Orkney exploring Nordic connections as it seeks 'alternative governance' - STV News

Orkney council is set to discuss “alternative forms of governance” with their Nordic neighbours that could lead to the islands’ changing their status in the UK.

Local authority leader James Stockan believes Orkney does not get fair treatment in terms of funding and policy support.

Councillors will look at a motion put forward by Stockan next week, which says the local authority “should investigate its Nordic connections, crown dependencies, and other options”.

His motion states: “Due to historical and contemporary challenges in relation to equitable capital and revenue funding, and policy support across our island communities, Orkney Islands Council should now explore options for alternative models of governance that provide greater fiscal security and economic opportunity for the islands of Orkney.”

The motion has been supported by the council’s depute leader Heather Woodbridge.

A report accompanying the motion said the investigations will be “broad in nature”, adding it would be up to the UK and Scottish governments to implement possible alternative models.

It adds that, in investigating Nordic connections, the council could look at the Faroe Islands, as they are a self-governing territory of Denmark.

It could also look at British overseas territories, like Guernsey, Jersey, the Falkland Islands and the Isle of Man for possible areas of investigation.

The council is unlikely to receive any financial support to pursue alternative governance models, and costs will have to be supported by the council itself.

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2023-07-02 13:53:14Z
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NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard says strike disruption will get worse - BBC

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By Laura Kuenssberg & Oliver Slow

BBC News

The head of NHS England has warned that July's planned strikes in the health service could be the worst yet for patients.

Amanda Pritchard said industrial action across the NHS had already caused "significant" disruption - and that patients were paying the price.

This month's consultant strike will bring a "different level of challenge" than previous strikes, she said.

Junior doctors and consultants will strike for a combined seven days.

Ms Pritchard told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the work of consultants - who are striking for the first time in a decade - cannot be covered "in the same way" as junior doctors.

"The hard truth is that it is patients that are paying the price for the fact that all sides have not yet managed to reach a resolution," she said.

Last month, junior doctors in England voted for five days of strikes in mid-July - their longest strike yet.

They will walk out between Thursday 13 July and Tuesday 18 July after rejecting a government pay offer.

A few days after that strike ends, on 20 and 21 July, hospital consultants in England will strike over pay.

• Senior doctors back strike action
• Junior doctors to strike for five days in July

Negotiators for consultants and junior doctors have been asking for a 35% pay increase to make up for what they say are 15 years of below-inflation rises - a figure Health Secretary Steve Barclay called unaffordable.

Instead, junior doctors have been offered a 5% rise this year, which was rejected, while there has been no offer so far for consultants.

Consultants are also calling for reforms to the doctors' pay review body to ensure the issue is "fixed for the future". Mr Barclay told Laura Kuenssberg he is "ready to have discussions" on other issues, such as how consultants' pay progresses over time.

"There's things we're open to discussing, but we need to get the balance right," he said.

The health service has been plagued by strike action throughout this year, with doctors, nurses, ambulance workers, porters and others walking out in disputes, mainly over pay.

A breakthrough came in May, when unions representing all NHS staff except doctors and dentists backed a deal to receive a 5% pay rise.

However, junior doctors and hospital consultants have still not reached an agreement with the government.

Health is a devolved issue, meaning this only relates to the NHS in England.

Ms Pritchard acknowledged that it would be several years before the situation in the health sector returned to anything like good enough, and stressed that the service was doing all it could to bring waiting lists down.

NHS England says more than 600,000 appointments have been cancelled in previous strikes. The ongoing failure of the government and some of the medical unions to find agreement is only going to crank the pressure up still further.

Ms Pritchard called for the industrial action to be brought to an end as soon as possible, saying it cannot become "business as usual in the NHS".

She also discussed NHS England's new 15-year workforce plan, which she introduced alongside Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this week.

• Will the plan to tackle NHS staffing shortages work?

The NHS currently has one out of every 10 posts unfilled, creating major pressure on staff and leading to long waiting times for patients.

