The deferred Hospital Parking Charges Act was passed by the Stormont Assembly before its collapse in 2022 and would scrap charges for patients, staff and visitors at public hospital sites in the region

MLAs have backed a three‑year deferral of legislation on free hospital parking.

If the change is put on hold until May 2029, it would come into force seven years after it was approved by the Assembly.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said making hospital parking free is a “legitimate and a compassionate aim” but the financial situation facing the health and social care sector has “changed significantly”.

The Hospital Parking Charges Act was passed by the Stormont Assembly before its collapse in 2022 and would scrap charges for patients, staff and visitors at public hospital sites in the region.

It was originally intended to be introduced in May 2024 but was deferred for two years after a request from former health minister Robin Swann due to budgetary pressures.

It has been estimated that providing and maintaining car parking services after charges end will cost the health service about £7million annually.

Mr Nesbitt told MLAs during debate on the new Bill’s final stage that the move to defer is “not a reversal of principle, nor does it reflect any lack of readiness on the part of the Health and Social Care Trust to implement the Act”.

“The purpose of this deferral is to protect frontline services from the immediate and unmanaged loss of income which the abolition of parking charges would have entailed, removing approximately £7million each year of trust budgets,” he said.

“In the current financial environment that loss would inevitably have to be offset through reductions elsewhere, directly affecting services provided to patients and to families.”

He added: “The reality of the budget proposals published by the finance minister is that the funding available for health services in Northern Ireland in the coming years will be relatively lower than in England, Scotland or Wales, but it’s been confirmed time and time again – need here is higher.

“That means difficult and responsible decisions are unavoidable, and in that context, proceeding with the abolition of parking charges at this time would simply be unaffordable.”

The minister clarified that the Bill allows for deferral for up to three years, with May 2029 acting as a backstop, and during this period staff parking permits will remain free of charge alongside a needs-based system.

“If financial sustainability is achieved sooner than expected, the legislation allows the 2022 Act to come into operation at an earlier date,” Mr Nesbitt said.

Sinn Fein MLA Phillip McGuigan said his party would not support the deferral because the “delay also has a cost, a cost felt by patients attending appointments, a cost felt by families sitting at bedside, and a cost felt by staff turning up day after day to keep our health service going”.

“I think if the health minister was to look deeply into the budget, he would find other examples where costs can be cut,” he said.

“So millions can be lost to delay and overruns and mismanagement, and yet, the solution offered here today through this Bill is to keep charging families to park at our hospitals? I don’t think that’s credible.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable that patient staff and families are being asked to plug gaps created elsewhere within our health system.

“So being honest with what’s in front of us today, the Bill doesn’t stop charges. It prolongs them. It asks people to keep paying for longer, despite this Assembly already agreeing that those charges should go.”

DUP MLA Diane Dodds said she was aware of “so many issues that cannot be resolved because of a lack of money”, but quoted research from Young Lives Versus Cancer showing 62% of young cancer patients still have to pay for parking despite needs-based concessions.

“Young families who have a child diagnosed with cancer go through an enormously traumatic experience,” she said.

“They spend their lives devoted to that child in hospital. Their income suffers remarkably as a result – we shouldn’t add to their burden.”

Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly said the 2022 Act was a “positive initiative” but “impacting issues” have come to light.

“While there are other issues to raise in terms of how sustainable and fit for purpose the budgeting models of our current system are, I can still understand that difficult decisions are having to be made and this is clearly one of them,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition, SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole, said the move to defer further was “Kafkaesque”.

“The last legislative act when we left this chamber in 2022 was to pass this Bill; the first act when we came back, other than a routine budget Bill, was to delay it,” he said.

“That is preposterous, and it’s not acceptable, and it needs to be called out.”

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said waiting for the alleviation of hospital charges is “like waiting for Godot – it’ll never come”.

“If you look up ‘hames’ in the dictionary, you can see a picture of this Bill and how this has been handled by this minister, previous minister and the Executive on the whole,” he said.

