Nothing pains me more than having to declare “it’s tick season” – but here we are, nonetheless.
Tick season usually runs from March to October, with a peak during the warmer, humid months from April to July.
For those who haven’t come across the biting bugs before, they are small spider-like creatures with oval-shaped bodies. They’re roughly the size of a sesame seed and can have six or eight legs (depending on whether they’re fully grown or not).
Unfortunately, ticks can spread Lyme disease, a bacterial infection which, if not caught early, can lead to serious health issues over time including joint pain, nerve damage, and memory problems.
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Lyme disease cases in England and Wales have risen steadily since reporting began in 1986. In 2021, there were 1,156 lab-confirmed cases reported, however the UK government estimates there are probably 1,000-2,000 additional cases each year.
Where are ticks typically found?
Ticks are typically found in grassy areas like gardens, parks, fields and woodland. They climb onto animals or humans as you brush past them.
So, whether you’re hiking, walking the dog, or spending time in your back yard, it’s important to be aware of them and how to get rid of them, especially if they attach themselves to you or your child.
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How to remove a tick
If you notice a tick on your child’s body, NHS Inform suggests you should remove them with a tick removal device or fine-toothed tweezers.
There is a technique to follow, however, to ensure the whole tick is removed.
The NHS advises to “gently grip the tick as close to the skin as possible” and to “pull steadily away from the skin without crushing the tick”. The bit about not squishing them is important, as if you do, it can release pathogens into the body.
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Howard Carter, Bite prevention expert and CEO of incognito insect repellent, says special tick remover tools are your best bet. “Tweezers don’t work as well – you have to be careful taking a tick out as they can break, leaving parts still inside the body,” he explained.
“Remove gently and hold it so that it is vertically above your skin. The chance of contracting Lyme Disease is far less if you successfully remove the tick without squashing its innards into your body.”
Once the tick is removed, clean the area with soap and water, and then apply an antiseptic cream to the skin around the bite.
Parents are advised not to use alcohol or petroleum jelly on a tick.
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I squished the tick by accident, now what?
NHS Inform says if the tick’s mouthparts break off in the skin and can’t be removed, “this may cause irritation but they should fall out naturally in time”.
In an Instagram post, Dr Rachael Barr, known on social media as The Kids Doctor, said: “Getting a tick bite doesn’t mean you will definitely get an infection – the majority of UK ticks do not carry infection.
“So, in the UK we don’t generally recommend antibiotics straight after a tick bite, but you do need to be on the look out for symptoms.”
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Post-tick bite symptoms to look out for
Regardless of whether the tick’s been removed successfully or not, parents are advised to monitor for symptoms over the next few weeks.
“Contact your GP if you feel unwell or notice a rash. Watch out for a bulls eye-shaped rash (but note, not everyone gets this) and flu-like symptoms – such as fatigue, fever and muscle aches,” says Carter.
Other notable symptoms include headache, joint pain or swollen lymph nodes.
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Carter adds that if a rash appears, take a photo of it so you can show it to your GP.
If left untreated, Dr Barr noted symptoms can develop into: facial palsy (one side of the face not moving properly), heart rhythm problems; neck pain and/or stiffness; and pain, weakness or numbness in the hands or feet.
If you spot any of the above symptoms after a tick bite, book in to see your GP. If they suspect you or your child might have Lyme disease, they’ll prescribe a course of antibiotics – the sooner treatment begins, the more effective it is.
How to prevent tick bites in future
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Cover arms and legs when in grassy or wooded areas.
Stick to paths and don’t brush against foliage. If you need to go in grassy areas, tuck trousers into socks.
Wear light-coloured clothing so ticks are easier to see and brush off.
Apply insect repellent.
Check children and pets after they’ve been out in grassy/wooded areas.
The Miami Grand Prix faces potential disruption from severe weather
17:34, 01 May 2026Updated 17:35, 01 May 2026
The FIA has said it is “closely monitoring” the Miami Grand Prix amid speculation that it could be rescheduled owing to thunderstorms. While conditions are expected to remain dry for much of the weekend, the latest forecasts for Sunday indicate heavy thunderstorms sweeping through the race area.
The GP is due to get underway at 4pm local time (9pm BST), though this could be brought forward because of a lightning risk. An FIA spokesperson said: “We are closely monitoring the weather forecast for this weekend.
