Plus, meet the bra boss who is busting stereotypes
| MPs to vote on new tax rise |
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| | | Health and social care will be given a funding boost, says Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but at the expense of a Conservative Party election promise. His long awaited - and much trailed - plan sees National Insurance contributions rise as part a new UK-wide "health and social care levy". The announcement breaks a manifesto promise not to raise taxes - and came on the same day it emerged another election pledge, to maintain the triple lock formula for state pensions, was also being broken. It will be suspended for one year. However, Mr Johnson says the new tax of 1.25%, which begins next April, means "everyone will contribute according to their means". MPs will have a vote on this later and in the meantime you can work out how it would affect you. The new tax, or levy, will raise £12bn a year and will be geared towards tackling the NHS backlog caused by the Covid pandemic while boosting social care. The plan which the prime minister describes as "reasonable and fair", has been met with criticism. There was anger from Tory MPs before the announcement, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says it’s a "sticking plaster" and it hits young people, supermarket workers and nurses, rather than those with the "broadest shoulders". There’s also anger from the social care sector, with the UK Home Care Association saying it's "nowhere near enough". The Independent Care Group claims it’s a "huge opportunity missed for radical, once-in-a-generation reform of the social care system", which doesn’t address the staffing crisis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the latest tax increases with those announced in the March Budget means 2022 has seen the highest tax rises in 40 years. The plan is UK-wide so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also receive an additional £2.2bn to spend on their services, although care costs are managed differently by each nation. | |
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| US concerns over new Taliban government |
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| Weeks after taking over Afghanistan, the Taliban have declared the country an "Islamic Emirate" and also announced its new - albeit interim - government. The all-male cabinet featuring senior Taliban figures is led by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who is on a UN blacklist, and also includes the FBI-wanted leader of the Haqqani militant group, Sirajuddin Haqqani, as the new interior minister. News of the appointments has left the US "concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of the individuals" and it says it is assessing the announcement. Senator Lindsey Graham describes the new cabinet as a "line-up of thugs and butchers", with the US State Department adding it would "judge the Taliban by its actions, not words". | |
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| Is Spears' conservatorship nearing an end? |
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| Britney Spears has twice in the past two years tried to remove her father as conservator of her life and finances, now it’s emerged he has requested that it should end. The pop star’s father Jamie Spears has filed papers to a Los Angeles court to bring to an end 13 years of overseeing his daughter’s affairs. "Recent events related to this conservatorship have called into question whether circumstances have changed to such an extent that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist," the papers read. It comes after Spears gave a testimony to the court, describing their relationship as "abusive". "As Mr Spears has said again and again, all he wants is what is best for his daughter," the document says. | |
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| | | | | The cap on care costs is being hailed by ministers as the golden chance to fix the broken system and create a fairer way of paying for care. And credit is certainly being given for the change. Ever since Tony Blair came to power, successive governments have been dodging the issue. The plan for England sounds simple - from 2023 no-one will pay more than £86,000 for the care they need. But the plan is not necessarily the silver bullet it may first appear. There was no mention of it in the 33-page plan published but the government confirmed to BBC News the accommodation costs of care - those associated with daily living, such as food, energy bills and the physical building - would not count towards the cap. | |
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| | Nick Triggle | Health correspondent | |
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| | | | The move to raise taxes to fund health and social care dominates this morning’s front pages. The Sun says it’s "BoJo's biggest gamble" and pictures him rolling some dice. The Daily Telegraph headline claims it’s the "highest taxes since the War" and the Daily Mail says the "tax burden will be the highest in history". The paper also calls on Mr Johnson to "make the care worth the cost". Meanwhile, the Guardian questions whether the £12bn health plan, the prime minister is staking his reputation on, will deliver. Read the newspaper review in full here. | |
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| | | Climate Vulnerable countries seek 'emergency pact' |
| | | | Boeing Directors to face investor lawsuit over fatal crashes |
| | | | Wales Major changes to cut number of MPs published |
| | | | Football Scotland revive World Cup 2022 qualification hopes |
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| If you watch one thing today |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| If you read one thing today |
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| Need something different? |
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| Hill walking can be challenging for anyone and for one man with multiple sclerosis a trek to the top is impossible. That was until a search and rescue team came to his rescue. With their help, Gilby Taylor - who could see Belstone Tor in Dartmoor from his garden - finally got to admire the view from the top. Take a look at his journey. Sticking with hills, it’s a race against time, well the ocean, to uncover more secrets from an ancient hill fort before it disappears into the sea. An Iron Age roundhouse has already been unearthed but archaeologists think there could be more secrets hidden at the site in Wales. Interested? Find out more here. And finally, continuing with the sea, and Wales, where an endangered angel shark has finally been captured on film in Cardigan Bay. The mysterious shark, which poses no danger to humans, camouflages itself in the sediments on the seabed, lying in wait for fish. Watch it in action (spoiler alert: there’s an ambush). | |
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