Friends in England, a message for you.

I have periodically posted this before, but it's been a while since I last did, and I was putting my pills into my pill organiser and thought of it.

If you regularly have prescriptions, you do NOT need to pay for them all. This isn't terribly well advertised, and lots of people go through life never needing a repeat prescription then suddenly finding they need lots (me, I did this, up until I was 42 my only regular medicine was an antihistamine, now I have a full pill organiser).

A pre-pay prescription certificate can be purchased for a year and costs a little less than the price of 12 prescriptions (£114.50 compared to £118.80 if you have one prescription a month for a year). You can buy for this in instalments by direct debit, you don't have to stump it up all in one go.

You can also buy a three-month certificate for £32.50 (slightly more than the cost of three prescriptions).

These prices are fixed. It costs the same whether you're getting one prescription a month or ten. If you have at least one a month then the yearly certificate WILL save you money.

Everyone in England who pays for prescriptions is eligible.

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/nhs-prescription-prepayment-certificate-ppc

While UK workers wait for the further regulation (and constraint) of zero hours contract to hit the statute books, under Labour's Employment Rights Act, their one-sided flexibility continues to grow as over 180k more workers are on ZHCs since Labour gained power.

Zero House Contracts are also much more common among young workers, adding to the problems younger workers already confront.

For a Labour party this is taking way too long to sort out.

#workers #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czj1m7d4gxpo

NEW: Google sent ICE the personal financial data of a student and journalist who attented a pro-Palestinian protest in 2024.

The agency had sent Google an admininistrative subpoena, a request that companies are not mandated to respond to.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/google-sent-personal-and-financial-information-of-student-journalist-to-ice/

UK folks: did you know there is a consultation open for the (abhorrent) new immigration settlement proposals? I did not! And I have just spent a half hour filling it out, growing further and further enraged. Closes 11:59 pm Thursday. #ukpol

More info and link: https://www.praxis.org.uk/consultation

Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Young men take part in a five-a-side football match between Gaza Sports Club and Beit Hanoun Sports Club at the Palestine Stadium.

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

#photography
#Gaza
#football

Palantir hosts party for MoD to celebrate £240m defence contract

The American technology company signed a three-year deal to ‘boost military AI and innovation'

Yesterday, Begum asked in the HofC if the contract had been put out to tender as she could see no information about this.

Jones, the Business Sec, said all normal procurement rules had been followed

Let's see