Stats that shame us
Two babies born on different streets in Newcastle can have a difference in life expectancy of up to 12 years.
People from our most disadvantaged communities live 18 years of their shorter lives in ill health.
If you look at GDP per person in the UK and take out London, then this country is as poor as Mississippi, the poorest state in the USA.
The average man and woman in Newcastle stop living in good health more than five years before they reach state pension age.
Just four of the things that jumped out at me from this report on a conference staged at the Civic Centre this week to launch Newcastle’s vision to become a Marmot City.
Marmot City? It’s a designation that commits the city to addressing health disparities through the ‘Marmot Eight’ principles developed by Sir Michael Marmot, who was in Newcastle to deliver a keynote speech.
Alice Wiseman, Newcastle’s director of public health, said: “We need to stop the focus on treating people once they are sick and think about how we can create the conditions that enable them to live healthy and well.”
Sir Michael told Wednesday’s conference of the “dreadful” record that had seen improvements in life expectancy in the UK stall since 2010 and even begin to decline in Newcastle.
He said that Coventry, the first of more than 40 locations to officially adopt the Marmot principles in 2013, had seen a reduction in the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) by more than three times the national average and a fall in the number of people living in deprivation.
New leader for a new era
The boss of Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust is taking over at NHS England with a remit to radically reshape how the health service and the Department for Health and Social Care work together.
Sir Jim Mackey joined the Newcastle trust in January last year after 20 years as chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare, where he was known for his strong leadership and innovative approaches which significantly contributed to the trust’s success and high ratings from the Care Quality Commission.
His appointment at NHS England follows the resignation Amanda Pritchard who took up the post in 2021 and played a central role in the official response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Richard Meddings, chair of NHS England, said: “I am delighted that Jim Mackey has agreed to step up to provide new leadership for a new era for the NHS. He knows the NHS inside out, can see how it needs to change, and will work with the speed and urgency we need.”
Although Sir Jim will have the title ‘transition chief executive’, it's understood that no appointment process has been set up to look for a replacement for Ms Pritchard.
Breakfast trials
A total of 56 schools in North East England are participating in the trial of free breakfast clubs. The initiative is part of a larger pilot programme involving 750 state schools across England, aimed at providing free breakfasts and at least 30 minutes of childcare before school.
The programme, part of the Government’s Plan For Change, is expected to run from April before a national rollout.
‘Unusual’ delay
The person nominated to be the next Bishop of Durham - the fourth most senior position in the Church of England - has withdrawn from the process. It has not been disclosed who the nominee was or why they have made the decision, which the Editor of the Church Times described as “very unusual”.
It could take another year before a new nomination is put in place. The role has been vacant since the retirement of the Right Reverend Paul Butler in February last year and has since been filled on an interim basis by the Bishop of Jarrow Sarah Clark.
Sam’s colliery bandmates
Lovely piece from BBC Radio Tees on how Easington Colliery Band features on the new Sam Fender album. The track Remember My Name is a love song dedicated to his late grandparents.
Band secretary Peter Lawson said the North Shields star was a "down-to-earth lad" who got so emotional hearing them rehearse that he asked if he could sing the piece along with the band. “He was given one of the band's concert uniforms and he wore the uniform all day.” There’s a link to the audio in this article.
A quick word
Barbour has teamed up with TV presenter and model Alexa Chung for a second time, launching a new collection which draws inspiration from nostalgic camping days and music festivals. Sunderland AFC have reduced the size of their proposed solar farm next to their training ground at Cleadon in South Tyneside following protests from campaigners who said it could destroy a wildlife corridor. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has rejected Hartlepool Borough Council’s call to franchise local bus services saying it would be “gambling taxpayers money”. Northumberland planning committee meets on Tuesday to decide on Blackstone’s “game-changing” £10 billion AI datacentre plans for Cambois. A memorial service organised by the Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Club has been held in North Shields for comedy icon Stan Laurel 60 years on from his death. He grew up in North Shields. Paul Callaghan, Chair of the Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture Trust, has been asked to join the advisory panel supporting Baroness Margaret Hodge with her independent review of Arts Council England.