The new plan is focused on training and retaining more staff. Ms Pritchard said the plan is not an "overnight" fix , but that it is part of efforts to "treat people as quickly as possible, without delay".

Also on the show was former Conservative health minister Lord Bethell who described the current approach to treatment in the NHS as "rationing".

"If someone has a need for an operation and you simply don't have the resources to give them what they need then you are going beyond the important protocols of allocating scarce resources in the best way possible and you are being defined by the amount of resources that you have available," he said.

"I think that there is a difference between reasonable allocation of resources and making tough decision which is part of every day life, and having to cope with a system as overwhelmed with illness."

Related Topics

• NHS
• Strike action

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2023-07-02 13:47:53Z
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Protests: Police powers to stop new tactics come into effect - BBC

Reuters

By Oliver Slow

BBC News

New measures aimed at curbing protest methods often used by environmental groups have come into effect.

Police in England and Wales now have powers to move protesters who disrupt transport, while offenders could face three years in jail for tunnelling.

The Home Office says the Public Order Act 2023 will target "a selfish minority" but critics argue they threaten the right to protest.

Groups such as Just Stop Oil have continued with high-profile protests.

Under the new laws, those found guilty of tunnelling or "being present in a tunnel to cause serious disruption" could be jailed for up to three years.

Taking equipment to a tunnel carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison, as will obstructing major transport works.

The digging of makeshift tunnels has been used for many years as a form of protest, against projects such as the building of the HS2 rail project, as well as by groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.

The British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police will now have powers to move static protests, a common tactic of campaign groups.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the heightened measures will target "selfish protesters" who cause "mayhem" on the streets.

In recent months, the government has also introduced new powers to tackle tactics used by protest groups, including slow-walking and "locking on".

Despite the enhanced measures, environmental groups have continued to take action, including briefly halting Saturday's annual Pride parade in central London in a protest against one of the event's sponsors.

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson told the BBC the "draconian" measures were targeting young people who "just want a liveable future".

Extinction Rebellion urged the government to stop curtailing the right to protest and instead "stop issuing new licences for oil, coal and gas".

Related Topics

• Policing
• Home Office

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2023-07-02 09:38:47Z
2200400709

NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard says strike disruption will get worse - BBC

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By Laura Kuenssberg & Oliver Slow

BBC News

The head of NHS England has warned that July's planned strikes in the health service could be the worst yet for patients.

Amanda Pritchard said industrial action had already caused "significant" disruption - and that patients were "paying the price".

This month's consultant strike will bring a "different level of challenge" because of a lack of cover, she said.

Junior doctors and consultants will strike for a combined seven days.

"There has been a significant amount of disruption," Ms Pritchard told BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show. "And that is only, at the moment, going to get more significant as we hit the next round of strikes."

Ms Pritchard said consultants' work cannot be covered "in the same way" as junior doctors.

"The hard truth is that it is patients that are paying the price for the fact that all sides have not yet managed to reach a resolution," she said.

Last month, junior doctors in England voted for five days of strikes in mid-July - the longest strike yet.

They will walk out between Thursday 13 July and Tuesday 18 July after rejecting a government pay offer.

A few days after that strike ends, on 20 and 21 July, hospital consultants in England will strike over pay.

• Senior doctors back strike action
• Junior doctors to strike for five days in July

Negotiators for consultants and junior doctors have been asking for a 35% pay increase to make up for what they say are 15 years of below-inflation rises - a figure Health Secretary Steve Barclay called unaffordable.

Instead, junior doctors have been offered a 5% rise this year, which was rejected, while there has been no offer so far this year for consultants.

Consultants are also calling for reforms to the doctors' pay review body to ensure the issue is "fixed for the future". Mr Barclay told Laura Kuenssberg he is "ready to have discussions" on other issues, such as how consultants' pay progresses over time.

"There's things we're open to discussing, but we need to get the balance right," he said.

