Cut Short, an award-winning documentary addressing youth knife crime through lived experience, will be released free online on 27 February 2026, alongside a bespoke teaching and facilitation package for schools and youth-facing organisations across the UK.

Yorkshire leaders, businesses, farmers, food producers, and many more are working with citizens from across the UK to shape a new government Food Strategy. York & North Yorkshire was the second of the What Works Here Inquiries and involved representatives from across the region's food system coordinated by Deliciously Yorkshire. The Inquiries are being led by the Citizen Advisory Council (CAC), a group of citizens from across the UK, who are working with government to understand the way food works in York & North Yorkshire, the challenges for many families in affording healthy, local produce and how national government could help.

Long-distance train operator CrossCountry yesterday welcomed passengers onboard its first refurbished Voyager train - marking a major milestone in a £75 million investment to upgrade long-distance travel across Britain.

A study to encourage more Black men to get checked for prostate cancer, led by a University of Sunderland researcher, has received a funding boost of almost half a million pounds to continue its work on a larger scale.

Savers in the North of England are being urged to shop around for tax-free returns as new analysis reveals a widening gap between the market’s best and worst-performing Cash ISAs. Data from Investec Save shows that while the top 10 one-year fixed-rate ISAs average 4.11%, the lowest-paying accounts on the market offer just 3.15%.

No credible forecast shows UK oil and gas demand falling to zero by 2050, even under net zero scenarios – oil and gas are essential ingredients in plastics, fertilisers, medicines and modern technology. The 78% headline tax rate is forcing a decline in North Sea production and driving investment overseas, with the workforce forecast to halve to as low as 57,000 by the early 2030s – losing up to 1,000 jobs a month. Replacing domestic production with imports increases overall emissions by around 50% and risks gas shortages on cold winter days as early as 2026/27.

A grieving Yorkshire family, who tragically lost their husband and father to suicide, are rowing the Atlantic in his memory. Robert Ash, from Harrogate, died by suicide in September 2023, leaving his wife Charlotte and their three grown-up children, Camilla, James and Henry. The Ashes are embarking on this epic challenge, despite having no rowing experience at all.

Several indicators becoming less downbeat. House prices appear to have stabilised at a national level, although regional disparities are widening. Sentiment regarding the twelve-month sales outlook points towards a recovery

Long-distance train operator CrossCountry has unveiled the first refurbished train of its Voyager fleet - marking the start of a £75 million investment to deliver a brighter, more comfortable experience for passengers across Britain.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its outline proposals for reforming the adoption support system in England, alongside a consultation open to adoptees, those in kinship care, families and professionals that will run for 12 weeks.

Grand Central has announced the launch of its 2026 Community Fund, offering grants of £100 to £5,000 to support community projects that make a positive impact across the areas served by its network.

Governments are constantly tempted to push flexible working because it allows them to support a popular social change without having to pay for it themselves. The new, stronger “right to request” flexible working in the Employment Rights Act will be much harder for managers to resist, and even dealing with such requests will impose costs on companies. While private businesses may be able to control some of these costs, the widespread strengthening of flexible working rights is likely to damage productivity, slow growth, and undermine wages and employment. This will be all the more true if unions or workplace rules stop wages adjusting, for example to reflect whether particular jobs can in practice be done remotely. This is likely to be a particular problem in the public sector, reinforcing its existing poor productivity record.

University of East Anglia researchers are launching a trial to see if the commonly prescribed antidepressant Sertraline could reduce emotional changes caused by having a stroke. When a stroke happens, it can damage areas of the brain that regulate emotional expression - causing sudden uncontrollable episodes of laughing or crying.

The second largest train operator in the UK has launched a recruitment drive, as it looks to hire up to 18 apprentices who are ready to develop the mechanical and electrical engineering skills needed to fix and maintain trains.

When news broke recently of two Chinese spies who were caught but then allowed to walk away on legal grounds, followed by MI5’s warning that a proposed super-embassy could conceal a nest of intelligence operatives, it felt like an echo from another age. Espionage had slipped back into public view.

Two Yorkshire lawyers have completed the ‘World’s Toughest Row’, an unsupported Atlantic crossing from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua, in aid of two much-loved regional charities.

Dear Editor, As we mark Tinnitus Week (2 – 8 February), we know that for many people with tinnitus, it’s not just a hum in the background, but something that can make everyday life a challenge. Despite tinnitus being more common than most people realise with one in seven adults experiencing it, too many are still left confused, worried or unsure of where to turn for help.

A major archaeological excavation at Harden Quarry, nestled in the Cheviot Hills within Northumberland National Park, has revealed an extraordinary 360-degree view of Bronze Age life, offering the clearest insight yet into early settlement and farming in upland Northumberland. Archaeologists uncovered a fascinating Bronze Age settlement on a hilltop.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging people to take immediate safety precautions as amber weather warnings are issued ahead of the arrival of Storm Chandra. Storm Chandra, the third major storm to affect the UK this month, is expected to bring a combination of damaging winds and heavy rainfall from Monday into Tuesday.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) have launched the Bridge 42 Appeal - a vital fundraising initiative to repair a bridge between Grosmont Level Crossing and the tunnel. The historic structure is one of over 30 vital bridges and culverts that carries trains and passengers every year through the stunning landscapes of the North York Moors.

The start of 2026 marks almost a decade and a half of a resident-led change programme across England.

British Wool has officially unveiled its 2025 Sheep of the Year, following an enthusiastic public vote celebrating the very best of Britain’s woolly wonders. Each week, British Wool shares its ‘Sheep of the Week’ to Instagram, showcasing photos sent in by farmers from across the UK.