Connect with us

NewsBeat

Livestock bacterial disease spreading among humans in Europe

Published

on

Livestock bacterial disease spreading among humans in Europe

In Barcelona, researchers found further evidence that the bacterium was spreading between people.

Nine cases identified between December 2025 and March 2026 were caused by strains that differed by just zero to four genetic mutations, suggesting the infections were part of a recent transmission chain rather than separate cases acquired from animals.

The bacterium can survive in crusted areas on the skin for up to 42 months, according to Dr McHale, raising questions about the role of contaminated surfaces, equipment and shared spaces.

Advertisement

People should not be alarmed by the infection, which is treatable with a course of antibiotics, he added. 

This could make hygiene particularly important in places such as saunas, where people may have prolonged skin contact with others and with shared surfaces.

Saunas have historically been a destination for gay and bisexual men seeking social and sexual contact.

Dating apps such as Grindr have since made casual encounters in these environments far easier to arrange, experts say. 

Advertisement

“What we’re seeing is the kind of in-person venues like saunas being combined with apps,” said Rusi Jaspal, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Brighton and expert on wellbeing among gay men. 

“Someone might, for example, be in a sauna but also have their app on, and that might be a way of getting people to come to the sauna. So they’re not only attracting people who are already in the sauna, but who might be outside of that environment and coming in.”

Progress and complacency

Professor Jaspal believes the success of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), which protects against HIV, has also played a role. 

“I think that is a really big contributor,” he said. “On the one hand, obviously it’s fantastic that PrEP is there. It prevents HIV; it’s extremely effective against HIV. But it’s not effective against other infections.”

Advertisement

He argued that because PrEP has removed the fear of HIV that shaped gay men’s sexual behaviour for decades, some men are now having condomless sex with more partners, in the belief that other infections are treatable in a way HIV once was not.

“Because they think, well, everything else is treatable – gonorrhoea, syphilis, it’s all treatable – they’re going to just not use condoms,” he said. “That is not only creating more of a risk of infection, but I think people are having more partners as well.”

Sexual contact is not the only route by which the bacterium appears to be spreading.

In Norway, ten cases have been linked to martial arts, with some infections occurring during training in Norway and others during trips to Thailand. 

Advertisement

One case report described a 34-year-old Muay Thai fighter who developed recurrent pustular lesions after returning from a training trip, later confirmed as D. congolensis through whole-genome sequencing.

Dr McHale said the bacterium tends to take hold where the skin has already been compromised in some way.

“Predisposing factors for infection include cutaneous microtrauma, for example, from ultraviolet radiation, tick exposure and insect bites, and maceration of the skin,” he said.

Dermatophilus congolensis is notoriously difficult to grow in culture, meaning infections can easily go undiagnosed or be mistaken for more common skin conditions.

Advertisement

Researchers in Barcelona have warned that cases could be going unrecognised because sexual health clinics do not routinely test for the bacterium.

But Professor Jaspal believes the legacy of the HIV/Aids epidemic explains why this cluster was identified so quickly.

He said the crisis of the 1980s, when confusion and stigma allowed the virus to spread largely undetected, forced public health bodies to build far stronger surveillance and communication systems for outbreaks among gay and bisexual men. 

That same infrastructure, he argued, has since been used to manage subsequent threats such as mpox – and now this obscure bacterium – far more effectively.

Advertisement

“I think we are quite rightly identifying cases early on, so that we can then communicate that risk to people and encourage precautions to protect themselves,” Professor Jaspal said. “That is really, really important.”

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

NewsBeat

Michael McIntyre and Helen Mirren join trading floor for 9/11 charity day

Published

on

Michael McIntyre and Helen Mirren join trading floor for 9/11 charity day

Michael McIntyre on the phone, during the BGC annual charity day at their offices in Canary Wharf, London, held each year in commemoration of BGC’s 658 colleagues and the 61 Eurobrokers employees lost on 9/11. On Charity Day, 100% of BGC Group’s global revenues are donated to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund and other charities around the world. (Yui Mok/PA)

PA Wire

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Kynren lands three international attraction nominations

Published

on

Kynren lands three international attraction nominations

Kynren – The Storied Lands, County Durham’s new live-action show park, is a finalist at the 2026 Park World Excellence Awards, competing against leading attractions from across Europe and beyond.

