Source: Department of Health and Social Care published on this site Wednesday 1 October 2025 by Jill Powell

GP phone lines across the country will be freed up as practices are now required to keep their online consultation tools running throughout the day, in a major step towards the government’s ambition of ending the 8am scramble.

From today (1 October 2025), patients will be able to request appointments, ask questions, and describe symptoms online throughout the day rather than calling their surgery or visiting in person. This will help free up practice phone lines for those who need them most, and make it more convenient to access appointments.

Online access is not consistent across the country and is especially difficult in overlooked areas. Some GP practices turn online requests off when they reach a certain number, while others only have the online function available for a few hours a day. When patients can’t get through on the phone, 6.6% end up in A&E – which is worse for them and more expensive for the taxpayer. By fixing the front door of the NHS, these reforms will help to ease pressures on other parts of the health service.

To ensure all GPs provide this service and meet demand, the government is providing unprecedented support for general practice and shifting care and vital resources to the community. This includes investing an additional £1.1 billion in general practice – the biggest increase in over a decade – and hiring an extra 2,000 GPs since July 2024. This has led to five million more appointments being delivered this year compared to last, with latest ONS data showing three in four patients now find it easy to contact their practice.  

The new requirement for online access represents best practice that some GP practices across England have already adopted successfully. Evidence shows that where practices have moved to this “Modern General Practice” approach, both staff and patients report improved service quality.

One London GP surgery which adopted this approach to online requests reduced waits from 14 days to just three – with 95% of patients seen within a week.

Online patient submissions have grown significantly, with almost six million submissions in July 2025 compared to 3.4 million in July 2024, demonstrating growing patient preference for digital access options that fit around their daily lives.

To make sure those most in need are prioritised, GPs are now also being incentivised to identify patients who would benefit most from seeing the same GP at every appointment, so more patients see their regular doctor each appointment.  

Patients will also benefit from over 8.3 million more appointments each year as over 1,000 doctors’ surgeries receive a bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise practices under the government’s Plan for Change.

NHS England has provided extensive support to help practices implement the changes, including a peer support programme and case studies from practices already offering online access throughout core hours.

Practices are now also required to publish a new patient charter dubbed “You and Your GP” on their websites – informing patients what they can expect from their practice and how to give feedback or raise concerns. Practices are now required to have clear processes in place to receive patient feedback or concerns so they can be swiftly addressed.

To make sure those most in need are prioritised, GPs are now also being incentivised to identify patients who would benefit most from seeing the same GP at every appointment, so more patients see their regular doctor each appointment.  

Patients will also benefit from over 8.3 million more appointments each year as over 1,000 doctors’ surgeries receive a bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise practices under the government’s Plan for Change.

Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Monday 29 September 2025 by Jill Powell

The parents of multiple children have thanked the Met Police for “giving them a voice when they didn’t have one” on the day a woman is jailed for abusing them at nursery.

Roksana Helena Lecka, 22 (13.10.2002) of Avro Place, Hounslow appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, 26 September where she was sentenced to eight years in prison. She was previously found guilty of 21 counts of child cruelty after a Met Police investigation uncovered months of abuse she had inflicted on infants, while working in nurseries.

Detective Inspector Sian Hutchings of Met Police’s Public Protection Command said:

“Today’s sentencing concludes a complex and emotional investigation. The victims in this case are just babies, with the youngest being just 10 months at the time of the offences. Something which our officers have found shocking throughout this investigation is Roksana’s lack of accountability and her inability to explain her unjustifiable actions. As a result of the hard work from our dedicated investigation team and our partners, this woman will no longer be able to harm children.”

Met officers were called to a nursery in Twickenham in June 2024, following concerns from members of staff about Lecka’s behaviour.

As enquiries unfolded, it was revealed that Lecka had been abusing children while working at two separate nurseries between October 2023 and June 2024. CCTV showed Lecka repeatedly pinching and hitting children, shoving them to the floor, pulling their hair, kicking them in the face and vaping towards their cots.

Fast paced enquiries continued with officers reviewing 300 hours of footage within 10 days. Statements were also taken from the children’s parents, some of whom provided images of injuries found on their children.

After these enquiries had taken place, Lecka was arrested at her home on 5 July on suspicion of child cruelty offences. During interview, she answered no comment to all questions after providing a prepped statement and refused to acknowledge her actions when shown the CCTV footage. She was released on bail and suspended from work while officers within the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Team continued enquiries.

She was further arrested and interviewed after more evidence came to light and charged on 25 July 2024 with 12 counts of child cruelty, 12 counts of actual bodily harm and one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.”

Following an initial appearance in court, this indictment was amended to 24 counts of child cruelty against 24 separate children.

Lecka was convicted on Monday, 16 June of 21 counts of child cruelty. The jury found her not guilty on three counts.

She was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday, 26 September and barred from working with children.

Detective Inspector Sian Hutchings added:

“I want to commend the strength of the parents throughout this investigation. I can’t imagine how horrendous it’s been to sit in court and listen to the abuse that Lecka inflicted on their children.

“Despite this, they have acted with grace and dignity and even took the time to record a thank you video directly from the children to DC Geoff Boye and DC Eloise Hand and other partners who supported. In this video, they thanked officers for giving their children a voice when they didn’t have one.

“These parents put their trust in Lecka to care for their children as well as the other staff at the nursery did. Lecka abused this trust and today’s sentence hold her accountable for this.

