Angela Carson struggles to pull the damp laundry out of her washing machine. Her hands are so weak she can barely stop them from shaking.
The 65-year-old places the wet clothes onto her lap and slowly moves herself in a wheelchair through the small kitchen to another room, so they can dry.
Angela suffers from the lingering after-effects of a rare condition, Guillain-Barre syndrome, that attacks her nerves. It means she struggles to walk without two sticks by her side. Her husband Graham, who is in a motorised wheelchair, can only look on.
The 67-year-old was born with the muscle-wasting disease muscular dystrophy and now has limited movements – just in his hands – to operate the chair.
Image: Angela struggles to walk without two sticks by her side
Image: Angela suffers from the after-effects of Guillain-Barre syndrome, while Graham has muscular dystrophy
For the last seven years, the pair have relied on carers to come into their home several times a day to help with their everyday needs, including getting Graham in and out of bed using a hoist, personal hygiene, and preparing meals.
It was a week before Christmas when they received the devastating news: their local council was cancelling all of Angela’s care, and reducing Graham’s support. The decision was non-negotiable and came as a big shock to them both.
“They just said it was being stopped,” says Angela tearfully. “They said it was to promote independence. But I don’t see how, when I can’t do the things they say I can do.”
The council says Angela can prepare meals, walk, and shop – tasks she says are a struggle.
Image: West Lothian Council took the decision to stop their care
‘Urgent action needed’
A few weeks earlier, their local authority, West Lothian Council, issued a downbeat but honest public statement about its finances, saying that the crisis facing councils was of a “magnitude never experienced” and that “urgent action” was needed.
Graham and Angela’s care is paid for by the council. It posted on Facebook about having an £8.1m overspend, fuelled in part by rising social care costs. It said it needs to make savings.
Not long after, social workers knocked on the door of Graham and Angela’s bungalow in Livingston to review their care package. The council said these reviews are done annually and are based on need, not cost.
A spokesperson for the West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership said: “This process is critical to monitor the progress and effectiveness of the care being provided to individuals and ensures that assessed and essential care needs are met.”
Image: Angela and Graham on their wedding day
They added: “A consistent and fair approach is applied when reviewing or assessing an individual’s care, with any changes to a care plan being made on the basis of assessed need and not to address financial pressures. “
“The council has overspent by millions of pounds. They’re cutting back and it’s hard to see it any other way.”
Image: Graham Carson says the social care system ‘is broken’
Graham is right – councils are struggling to pay for social care. This financial pressure means the demand for care has outstripped the ability to provide it.
In England, 2.6 million people over 50 cannot currently access the care they need, according to the charity Age UK. Social care is devolved – the governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all spend more per capita on social care than the Westminster government spends in England.
Image: The council just said her care ‘was being stopped’, Angela Carson says
In response to Graham and Angela’s situation, the Scottish government said it “understands the importance of social care support for those who need help living independently and we know the concerns changes to these services cause”.
It acknowledged that while it has overall control of social care, it is up to local authorities to ensure people have the right support.
A Sky News survey of homecare providers across England, Scotland and Wales indicates a worrying trend of cuts to these vital services in the last two years.
Of the care providers who responded, 83% told Sky News their local council had cut the number of care packages. And 81% of care providers in the survey said councils had cut the number of hours they’re willing to fund, suggesting carers spend less time in people’s homes.
‘We’ve really got to crack on’
The UK government has published plans to reform the social care system, aiming to establish a National Care Service designed to bring it closer to the National Health Service.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting announced the formation of an independent commission, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, to develop comprehensive proposals for organising and funding social care. Her full recommendations are expected in 2028.
When Sky News asked Mr Streeting about why the survey of care providers indicates such worrying cuts when plans for reforms are years away, the minister said in Labour’s first six months in power “we’ve delivered the biggest expansion of carers allowance since the 1970s”.
“We’ve made sure that we’re delivering real improvements through the disabled facilities grants, people’s homes,” he added.
He also pointed to additional funding from the chancellor and said the first findings of the Casey Commission will come next year.
When pressed on what action is being taken to help people without care in their homes right now, Mr Streeting said: “I know we’ve really got to crack on.”
In response to the survey, Councillor David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said councils are acutely aware of the challenges facing social care providers.
“As of March 2024, over 400,000 older and disabled people were waiting for care to start, their care needs assessed, or direct payments. Without immediate government funding, vital services face significant risks, impacting those who rely on care and their families,” he said.
Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, says around half of care providers are operating at a loss, with many withdrawing from council contracts due to inadequate funding.
“The consequences are stark,” she said.
“Unlike other businesses in the economy, homecare providers cannot simply raise their prices. This is because almost 80% of homecare services are purchased by councils and the NHS, who fix fee rates.
“Ethical homecare providers want to reward care workers fairly and provide safe, good quality care. The government is making it more difficult to do so.
“This means older and disabled people face having their care reduced or stopped.”
Image: Graham and Angela’s care is paid for by the council
Scotland’s National Care Service plan scrapped
Plans for a National Care Service in Scotland were well under way until last Thursday, when the government there said it would be scrapped.
More than £30m has already been spent on the policy over the last three years. It was one of the boldest public service reforms of the SNP’s 17 years in power.
Following the announcement, Conservative MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane accused the government of being a “shower of charlatans”. He wrote on social media: “Let’s call this what it is: £30million of taxpayers’ money flushed down the drain by a government with a proven track record of failure.”
The reality for Angela is that no one is coming to care for her right now. She has to do everything herself.
