- The Guardian Sat urday 31 Aug ust 2019
In brief
Hanging on by its nails Once thought
extinct, Cuban greater funnel- eared bats
are identifi ed by ZSL using coloured nail
PHOTOGRAPH: ZSL/PA varnish in their last remaining colony.Social care
Charity warns of areas
facing ‘total collapse’Cinema
Linklater to invest 20
years in Sondheim fi lmPolice
Offi cers’ just desserts
for Gatwick ‘drug bust’The government must substantially
invest in the social care system to
avert the risk of “total collapse” in
the worst-aff ected areas, a charity
has warned.
Age UK says health and social
care services are operating in a
“perfect storm of limited fi nancial
resources, signifi cant workforce
challenges, and increasingly
complex population needs”.
In the report, Health and Care of
Older People in England 2019, the
charity says social care remains in
“purgatory” while demand rises.
It is calling for the chancellor,
Sajid Javid, to allocate a signifi cantRichard Linklater, pictured right,
invested 12 years in shooting his
coming-of-age tale, Boyhood , and
the director is now set to repeat the
trick, with the announcement that
he is to devote some of the next 20
years to a production of Merrily We
Roll Along , Stephen Sondheim and
George Furth ’s Broadway musical
about a songwriter in danger of
losing his friends. The show starts
at the height of its hero’s success,
then rewinds to when he was a
youngster. Catherine ShoardWhite powder that was confi scated
during a “huge drugs bust” at
Gatwick has turned out to be
ingredients for a cake.
The vegan pizza restaurant
Purezza was transporting
ingredients in a suitcase when a
member of staff was stopped by the
police. The white powder, divided
into blue bags, was tested before
offi cers accepted it was not illegal.
British Transport Police said:“ Offi cers were called to Gatwick
airport station at 1.34pm on
28 August after a suitcase was found
containing 25 bags of powder.
“Following a number of inquiries
and tests, it was determined
these bags of powder were cake
ingredients for a vegan bakery. They
were soon reunited with the owner,
who has promised offi cers and staff
a piece of cake in return.”
Later the restaurant, which has
venues in Brighton and Camden,
London, tweeted: “Thanks for going
easy on us guys! A slab of cake all
round is in order when you’re next
in Brighton.” PA Mediasum to local authorities in the
spending review next week as an
“essential fi rst step”.
Caroline Abrahams, charity
director at Age UK, said government
intervention was imperative to stop
the system’s “spiralling decline”.
She said: “When you strip out
the complexity the story is really
very simple: demand is going up but
funding and supply are going down,
leaving increasing numbers of older
people to fend for themselves, rely
on loved ones if that’s an option
for them, or pay through the nose
via a hefty stealth tax without
which many care homes would not
stay afl oat.
“Things are so bad in some places
that it is becoming impossible to
source care, however much money
you have .” PA MediaRELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws