| There can't be many areas where the phrase 'prevention is better than cure' is more apt than in the world of dentistry. But a new report highlights how in the North East a lack of NHS dentists and other factors is leading to increased waits for dental appointments - often leading to patients requiring urgent treatment rather than getting any problems 'nipped in the bud' early. Eight local Healthwatch organisations from the region took part in a study surveying just under 800 people for their experiences since the start of the pandemic, while 36 dental practices were also contacted. As Local Democracy Reporter Stuart Arnold writes, the report highlighted patients travelling long distances in a bid to access NHS dental appointments, including a 70 mile round trip from Hartlepool to Newcastle. Another patient from Middlesbrough said they were "willing to drive around to get seen" and described fruitless efforts to find a dentist in Billingham, Hartlepool, Redcar, Stockton and Yarm.  A new Healthwatch report outlines the state of NHS dentistry in the North East. Graphic: Lisa Walsh
About 80% of those quizzed said it was "very difficult" to find a dentist able to see them with waiting lists at some practices for new NHS patients lasting up to a year. A quarter of patients said they were still waiting for a routine check-up and even those who were already on the books of a dentist had long waits for a check-up - of more than three years and counting in some instances. Healthwatch said: "Perhaps the most important indicator is that it is clear that there are too few NHS dentists available to service the needs of the North-East population. We urge NHS England to make dentistry reform a top priority, otherwise there will be repercussions for the life-long health of current and future generations, particularly among the most disadvantaged communities in our region." NHS England says it is committed to ensuring everyone can access high quality dental care and is looking at ways to increase access to existing services, along with working with partners to improve recruitment of dentists and retaining those already in the workforce. It was announced earlier this year that there would be a £50m cash injection for the sector in order to boost the number of appointments available. But Stockton South Conservative MP Matt Vickers said this was a "drop in the ocean" and NHS dentistry had been neglected for 15 years. 
'Great British nuclear should be in the North'  A reactor at Nuclear Island 1, at Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset.
With fuel bills soaring in the North and nationwide, Ministers today admitted the much-delayed energy strategy will do little to help alleviate the current crisis as they outlined plans to boost nuclear, wind, solar and hydrogen in the medium term. The strategy is being published as western countries wrestle with high prices and how to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, and in the face of calls to end the fossil fuel era to tackle dangerous climate change. A fleet of new nuclear power plants is at the heart of the strategy, with Boris Johnson claiming "nuclear is coming home" and suggesting a new reactor will be built every year, in a social media video to promote the plan. A new body, Great British Nuclear, will be launched to bolster the UK's nuclear capacity with the hope of up to 24GW of electricity by 2050 coming from the source of power – 25% of the projected electricity demand. Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: "Great British Nuclear should be based in the North. We have sector expertise in West Cumbria, the North West, arcing down to North Wales, as well as across to the Nuclear AMRC and fusion capabilities in Sheffield." The strategy also commits to significant acceleration of hydrogen, with a doubling of the target from 5GW to 10GW by 2030. Professor Joe Howe, Chair of the North West Hydrogen Alliance, said HyNet, a massive scheme in the North West to produce, store and distribute low carbon hydrogen, will produce 40% of the Government's new national target.
Labour councillor suspended over Muslim plot claims  Joyce McCarty, who has been suspended by the Labour Party (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
It's local election season but it seems everywhere The Northern Agenda looks, Labour councillors are falling out with their local parties. The latest striking case is in Newcastle, where Joyce McCarty has been suspended by the Labour Party over alleged racist remarks. She is accused of Islamophobia over comments made after the dramatic deselection of city council leader Nick Forbes earlier this year. In a text message seen by the Local Democracy Reporter Dan Holland, she describes his ousting as a "Muslim plot". Coun McCarty was the council's deputy leader until last year and is a long-time friend and key ally of Coun Forbes, who has announced he will leave city politics in May. Meanwhile, a Merseyside councillor claims to have been suspended for "retweeting" two tweets relating to Jeremy Corbyn. Janis Blackburne, a Labour councillor for Kew in Southport on Sefton council, said she was told about her suspension on Friday, just one day after she submitted her nomination papers. And a Blackpool councillor has resigned from the Labour group in a move which further weakens the ruling party's grip on the town hall. Martin Mitchell, who represents Layton, said he made his decision after being given the cold shoulder by Labour colleagues who stripped him of his role as chairman of the tourism, economy and communities scrutiny committee last year.
'Axe being taken to vital rail services as passengers return'  Louise Haigh, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of alarming headlines about cuts to rail services in parts of Yorkshire in the next planned timetable change in May. And Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh is in the region today talking to passengers, as she highlights new data revealing the scale of cuts as commuters battle with surging fares, delays, cancellations and overcrowding. She's citing figures from the Rail Delivery Group showing that 132,000 services were in operation nationally in late March, 19,000 fewer than before the pandemic in February 2020. This is despite journeys growing by almost 1 million in one week alone in March, as passengers return to the office and high streets. In a month's time three weekday journeys linking Leeds, Wakefield and Sheffield will be scrapped while the Wakefield-Huddersfield route still has no services whatsoever. And trains between the major cities Bradford, Leeds and Hull will be drastically reduced. Sheffield MP Ms Haigh, who is in Wakefield this afternoon with West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin, said: "The Conservatives should come clean and admit they are taking the axe to vital rail services across the country. This is the exact opposite of what the Conservatives promised, and will hit communities hard."