“I know that our officers have found this a challenging and disturbing case to investigate, and I would like to comment Detective Constable Eloise Hand and Detective Sergeant Geoff Boye for their dedication, compassion and attention to detail which has put this dangerous woman behind bars and protected vulnerable children.”

Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Tuesday 30 September 2025

A former maths teacher has been sentenced for the sexual abuse of numerous girls and multiple child sexual abuses of young girls.

Syed Shahreear Ahmed, 36, has been found guilty of 21 criminal charges including, grooming, sexual activity with a child, taking and making indecent images of a child, rape, and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, extended for five years.

Ahmed was a maths teacher at a secondary school in Essex until he resigned after his arrest in May 2023.

An investigation by the Metropolitan Police and subsequent prosecution review and analysis of his two smartphones showed that he had been in contact with numerous girls and young women on social media, making arrangements to meet them and engage in sexual activity.

Claire Brinton, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service said: 

“Syed Ahmed targeted his young, often vulnerable victims via social media platforms with the sole aim of grooming them for child sexual abuse.  He pretended to be a 16-17 year old male and arranged to meet the victims so that he could rape and sexually assault them knowing that they were under 16 years of age.  He kept imagery of much of his abuse on his devices.The lifelong physical and emotional trauma caused to victims by men like Ahmed cannot be understated.

“We would like to thank the victims in this case for coming forward and reporting this devastating crime. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that the CPS will relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse took place.

“I encourage any victims of child sexual abuse and sexual violence to report the crimes committed against them to the police. You are not alone and there is always help available.”

Detective Inspector Peter Harvey, from the Met Police’s Specialist Crime – Complex Case and Exploitation, said:

“It is due to the bravery of the girls who came forward that we have been able to achieve this outcome and I thank them for providing the evidence needed to ensure Ahmed will face a long term of imprisonment.

“During a long-running and complex investigation alongside Cambridgeshire, Thames Valley, Essex and Kent Police, we were able to piece together Ahmed’s offending.

“He would track children online, before quickly manufacturing a personal meeting and carrying out the most appalling acts on girls as young as 14-years-old.

“A manipulative serial predator, I remain concerned that Ahmed may have committed other offences that have yet to be reported to us. I would urge anyone who may recognise this man and believe he may have come into contact with you or your loved ones to please contact us immediately.

“Specialist officers are available to offer support and signpost to external partners. Any reports will be fully investigated and dealt with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues from Cambridgeshire, Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Essex and Kent Police who showed true professionalism and determination and were key in bringing Ahmed to justice.”

To deal with some of the more complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases like this, the CPS has established a dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to share specialist understanding, build strong cases and increase the amount of successful prosecutions.

Source: The Law Commission published on this website Friday 26 September 2025 by Jill Powell

Disabled children across England will benefit from clearer legal rights and more consistent support under comprehensive reforms published by the Law Commission today.

The recommendations are the culmination of a two-year review and follow extensive consultation on proposals to modernise the fragmented legal framework governing social care for disabled children. Currently, families and local authorities navigate a complex web of overlapping laws from the 1970s and 1980s that create confusion and inconsistent provision across the country. The new proposals would ensure the law in this area is fairer, simpler and up to date. 

The Law Commission recommends keeping disabled children within existing Children Act protections while introducing a discrete set of rights and entitlements for disabled children into that Act. This new, unified framework should be accompanied by dedicated and comprehensive guidance setting out the rights and responsibilities of disabled children, families and local authorities. This guidance should include material which helps local authorities to ensure that there is a more appropriate balance struck between identifying and meeting the needs of disabled children and their families in a non-stigmatising way, and safeguarding them from harm and abuse. 

The unified legal framework would establish national eligibility criteria, ending the current postcode lottery where a disabled child in one part of the country will have their needs met but a child in another part of the country with identical needs will not. As a first step toward this national system, the Law Commission recommends that the Government carry out further work – involving disabled children, families and local authorities – to decide what the eligibility criteria should be and ensure that they are financially sustainable. 

Other key reforms include giving disabled children express rights to request social care assessments and ensuring they receive independent advocacy when needed, to make sure that their voices are heard. The proposals would also strengthen transition planning to adulthood and improve cooperation between health, education and social care services.  

The recommendations aim to balance meeting disability-related needs whilst maintaining essential safeguarding protections.  

These recommendations represent a crucial step towards ensuring disabled children receive the support they need, when they need it, regardless of where they live. The current system, built on legislation from decades ago, has become unnecessarily complex and is no longer working for children and families.

Our proposals would create a simpler, fairer and more accessible framework that puts the child’s best interests at the heart of decision-making whilst maintaining vital protections. The reforms would end the unacceptable situation where a child’s eligibility for support depends more on their postcode than their needs.

By establishing national eligibility criteria and clearer legal pathways, we can ensure every disabled child has access to consistent, appropriate support. These changes would also empower children by giving them direct rights to request assessments and access independent advocacy when they need it most.

Commissioner for Public Law, Alison Young

“Disabled children’s social care law” is the body of legal rules covering:  

• whether a disabled child can get help from social services to meet their needs;  
• what help they can get; and   
• how they get it.   

The reforms are likely to affect over half a million disabled children in England. Implementation would require government approval and new legislation to be introduced in Parliament. 

The full report and recommendations are now with government for consideration. 

The full report and a summary are available here.