Your commercial news round-up: gay parental rights, NHS, Just Stop Oil, PE, benefits

Reading time: four minutes

Italy is removing same-sex parents from children’s birth certificates, the NHS is worse off than it was in 2011, Just Stop Oil protests continue, the government is increasing the demand for physical education in schools and anger rises regarding the two-child benefit debate. There’s lots to unpack in this week’s commercial news round-up.

• Italy has started removing the names of lesbian parents from children’s birth certificates. The decision is part of right-wing populist Giorgia Meloni’s crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ+ parents. In March, Meloni asserted that state agencies would no longer register or acknowledge the children of same-sex couples. At present, 27 families within the northern city of Padua have been issued warning letters stating they’ll be removed as legal guardians. Under current Italian legislation the removal of the parent would mean that should their partner die, or the couple break up, the removed parent would have no legal rights to their child. Politician and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Alessandro Zan said: “These children are being orphaned by decree. This is a cruel, inhumane decision.”
   
• It's been revealed that the NHS is 10 times worse off than it was in 2011, according to FactCheck analysis by Channel 4. Experts have been tracking the overall state of England’s healthcare system, measuring metrics that include:
  • patient waiting times in A&E;
  • patients waiting more than four hours on a trolley to be admitted to hospital;
  • the rate at which patients see a cancer consultant following a referral; and
  • elective care waiting lists.

Research has found that in these four key areas, the NHS is now performing worse than it was in 2011. The pandemic has been recognised as a part of the reason for this underperformance; however, it’s been noted the NHS had been struggling long before the pandemic began. The combination of the impact of covid-19 and austerity, caused by continuous public service cuts, has caused the “perfect storm” to harm the NHS.

• With graduation ceremonies in full swing across the UK, you’d expect nice photos, perhaps some celebratory prosecco but one thing most people aren’t expecting is for the police to turn up to your graduation. However, this is what happened at a graduation ceremony on Monday at the University of Exeter, after a student disrupted their own graduation to express their support for Just Stop Oil. Devon and Cornwall police were called to the scene after Eddie Whittingham, a philosophy, politics and economics graduate, used a paint-loaded fire extinguisher to spray the university’s courtyard orange. Whittingham called for students to take action against the UK government’s plans to license new oil and gas projects. Speaking before his actions Whittingham said: “I’m taking these actions because our government has failed young people like me.” He added: “What use is a university degree if you can’t feed yourself? What use is an education if society is collapsing around you?” Whittingham is known for his high-profile Just Stop Oil protests, having disrupted the World Snooker Championship earlier this year. The university, who spoke in great length on its sustainability pledges during the graduation ceremony, has held a partnership with Shell Oil since 2022, building on decades of collaboration with the company.

• Sticking with education for our next story, the government has announced a massive boost to school sports by encouraging a minimum of two hours per week of physical activity, with awards available to those that create equal opportunities for girls and boys. In addition to these measures, ministers have also announced:

• an extra two years of primary PE and sport premium funding worth £600 million;
• £22 million for an additional two years of school games; and
• a further £57 million to keep school sports facilities open outside of normal school hours.

Although the new requirements aren’t mandatory, Ofsted will be monitoring schools’ equal access to sports. The demand for girls in sport has been particularly accelerated by the Lionesses’ Euro’s victory. While school leaders have welcomed the extra funding, they’ve also warned of already overcrowded school timetables and suggested the government may need a “reality check” on what’s realistically possible.

• Labour Party Leader Kier Starmer is facing significant backlash after he doubled down on his stance to not undo the Conservative Party’s two-child benefit cap. The policy, which was first introduced by George Osborne during his austerity drive, prevents parents from claiming the benefit of universal credit for any third or additional children. Research shows that scraping this ban would alleviate an estimated 270,000 families from poverty at an estimated cost of £1.4 billion. Starmer has received a plethora of criticism on his stance by Labour MPs and senior Labour figures; however, the Labour Party leader has said he warned the party there’d be a need for “really ruthless” decisions.

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