Parts of the UK could see up to 5cm of snow today, with temperatures set to fall as low as -10C (14F) in some areas.
Three yellow weather warnings are currently in place, with Met Office forecasters warning that colder conditions will persist into the weekend.
The whole eastern coast of the UK, stretching from Scotland to East Anglia, is under an alert for snow and ice until 11am this morning.
Image: The scene in Northumberland yesterday
Check the latest weather forecast where you are
Commuters are being told that journeys by road and rail could take longer than usual, and untreated icy patches could cause slips and falls.
Warnings for ice are also in force across parts of Northern Ireland and southwest England until 10am, with treacherous conditions possible as temperatures fall below freezing following showers.
The bout of wintry weather made its presence felt on Thursday, with dozens of schools in Cornwall either partially or fully closed.
Several crashes were also reported on County Durham’s roads because of snow.
A widespread frost is forecast for this morning, with overnight temperatures plunging to -6C in southwest England, -8C in Wales, and -10C in Scotland.
Temperatures are also unlikely to recover during the day, with a maximum of just 5C (41F) anticipated across the South.
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The UK Health Security Agency has issued amber cold health alerts in five regions – the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber – until 5 December.
It fears there could be a “significant” impact across the health and social care sector.
According to the Met Office, the UK is likely to remain in a northeasterly air flow for several days to come, meaning it will stay cold well into next week.
National Highways is urging motorists to plan their journeys, keep an eye on the weather forecast, and take extra care on the roads.
Its national network manager Dale Hipkiss said: “Freezing conditions bring so many hazards such as snow and ice, please take every possible step to understand your journey in advance and allow extra time when travelling.
“Keeping a kit of essential items like a torch and warm clothes in your vehicle can be vital.”
The heatwave will reach a dramatic climax on Sunday – with a yellow warning for thunderstorms in place across large parts of the UK.
Temperatures are set to head above 30C (86F) once again in parts of southern England – with much cooler conditions expected as a new week begins.
But further north, the Met Office is warning that thunderstorms could bring disruption, and a risk of sudden flooding in some areas.
Find out the weather forecast where you are
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2:10
UK heatwave soon to end?
A yellow warning is in force from 2pm to 11.59pm – covering much of northern England and Northern Ireland, alongside parts of Scotland and Wales.
“Unlucky locations” could see up to 70mm of intense rainfall in the space of a few hours – with “additional hazards” of frequent lightning and large hail.
Saturday was provisionally the hottest day of the year so far – with highs of 33.2C (92F) recorded at London’s Kew Bridge.
And Sunday is set to prolong the record for the longest consecutive stretch of September days above 30C, with temperatures above this threshold for the seventh day in a row.
Britons are being urged to make the most of the warmer weather, as conditions are set to become more typical for this time of year.
Read more: This heatwave was very unusual – here’s why
Showers and longer spells of rain will begin to sweep in on Monday – and it’s shaping up to be rather unsettled in the South on Tuesday.
Sky’s weather producer Chris England said: “It will be cooler and fresher for many, still quite muggy in the South East, although not as hot as recently.”
Asylum seekers could start being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge as soon as today – with the government announcing further measures to combat illegal migration.
About 50 people are expected to be in the first group of migrants to board the vessel docked in Portland Port, Dorset, despite local opposition.
Inside the Bibby Stockholm barge
The developments come as the government begins a so-called “small boats week” – with a series of announcements on the issue that Rishi Sunak has promised to solve.
Fines for employers and landlords who allow people who arrive by illegal means to work for them or live in their properties are to be hugely increased.
Civil penalties for employers will be increased up to a maximum of £45,000 per worker for a first breach and £60,000 for repeat offenders, tripling both from the last increase in 2014.
Landlords face fines going from £1,000 per occupier to £10,000, with repeat breaches going from £3,000 to £20,000. Penalties relating to lodgers will also be hiked.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News that the Bibby Stockholm will accept its first occupants “in the coming days”.
The Home Office did nothing to dampen suggestions the arrivals could come on Monday. Various expected dates have been given and then missed in the past, however.
