| Since March 2020 it's been two years where the nation has been plagued by uncertainty, with millions isolated from their friends and family thanks to the pandemic and services much harder to access. But a new report has revealed that while mental health throughout England has been hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic, the North both fared worse than elsewhere and has since recovered more slowly. And according to the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA), the so-called 'parallel pandemic' of mental ill health in the North has cost the country a total of £2bn. Now officials are calling for central government to increase NHS and local authority funding for mental health provision in the North and provide more resources to deal with health inequalities. Among the findings are that people in the North aged under 35 were more likely to have developed a psychiatric disorder over the course of the pandemic, an increase of 2.5% compared to a reduction of 1.3% in the rest of England.  The main points from the report by the Northern Health Science Alliance. Graphic: Lisa Walsh
Anti-depressant prescriptions rose by 12% in the North during the pandemic, while women from ethnic minorities in the North had the worst mental health in the country, as Sam Volpe reports for ChronicleLive. Their mental health scores fell by 10% at the start of the pandemic and were 4% lower throughout the pandemic. Mental health fell equally in the North and the rest of the country during the pandemic (a 5% decrease), but recovered more quickly in the rest of the country (to 1.3% decrease) than in the North (2% decrease). Prof Clare Bambra, Professor of Public Health at Newcastle University and one of the report's co-authors, said: "These findings reiterate that the pandemic has been very unequal. "People in our most deprived communities have suffered most, in terms of death rates, dying younger and in ongoing ill-health such as Long Covid. These health inequalities reflect long-term inequalities in the social determinants of health, how we live, work and age." A Government spokesperson said: "We recognise the pandemic has had a significant impact on people's mental health, and we are working to ensure that there are appropriate services in place to treat those that need it. "We are transforming mental health services, which will see over £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by 2024 – helping an additional two million people across England access services." 
'Unprecedented wildlife tragedy' threatens thousands of seabirds  The National Trust team of rangers clear deceased birds from Staple Island, one of the Outer Group of the Farne Islands. Pic by PA
They're among the UK's most important natural habitats, home to approximately 200,000 seabirds, including guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and shags. But rangers working on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast are dealing with an "unprecedented wildlife tragedy" as a bird flu outbreak threatens to potentially kill tens of thousands of seabirds. Teams have donned protective suits and so far collected well over 3,000 dead birds for incineration but they fear many thousands more have succumbed to the deadly disease and fallen off the cliffs into the North Sea. Cliff-nesting birds seemed to be the worst-affected by the bird flu outbreak, with guillemots, kittiwakes and young puffins known as pufflings among those recovered. Some of the dead birds were ringed and the casualties include an eight-year-old Arctic tern which would have flown from the Farne Islands to Antarctica and back eight times during its lifetime, covering 144,000 miles. Farnes' general manager Simon Lee said: "The National Trust has cared for the Farne Islands for just under 100 years, and there are no records of anything so potentially damaging to our already endangered seabird colonies." This strain of bird flu originated in east Asia and affected domestic flocks in the UK over the winter. It has since spread across the country to infect wild birds. The risk to humans is considered to be very low and people are rarely affected but the National Trust has called on the Government to act.
Truss squares up to Sunak with 'full fat freeport' pledge  Rishi Sunak (left) speaks with Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, during a visit to Teesside Freeport
Freeports have been one of the flagship post-Brexit policies for the Johnson Government, with several locations including Teesside, Humberside and Merseyside announced by Rishi Sunak as Chancellor last year. Mr Sunak was one of the first to push the idea of the low-tax zones near ports or airports, which benefit from tariff exemptions on imports, and wrote about their benefits in 2016 as a then-junior MP. But Liz Truss, Mr Sunak's rival for the Tory leadership, has now parked her tanks squarely on his lawn by pledging to boost UK growth rates with "full-fat freeports". The Foreign Secretary, tipped as the frontrunner to replace Boris Johnson, is making fresh promises of reducing regulation and cutting Whitehall bureaucracy. The Truss campaign said that the plans would see brownfield sites and other locations turned into "investment zones", dubbed "full-fat freeports". And she adds: "We can't carry on allowing Whitehall to pick the winners and losers; like we've seen with the current freeport model." She also ties the plan into the Johnson Government's levelling-up pledge, claiming that the investment zones will create new model zones akin to Saltaire in West Yorkshire.
 Brunswick has been announced as the permanent site of the Darlington Economic Campus (Image: Google/Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak's successor as Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was in Darlington today to confirm the site of the Treasury's Northern HQ in the town. Mr Zahawi was due to unveil Brunswick as the permanent site of the Darlington Economic Campus and will give a welcome address and meet staff at the campus. The new site, which will be built on a former car park minutes from the town centre, is a key part of the government's drive to diversify policy-making and level-up across the country. There are now more than 130 Treasury staff at the new cross-government hub. Beth Russell, director general, tax and welfare, said: "The campus allows us to tap into a diverse range of skills and talent within this region, giving us a new perspective on the issues we are working on. Our staff here are working at the heart of today's biggest policy challenges – tackling cost of living issues, energy policy and support for Ukraine."
Once the next Prime Minister is in place, what are the big issues in their in-box likely to be? One Cabinet minister has warned that HS2 is a "killer whale" that could "rip the arm" off the next PM. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Kit Malthouse, the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office, told the Telegraph that the controversial high speed rail project was one of the projects that could spell trouble for the next incumbent of No 10. The Government-backed project connecting London with the North and Midlands comes with promises that it will deliver growth to all parts of the country, but its opponents have attacked the massive costs associated with the plan. The section between Crewe and Manchester has been going through Parliament in recent days. Mr Malthouse, who only a few weeks ago was policing minister but took up the job in Boris Johnson's forced reshuffle, warned the newspaper that the Government faces "killer whales", namely "the big projects that sit out there below the surface, waiting to breach above the waves and rip your arm off". He contrasted those with "hornets" plaguing the Government – issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, strikes and NHS backlogs.
