| In just eight years time, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned to help the UK meet its net zero targets. And a few months ago Downing Street described an 'electric vehicle revolution' as Boris Johnson promised that up to 145,000 extra charge points will be installed across England each year. But with the 2030 deadline likely to bring about a rise in the use of environmentally-friendly electric vehicles (EVs), how well prepared are the North's towns and cities? If research by insurance firm esure is anything to go by, the answer is that some parts of our region already have a good supply of vital charging points. Sunderland, Newcastle, Durham and Teesside all rank in the top ten for the number per electric vehicle currently installed. Predictably enough, London is the best-equipped with a charger for every 4.1 EVs, while Manchester also makes the top ten. But a few miles away from Manchester, Stockport is at the bottom of the pile, with 448.3 electric and hybrid vehicles having to share each charger.  Research by esure shows how electric vehicle charges are distributed. Graphic by Lisa Walsh
A report last year identified that there were only eight locations across the borough with publicly available charging points. Registered EVs in the borough make up just 0.5% of licensed vehicles but at 866 vehicles this is still the second-highest level among Greater Manchester's ten boroughs. While the local authority expects the private sector to lead in the provision, its report said that "where locations are not financially viable public sector will ensure that suitable provision is available". In Harrogate, where there is just one charging point for every 134.2 electric or hybrid cars, the council admits the district's charging point numbers are "some way behind" neighbouring York and Leeds and has set an aim to get 10,000 electric vehicles on the roads by 2023. It said in a statement that it has installed charging points at several council-owned locations and that it plans to roll out 60 more within the next five years. But even in the North East, transport chiefs predict that thousands of new electric vehicle charging points will be needed to meet escalating demand beyond 2030. There are currently only around 800 publicly accessible charging posts dotted across the region, but that number will need to increase to as many as 28,000 in the coming years. 
Jackie Weaver 'did not have authority' at viral council meeting  Jackie Weaver became an internet sensation after the Handforth council meeting
She became an unlikely internet star after her role in a bad-tempered online parish council meeting in Cheshire went viral. But new reports about the Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting which took the internet by storm have found Jackie Weaver in fact 'did not have the authority' to manage attendance at the meeting. Ms Weaver was told by one councillor 'you have no authority here' as she removed some members from the meeting and muted their microphones. A report commissioned by Cheshire East Council following complaints from the public about the conduct of three councillors at the meeting, found she did not have the right to remove them. It did state however that her actions were 'understandable'. The arguments centred around whether holding the two extraordinary meetings on December 10, 2020, was lawful. Some of the parish councillors claimed they were not.
 Steven Pleasant's comment posted on Twitter
Another local official in the spotlight is the chief executive of Tameside council in Greater Manchester, who this week apologised for comments he made on social media about Tory voters weeks before the local elections. Steven Pleasant used his official chief executive Twitter account to respond to comments made by a Conservative voter on BBC's Question Time last week. A clip from the TV programme showed an audience member who voted for the Tories telling minister Damian Hinds his government is a 'disappointment'. In a post that has now been deleted, Mr Pleasant replied on Twitter saying: "She was good. Tory voter with compassion and empathy for others. Who knew !!" Responding to complaints from Conservative councillors in Tameside, the chief executive apologised to the opposition group. But he said the views specifically referred to his frustrations about central government support for refugees, writes Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan.
Labour rails against social care 'dementia tax' hitting the North  Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting in the Commons
Less money will be spent on care home residents in the North compared to the South under the Government's social care plans, Labour says today ahead of a key Commons vote. Someone with a home worth £1 million who needs long-term care would see over 90% of their assets protected but those with homes worth around £110,000 could lose almost everything, according to recent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Health Foundation. And Labour analysis suggests the Government's social care plan will give the least money per care home resident across the North West and North East, whilst the most subsidy will be given to the wealthiest parts of England. Public funds will cover almost 75% of a care home resident's care costs in the South East, but just 63% for a resident in the North West, because of the cap on how much an individual can spend on their own care. The Government was defeated in the Lords earlier this month on a vote to remove the "dementia tax" element of the care plan, but today there will be another vote to reintroduce the clause in the Commons. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "The Government's dementia tax will see people pay more to protect the assets of the wealthiest. The less you have, the more they will take." Jury hears sex assault claims against Yorkshire Tory MP  Wakefield MP Imran Ahmed Khan
A Yorkshire Tory MP asked a teenager if he was "a true Scotsman" and lifted his kilt, before sexually assaulting the youth's 15-year-old brother in a bunkbed, a court has heard. Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, elected as MP for Wakefield in 2019 but since suspended by the Tories, was at a party at a house in Staffordshire in January 2008 at the time of the alleged incidents, a jury at Southwark Crown Court was told yesterday. Prosecutor Sean Larkin QC said an 18-year-old man was at the party wearing a kilt when Khan asked him if he was wearing the garment like "a true Scotsman". "Khan then lifted up the kilt with both hands and lunged at him so that he thought he was going to grab him," Mr Larkin said.The teenager pushed down his kilt and said that although he had experience of others trying to lift it, the incident "felt very different", the court heard Jurors were told the 15-year-old brother was in bed on the top bunk in his pyjamas and could hear Khan's "breathing was getting quite heavy" as he sexually assaulted him. Khan, who is on unconditional bail, denies a single count of sexual assault, with the allegation being he intentionally touched the complainant and the touching was sexual when the complainant did not consent and Khan did not reasonably believe he consented. The trial continues today and will last two weeks.
