‘Landmark’ rule changes will mean that more gay and bisexual men will soon be allowed to donate blood.
Rules have previously stated that men who have sex with men had to abstain from sex for three months before giving blood.
But following recommendations from the Advisory Committee for the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO), donors who have had one sexual partner and who have been with their sexual partner for more than three months will be eligible to donate.
This will be ‘regardless of their gender, the gender of their partner, or the type of sex they have.’
The changes will be implemented by summer 2021.
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Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “This landmark change to blood donation is safe and it will allow many more people, who have previously been excluded by donor selection criteria, to take the opportunity to help save lives.
“This is a positive step and recognises individuals for the actions they take, rather than their sexual preference.”
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Minister for Blood Donation, Lord Bethell added: “By closely examining the latest evidence relating to blood donation and sexual behaviour, we have been able to bring forward more inclusive policy to allow people to safely donate blood to save lives.
“I am grateful to the members of the FAIR steering group, including LGBT charities, for the work they have done over the last 18 months to enable us to bring this policy, which many have called for, to fruition.”
Ethan Spibey, founder of FreedomToDonate, said the organisation “warmly welcomed” the rule change.
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He said: “We have campaigned for over 6 years for the restrictions on men who have sex with men (MSM) donating blood to be updated.”
Spibey added: “The work of the FAIR steering group shows that simply being a MSM is not a good enough reason to exclude someone from donating blood.
“We’ve made great progress and look forward to continuing to work with the Government and others to ensure as many people who could safely donate blood can do so.”
But it’s swings and roundabouts, as with all those impressive titles comes a less-than-impressive one, as the city has also been named one of the top 10 most congested cities with the worst traffic in the UK.
According to a new study conducted by the RAC, using data from INRIX, it was found that Manchester ranked number four on the list, as motorists lost a total of 61 hours stuck in traffic over the course of 2024 – which was estimated to cost them around £570 extra.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most congested cities / Credit: Manchester City Council (via Facebook)
Manchester wasn’t the only northern city on the list either, as Leeds and Sheffield also feature in the top 10, alongside the surprising addition of the lively Greater Manchester town of Wigan.
Yes, that’s right – it may not technically be a city, but for some reason, Wigan has also found itself featured on the list of UK’s most congested cities, as the study found that motorists there wasted an average of 57 hours stuck in traffic in 2024, and sadly had to part with an extra £532 because of it.
The UK’s most congested cities
London
Bristol
Leeds
Manchester
Bath
Birmingham
Wigan
Chelmsford
Sheffield
When it comes to the top spot on the list, that of course goes to London.
London’s drivers lost 101 hours sitting in congestion in 2024, which was a 2% increase in delays from the previous 12 months, and this means that the capital also accounts for approximately 50% of all UK traffic delay.
Looking nationally as a whole, the data also revealed that the country lost approximately £7.7 billion in 2024, which is £200 million more than in 2023.
The average UK driver lost around 62 hours due to traffic congestion last year, according to the study, which is up only one hour from the previous 12-month period, and this works out to £581 per driver per year.
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best’ in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best police forces in the country’.
Residents across Greater Manchester are being urged to have their say on proposals to increase the police precept that forms part of their council tax bill.
In case you weren’t familiar, three quarters of police funding comes from a central Government grant, but the remaining quarter comes from Greater Manchester Combined Authority‘s (GMCA) police precept, all of which helps enable Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to build on a range of improvements delivered over the last few years.
Funding helps GMP to further improve the speed of answering 999 and 101 calls, reduce and prevent neighbourhood crimes and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), improve road and transport safety across Manchester city centre, and bring more sex offenders to justice, among many other things.
Have your say on how we fund GMP’s vital services.
Your input helps us retain neighbourhood policing and keep Greater Manchester safe.
Together, we can ensure we are delivering the commitments that matter most to you.
— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) January 7, 2025
According to GMCA, these are some of the things that people in the region said were “important to them” following “extensive engagement and consultation” with communities.
The proposed increase to the residents’ council tax bills would be £14 a year for a ‘Band D’ property (£1.17 a month), which equates to £10.89 per year (91 pence a month) for an average ‘Band B’ property – with the majority of properties in Greater Manchester falling within Bands A and B.
Addressing the potential increase, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We set out a number of commitments last year on what Greater Manchester Police would deliver with the precept, and they delivered on every one of them.
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best’ in the UK / Credit: gov.uk
GMP are now answering 999 calls in record time, attending incidents sooner and investing in neighbourhood policing and crime prevention teams [and] as a result, we’ve seen crime reduce across the board, with the most marked improvement in neighbourhood crime which has reduced by 17% in the past year.”
He continued: “I know that times are tough for our residents, but investment through the precept is vital to maintain this improvement.
The Manc -
14th December 2020 
