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STORY

The Home Office has announced that another 13 hotels are no longer being used to accommodate asylum seekers, bringing the number closed during 2026 to 44. The latest group includes the Grand Metropole Hotel in Blackpool, the Gold Thorn Hotel in Wolverhampton and the Best Western Brook Hotel in Norwich, with around 160 asylum hotels still operating nationally.

Immigration Minister Anna Turley said ending hotel use remained a Government priority and said more than £1 billion had been saved since the 2024 general election through reductions in hotel accommodation and wider changes to the asylum system. Some people leaving hotels are being moved to other forms of accommodation, including former military sites and houses in multiple occupation.

The Government has pledged to end the use of asylum hotels by the next general election and is looking to larger sites, including former military bases, as alternatives. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said accommodation should be distributed more evenly across the country, while ministers say local authorities will continue to be consulted and retain their existing planning powers.

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Disabled people and people with long term health conditions are being invited to help shape recommendations for the future of Personal Independence Payment after an interim review concluded that the current system is no longer fit for purpose. Fifteen workshops will be held online and in person, with registration opening on 12 August and closing on 21 August.

The Timms Review was launched last October and published its interim report in July 2026. Evidence submitted to the review included accounts from people who described the PIP assessment and decision making process as stressful and dehumanising, while also saying that the benefit itself remained important to supporting independence and participation.

The workshops will take place during September and October and will be used to test and refine emerging recommendations before the final report is submitted to the Government in the autumn. More than 38,000 responses were received to the review’s call for evidence, with disability organisations, charities and MPs also due to be consulted as the recommendations are developed.

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Thousands of households living close to new or upgraded electricity pylons could receive up to £2,500 off their energy bills over ten years under a Government scheme beginning next year. The first 43 transmission projects expected to qualify have now been identified, covering more than 40 locations from the Scottish Highlands to southern England.

Households within 500 metres of eligible projects are expected to receive the discount once the development has secured the necessary consents and main construction work has started. Most qualifying households will receive the money automatically through their electricity supplier every six months, although some customers, including those using commercial meters, may need to apply.

The Government says hundreds of thousands of homes could benefit as the scheme expands over the next decade. Ministers argue that upgrading a grid largely built in the 1960s is needed to connect new electricity generation and strengthen energy security, while communities hosting new infrastructure should receive a direct financial benefit.

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Two men have been arrested as part of an Environment Agency investigation into suspected illegal waste dumping on agricultural land near Middlewich in Cheshire. The investigation centres on a large waste site at a farm on Coal Pit Lane, where substantial quantities of waste have been deposited next to the River Wheelock.

A 69-year-old local man was arrested at the site on Friday 7 August on suspicion of waste offences after the Environment Agency requested assistance from Cheshire Police. A second local man, aged 37, was arrested at the same location during a planned follow-up operation on Monday 10 August. Both men have since been released on bail while enquiries continue.

The Environment Agency said the site contains significant quantities of green garden waste, construction material, plastics, tyres, shredded waste and mixed household rubbish. All of the material had been deposited on agricultural land and the site has been subject to what the agency described as a complex ongoing investigation into suspected illegal activity.

Caroline Berry, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said waste crime damaged both communities and the environment and that the arrests formed part of a wider programme of enforcement action. The agency published a 10 Point Plan for tackling waste crime in March, aimed at speeding up enforcement, improving detection and targeting suspected offenders more effectively.

Cheshire Police said waste crime could cause long lasting environmental damage as well as damaging the landscape. Officers said they would continue working with the Environment Agency as the investigation progresses and appealed for anyone with information about the Middlewich site to come forward.

Residents and businesses have also been reminded to check that companies removing their waste are properly licensed. Authorities warned that waste offered for disposal at unusually low prices could ultimately be dumped illegally and that the original owner of the waste could still face a fine if it is traced back to them.

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Organisers of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham have faced criticism over ticket and other spectator costs after large numbers of seats remained empty during the opening stages of the competition at Alexander Stadium. More than 13,000 spectators were officially recorded on the opening evening, although significant sections of the 23,000 capacity stadium were visibly unoccupied.

Ticket prices have been among the main areas of criticism. For Tuesday evening, category A seats cost £110 and category B tickets £90, while category C and D seats were priced at £60 and £40 respectively. Prices for some later evening sessions rise to £150 for category A seats, although the cheapest category E tickets for those sessions are £26.

The cost of food and transport has also attracted attention. Spectators have reported prices including £18.50 for a barbecue pork roll, £15 for a bratwurst hot dog and £3.95 for a bottle of water. The park and ride service costs £22.50, while a £17.50 park and walk option involves a journey of around 45 minutes on foot.

Former world 1500 metres champion and BBC athletics commentator Steve Cram expressed disappointment at the number of spectators, while Nick Harwell, the agent of British sprinter Amy Hunt, criticised the ticket prices following Hunt’s victory in the women’s 100 metres. Jenny Meadows, who coaches Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, also said she had heard concerns from supporters about ticket prices, parking and a lack of awareness that the championships were taking place.

Birmingham 2026 organisers have defended their pricing structure, saying half of all tickets cost £30 or less and adult tickets started at £10. They said ticket sales had exceeded their targets, with the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening sessions approaching sellout and several other sessions close to capacity.

The championships are being staged in Britain for the first time and run at Alexander Stadium from 10 to 16 August. The debate over attendance comes as London prepares its bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, with the final presentation for that bid due to take place this week.

