What the papers said in the week ending 6 October 2023
In a week that was almost lost to columns and cartoons about the Conservative Party conference, it was a relief to get to Friday and Saturday, and especially to the letters.
Old Wulfrunian Rober Jenrick probably scooped the prize for the most crass intervention of the week – suggesting that the challenge of providing for old people should be met by families having more babies. Families should have more children to care for ageing UK population, minister says | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
- He has received a deluge of corrective comment: Jenrick’s perverse solution to plug our social care gap | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
- Provision for anyone in need of care is threatened by failure to invest: Tory-run Hampshire council says it faces ‘financial meltdown’ | Local government | The Guardian
- The real cost of local authority budget cuts | Local government | The Guardian
Our conference study of the issues raised by the Archbishops: Care and Support Reimagined: A National Care Covenant for England | The Archbishop of Canterbury was well focussed.
Inequalities:
Are evident in the epidemiology of disease – but also in the provision of treatment: ‘Deeply concerning’ inequalities in NHS heart valve surgery, report finds | NHS | The Guardian
School uniforms are defended for their potential to keep us identifiably of the same group: School uniforms are a necessary leveller | Schools | The Guardian
Prisons:
Our overdependence on locking people away for a long punitive time is contrasted with the enlightened system in the Netherlands: UK could rent space in foreign jails to ease shortage of cells | Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Other matters:
On a fairly rocky road, Jimmy Carter is still showing the way: Jimmy Carter: tributes pour in as ex-president celebrates 99th birthday | Jimmy Carter | The Guardian
Politics and economy leave Paddington Bear unable to perform in Peru: Paddington in Peru films in Colombia – sparking row over legislation in Peru | Peru | The Guardian
Bumblebees seem to have mastered a martial art: Buff-tailed bumblebees drop from air ‘like bricks’ to repel hornet attacks | Bees | The Guardian
Pregnancy produces changes in the brain which will remain through the rest of life: Pregnancy leads to permanent rewiring of brain, study suggests | Pregnancy | The Guardian
Freedom of worship is threatened by commercial considerations on The Isle of Lewis: ‘Dangerous precedent’: fears over plans for Calanais stones access fee | Scotland | The Guardian
Informed and disciplined response to health challenges, are effective: New Zealand Covid response saved 20,000 lives, study says | New Zealand | The Guardian
Liverpool is following Greater Manchester to make buses a public service, again: Liverpool announces it will bring buses back under public control | Transport | The Guardian
Quite wonderfully, we learn that the felled sycamore tree of Hadrian’s Wall may rise again – if people are patient and let natural process have their way: The felled Sycamore Gap tree may rise again | Trees and forests | The Guardian
Environment:
Extremes are having effects. Some we appreciate:
First Thing: Global temperatures soared to new record in September | US news | The Guardian
‘Exceptional year’: Mont Blanc shrinks by another 2 metres | Mountains | The Guardian
Wet UK summer brings high hopes for spectacular autumn display | Autumn | The Guardian
David Jolley. Chair of Christians on Ageing, in a personal capacity.