Ukrainian grandmother 'settling in' at new home in Cheshire  Michael Felton with his mother-in-law Nadia (Peter Byrne/PA)
Across the country, just 2,700 visas have been granted to people wanting to come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, despite applications reaching 28,300, latest figures show. But beneath the statistics heartwarming human stories can still be found. In Cheshire, a Ukrainian grandmother is "settling in well" in a spare room after her British son-in-law spent almost two weeks rescuing her following the Russian invasion. Michael Felton, 61, from Ellesmere Port, drove more than 1,700 miles to bring his children's 83-year-old grandmother to safety in the UK after her home came under fire during Russian air strikes. Mr Felton said it took "some coercion" to convince his Ukrainian wife's mother Nadia, known as Babulya to her family, to leave her home in Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine, after Russia began shelling the city. "She's pretty comfortable and happy now, I go over and put a Russian-speaking comedy show on for her that likes to watch," he told the PA news agency. "I haven't asked her about the war, mainly because I don't want to make her think about it any more." Meanwhile in Yorkshire two sisters from Ukraine, Kateryna and Daryna, say it is a "miracle" that a family from Ilkley have stepped forward to welcome them into their home. Kateryna, 28, had to walk out of Kyiv as Russian troops advanced, while 32-year-old Daryna and her four-year-old son Yuroslav were able to catch a bus out of their small town near the capital city. They have since been stranded in Lublin, a Polish city near the Ukrainian border, but will soon board a train across Europe and travel to Ilkley to move in with their host family. YorkshireLive has the full story here.
Teesside teacher and wife of mayor gets education watchdog role  Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and his wife Rachel Houchen in 2021 (Image: Teesside Live)
A Teesside teacher and partner of Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has been appointed to a £9,000-a-year role at an education regulator. Rachel Houchen was named as a non-executive director at the Office for Students earlier this month by the Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi. Mrs Houchen will receive £9,180 per year in her board role on the independent higher education regulator for an estimated time commitment of 20 days per annum, writes Local Democracy Reporter Alex Metcalfe. The former assistant headteacher at Conyers School, in Yarm, read modern languages at Oxford before returning to teach where she'd attended as a pupil. She was appointed to begin her role on March 16 for a three-year spell.
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Northern Stories  Plans to remove parking bays and widen pavements on Grey Street, Newcastle city centre
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A new image has revealed the next step towards the pedestrianisation of one of Britain's finest streets. Council bosses unveiled their vision to remove all traffic from Grey Street in Newcastle just over a year ago, the headline act in a proposed £50m overhaul of the city centre. A temporary redesign of the beloved Georgian street has been in place since 2020, with road space given over to create more room for cyclists, pedestrians, and pavement cafes during the pandemic. The next phase will see all pay and display parking spots and taxi bays axed. -
People in Wakefield can't agree on whether or not new streetlights in the district are too bright or too dark. Wakefield Council said it had had around 200 complaints from members of the public about LED lights, which were split 50-50 across both sides of the argument. The council has replaced 22,000 local streetlights with LED lightbulbs, both to reduce its energy costs and its carbon footprint, writes Local Democracy Reporter David Spereall. -
The government will appeal against the refusal of planning permission for a so-called "super prison" on the border of Leyland and Chorley in Lancashire. The Ministry of Justice says it will seek to overturn the decision of Chorley Council's planning committee, which last year rejected a proposal to build the new jail close to the existing Garth and Wymott lock-ups in Ulnes Walton. Nearby residents are now demanding that the government names more than a dozen other locations which it says were assessed as potential alternative plots. -
The new leader of the Conservative group on Barrow Borough Council has dived into a war of words with the Labour Party after being selected. Les Hall took up the role after Hazel Edwards decided she would serve out the remainder of her term as an Independent. Cllr Hall said Barrow and Dalton had suffered 'years of neglect' under a Labour council majority and described the upcoming May elections for the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority, set to begin operating in April 2023, as a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do what's best for Barrow'. -
Hull council leader Daren Hale says a proposed new £72m cruise terminal will boost the city's economy by creating a major Yorkshire major tourism destination. Spending on the project has been attacked by opposition Liberal Democrat councillors at the Guildhall while bosses at The Deep remain opposed to it, claiming the current plans are "unworkable" because of its potential impact on the animals at the visitor attraction. But the council's Labour cabinet approved the next step by confirming port operator Associated British Ports as the authority's preferred project partner. -
The leader of the Middlesbrough Independent Group has defected and joined the Labour Party, reports the Northern Echo. Cllr Antony High has been welcomed to Labour by Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald and the party's group leader Matt Storey after he switched allegiance. Cllr High was the former deputy mayor of Middlesbrough, however, he resigned in May 2021 accusing Mayor Andy Preston of "consistent poor conduct and behaviour" in an explosive letter, which the mayor said was "completely untrue."
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