PIP recipients must notify the DWP before travelling abroad for more than four weeks or risk having their payments paused or stopped

The Department for Work and Pensions has issued guidance for claimants who are planning to travel this summer. July and August represent the peak travel period for Britons, with many jetting off to popular destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece for a sunny getaway. However, for those in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), there are specific rules that must be adhered to when leaving the UK.

Those claiming PIP are required to declare any changes to their personal circumstances. Alongside changes of address or carer needs, this encompasses which country they are residing in, particularly if that extends beyond four weeks. Should they neglect to notify the DWP of their travel arrangements, they risk having their benefit entitlement paused or stopped altogether, the department cautions. If you are departing the country for longer than four weeks, even for a holiday, you must inform the DWP.

You are required to notify the department of the date you are leaving the UK and the date of your return. Failing to do so could have a direct impact on your PIP entitlement.

The GOV.UK website states that you must contact the PIP enquiry line “straight away” if you plan to go abroad for more than four weeks. If you are considering travelling abroad this year, or are currently booking a holiday lasting longer than four weeks, contact the DWP with the relevant details at the earliest opportunity. You can do this by contacting the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433. The service operates from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The benefit rose on April 6 by 3.8 percent in line with inflation, meaning those with certain disabilities or illnesses, including musculoskeletal conditions, are now receiving increased amounts, reports the Express.

PIP is typically paid every four weeks. There are two separate types of payments, both of which have higher and lower rates depending on an individual’s circumstances.

The daily living component is either £76.70 or £114.60, while the mobility element of the payment is either £30.30 or £80. Overall, monthly payments can reach as high as £748 following changes in April of this year.

Award durations vary, but the DWP has revealed the conditions where claimants tend to receive the longest awards. The complete list of the 12 conditions with the highest proportion of long-term awards, as identified by the DWP, is as follows:

• Visual disease — 68 per cent long-term awards (40,809 of 60,360 claimants)
• Neurological disease — 55 per cent (273,628 of 494,817)
• Hearing disorders — 54 per cent
• General musculoskeletal disease — 54 per cent
• Respiratory disease — 51 per cent
• Regional musculoskeletal conditions — 47 per cent
• Skin disease — 45 per cent
• Endocrine disease — 44 per cent
• Cardiovascular disease — 42 per cent
• Psychiatric disorders — 41 per cent (largest claimant group overall, with 1,523,811 recipients)
• Gastrointestinal disease — 34 per cent
• Malignant disease — 25 per cent (32,044 of 127,423 claimants)

Richmond Market Place will be transformed on Sunday (May 31) by the Little Bird Artisan Market, which will run from 10am to 3pm and feature a curated selection of independent traders from across Yorkshire.

Handmade goods will be on offer for visitors to browse and buy, including arts and crafts, ceramics, candles, photography, clothing, and artisanal food and drink.

Richmond is preparing to welcome visitors as the Little Bird Artisan Market returns to the town’s historic Market Place (Image: Supplied)

Jackie Crozier, managing director of Little Bird Made, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be back in the heart of Richmond this weekend.

“With the sun forecast to shine, it’s the perfect opportunity for families to get outdoors, enjoy the historic surroundings, and support small businesses.

“Whether you’re looking for a unique piece of local art, a handmade treat, or just a great atmosphere before the routine of the school run starts again, there is something here for everyone.”

Richmond is preparing to welcome visitors as the Little Bird Artisan Market returns to the town’s historic Market Place (Image: Supplied)

The market is designed to offer visitors a full day out, with organisers encouraging people to explore Richmond’s high street, its independent shops, and the wider town.

A day trip could also include visits to local landmarks such as Richmond Castle, Easby Abbey, or the scenic Richmond Falls.

The event is free to attend, dog-friendly, and accessible, making it suitable for all ages.

Carly Frame, owner of Wild Spore, said: “Little Bird Markets have been a fantastic platform for us to launch our small business from.

