Michael Buchanan

Greenock and the wider Inverclyde area face severe population decline, ageing demographics, job losses and growing pressure on public services. Inverclyde Council is trying to reverse the trend by attracting migrants and refugees, supporting English-language learning and skilled employment, and investing in housing, schools and regeneration. Immigration has helped stabilise the population and sustain health and care services, but asylum seekers who cannot work, limited local employment and concerns about housing and public resources have created tensions. Residents and community leaders differ over whether Greenock should focus on creating local jobs or become a better-connected commuter town, while local initiatives aim to revive the town through education, renewables, maritime industries and improved public spaces.

Greenock and the wider Inverclyde area are facing severe population decline, ageing residents, job losses and pressure on public services. Inverclyde Council is embracing legal migrants and refugees as part of a repopulation strategy, offering language support and help accessing skilled work, while migrants already in the area help staff health and care services. Supporters describe Greenock as welcoming, but residents question where newcomers will work, particularly as asylum seekers generally cannot work while awaiting decisions. The council says immigration has helped stabilize the population and hopes investment in maritime, renewable-energy and defence industries will create jobs. Other proposals focus on making the area a better place to live and developing community-led education and regeneration projects.

Wes Streeting urged Parliament to compel senior Nottingham NHS leaders who refused to participate in Donna Ockenden’s maternity review to give evidence, calling their refusal an insult to affected families. The Ockenden report found hundreds of babies and mothers suffered avoidable harm, with significant gaps caused by senior managers declining interviews. Relatives of victims supported stronger accountability but warned parliamentary hearings could interfere with an ongoing police investigation, reiterating calls for a statutory public inquiry. The government has announced measures allowing authorities to compel NHS staff to cooperate with maternity investigations or face imprisonment, aimed at addressing a pervasive culture of silence within the trust.

Wes Streeting urged Parliament to compel senior Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust staff who refused to participate in the Ockenden maternity review to explain their actions, calling their refusal an insult to affected families and part of a wider NHS cover-up culture. Families including Jack Hawkins and Gary and Sarah Andrews supported demands for accountability but warned that any parliamentary action must not interfere with the ongoing police investigation. The Ockenden review found extensive failings, with hundreds of babies and mothers harmed and many senior leaders declining to give evidence. The government has announced measures to compel staff participation in future maternity reviews, including potential prison sentences for non-compliance.