It has been nominated for Best Regional Park, Best Live Entertainment, and Best Marketing, standing alongside attractions such as Puy du Fou España, Walibi Belgium, Bellewaerde, and Doha Quest.

Anna Warnecke, chief executive at Kynren, said: “Opening The Storied Lands was always going to make 2026 a very special year for Kynren, but to receive three nominations in our first season is something everyone involved can be extremely proud of.

Advertisement

“What is particularly pleasing is the breadth of the recognition.

“We have been shortlisted for the park itself, for one of our new live shows, and for the work which has gone into telling people about this new dimension to the Kynren experience.”

The Storied Lands is the UK’s first live-action show park and the most significant addition to the site since Kynren – An Epic Tale of England was first performed 10 years ago.

Among the nominations, The Lost Feather has been shortlisted for Best Live Entertainment.

Advertisement

The bird show features hundreds of birds in free flight above and around a 2,500-seat arena and is staged in a nest-shaped arena.

READ MORE: Tribute to ‘loving’ grandad who died in A1(M) crash on way back from family trip
READ MORE:
Funeral of ‘so full of fun’ officer killed in A66 crash held today as tribute paid
READ MORE:
‘Mr Haughton’ remembered after lifetime serving Darlington as councillor and mayor

A spokesperson for Kynren said the experience is “built around natural behaviours, with birds flying freely above, across and around the arena, emerging from the surrounding landscape and passing close above spectators.”

The Park World Excellence Awards, established in 2018, recognise the leading attractions, experiences, projects, products and people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Advertisement

Winners will be announced at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London on Wednesday, September 23.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Mary Berry uses 12p ingredient for ‘extra crunchy coating’ on roast potatoes

Published

on

Wales Online

Mary Berry’s roast potato recipe is a five-star rated dish that adds a 12p ingredient to achieve perfectly crispy and crunchy roast potatoes

With countless roast potato recipes available online, it can be tricky to determine which one will deliver the finest results. Fortunately, Mary Berry’s five-star rated recipe incorporates a secret ingredient to achieve that all-important extra crunch.

The recipe notes on Good Food said: “A roast potato should be ultra crispy and golden on the outside with a fluffy light middle. Par-boiling and roughing them up before roasting gives a lovely crunchy exterior and the semolina adds an extra crunchy coating.”

Advertisement

This recipe serves six people and takes approximately one hour from start to finish, reports the Express. Here’s how you can recreate the recipe at home.

Roast potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into medium-sized cubes
  • 40g semolina
  • Four tbsp of goose fat or vegetable oil
  • Three thyme sprigs
  • Salt

Method

Begin by preheating the oven to 220C or 200C (fan) and place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for approximately five minutes, until the edges begin to soften.

Advertisement

Drain in a colander until thoroughly dry, then return to the saucepan and shake to roughen up the edges.

Scatter over the semolina and shake once more until evenly coated. Preheat a large shallow roasting tin in the oven until piping hot.

Add the fat to the tin and heat for around five minutes, or until it begins to smoke.

Carefully add the potatoes, turning them in the fat until fully coated, then scatter over the thyme sprigs.

Advertisement

Return to the oven and roast for approximately 45 to 55 minutes until golden brown and crisp, ensuring you turn them halfway through cooking. The recipe notes stated: “You can prepare the potatoes up to 12 hours ahead of serving.

“The potatoes can be part-roasted for 35 minutes until golden. Then, before serving, roast again in the hot oven for about 20 minutes.”