Richmond is preparing to welcome visitors as the Little Bird Artisan Market returns to the town’s historic Market Place (Image: Supplied)

“Their professional yet friendly approach has enabled me to build a strong customer base in various locations across North Yorkshire and allowed our business to grow.

“We are excited to be trading in Richmond on Sunday, and can’t wait to talk to visitors about all things mushrooms.”

Anyone interested in trading at future Little Bird Artisan Markets can find more information or apply for a stall by emailing info@littlebirdmade.co.uk or visiting www.littlebirdmade.com.

Updates and event details are also shared on social media by following @LittleBirdMade on Instagram or Facebook.

Wendy Iles has been found safe and well – but her poor dog Beau is still missing, with Valencia locals urged to be on the lookout for the elderly woman’s beloved springer spaniel

Missing Wiltshire woman Wendy Iles has been found, her daughter Louise has confirmed, after a frantic search turned up both her 68-year-old mum and her campervan, which is understood to had suffered a tyre blowout.

Still missing, however, is Beau, Wendy’s beloved springer spaniel. Louise confirmed the family is “still looking for my mum’s dog” in Spain.

Concerned relatives alerted police – both Interpol and back home in the UK – after Wendy vanished, and was last heard from at around 9pm on Sunday while in the Alfafar area, near Valencia. Louise said when she last spoke to her mum she was confused and the campervan she had been driving had been stolen.

The Wiltshire mum had been travelling from a residential area called Cumbre del Sol in and was en route to Caen in France to get the ferry back to the UK. Concerns were raised when Wendy never made her ferry connection.

Her daughter Louise raised the alarm with both European and UK authorities amid fears Wendy’s campervan and passports had been stolen after she failed to meet important travel connections and her phone was switched off.

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She failed to make the crossing on May 23.

Responding to questions on an expat forum about why she believed the vehicle had been stolen, Louise explained: “I am going with my last conversation with her where she was without the vehicle and had reported it stolen.”

She also expressed frustration at the difficulties involved in tracing her mother’s movements.

“British police will not track her bank transactions until she’s classed as high risk, and Spanish police will not search until 48 hours have passed,” she said.

Louise added that Wendy appeared confused during their last contact and had failed to arrive at a hotel she had recommended while they tried to resolve issues surrounding the camper van.

Officers attended Ogmore-by-Sea on Monday to move cars which had blocked the road as visitors battled for parking

Police were forced to move a number of cars which had parked illegally near a popular Welsh beach on Bank Holiday Monday. Officers attended Ogmore-by-Sea beach on the afternoon of May 25 to unblock the road.

The beachside car park was completely full on another scorching day in Wales, leading many sunseekers to leave their vehicles along the B4524 in a desperate bid to not abandon their beach plans. The police said the road was blocked due to “the number of cars”.

Some cars were cleared from the area while others were left with cautionary police tap in a bid to clamp down on unofficial parking measures.

A spokesperson from South Wales Police said: “South Wales Police was called to Ogmore-by-Sea car park at 2:30pm on Monday May 25 due to a road being blocked due to the number of cars.

“Officers assisted in getting the road clear before leaving the scene.”

One local wrote on social media: “The main river road from just before Portobello corner to the top cattle grid is a “Clearway” for safety reasons not to spoil people’s fun.. people need to start realising this ..”

Another person said she’d never seen the parking so bad. She wrote: “In all the years I’ve been going there or just driving past I have never seen it so busy even some of the big stone boulders had been moved to park on the grass.”

However, one visitor was less sympathetic to the police approach. They added: “It’s one day of sun and fun for families. Let’s ruin it for them. What’s wrong with people!? If you live by the sea guess what people will flock in hot weather.”

Monday broke the record for the hottest May day ever recorded with a new Welsh temperature record being set at 32.2°C in the afternoon at Hawarden Airport.

Beaches across south Wales were swarmed full of visitors and locals hoping to enjoy some of the baking temperatures during the bank holiday heatwave. Several business owners in Barry said the seafront destination was the busiest they’d ever seen it as they called for the police to increase their presence of particularly busy days.

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On Monday, May 25, emergency services were called to Gloucester Avenue in Whitefield.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a seven-month-old girl was taken to hospital after falling ‘from a window’.