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Councils are to be given stronger powers to prevent new vape shops, betting shops and adult gaming centres from opening under plans announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The Government says the changes are intended to give local communities greater control over their high streets and could come into effect next year.

New vape shops would require planning permission rather than being treated in the same broad planning category as other retail premises. Adult gaming centres would also be placed in a separate planning category, while the Government plans to remove the Gambling Act 2005 ‘aim to permit’ rule which currently limits the circumstances in which councils can refuse applications for betting shops and gaming centres.

The Local Government Association welcomed the additional powers, saying councils would gain a greater say over the mix of businesses on high streets. The Betting and Gaming Council said betting shop numbers had fallen substantially since 2019 and argued that licensed bookmakers should not be grouped together with rogue operators, while opposition parties said wider action was needed to address business rates and high street decline.

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The Charity Commission has appointed interim managers to take control of the London Spiritual Mission while a statutory inquiry into the organisation and a connected charity continues. The regulator said the managers will run the unregistered charity to the exclusion of its existing trustees.

The Commission began an inquiry into Trust Property Held In Connection With The London Spiritual Mission in December 2023 and expanded it in February 2025 to include the London Spiritual Mission. The regulator is examining concerns about the purported dissolution of the Mission and the transfer of assets, including legacy funds, to a trust whose sole trustee is a private company limited by guarantee.

Liz Brownsell and Jennifer Marley of Birketts LLP have been appointed as interim managers. Their duties include establishing the charity’s membership, reviewing its governance and legal structures, ensuring charitable assets are transferred to an appropriate charitable structure and clarifying its relationship with the connected trust and other entities. The Charity Commission said its inquiries into both charities remain ongoing.

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Meta smart glasses have been banned from courts and tribunals in England and Wales because of concerns that they could be used to make covert recordings. His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that anyone arriving at a court building with the glasses will have them confiscated on entry and returned when they leave.

The glasses can record video while being worn and HMCTS said their use was prohibited because there are clear restrictions on taking images or videos inside courts and tribunals. Smartphones can still be brought into court buildings, although they must not be used to record proceedings. Unauthorised filming in court can amount to contempt of court.

The decision follows concerns about the use of smart glasses in legal proceedings in the UK and overseas. Earlier this year a High Court claimant was accused by a judge of receiving assistance through smart glasses while giving evidence, although he denied that the glasses were connected to his phone or being used to provide answers. HMCTS said it does not hold figures on the number of incidents involving smart glasses in courts.

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A skip hire company director has been given a suspended prison sentence after repeatedly failing to comply with Environment Agency warnings over waste stored at a site near Braintree in Essex.

Roy Brett, director of RJ Brett Contracts Ltd, was sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to undertake 30 days of rehabilitation activities and pay a £154 victim surcharge.

The Environment Agency began investigating the site at Lanham Green Road in Cressing in July 2024. Officers found more than a dozen skips filled with waste and gave Brett three months to remove it, but the agency said the situation had not improved when officers returned after the deadline.

By early 2025, almost 50 skips were being stored at the yard, some stacked on top of others. Officers also found piles of wood and soil, while waste including metal, textiles and builders’ rubbish was being stored on the ground.

The Environment Agency said the site did not have sealed drainage and that the amount of material being stored created environmental and fire risks. Essex Fire and Rescue Service had also raised concerns and instructed Brett to tidy the site and prevent waste presenting a fire risk from being brought onto the premises.

Brett admitted offences relating to the operation of the waste facility without an environmental permit, failure to comply with a notice requiring waste to be removed and keeping waste in a way likely to cause pollution or harm to human health.

RJ Brett Contracts Ltd was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay a £1,200 victim surcharge for similar offences. Brett has also been ordered to remove the remaining waste from the site and could face imprisonment if he commits further offences or fails to clear the site by November.

The Environment Agency said Brett had received repeated warnings both in writing and in person. Its enforcement team said operating without the required permit had allowed the business to avoid fees and conditions intended to protect the environment.

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The Environment Agency has warned that repeated vandalism of locks, sluices and other water control structures is putting lives at risk and making the effects of drought more difficult to manage.

The warning follows a series of incidents on waterways during the summer, with damage and interference causing water levels to fall, disrupting navigation and affecting wildlife and habitats. Drought has been declared in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, increasing concerns about unnecessary losses of water.

Ashton Lock near Oundle has been among the locations affected. Its winding wheel was damaged and removed for repair before a temporary replacement was stolen. The lock’s guillotine gate was subsequently tampered with, allowing water needed for navigation and wildlife to drain away.

In a separate incident at Ashton Lock, a life buoy and its rope were removed from a safety station. The rope was then used to hold open the lock doors while the guillotine gate was raised, causing water upstream to drain. The Environment Agency said similar incidents had happened repeatedly and had been reported to the police.

Problems have also been reported on the River Nene, where lock paddles have been manually raised, draining stretches of the river above them. The section between Upper and Lower Barnwell locks has been particularly affected, with water levels able to fall quickly and taking longer to recover during drought conditions.

Other reported incidents have included attempts to break into control panels, people climbing onto guillotine gates and individuals entering locks despite hidden hazards. People have also climbed onto or broken into weed-cutting boats left on riverbanks during maintenance work.

The Environment Agency is using volunteers at sites on the Great Ouse to discourage vandalism, while CCTV is operating at some locations. Additional safety inspections are also being carried out.

Environment Agency Area Manager Ben Thornely said the vandalism was putting lives in danger and having significant consequences for wildlife and navigation. The public has been asked to report vandalism and antisocial behaviour at Environment Agency infrastructure to the police and the agency.