Young people desperately hoping to own their home still face “major obstacles” in getting on the property ladder, the Government has been warned.
The Chancellor, John Healey, confirmed a new scheme for first-time buyers at the Budget, helping them to buy new-build homes with a smaller-than-usual 2.5 per cent deposit.
Yet many of the “squeezed middle” starting to make headway in their career still face big barriers to homeownership, according to housing experts.
Does testosterone really help improve menopause brain fog?
There is “insufficient” evidence to back the claim that testosterone can improve brain fog and memory symptoms linked to the menopause, a new study suggests.
Social media is “flooded” with claims that testosterone can improve these symptoms in menopausal women, experts said.
What you need to nkow
While there is anecdotal information that testosterone can help, experts stressed that there is currently not enough evidence to establish the effect. Experts at University College London said testosterone prescriptions have increased in the UK, reflecting growing interest in its role during menopause.
The team reviewed five studies which looked at whether testosterone can improve memory in post menopausal women.
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A closer look at the detail
244 women
Some 244 women with an average age of 57 involved in the review were given either a placebo or testosterone at varying levels.
- The research team did not find significant improvements for cognitive function among participants taking testosterone.
- “The findings should be interpreted as insufficient to establish an effect, rather than as evidence of no effect,” the authors wrote in the journal Reproduction And Fertility.
The expert view
While there may be some anecdotal evidence for this in perimenopausal women, we cannot claim testosterone improves cognition during menopause without further evidence. More research is needed to understand any links between and brain health.
Professor Aimee Spector, senior author of the study and director of the UCL Menopause Mind Lab
Psychologists sound alarm over chatbots ‘harmful’ mental health advice
Psychologists have raised concerns about unregulated AI chatbots providing “unqualified and harmful” information to people seeking mental health advice.
It comes as a British Psychological Society (BPS) survey found that practitioners have seen a 49 per cent rise in the number of patients using AI for support in the last 12 months.
What did the survey find?
- One member told the survey they are worried people are turning to technology as it feels “safer”, but warned there is a risk of increasing isolation that can impact wellbeing.
- The BPS poll of 197 psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists found seven in 10 are somewhat or very concerned about clients using AI for mental health support.
A closer look at the figures
80%
told the survey they are concerned clients are becoming overly reliant on the technology, while around three quarters (76 per cent) said it is negatively affecting client wellbeing.
- The BPS poll comes after a survey of 2,000 children aged 11-17 by Barnardo’s and the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) found more than four in 10 (43 per cent) had used AI for advice or emotional support.
The expert view
This research shows there is real cause for concern for those that use AI for mental health therapy, and that concern is coming directly from psychological practitioners on the frontline providing vital in-person support. The risk of unregulated open access AI chatbots providing unqualified and harmful advice remains very real.
Dr Laura Dean, president of the BPS
Russell Brand’s wife hails ‘kind’ husband but tells court he cheated when dating
Russell Brand’s wife Laura Brand has told his rape trial her husband is “caring” and “kind” and there is honesty at the centre of their marriage.
What Laura Brand told the court
She said they rekindled their romance in 2015, married two years later, and they now have three children together.
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What the court heard
Russell, my husband, is caring, he is kind, he is a wonderful father to our children. He is an amazingly attentive husband. He has got an eye for detail I’ve never known before. The way he treats me is to really know me, I feel very seen by him in every way. I love him very much.
laura brand
- Laura said she knew about his reputation before they met and she learned while they were dating that he had been having sex with other people.
- She said they stayed friends as Brand had a brief marriage to singer Katy Perry, and they got back together as a couple in 2015.
- Asked if she was “aware of his promiscuity” during their time apart, she said: “I was very aware of it. I could read about it regularly in the papers.”
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A closer look at the detail
During his wife’s evidence, Brand could be seen smiling and laughing at times, and he appeared to be mouthing words towards his wife as she talked about his 2024 baptism.
Laura Brand’s evidence was briefly interrupted when defence barrister Ian Winter KC attempted to ask for her view on the “truth of the allegations”. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC interjected, and the judge pointed out she is not an expert witness.