The injuries are “not believed to be life-threatening”.

Following this, a woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect.

GMP has not released any further information about the woman or her relationship to the child.

North West Air Ambulance Charity confirmed they were in attendance and that the incident took place on a private property.

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has confirmed that Wales will not introduce a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools

Wales will not introduce a ban on mobile phones in schools, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has confirmed. After Australia introduced a social media ban for under 16s in January 2026, the UK government is weighing up several options to safeguard children and young people from the dangers of social media.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that fresh measures for under-16s in England will be implemented before the end of 2026. However, Wales’ First Minister Rhun ap Iorweth has said his newly-formed Welsh Government will not introduce a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools.

Speaking at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Anglesey on Tuesday, May 26, Mr ap Iorwerth told BBC Wales that he would “facilitate schools to take the decisions that they feel are right to protect children and young people”.

He continued: “I don’t think of it in terms of a ban, I think about it as action on a number of different fronts.

“We will empower schools and school leaders to make decisions that they feel is right for pupils – many schools and school leaders have already taken those measures”.

However, he added that action “needs to be taken” regarding under-16s’ use of social media. The First Minister said: “The evidence is getting stronger and stronger.

“When you have evidence suggesting to you that the use of social media by children and young people can be as harmful as smoking tobacco, you take that very, very seriously.

“I am clear that action needs to be taken. It’s important though that it’s evidence based.”

The First Minister’s comments came as a UK government consultation on the impact of social media on children under the age of 16 draws to a close.

Meanwhile, the Conservative party say that Plaid Cymru need to commit to stronger action to protect under-16s in Wales.

Welsh Conservative shadow minister for education, families and constitution, Sam Rowlands MS, said: “Experts continue to warn about the harms of social media for children, with some comparing its impact to smoking.

“While the UK Government is acting on the damages that social media causes, the First Minister in Wales is dithering on restricting social media for under 16’s and has ruled out a Wales-wide ban on mobile phones in schools.

“The Welsh Conservatives say Plaid Cymru must go further and commit to stronger action to protect under-16s in Wales.”

Sturgeon’s ‘no comment’ response has been described as “standard advice offered on a regular basis in our jurisdiction”.

Nicola Sturgeon has defended her reported decision to give “no comment” answers to the police during her arrest.

In a statement issued by solicitor Aamer Anwar on behalf of the former Scottish first minister, he said the answer was standard legal advice. He rejected claims that the move hindered the investigation into SNP finances.

He said her position was “no different” to that set out on Monday around the criminal conduct of her estranged husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who admitted on Monday to embezzling more than £400,000.

“In relation to the advice tendered to Ms Sturgeon to make no comment, this was by her solicitor, formerly a very senior crown counsel at Crown Office,” the lawyer said.

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He said Ms Sturgeon said a “no comment” response was “standard advice offered on a regular basis in our jurisdiction” and that it was “deeply worrying” that Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay described her “right to silence” as a “tactic of organised crime”.

Mr Anwar said Ms Sturgeon later insisted on providing a “detailed written response” to Police Scotland questions.

“The idea that a highly resourced inquiry was hampered by a no comment interview is nonsensical,” he said. “Had there been any evidence whatsoever of criminality against Ms Sturgeon, there can be no doubt that this gold-plated investigation would have led to Ms Sturgeon being charged and prosecuted.

“To make it abundantly clear it was not the role of the First Minister to sign off accounts that was for the party treasurer.

“There appears to be an assumption that as FM, when Mr Murrell was busy buying multiple pens or pepper pots etc she was with him, Ms Sturgeon was not as unsurprisingly she was busy with other matters.”

Murrell, 61, was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, May 25. It is anticipated that he will receive a substantial prison sentence after he faced charges of embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds from the SNP between August 2010 and January 2023.

He admitted using the party’s money to buy items including a motorhome and luxury goods, and towards the purchase of two cars.

