising rates of cancer among younger people in England, according to a study.There are 11 types of cancer, including bowel and ovarian cancer, that are increasing among people aged 20 to 49 between 2001 and 2019, according to analysis by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London.Obesity is the only known behavioural risk factor that has been increasing in younger adults over this period, while more established risks such as smoking, alcohol, red meat and physical inactivity have all remained stable or in decline in England.This led researchers to conclude that the increase in obesity was a key factor behind the rising rate of cancer cases. Excess weight was associated with 10 of the cancers identified, including thyroid, kidney and pancreatic cancer, with oral cancer being the only exception