In his concluding remarks Mr Nesbitt said he had written to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to request they expedite royal assent to bring the Bill into force, to “avoid the potential disruption from car parking charges being abolished temporarily on the 12 May”.

“In the event car parking charges are abolished temporarily, I would ask members to support the trust as they seek to minimise the inevitable disruption that may follow,” he said.

The Bill was passed 42 in favour, 25 against.

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Few actors have had a career as eclectic as Sheridan Smith, but she’s gearing up for the most radically different role she’s ever played.

The Gavin & Stacey star, 44, is currently preparing for the new ITV drama Two Birds, where she stars as a troubled police officer in Australia.

Smith is already on a strict eating plan and has signed up for a £2,350 bootcamp programme to play Constable Izzie Cronwell, who flees the UK for a new life Down Under after the death of her husband.

At a screening for her surprisingly charming new thriller The Cage attended by Metro, Smith spoke about the biggest gamble of her career, pointing to her next ambitious project, which is filming in the Outback.

‘I’m not very good at gambling, but the job I’m doing next is the most different to me,’ she said.

‘I’ve got to do gun training, combat training, and learn to ride a motorbike, which I’ve fallen off twice already, in Australia. That might be a gamble.’

But it will never be a bigger gamble than that of her character in The Cage, Leanne – a desperate single mum who sees an opportunity to swipe piles of cash from the casino she works at to support her kids and her grandma, who is deteriorating with dementia.

Leanne discovers she’s not the only staff member sneakily squeezing the casino for all it’s worth.

This is England’s Michael Socha stars as Matty, who is in an equally precarious financial situation. When his debts pile up, he finds himself unwillingly having to shift a stack of cocaine to make ends meet – which quickly turns into disaster.

Written by Tony Schumacher, the Liverpudlian talent behind the Bafta-winning police drama The Responder, The Cage is a fast-paced thriller packed with adrenaline and drama.

Comparisons to Netflix’s drug heist series Ozark are inevitable and flattering, but if anything, The Cage has much more heart.

‘The tone of the show was something we thought about a lot, actually,’ said Michael. ‘The main thing that comes through with Tony’s writing is the heart and the warmth. We didn’t want to make it gritty, we didn’t want to make it dark, we wanted to make it warm.

‘There are two sides to Tony’s writing that are both amazing. One is the realism; you believe in the characters, you believe in the world, but then at the same time, he’s able to heighten that reality into something a little bit more escapist.’

Sheridan agreed: ‘What Tony does amazingly is that he just writes amazing characters. On the page, straight away they’re flawed, they’re complicated, they’re funny, but there’s sad moments too.

‘Tony’s writing is fun to play as an actor because that’s what life is, we’re all – especially me – flawed. He’s just a genius [to be able to] do the heavy stuff and then make it funny, and pull the rug from [under] the viewer.’

The Cage launches Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.

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Peter will take centre stage at the Albert Halls in the town centre in July, where he will perform four shows.

It is a venue he last performed at in 2003, recording the iconic Peter Kay: Live at the Bolton Albert Halls, which to this day is the biggest-selling stand-up DVD of all time in the UK.

A young Peter Kay

Peter, who is one of the nation’s favourite comedians, said: “I can’t believe it’s 23 years since my Albert Halls shows, so I reckon it’s about time I came back.

“I’m really looking forward to it.

“The shows are a thank you to the people of Bolton for their support over the years, but especially Bolton Hospice, which is an amazing charity and would not be able to provide the help it does without donations.”

(Image: NQ)

The surprise Bolton shows will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 9 to 11) at 7.30pm, as well as a matinee on Saturday (July 11) at 2.30pm.

Peter has been playing his sold-out UK live comedy tour, Better Late Than Never, since late 2022 to huge arena crowds.

The July shows will be an intimate version of his latest tour’s material and an unexpected treat for people from Bolton (and parts of Bury) only.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 24 at 10am and are limited to fans who live at a BL postcode.

 All profits will be donated to Bolton Hospice.

