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☆ Brexit border checks: Britain braces for less choice and higher prices on food imports
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Hanna Ziady | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The new regime for food imports is perhaps the starkest example of the painful border bureaucracy that UK and EU businesses must contend with in the wake of Brexit. An additional cost of that scale will “significantly increase food prices and reduce choice,” the federation’s CEO Phil Pluck wrote in a letter to environment and food minister Steve Barclay earlier this month. But here too Brexit hasn’t helped, ending as it did the free movement of EU workers on whom British farmers had relied for decades. In addition to Brexit-related challenges, UK farmers have been squeezed by soaring input costs, including those of fertilizer, energy and labor. “I’m not hugely in favor of subsidies, I’m in favor of fair food prices,” Maddocks said.

Persons: Eddie Price, ”, Phil, Steve Barclay, Andrew Aitchison, Andrew Opie, “, Jack Bobo, “ It’s, Price, hasn’t, ” Tom Bradshaw, “ You’re, Chris Ratcliffe, Brexit, ” Philip Maddocks, I’m, ” Maddocks Organizations: London CNN, European Union, EU, Britain, Birmingham Wholesale, CNN, Chain Federation, British Retail Consortium, University of York, Food Systems, University of Nottingham, Birmingham Wholesale Market, Bank, National Farmers ’ Union, Bloomberg, Getty, PDM Locations: United Kingdom, Britain, France, Spain, artichokes, Italy, Birmingham, Dover, Port, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, North Africa, England, Sandwich, Australia, New Zealand, English, Shropshire

☆ Brexit is finally coming for UK food imports, and prices could rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —New border controls on some of Britain’s food imports from the European Union came into force Wednesday for the first time since Brexit, increasing red tape for businesses and threatening to drive up prices for consumers. Industry groups have warned, however, that the new measures could ultimately hike prices of some staples and disrupt supplies when physical border checks are introduced at the end of April. Rising food prices have been a key driver of the nation’s cost-of-living crisis, and adding cost and friction to supply chains won’t help matters. A group of 30 trade organizations representing the UK food supply chain said last week that the new border measures would “impact the flow of critical food ingredients” from the EU to the UK. Europe is the UK’s leading foreign supplier of food, accounting for more than a quarter of food consumed in Britain by value.

Persons: Steve Barclay Organizations: London CNN, European Union, Industry, Meat Processors Association, EU Locations: United Kingdom, Britain, British, Europe

☆ Here Is a List of the New U.K. Cabinet so Far
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Here’s what has been announced officially so far on Monday. Foreign secretary: David Cameron (not in previous cabinet, prime minister 2010 to 2016). Home secretary: James Cleverly (previously foreign secretary). Health secretary: Victoria Atkins (formerly financial secretary, a sub-cabinet position in the Treasury). Secretary for environment, food and rural affairs: Steve Barclay (previously health secretary)Chief secretary to the Treasury: Laura Trott (formerly a pensions minister).

Persons: David Cameron, James, Victoria Atkins, Steve Barclay, Laura Trott Organizations: Treasury

☆ Factbox-Seven Turbulent Years: British Ministerial Churn Since the Brexit Vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

PRIME MINISTERCameron served as prime minister until July 13, 2016, three weeks after the Brexit vote on June 23. She holds the record for Britain's shortest-serving prime minister after she quit after 49 days, having triggered a financial market meltdown. Philip Hammond was foreign secretary from July 2014 until three weeks after the Brexit vote in 2016. INTERIOR MINISTERBritain's interior ministry has changed leadership eight times since the Brexit vote, including Cleverly who stepped into the role on Monday. There have been 13 housing ministers since the Brexit vote, including six since Feb. 8, 2022.

Persons: Sarah Young, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron, Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Sunak, James, Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Johnson, Philip Hammond, Suella Braverman, Grant Shapps, Truss, Hunt, Kwarteng, Victoria Atkins, Monday, Steve Barclay, Gillian Keegan, Kate Holton, Alex Richardson Organizations: Sarah Young LONDON, British, European Union, Conservative Party, FINANCE, National Health Service Locations: Westminster, Britain, European, Truss, Crete, Kabul, Cameron

☆ UK PM Sunak appoints Victoria Atkins as new health minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday appointed Victoria Atkins, formerly Financial Secretary to the Treasury, as the new Secretary of State for Health and Social care as part of a reshuffle of his senior team of ministers, his office said. Atkins replaces Steve Barclay, who was moved to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She will assume oversight of the National Health Service (NHS), Britain's state-funded health system that is under pressure from industrial action by health workers and a growing list of patients waiting for treatment. There are currently around 7.8 million people waiting for NHS treatment, a new record high, compared to about 7 million a year ago. Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Alistair Smout, Writing by Sachin RavikumarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Victoria Atkins, Atkins, Steve Barclay, Kylie MacLellan, Alistair Smout, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: British, Monday, Treasury, State, Health, Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs, National Health Service, Thomson

