Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 6 December 2022

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1. Sunak’s housing ‘climbdown’
2. Temperatures ‘to fall to -10’
3. Poll shows support for Union
4. Patients struggle with GP slots
5. Starmer agrees with ‘basic Leave case’
6. Epilepsy trolling to be criminalised
7. Better childcare would ‘cut benefits bill’
8. Hancock claims ‘not credible’
9. Charity boss faces abuse
10. Concern as knee implant withdrawn

published 6 December 2022

1. Sunak’s housing ‘climbdown’

Rishi Sunak has “climbed down” on “key planks” of his planning reforms in response to rebellions by backbench Tories, said The Telegraph. The Prime Minister faced accusations that he is putting party unity over the national interest after he ditched compulsory house-building targets for local areas. He is also rumoured to be ready to back down on the ban on onshore wind farms after 34 Tories, including Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, demanded that it be lifted.

Severe cold weather will hit the UK this week, warned the Met Office, with overnight temperatures plummeting to -6C (21F) in some places. Frost and ice are expected, said the forecaster, and temperatures will be low enough to make snow a possibility anywhere in the country. The UK health security agency issued an even more extreme prediction, forecasting that temperatures could plunge to -10C in some places. People are being urged to look out for those who are especially vulnerable.

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A new poll has found that twice as many Northern Irish voters would choose to remain part of the UK rather than a united Ireland in a reunification referendum. The poll is a blow to Sinn Fein with the DUP saying it showed a “strong majority in Northern Ireland support the Union”. Voters in the Republic of Ireland would support unification by a majority of four to one, the Ipsos poll for the Irish Times found, but reunification can only happen if it is backed by a majority in both Northern Ireland and the Republic in two separate border polls.

Five million patients were unable to book a GP appointment in October, according to analysis from the Labour Party. In 2017 another two million people faced a wait of more than a month to see their doctor, the highest number since the records began. Campaigners told The Times that problems with access to family doctors will “drive patients to A&E and add to pressure on hospitals”. However, the government said that Labour’s figures did not show rising appointment numbers since the survey was carried out.

Sir Keir Starmer said he agreed with the “basic case” made by many Leave supporters during the European Union referendum. The Labour leader said he understood the desire for more “control”, despite his position in the Remain campaign. “During the Brexit referendum I argued for Remain,” he said in a speech on Monday. “But I couldn’t disagree with the basic case that many leave voters made to me.” Asked earlier if rejoining the EU single market would boost economic growth, Starmer said: “No, at this stage I don’t think it would.”

People who deliberately send epilepsy sufferers flashing images over the internet face up to five years in jail under the Online Safety Bill. Michelle Donelan, the Culture Secretary, will criminalise “epilepsy trolling”, where someone sends or shows flashing images electronically to people with epilepsy intending to cause them harm. It will be named Zach’s Law, after 11-year-old Zach Eagling, who campaigned for a change in legislation. Trolls bombarded his social media pages with hundreds of flashing messages and GIFs in a bid to trigger seizures.

The introduction of free universal preschool childcare and increased funding for after-school clubs could increase government revenues and save a family with young children between £620 and £6,175 a year, according to a joint report by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the charity Save the Children. The report, backed by the Labour Party, said the moves would allow more women to return to work and therefore reduce benefits spending. Ensuring households can access affordable childcare “could slash nearly £2.8bn from government social security spending as more families could move into work or increase their hours”, said The Guardian.

A former Tory health secretary has accused Matt Hancock of rewriting history in his Covid diaries book. Stephen Dorrell, who served under John Major, said he did not believe some of Hancock’s version of events were reliable, particularly on care homes. Asked if he believed Hancock, Dorrell said: “No, I don’t, and I didn’t at the time. I can’t accept him saying something was happening when it quite clearly was not, and when the evidence was clear.” He questioned whether Hancock would stand by some of his claims under oath at the public inquiry.

The British charity founder who was quizzed about where she “really came from” by the late queen’s senior lady-in-waiting has said she has suffered “horrific abuse” on social media since she spoke out about the incident. Ngozi Fulani said “the last week has been an extremely difficult time”, adding that “my team, family and I have been put under immense pressure and received some horrific abuse via social media”. However, she added, there has also been support, “which has shown me that love will always triumph over hate”.

More than 10,000 patients have been given a faulty knee replacement which “doubles the risk of joint failure”, reported The Telegraph. The UK health regulator is preparing to issue a field safety notice, prohibiting the use of the implant, which was withdrawn from the market by its manufacturer in October. The implant, manufactured by Zimmer Biomet has been shown to fail in up to 7% of patients after 10 years. “This could not come at a worse time for the overstretched NHS,” said Dr Benjamin Ellis, senior clinical policy advisor to Versus Arthritis and consultant rheumatologist.

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