Poster (Image: Agency)

Chair of Bolton Hospice, Judith Bromley, said: “What a fantastic surprise this is – we can’t thank Peter enough for his ongoing support of the hospice.

“The money raised from these shows in Bolton will make a huge difference to all the local people who use our vital services.”

(Image: Newsquest)

Tickets will only be available via Quay Tickets: https://tix.to/PKBolton quaytickets.com/boltonalberthalls

Last September, Peter took part in a sell-out ‘in conversation with’ Sara Cox for Bolton Hospice and the Crescent Foodbank Bolton.

Sir Ian McKellen also chose the Albert Halls to celebrate his 80th birthday and to raise money for charity.

The Hallmark Channel has faced criticism following the announcement of its new original romcom All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong, which features a majority white cast.

Set to premiere May 9, the movie stars Fiona Gubelmann, Paul Campbell, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, Tamera Mowry-Housley and Melissa Peterman, and follows a school nurse who turns her love of the Chinese tile-based game Mahjong into a new path, according to a logline. Invented in China in the mid-to-late 19th century, Mahjong was developed from older Chinese card and domino games and features 144 tiles, each marked with Chinese symbols representing currency, numbers and cultural values.

While Lowe, 45, is half Chinese, the network is being criticized on social media for not having greater Asian representation in its main cast and “appropriating” Chinese culture.

“This slap-in-the-face Hallmark movie is coming out during AAPI Heritage Month,” one person wrote on Threads, adding that “the whitewashed tiles and cast are not surprising from the studio.”

“Lord what in what in the West Caucasia is this,” someone quipped on Instagram, with a second similarly echoing: “No because seriously, what in the colonization is going on?”

“Ah yes, nothing says Happy AAPI Month like appropriating Asian culture,” a third commented.

“Because when I see a picture of these women, I think Mahjong,” a fourth joked.

“Why don’t yt [sic] ppl just stick to their culture instead of profiting off of others?” a fifth questioned, with another adding: “There was always a choice to NOT greenlight this film #justsaying.”

The Independent has contacted Hallmark for comment.

The day before the movie’s latest promotional post on Instagram, the e-commerce website Miss Mahjong revealed that it was partnering with Hallmark to release Miss Heirloom, a special purple, green and white Mahjong set featuring non-traditional symbols — the same set used in the movie.

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“Yall couldn’t even use a traditional mahjong set or what? Or work with an Asian owned company?” one person questioned. “Are there Asian writers on your team? How much of the cast is Chinese, and is it a Chinese leading story? Cause this poster is giving yall didn’t put thought into this.”

The backlash comes years after the network upset conservatives by releasing its first original Christmas movie focused solely on an LGBT+ love story.

At the time, former Hallmark darling Candace Cameron Bure, who left the network for the “more conservative” Great American Family network, addressed the 2022 LGBT+ movie, telling the Wall Street Journal that GAF would likely not follow suit and instead keep “traditional marriage at the core.”

In the same interview, the Full House star addressed her departure from the network, saying: “It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership.”

Following her comments, Mean Girls actor Lacey Chabert defended Hallmark, saying she “found a real home.”

“Any shift I’ve felt has been embracing our creative ideas, and it’s my responsibility to the audience who continue to tune into my movies that I give the best I have to offer,” Chabert said in an interview with Vulture. “That’s always my mission.

“I’ll never abandon what Hallmark means for me, which is that everything is centered around the heart. I don’t think there are any plans for that to change anytime soon.”

Doctor Amir Khan is known for sharing all sorts of health tips with his followers, but he recently urged Brits to complete a simple task before bed to aid sleep

Most of us wish for a good night’s rest, and there’s an easy method to help you get back to sleep if you keep waking up at night. However, if you want to try and get a good night’s sleep in the first place, it turns out you may need to complete a simple task before bed.

According to TV star and health expert, Doctor Amir Khan, Brits need to do one thing to try and get a good night’s sleep each night. You may not have realised, but there’s something called sleep hygiene, and it’s super important if you want to dose off peacefully each night.