“Having faced a similar situation last year in Miami with threats of thunderstorms, we have a contingency plan in place and will activate it if needed to minimise disruption to the on-track programme.”
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The Miami GP is set to be the first race back on the F1 calendar following a five-week break. This is down to the cancellation of races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, amid continuing conflicts across the region.
Despite mounting concerns over the race being rescheduled or called off entirely, Express F1 reporter Daniel Moxon suggests the FIA are not as troubled as some might believe. He said: “The FIA isn’t as worried about the threat of thunderstorms tomorrow as some headlines have made out.
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“There’s been some talk online that Sunday’s race might get cancelled because of the chunk of angry tropical weather heading towards Florida. In reality, there are already contingency plans in place depending on what the forecast looks like on Sunday morning.”
“That includes potentially bringing the start time forward, like they did at the 2024 Brazil race. And if lightning does strike during the Grand Prix, bosses are confident that they can pause the race with a red flag rather than abandon it altogether.”
“As for now, it’s bright, sunny and hot in Miami currently with shelter from the sun more on people’s minds than anything else.”
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According to the latest reports, the Grand Prix is still on track to take place at the Miami International Autodrome this weekend.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of Formula 1.
Sky broadcasts every practice, qualifier and race throughout the season, as well as exclusive coverage of the Premier League, EFL, darts and golf.
A row has erupted after Zack Polanski raised concerns about the treatment of the man alleged to have stabbed two Jewish people in broad daylight in London.
Shilome Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, were left seriously injured in what police have described as a terrorist incident in Golders Green on Wednesday.
A video of the incident posted on social media shows Metropolitan Police apprehending the man suspected of carrying out the attacks.
The man has not been named but has been described as a Somali-born British national with a “history of serious violence and mental health issues”.
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It has also emerged that he was previously referred to the fovernment’s anti-extremism programme, Prevent.
Green Party leader Polanski retweeted a post on X which said: “So essentially [Met commissioner Mark Rowley’s] officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by taser.”
A Green Party source told HuffPost UK: “Zack has seen the video like everyone else, and doesn’t know the full picture and knows it was a very difficult situation for the authorities, but we do need to understand more about the response.”
Posting on X, the Met said: “The suspect refused to show his hands, was violent and continued to pose a clear threat. Using only their training, courage and tasers, they detained him while he continued to try to attack and stab them. This took true courage.”
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Watch as police officers confront a man suspected of carrying out a terrorist attack in north London where two men were stabbed.
The suspect refused to show his hands, was violent and continued to pose a clear threat. Using only their training, courage and tasers, they detained… pic.twitter.com/hQegUvqOZH
But posting on X, Home Office minister Mike Tapp said: “I’m disgusted that anyone with this view is leading any political party. The Green Party has hit a new low.”
A spokesperson for the Jewish Labour Movement said: “The Jewish community is hugely grateful to the police for apprehending a knife-wielding terrorist before he stabbed more Jews.
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“If a terrorist won’t drop the knife used to stab two Jews, then any sensible person would expect the police to use force. It’s shocking Zack Polanski and his ‘comrades’ are soft on terrorists.”
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Spark in Piccadilly will be celebrating eight years at its current site with a special celebration on Monday, 4 May, offering free cake, cocktails, and more in a full day of events.
The venue, which first opened in 2018, has grown into a hub for food, drink, retail, art, and community activity, attracting more than 430,000 visitors each year with 17 businesses currently running under its roof.
RECOMMENDED READING:
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It first opened in 2018 on a temporary basis and its stay was last extended by five years last October, meaning it will remain in Piccadilly until 2030, ahead of a planned move to York Central.
Sam Leach, co-founder of SPARK, said that it was “brilliant” to celebrate the venue’s eighth birthday.
He said: “We are lucky to have such a brilliant team, a committed and ambitious group of traders and also have the fortune of working with so many community groups that bring such vibrancy, vitality and impact to Piccadilly, to York, and beyond.”
Monday’s birthday celebrations are set to begin from 8am and take place until late, with celebrations to include 80 free cupcakes from Crumbs Cupcakery, £8 cocktails all day, a complimentary photobooth, and a charity quiz night.
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From 12pm to 9pm, eight guests each hour will receive a surprise drink token.
A special edition zine reflecting on eight years of SPARK’s journey, featuring stories from traders and the community, will also be available.
The birthday edition of Quingo, the venue’s popular quiz-bingo night, will begin at 6pm and raise funds for the Merchant Taylors’ Community Grant Fund.
