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Hello,
On New Year’s Eve, there were more than 3,000 homeless families living in temporary accommodation in Manchester. Dozens had been there well over the legal limit of six weeks.
So when Manchester Council promised to make sure no families would be living in B&Bs over the six-week cut-off point by the end of this month, it seemed like a tall order.
But it now looks like the council will meet that ambitious target after a policy change which is seeing more people getting help before they become homeless. There are currently just eight families who have been living in this kind of housing for more than six weeks.
It’s a change that will be of particular interest to parents like Kim - who had lived in seven different properties with neighbours including an alcoholic and a sex offender when she spoke to reporter Sophie Halle-Richards last winter.
At the time, Kim described conditions she and her two young sons experienced at one B&B in south Manchester. "You couldn't walk anywhere in the building and not see a rat. I kept all my clothes in bags in the wardrobes and you could hear them going for them every night," she said.
Six months later, Manchester Council has published new figures which show a drop in homelessness of all types.
Deputy council leader Joanna Midgley says the figures are encouraging but not a cause for ‘jubilation’.
"We are clear that the number of people who are homeless is still too high,” she told local democracy reporter Joseph Timan. “The challenges of the cost-of-living crisis, the ongoing impacts of austerity, a difficult housing market and other factors driving homelessness are not going away. What the numbers do demonstrate, though, is that things are moving in the right direction."
As part of its work to tackle the problem town hall bosses have leased an additional 200 properties for temporary accommodation, changed its social housing allocations policy and are helping more people pay rent.
They say topping up rent costs less than helping homeless people in crisis and are calling for rent caps and an increase in local housing allowance.
Shelter's John Ryan says families often face rent increases they simply can’t afford, or eviction notices as rents skyrocket.
"Housing benefit remains stuck at 2020 levels while the demand for private rentals has ballooned due to years of failure to build social homes. This has left private renters desperately trying to plug the gap between housing benefit and the cost of rents in the middle of a cost of living crisis,” he says.
Harder to reach
There has been progress too with the number of people rough sleeping in Manchester. The council says the number peaked at 61 in September but had decreased to 37 by May.
It comes as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham expanded his flagship emergency accommodation scheme A Bed Every Night over the winter as the number of rough sleepers started rising.
The council says the reduction is a result of ‘assertive’ outreach. They have been working with people who have previously declined offers of support and making sure help is focused on those who are consistently sleeping rough. Extra accommodation has also been made available for those moving off the streets.
Stephanie Moore, CEO and co-founder of Reach Out to the Community says multi-agency work has produced positive results. “The multi-agency partnership enables the team to address the complex needs of the individuals who have previously been hard for services to engage with. Finding the right accommodation for some people with complex needs can be challenging so to have different options of accommodation services across Manchester is essential,” she says.
'Working in the NHS is less and less tolerable'
Junior doctors began a 72-hour strike over pay this morning and our reporters have been speaking to those out on the picket lines.
Outside Salford Royal, a junior doctor told reporter John Scheerhout the system is ‘already on its knees’. “If we didn't strike, things would get worse,” he said.
“We see every day colleagues who are leaving the profession. They are getting offers that are better paid in other countries. I know at least three different close friends who are going to New Zealand and Australia for at least a year from August. It's better paid, it's sunny and it's a much better work-life balance."
When you consider that most doctors leave medical school with around £70,000 of debt, it’s clear why feelings are so high. And a mass exodus of junior doctors would ultimately lead to more problems for patients.
The 27-year-old senior house officer John spoke to said he enjoys his job but isn’t sure it’s ‘worth it’ he compares it to what he could be paid elsewhere. He says junior doctors can get locum work for £45 per-hour, but lose out on training and career progression.
He added: "Working in the NHS is less and less tolerable. It's less and less attractive to people. Stress in work is so significant. You get burnout. For your health, it's often better to go part-time or quit the country."
Another junior, a mother in her 30s from Manchester who also declined to be named, told John: "I've worked in the NHS for more than ten years and I've seen it going from having enough beds to just managing. We don't have any bed capacity anymore. It's such a struggle if a patient needs an operation and they are staying in and another patient has to be cancelled. There aren't enough resources. It's really stressful these days. I've seen a massive decline in the NHS."
Health reporter Helena Vesty has been looking at the impact on patients who have already waited months for procedures and what further strikes could mean for those in pain. As she reports, unions calling for a 35 per cent wage hike have made little progress in negotiations with the government. It’s thought the strikes could drag on well into 2024.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay says the British Medical Association’s demands are ‘unreasonable. But Dr Rob Laurenson, co-chairman of the BMA junior doctors’ committee this week told Sky News accepting the government’s offer of 5 per cent would have meant ‘another real-terms pay cut’.
He said he understands patients’ frustrations but the ‘disaster’ falls ‘primarily at the feet of government’.
While the strike continues, NHS bosses in Greater Manchester say there will be inevitable disruption. As such they’re asking people to only call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency.
