HALF of England’s large care home providers for the elderly have at least one in four failing homes in their network, a study has found.

Analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection results showed some of the 54 providers operating at least 12 homes in England had half or more of their premises classed as failing by the regulator, Which? found.

Two of the biggest, Four Seasons Group and Orchard Care Homes, finished near the bottom of the rankings.

More than a third (35%) of 167 Four Seasons homes included in the analysis were rated as inadequate or requiring improvement by the CQC, while almost half (46%) of 44 Orchard homes did not meet the required standards.

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Some 60% of people claiming the main long-term sickness benefit believe the amount of money they get is not enough to live on, according to a major new survey.

Labour called the findings from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants “a damning indictment of the Government’s treatment of sick and disabled people”.

Campaigners warned that claimants were struggling to stay healthy, pay bills or afford to eat even before further cuts to ESA came into effect last year.

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Kitchen microwaves across the European Union generate as much greenhouse gas as nearly seven million cars, it is claimed.

Scientists arrived at the figure after studying the broad environmental impact of microwaves, taking account of their manufacture, use, and end-of-life disposal.

Sales of microwave ovens in the EU are set to reach nearly 135 million per year by 2020.

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