The report to the Housing Services Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel came in response to a composite motion by the full council earlier this year.

A change in the way council rent is collected could be on the way as housing officers tackle growing rent arrears.

Housing officers described a range of early intervention measures they use to help tenants stay in their homes and manage debts at a time when many are facing increasing costs.

However the council has still had to evict 45 tenants in the last year, a move which costs the council £800 a time- £36,000 in the last year- on top of the lost rent.

The report to the Housing Services Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel came in response to a composite motion by the full council earlier this year.

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With the current rent arrears figure sitting at more than £4m across the county, councillors called for action.

Council rents have historically been collected over 48 weeks of the year with two weeks “off” over Christmas and at the end of the financial year in March.

West Lothian currently has 14,367 tenancies with an average rent of £95.42 a week. 864 new tenancies were added in the last year.

Housing officers told the committee changes to rent collection could be made when the new five year collection strategy comes into effect beyond 2027.

The council motion suggested making rent collectible over 52 rather than 48 weeks; “could make payment of rent more affordable for the most vulnerable or who are facing deepening financial pressure.”

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In the meeting Councillor Tony Boyle suggested it would work better because it would align with Universal Credit payments.

A senior housing officer Alison Smith told the meeting the 48 week collection model has been in place “for all the time I have been in post and longer. I think it is something that the council could look at as part of a new strategy.”

She added that regular updates on rent collection would be made to the local area committees as well as the Housing Services PDSP.

Rent collection remains well above 90% across the nine council wards of West Lothian.

Officers outlined early intervention with tenants was key to the collection strategy along with engagement with tenants from the day they take up their tenancy.

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Alongside regular contact with tenants and weekly monitoring of rental income to highlight potential problems housing officers also work with tenants to direct them to agencies such as the council Advice Shops for help with finances and benefits.

Officers stressed that their goal was to keep tenants in their homes. The worst cases which end with eviction come only after tenants refuse to engage with staff or attempt to pay rents.

A housing manager Phyllis McFadden said progress to eviction could take four to five months. She added that there “was no one size fits all solution” and that each eviction case was “ complex and challenging”.

Chair of the committee Councillor George Paul thanked officers for the report and praised the work done by teams across the county to ensure rent collection.

Councillor Paul: “ For me eviction is the last thing I ever want to see,it is a costly process and a time consuming process for officers to get an eviction case to the courts.”

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Councillors across the political divide thanked the housing staff for their work. Councillor Pauline Orr (SNP) said: “I was one of the councillors that brought the composite motion. I just want to thank the officers for bringing the report today. It is very very detailed and very concise. There’s a lot of important information today and I understand the very difficult and challenging circumstances and that it’s not an easy job to do and at times incredibly frustrating and upsetting for officers.”

Conservative councillor Alison Adamson said; “We do appreciate the work you guys are doing. The rent collection that has taken place has always been consistently high.

“That’s why I get so frustrated when I hear comments about housing officers not doing enough to collect rent. This is a very concise, well presented report. Thank you very much for all the work you have done to put this work together.”

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The festival will run at the Crescent Arts Centre from June 4-11

Belfast Book Festival is back with a host of events bringing together the best in poetry, fiction and talks from big names such as Jan Carson and comedian Sara Pascoe.

This is the festival’s 16th year and it is set to run its events at the Crescent Arts Centre once again, from June 4-11. This year sees an ambitious billing of poetry, fiction, workshops and lively discussions.

The literary line-up includes Jan Carson, Andrea Carter, Sara Pascoe, Neil Jordan, Sarah Moss, Neil Hegarty, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Katriona O’Sullivan, Nussaibah Younis, Patrick Radden Keefe, Martin Doyle, Miriam O’Callaghan, Stephen Daly, Anne Enright, Will Storr, Mícheál McCann, Rónán Hession, Wendy Erskine, Sínead Morrissey, Forrest Issac Jones and many more.

With a spotlight on Belfast, a special event with Belfast-born writer Bernard MacLaverty celebrates his work for page and screen, whilst writers Wendy Erskine and Phil Harrison join photographer Tolu Ogunware to explore contemporary Belfast through fiction and visual storytelling.

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In partnership with The National Year of Reading, four NI YA authors – Jenny Ireland, Stephen Daly, Kelly McCaughrain and Sue Divin celebrate new book releases and a special screening of Nostalgie, Kathryn Ferguson’s award-winning adaptation of Wendy Erskine’s short story set in NI will be supported by a Q&A.

The festival also celebrates the gothic and dystopian with Director of Interview with the Vampire and The Butcher Boy, Neil Jordan discussing his new literary sci-fi novel, The Library of Traumatic Memory, and Jan Carson shares her new dystopic novel Few and Far Between. Carson will also be in conversation with author Henrietta McKervey on her new gothic novel The Woman in the Water, inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.

Further programme highlights include comedian and writer, Sara Pascoe and her novel Weirdo, a tragicomic story of a young woman navigating life while battling her inner-monologue. Journalist Aimee Donnellan presents Off the Scales, an inside look at Ozempic and Katriona O’Sullivan discusses Hungry, a raw exploration of hunger, trauma, and women’s collective search for self-acceptance.

Broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan will reflect upon her life and work via her memoir and Books Editor of The Irish Times

Martin Doyle, gives insight into his many interviews with prominent Irish writers across the years. Journalist and writer, Patrick Radden Keefe will also talk about his newly published book London Falling and author Lucy Caldwell will discuss the evergreen lure and popularity of Irish short fiction with panellists Jan Carson, Paul Delaney and Hedwig Schwal.

Sophie Hayles, CEO of The Crescent Arts Centre and Director of the Belfast Book Festival, said: “We’re excited to welcome everyone at The Crescent for BBF26. This year’s Festival offers a wide variety of literary events, workshops and discussions for all ages and interests. As always, BBF champions a combination of emerging writers, NI talent and international voices – feet firmly and proudly in Belfast, inviting the book world in.”

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The winners of the Mairtín Crawford Awards, (which recognise new writers working towards their first full collection of poetry and short stories) will be announced and emerging wordsmiths can attend workshops and industry sessions offering expert advice on pitching, publishing and how to navigate social media as a new author.

Caoileann Curry-Thompson, Arts Development Officer for Drama and Dance, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: “As principal funder, the Arts Council is proud to support The Crescent Arts Centre in staging Northern Ireland’s leading annual literature festival. This Festival caters to all ages and truly shines a light on the extraordinary writing talent we have in Northern Ireland, as well as offering opportunities for those interested in writing and publishing to learn from industry experts.

“The team at The Crescent has curated another terrific programme this year and I would encourage everyone to go along and enjoy this incredible celebration of literature!”

The full Belfast Book Festival programme and event details can be found at: www.belfastbookfestival.com with all tickets available on pay-what-you-decide scale.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Aoife is the daughter of Jarlath Tinnelly, an independent councillor on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

Mourners at the funeral of 24-year-old nursery worker Aoife Tinnelly have heard how her life was cut “heartbrakenly short” following a road traffic collision on Monday evening.

Emergency services attended the scene after a collision involving a white Audi A1 and a blue Mercedes-Benz on the Newry Road in Kilkeel shortly before 6:30 pm on 20th April. Aoife was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, and two other people were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Aoife is the daughter of Jarlath Tinnelly, an independent councillor on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

Addressing those gathered at St Colman’s Church in Massforth, the priest said that “words feel absolutely and completely insufficient and inadequate.”

“A sudden loss, especially one so tragic, leaves us searching for answers that do not come easily and we may ask why. Let me sit with a silence that can feel empty, If not unbearable and yet even here in our sadness and grief, We are not without meaning, nor without hope,” he said.

“But of course, in moments like these, it is so natural to search for meaning, for reasons, for something that might make this dreadful loss feel less difficult and chaotic. But sometimes there are no easy answers that will ever satisfy. Sometimes the most honest thing we can say is that this is deeply undeserved, deeply unfair, and God knows, deeply painful.”

He added: “In Aoife’s 24 years with us, she brought something very special into this world that did not exist before her. Her personality, her warmth, her presence, her way of loving, her way of living, life to the full and her way of being known. Those things do not for a moment disappear in that accident.