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2:47
Labour ‘stuck with barges’
Politics latest: ‘Crying shame’ not to use private sector in NHS
Mr Jenrick offered a guarantee that it is a “safe facility” after the firefighters’ union warned it is a “potential death trap”, citing concerns including overcrowding and access to fire exits.
“We hope that the first migrants will go on to the boat in the coming days, I’m not going to give you an exact date – but very soon,” he said.
He said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of about 500 is still the plan despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union over the vessel initially designed to house about 200.
The government is also reconsidering plans to fly people who arrive by unauthorised means 4,000 miles to Ascension Island, according to multiple reports.
Read more: Labour on Bibby Stockholm barge Social media giants to crack down on posts encouraging migrant crossings
Image: Home Secretary Suella Braverman (centre) tours a building site on the outskirts of Kigali during her visit to Rwanda
The proposals to use the British Overseas Territory are apparently being considered by ministers and officials as a “plan B” if the Rwanda plan fails.
Deep in the South Atlantic, the volcanic island could house an asylum processing centre as an attempt to reduce the number of small boats crossing the Channel.
The plans to remove asylum seekers who arrive by unauthorised means to Rwanda have been stalled by legal challenges that will end up in the Supreme Court.
Households will pay less for their gas and electricity from today but bills will still be almost double what they were before the energy crisis.
The average household energy bill will fall by £426 a year from 1 July after Ofgem dropped its price cap following tumbling wholesale prices.
People had been advised to submit meter readings before midnight on 30 June to ensure they are paying the lower prices as soon as they come into effect.
Cost of living latest – Huge drop in UK house prices predicted
Those who could not are advised to do so as close to the date as possible, taking a time-stamped photo as proof.
The industry regulator is cutting its price cap from £3,280 to £2,074.
The change is a relief for consumers who have seen typical bills rocket upwards from £1,271 a year in October 2021 due to soaring power prices driven by the post-pandemic recovery and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Households have been partly shielded from the most recent rise in prices by the government’s energy price guarantee (EPG), which limited annual energy costs to £2,500 for the average household.
Ofgem’s latest cut means its cap will again govern household bills, with the guarantee no longer applying.
The change in the cap will result in a typical reduction of £426 from £2,500 to £2,074 – a fall of about 17%.
The energy price cap sets a limit on the maximum amount suppliers can charge for each unit of gas and electricity.
The headline price cap figure is an average across households rather than an absolute cap on bills, so those that use more will pay more.
Read more: Energy giant hikes capacity at UK’s largest gas storage facility Record amount withdrawn from savings
Which? Energy editor Emily Seymour said: “While the new price cap will see typical bills drop by around £500, energy bills will still be almost double the amount they were before the energy crisis began – which will be unaffordable for some households.
“If you are concerned about struggling to pay higher bills, there is help available. Speak to your energy provider about a payment plan you can afford and check to see if you qualify for any government schemes.”
Ms Seymour added: “Fixed deals are starting to return to the market for existing customers of some suppliers. We wouldn’t recommend fixing anything higher than the unit rates in your current deal or for longer than a year.
“If you are offered a deal, then it’s really important to check the tariff’s exit fees in case you want to leave that deal early if the price cap comes down.”
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0:54
Energy price cap reduction explained
A spokeswoman for Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said: “The fall in the price cap from July will be welcome news for customers who have had to face record energy bills over the last year amidst a steep rise in the cost of living and for whom the government’s bill support has been crucial in preventing even bigger difficulties.
“However, bills remain much higher than they were 18 months ago and many customers will continue to struggle, especially following the removal of some of that support.
“If – as the current projections indicate – annual bills of £2,000 plus become the new normal, it underlines the importance and urgency of the energy industry, Ofgem, government and consumer groups working together to put in place targeted support for those most in need next winter.”
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Listen and subscribe to the Ian King Business Podcast here
Household energy bills are expected to fall again, to below £2,000 a year from October, according to the latest forecasts.
Energy industry consultancy Cornwall Insight said it thinks the price cap on energy bills will fall to £1,978.33 from October from July’s £2,074, but rise again from January to £2,004.40, based on Ofgem’s current measures.
However, the regulator is adjusting its definition of the average household’s consumption from October, down from the current 2,900 kWh a year for electricity to 2,700 kWh, and from 12,000 kWh for gas to 11,500 kWh, to reflect consumers using less energy to cut costs in the face of high prices.