Semolina is readily available for approximately £1.40 for a 500g bag, and given that just 40g is required per recipe, it remains a highly budget-friendly ingredient.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Sixty years after she vanished mum is found with sinister explanation for leaving kids

Published

on

Daily Record

Audrey Backeberg was 20 years old when she vanished from her family home in 1962 – and was finally confirmed to be “safe and well” decades later

A mum who married her husband at just 15 and then left her two children for over 60 years had a harsh explanation for her disappearance when she finally returned.

Advertisement

Audrey Backeberg’s shocking reappearance astounded the community she disappeared from back in 1962 when she was 20. Audrey was finally confirmed to be “safe and well” in 2025, aged 82.

Police said her disappearance was confirmed to be “by her own choice” and “not the result of any criminal activity or foul play”. On the day she disappeared, she left home to pick up her pay cheque from the woollen mill where she worked.

Her family’s 14-year-old babysitter told authorities she had hitched a ride with Audrey to the city of Madison, Wisconsin, where the pair boarded a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.

When they arrived there, the babysitter got cold feet but Audrey would not go back and she walked around the corner from the bus station – and vanished without trace.

Advertisement

When she was tracked down by a detective six decades into her new life she is said to have told them she had “no regrets.”

According to the Audrey Project, an organisation which documents over 16,000 “cold case” missing persons reports in the US, Audrey had married her husband Ronald Backberg when she was “about fifteen years old” – but had endured a “troubled” marriage surrounded by “allegations of abuse”.

The childminder claimed Audrey had vanished in Indianapolis of her own free will, but this sparked a dispute with members of her family, who “insisted she would never have abandoned her children.”

Advertisement

After more than six decades, answers began to emerge when Sauk County Sheriff’s Office assigned a detective to the cold case earlier this year. Detective Isaac Hanson meticulously sifted through case files and evidence, as well as re-interviewing key witnesses in the case – but it was her sister’s Ancestry.com account that eventually led him to her.

He told local news station WISN: “That was pretty key in locating death records, census reports, all kinds of data. So I called the local sheriff’s department, said, ‘Hey, there’s this lady living at this address. Do you guys have somebody, you can just go pop in?’. Ten minutes later, she called me, and we talked for 45 minutes.”

He added that she seemed to have “moved on from things”, and sounded happy and “confident” in her decision to flee many years ago.

A statement from Sheriff Chip Meister read: “Earlier this year, the case was assigned to a Sheriff’s Office Detective for a comprehensive review as part of an ongoing examination of cold case files. Through diligent investigative work, which included a thorough re-evaluation of all case files and evidence, combined with re-interviewing witnesses and uncovering new insights.

Advertisement

“The Sheriff’s Office is now able to report that Audrey Backeberg is alive and well and currently resides out of State. Further investigation has revealed that Ms. Backeberg’s disappearance was by her own choice and not the result of any criminal activity or foul play.

“The Sheriff’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of Investigators, both past and present. Despite the significant challenges that many cold cases present, this resolution underscores both the importance of continued work and the dedication of the Sheriff’s Office to providing answers to families and the community.”

Hanson said: “I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life. She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

How Your Morning Cup Of Coffee Could Help Slow Ageing

Published

on

The Health Benefits Of Drinking Three Cups Of Coffee A Day

Your cup of coffee isn’t just some miracle stimulant helping you feel somewhat human in the mornings (just me?) – multiple pieces of research suggest it’s linked to slower biological ageing, too.

Studies have shown that coffee has been linked to health benefits ranging from improved heart health to decreased dementia risk. Here’s what you need to know about how it could also slow biological ageing processes:

How is my caffeine habit impacting ageing?

Firstly, coffee has been linked to telomere lengthening. Telomeres are structures that protect DNA – as people get older, their telomeres shorten as part of the natural ageing process.

Advertisement

We know telomere shortening is accelerated among people with severe mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, whose life expectancy is typically shorter than the general population by up to 15 years.

A study, published in BMJ Mental Health, found drinking a maximum of 3-4 cups of coffee a day may slow the biological ageing of people with severe mental illness, by lengthening their telomeres.