“Surely they would remain woven into the lives of everyone Aoife touched, and God knows, she touched so, so many people.

“Aoife’s life, though brief in years in the bigger scheme of things, was definitely not small by any means and a life is not measured only in years, but in love given and received, in laughter shared, in kindness shown and in the imprint left on others. By that measure, thankfully, we all know Aoife lived life to the full.”

Aoife is survived by her parents Brenda and Jarlath and siblings Daire, Odhran and Maisie.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

A section of the road in Maesteg was closed overnight

A man has died after a crash between a car and a bike in a Welsh town centre during the early hours of the morning.

Emergency services were called to Llynfi Road in Maesteg shortly after midnight on Saturday. The road reopened on Saturday morning after being closed for several hours overnight as police carried out investigation work.

Sadly, police have confirmed that a 21-year-old man died as a result of the collision, which involved one car and one bike. The man was from the village of Cymmer in the Rhondda Valley, but no further details have been announced at this time. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

A spokesman for South Wales Police said: “We were called at 12.05am am on Saturday, April 25, to reports of a collision involving a car and a bike on the junction of Llynfi Road and Upper Street in Maesteg.

“As a result of the collision a 21-year-old man from Cymmer has died. Investigations into the collision are ongoing.”

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Riley, 13, was last seen in the Regent Court area of Gateshead town centre at around 3pm on Tuesday, April 21.

However, he has been in touch with his family yesterday (Friday).

Extensive enquiries have been ongoing by Northumbria Police to locate him.

The 13-year-old is known to frequent the Chester-le-Street area of County Durham and the Stockton area of Teesside.

Riley is described as a white boy, 5ft 6in tall and of slim build with mousy brown short hair.

He wears glasses and is believed to be wearing a grey Berghaus jacket, black pants and black trainers.

Anyone who knows where Riley is should send Northumbria Police a direct message on social media or use the live chat and report forms on the force’s website.

For those unable to make contact via the above ways, call 101 and quote reference number: NP-20260421-0796.

Locals showed up at a demo outside a Morrisons shop after a store manager was fired for tackling an aggressive repeat shoplifter

A Morrisons store manager sacked by the chain for tackling an aggressive shoplifter has thanked crowds who turned up to demand he get his job back.

Sean Egan, 46, said he had worked for the supermarket chain for 29 years but was dismissed after he attempted to stop a repeat shoplifter from leaving the shop, in Aldridge, near Walsall. The controversial sacking has led to the local community gathering together at a demo outside the supermarket in support of the former store manager.

Mr Egan showed up at today’s protest and thanked the locals who have “backed him from the beginning”.

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The 46-year-old became involved in an altercation with career criminal Daniel Kendall who spat in his face and became aggressive inside the Morrisons shop.

A disciplinary hearing following the incident determined Mr Egan, from Wolverhampton, would be dismissed because he did not follow the chain’s deter-and-not-detain policy. Mr Egan, who started working at the chain while still at school, said he followed Morrisons’ protocol with a calm approach initially but Kendall started to spit at the manager.

Locals in Aldridge organised what they called a peaceful protest outside Morrisons Aldridge between 9am and midday on Saturday, April 25. A banner for the event called on the supermarket to: “Do the right thing – reinstate Sean Egan.”

A video from the demo showed Mr Egan turned up as supporters held up signs in support of the fired employee, and drivers honked in support of the cause.

Mr Egan, in the video, praised the locals and said: “People of Aldridge have backed me from the beginning. They’ve backed me for years and for this support today, for everybody turning up… I really appreciate it, thank you ever so much. You mean the world to me.”

He added that the area and customers were “very unique”, and said: “The people in Aldridge that have always supported me and have been an amazing group of people and it’s a beautiful village and I’ve worked in lots of stores and it’s very unique and thank you for everything you’ve done and are doing for me.”

A GoFundMe page set up for Mr Egan, by local customers of the Aldridge shop, has raised over £12,000 so far. The fundraiser said: “Now, Sean is facing one of the toughest challenges of his life.