Based on Ofgem’s adjusted definitions of average usage, Cornwall Insight has forecast that the regulator will announce price caps of £1,871 a year from October and £1,900 from January.
The Bank of England’s interest rate has increased by 0.5 percentage points – a figure that was bigger than expected.
The 13th consecutive increase came as a shock to most economists – but financial markets had forecast, to a greater degree, that a bolder move against inflation was warranted.
Here, Sky News explains the thinking behind the bank’s decision, and the immediate implications for your family finances as the cost of living crisis continues to evolve.
Why is the bank hiking so aggressively?
Put simply: the inflation number on Wednesday came in so hot – remaining at 8.7% during May – that the bank felt it had no choice but to act more aggressively.
The data from the Office for National Statistics also showed that so-called core inflation, which strips out volatile elements such as energy and food, was on the rise rather than easing.
It’s a particular worry for the bank as it suggests price rises are becoming more engrained in the economy.
Governor Andrew Bailey has spoken out on “unsustainable” company profit margins and levels of wage rises, at 7.2%.
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1:15
Chancellor: ‘We need to be patient’
But why impose more hardship on me?
It is perverse, isn’t it, that in acting to end the cost of living crisis as quickly as possible, the bank is imposing even more costs on millions of people.
Its only tool to utilise this is through a rate rise.
The bank, which has a 2% inflation target, wants to see the annual rate of price growth stabilise around that level – so its aim in making borrowing more expensive is to curb demand in the economy.
Who is affected today?
The dwindling number of households on standard variable rates (SVR) or trackers – those that are linked to the Bank of England rate – will see their mortgage bills go up almost straight away.
According to Moneyfactscompare, a rate rise of 0.5 percentage points on the current average SVR of 7.52% would add approximately £1,576 onto total repayments over two years.
Those on tracker deals, at an average of almost 5.5%, will see their monthly bills rise by just over £47 per month.
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0:53
Labour has ‘five-point’ mortgage plan
What about fixed-rate residential mortgage customers?
There were just over two million households on SVR or trackers early last year as bank rate started to creep further up.
The bulk are now on fixed-rate deals of either two or five years’ duration – but those costs have been surging, too.
Because of growing market interest rate expectations, funding costs for lenders have been going up in the process, forcing banks and building societies to pull their best deals, sometimes within days, and keep repricing.
That has been particularly acute this month, with the average two-year fix just passing 6% on Monday and hitting 6.19% on Thursday, according to Moneyfacts.
How are buy-to-let mortgages faring?
The majority of the two million such mortgages are on fixed-rate terms.
Rising bank rate expectations, again, only places more costs on lenders.
They pass them on to landlords who, in turn, make their tenants pay for it through their rent.
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2:09
What’s keeping inflation so high?
How much worse could this get?
Financial markets currently see UK bank rate hitting 6% early next year.
That is a whole percentage point higher than it stands at today.
By implication, it tells us that fixed-rate deals have further to run above their current levels.
Read more: The solution to bringing down inflation is a political nightmare for the Tories Mortgage misery: What is causing the crunch, will it get worse and what can you do if you are struggling? ‘Eyewatering’ hit to 1.4 million, mainly young, mortgage customers ahead, IFS warns
Surely savers are benefiting?
Banks have been accused by consumer groups and MPs of being quick to pass on rate hikes to their mortgage customers but slow to recognise the rises in their savings rates.
Building societies have had the better press than banks generally.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said of the current market: “A flurry of savings rate competition and consecutive Bank of England base rate rises continue to improve the savings market.
“Those savers earning variable rates of interest who take time to review their existing pots may find more attractive returns are available elsewhere, as their loyalty has not been rewarded.
“The top easy access accounts pay around 4%, with the market average around 2%, however, some of the biggest banks pay much less.”
Tens of thousands of university staff are set to go on strike today – the first of three walkouts planned for this week.
Some 70,000 members of the University and College Union (UCU) are set to take part in the action, spanning 150 universities across the UK.
Lecturers will be among those not turning up to work as a dispute over pay, contracts, and pensions continues.