For more, visit www.sparkyork.org or check their instagram page @sparkyork
Singer-songwriter Dean Friedman, has partnered with Powder Monkey Brewery to create two signature beers: Lucky Stars and Summer Days. The collaboration brings together Friedman’s enduring connection with UK audiences and Powder Monkey’s distinctive approach to British craft brewing.
Human remains found near a bridge in the Tampa Bay area on Sunday have been identified as Nahida Bristy, the second missing University of South Florida doctoral student, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Friday, according to CNN.
Bristy and her friend Zamil Limon, both 27, vanished on April 16. Limon’s body was found on April 24 on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Limon’s roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, was arrested a few days later and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon in the deaths of Limon and Bristy.
Blondie. The Ramones. Talking Heads. The Strokes. Geese. Trawl back through the history of New York bands and you’ll find a potted list of some of the coolest motherf***ers ever to grace a stage. It’s the city that birthed the CBGB club and an entire substrata of 1970s punk; the city that gave us Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement. And so, when indie-rock trio Sunflower Bean burst on to the scene in the mid-2010s in a flurry of fuzzy riffs, bleached blonde hair and precocious youth (the group’s press-igniting debut EP Show Me Your Seven Secrets was released before its members turned 20), there seemed a natural lineage for the group and their frontwoman Julia Cumming to slide into. Cumming had also recently signed a modelling contract with Yves Saint Laurent; frequently referred to as “Hedi Slimane’s muse”, to the world she seemed like Debbie Harry 2.0. But internally, Cumming was trying to reconcile a new identity that felt like an ill fit.
“We internalise ideas of ourselves that others have and become them. Musicians are particularly prone, because we’re weirdos who need applause”
Julia Cumming
“Even though it’s an area where we all get to operate outside of the norm, we as musicians and the people working in [music] create so many other boxes that you have to fit into. There’s so much leather jacket pageantry,” she considers, skewering the entire scene in three disdainful words. “We internalise the ideas of ourselves that other people have and we become them over time because that’s easier than figuring out who we really want to become. And I think musicians can be [particularly] prone to this because all we’re looking for is to be liked. For some reason, we’re weirdos who need that applause to feel like we exist or feel like we’re valid…”
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Julia Cumming
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Cumming was born into this Manhattan music scene, the daughter of Alec Cumming and Cynthia Harden — both members of 1990s indie band Bite The Wax Godhead. Now 30, she is speaking the day before her first US solo tour kicks off — during which she will soak up the applause for a very different kind of project. Julia, her eponymously titled debut solo record, prioritises luscious singer-songwriter excavations of the heart, influenced by Brian Wilson, Carly Simon, Burt Bacharach and many of history’s other boldly emotive auteurs. It’s the type of music that, for years, she feared would make her seem “boring”. “I thought, you know, what am I going to do? Be just another… f***ing lady trying to put her songs out?” she says. But things started to change during the pandemic, when Cumming watched her old routine quickly crumble. Soon, she began to question whether the relationship she’d had with the music industry since forming her first band Supercute! at 13 actually had to be that way.
“Even within indie rock, there were structures that I thought were immovable because of what you’re always told. You have six months to write a record, then you have 18 months to tour the record, then you have another six months to write the next record. But then the pandemic happens and you’re like, ‘Oh, nothing matters actually!’” she laughs. “The whole thing can f***ing dissolve in a couple of weeks and then we’re all selling livestream videos! So when the world around you starts to dissolve, your own ideas of how you’re supposed to interact with it dissolve. That was the beginning of thinking that life could be different.”
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For Cumming, the process of unpicking the last decade or more of her life was a complicated one. Sunflower Bean had received significant acclaim — four critically praised albums and a place within the modern indie canon. The trio are still together and Cumming speaks of her bandmates with affection. But growing up in an industry that puts its highest price tag on youth and beauty had taken its toll on her core sense of self. “I was very grateful for [the opportunities] because modelling allowed the music that we were making to get into some places that it wouldn’t have before, but when you become accepted through someone else’s idea of what you are, you’re never gonna feel what you would hope to,” she says.
