‘Aim to permit’ rule places legal duty on licensing authorities to err on the side of allowing new bookmakers or 24-hour slot machine shops Keir Starmer has been urged to abolish an “outdated” rule that limits the power of communities to prevent bookmakers and 24-hour slot machine shops from opening on high streets. In a letter to the prime minister, nearly 300 politicians and campaigners called for an end to the “aim to permit” policy, introduced when Tony Blair’s Labour government liberalised gambling laws in 2005. Continue reading...

Retirees with ‘fantastic hunger for education’ taking part in university organised events in record numbers Record numbers of Swedish retirees are enrolling in a university run “by pensioners for pensioners” amid increased loneliness and a growing appetite for learning and in-person interactions. Senioruniversitet, a national university that collaborates with Sweden’s adult education institution Folkuniversitetet, has about 30 independent branches around the country which run study circles, lecture series and university courses in subjects including languages, politics, medicine and architecture. Continue reading...

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