An ambitious new plan to tackle flytipping and litter across Manchester has been revealed.
Developed with extensive input from residents, partners, businesses, and schools all across the borough, Manchester City Council has this week unveiled and formally approved the Fly-Tipping and Litter Strategy as a long‑term plan to significantly reduce the improper disposal of waste and its drain on public money, all while improving neighbourhood cleanliness across the city.
The strategy sets out a framework over nine years, backed by targeted enforcement, service improvements, and behaviour‑change campaigns to drive significant impact for thousands of Mancs.
As it stands, the Council removes litter as part of its scheduled services – with 6,563 reports responded to and 11,952 fines issued in 2024-25 – but is having to take things up a notch due to a consistent rise in littering incidents, as well as the ever-present issue of fly-tipping.
‘Ambitious’ new plans to tackle fly-tipping and litter across Manchester have been revealed / Credit: oatsy40 (via Flickr)
Nationally, England saw 1.15 million incidents of flytipping in 2023/24, with household waste accounting for more than 60% of cases, while here in Manchester, the city recorded a whopping 14,963 fly‑tipping incidents in 2024/25.
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According to the Council, fly-tipping in Manchester usually occurs on roads and pavements (59%), and alleyways (22%).
The Council’s new Fly-tipping and Litter Strategy will be formally launched next month to coincide with the beginning of the Great British Spring Clean, and is hoped to signal a commitment to creating ‘cleaner, safer, and greener’ neighbourhoods for everyone.
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“The Fly-Tipping and Litter Strategy is a significant step towards improving the long-term health of Manchester’s communities,” explained Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, who is the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council, as the plans were unveiled this week.
“We recognised how important it is to hear from residents, people who live and work in the city, themselves and so we have developed this strategy in close consultation through their lived experiences and advice.
“While we already have key initiatives we work under, in addition to several other strategies and projects, this new strategy sets to galvanise and advance the work our services and communities are doing to ensure Manchester becomes cleaner and greener for everyone.”
Featured Image – MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
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Greater Manchester set for one of its warmest days of 2026 so far as spring settles in
Emily Sergeant
Today is set to be one of the warmest days of the year so far for Greater Manchester.
With the days getting longer, the skies bluer, and the sun warmer, there’s no denying that spring is finally starting to settle in across the UK now… or ‘false spring’ at least, let’s not get too carried away with ourselves of course, this is the North West after all and we’ve still got those April showers to contend with first.
But after what was a pretty unsettled start to the week here in Greater Manchester, with both rain and wind pelting us on Monday (16 March), it seems like things are taking a turn today.
The Met Office has forecasted that the region is set for a ‘warm and pleasant spell of spring weather’ for this week, particularly today (Wednesday 18 March) with highs of 16-17°C on average, and in some parts of the country, temperatures could even reach 20°C.
“Wednesday looks likely to be the warmest day of the week for many, with high pressure dominant,” explained Dan Harris, who is the Chief Forecaster at the Met Office.
Wednesday is set to be the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures expected to reach around 21°C
In some areas, this is as much as 9°C above the average March temperature, making it feel more like late spring than mid‑March pic.twitter.com/byA1ggcF8N
“The warmest spots are likely to be in parts of west Wales and western England, where under sunny skies, 18-19ºC, possibly even 20ºC is on the cards. This is due to the additional boost expected from the passage of east to south-easterly winds over areas of higher ground, known as the Foehn effect.”
Dan did add, however, that there’ll be a big difference between the maximum daytime temperature and minimum overnight temperature this week.
“Thanks to the clear skies during the day, we’ll see some chilly nights after the warmer days with a few places experiencing air frost,” he concluded.
Looking ahead to the rest of the week and onto the weekend, it appears this nice weather is sticking around for a little bit longer here in Greater Manchester, as while there are some cloudy spells expected, daytime temperatures are staying warm for the time of year.
Thursday looks to be dry and settled with plenty of sunshine, but temperatures will start to cool towards the seasonal average on Friday.
Featured Image – Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
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Government sets up taskforce to deliver ‘urgent action’ on maternity care in England
Emily Sergeant
A taskforce aiming to deliver ‘urgent action’ on maternity care in England has been set up by the Government.
The new Maternity and Neonatal taskforce – which is chaired by the Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting – will tackle ‘deep-rooted inequalities’ and deliver urgent action on the recommendations of the independent national investigation into maternity and neonatal services in England.
This means that women, babies, and families will receive safer and higher-quality care from the NHS in the long run.
According to the Government, the expert panel includes families, senior NHS leaders, royal colleges, campaigners, academics, and third sector representatives.
The Government has set up a taskforce to deliver ‘urgent action’ on maternity care / Credit: Jimmy Conover (via Unsplash)
As part of the selection process, the Government has been working closely with harmed and bereaved families to ensure their personal experiences were reflected, and those who have been chosen collectively have the clinical expertise, lived experience, and sector know-how to deliver the changes so desperately needed for families.
Starting next week, the Secretary of State will chair regular roundtables with the new taskforce – with the first priority to agree its Terms of Reference.
The taskforce will also address recent developments in maternity and neonatal care, including recommendations from the Thirlwall Inquiry, and the independent review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
📢 National maternity and neonatal investigation to be launched
Too many families have suffered preventable harm.
The investigation will urgently look at services with specific issues and the entire maternity system, making sure each family receives safe and compassionate care. pic.twitter.com/J8XkwGM9dN
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 23, 2025
The taskforce will also be supported by a wider range of experts – as part of ‘expert reference groups’ – that the Government says will bring ‘a broader range’ of perspectives.
“Every woman and baby deserve safe, compassionate care during pregnancy and birth, and the very best start in life,” commented Duncan Burton, who is the Chief Nursing Officer for England.
“Although NHS maternity and neonatal teams work incredibly hard to support women and families every day, we know there is more we must urgently do to improve care and experience.
“I look forward to working with members of the taskforce to improve safety and deliver the best possible outcomes and experience for women, babies, families, and colleagues working in these services.”
Featured Image – Credit: Aditya Romansa (via Unsplash)
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2026 