It comes as various people have expressed having issues with sleep. In fact, many wake up at 3am for exactly the same reason.

In a previous video shared on Instagram, he said: “Sleep hygiene refers to healthy sleeping habits, and good sleep is crucial to your mental and physical health. Now, if you don’t sleep well, try doing the following steps to see if we can improve it.

“Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Try to go to sleep and to wake up about the same time each day, even on weekends.

“This reinforces your body’s internal sleep clock, and aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Create a relaxing bedtime routine.

“This helps you unwind and get ready for sleep. 30 to 60 minutes before bed, take a warm bath or shower, do some gentle stretches or meditation, read a book, but not on an electronic device.

“Remember, avoid emotional or stressful conversations or any talk about work in the lead up to sleep. Stress is one of the most common reasons people lie awake at night.”

Doctor Amir also urged people to ask for help if they ever need it. He noted one of the biggest mistakes you can make is use electronic devices before you go to sleep.

It’s best not to have your phone near you when you’re in bed either. Keep it out of sight to avoid distractions.

He also shared some other tips too, as simple changes could make a big difference. Doctor Amir just told people to remember that they need to stick at it if they introduce these measures, as it can take two to four weeks for them to take effect.

What you need to do

While there are a few tricks you can try, taking a warm bath or shower before bed can significantly improve sleep quality. It’s reported it can also help you fall asleep faster.

Spending as little as 10 minutes doing this around an hour before bed allows your body to cool down afterward. It also signals the brain to release melatonin and trigger sleepiness.

A warm bath eases muscle tension and reduces stress, relaxing both the body and mind for deeper rest. Therefore, there are some real benefits to washing the day off before going to sleep.

If you have severe issues with sleep, contact a doctor for further advice. Always reach out to a GP if you’re worried about your health.

You can check your payments are correct online

Many DWP payments are failing to arrive in people’s bank accounts, with people missing out on £3,000 in the average case. Benefits experts have shared some helpful guidance about the worrying trend.

Thousands of pounds a year in payments are failing to arrive as they should for one simple reason: people are not claiming the support they are due. Experts at debt advice group Money Wellness warn that in their experience, people are missing out on around £3,000 a year age, the same as £250 a month. Rebecca Lamb, external relations manager at Money Wellness, said people frequently fail to apply for what they are entitled to, even when they are aware that the support exists. She said: “It’s not just awareness. There are other barriers too.

“Stigma is still a big one. A lot of people feel uncomfortable about claiming benefits, especially if they’ve worked all their lives.” For instance, those of state pension age on a low income may be eligible to claim Pension Credit.

Income boost

You may have always supported yourself financially throughout your working life and plan to continue doing so in retirement. But this particular benefit could make a big difference. The average claim is worth more than £4,000 in support, topping up your weekly income while also unlocking access to additional help.

The benefit boosts your income to up to £238 a week for single claimants and up to £363.25 a week for couples. Additional amounts may be available depending on your personal circumstances, such as if you have a severe disability or if you care for another adult.

The process can put people off

Ms Lamb warned that another problem is people being deterred by the lengthy application process. She said: “The process can also put people off.

“It can feel complicated, it’s definitely time-consuming, and it can be quite overwhelming if you’re already struggling. There’s also fear of being rejected, which stops people even trying.

“And sometimes it’s just life. People are busy, they’re dealing with bills, work, family pressures, and applying for support gets pushed to the bottom of the list.”

She urged for more action to boost awareness. The advocate said: “There’s a real opportunity for more organisations to be more proactive. At the moment, too much relies on people knowing when to check, and in reality, most people don’t.

“If the DWP or local authorities could prompt people when something changes – even just a simple message saying ‘you may want to check what you’re now entitled to’ – that could make a real difference.”

Better signposting

She suggested that service providers such as banks and utility companies could also do their bit, by directing people towards support if they are missing payments or dipping into their overdraft.

Ms Lamb said: “They’re often in a position to see the early signs first, with things like overdrafts creeping up or missed payments. That’s usually the point where a bit of signposting to benefits checks or debt advice could really help people before things get worse.”

