Princess of Wales ‘excited’ by Early Years report but not returning to work yet
The Princess of Wales is not returning to work yet, but remains fully updated on the Early Years work going on in her absence, it was revealed at the launch of a “landmark” new report.
Keen not to distract from the importance of the findings of the Early Years business taskforce, that was set up by the princess last year, a palace spokesperson confirmed that “it should not be seen or reported on as Her Royal Highness returning to work”.
They added: “You all know that early childhood is a huge priority for the princess and so she has been kept fully updated throughout the development of the taskforce’s work and she has seen the report.”
The report is an example of how the work of her Early Years Foundation has continued despite Kate undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
The princess, who “still needs space to recover”, is said to be “excited” by the findings, which claim the UK could reap £45.5bn in economic benefits if firms prioritise early childhood.
It recommends a range of interventions, from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace.
Among the eight-member taskforce are the chief executives of Ikea, NatWest Group and Deloitte.
Speaking about the report, described as “a major early years rallying call”, Emma Franklin, a director of consulting with Deloitte said: “We’ve established a figure of £45.5bn, which is just immense in terms of value added to the UK economy.
Emma Franklin, a director of consulting with Deloitte
“And that’s three simple things, which is productivity gains of enabling parents who want to work more hours to get back into the workforce and avoiding some of the recruitment retention costs for people who are leaving the workforce, but also in terms of developing some of those really core social and emotional skills in our under fives now that will stand them in such good stead as the future workforce for us in terms of the skills around empathy and resilience and problem-solving.
“I think it’s a really compelling case for change.”
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Sky News visited a baby bank in north London run by Little Village.
Last year they supported 8,500 children, 20% more than the year before, and increasingly working parents are coming in for help.
Thea Jaffe has three children, including eight-month-old Isaac who’ll need to go to nursery when she goes back to work later this year.
Mother of three, Thea Jaffe, is struggling to afford to raise her children
She said: “My rent is £2,000 a month, nursery £3,000. That’s £5,000 right there. I thought I had a good job taking home £2,600 a month after taxes, but apparently it’s not good enough.
“Yeah, it’s really tough. I feel bad about it because I feel like times when I should be enjoying the time with my kids, learning more about who they are, what they care about, what makes them tick. But I’m just preoccupied with like, how are we going to, you know, how am I going to pay our bills?”
Little Village CEO Sophie Livingstone says companies need to step up, and she hopes the influence of the princess will help.
Little Village CEO Sophie Livingstone
“I have no doubt that she will follow through and keep on it with businesses and keep holding their feet to the fire to make a tangible difference,” she said.
“This is just the beginning, in my view. What we need now is to see those commitments coming through, to see that action, because the time is now, the need has never been greater.
“So I’m really grateful to the princess for drawing attention to this. But it’s now time for business to follow through behind her.”
The report has been shared with No.10, the Department of Health and Department for Education, but those involved insist they will not be lobbying government for change, instead showing the societal impact that businesses can help drive.
Zoe Ball is leaving her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after six years.
The 53-year-old, who recently lost her mother to cancer, will present her last show on Friday, 20 December.
Ball leaves Wogan House with her replacement, Scott Mills. Pic: PA
She said she was leaving to focus on family, but will remain part of the Radio 2 team and will give further details next year.
Announcing the news on her Tuesday show, she said: “After six years of fun times alongside you all on the breakfast show, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.
“You know I think the world of you all, listeners, and it truly has been such a privilege to share the mornings with you, to go through life’s little ups and downs, we got through the lockdown together, didn’t we?
“We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.”
Scott Mills will replace Ball on the breakfast show following her departure next month.
“Zoe and I have been such good friends now for over 25 years and have spent much of that time as part of the same radio family here at Radio 2 and also on Radio 1,” he said.
“She’s done an incredible job on this show over the past six years, and I am beyond excited to be handed the baton.”
Hugging outside the BBC building on the day of the announcement, Ball said she was “really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it”.
Ball was the first female host of both the BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows, starting at the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1998, and taking over her current Radio 2 role from Chris Evans in 2020 after he left the show.
She took a break from hosting her show over the summer, returning in September.
Ahead of her stint in radio, Ball – who is the daughter of children’s presenter Johnny Ball – co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine show Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.
She has two children, Woody and Nelly, with her ex-husband, DJ and musician Norman Cook, known professionally as Fatboy Slim.
Ball said in her announcement her last show towards the end of December will be “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans”.
“While I’m stepping away from the Breakfast Show, I’m not disappearing entirely – I’ll still be a part of the Radio 2 family, with more news in the New Year,” she added.
“I’m excited to embrace my next chapter, including being a mum in the mornings, and I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!”
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “Zoe has woken up the nation on Radio 2 with incredible warmth, wit and so much joy since January 2019, and I’d like to thank her for approaching each show with as much vim and vigour as if it were her first. I’m thrilled that she’ll remain an important part of the Radio 2 family.”
Mills, 51, got his first presenting role aged just 16 for a local station in Hampshire, and went on to present in Bristol and Manchester, before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1998.
He’s previously worked as a cover presenter on Radio 2, but this is his first permanent role on the station.
UK
More prisoners are being transferred to less secure jails to tackle overcrowding crisis, Sky News understands
The prison service is starting to recategorise the security risk of offenders to ease capacity pressures, Sky News understands.
It involves lowering or reconsidering the threshold of certain offenders to move them from the closed prison estate (category A to C) to the open estate (category D) because there are more free cell spaces there.
Examples of this could include discounting adjudications – formal hearings when a prisoner is accused of breaking the rules – for certain offenders, so they don’t act as official reasons not to transport them to a lower-security jail.
Prisoners are also categorised according to an Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) status. There are different levels – basic, standard and enhanced – based on how they keep to the rules or display a commitment to rehabilitation.
Usually ‘enhanced’ prisoners take part in meaningful activity – employment and training – making them eligible among other factors, to be transferred to the open estate.
Insiders suggest this system in England and Wales is being rejigged so that greater numbers of ‘standard’ prisoners can transfer, whereas before it would more typically be those with ‘enhanced’ status.
Open prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend time on day release away from the prison on license conditions to carry out work or education.
The aim is to help reintegrate them back into society once they leave. As offenders near the end of their sentence, they are housed in open prisons.
Many of those released as part of the early release scheme in October after serving 40% of their sentence were freed from open prisons.
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Overcrowding in UK prisons
They were the second tranche of offenders freed as part of this scheme, and had been sentenced to five years or more.
Despite early release measures, prisons are still battling a chronic overcrowding crisis. The male estate is almost full, operating at around 97% capacity.
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Sky News understands there continue to be particular pinch points across the country.
Southwest England struggled over the weekend with three space-related ‘lockouts’ – which means prisoners are held in police suites or transferred to other jails because there is no space.
One inmate is believed to have been transported from Exeter to Cardiff.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a prison system on the point of collapse. We took the necessary action to stop our prisons from overflowing and to protect the public.
“This is not a new scheme. Only less-serious offenders who meet a strict criteria are eligible, and the Prison Service can exclude anyone who can’t be managed safely in a category D prison.”
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