Starmer promises Labour will ditch 'magic money tree economics'  Keir Starmer unveils plans for an Industrial Strategy Council at a speech in Liverpool. Pic by Liam Thorp
Sir Keir Starmer is also up North today and used a speech in Liverpool to say the priorities for the next Labour government will be "growth, growth, growth". Revealing plans for an Industrial Strategy Council as part of a wider speech on the economy, the Labour leader said that under his party, growth would be "strong, secure and fair". Sir Keir used the speech to condemn the record of the Conservative Government over the last decade, while also hitting out at the "Thatcherite cosplay" from Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. He said: "Whether it's the cost of living or recovering from the pandemic, our economy is weaker than its competitors. Less resilient. Brittle. And ultimately, we are all poorer for it. "With me and with [shadow chancellor] Rachel Reeves, you will always get sound finances; careful spending; strong, secure and fair growth. There will be no magic money tree economics with us." Sir Keir outlined his vision for an Industrial Strategy Council, which Labour says will be placed on a statutory footing, as a "permanent part of the landscape that sets out strategic national priorities that go beyond the political cycle". It will, Sir Keir will say, hold the Government accountable for decision-making. The Liverpool Echo's Liam Thorp was following the speech live here.
The 'staggering' toll violent crime takes on region's NHS  Cleveland PCC Steve Turner with local medical leaders
With an alarming increase of 14.1% in the last year, knife crime rates in the Cleveland police force area in the North East are the highest in the country. Meanwhile violent crime - where Cleveland is third worst - has risen 15.7%. And medical staff at a major Teesside hospital have revealed the "staggering" impact violent crime has had on its services. Staff from James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough spoke to Local Democracy Reporter Emily Craigie as Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner launched a £500,000 fund seeking interventions to reduce violence. Barney Green, a vascular surgeon at James Cook, who helped campaign for a violence reduction unit in the area – now called CURV – for which £3.5m was awarded by the Government earlier this year, said: "We get someone coming through the A&E front doors having been a victim of knife crime every three days. "In terms of being attacked with something sharp, that might be a stick or a bottle or glass, that is every 1.4 days. These are staggeringly high statistics and are frankly unacceptable." The PCC admitted rates of violence being seen on the streets and in local communities was getting worse and it remained a priority of his to tackle. He said the ultimate aim was educating young people and "reducing violent crime at its source before it happens" and warned it could take up to five years before any positive impact was felt.
Local services elsewhere on Teesside are also feeling the strain. Sue Butcher, the director of Middlesbrough council children's services, told a scrutiny committee that demand for children's social care in the town was the highest in the country. The council chief along with deputy mayor, Mieka Smiles, also discussed difficulties recruiting workers to operate in residential care. Cllr Smiles said: "We have got five children's homes in Middlesbrough, but we are struggling to staff them." Meanwhile Middlesbrough council's chief executive has claimed that his staff are coerced, bullied and intimidated by politicians. Tony Parkinson has spoken out about the conduct of some elected members towards his staff following the explosive 2020/21 audit report that ordered the under-fire local authority to improve its culture. 
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Northern Stories  Free water was handed out at Sainsbury's in Crosby on Sunday (Image: Liverpool Echo)
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A burst water mains pipe which left thousands of people on Merseyside without water has been declared a major incident. The mains pipe burst in Church Road, Liverpool, on Saturday, leading to water tankers and free bottle stations being set up. United Utilities said 30,000 properties were initially affected but 18,000 of them have been reconnected with the rest due back on by the end of the weekend. Sefton Council said teams were also delivering water to vulnerable people. -
Congratulations to all the Northern winners at last week's Local Government Chronicle Awards 2022, recognising the best work by town halls across the country. Manchester City Council was crowned council of the year and there were top prizes also for Wigan, Stockport, East Riding of Yorkshire, York and Wakefield councils. Of Rotherham council, crowned most improved council, judges said that "from a rock bottom position it is possible to rebuild the trust of the community through understanding, courage and openness". -
Work on West Yorkshire's mass transit system, which it's claimed will "hurtle" the region "into the 21st century", could start by the end of the decade. Regional leaders committed on Friday to an ambition to have "spades in the ground" on the £2bn scheme by end of West Yorkshire's second mayoral term, which would be 2028. It's also been suggested that driverless vehicles could be incorporated into the project, which is due to be completed by 2040, as Local Democracy Reporter David Spereall writes. -
A Lancashire town looks set for its first McDonald's restaurant, following completion of the sale of land near a shopping mall. Pendle Rise shopping centre owners in Nelson have completed the sale of a former multi-storey car park site nearby at Broadway to McDonald's. The site is also close to Nelson railway station and bus terminal. A spokesman for Future Properties Limited, which owns Pendle Rise shopping mall, told Local Democracy Reporter Robbie Macdonald: "This is fantastic news for Nelson." -
A councillor says driving standards in Bradford have declined to the point where he has seen people behind the wheel with balloons in their mouths. Nazam Azam was discussing the worsening situation on Bradford's roads when he made the shocking claim. Balloons are often used by people inhaling nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas or "hippie crack." Use of the drug, which slows down brain and body responses, has risen in recent years, and gas containers are an increasingly common sight in car parks or on roadsides. -
A Manchester city centre hub at the forefront of the mission to end youth homelessness by 2037 has reopened following a £1.8m revamp. Centrepoint says its refurbished Oldham Street base will offer young people across Greater Manchester a safe, welcoming and inspirational environment in which to recover and grow and leave homelessness behind for good. The charity's building has been completely modernised, with changes including secure interview rooms for mental health support.
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