“After decades of loyal service, he is taking his case to an employment tribunal to challenge what he believes is an unfair and disproportionate outcome. This isn’t just about one moment, it’s about fairness, loyalty, and standing up for what’s right.”

A spokesperson for Morrisons previously said: “We are continuing to take wide-ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.

“The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons. We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.

“These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation. We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk.” The Mirror has reached out to Morrisons for comment.

Jane McNiven, from Alexandria near Loch Lomond, was lying in bed when she noticed something didn’t feel quite right when she lay on her side.

A grandmother has told how checking her breasts in front of a mirror at home saved her life after it led to her discovering she had cancer. Just over a year ago, Jane McNiven, 63, was lying in bed when she noticed something didn’t feel quite right when she lay on her side.

The GP practice manager, from Alexandria near Loch Lomond, says it felt like a small lump – but when she stood up it disappeared. Trusting her instincts, she decided to check her breasts properly in the mirror.

Standing face on and placing her hands around her neck, she could clearly see that something looked different in her right breast. Jane believes double-checking was what saved her.

She said: “It would have been completely undetectable if I hadn’t checked in front of the mirror. I am so glad I did, because otherwise I would have just carried on as normal, completely unaware that anything was wrong.”

As reported by Glasgow Live, Jane contacted her GP and was soon referred to the Breast Clinic at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley for scans and a biopsy. “It all happened very quickly,” Jane said.

“I was told I would need surgery followed by chemotherapy. It was a huge rollercoaster of emotions, but I felt grateful that I had found the lump early and that treatment could start straight away.”

Jane felt well enough to get back to work between treatments following surgery. She continued: “I was very fortunate to feel relatively well physically, but cancer also brings a mental and emotional load. I decided to focus on looking after my health and getting on with life as much as I could.”

Jane and her family are passionate dog lovers and, just before her diagnosis, she had taken on two new puppies bringing her total to four Scottish Highland Terriers (Scotties): Edward, Ebony, Tromie and Dugald.

She added: “My family and the dogs kept me going. I walked them every day, which really helped keep my fitness levels up. I then decided to start walking to raise money for cancer charities.”

Jane’s granddaughters, Daphne, 11, and Evie, 9, also wanted to help. They organised a fundraiser at their school through the charity event Scotties in the City, raising money for Maggie’s, the cancer support charity. Earlier this year, the girls also attended Crufts, where they were awarded the Young Person’s Award in recognition of their fundraising efforts.

Jane added: “Going to Crufts is really special for our family, and seeing the girls recognised for their fundraising was one of my proudest moments. It’s something I might never have experienced if I hadn’t checked my breasts, been diagnosed early and received treatment.”

Now recovering and looking to the future, Jane is determined to share her message with others. “I urge everyone to check their breasts regularly,” she said. “Look, feel, and know what’s normal for you.

“Even if you attend regular screening or have recently been given an all-clear, changes can still happen in between. Checking my breasts, especially looking in the mirror, saved my life. Please make it something you do for yourself.”

Rosemary Stevens, consultant clinical oncologist at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Jane’s story is a reminder of why being breast aware is so important. Breast screening can save lives, but it is also vital that people also know how their breasts normally look and feel and check for changes in between screening appointments. Also, this is important for women who may not yet have reached the routine screening age of 50.

“Checking your breasts doesn’t need to take long and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. NHS Inform advises looking at your breasts in the mirror with your arms by your sides and then raised, and feeling all areas of the breast, up to the collarbone and into the armpit, using both light and firmer pressure.

“What matters most is getting to know what’s normal for you. If you notice any change, whether it’s a lump, a change in shape, skin texture, nipple position or discharge, please contact your GP practice without delay. Finding cancer early often means treatment is more straightforward and outcomes are better.”

Changes in breasts to be aware of are:

• A lump or bump, or an area of thickened tissue on one or both breasts
• A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
• A lump or swelling in either armpit
• Skin on either breast that looks like orange peel
• Crusting on or around either nipple
• A leaking nipple, that may or may not include blood
• Dimples on your breast, or skin that’s become drawn in
• A nipple that’s become turned in