The health service has been plagued by strike action throughout this year, with doctors, nurses, ambulance workers, porters and others walking out in disputes, mainly over pay.

A breakthrough came in May, when unions representing all NHS staff except doctors and dentists backed a deal to receive a 5% pay rise.

However, junior doctors and hospital consultants have still not reached an agreement with the government.

Health is a devolved issue, meaning this only relates to the NHS in England.

Ms Pritchard acknowledged that it would be several years before the situation in the health sector returned to anything like good enough, and stressed that the service was doing all it could to bring waiting lists down.

NHS England says more than 600,000 appointments have been cancelled in previous strikes. The ongoing failure of the government and some of the medical unions to find agreement is only going to crank the pressure up still further.

Ms Pritchard called for the industrial action to be brought to an end as soon as possible, saying it cannot become "business as usual in the NHS".

She also discussed NHS England's new 15-year workforce plan, which she introduced alongside Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this week.

• Will the plan to tackle NHS staffing shortages work?

The NHS currently has one out of every 10 posts unfilled, creating major pressure on staff and leading to long waiting times for patients.

The new plan is focused on training and retaining more staff. Ms Pritchard said the plan is not an "overnight" fix , but that it is part of efforts to "treat people as quickly as possible, without delay".

Related Topics

• NHS
• Strike action

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2023-07-02 13:39:06Z
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Fire in Holyhead which destroyed part of disused club buildings was deliberately started - North Wales Live

A fire which destroyed part of disused club buildings in Holyhead, on Anglesey last night, was deliberately started. It broke out on Victoria Road, shortly before 9.45pm.

Four fire engines - two from Holyhead, one from Rhosneigr and an aerial ladder platform from Bangor - were sent to the scene and battled the blaze for about four hours, before it was extinguished.

The disused club buildings comprised three sections - one of which received 100% fire damage, a spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said.

"We were called at 9.44pm and sent four engines to the scene. The cause of the fire was deliberate ignition," they said.

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2023-07-02 09:23:38Z
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Ukraine finds British WW2 Hurricane planes outside Kyiv - BBC

By James Landale

Diplomatic correspondent, Kyiv

The rusting remains of eight British Hurricane fighter planes dating back to World War Two have been found buried in a forest in Ukraine.

The aircraft were sent to the Soviet Union by Britain after Nazi Germany invaded the country in 1941.

They were part of a package of allied military support for the USSR, paid for by the United States under the so-called Lend-Lease scheme.

Similar legislation is being used by the US government today to send military aid to Ukraine as it seeks to expel Russian forces from its country.

Aviation experts say this is the first time the remains of so many Hurricanes have been found in Ukraine.

"It is very rare to find this aircraft in Ukraine," says Oleks Shtan, a former airline pilot who is leading the excavation. "It's very important for our aviation history because no Lend-Lease aircraft have been found here before."

State Aviation Museum, Kyiv

The Hawker Hurricane was the workhorse of the Battle of Britain - the air campaign of 1940 when the Royal Air Force (RAF) defeated German attempts to invade the UK. Although its role has often been overshadowed by the newer and more adaptable Spitfire plane, the Hurricane actually shot down more than half of all enemy aircraft during the battle.

"The Hurricane was a strong, easy to fly machine," Mr Shtan says. "It was stable as a gun platform and suitable for inexperienced pilots. A reliable aircraft."

In total, about 3,000 Hurricanes were sent to the USSR between 1941 and 1944 to support the Soviet war effort. Most were either destroyed in combat or dismantled later for parts.

But some Hurricanes were deliberately broken up and buried after the war so the Soviets did not have to pay back the United States. Under the Lend-Lease legislation, the USSR was required to pay for any donated military equipment that remained intact after hostilities ended.

This was the fate of the eight Hurricanes found buried in woodland south of Kyiv - now the capital of independent Ukraine, but until 1991 part of the USSR.