You can get an estimate of what benefits you may be eligible for using an online calculator tool. There are several available, including the Better Off Calculator.

Scottish Labour is putting forward good policy ideas to fix broken public services, says Record View.

The latest revelations in the Peter Mandelson scandal are deeply damaging for the Prime Minister.

His appointment of the disgraced former Labour figure as the UK’s ­ambassador to the US was a terrible error of judgment.

But for the Government to push ahead with the hire after Mandelson failed vetting is unforgivable.

Keir Starmer said he did not know Mandelson failed vetting and that he is “furious” with a top civil servant for not telling him.

But the PM’s position makes him look like a leader who does not know what is going on in his own Government.

He also comes across as someone unwilling to ask basic questions about an obviously sensitive appointment.

SNP leader John Swinney is correct to say the UK Government has been “asleep at the wheel”.

The scandal is proving to be a major distraction in the Holyrood election campaign, which should be about schools, hospitals and the cost of living.

But the PM’s blunders are making it about him – even though Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has tried to distance himself from Starmer.

Labour candidate Monica Lennon has said Starmer should ­quit immediately as the row refuses to die down.

Her perspective is sensible and the PM should consider the damage he is doing to Scottish Labour’s election chances.

Labour have put forward good policy ideas to fix Scotland’s broken public services. But their message is being drowned out by the noise around Starmer and the Mandelson scandal.

That’s a problem for Scottish Labour.

But, more importantly, it’s a disaster for voters in Scotland who need to make an informed choice on May 7 on who runs the country.

Time to axe tax

The council tax system is so old it was drawn up by Thatcher-era ­dinosaurs serving under John Major in the early 90s.

It was a response to the hated poll tax and came at a different time in terms of council funding and house prices.

It’s scarcely credible that homes are still paying council tax according to ­valuations carried out in 1991.

The SNP may have tinkered around the edges of the system since first winning power in 2007, but reneged on a manifesto pledge to scrap the tax.

Some tried to push for reform or ­abolition but it remains one of these thorny issues that successive leaders would rather brush under the carpet.

In today’s Daily Record, trade union chief Roz Foyer says enough is enough.

She has offered to host a cross-party summit on the issue.

We hope she succeeds. The council tax needs to be scrapped – and doing nothing is no longer an option.

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.

Eva Outram, 28, was a project manager with the NHS – but her TV experience changed her life forever

A woman quit her job in the NHS and saves £2,500 a month living in a van on farmland for free – in exchange for working up to six hours a week. Eva Outram, 28, was working as a project manager for the NHS, earning £38,000 a year.

At the time, she was living in a two-bedroom flat in Leeds, paying £1,300 a month – including bills and mortgage. But after appearing on Channel 4’s survival series Alone, where 11 people were dropped in the wilderness in Canada to survive as long as possible, she decided city living was not for her.

After lasting 23 days in the wild, Eva, decided to quit her NHS job, rent out her flat and moved into a £4,800 caravan with her boyfriend, Tom Park, 33, a stone mason. Eva said the pair save £2,500 a month and live on farmland for free in return for working on the land they are living on – with the only outgoing they have is £40 every few months for gas and their £85 weekly food shop.

She said the work can vary from general maintenance to face-painting – and they can work anywhere between three or six hours a week. Eva, a content creator, and outdoor business owner, from Leeds, said: “We have a total sense of freedom.

“We have freedom to do whatever we want with our money, we have so much more disposable income – between us we are saving £2.5k a month.

“We don’t have any accommodation-associated costs; we have our electric and water bills sorted for us where we work. We can move around whenever; we are not tied down to one location.”

After buying her two-bedroom flat in Leeds in October 2022, Eva said she was fed up with the “hamster wheel” of working to pay a mortgage. And after appearing on a survival show, she realised that she was living a life on the back of other people’s expectations.