☆ UK looks to limit strike impact as doctors take coordinated action
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Kylie Maclellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Junior doctors hold placards during a strike, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain April 11, 2023. Senior doctors, known as consultants, began a 48-hour walkout on Tuesday and will be joined by junior doctors on Wednesday. They are due to hold three further days of joint strike action next month. Doctors have said they will operate Christmas Day levels of service, providing emergency care. In July, junior doctors were awarded a 6% pay rise and 1,250 pounds ($1,547) for 2023/24, but the British Medical Association trade union says they are still facing a pay cut in real terms.

Persons: Maja Smiejkowska, we've, Steve Barclay, Rishi Sunak, Vishal Sharma, Sunak, Barclay, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: REUTERS, Sky News, Health Service, British Medical Association, BMA, RPI, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, England, France, Italy

☆ Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic is now Europe's most valuable company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Novo Nordisk has dethroned Bernard Arnault’s luxury goods giant LVMH as Europe’s most valuable company. At the close of trading Monday, Novo Nordisk (NVO) had a market capitalization of 2.96 trillion Danish krone ($428 billion). “We are just scratching the surface,” Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen told CNN’s Meg Tirrell in a recent interview. Novo Nordisk has raked in almost 49 billion Danish krone ($7 billion) in profit over the first six months of this year, up 30% from the same period in 2022. Booming sales of its drugs have led to an influx of US dollars into Denmark’s economy, pushing up the value of the Danish krone.

Persons: Bernard, Wegovy, Louis Vuitton, Hennessy, —, “, Steve Barclay, Carsten Snejbjerg, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CNN’s Meg Tirrell, …, ” Organizations: London CNN — Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk, Louis, Health Service, Health, Social Care, Nordisk, Nordisk's, Bloomberg, Getty, World Health Organization, Danish krone, European Central Bank, Novo, UBS, Wegovy Locations: Danish, Ozempic, Wegovy, United States, Copenhagen, Denmark, Denmark’s, Novo Nordisk’s

☆ UK's BMA union willing to cancel strikes for suitable pay offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Junior doctors hold placards during a strike, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File PhotoJuly 3 (Reuters) - The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents about 45,000 junior doctors in England, said on Monday its members were willing to cancel strikes if the government presented them with a suitable pay offer. Separately, BMA's consultants committee also called on the government last month asking for a credible pay offer, to avoid strikes on July 20 and 21. The consultants committee said it is willing to cancel strikes if a suitable offer is presented. The BMA has said the latest pay offer of a 5% increase for 2023/24 was not credible since it was "nowhere near addressing pay erosion over the last 15 years."

Persons: Maja Smiejkowska, Vivek Trivedi, Rishi Sunak, Vishal Sharma, Steve Barclay, Barclay, Lavanya Ahire, Robert Birsel, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, British Medical Association, BMA, BMA Junior, British Health, Times, of Health, Social, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, England, Bengaluru

☆ UK government says it is meeting with food bosses over high prices — but denies it will impose caps
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The government is reportedly in discussions with supermarkets over voluntary price caps on some items. "The government is not considering imposing price caps. Any scheme to help bring down food prices for consumers would be voluntary," a government spokesperson told CNBC by email. "We know the pressure households are under with rising costs and while inflation is coming down, food prices remain stubbornly high. That's why the prime minister and the chancellor have been meeting with the food sector to see what more can be done."

☆ UK govt to ask supermarkets to cap prices of basic food items - Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - The British government is looking at plans to have retailers cap the prices of basic food items such as bread and milk, the Telegraph reported, as the cost of such essentials continued to rise in the double digits. However, asked about such price controls, health minister Steve Barclay told BBC TV it was "not my understanding" on Sunday. 10 Office is in talks with supermarkets on a deal similar to one in France where major retailers charge the "lowest possible amount", the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Major supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's have announced price cuts on some food items in recent weeks. High food prices are a direct result of the soaring cost of energy, transport, and labour, as well as higher prices paid to food manufacturers and farmers," BRC's Andrew Opie said.

GMB's backing means the offer has been accepted by four unions representing National Health Service (NHS) workers whose members include midwives, physiotherapists and ambulance workers. The NHS Staff Council, which includes representatives from NHS employers and trade unions, is due to meet on May 2 to vote on whether to accept the offer. The GMB's leadership said it would now vote in favour of the pay offer, after 56% of its members who voted in a ballot accepted the deal. "This new pay offer would not have happened without the strike action taken by ambulance and other GMB health workers," said Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary. "Our members recognise that progress has been made - from the government originally offering nothing, health workers will be thousands of pounds better off."

