Four individuals have been arrested following dawn raids across three counties, as the Serious Fraud Office investigates a "sophisticated conspiracy" to fraudulently claim public funds from the government's Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) scheme.
Over 20,000 students across the UK have been instructed to repay maintenance loans and grants, with the Student Loans Company (SLC) asserting their weekend courses were never eligible for such funding. Universities are disputing the decision, with some considering legal action against what they term an "abrupt" government change, while the Department for Education attributes the issue to institutional "incompetence or abuse."
The government has announced a £1.2m investment for specialist training in up to 250 schools located in knife crime hotspots across England. This initiative aims to divert children from serious violence through measures such as mentoring and chaperones, forming part of a broader strategy to halve knife crime within a decade. Opposition parties have criticised the plans, citing previous police cuts and arguing that the measures do not go far enough.