Eva said: “I had always had an inkling that the traditional way of living wasn’t for me, but I was on the conveyor belt of going to university and getting a good job. I lived in the flat for a year on a hamster wheel of working to pay the mortgage. After coming back off the show, I had a realisation that I was living a life on the back of other people’s expectations.”

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Tom had been living in a caravan when they first met, and Eva said she would spend most weekends with him. So in August 2024, she started renting out her flat, and she and Tom bought a £4.8k caravan together.

“I saw the lifestyle through Tom’s lens and realised that it looked great,” Eva said. “I wondered if I could actually follow through with it, as it felt outside the realm of possibility- until I realised that it was a feasible way of living and I loved it.”

Since moving into the van full-time, Eva said that she and Tom will save £2.5k a month. Instead of paying any accommodation cost, the pair will live on farmland in exchange for work, which includes a free place to stay, water, and electricity.

Eva, who shares her lifestyle on @eva__exploring, said: “The work we do varies, at our last place it was general maintenance, looking after the chickens and my partner would do construction work. Where we are now, it is an open farm where children come, so I did two weeks of face painting that covered us for four months. We tend to be in one place for a long amount of time, the last place we were there for a year.”

Eva said van life gives her the “total sense of freedom”, something she didn’t get in the city. She said that she earns more than she ever has before and is living her “dream life”.

The couple are saving to buy land for their home and is hoping to go on a road trip to Greece over winter. She said: “The misconception is that to be living how we live, we must not be earning enough money.

“But I have been paid more than ever before, and I have no intentions of going back to my old lifestyle. Our eventual goal is to buy a piece of land and build our own place on it or buy a rundown place.

“But we have no immediate plans to buy somewhere. The fact that we have fewer outgoings has allowed me to follow my passions. I genuinely feel like I am living my dream life.”

PREVIOUS MONTHLY OUTGOINGS:

Mortgage: £800

Ground rent: £150

Bills: £315

Food: £40

Total: £1,305

CURRENT MONTHLY OUTGOINGS

Rent: £0

Bills: £40 on gas

Food: £85 food shop

Total: £125

EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Labour leader said John Swinney should “withdraw this disgraceful advert immediately”.

Anas Sarwar has urged the SNP to delete a “disgraceful” video claiming Labour are plotting a shady deal with Nigel Farage.

He said the social media post was the “lowest point of the campaign so far” as he accused the SNP of adding “lies” to Reform’s “poison”.

The bitter row kicked off last week during the Channel 4 leaders’ debate in Glasgow.

The Scottish Labour leader raised the temperature after accusing Reform of wanting to deport his Muslim children.

Malcolm Offord, Reform’s leader in Scotland, hit back by accusing Sarwar of cosying up to him after an event in December.

Offord claimed Sarwar had come “bouncing up to me in Paisley Town Hall” to suggest “we need to work together, Reform and Labour, to remove the SNP”.

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The incendiary claim, denied by Sarwar, was pounced on by the SNP whose leader John Swinney has warned of a “grubby” deal between both parties after the election.

The SNP quickly posted a clip of Offord’s claim and stated: “Busted. Anas Sarwar approached Reform’s leader asking to form an alliance against the SNP. Source: Reform’s leader.”

Sarwar told the Record: “What is now abundantly clear is that the biggest threat to both Reform and the SNP is me and Scottish Labour.

“That is why they are both so desperate to keep up the smears.”

Sarwar also raised Reform’s notorious by-election advert last year which suggested his priority would be the Pakistani community: “Reform spent tens of thousands of pounds on an advert questioning my loyalty to Scotland.

“For the SNP to take that poison, add lies of their own, and push it out using supporters’ money is vile. It is the lowest point of the campaign so far.

“John Swinney should withdraw this disgraceful advert immediately. It tells you everything you need to know. The SNP and Reform are desperate. They are only interested in playing games, and their brand of divisive politics is coming to an end.

“If you want to reject the poison of Reform, beat the SNP and change Scotland, there is only one route to change.”

George Adam, SNP candidate for Paisley, said: “Anas Sarwar has become increasingly desperate since his plot for a grubby deal with Reform was exposed.