King’s College London researchers found coffee-drinking was linked to the equivalent of five extra years lifespan, compared with non-coffee drinkers.

And the type of coffee you opt for could also impact your telomeres.

Advertisement

Another paper published in the journal NPJ Science of Food found consuming filtered coffee was linked to lower biological age acceleration scores and longer telomeres. Meanwhile, those who opted for instant coffee had higher age-acceleration scores and shorter telomeres.

Coffee has been linked to slower ageing – here’s what scientists believe is going on behind the scenes in our bodies.

There’s also some research suggesting caffeine affects ageing by tapping into an ancient cellular energy system. It was first thought caffeine impacted something called TOR (Target of Rapamycin) – a biological switch that tells cells when to grow, based on how much food and energy is available.

But in a 2025 study, scientists from Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Molecular Cell Biology uncovered that caffeine doesn’t act on this growth switch directly. Instead, it activates another important system called AMPK, a cellular fuel gauge that is evolutionarily conserved in humans.

“When your cells are low on energy, AMPK kicks in to help them cope,” said Dr Charalampos (Babis) Rallis, the study’s senior author. “And our results show that caffeine helps flip that switch.”

Advertisement

The researchers suggested caffeine’s effect on AMPK influences how cells grow, repair their DNA, and respond to stress, which are all linked to ageing.

“These findings help explain why caffeine might be beneficial for health and longevity,” said study author Dr John-Patrick Alao. “And they open up exciting possibilities for future research into how we might trigger these effects more directly – with diet, lifestyle, or new medicines.”

Another paper published in Nutrients suggested a protein called NR4A1 might also be involved. NR4A1 receptors are involved in a range of biological processes from tissue repair to metabolism, and play a part in protecting the body from stress-induced damage.

After looking closer at both coffee and this protein, researchers found that some parts of the caffeinated drink seemed to bind to NR4A1 and change its activity level.

Advertisement

They also saw that compounds in the coffee seemed to reduce cell damage and slow cancer cell growth in lab models, an effect that disappeared when NR4A1 was removed from cells.

The best way to take your coffee

Taking it black without sugar may be best to reap the benefits of longevity and better health outcomes – and drinking it after breakfast could boost its health benefits further.

If you’re pregnant, the NHS advises sticking to around 200mg of caffeine or less a day. People with caffeine sensitivity, heart issues, digestive problems and high blood pressure might also want to limit the amount they consume.

Advertisement

Among the general population, the sweet spot seems to be up to four cups a day (400mg of caffeine).

Anything more than that can have negative effects on health, such as reducing sleep quality, speeding up heart rate and making you feel anxious.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

The Voice reveals new judges and presenters for 2027

Published

on

The Voice reveals new judges and presenters for 2027

The pair replace Emma Willis, who has fronted the ITV singing competition since 2014.

Ms Willis recently left the show to take up a presenting role on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

In a wider shake-up, ITV has also confirmed that Cheryl and rapper Aitch will join the programme as new coaches, taking up seats in the show’s iconic red chairs.

Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland will remain on the coaching panel, alongside Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am, who has been a coach since the show’s launch.

However, long-serving coach Sir Tom Jones won’t be returning, alongside McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones, who shared a joint chair.

Advertisement

The changes will take effect from the next series, which began filming on Friday (September 11).

The series currently airing on ITV was filmed in 2025.

ITV also paid tribute to the departing cast members.

A spokesperson said: “We thank Emma Willis, Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones for their brilliant contributions, and who all brought so much dedication, expertise and energy to The Voice UK and wish them the very best of luck as they embark on their next chapters.”

Advertisement

Sir Tom, 86, said he had been offered a “much-reduced role” on the show, which he was “not thrilled about”.

Kelly Rowland and Will.I.Am will be staying on as coaches for the 2027 series (Image: ITV)

He said: “The reason given is because of a financial difficulty with insurance.

“They now say in the press they wanted to ‘refresh’ the show, and with a new coaching line-up there wouldn’t be a chair for me.”

