TENS of thousands of energy customers are set to receive payouts of up to £1,000 each, and could see debts written off, in response to the scandal over the forced fitting of prepayment meters reports the BBC. Energy companies are paying out more than £70m…

COUNCILLOR Andrew Johnson has been re-elected as Chair of the Council for an unprecedented fourth term at the Annual Council meeting on 15 May. In addition to Councillor Johnson taking up the mantle once again, Councillor Sue Livings was re-elected as Vice Chair. Each year,…

PUBLIC funding for level 7 apprenticeships will be removed for people aged 22 and older from January 2026, the government has confirmed reports FE Weekly. From the new year, employers will only be able to use the apprenticeship levy to fund the master’s level courses…

HEALTH Secretary Wes Streeting has urged doctors in England to “vote no” in a ballot on industrial action which gets under way on Tuesday reports the BBC. In a BBC interview, he urged resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, to “work with the…

COUNCILLOR Janet Whitehouse has been chosen as the Epping Town Mayor for 2025-26. Her fellow Liberal Democrat councillor, Razia Sharif, will serve as the deputy town mayor. The appointments were confirmed at the annual council meeting on Tuesday. Councillor Whitehouse expressed her gratitude to the…

FIGURES obtained by Sexual Abuse Compensation Advice found that, since 2022, there have been nearly 150 reported sex crimes at train stations across Essex. The British Transport Police’s (BTP) 2024 annual report shows that there has been a 10% rise in recorded sexual offences against…

STUDENTS from Hertfordshire Law School (HLS) have conducted a unique initiative aimed at helping prisoners to understand the parole system. Two groups of four undergraduate and postgraduate law students have carried out three first-of-their-kind workshops with expert oversight from academics and the support of a…

BASILDON Council has confirmed its decision to withdraw from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Essex County Council’s e-scooter trial, bringing the initiative to a close in the borough. At a Cabinet meeting in January, councillors agreed not to extend the trial beyond May 2025.…

HARLOW Council came to the rescue after residents of a new build estate in Northbrooks endured raw sewage running in the streets. A resident contacted YH on Friday night, extremely concerned at the sight and smell of the sewage in their street. Some residents including…

DEPUTY prime minister Angela Rayner has told house builders to ‘get on and build’ as the Government introduces delivery timeframes for developers reports the Local Government Association. The Government’s new proposal to speed up housebuilding projects aims to address the housing crisis ‘by incentivising a…

PLANS for a major data centre on North Weald Airfield are being opposed by the parish council which fears the height of the proposed buildings “threatens the future aviation operations” of the airfield. The impact the proposed development would have on current and future airfield…

THE proposed route for the Hertfordshire Essex Rapid Transit (HERT) scheme will not be published until later this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has learned reports the Local Democracy Reporter. The HERT is a proposed ‘mass transit system’ at the centre of plans to…

THREE new Deputy Lieutenants for the County of Essex have been appointed by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst. The role of the Deputy Lieutenant is to assist the Lord-Lieutenant in her first and foremost duty, which is to uphold the dignity of the Crown…

SPECIALIST mental health crisis centres will be opened across England over the next decade in an attempt to reduce crowding in accident and emergency departments (A&E), the NHS has confirmed reports the BBC. Click below for full details. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75343nx06go