Summary
The government has confirmed it is making a significant new pay offer to NHS staff in England, including a one-off bonus, which unions say amounts to £2.5bn.
Rishi Sunak’s post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland will face its first hurdle next week when MPs vote on a key part of the arrangement.
The Scottish National party is under increasing pressure to release its membership figures after two of the three candidates to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader questioned the integrity of the ballot process, prompting accusations of “baseless smears” and “Trumpian” behaviour.
The president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Lubna Shuja, has said there is a “high chance” the government’s proposed illegal migration bill may not comply with international and domestic law.
Britain is to ban the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from ministers’ and civil servants’ mobile phones, bringing the UK in line with the US and the European Commission and reflecting deteriorating relations with Beijing.
MPs will vote on Rishi Sunak’s deal to revise the Northern Ireland protocol on Wednesdsay next week, Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, has announced.
Sinn Féin’s US fundraising arm has caused a row by calling for a referendum on Irish unity in adverts in the New York Times, Washington Post and other US publications.
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Asked if he had been blocked by the Treasury from making a one-off payment offer before now, Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said decisions are taken “cross-government”.
He said: “My job is to make the case for the NHS within government.
“Of course that is something that I have been doing over recent months but we make these decisions collectively.
“I’m very pleased we’ve reached a settlement which the NHS staff council feel able to recommend to their members.”
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