What we have learned so far
Brand faces claims that he raped and sexually assaulted women over the course of 10 years of his showbiz career.
On Wednesday, he insisted consent is “non-negotiable” and told jurors it is “more important than sex itself”. He denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of attempted indecent assault.
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How weight-loss jabs boom is putting waste workers at risk
The rising popularity of injectable weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy means more used needles are turning up at recycling centres – and their bosses have warned this is putting workers at risk of infection and serious injury.
What is the issue?
Used needles should always disposed of through a dedicated clinical waste service.
But a large number of weight-loss needles are being dumped in household bins, the BBC reports.
Waste site workers are regularly being pricked by them, putting their health at risk.
What should you do to help?
- Weight-loss drug users have been urged to speak to their GPs or pharmacies about obtaining a sharps bin.
- Whatever you do, never put a sharps container or loose needles in your recycling bin.
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Recycling boss voices concern
There are safe disposal routes for needles but the worst place to put them is in your recycling. It ends up in facilities like ours where it will be touched by people and that’s inherently unsafe
Richard Dobbs, managing director of Sherborne Recycling
Poundland on brink of administration – what we know
Poundland has filed to appoint administrators, threatening the future of around 12,000 workers.
Court filings show that the retailer filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Thursday, which will give the business 10 working days of breathing space from creditors to secure a potential rescue deal.
Despite enormous efforts it has not been possible to identify an acceptable offer for the business as a whole. The process has however attracted several established retail operators who have made formal offers. Collectively these cover a significant part of the business.
Barry willams, Poundland’s managing director
What you need to know
- Advisers are still in talks with parties interested in buying the brand and swathes of stores.
- Poundland stressed that all its stores remain open and trading as normal despite the insolvency process.
- It comes after owner Gordon Brothers rejected a takeover offer from Irish real estate firm Martin Property Group, which management named as their preferred bidder earlier this month.
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A closer look at the detail
- Gordon Brothers – which only bought Poundland last year for £1 – launched a sale process for the retailer at the start of September.
- Poundland currently runs around 600 stores across the UK.
- Wilko and The Range owner CDS Superstores, Poundstretcher owner Fortress and TG Jones owner Modella are all understood to be interested in buying parts of the Poundland business.
- However, deals are unlikely to include all Poundland stores and some jobs are likely to be affected.
Girl, 8, injured in wolf attack at German wildlife park
An eight-year-old girl has been left seriously injured after being attacked by a wolf at a wildlife park in Germany.
What happened?
- The girl, who has not been named, was attacked at the Johannismühle wildlife park near Berlin.
- The facility had been holding a special event for children at the time of the incident, the Associated Press reported.
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What do we know?
- The girl was attacked before the park opened on Wednesday, German media reports.
- She was rushed to hospital by helicopter after the incident.
- The park has been temporarily closed and is set to reopen on 2 November.
- Johannismühle’s website states it offers small group tours where there is an opportunity to “feed wolves”.
- There are no reports of anyone else being injured.
The background
The news comes after William Chapman, 24, was fatally mauled by a tiger at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park earlier this month.
Senior coroner Nicola Mundy said Chapman had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered previous bouts of psychosis.
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Some members of so-called “generation rent” are being pushed out of the cities where they grew up to try to save for a deposit.
The i Paper took a closer look at these pressures and the parts of the country they are playing out most intensely.
Struggle to save and ‘painful’ mortgage rates
Labour’s Your First Home scheme will help first-time buyers purchase new-builds with a 2.5 per cent deposit, backed by a 20 per cent equity loan, from February 2027.
The earnings cap has been set at £110,000 for households outside London, and £140,000 for buyers inside the capital.
Holly Williamson, chief executive of Generation Rent, welcomed the scheme but warned that there were “still major obstacles to buying” for so many young people.
“It’s so difficult to save any money where you’re paying over the odds on rent. The scheme offers a loan that not everybody is going to be able to afford.”
However, he said the affordability of repayments is “still an issue for some young people”, adding: “Mortgage rates for first-time buyers of 5 to 6 per cent are still very painful.”