The indictment included allegations that in 2020 Murrell used party funds to buy a £124,550 motorhome for his own personal use, and that he falsified accounting records in an effort to cover up his wrongdoing.

Sturgeon has denied all knowledge of the 10-year spending spree undertaken by her estranged husband.

Earlier, Sturgeon said she was “utterly appalled” that her former husband had used the party’s money for personal purposes. She accepted there would be a “political discussion in the light of what has happened” but the former First Minister said that for her this “has also been a profound personal trauma”.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is already ordering landers, rovers and drones for a sprawling moon base, less than two months after the Artemis II’s record-breaking lunar flyaround.

The space agency outlined the first phase of its moon base plans on Tuesday, awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four U.S. companies.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will provide a pair of landers to deliver moon buggies to the lunar surface, at a spot near the moon’s south pole. These so-called lunar terrain vehicles will be built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost. Firefly Aerospace, which landed successfully on the moon last year, will deliver the first drones to the moon.

All this hardware is ideally supposed to arrive before the first Artemis astronauts land on the moon, planned for as early as 2028.

During April’s Artemis II mission, four astronauts flew around the moon, traveling deeper into space than the Apollo moon crews did during the late 1960s and early 1970s. For next year’s Artemis III, another team of astronauts will practice docking NASA’s Orion capsule in orbit around Earth with the lunar landers being developed for crews by Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

NASA is targeting Artemis III for mid-2027, with a landing by two astronauts following as soon as 2028. The moon base’s second phase, from 2029 into the early 2030s, will start building up the permanent infrastructure, including a power grid. As for when the base will be ready to support astronauts for extended periods in specialized permanent habitats, that’s expected sometime in the 2030s, during the third phase.

“Then we’ll be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re permanently here and we’re not giving it up,’” said NASA’s moon base program executive Carlos Garcia-Galan.

Garcia-Galan envisions a moon base sprawling over hundreds of square miles, with a perimeter marked by drones, dubbed MoonFall, stationed at the corners.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said these territory markers are meant to be respectful of other countries’ spacecraft and equipment that might be nearby. He expects reciprocity in the matter.

The goal of the moon base is to encourage a lunar economy while conducting scientific research and laying the foundation for a Mars expedition, Isaacman stressed.

“For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down,” Isaacman said. “We are really just getting started.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A doctor in his 50s was brutally stabbed by a patients suspected of having mental health issues – police were quick to arrest the patient who smiled as he was taken away

A doctor has been brutally attacked while treating a patient at a hospital A&E unit.

The doctor in his 50s survived being stabbed with a huge knife in the early hours of Tuesday, May 26. Met Police officers were already at Hillingdon Hospital in West London dealing with a separate incident when they were notified about the shocking attack.

Police dragged the 27-year-old attacker away and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

A witness in the unit said he saw the suspect attacking the doctor on the floor in a corridor with. He said the suspect used a “big knife” to carry out the attack.

“He was smirking while he was stabbing him,” the witness said.

“The police were there in less than a minute when they got him and walked him past me, the bloke smiled at me.”

The attacker is suspected to have mental health issues.

The doctor underwent treatment for his wounds at the hospital.

Police said the his condition “has been deemed not to be life-threatening or life-changing.”

The Met Police asked anyone with information to call 101 quoting CAD 926/25May.

A Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We continue to support and reassure our staff following this incident.”

“The safety and well-being of our staff is our highest priority and any form of violence or aggression towards our teams is unacceptable.”

Violence against A&E nursing staff in England has doubled in the five years up to 2024 with 4,054 acts of violence recorded against staff. This equates to just over 11 incidents per day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After 15 years at a convention center in suburban Maryland, the Scripps National Spelling Bee moved this year to a grand stage befitting the stakes of the competition: Constitution Hall, Washington’s largest dedicated concert venue.

Not everyone at this week’s competition appreciates the change.

“I feel like they should not have moved it. The old venue was better. Because it’s a bit of a hassle, getting on the bus and going there and then coming back,” said 14-year-old Yahya Mohammed, a three-time speller from Hoffman Estates, Illinois. “The old venue was more spacious, and it feels kind of isolated in the hotel.”