Three days on, the dust is still settling on the Government's announcement of which parts of the country will get millions of pounds to improve their bus services - and how much. Warrington council is one of those given significant funding as part of the £3bn Bus Back Better strategy, in this case £16m, to make buses cheaper, more frequent, faster, and reliable, easier to use and better integrated. But Cumbria and Cheshire West and Cheshire were among those to miss out entirely despite submitting Bus Service Improvement Plan bids back in October. In Cheshire councillor Karen Shore said: "I am shocked that not only did Councils have to compete against each other, but most of us haven't received any support to make crucial improvements to our bus services." Greater Manchester appears to be one of the biggest beneficiaries from the last few transport funding announcements, getting more than £1bn from various schemes. But as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan writes, how and when that will be spent is still not clear. Mayor Andy Burnham said this week: "On the face of it, it looks good. £1bn for capital and just under £100m for bus revenue. However, as ever, the devil's in the detail." Revealed: The Northern school where children miss the most lessons  Use this interactive tool to find out how much time children missed at schools across your area
Despite the best efforts by schools to encourage good attendance, education leaders say some young people become disengaged with education. This is a problem heightened in poorer areas and particularly during the pandemic. And as Tommy Lumby of Reach's Data Unit writes, pupils at some schools across the North are among the most likely to consistently miss lessons. Some 364 students at Birkenhead Park School in the Wirral were recorded as persistently absent during the 2020-21 academic year, the latest Department for Education (DfE) figures show. That means they missed at least 10% of possible half-day sessions. However, the secondary school in the North with the highest proportion of children missing half or more of possible sessions was Parkwood E-Act Academy in Sheffield, where 87 (10.0%) had such severe levels of absence.
Use this interactive tool to find out how much time children missed at schools across your area. The Association of School and College Leaders said that most students have good attendance. General secretary Geoff Barton said: "However, there is a long-standing problem of persistent absence among some young people, which may have worsened during the pandemic, and this may be higher in areas of socio-economic disadvantage."
Accused MP: I was just trying to be kind and helpful  Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan
A Yorkshire Tory MP accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy has said the teenager became upset and "bolted" from a bedroom when the topic of pornography was raised. Imran Ahmad Khan said he was trying to be "kind" and "helpful" when discussing sexuality with the boy, who he said appeared "troubled". The 48-year-old, who was elected as the MP for Wakefield in 2019, denies sexually assaulting the teenager in a bunkbed at a house in Staffordshire in January 2008. He said he had been engaged in a "philosophical" discussion about sexuality with the boy during the course of the evening, but rejected any suggestion it was sexual. Asked during his trial at Southwark Crown Court if he had any agenda in speaking about sexuality, he said: "No, absolutely not. Not at all. I was just trying to be kind and helpful to a young man who wanted to talk. He seemed very keen to want to talk about this (sexuality). I think it would have been rude or perhaps a tad cruel to shut him down." Giving evidence yesterday, Khan became choked up at points and wiped his eyes as he told of his distress over the allegations. The trial continues. 
Sign up to The Northern Agenda Has a friend forwarded you this edition of The Northern Agenda? You can sign up to receive the latest email newsletter direct to your inbox every weekday by clicking on this link.  Northern Stories  Prince Charles visited Hutton-in-the-Forest, a Grade 1 listed house
-
The Prince of Wales has met refugees from war-torn Syria during a day-long trip to Cumbria. Charles spoke to two families who have found safety and built new lives in Britain after fleeing war abroad. The royal visitor spoke to them after meeting local farmers and business owners at Hutton-in-the-Forest, a Grade 1 listed house, near the village of Skelton. Riyad Moussa, 45, his wife Myassa Moussa, 40, and their four daughters, Jamila, 14, Jana, seven, Hana, six, and Joanna, four, spent time chatting to Charles. -
High-speed broadband will be run through water pipes in an area of South Yorkshire as part of government plans to get better internet access to people sooner, it has been announced. Proposals from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will see fibre-optic cables deployed through 11 miles of drinking water pipes between Barnsley and Penistone, reaching up to 8,500 homes and businesses as part of a trial. It aims to speed up the process of rolling out faster broadband without having to dig up roads or carry out other works. -
Football will finally return to Bury's Gigg Lane for the first time in nearly three years. The famous ground has lay empty since Bury FC, founded in 1885, were thrown out of the Football League in August 2019. But the club's Women's team, who are flying high this season and chasing promotion, will grace the pitch with their final three home games. Two and a half years on since Bury FC lost its league status the club name, memorabilia, and historic ground have been bought by a fans group. -
People who hold balloon releases to memorialise lost loved ones should face harsher punishments, Newcastle green campaigners say. Though they've become a popular way to pay tribute to lost loved ones, balloon and lantern releases are banned on Newcastle council land over environmental concerns. But campaign group Save Newcastle Wildlife insists not enough is being done to stop them taking place in the city. -
Cheshire West and Chester Council has apologised after more than 1,300 private email addresses were accidentally shared, with at least some of them since having been 'misused'. The incident occured when the authority sent a generic email to 1,326 people in the borough last Friday, advising them of changes to taxi legislation. But a member of council staff inadvertently failed to use the blind copy function (BCC) to mask all recipient details. As a result, all email addresses were unintentionally exposed to all recipients in the distribution group. 
Thank you for reading - If you have been forwarded this email and would like to sign up, you can do that right here. Contact us: You can get in touch via email - rob.parsons@reachplc.com - or via our Twitter page. 
| 