Julia Cumming
Getty Images
Even something as seemingly simple as a dye job became entrenched in the delicate line between success and failure. “When I went blonde is when things took off [for the band], so then it became reinforced as, ‘OK I have to be blonde for the rest of my life in order to have a job’,” she says, her hair now returned to its natural rich brown. “And it’s an extremely expensive process, so every month you have to figure out how you’re even going to afford to sit for eight hours with bleach on your head just to become a version of yourself that you think someone will like.”
Early in her career, before she had even formed Sunflower Bean, Cumming remembers playing some early solo demos to a “trusted friend”. More than 10 years later, their reaction is documented in the lyrics to Julia’s lead single My Life: a heady, buoyant track about reclaiming your own narrative, accompanied by a breezy video directed by her partner, Edgar Wright. It’s a fitting opening to her solo career, as it documents the moment that meant it almost never happened.
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“That friend said that [my music] was weird, that it was too confessional and I took that as truth. I wanted to be in a band so much and because I got some of this feedback at a pivotal moment I felt like, ‘Well, if I get myself in a band, all these horrible parts about myself will be tempered. They’ll be fixed by other people around me who are better. And when I’m fixed, I’ll be accepted and I’ll be OK’,” she says. “I really internalised this thought that, left to my own devices, I was not capable of being good at music, at being myself, at anything.”
Listening to Julia now, it’s ironic that the deeply felt, confessional nature of these songs is their greatest quality. Cumming digs into scenes from an adolescence on the margins to an adulthood spent wrangling with insecurity. Across the record, there is a sense of curiosity but also defiance and of writing something completely true.
Album closer Forget the Rest is “maybe the most disgusting song I’ve ever written — it’s dirty underwear and UTIs and gross behaviour,” but My Life is probably the most clear-headed: “I sing these words for me / I sing them loud / ‘Cause I’m still free / ‘Cause I’m allowed.” Cumming is in a good place. “I like growing up. I really like getting older. It’s nice to get smarter. It’s nice to get stronger. It’s nice to be less afraid, especially when you didn’t know you were so afraid,” she says.
Her musical education in the DIY-spirited indie-rock trenches has given her the sort of “put up or shut up” mentality that’s necessary as an artist in 2026. It’s hard out there but, in her own words, “figure it out or don’t. Make something happen or don’t. You just have to figure it out to the best of your ability. [Although] it says a lot about privilege and financial privilege in this field, because you see the people that can weather it and wonder where that funding is coming from.
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“But I think you also just have to be very creative, and do your best. Something like 100,000 songs get uploaded to DSPs [like Spotify] every day, and probably 70 per cent of them are now AI. The only good that comes from that is that it pushes people who are actually making the work to ask themselves deeper questions about what they want to do and what they want to say.”
With her solo debut, however, there’s no doubt that Cumming knows exactly what she wants to do and how she wants to say it. It’s a hard-earned middle finger up to the ideas that are no longer serving her and a gorgeous step into a brave new dawn. “If I got hit by a car tomorrow, I would know at least I tried everything [with this record],” she says. “I sat there for days and went into the depths of my heart to find some great stuff and some really ugly, scary stuff. And I think in a lot of ways, with all the time it’s taken… that’s just how it had to go.”
Julia Cumming’s playlist
This lush opening album track is a glorious ode to self-realisation.
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A Carly Simon-esque kiss-off to a stumbled-across former lover.
People in the UK are now spending fewer years in good health than they did a decade ago, according to a new analysis by the Health Foundation. The UK now sits near the bottom of a 21-country comparison, ahead only of the US.
A drop in healthy life expectancy is explained through many causes: obesity, alcohol, drugs, suicide, chronic disease, poverty and widening inequality. But one of the most powerful causes sits atop them all: housing. Where and how people live is one of the main factors explaining how health risks are created and distributed across society.
The UK Housing Review is an annual independent review of housing policy and evidence, written by housing experts and published by the Chartered Institute of Housing. Its latest edition, which we contributed to, identifies several interrelated ways that housing affects health.
A key one is affordability – housing costs shape where people can live, whether they can heat their homes, whether they can afford food and transport, whether they can move for work, whether they can leave unsafe or unsuitable housing and whether they live with chronic financial stress.
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In the UK, housing costs are high by historical standards and poor housing remains widespread. The review notes that private rents are now at their highest recorded share of earnings, while millions of homes in England still contain serious health and safety hazards.
When housing is unaffordable, people are forced to make tradeoffs. For example, trading affordability for damp or overcrowded homes. They cut back on heating, food, medication, transport and social participation. They move further from public services, work and support networks. Affordability problems also force many people into cheaper, less secure, tenancies.
