How are cabinet ministers likely to vote on assisted dying?

The private member’s bill introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater that would legalise assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill with less than six months to live will get its first Commons vote on 29 November.As it is a free vote, there is no government position. Cabinet ministers have been asked to stay neutral, although they can confirm previously stated views if directly asked. This is what we know about the cabinet’s likely stances.The most vocal cabinet opponent of the idea – to an extent that has annoyed some colleagues and other MPs who support the bill

Brighton council threw man’s belongings in skip after he died, says brother

The brother of a 29-year-old man found dead in temporary council accommodation says he has been left bereft after his sibling’s belongings were disposed of by council contractors.Simon Byrne had made an appointment with Brighton and Hove officials to collect the possessions of his brother Chris, who had died from a drug overdose. However, when he arrived, he discovered Chris’s lodgings had already been cleared. “I was pointed to a small suitcase in the caretaker’s [building],” he said. “The rest of his things, including his bracelets and other tangible memories, had been thrown into a skip with no opportunity for me as his only surviving family member to go through them

Large parts of adult social care market in England face collapse, thinktank warns

Large parts of England’s adult social care market face collapse as a result of tax and wage rises announced in the budget, with devastating consequences for vulnerable and older people who rely on care services, a leading thinktank has warned.The Nuffield Trust said that while the government has consistently spoken of its long term ambition to reform the social care sector, there may be “little of it left” to reform unless it takes urgent action to stabilise the care market financially.The care sector faced an extra £2.8bn cost burden from next April, the trust estimated, adding most care providers will struggle to shoulder their share of the bill, and at least £1bn extra was needed to keep the market afloat.Care providers, councils and charities have all warned of the potentially dire consequences of national insurance contribution (NIC) changes and rises in the “national living wage” announced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, last month

Drones could bring guns into prisons in England and Wales, watchdog fears

Guns could be delivered by drones into jails already riven by drug-related gang wars amid an “inadequate” response from the prison service, a leading watchdog has told the Guardian.Charlie Taylor, the HM chief inspector of prisons, said the surge in the use of large unmanned aerial vehicles was his “number one concern” and had increased the possibility that firearms would be used to settle turf wars or attempt to escape.Official figures showed the number of drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales had risen tenfold since 2020 to 1,063 incursions last year.In an interview, Taylor said his concerns had been heightened after inspectors found drones in constant use at HMP Manchester, which houses prisoners considered a risk to the public.“The risk of drugs, plus other sorts of contraband, is huge

Social media ban for UK under-16s ‘not on the cards’ for now, says minister

A social media ban for under-16s is “not on the cards at the moment”, a minister has said, as teenagers urged him to rethink plans to follow Australia’s lead and restrict access to sites such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science and technology, is trying to convince social media platforms to do more to prevent online harms, with new laws coming into effect next year that could result in heavy fines and even jail in cases where online safety is breached.He told the Guardian: “There’s no work programme at the moment on banning smartphones to children,” and he added: “It’s not my preferred choice.”His comments came as he met a group of teenagers at the headquarters of the NSPCC in London on Thursday. Childline operators deal with about 10 calls a day from children suffering harms from social media

When social care is put in private hands | Letters

As someone who has worked in children’s homes since the 1960s and who is part of a community of people who have experience of generally good children’s homes, I don’t expect the government’s proposed reforms will have the desired effect (Overhaul of children’s social care in England will crack down on firms’ profiteering, 18 November). When care was put in the hands of profit-driven providers and local authorities and charities stopped providing the homes that some ran well in the past, what did we think would happen?When social workers are so restricted in time and resources that they are forced to turn to shameless profiteers to accommodate children who need a home, love and childcare expertise, why are we shocked that children are not getting the support they need?And what makes us think that “quality” can be injected into children’s homes by requiring them to comply with ill-conceived rules and regulations? Regulation that is more to do with the protection of policy and decision-makers than with the love, care and wellbeing provided by a good children’s home.Cost itself is not the issue. The security and community that good children’s homes created remain, even if the buildings are gone. They understand their purpose and stick to it