A spokesperson for ITV said: “ITV would like to thank the irreplaceable Sir Tom Jones for all his years on The Voice UK, and the countless incredible and unforgettable moments he gave the show.

Advertisement

“He has brought joy to audiences, and to every singer who performed for him and with him.”

How did The Voice fans react to the new presenters and coaches?

In response to the news about changes on The Voice, some fans were not particularly happy, especially regarding Sir Tom Jones’ departure.

Taking to X, one person said: “ITV thanks the ‘irreplaceable’ Sir Tom Jones by replacing him… how stupid are they?”

Another wrote: “How can they call someone irreplaceable when they’ve fired him to replace him.”

Advertisement

A third posted: “Calling him irreplaceable and replaced him with somebody else I don’t think they know what that word means.”

Another shared: “Replacing Tom Jones with Cheryl and Aitch.

“Surely you should have vocal talent to be qualified to judge others?”

Speaking generally about the show, one commented: “The death of The Voice”.

Advertisement

The history of The Voice UK

The Voice UK first aired in 2012, hosted by Holly Willoughby and Reggie Yates.

Emma Willis took over hosting duties in 2014, and joined for several series by Marvin Humes of boyband JLS.

The show moved from the BBC to ITV in 2017.


Recommended reading:

Advertisement

Unlike other singing competitions, The Voice UK is known for its blind auditions, where coaches face away from contestants and judge solely on vocal talent.

If impressed, they turn their chairs to offer mentorship.

Other previous coaches on the UK series include Olly Murs, Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Rita Ora, Anne Marie and LeAnn Rimes.

What are your thoughts on the changes to The Voice UK’s presenters and coaches? Let us know in the comments.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Sunderland vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup today and confirmed team news | Football

Published

on

Sunderland vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup today and confirmed team news | Football
White went off injured against Napoli (Picture: Shutterstock Editorial)

Arsenal have no fresh injury concerns as they head to Sunderland in tonight’s Premier League action.

The Gunners have won their opening three games of the new season – conceding just once – and got their Champions League campaign up and running with a win over Napoli on Wednesday.

Ben White has been ever-present in the starting XI this season but came off late on in Naples, appearing to be in some discomfort.

The former Brighton defender is ‘fine’ according to his manager however and is expected to take his place in the side at the Stadium of Light tonight.

Advertisement

Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro’s football newsletter

Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free.

Ezri Konsa has impressed at the heart of defence alongside Gabriel Magalhaes, drafted in against Chelsea and Napoli after an injury for Cristhian Mosquera.

Advertisement

The Spain international had started the season at centre-half in place of the injured William Saliba but an injury suffered in the win over Aston Villa opened up space for Konsa to come in.

Arteta confirmed on Friday that Mosquera is ‘progressing well’ and could be in contention to make the squad today.

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 03: Jurrien Timber of Arsenal during a training session at Sobha Realty Training Centre on September 03, 2026 in London Colney, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Timber has been impressing in training (Picture: Getty)

Timber meanwhile is continuing to step his recovery from a groin problem that has prevented him from starting a game since March.

Arteta hailed his efforts in training this week but it remains to be seen when the Dutchman will be considered for selection.

Ask Metro


Advertisement

Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications.

Saliba remains a long-term absentee as he recovers from his back problem.

Arsenal XI to face Napoli – Metro prediction

Arteta was able to rotate his side midweek in the Champions League with Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Piero Hincapie coming in.

Advertisement

Bruno Guimaraes came off the bench after his recent issue with Arsenal fans eager to see him start alongside Declan Rice in the heart of midfield.

Myles Lewis-Skelly hasn’t put a foot wrong in that role however and will be hopeful of keeping his spot.

Sunderland vs Arsenal TV channel, live stream and kick-off time

The Premier League match takes place this afternoon (Saturday 12 September) with kick-off scheduled for 8pm.

You can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 with streaming also available through the HBO Max app.

