UK to get first music therapy centre of excellence for people living with dementia

Published

12 months ago

May 11, 2024

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Greater Manchester is to become the UK’s first centre of excellence for music therapy for dementia – in a bid to establish if the treatment can ease pressure on the NHS.

More than £1m of funding has been committed to the project to offer more musical support to people living with dementia across all of Greater Manchester.

There are more than 940,000 people in the UK who have dementia with one in 11 people over-65 being most affected.

The care of people living with dementia in the UK costs more than £34bn each year, with the Alzheimer’s Society saying that by 2040, 1.6 million people in the UK will have dementia.

The long-term goal of the project is to use the knowledge built up over the next three years to analyse how music therapy can reduce the need for health and care services.

Sue Clarke, the Alzheimer’s Society’s regional manager for services in the North West, said: “This is something we’ve got to think about really differently. This keeps people well and at home and this keeps people out of the health and social care system.

“It’s about being part of something that will enable people to stay socially active, stay engaged and for them not to end up going into long-term care which is going to support the social care system.”

The project was launched at a music cafe hosted by Manchester Camerata, which runs weekly Music in Mind sessions at The Monastery in Gorton, Greater Manchester.

Beryl Roczniak and her daughters attend each week. “For people my age, it’s something that keeps you going,” Ms Roczniak said.

Her daughter Irenka Roczniak-Harding said it has been transformative: “You can see how uplifting it is for her, and even to her grandchildren who come now and again.”

Sonia Roczniak-Gulzar, her other daughter, added: “We’ve had some challenging times, over the last 18 months but we’ve managed to keep her out of hospital and she’s coming every week apart from maybe one or two, when she’s been unwell and she misses it.”

Amina Hussain is the principal flute player with Manchester Camerata and also works as the charity’s resident music therapist.

She said: “We have so many magic moments in sessions that are maybe not immediately noticeable to an outside eye, but some of those really subtle changes in someone when you have an interaction with them is just gorgeous.

“It’s one of the most joyous things any of us have ever experienced. It’s really changed how we view music and what it can do for people.”

Danny Docherty has vascular dementia and attends the sessions with his wife Sue and two carers. Each week he performs the Irish classic Danny Boy accompanied by the pianist and remembers all of the words.

“When you come here you feel more settled,” he said.

His wife Sue added: “I think music is fabulous, it takes a lot of things away and you’re here in this moment. You want to sprinkle something, and it stays there forever.”

Among those committing funding and supporting the project is Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham who revealed his own music fan father has recently moved into care having been diagnosed with dementia.

He said: “Greater Manchester is a place that has always understood the power of music.

“I’ve seen first-hand the transformational impact of what they [Manchester Camerata] do in our city region.

“This project will provide life-changing support to people with dementia and their carers in our 10 boroughs. It will also generate groundbreaking research that will influence health and care policy across the country while directly improving lives across Greater Manchester.”

UK

League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

Published

7 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

A league table of foreign criminals and their offences is set to be published for the first time.

The plans, due to be announced on Tuesday, will reportedly focus on those offenders awaiting deportation from the UK.

The latest data shows there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of 2024, a rise from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July and 14,640 at the end of 2022.

Despite more offenders being deported since Labour came to power, the number waiting to be removed from the UK has been growing.

Factors are understood to include the early release of inmates due to prison overcrowding, instability and diplomatic problems in some countries and a backlog of legal cases appealing deportation.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the decision to publish the nationalities of foreign criminals showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.

The latest government statistics show there were 10,355 foreign nationals held in custody in England and Wales at the end of 2024, representing 12% of the prison population.

The most common nationalities after British nationals were Albanian (11%), Polish (8%), Romanian (7%), which also represented the top three nationalities who were deported from the UK in 2024, according to Home Office figures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have ordered officials to release the details by the end of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reported Ms Cooper overruled Home Office officials, who previously claimed it was too difficult to provide quality data on foreign criminals.

A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”

The source added that ministers wanted “to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed”.

In March, the government announced £5m in funding to deploy staff to 80 jails in England and Wales to speed up the deportation of foreign offenders.

Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the home secretary can also remove criminals if their presence in the UK is not considered desirable.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the news, saying: “We will finally see the hard reality that mass migration is fuelling crime across our country… Frankly, the public deserved to know this [detail on foreign criminals] long ago.”

UK

Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Published

10 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.

The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.

During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.

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Her visit comes after Donald Trump imposed blanket 10% tariffs on all imports into the US, including from the UK, and as talks about reaching a trade deal intensified.

The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.

Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.

“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.

“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”

UK

Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield – as victim named

Published

16 hours ago

April 21, 2025

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Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield - as victim named

A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.

“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”

The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.