‘Harder life’ with higher rents ahead
Ian Harris, president of NAEA Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said the struggle to get on the ladder “has become about much more than simply saving a deposit”.
Generation Rent is having to “balance high rental costs with the need to save”, while also facing tough mortgage affordability requirements, he said.
Private tenants are also facing the prospect of higher rents ahead, as they struggle to save for a deposit.
Landlords face a tax rise of 4 per cent on rental income from 2027, after Healey added a further 2 per cent to the 2 per cent announced by his predecessor Rachel Reeves last year.
The UK’s official Budget watchdog said the tax plans risk a “steady rise” in rent prices as landlords pass on the costs to tenants.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), claimed Labour had “made life harder for renters right across the country”.
Brighton – trendy but unaffordable
Brighton and Hove is an area where “generation rent” faces acute financial pressures. The popular south-coast city has had an influx of young graduates in recent years – only for them to find it no longer much cheaper than London.
Some 33.2 per cent of Brighton’s housing is privately rented – the highest anywhere outside of London. Average private rents in the city are £1,816, according to ONS data. Across the South-East, the average rental price rose by 3.5 per cent in the past year.
“It’s become one of the least affordable places to rent outside of London in recent years,” said Williamson.
“We’ve seen a lot of people move from London to Brighton, only to find homeownership is still going to be too difficult because prices have gone up so much,” added the campaigner.
The average price paid by first-time buyers in Brighton is now £343,000. “There’s been a lot of high-price growth in Brighton in recent years, even relative to London,” said Fell.
Some would-be first-time buyers “may not find it affordable” any more, he added. “You have relatively high rents making it difficult to save a deposit,” the property expert added.
Manchester – boomtown for pricey flats
Manchester is another city with a high proportion of young renters feeling the squeeze. Some 33.1 per cent of its housing is privately rented, the second-highest outside of London.
Private rents in Manchester rose to an average of £1,380 last month – an annual increase of 4.6 per cent. The average price paid by first-time buyers in the city was £241,000 – up 2.3 per cent on last year.
“It’s one of those places it’s become really difficult to rent for young people,” said Williamson.
“I heard from one young person recently who had to move quite far out of Manchester just to pay rent. It’s also difficult for young people to keep pace with house prices.”
Manchester has enjoyed a boom in “expensive new flats” built by investors in recent years, said Fell.
The city is one of the places that young, middle-class people “can just about afford to rent, but not to buy any longer”, he added. “So you’re seeing people having to move further out to save a deposit or to buy.”
Kensington and Chelsea – priced out of London
Kensington and Chelsea is the single least affordable area in Britain, according to a March 2026 Nationwide report. Homes here cost 13.9 times local earnings, it found.
The average price paid by first-time buyers was an eye-watering £1,020,000. Average private rents rose to a staggering average of £3,739 last month – an annual increase of 3 per cent.
Yet it is still an area that many young renters call home. Some 42.8 per cent of housing here is privately rented – the third-highest proportion in England.
Fell said young, middle-class buyers face stiff competition from international buyers in the “prime” parts of inner London like Kensington and Chelsea. “So it becomes very hard to buy unless you have some family wealth or inherited wealth.
“Even further out in London, high prices and high interest rates still make it difficult for people trying to save for their first home. Higher rents in London also inhibit young people’s ability to save – even with higher salaries.”
First-time buyers in London pay 54.1 per cent of take-home pay in mortgage payments – well over the UK average of 33.1 per cent, according to Nationwide analysis.
“People are priced out of lots of parts in London, having to move out in search of cheaper rent or to buy,” said Williamson.
“It’s not just areas like Kensington and Chelsea – there are young people who know they can’t afford to buy anywhere in London and will have to move out if they ever hope of buying.”
A Treasury spokesperson said getting onto the housing ladder “has become too difficult”. They added: “This Budget backs first-time buyers with £4.7bn through Your First Home, expected to support around 70,000 first-time buyers, alongside a new first time buyer ISA with a 25 per cent government bonus.”