PROUD MEDIA NEWS CENTRE

  A critical shortage of skilled workers is jeopardising the Government’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029, according to research. Skills development organisation City & Guilds surveyed employers, training providers and employees, finding 76% of construction firms are struggling to recruit the skilled people they need, with 84% agreeing the industry is suffering from critical skills shortages. The latest outlook from the Construction Industry Training Board suggests the industry needs to recruit 239,300 workers by 2029 to be able to meet the projected demand for the 1.5 million homes target. More than half (54%) of employers do not think the sector has the workforce it needs to meet this target, with the same percentage also putting into doubt the sector’s ability to deliver net zero housing goals. Kirstie Donnelly, chief executive of City & Guilds, said: “We can’t build 1.5 million homes without the people to deliver it. We urgently need to reset how we attrac...

  Roads in central Cardiff will close from 12pm on Friday and Saturday, as train operators warn commuters that trains will be "busy". Oasis are set to kick off their reunion tour in Cardiff this weekend, with thousands expected to descend on the Welsh capital. The 41-date  Oasis  Live 25 tour begins in the city on Friday and Saturday, amid warnings for people to plan ahead before they travel. The Gallagher brothers' last performance together was in 2009, and the tour sold out within hours of its announcement last August, with fans eager to catch a glimpse of the reunion. But where is the tour heading - and why was Cardiff chosen as the city where the brothers will perform for the first time together in almost 16 years? When does the tour start and where is it heading? After  Cardiff , Oasis will go on to perform at  Manchester ,  London ,  Edinburgh  and  Dublin  on their UK and Ireland leg of the tour. See below for a full list of tour ...

  Jurors in the high-profile trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs found him guilty of transportation for prostitution after hearing seven weeks of evidence. The date for his sentencing has now been set. Sean "Diddy" Combs has been found guilty of transportation for prostitution following a landmark trial in New York - but cleared of more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. The hip-hop mogul was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura, and other crimes including kidnapping, arson and blackmail. Jurors decided not all the allegations were proven - but  Combs  still faces several years in prison after being convicted of transporting people across the US, including Cassie and another former girlfriend "Jane", and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters. However, with the not guilty verdict on three other more serious...

  Singer-songwriter Sam Fender’s People Watching is the biggest-selling album to be released this year so far, according to the Official Charts Company. People Watching became Fender’s third number one album when it came out in February, with sales soaring as the North Shields-born singer played a series of sold-out shows in the North West last month. Meanwhile, another singer-songwriter – US star Alex Warren – has overtaken British star Lola Young as the artist with the UK’s biggest song of the year so far. His song Ordinary has enjoyed a total of 1.09 million chart sales and been streamed 128 million times since its February release. It spent 12 weeks at number one, making him the US artist with the most consecutive weeks at number one in Official Singles Chart history. Close behind is Young with her self-proclaimed “ADHD anthem” Messy, which has had 113 million streams and more than 33,000 downloads, making it the most-downloaded track of the year so far. Fresh from her Glastonb...

  The latest national four-day working week pilot, involving 17 companies and nearly 1,000 workers, has ended with a 100% success rate, it was announced on Thursday. All 17 companies have decided to continue working a shorter working week at the end of the trial. The six-month trial began last November and was organised by the 4 Day Week Foundation. Organisations were able to maintain service levels and key performance indicators whilst observing several benefits for employee wellbeing, said the report. Almost two-thirds of workers registered a reduction in how often they experienced burnout, two in five found an improvement in their mental health and almost half said they felt more satisfied with life. Joe Ryle, campaign director of the 4 Day Week Foundation, said: “With greater knowledge, expertise and experience of what it takes to successfully implement a four-day week, we’re really pleased to see such a high success rate. “People are happier, businesses are thriving, and there...

  A security officer had to be permanently stationed at the door to press a button to open it, which one peer calculated was costing £2,500 each week. A former spending watchdog has been asked to investigate after a new front door was installed at the House of Lords that cost nearly £10m and does not work. A security officer had to be permanently stationed at the door to press a button to open it, which one peer calculated was costing £2,500 each week. It also emerged the cost of the work spiralled by nearly 60% from the original estimate of £6.1m. The Lord Speaker has now written to independent crossbencher Lord Morse, who led the National Audit Office for a decade, to investigate the £9.6m door debacle. In his letter, Lord McFall of Alcluith, who chairs the House of Lords Commission that oversees the running of the site, said: "The commission identified that it was unclear how many issues were due to manufacturing and installation failures and how many were due to issues with th...

  Inspectors who reviewed Greater Manchester Police said the force was working on child sexual exploitation investigations involving 714 victims and survivors, along with 1,099 suspects. Despite making "significant improvements", Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has lost the "trust and confidence" of some victims of grooming gangs, according to a report by the police watchdog. Michelle Skeer, His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, said that since 2019, when GMP started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, "the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation". The document, published today, said police have live investigations into "multi-victim, multi-offender" child sexual exploitation inquiries, involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects. But despite recording improvements, a report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Consta...