FOI reveals £2m cost of agency staff to West Dunbartonshire home care service

Fashion retailer River Island, a staple of the UK high street for over 75 years, is reportedly close to closing some of its stores as it develops a 'radical rescue plan' with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) amid challenging market conditions. The company's latest accounts revealed a £33.2 million loss before tax and a 19% drop in turnover, attributing these issues to rising operating costs, changing consumer preferences, and increased competition, particularly in the digital space. The potential...

A "troubling decline" in physical education (PE) hours for England's secondary school pupils has been highlighted by the Youth Sport Trust (YST), which reports nearly 4,000 PE hours lost in the past year and a total of almost 45,000 hours since the 2012 London Olympics. Additionally, the number of PE teachers in England has decreased by 7%, prompting the YST to call for urgent action to prioritize PE. In response, the government stated its commitment...

A search is underway for two missing teenage girls, Sofia, 13, and Carla, 14, last seen in school uniform near a leisure center in north Manchester on Thursday around 4:45 PM. Sofia, potentially wearing glasses, is slim with long dark hair, while Carla is approximately 5ft 4in tall with long dark braided hair. Both are believed to be together and known to frequent Piccadilly Gardens; Greater Manchester Police are increasingly concerned for their welfare and...

Experts predict that by 2030, robotic butlers may become common among the wealthy, despite current humanoid robots being unprepared for mass adoption. Romain Moulin, CEO of Exotec, suggests that early adopters will purchase robots for tasks like floor cleaning and laundry folding, primarily as a status symbol, with limited functionality and battery life. Although humanoid robots could be useful in domestic settings, challenges such as safety, payload, and autonomy make their integration complex compared to...

One lucky Lotto player has won a £4 million jackpot in the recent draw, matching all six main numbers (11, 17, 27, 30, 39, 46) with a bonus number of 56. Players are encouraged to check their tickets and claim their prizes, as Wednesday’s jackpot is estimated at £2 million. In related games, twelve players won £13,000 each by matching four numbers, while the EuroMillions jackpot has rolled over to £208 million, offering a chance...

A body has been discovered in Hampshire's Bolderwood area during the search for Yajaira Castro Mendez, a 46-year-old Colombian woman reported missing on May 31 after leaving her Ilford home on May 29. While her family has been informed of the body's discovery, formal identification is pending, and a post-mortem examination has yet to occur. A man known to Ms. Castro Mendez has been charged with her murder and remanded into custody, as the investigation...