The Building Research Establishment, an independent research organisation, has estimated that poor housing costs the NHS in England £1.4 billion each year. More than half of this is attributed to cold homes, which increase the risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems and poor mental health. They are especially dangerous for older people, babies and people with existing health conditions.
But the wider costs are even greater. Poor sleep, stress, disrupted schooling, insecure work, social isolation and caring strain all affect mental and physical health. They increase pressure on families and, over time, on health, education and social care systems.
Cold homes can cause serious and widespread health problems. Jelena Stanojkovic
Historically in the UK, social housing has provided some protection to people unable to access good quality affordable housing in the open market. But the stock of social rented housing in the UK has declined. This means that people are increasingly dependent on (often expensive) market rental, where the quality, size and location of housing depend much more directly on income.
The rise of the private rented sector this century has meant that more households are exposed, not just to higher housing costs, but also to shorter tenancies and fewer protections than social housing traditionally provided.
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The Renters’ Rights Act increases security, but does not remove “no fault” evictions altogether and does little to protect tenants from economic pressures that can result in eviction. The cognitive burden of worrying about eviction, arrears, repairs or the next rent increase is a direct health risk.
Recent evidence also suggests that insecure housing can result in measurably faster biological ageing, equivalent to the effects of more traditional health concerns like smoking.
Additional weeks of biological ageing per year from different factors
Amy Clair
The number of people living in temporary accommodation has risen dramatically, reaching over 130,000 households at the beginning of 2025. This is a 156% increase compared with 2010, largely driven by the poor affordability and insecurity of the private rented sector and lack of social housing. Temporary accommodation is inadequate housing, particularly for children. Living in temporary accommodation was a contributing factor in the deaths of at least 104 children in England between 2019 and 2025, 76 of whom were under one year of age.
This is not about housing quality alone. Temporary accommodation reflects multiple risks brought together: poverty, overcrowding, poor conditions, instability, lack of space for safe infant sleep, poor access to services and wider racial and social inequality. The National Child Mortality Database identifies temporary accommodation as a contributing factor to vulnerability, ill health or death, not necessarily as the sole cause. Emerging evidence also links temporary accommodation with stillbirth and neonatal death.
ONS data shows a very large difference in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas. In 2022-24, healthy life expectancy in the most deprived areas of England was just 49.8 years for men and 48.2 years for women, compared with 69.2 and 68.5 years in the least deprived areas.
Housing contributes to this difference, determining whether people live in homes that support recovery or deepen stress, whether children grow up in stable and safe environments, and whether older people can remain warm and independent.
If the government is serious about its stated aim to “halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions”, housing policy must become health policy.
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That means investing in social housing, enforcing decent standards in the private rented sector, making homes warmer, safer and more accessible, and recognising temporary accommodation, overcrowding and insecurity as public health failures, not just housing management problems.
It also means changing the way that success is measured. Housing policy is too often judged by supply numbers, prices or tenure outcomes. These matter, but they are incomplete. A healthy housing system should also be judged by whether people can live in homes that are affordable, secure, decent, suitable and resilient to climate change.
The decline in healthy life expectancy is a warning light. It tells us that the UK is not only failing to keep people well for longer, it is failing to provide the foundations of health.
Handheld versions of the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum are being released later this year, loaded with 25 classic games in each.
Handheld systems are all the rage at the moment, between Valve’s Steam Deck, the ROG Xbox Ally, and the more specialist Analogue Pocket, but now systems from over 40 years ago are getting in on the action.
Retro Games, a company known for miniature and full-sized recreations of systems like the Commodore 64 and Atari 400, as well as the recently unveiled white ZX Spectrum, has joined forces with Evercade developer Blaze Entertainment for two brand new handhelds.
The C64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld are set to launch in October, priced at £109.99 each. You can also grab a collector’s edition for £129.99 from Funstock, which includes a hard shell carry case and a specially designed Crash or Zzap!64 magazine from the era, but these are limited to 2,000 units.
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Each handheld sports a 4.3 inch IPS screen with 800×480 resolution, and comes complete with a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB port for keyboard or joystick support. At 13.6cm wide it’s bigger than a Game Boy Advance SP but a little smaller than a Nintendo DS.
The two systems emulate their classic console counterparts via their buttons as well, with the C64 rocking plastic fuction keys while the Spectrum sports the trademark rubber.