Support at hand
Northumbria is one of five police forces in the country to embed domestic abuse specialists in its control room as part of a Home Office project Raneem’s Law, set up in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother, who were murdered by Raneem’s ex-husband in the West Midlands in August 2018.
There were 13 reports made to the police about Raneem’s safety, but no arrests were made. On the night she was killed, she rang 999 four times but the police did not respond in time. The specialists will ensure calls for help are properly assessed, managed and responded to.
Energy jobs
Siemens Energy has announced a £2 million investment into their production facilities at their Newcastle operation in Byker, which will create 65 new jobs. The jobs will add to Siemens' 550-strong workforce at the historic Parsons Works site, which is at the forefront of manufacturing sustainable power and hydrogen technologies.
Extended closure
Prudhoe Community High School, which was only built nine years ago, will be closed for at least six months after structural engineers advised that the building is not safe - a particular blow for older pupils who were caught up in the year-long closure because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scouts honour
A blue plaque has been unveiled at the Fire Station in Sunderland to commemorate the city's pivotal role in the founding of the global Scouts movement. The plaque marks the site where Robert Baden-Powell conducted the first Scout parade on February 22, 1908.
This historic event took place on Garrison Field, behind the Fire Station, and involved the first official Scout troop. Formed by Colonel Ernest Vaux, a member of the famous brewing family and Baden-Powell’s friend from the Boer War, the troop would go on to be known as Vaux’s Own - Sunderland No. 1.
Talent on tap
North East mayor Kim McGuinness officially opened the Battery Training & Skills Academy at New College Durham this week. It’s a big deal.
“This will make the region a hotbed of talent for the battery industry,” said Jeff Pratt, head of UK operations at Sunderland battery factory operator AESC, who are one of the academy partners.
AESC (Automotive Energy Supply Corporation) has been supplying batteries to Nissan for the Leaf electric vehicle for many years and the company is building a second plant which will be the UK's largest gigafactory when operational, employing around 1,000 people.
The mayor said: "For a really long time this country has been talking about the need for battery factories, but this region has just quietly been getting on and done it.”
Business bites
Nissan has cancelled the night shift on one of its production lines in Sunderland as part of efforts to improve efficiency. No jobs are being lost. Newcastle-based Mincoffs has emerged as the most active legal adviser in the North East in the Experian Market IQ’s Mergers and Acquisitions Review for 2024 - the second year in a row they have come out top. Stockton-based Visualsoft, which also has offices in Newcastle and Manchester, has reported a fall in profits of 68% in a year in which jobs losses were made as a part of a major restructuring. Newcastle-based payments processor Kani Payments has secured a multimillion-pound investment to grow its team and expand overseas. Directors at Northumberland housebuilder Cussins highlighted their resilience and commitment to navigating challenging market conditions in a year which saw a decline in turnover and operating profit plus fewer house completions.
THE WIDER VIEW
The day Ali got belted
I love a good Muhammad Ali story. The Knowledge yesterday quoted a columnist from the Wall Street Journal who was reminded of one such story when the theory that Donald Trump’s team are acting brazenly because they’re “full of themselves” came up.
The boxer was “feeling on top of the world” as he flew out for a big fight. As his plane prepared for take-off, a stewardess asked him to fasten his seatbelt. Ali smiled and said: “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” To which she replied: “Superman don’t need no airplane. Buckle up.” And he did.
Same of the more
Those of you who went to buy a newspaper on Tuesday will have noticed something rare and remarkable about the newsstands - all the front pages were the same. It was something that united The Telegraph and The Star, The Times and The Guardian. Local and regional titles joined in too.
It was a very public show of unity by the UK’s creative industries to highlight how their content is at risk of being given away for free to AI firms as the Government proposes weakening copyright law.
The Make it Fair campaign was developed to raise awareness about the threat posed by generative AI models, many of which scrape creative content from the internet without permission, acknowledgement, and critically, without payment.
Owen Meredith, CEO of News Media Association, said: “The impact on creative businesses and individuals throughout the country – who collectively generate over £120 billion a year towards the UK economy – will be devastating if the Government legitimises this content theft.”
Clues to the future of 007
If you’re into James Bond or interested what Amazon might do now it has bought the franchise then you may want to take the time to read this from The Conversation.