They planned procedures, especially for patients in greatest clinical need, will go ahead where possible and they will be contacted if appointments need to be rescheduled.
Mr Dilraj Sandher, speaking on behalf of NHS acute medical directors in the region, said: “We’re urging people to make NHS 111 Online their first port of call if they need urgent health advice on days of strike action. Staff working at GP surgeries, community pharmacies, and dentistry are not on strike and the public should continue to access these services as needed on strike days and attend all appointments unless contacted.”
A new price tag
Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that One Angel Square makes an impact on Manchester’s skyline.
Now the Co-op's landmark headquarters has been put up for sale again with a lower asking price, as Business editor Jon Robinson reports.
Owners were originally asking £210m for the property - but that price tag has now been reduced to £165m.
Record profits
Britannia Hotels - which has nine spots in Greater Manchester including Sacha’s - has reported record profits. That’s despite ten consecutive years as the 'worst in the UK'.
The company racked up pre-tax profits of £33.3m for the 12 months to March 31, 2022, after falling to a loss of £9.5m in the prior year, according to newly-published accounts that Business editor Jon Robinson has been looking at.
The business, which is headquartered in Hale, Cheshire, achieved a turnover of £117.8m, up from £38.3m.
In November 2022, Britannia Hotels was rated the worst in the UK for the 10th year in a row. Its hotels rated just two stars out of five for categories such as cleanliness, bed comfort and value for money in the annual survey by consumer group Which?.
Transport bailout - but is it enough?
Greater Manchester is set to receive £18m from the government for public transport services affected by a fall in passenger numbers since the pandemic. Andy Burnham it’s not enough.
As Joseph Timan reports, the funding - set to last until March 2024 - follows more than £400m of bailouts for the region’s transport network over four years. But it comes with the condition that Transport for Greater Manchester becomes financially sustainable when it recovers from the pandemic.
With London having received a multi-billion-pound public transport bailout, Mr Burnham says Greater Manchester's settlement is 'far less generous' and is less than half of what’s needed.
"If the government is to deliver on its commitment of London-style public transport outside of London, it has to put funding behind it and ensure all parts of the country receive fair and equal treatment. We will continue to press ahead with our plans to introduce the Bee Network in September but have asked the Secretary of State for more funding flexibility to deal with the challenges we face," he said.
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Weather etc
- Thursday: Sunny. 27C.
- Road closures: M67 Eastbound entry slip road closed due to long-term roadworks at J2 A57 Hyde Road (Denton). Until December 1, 2025.
- Trivia question: Please name all ten Greater Manchester boroughs
Manchester headlines
Shake-up: The chief executive of Manchester Airports Group, Charlie Cornish, is standing down from the role to become chair of the group's board, it was announced today. Mr Cornish will take over from current chair, Sir Adrian Montague, from October 1, said MAG, which owns and operates Manchester Airport, London Stansted and East Midlands. Announcing a senior leadership team shake-up, the group also confirmed Ken O'Toole, currently MAG's deputy CEO, will take over from Mr Cornish as chief executive on the same date. More here.
- Fake: Manchester Airport has warned of a fake account that has been impersonating the hub and responding to customer enquiries online. Customers have been urged to look out for the blue verified tick on Twitter and to report any other account posing as the airport. It is not known if the account is still active online.
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Changes: Firefighters have hit out at potentially ‘catastrophic’ plans to switch to a ‘day-only’ model at the station closest to Stepping Hill Hospital. Crews at Offerton Fire Station, in Stockport, say the proposals are ‘totally unacceptable’ and would result in longer response times - particularly during the morning and evening ‘rush hour’. It comes after Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) launched a consultation on a new ‘day-crewing’ system that would mean the Lisburne Lane station would only be operational between 8.30am and 6pm. Bosses say these changes - together with similar proposals for Sale - would release around £1.1million that could be reinvested in other priority areas such as prevention and more fire engines at other locations. More here.
- New leaf: Lucy & Yak - the fashion brand known for its quirky dungarees - is due to move into the spot left vacant by Northern Quarter Oklahoma. The brand focuses on sustainable fashion, with its dungaree designs being its biggest sellers. The brand now has a host of famous endorsees, including the likes of Ed Sheeran, actress Melissa McCarthy, Giovanna Fletcher and Jenny Ryan.
Worth a read
As Greater Manchester leaders this week speak to MPs about the major changes planned for Manchester’s rail network, nostalgia writer Lee Grimsditch has been looking at the underground network which was eventually abandoned.
Back in the 1970s, Mancunians were unable to get from the north to the south of the city without changing trains. Plans were made for an underground rail network linking Victoria and Piccadilly stations for the first time. But the Picc-Vic tunnel, much like several transport ventures promised over the years including a monorail, was sadly never completed.
You can read more about it here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Oldham, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Salford, Manchester, Trafford, Tameside, Rochdale and Stockport.