“Rather than being honest with the public, Labour have attacked journalists for simply reporting the facts – that Scottish Labour party figures were briefing journalists that Anas Sarwar would rely on Reform votes to force entry into Bute House.

“That is why we need people to unite behind the SNP to deliver a majority that can lock out Farage and unlock independence.”

It comes after a new poll found the pro-UK parties could hold the majority in Holyrood after the election.

The survey, carried out for More in Common, suggested the SNP would continue to be the largest party.

But Swinney’s party and the pro-independence Greens would fall one seat short of a majority, leaving the SNP vulnerable.

Such a result could lead to the pro-UK parties teaming up to install Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar as First Minister.

Oblivious staff visited the Perthshire home of cruel Jennifer Robertson to provide personal care for her now dead husband Alan – who sexually abused a vulnerable child alongside their son Steven.

Young care workers were sent to the home of an evil foster family who beat and raped kids to tend to a child abuser for years without being told of a probe.

Oblivious staff visited the Perthshire home of cruel Jennifer Robertson to provide personal care for her now dead husband Alan – who sexually abused a vulnerable child alongside their son Steven.

Horrified staff only learned of the harrowing crimes committed by the Robertsons when they read of their convictions in the news this month – saying they were drafted in to provide intimate care for the pensioner after a police probe was first launched.

Jennifer Robertson, 79, abused children as young as 10 months old, physically assaulted young girls and forced food down their throats at a property in Perthshire between 1980 and 1995.

Her son Steven Robertson, 52, sexually abused a number of the girls between 1986 and 1995, sometimes acting with his late father Alan Robertson. He also sexually assaulted another girl in the Dundee area between 2015 and 2017.

He was given 11 years in jail for his crimes, while his mother was given 250 hours of unpaid work at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Both were convicted of a total of nine charges last month and sentenced last Friday.

A source blasted council social work chiefs for failing to alert care workers – who were kept in the dark for four years and often visited the property solo.

A source close to the case told the Record: “For Perth and Kinross Council to send anyone into that environment without giving them prior knowledge of the kind of allegations involved is horrific.

“In 2018, the council handed Alan Robertson’s care over and didn’t make the company aware that allegations had been made.

“It was full personal care, including bathing and showering, going to the toilet.

“One girl on the team was just 18 at the time.

“They have failed in their duty of care to those staff members – the females on the team especially.

“The first carers knew was when they saw an article in the paper.”

Jurors heard how evil Jennifer Robertson carried out physical assaults on children in her care, while her son, Steven Robertson sexually assaulted and raped young girls in the same household – targeting one girl alongside dad Alan – who died before the case came to court.

The court heard that on various occasions throughout the 1980s, Jennifer called children derogatory names. She also physically assaulted the children – one little boy had his head struck against a wall.

During the same time period, Steven sexually assaulted a young girl.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Steven, while acting with his now-dead father Alan, sexually assaulted another child and forced her to perform sex acts.

He raped another child throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.

The court heard that police became aware of the Robertsons’ activities in 2018, and a lengthy police investigation was launched.

The Robertsons sought private care for Alan through a care company in 2018, one of a number of service providers approved by the council.

The local authority fully funded his care, which was provided by a team of self employed workers.

The source said: “It turns out the police were investigating since 2018. Carers started attending Alan Robertson in August or September 2018.

“The carers in that team were predominantly female. Originally care would have been provided solo. For the first couple of years there was only one going in.

“Carers went to them for four years, from 2018 until 2022.

“Jennifer Robertson was there and the son Steven would go and stay from time to time as well.

“There was no reason to believe there was anything untoward because they were a well thought of family.

“If staff had known, there’s no way many would have put themselves in that position.”

Last week, a brother and sister abused by Jennifer Robertson said they are planning legal action against the council over alleged failures that allowed the abuse to continue.

The brother and sister, who wish to remain anonymous, were among those who gave evidence and say they still live with the trauma of what happened under Robertson’s care.

Perth and Kinross Council were asked to comment for this story.

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