Advertisement

You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE matchday blog.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Woman and baby flee 17th-floor flat fire with 50 neighbours evacuated | News UK

Published

on

Woman and baby flee 17th-floor flat fire with 50 neighbours evacuated | News UK
Around 70 firefighters were called to the block in Poplar, across the Thames from the O2 Arena in east London, at 4.35am (Picture: Getty Images)

A woman and child fled their 17th floor flat before it was engulfed in flames early this morning.

Around 70 firefighters were called to the block in Poplar, across the Thames from the O2 Arena in east London, at 4.35am.

The London Fire Brigade said: ‘A two-room flat and balcony on the 17th floor of a 22-storey residential block of flats was damaged by fire.

‘One woman and one child left the flat before the Brigade arrived. 

Advertisement

‘A further 50 people left the building before the Brigade arrived on scene and are currently at a rest centre.’

Crews from across east London were scrambled to help tackle the blaze.

It was brought under control by 6.41am.

Advertisement

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Fire crews called to unattended bonfire in Yorkshire

Published

on

Fire crews called to unattended bonfire in Yorkshire

Firefighters were called to the bonfire in Middleton, near Pickering, at 7.55pm on Friday (September 11).

The bonfire in Middleton Lane measured around 1m by 1m, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

A service spokesperson said the fire crew extinguished the bonfire and dampened down the area using one hose reel jet.

Advertisement

The incident came hours after another crew were called to a bonfire that the fire service said was “at risk of becoming out of control” in Little Studley, near Ripon.

Firefighters from Ripon extinguished the bonfire shortly after 5.51pm and “advice was given to a responsible person” on the scene, the fire service spokesperson said.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Mums can fill in free and simple form for extra state pension… and avoid giving up to 40% to claims management firms

Published

on

Claiming HRP: Could YOU be owed extra state pension - find out more on how to apply below

Mums who were raising children in the 1980s or 1990s are being urged to apply themselves to check if they are owed extra state pension, rather than use a claims management firm that could take a large chunk of any payout.

‘We encourage anyone who thinks they’re missing Home Responsibilities Protection to check if they’re eligible using our online tool,’ says an HMRC spokesman.

Claiming via Gov.uk is free and means they will keep 100 per cent of what they’re owed – without having to pay fees of up to 40 per cent to third parties.’

Many older mums have lost out on large sums in state pension due to holes in their National Insurance records, and HMRC is responsible for contacting those people – see below for the cause of the error and what to do if you are affected.

Advertisement

HMRC has paid out £100million in arrears and the average payment is around £8,000. 

But it has seen some claims companies charging up to 40 per cent, which is around £3,200 for something people can quickly and easily do themselves for free in about 15 minutes.

Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, who is now a partner at LCP, says: The claim form for Home Responsibilities Protection is one of the simplest official forms I have come across.

‘Provided that you know the names and dates of birth of your children and a few other bits of information, you should have no trouble filling it in.’

Advertisement

Claiming HRP: Could YOU be owed extra state pension – find out more on how to apply below

Mr Webb, who is This is Money’s pension columnist, adds: ‘With the typical successful application from a pensioner generating thousands of pounds in arrears, this is an opportunity not to be missed if you think this could apply to you.’

HMRC has been publicising the issue since 2023 via hundreds of thousands of letters, social media posts, radio adverts and other communications.

Advertisement

It is urging anyone thinking of using an agent to claim Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) on their behalf to consult its guidance, which explains that you should check an agent’s website to see what tax services they offer.

You should read their terms and conditions so you fully understand the fees you will pay; the legal contract you may be agreeing to; the service you’re signing up for; and that they are aware of and meeting HMRC’s agent standards.

HMRC has a range of powers to deal with agents that are not meeting its standards, and when it receives high volumes of claims via agents this may lead to longer processing times.

The kind of information you will need to supply to HMRC to find out if you are owed state pension due to an HRP error is the names and dates of birth of all of your children, and details of the other parent.

Advertisement

In the event you still have paperwork around child benefit this will help with your claim, but a claim can be successful without any paperwork.