☆ UK set to curb nurses' strike after union does not defend legal action
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - The British government on Thursday looked set to limit the length of an upcoming strike by nurses, after their trade union did not send lawyers to defend legal action it has brought over the dispute. However, Britain's health department says that industrial action on May 2 would be unlawful because a vote to strike is only valid for six months after a ballot of trade union members. Lawyers representing health minister Steve Barclay told London's High Court on Thursday that, as the RCN ballot closed on Nov. 2 last year, a strike on May 2 would be "clearly unlawful action". Lawyer Andrew Burns, representing the government, said the union had performed "a significant U-turn" and was no longer contesting the bid to have the final day of its strike action declared unlawful. "We have ended up in a very regrettable situation where a major – and, one would hope, responsible – trade union has been publicly saying that its members can take lawful strike action on May 2," Burns said.

☆ UK health minister says he will seek court order to block nurses' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - British health minister Steve Barclay said on Friday that he intends to pursue legal action against the Royal College of Nursing's upcoming strike action. "Following a request from NHS Employers I have regretfully provided notice of my intent to pursue legal action to ask the courts to declare the Royal College of Nursing's upcoming strike action planned for 30 April to 2 May to be unlawful," he said. "Bullying nurses and dragging us through the highest courts would not be a good look for government," the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said in a response to his statement. Last week, nurses in England rejected an offer of a 5% pay rise and set out plans for further strikes. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Junior doctor strike: Some of England's trainee doctors are paid less than fast-food workers. They've had enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“For too long we have been undervalued,” Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, told a crowd of striking doctors Tuesday. It is difficult to compare the salaries of UK junior doctors with those of their international peers, said Lucina Rolewicz, a researcher at Nuffield Trust, a healthcare think-tank. Junior doctors make up nearly 40% of England’s NHS doctors, according to the confederation. But NHS junior doctors have been squeezed for well over a decade, says former radiologist Tania King-Mohammad. “[Junior doctors’] pay is not reflective of their education, dedication and commitment,” King-Mohammad said.

☆ Britain braces for 'unparalleled' disruption from doctors' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Junior doctors hold placards during a strike, amid a dispute with the government over pay, outside St Thomas' Hospital, in London, Britain April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Maja SmiejkowskaLONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Junior doctors in Britain began a four-day strike on Tuesday over pay that is likely to cause unprecedented disruption to the health service, prompting the government to warn of a risk to patient safety. Tuesday's walkout followed a three-day doctors' strike last month. The BMA has said the strikes by junior doctors, some of whom are very experienced, could be stopped if health minister Steve Barclay put a credible pay offer forward. He says the BMA's demands are unreasonable and would mean an increase of more then 20,000 pounds ($24,840) for some doctors.

☆ UK doctors begin three-day strike in pay dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Thousands of junior doctors in England walked out on Monday in three-day strike that will disrupt patient care, as they protest over pay they say can work out at less per hour than a barista. Junior doctors in Britain are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience. [1/3] People attend a protest by junior doctors, amid a dispute with the government over pay, outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Britain, March 13, 2023. Last month, 98% of the nearly 37,000 who took part in the BMA's strike ballot voted in favour. Robert Laurenson, co-chair of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee, said they had seen a real terms pay cut over the last 15 years due to public sector wage freezes.

☆ UK doctors begin strike likely to be 'most disruptive' for health service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People attend a protest by junior doctors, amid a dispute with the government over pay, outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Britain, March 13, 2023. The strike is the latest involving staff at Britain's state-funded National Health Service (NHS), following walkouts by nurses, paramedics and other workers demanding a pay rise that better reflects double-digit levels of inflation. "This is likely to be the most disruptive set of industrial action days that we've seen all winter," Powis told Times Radio. "We are working closely across the NHS to make sure that services are not affected in those emergency pathways," he said. Junior doctors in Britain are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent almost half of the country's medical workforce.

☆ UK healthcare strikes to intensify as junior doctors vote to walk out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Junior doctors agreed in 2019 to an annual 2% pay rise as part of a four-year deal but say that is now inadequate in light of much higher inflation. "This vote shows, without a shadow of a doubt, the strength of feeling among most of England’s junior doctors," the BMA said. The BMA describes junior doctors as those who are qualified in clinical training and have up to eight years' experience working as a hospital doctor or up to three years in general practice. Another trade union for doctors, the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, said its junior doctor members had also voted to carry out strike action in a separate ballot. More than 10,000 ambulance workers were on strike on Monday, while the nursing trade union last week announced a fresh 48-hour strike from March 1.

