Ministers have confirmed that all 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK will be retained, following a period of uncertainty and public concern over potential closures. The decision reverses an earlier proposal outlined in a government green paper last summer, which had suggested removing the 11,500-minimum branch requirement for the state-owned postal, banking, and retail service.
I was one of the four in 10 people regularly freezing their ass off in town trying in vain to hail a taxi last December. I'm also with the 57pc of those recently surveyed by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) who say there are simply not enough taxis in their area.
A significant amount of snow was cleared overnight, and large-scale removal began this morning. Crews removed 165 loads totaling 4,620 cubic yards of snow. Thank you to all our city workers for the nonstop hard work to keep everyone safe, and thank you to our residents for doing your part.
Drawing on more than 22,000 LLM prompts designed to reflect the kind of questions people would ask artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots, such as, "How do I apply for universal credit?", the data raises concerns about whether chatbots can be trusted to give accurate information about government services. The publication of the research follows the UK government's announcement of partnerships with Meta and Anthropic at the end of January 2026 to develop AI-powered assistants for navigating public services.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was sworn in for her second term Monday, taking the stage inside Boston Symphony Hall to tout her administration's accomplishments over the past four years and to lay the groundwork for the next four. On the precipice of the nation's 250th anniversary, Wu delivered an inaugural address steeped in the history of the American Revolution. She framed the city's current work as a continuation of that original fight, casting Boston as a beacon of social connection in an era of isolation and as a bastion of democratic values under a federal government that sullies them.
The people have spoken and have given their president a powerful mandate to articulate their vision for a new republic, a republic worthy of its name where everyone is valued and diversity is cherished, where sustainable solutions are urgently implemented, and where a home is a fundamental human right.
We will do what's necessary to protect families, public services and hand down secure economy to next generation.
Spain's two main right-wing parties PP and Vox have publicly endorsed the idea of national stats bodies differentiating between foreigners and Spaniards when it comes to data collection in a bid to ascertain their contributions to the country. Spain's main opposition party - the centre-right People's Party (PP) - continues to push its new 'tough on migration' stance, this time supporting the idea of separate data collection for foreign residents and Spanish nationals, something which doesn't currently exist in some public administrations.
What ails the British state is that it has built, and is building, what it cannot seem to maintain. A decade of attrition has hollowed out public services to the extent that they struggle to function coherently or plan beyond the next crisis. Under the Tories, state spending grew by just over 1% a year well below the long-run trend of 2.6% per year.
The independent report shows that performance declined in key housing-related services including rent collection, reletting times and tenant satisfaction with repairs, especially where vulnerable residents may be affected, he wrote. If social housing is being built by this government and your team are unable to move residents into them so that they are standing empty then I must reiterate my deep disappointment with your conduct.
The financial report indicates that the council could ask the government for permission to raise council tax by 8.99 per cent from April 2026. If it does, it would be the second such increase in a row after Newham council tax went up by 8.99 per cent in April this year. The proposal is one of a package of suggestions presented to the council's cabinet when it meets next Thursday.
The study, conducted by Assembly Research, evaluated the costs, risks and potential gains from digital migration across energy, water, health (NHS), emergency services and local government. It accounted for the direct cost of upgrading, as well as the rising expense of maintaining legacy systems like the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the 2G mobile network - both decades old and increasingly challenging to support. Data from UK comms regulator Ofcom shows that resilience incidents on the PSTN have risen by 45%, underscoring the urgency of change.
Despite years of denunciation from his left and far-right opponents that Macron has engaged in ultraneoliberalism, there hasn't been any. Not on a macro level, anyway, where both French government spending (57.3% of GDP) and tax receipts (51.4% of GDP) are among the highest in the world, including social spending, which outpaces any of its European neighbours. At the same time, it's impossible to have spent the past decade in France without encountering the widely shared perception and accusation that public services are in decline.
The burden on school and college leaders and teachers has reached an unprecedented level, a leading teaching union has warned, as schools are increasingly forced to run food banks and support families with housing due to under-funded public services "crumbling around them". A report by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said these vital services are important, but cannot continue to be the sole responsibility of schools and teachers.
City Council considered a possible tax rate election to address Austin's $33 million deficit with a proposed budget of $6.3 million. The maximum increase could be 8 cents.
The world’s most important financial watchdog has warned that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will likely break a key party manifesto pledge by hiking taxes or cutting public services.
Despite concerns from regulators regarding its financial situation, Affinity Water has doubled the pay of its chief executive, Keith Haslett, to 1.6 million for the 2024-25 financial year, up from 709,000 the prior year.
Young people living in the most deprived stretches of England's coastline are three times more likely to be living with an undiagnosed mental health condition than their peers inland.