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Like other devices from Retro Games, each system comes with 25 games built in. The C64 has the likes of Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe and Nebulus, while the Spectrum has Manic Miner, Head Over Heels, and Skool Daze. You can find a full list of all the games below.
Speaking about the systems, Blaze Entertainment CEO Andrew Byatt said: ‘The C64 and the Spectrum are two of the most iconic names in gaming history, with generations of players who hold them close to their hearts.
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‘Bringing these experiences into a brand-new handheld form feels like a natural next step, and we’re proud to bring these to both longtime fans and a new audience discovering them for the first time. We are delighted to be working with Retro Games Ltd to make this happen.’
While be conducting an interview with Retro Game shortly, about the white Spectrum and their work in general, so we’ll be sure to bring these up then.
To mark the milestone, new schools have the chance to benefit from special early bird pricing until June 30.
The offer, available from May 1 until June 30, gives new schools the opportunity to secure reduced costs while allocating the expense with the current academic year’s budget.
Alison Cotton, Head of English at Croydon High, who has been involved with the scheme for a number of years, said: “The Young Reporter programme has become a key component of our extra-curricular offer for KS4 & 5 and we have been delighted to celebrate numerous award winners over the years.
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“Our pupils have found it both exciting and challenging; an illuminating insight into a career in news journalism.
“Generating ideas, managing their time and producing work of a publishable quality, to monthly deadlines, is no mean feat!
“However, the balance of independence/support enables participants to flourish as writers on this dynamic work experience programme.”
Over the years, the programme has grown significantly, with tens of thousands of students taking part in what schools describe as a unique and engaging opportunity.
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The scheme gives students first-hand experience of working in the media industry, with participants writing monthly articles that are published across Newsquest’s wide network of national online newspapers.
Each student will have their work published over an eight-month period, helping them to develop key skills such as meeting deadlines and producing content to a professional standard.
This helps them prepare for university and life beyond school.
If this sounds like it might be of interest to your school or someone you know, spread the word or visit the website youngreporter.co.uk and fill in an information request form.
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The scheme is open to all students in Years 10 to 13, regardless of academic ability or future career plans, and continues to be a popular extra-curricular activity for schools across the country.
Organisers say the programme is beneficial even for those not considering a career in journalism, as it encourages students to broaden their horizons, step outside their comfort zones and improve their writing abilities.
Victoria Whitwam from Hampton School said: “We are great fans of the scheme at Hampton School.
“It is well organised whilst also being realistic and understanding the pressures pupils and staff are under.
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“Best of all, it fosters independent thinking and organisational skills in the pupils that take part.”
Three Scarborough properties owned by North Yorkshire Council will be turned into temporary accommodation for homeless households.
NYC said the properties identified for refurbishment were in a poor state of repair which resulted in them remaining empty.
They are located within Scarborough, allowing easy access to services, the authority added.
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Eight flats are set to be created from the three properties, according to documents published by the council.
A spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the authority anticipates that the refurbishment required to bring the properties back into residential use, including any necessary planning permissions, will be completed by the end of 2027.
“Using council-owned homes for homeless households is one of our strategies to provide appropriate accommodation and reduce the use of B&B and hotels, which is more cost-effective and delivers better outcomes for families and individuals,” the spokesperson added.
In recent years, Scarborough has faced some of the highest levels of homelessness in North Yorkshire.
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NYC was one of the first authorities in England to introduce a 100 per cent tax on second homes.
The scheme has raised about £10 million so far, according to North Yorkshire Council, all of which has been ring-fenced for housing projects.
The authority’s homelessness strategy for 2025-30 states that while North Yorkshire is among the least deprived local authority areas in England, there are “pockets of deprivation, particularly in Scarborough”.
“Approaches are consistently highest in Scarborough and Harrogate. We are seeing more single homeless people and more people declaring support needs and multiple disadvantages, including mental health, substance use, domestic abuse, and contact with the criminal justice system,” the report states.
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The number of households in temporary accommodation is also increasing, with the council reporting particularly strong demand in Scarborough and Harrogate.
NYC’s gross spend on emergency accommodation has grown rapidly in recent years, from just over £500,000 in 2019/20 to over £2.1 million in 2022/23 – an increase of 400 per cent. Particular pressures are within the Scarborough area, with more people staying longer in emergency accommodation, according to the report.
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