As the National Spelling Bee began with Tuesday’s preliminary rounds, spellers and their families marveled at the historical significance of their new venue and the nearby cultural opportunities while also dealing with logistical hurdles: crowded hallways, limited dining options and shuttle bus rides to and from their hotel.

Built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Constitution Hall sits a few blocks from the Washington Monument and the White House. Spellers and their families are staying at the nearby J.W. Marriott, a favored haunt of lobbyists and interest groups, and the quickest route to the competition venue would normally be a stroll across the Ellipse, the grassy expanse south of the Executive Mansion.

However, the Ellipse is surrounded by temporary fencing and security checkpoints as crews construct an outdoor octagon on the South Lawn of the White House for UFC Freedom 250, a June 14 event timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

“Two very disparate forms of entertainment,” said Rajeev Malhotra of Boston, the father of speller Rajeev Malhotra, describing the bee and the mixed martial arts extravaganza.

Venue change brings heavy security but plenty of history and culture

Security was beefed up at the hall, with guards and metal detectors stationed at every entrance and explosive-sniffing dogs patrolling the hallways. Three blocks away and three days earlier, a man opened fire at a White House security checkpoint, injuring a bystander before he was fatally shot by Secret Service officers.

At the prior venue, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, spellers moved freely throughout the building, roaming between their hotel rooms, the ballroom that housed the competition stage and a massive food court where they grabbed quick meals between last-minute study sessions.

“Last year was better,” said Arpit Aggarwal of Columbia, Missouri, whose daughter, Ananya, is competing for the second time. “Everything was in one place.”

“It’s an adjustment,” Ananya’s mom, Deepti Bahl, said diplomatically.

Other spellers appreciated the buzz of gathering downtown, saying it was more appropriate for a national competition. The bee began in 1925 and was held at a series of Washington hotels before it moved to the suburbs in 2011.

“I just love being here, right next to the National Mall. You can see the Smithsonian, you can see the Jefferson Memorial. It’s such a lively and unique city and I love being in the heart of it,” said three-time speller Oliver Halkett, a 14-year-old from Los Angeles. “There’s so much history, there’s so much culture. The memorials and the museums are fascinating to go to.”

Speller Andie Seavey of Fairbanks, Alaska, and her mom, Kristin, went to see the musical “The Great Gatsby” at the National Theater next door to the hotel.

After 80 spellers were eliminated Tuesday during onstage spelling and vocabulary rounds, the remaining 167 competitors reconvened at the hotel for a high-stakes written test that determined the 100 or so who would move on to Wednesday morning’s quarterfinals. The competition concludes Thursday night.

At the spelling bee, the bell is not necessarily the end

Last year, Faizan Zaki won the National Spelling Bee even though he misspelled a word and heard the dreaded bell rung by head judge Mary Brooks. In fact, he knew it after a few letters. He stopped spelling and told Brooks, “Just ring the bell.”

Faizan’s flub let his two remaining competitors back in, since all three misspelled during the round.

Kushi Gottimukkala of Morrisville, North Carolina, is one of a few spellers competing this year who know what that feels like.

At her regional bee, sponsored by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, it was down to Kushi and two other spellers for the final spot at nationals. She misspelled “anchialine,” and she thought it was over, only to see the other two spellers mess up.

Kushi rode the emotional roller coaster and ultimately got through.

“I was still thinking about the mistake, but I was also really grateful that I got a second chance, and so I took that into consideration and decided to focus on my next word,” she said.

Spellers have to prepare for the possibility that missing a word isn’t necessarily the end.

Oliver Halkett, too, has competed in a bee where he got a word wrong but wasn’t eliminated. He battled through the disappointment by focusing only on the word in front of him.

“It’s a peculiar situation, but I think, above all, mental clarity is so important, especially in those latter rounds,” he said. “I close my eyes and do some deep breathing and I visualize the word, and it’s just me and the word. That’s how you have to approach every single word.

“Treat every word as if it’s your first and last word.”

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Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow his work here.