Strikes are also set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It comes after the union’s higher education committee voted to continue action last week, and not to put the latest proposals from employers to a vote of its members.
Unions including the UCU had said that a deal with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) had been reached “on terms of reference for detailed negotiations”, including on pay and workload.
Read more: Who is going on strike in 2023 and when?
But hopes of a breakthrough were later quashed by the UCU’s higher education committee.
Raj Jethwa, Universities and Colleges Employers Association chief executive, said the agreement “reflected the employers’ genuine desire to positively reset industrial relations in our sector”.
“There is a tangible offer on the table from employers to negotiate on the issues at the heart of this dispute,” he added.
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Monday marks the start of a seventh week of strike action by higher education workers.
Thousands of ambulance workers are going on strike today in their ongoing dispute over pay and staffing.
The strike will involve more than 11,000 members of the GMB union in England and Wales, along with some members of the Unite union.
It comes as the number of health workers taking industrial action continues to grow, with junior doctors set to go on strike next month.
Speaking on behalf of ambulance workers, GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said they will walk out “because this government is tin-eared”.
“It has been over a month since the government engaged in any meaningful dialogue,” she said.
“They are missing in action and refuse to talk pay.”
She added: “Solving the issue of pay is vital if we’re going to stem the tide of dedicated healthcare workers leaving the profession.”
Junior doctors in the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) have said they will strike in England on Wednesday 15 March.
Some 97.48% of members voted in favour of what will be the first strike in the union’s history.
HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan said: “Junior doctors have held together patient care amid a spiralling staffing crisis.
“In return for this huge emotional, mental and physical toll they’ve been subjected to a decade of real-terms pay cuts totalling over 26%. Enough is enough.”
Read more: Who is taking industrial action in 2023 and when? Rising public support for unions, poll suggests
Around 45,000 junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have also been balloted on strike action – with the result due at the end of February.
The BMA has warned it will stage a three-day strike if there is a “yes” vote.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “As part of a multi-year deal we agreed with the BMA, junior doctors’ pay has increased by a cumulative 8.2% since 2019/20.
“We also introduced a higher pay band for the most experienced staff and increased rates for night shifts.”
Image: Steve Barclay said ‘it is time unions engaged constructively’. Pic: AP
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Strikes are in nobody’s best interests and only cause further disruption for patients, despite contingency measures in place.
“It is time unions engaged constructively with the pay review body process for 2023/24 and cancelled strikes so we can move forward and continue tackling the COVID-19 backlog.
“I’ve been clear throughout that I remain keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable for the coming financial year, as well as wider concerns around conditions and workload so we can make the NHS a better place to work.”
Nurses will continue their action with a 48-hour strike starting on 1 March, with the Royal College of Nursing saying it has received £250,000 in public donations since starting its campaign in December.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “There isn’t a person in this country whose life hasn’t been impacted by a nurse and that’s why the public are with us every step of the way.”
Around 500 people crossed from France to England across the Channel today, according to Sky sources.
Groups of people wearing life jackets and some wrapped in blankets were pictured being brought into Dover, Kent, on a Border Force boat.
A record 45,728 made the crossing on small boats last year, up more than 60% on the previous year.
Government figures show 592 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, but the activity was only recorded on three days in January.
Some 1,339 made the journey in the first month of 2022.
It comes as MPs heard flights sending migrants to Rwanda may not take place until later this year at the earliest amid ongoing legal action.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the government still hopes to restart flights “as soon as possible”, but said it was “right” to wait until court appeals have concluded.
Asked when the government hopes to restart flights to Rwanda, Mr Jenrick told MPs: “As soon as possible. It obviously remains the government’s policy. We see it as an absolutely critical way of deterring people from making the dangerous crossing and changing the business model of the people smugglers.”
High Court judges ruled the policy was lawful last month, but so far efforts to launch it have been mired by legal action.
Mr Jenrick said an appeal “will be heard later this year” and added: “We look forward to defending the government’s position once again as robustly as possible and hope, and expect, that we’ll have a similar outcome in the Court of Appeal.”
Asked to confirm if the government was waiting for the appeal to conclude before any flights will start again, he said: “Yes. It’s right that we await to the outcome of the British courts… then obviously the government will decide how to proceed once we have the final judgment.”