Webb says: ‘The Government has previously admitted that there are probably tens of thousands of parents who should have been awarded HRP and have missed out, and has so far paid out over £100million in state pension arrears where this probably has subsequently been corrected.’

He explains how HRP worked below.

What is Home Responsibilities Protection? 

Steve Webb: HRP was replaced by NI credits in 2010

Steve Webb: HRP was replaced by NI credits in 2010

Advertisement

Introduced in 1978/79, HRP is a way of protecting the pension record of parents – mostly mothers – who were not able to make National Insurance Contributions because they were looking after a child, writes Steve Webb.

When HRP was introduced, you could get it for any complete financial year in which you were receiving child benefit for a child who was under 16 for the full year.

From 2010/11 the upper age limit dropped from 16 to 12. But you could not get HRP for any year in which you were paying, or were eligible to pay, the reduced ‘married woman’s stamp’ rate of NI contributions.

For a woman who reached pension age before 2010, you needed 39 years of NI contributions to qualify for a full basic state pension. However, each year of HRP when you were at home with a child knocks one year off your target for a full pension.

Advertisement

So, for example, if you had nine years of HRP, your target for a full pension would fall from 39 years to 30 years.

In April 2010, the rules around HRP changed. For those retiring after this point, all pre 2010 HRP years were converted into full qualifying years and count exactly the same as if you had been in paid work and paying NICs.

The system is now known as NI credits rather than HRP. Women who reached pension age from April 2010 onwards will see these years as full qualifying years on their record.

Read more from Steve Webb on HRP here.

Advertisement

<!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/de/money/moneypensions/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->

Are YOU owed state pension due to missing HRP?

Many elderly parents, mostly mums, have missed out on state pension due to holes in their child benefit records

Advertisement

Some parents aged in their 60s and 70s now, who claimed child benefit between 1978 and 2000, have been affected.

If they have already died, their beneficiaries are in line for payouts.

The blunder happened because it was not compulsory to include NI numbers on child benefit forms until 2000, so parents’ entitlement to state pension got missed off their records.

Child benefit records are deleted five years after the claim ends for data protection reasons.

Advertisement

Therefore, it is impossible now to identify everyone whose record is wrongly missing ‘home responsibilities protection’ – an entitlement which counts towards a state pension, and was replaced by the current system of annual NI credits in 2010.

HMRC has searched through NI records to find as many people as possible with no HRP who might nevertheless have been entitled to it, and has written to those it thinks might have been affected.

If those people make a claim and an error is found, HMRC will update their NI record, and the DWP will recalculate their state pension and let them know whether they are due any arrears. Some backpayments are modest, but others run to tens of thousands of pounds.

If someone suspects a deceased relative was underpaid, a representative – an executor, administrator or next of kin – can make a claim on their behalf.

Advertisement

It is possible to do this online or by post. Go here to make a HRP claim.

There is further guidance on HRP here.

You can call the NI Helpline on 0300 200 3500 for help, and there is also extra support available for people who need it.

You can also contact Steve Webb and This is Money at pensionquestions@thisismoney.co.uk.

Advertisement

SIPPS: INVEST TO BUILD YOUR PENSION

0.25% account fee. Full range of investments

AJ Bell

0.25% account fee. Full range of investments

AJ Bell

0.25% account fee. Full range of investments

Free fund dealing, 40% off account fees

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing, 40% off account fees

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing, 40% off account fees

From £5.99 per month, £100 of free trades

Interactive Investor

From £5.99 per month, £100 of free trades

Interactive Investor

From £5.99 per month, £100 of free trades

Advertisement
Fee-free ETF investing, £100 welcome bonus

InvestEngine

Fee-free ETF investing, £100 welcome bonus

InvestEngine

Fee-free ETF investing, £100 welcome bonus

No account fee and 30 ETF fees refunded

Prosper

No account fee and 30 ETF fees refunded

Prosper

No account fee and 30 ETF fees refunded

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best Sipp for you: Our full reviews

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025