Less than three years later on Wednesday, tens of thousands of nurses in England are estimated to have walked off work as part of an unprecedented strike shaking the country’s much-loved but troubled National Health Service. They are also striking to highlight the long-term deterioration of the service amid a chronic shortage of health care staff and ballooning living costs. Meanwhile, the health service, normally a huge source of pride for Britons, has spiraled into crisis due to long- and short-term factors including the fallout of the pandemic. As of September, there were a record 132,000 unfilled health service jobs — almost 10% of the total workforce of more than 1.3 million — according to figures released by NHS England. She described one shift in which three nurses and two student nurses looked after 15 patients.

[1/5] NHS nurses hold banners during a strike, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain January 18, 2023. "This job is slowly killing nurses," said David Hendy, a 34-year old nurse joining around 100 others on the picket line outside University College London Hospital. The government has so far resisted pressure to meet nurses' demands for a discussion about pay, insisting it will not revisit the 4%-5% it awarded in 2022/23 on the recommendation of a pay review body, and will only discuss the pay review process for 2023/24. Health minister Steve Barclay told reporters during a visit to a hospital on Wednesday he was disappointed by the strikes and that meeting nurses' pay demands would be unaffordable. Definitely bills are going up and our pay is not reflecting that," said Jenny Gyertson, 42, who has worked as a nurse for two decades.

☆ UK strikes to continue after govt's talks with unions fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kylie Maclellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Teaching unions, who will announce the result of their strike ballots later this week, met with the education minister, while the health minister also spoke to unions representing nurses. The RCN, representing nurses, called the meeting with Barclay "bitterly disappointing". It said there was a long way to go if ministers want to avert nurses strikes scheduled for Jan. 18 and 19. Unions Unite and Unison, both representing health workers, also condemned the government's approach. The government has argued that inflation-matching pay rises will only fuel further price increases and cause interest rates and mortgage payments to go up further.

☆ England rushes to discharge hospital patients to ease bed-blocking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some patients are being treated in corridors and ambulances have been queuing outside hospitals to hand over patients to emergency wards, as doctors and nurses struggle to discharge patients amid a shortage of staff and beds. The government said in a statement it would make up to 200 million pounds ($242 million) of additional funding available in England to buy short-term care places to allow patients who doctors judge have low medical needs to be looked after outside hospital and 50 million pounds to improve existing faciliites. The statement did not say if the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would also be putting more funds into care beds. Barclays will address parliament on Monday to outline other measures to reduce the pressures facing the NHS. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said last week that reducing hospital waiting lists was one of his five priorities for Britain this year.

☆ UK officials meet with unions in bid to end strikes by nurses and ambulance drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Senior UK government officials are meeting with labor unions on Monday in a last-ditch effort to avert another wave of strikes affecting vital public services such as health care and transport. On Monday, the education minister will meet with teaching unions, the transport minister will meet with rail unions and the health minister will meet with unions representing nurses and ambulance drivers. Workers are demanding higher pay and better working conditions in the face of record inflation and a sharp fall in living standards. Ambulance workers will strike on January 19 in Wales and on January 23 in England. Teacher unions are balloting members over a possible strike, while the British Medical Association started balloting junior doctors on Monday.

☆ Thousands of UK ambulance staff to stage more strikes in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Thousands of British ambulance workers will stage two further strikes on Jan. 11 and 23 in an escalating dispute over pay and staffing, the Unison trade union said on Thursday, after a similar walkout by staff on Wednesday. While Wednesday's strike, which also involved workers affiliated to two other trade unions, lasted 12 hours, the two Unison strikes next month will last 24 hours each, Unison said in a statement. "No health workers want to go out on strike again in the new year." The strikes come as an already pressured health system faces further strain this winter, with nurses also going on strike in a separate pay dispute. British health minister Steve Barclay said meeting unions' pay demands would mean taking money away from frontline services.

☆ UK ambulance staff follow nurses in striking over pay
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Ambulances are parked at the Hollymoor Ambulance Hub of the West Midlands Ambulance Service, operated by the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, in Birmingham, Britain June 5, 2020. Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said the National Health Service (NHS) would prioritize those with life-threatening needs. "Ambulance workers – and the public – deserve better. An independent pay review body has awarded more than 1 million NHS workers a pay rise of at least 1,400 pounds ($1,704), equating to an increase of at least 4% for most ambulance staff, according to the government. The NHS Confederation, which represents national health service organisations, said the strike risked patient safety.

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