Two days of strikes by nurses and paramedics will have a knock-on effect on appointments with a return to “very high numbers” of emergency calls in the coming days, NHS Providers has warned.
Historic strike action saw thousands of nurses picket on Tuesday and ambulance staff stage their biggest strike in 30 years yesterday.
The number of people calling 999 appeared to drop in some parts of England yesterday and the membership organisation for NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services said there had been “varying levels of disruption” across the country.
It said some demand had shifted to other services or not materialised as expected.
But the organisation said demand for care across the whole healthcare system remained high and trust leaders were reporting ongoing delays to ambulance services and overcrowding at some accident and emergency departments.
Nurses, ambulance staff, railway and postal workers have now returned to work, however, there are more strikes taking place today – with highway workers and driving test examiners among those downing-tools.
The military steps in
NHS England said at least 11,509 staff were absent from work across England during strikes by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Tuesday and 13,797 appointments and procedures had to be rescheduled.
Members of the military stepped in to take the place of ambulance workers yesterday, with trusts telling patients to only call 999 in the case of a life-threatening injury.
he next ambulance strike is due to take place on 28 December.
Read more: Strikes every day before Christmas – which sectors are affected and why
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0:48
Armed forces cover for ambulance staff
Government could fast-track NHS pay rise
Meanwhile, reports said the government could fast-track an NHS pay rise next year.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Health Secretary Steve Barclay is poised to offer an expedited pay deal after unions and ministers remained mired in a stalemate over pay conditions.
The paper said a source close to Mr Barclay, who has been criticised by unions for suggesting striking health workers had “made a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients”, revealed he is keen to “speed up the process” of giving NHS staff a pay rise early next year.
Unions have said they expect NHS workers to be offered a 2% increase next year based on a letter Mr Barclay sent last month to the NHS Pay Review Body.
Wales strike action ‘upsetting to all’
Doctors in Wales are considering taking strike action for the first time, the British Medical Association Cymru has said.
Almost two-thirds of hospital doctors surveyed by the union said they would be willing to take some form of industrial action over pay and conditions.
Iona Collins, the BMA’s Welsh Council chairwoman, called the survey “upsetting to all” and said it is “gut-wrenching for doctors to consider walking away from work”.
She added: “Without action now, patients will continue to suffer as a direct consequence of an under-funded NHS with insufficient direct clinical care.”
In October, the BMA announced that a ballot for industrial action by junior doctors in England will open on 9 January.
Just under 1,000 doctors in Wales responded to the survey seeking views on a 4.5% pay award from the Welsh government – with 78% of those who answered saying they want a pay rise matching or exceeding inflation.
Dr Collins said: “Doctors have been quietly quitting the NHS for years, by reducing their contracted hours or leaving altogether. The financial incentive to remain in the NHS has eroded over the last decade.”
Who’s striking today?
National Highways workers will begin a walkout in London and the south east of England, which will last until Christmas Day.
This will affect officers who work in the aftermath of accidents as well as call centre staff. National Highways have said no roads will be closed as a result of the strike.
Workers for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in the north west of England, Yorkshire and Humber and North Wales will stop work.
Driving test examiners will also be striking, affecting driving test centres in north west England and Yorkshire and the Humber. Theory tests will not be affected.
Unite members working for Highlands and Islands Airports will stage another strike.
Rural Payments Agency (RPA) staff will continue their walkout and Unison workers at the Environment Agency will refuse to provide on-call cover for unexpected incidents.
Unite members working for Highlands and Islands Airports will also be striking.
Tens of thousands of nurses are going on strike today for their first mass walkout in a century across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The action, a bid to secure above-inflation pay rises, is going ahead after talks to avert it ended in a deadlock.
Picket lines are being set up at dozens of hospitals and thousands of NHS appointments and operations have been cancelled, with the health service running a bank holiday-style service in many areas.
Share your NHS experience – how are the strikes affecting you?
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said it will still staff chemotherapy, emergency cancer services, dialysis, critical care units, neonatal and paediatric intensive care.
Some areas of mental health and learning disability and autism services are also exempt from the strike, while trusts have been told they can request staffing for specific clinical needs.
