Brace yourselves, the Ice Bucket Challenge is back

A decade ago, when the Ice Bucket Challenge became a viral sensation, everybody from world leaders to sports stars and Hollywood royalty filled social media with videos of them having vats of cold water and ice cubes dumped over their heads.Their videos were often notable for the casual, conspicious luxury of the backgrounds: LeBron James’ sodden discomfort was offset by the superyacht on which he performed his icy ablutions; Donatella Versace let out her unscripted yowl in her glorious garden flanked by equally gorgeous and muscled male helpers. Donald Trump predictably chose the top of Trump Towers for his stunt.Raising funds and global awareness for motor neurone disease, or ALS as it’s known in America, the craze even caught on among those of us without a personal pool or glamorous garden – with schoolteachers and pupils, police officers and nurses taking part.The challenge involved pouring a bucket of ice-cold water over your head, posting the video on social media and nominating someone else to complete the challenge or donate to charity, or both

NHS in England failing to record ethnicity of those who sue over maternity care

The NHS is facing criticism for not recording the ethnicity of people who sue it over poor maternity care, despite black, Asian and minority ethnic women experiencing much greater harm during childbirth.Health experts, patient safety campaigners and lawyers claim racial disparities in maternity care are so stark that NHS bodies in England must start collating details of people who take legal action to help ensure services improve.The gap in NHS data emerged when Lime Solicitors, a London-based law firm, submitted freedom of information requests to NHS England, individual health trusts and NHS Resolution, the body that handles medical negligence claims against hospitals.It asked how many people had sued over a stillbirth – the death of a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy – between 2012-13 and 2022-23, and how many had secured damages, and also the ethnicity and nationality of claimants.But all the NHS bodies told Lime Solicitors in their replies that they did not record the ethnicity or nationality of those who initiated a legal case alleging medical negligence

Supported housing in England on brink of financial crisis, charities warn

More than 150 organisations, including Age UK and Refuge, have warned the supported housing sector is on the precipice of a financial crisis that could plunge tens of thousands of vulnerable people into homelessness.In a letter to the government being delivered on Friday, public bodies, charities and housing associations called for urgent action to save the sector, which provides homes for 500,000 people across England with complex needs.They said funding cuts and rising costs had pushed providers to breaking point, and that organisations providing nearly one in five (18%) of all supported homes are on the verge of closing down services – which would lead to the loss of 70,000 homes.The National Housing Federation (NHF) found that a third of providers in England said they may have to stop providing supported housing altogether due to financial pressure, and 32% have closed homes down in the past 12 months.These included homes for young people leaving care, older people and veterans, people with learning disabilities, survivors of domestic abuse and people who had been homeless

Drug that cuts risk of breast cancer returning is approved for use in England

Thousands of women with early breast cancer could be offered a drug to stop the cancer returning, after the medicines watchdog approved its use in England.Up to 4,000 patients a year could be given ribociclib alongside hormone therapy, for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, which despite initial treatment has a higher risk of returning.Globally, one in 20 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, with cases up 38% and deaths up 68% over the next 25 years, according to analysis by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).In the UK, breast cancer rates are expected to rise a fifth to 71,006 cases a year in 2050. The most common type of breast cancer – accounting for about 70% of cases – are hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative tumours

Wales and north of England face disability cuts ‘double whammy’

A £5bn programme of disability benefits cuts planned by the UK government will disproportionately hit people living in Wales and northern England “entrenching deprivation”, according to new analysis.The consultancy Policy in Practice has looked at how the proposed changes would affect individual regions and local authorities, and found the impact across the UK starkly uneven.The research shows that north-east England, north-west England and Wales would be the hardest hit, suffering three times the economic impact and with twice as many affected residents as London and the south-east.The 10 most affected councils, including Blaenau Gwent, Hartlepool and Blackpool “face economic costs around five times the national average”, the analysis contends. In all three of those places, nearly one in 10 of the population will be affected

Use of pepper spray authorised at young offender institutions in England and Wales

Children as young as 15 face being incapacitated with pepper spray after Shabana Mahmood on Thursday authorised its use at young offender institutions [YOIs].The justice secretary for the first time signed off the use of Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, for use across three of the four YOIs in England and Wales.The plan, first reported by the Guardian and announced in parliament, has dismayed prison reformers, who say it will create further divisions between staff and minors in their care. The Howard League for Penal Reform said it might challenge the decision in the courts.In a written statement, Mahmood told MPs: “I have decided to authorise the issuing of Pava to a specially trained and selected group of staff in the three public sector YOIs (Feltham A, Werrington and Wetherby) for a 12-month period