They had been stripped of their instruments, radios, machine guns and any useful scrap metal. They were then dragged by tractors from a nearby airfield, broken up and dropped without ceremony into a shallow ravine. It is thought they were then covered with earth by bulldozers.

The remains were discovered recently after an unexploded bomb dating from the war was found nearby. The rest of the ravine was checked using metal detectors and the Hurricanes were found.

The National Aviation Museum of Ukraine is now in the process of painstakingly excavating the site by hand. Staff there aim to identify as much of the aircraft as possible so they can be reassembled and put on display.

Valerii Romanenko, head of research at the museum, says the Hurricanes played an important part in Ukraine's history.

"The Hurricanes are a symbol of British assistance during the years of the Second World War, just as we are very appreciative of British assistance nowadays," he says. "The UK is one of the largest suppliers of military equipment to our country now."

BBC

The Hurricanes are a symbol of British assistance... just as we are very appreciative of British assistance now

Valerii Romanenko
National Aviation Museum of Ukraine

"In 1941 Britain was the first who supplied fighter aircraft to the Soviet Union in mass scale. Now the UK is the first country which gives Storm Shadow cruise missiles to our armed forces."

It is thought there are just 14 restored Hurricanes able to fly in the world today.

After the German invasion, the USSR lost many warplanes and was in desperate need of fighter aircraft. Initially several RAF Hurricane squadrons were sent to the Arctic to help.

But soon the British pilots left and the aircraft were taken over by Soviet airmen. Records show that many disliked the Hurricane, considering it under-powered, under-armed and under-protected.

By the end of the war it was considered obsolete and was used mainly for air defence work. The eight Hurricanes found south of Kyiv were used to defend major transport hubs - especially railway stations and junctions.

Related Topics

• Russia-Ukraine war
• Soviet Union
• Ukraine
• World War Two

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2023-07-02 05:00:09Z
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London Pride: Seven arrests as Just Stop Oil protest delays parade - BBC

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Seven Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested while trying to halt the annual Pride parade in central London.

Images on social media showed police removing demonstrators who managed to briefly stop the march.

The Metropolitan Police said seven people were arrested for public nuisance offences.

Before the parade started, LGBTQ+ Just Stop Oil members called on Pride to stop accepting sponsorship money from "high-polluting industries".

Organisers estimate more than 30,000 participants from across 600 organisations took part in the parade.

Speaking after the arrests, Will De'Athe-Morris, from Pride in London said he did not want the protest to overshadow the parade's core message.

"Pride is a protest and pride is a celebration," he told the BBC. "We are protesting for LGBTQ+ rights and for our trans siblings in a separate march alone.

"So for us anyone who tries to disrupt that protest and parade is really letting down those people who use this space once a year to come together to celebrate and protest for those rights."

PA Media

Police said the parade was briefly delayed for around 17 minutes while officers dealt with the protesters at Piccadilly's junction with Down Street.

BBC Radio London's Rob Oxley said the protesters "sat down in front of the Coke float for around 20 minutes".

"The DJ on the float continued to play music and the crowd cheered as they were removed."

PA Media

Before the parade started, LGBTQ+ members of Just Stop Oil called on organisers to condemn new oil, gas and coal licences.

"These partnerships embarrass the LGBTQ+ community at a time when much of the cultural world is rejecting ties to these toxic industries," they said in a statement.

LGBTQ+ people are "suffering first" in the "accelerating social breakdown" caused by climate change, they added.

PA Media

The procession started at midday at Hyde Park Corner and people peacefully made their way through Westminster's streets - it will finish at Whitehall Place.

A number of stages are expected to host performances from LGBTQ+ acts as part of the celebrations.

PA Media

Mr De'Athe-Morris urged protesters not to "rain on this parade".

"There are so many more opportunities during the year to share your messages, please don't try and rain on this parade," he said.

"We don't want to see a day marred in any way by people trying to disrupt it."

Earlier, Sadiq Khan described Just Stop Oil as a "really important pressure group" despite the disruption threats.

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2023-07-01 15:32:19Z
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