When it comes to adult A&E and urgent care, nurses will work Christmas Day-style rotas.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said agency NHS trusts were “pulling out all the stops” to lessen the impact on patients.
She said: “But it’s inevitable that some operations or appointments will have to be rescheduled, and trusts are pulling out all the stops to minimise disruption.
“The cold snap has ramped up demand that was already at or close to record levels, but on strike day NHS trusts will do everything they can to ensure that essential services are properly staffed and patient safety, always the number one priority, is safeguarded.”
Read More: How strike will impact A&E and other NHS services – and which hospitals are affected
RCN chief executive Pat Cullen has accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of “belligerence” after he refused to discuss the issue of pay – because the government has already accepted recommendations made by the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) to give below inflation pay rises of around 4%.
This would have seen them get a pay rise of around £1,400.
Image: Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been criticised by the head of the Royal College of Nursing
The RCN has been calling for a pay rise at 5% above inflation, though it has indicated it would accept a lower offer.
When it submitted the 5% figure to the independent pay review body in March, inflation was running at 7.5%.
But inflation has since soared, with RPI standing at 14.2% in September.
‘A tragic first’
Meanwhile, in Scotland, RCN members are being consulted on a revised pay offer from the Scottish government.
Ms Cullen said: “Nurses are not relishing this, we are acting with a very heavy heart.
“It has been a difficult decision taken by hundreds of thousands who begin to remove their labour in a bid to be heard, recognised and valued.
“It is a tragic first for nursing, the RCN and the NHS.
“Nursing staff on picket lines is a sign of failure on the part of governments.
“My plea to patients is to know that this strike is for you too – it’s about waiting lists, treatments that are cancelled year round and the very future of the NHS.”
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7:25
Royal College of Nursing leader Pat Cullen says the government’s ‘turned its back’ on nurses
The RCN has also raised the issue of huge staff vacancies in the NHS, with 47,000 nurse roles empty in England alone. And it has warned strike action may need to continue into January if the government does not re-negotiate on pay.
The health secretary said nurses were “incredibly dedicated to their job” and that it was “deeply regrettable some union members are going ahead with strike action”.
Mr Barclay added: “My number one priority is to keep patients safe – I’ve been working across government and with medics outside the public sector to ensure safe staffing levels – but I do remain concerned about the risk that strikes pose to patients.
“Nevertheless, the NHS is open and patients should continue to seek urgent medical care – and attend appointments – unless they’ve been contacted by the NHS.”
He said paying nurses more “would mean taking money away from frontline services at a time when we are tackling record waiting lists as a result of the pandemic.”
Read more: Who is striking this winter and why?
But pressure is mounting on the government to find a compromise on pay, with former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry saying it “is going to have to improve its offer”.
“We need to find a way as a government, and the union does too, to get to that centre point, that point of agreement straight away,” he told Talk TV.
During the strike, nurses will man picket lines at major NHS hospitals, including Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust in London, Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
Several trusts have already given details of cancelled outpatient appointments and planned treatments.
The Western Trust in Northern Ireland said it had “regrettably taken the decision to cancel some non-emergency services”, with 587 outpatient appointments postponed across Altnagelvin Hospital, Omagh Primary Care and Treatment Centre and South West Acute Hospital.
The trust said there would also be reduced staffing in community nursing services including rapid response nursing, district nursing, community respiratory nursing and continence services.
Image: Pic: AP
In Wales, the Welsh government said non-urgent or routine appointments are likely to be postponed.
On Wednesday, the head of NHS Employers said “real concerns” remain about the level of cover nurses will provide for cancer patients during the strike.
In a letter to NHS leaders, Danny Mortimer said some aspects of talks with the RCN had been disappointing and warned that “unless the government indicates a willingness to negotiate on pay-related matters, further strike dates will be announced by the RCN for January 2023 and beyond”.
A second RCN nurse strike is set for 20 December, while thousands of ambulance workers will go on strike on 21 December.
The RCN has urged agency workers not to cover for striking staff.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) began the first of two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail – and 14 train companies – on Tuesday, which will last until Friday.
There is also industrial action planned in a whole number of UK spheres, including paramedics,postal workers, Border Force agents, firefighters, driving instructors, bus operators, airport baggage handlers and even coffin makers.
