HMRC accepted ‘tolerable’ risk of harm in child benefit fraud crackdown

UK tax authorities believed that withdrawing child benefit payments from parentswithout prior consultation as part of an anti-fraud drive carried a “tolerable” risk, with only a “remote” chance of inflicting harm, according to internal documents.The revelations come just weeks after it emerged that at least 63% of those who had their child benefit stopped were in fact still living in the UK and had not emigrated, as inferred by incomplete Home Office data used in the crackdown.Senior HM Revenue and Customs officials are due to be questioned about the episode by the Treasury select committee on Tuesday, which last year said the department appeared to have been “cavalier with people’s finances”.The controversy began after HMRC suspended almost 24,000 child benefit accounts between July and October. Parents received letters referring to overseas holidays – sometimes dating back as far as three years – for which the Home Office had no record of a return journey

Finding a home is the care leaver’s greatest problem | Letter

At Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, we agree with your editorial that the government’s recent offer of free eye tests and prescriptions for care leavers is a welcome step in strengthening support for those leaving care (The Guardian view on care leavers: responsibility for looked-after children does not end at 18, 2 January). However, this measure does little to address the far more urgent crisis facing care leavers: a third will experience homelessness within two years of leaving care.Every year, thousands of young people are forced out of care before they are ready, often on their 18th birthday or even younger, with vital support vanishing overnight. Many are pushed into unsuitable housing, such as B&Bs and hostels where they don’t feel safe. They then face the challenge of managing household bills while trying to continue education or find work

‘It restored my hope’: the five charities at the heart of the Guardian’s 2025 appeal

The Guardian’s 2025 charity appeal theme has been about hope: practical and inspiring grassroots voluntary projects that encourage community pride, tolerance and unity as a positive and joyful antidote to polarisation, racism and hatred.We aim to raise £1m for our five partner charities. Donations are now just over £900,000. The appeal closes at midnight on Wednesday evening.“When they meet, share stories and learn together, they build empathy and understanding that lasts a lifetime,” Linda Cowie and Meg Grant said of the children who participate in the schools linking network they help run

How common is violence against NHS staff in England and what is being done to stop it?

A Guardian investigation into violence and sexual harm by patients against NHS staff has revealed tens of thousands of alleged incidents reported over the past three years. Here is what we know from the findings.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related violence as “any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work”. Under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act from 2018 anyone who attacks an emergency worker could face a maximum two-year prison sentence. An assault may include pushing, shoving or spitting, as well as fear of an attack

United against hatred: the Labour MP and ex-Tory MP bringing communities together

They are nursing their cups of tea on opposing sides of the table, and sit on opposing sides of the party political divide, but Gurinder Singh Josan and Kris Hopkins find common cause when it comes to the rise of populism, 1970s-style racism and community division – and finding ways to resist it.Josan, 53, is a Labour MP; Hopkins, 62, a former Tory MP. It’s bracing how different they are: different politics, different pasts, different manners, different modes of expression, everything is different, but on this issue at least they have ended up under the same bannerBoth are trustees of Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust, one of the Guardian 2025 appeal’s five partner charities. The appeal is raising funds for practical grassroots voluntary projects that build hope, tolerance and trust as an antidote to division, hatred and despair.Josan’s interest was sparked as a student at Royal Holloway, University of London in the 1990s

‘Spat at, pushed, punched’: medics tell of soaring levels of violence in hospitals

A Guardian call-out to NHS staff in England to share their experiences of violence in hospitals has revealed that doctors, nurses, paramedics and managers are being overwhelmed by a torrent of physical assaults and sexual abuse by patients.Most respondents said they had little faith in the NHS to tackle the scale and severity of this abuse, which included being attacked with weapons, including knives and chairs. Many staff felt there was no point in reporting physical or sexual harm because perpetrators faced no real comeback from the NHS or the police.Chloe, 29, a resident doctor in an acute medical unit at a London hospital, said she had frequently dealt with abuse and threats since completing her training just over a year ago. “Patients have told me to fuck off, and that they’ll ‘sue the shit out of me’,” she said