“It is terrible. I go to bed and that’s all I can think about. I feel I don’t exist – that if I wasn’t here anymore it wouldn’t matter.”
The exclusive data in this article was collected via an online survey between 14-17 January sent to domiciliary care providers that are members of the Homecare Association, Scottish Care and Care Forum Wales. The survey went out to 2,650 home care providers in England, Scotland and Wales. There were 336 responses.
Have you been affected by cuts to social care? We’d like to hear from you. Email nick.martin@sky.uk
A teenager has been arrested after a 16-year-old boy died following reports of a “disturbance” at a beach in Ayrshire.
Kayden Moy was found seriously injured by officers at Irvine Beach at around 6.45pm on Saturday.
The teenager, from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, was taken to hospital but died in the early hours.
Police Scotland said on Sunday evening that a 17-year-old boy had been arrested and enquires were continuing.
Officers believe the incident may have been filmed and have urged witnesses and anyone with information to come forward.
Image: Kayden. Pic: Facebook
Image: The incident happened at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire, Scotland. File pic: iStock
Detective Chief Inspector Campbell Jackson said: “An extensive investigation is under way to establish the full circumstances surrounding this death.
“Our officers are supporting the boy’s family at this very difficult and heartbreaking time.
“From our investigation so far, we know there were a number of people on the beach around the time of the disturbance.
“We believe several of them were filming at the time and may have footage of what happened.
“I would urge people to review the footage they have and contact police if they think the footage captured could be of significance to our investigation.”
This can be submitted anonymously, the force said.
Superintendent Jim McMillan added: “We understand this death will be of great concern for the local community, but please be assured that we are doing everything we can to identify those involved.
“There will be additional patrols in the area as we carry out our enquiries and anyone with any concerns can approach these officers.”
Negotiations to reset the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU are going “to the wire”, a Cabinet Office minister has said.
“There is no final deal as yet. We are in the very final hours,” the UK’s lead negotiator Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
On the possibility of a youth mobility scheme with the EU, he insisted “nothing is agreed until everything is”.
“We would be open to a smart, controlled youth mobility scheme,” he said. “But I should set out, we will not return to freedom of movement.”
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday.
Put to the minister that the government could not guarantee there will be a deal by tomorrow afternoon, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “Nobody can guarantee anything when you have two parties in a negotiation.”
But the minister said he remained “confident” a deal could be reached “that makes our borders more secure, is good for jobs and growth, and brings people’s household bills down”.
“That is what is in our national interest and that’s what we will continue to do over these final hours,” he said.
“We have certainly been taking what I have called a ruthlessly pragmatic approach.”
On agricultural products, food and drink, Mr Thomas-Symonds said supermarkets were crying out for a deal because the status quo “isn’t working”, with “lorries stuck for 16 hours and food rotting” and producers and farmers unable to export goods because of the amount of “red tape”.
Asked how much people could expect to save on shopping as a result of the deal the government was hoping to negotiate, the minister was unable to give a figure.
On the issue of fishing, asked if a deal would mean allowing French boats into British waters, the minister said the Brexit deal which reduced EU fishing in UK waters by a quarter over five years comes to an end next year.
He said the objectives now included “an overall deal in the interest of our fishers, easier access to markets to sell our fish and looking after our oceans”.
Turning to borders, the minister was asked if people would be able to move through queues at airports faster.
Again, he could not give a definitive answer, but said it was “certainly something we have been pushing with the EU… we want British people who are going on holiday to be able to go and enjoy their holiday, and not be stuck in queues”.
PM opens door to EU youth mobility scheme
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
The European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK on an agreement to facilitate youth mobility between the EU and the UK. The scheme would allow both UK and EU citizens aged between 18 and 30 years old to stay for up to four years in a country of their choosing.
Earlier this month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Phillips a youth mobility scheme was not the approach the government wanted to take to bring net migration down.
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Lack of UK training ‘big driver of net migration’
When this was put to him, Mr Thomas-Symonds insisted any deal on a youth mobility scheme with Europe will have to be “smart” and “controlled” and will be “consistent” with the government’s immigration policy.
Asked what the government had got in return for a youth mobility scheme – now there had been a change in approach – the minister said: “It is about an overall balanced package that works for Britain. The government is 100% behind the objective of getting net migration down.”
Phillips said more than a million young people came to the country between 2004 and 2015. “If there isn’t a cap – that’s what we are talking about,” he said.
The minister insisted such a scheme would be “controlled” – but refused to say whether there would be a cap.
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Shadow cabinet office minister Alex Burghart told Phillips an uncapped youth mobility scheme with the EU would lead to “much higher immigration”, adding: “It sounds very much as though it’s going to be a bad deal.”
Asked if the Conservatives would scrap any EU deal, he said: “It depends what the deal is, Trevor. And we still, even at this late stage, we don’t know.
“The government can’t tell us whether everyone will be able to come. They can’t tell us how old the young person is. They can’t tell us what benefits they would get.
“So I think when people hear about a youth mobility scheme, they think about an 18-year-old coming over working at a bar. But actually we may well be looking at a scheme which allows 30-year-olds to come over and have access to the NHS on day one, to claim benefits on day one, to bring their extended families.”
He added: “So there are obviously very considerable disadvantages to the UK if this deal is done in the wrong way.”
Jose Manuel Barroso, former EU Commission president, told Phillips it “makes sense” for a stronger relationship to exist between the European Union and the UK, adding: “We are stronger together.”
He said he understood fishing and youth mobility are the key sticking points for a UK-EU deal.
“Frankly, what is at stake… is much more important than those specific issues,” he said.
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Image: Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Image: Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.