More than 170,000 people are on waiting lists to join the Scouts and Girlguiding

Youth groups are clamouring for more volunteers amid a rise in the number of parents seeking affordable and sociable outdoor activities for their children away from screens.

Groups including Girlguiding and the Woodcraft Folk are facing substantial unmet demand for their sessions as the Scouts this week said their waiting list has hit a historic high.

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Rishi Sunak’s team helped fast-track deal with firm founded by Charles Huang, who says contracts generated $2bn profit

In California, state of sunshine and palm trees, a small group of men are locked in a big legal fight over the money made by a US company selling Covid tests to the British government. The founder of Innova Medical Group says his business collected $2bn (£1.6bn) in profits, one of the largest fortunes banked by any medical supplier during the scramble for lifesaving equipment in the early months of the pandemic.

In a storm of claims and counter-claims, Innova’s boss, Charles Huang, is accused by former associates of “squandering” or moving $1bn of those profits, spending lavishly on luxury aircraft, an $18m house in Los Angeles and “homes for his mistresses”.

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Alton Towers and Legoland owner alters tactics after period of VAT cuts and people spending cash saved during lockdowns

The period of post-Covid “revenge spending” has ended, leaving businesses having to look at different ways to attract customers, the chief operating officer of Merlin Entertainments has said.

The term revenge spending was coined to describe how people looked to splash the cash they had saved up during the Covid pandemic on products or experiences that would help make up for time lost to lockdowns.

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Scottish-style right to roam deal should train owners and protect livestock and wildlife, say campaigners

Dogs and their owners must be brought to heel with the return of dog licences, registration for breeders and a ban on toxic flea treatments, campaigners have said.

The activists from the Right to Roam campaign want a deal for dogs to protect farmers’ livestock and vulnerable wildlife from being menaced by Britain’s rising dog population and out-of-control dog behaviour.

Do not allow your dog to approach animals or people uninvited

Don’t linger if wildlife is disturbed by your presence

Where possible avoid animals – release your dog if threatened by cattle

Always keep your dog in sight and under control – if in doubt use a lead.

Don’t take your dog into fields of vegetables and fruit unless there is a clear path.

Finish the jobbie – bag it and bin it. Take it home when bins aren’t available.

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A new book looks at how the pandemic highlighted issues with the supply chain and how precarious things still are

We seem to live in a time of magic, when a slight movement of our fingers can get us anything we ever wanted on our doorstep. A toaster? Yours tomorrow. Cat food? It will be here by Thursday. The process from click to door is so easy, it doesn’t require a second thought.

In his book, How the World Ran Out of Everything, New York Times journalist Peter Goodman is out to change that. With the amount of exploitation in the supply chain, the ease of such transactions is not magic – it’s more magical thinking.

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More than 110,000 children in England and Scotland are still suffering. For Toby, it has meant pain, crushing fatigue and sadness – as well as months off school

It is a few days after Arsenal have beaten Spurs and I’m discussing the game with 12-year-old Toby. A huge Tottenham Hotspur supporter, Toby is also magnanimous in defeat. He admits that, despite a major second-half wobble , Arsenal (my team) are playing better football at the moment. Davies couldn’t handle Saka, Son has gone off the boil, only Romero came out with any credit.

I’m enjoying talking football with Toby. He is clearly incredibly knowledgable as well as passionate about it. It’s zero surprise to learn he has three fantasy football teams on the go.

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Exclusive: Multi-dose vials could push up charge per patient, while experts warn high cost could widen inequalities

Cheaper private Covid jabs could end up being just as expensive as their pricier alternative because the vaccine must be given in groups of five, experts have warned.

Boots and pharmacies that partner with the company Pharmadoctor are offering Pfizer/BioNTech jabs to those not eligible for a free vaccination through the NHS, with the former charging almost £100 a shot. The latter is also offering the latest Novavax jab, a protein-based vaccine, at a cost of about £50.

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Four years ago, about 11.7 million UK employees were furloughed, their jobs and wages protected by a government scheme. Those who had just changed job were left out – and that hardship still affects them today

In March 2020, Mark Edwards was excited to start a new job running a venue that hosted weddings and hospitality events. Before that, the 47-year-old had been working as a general manager at an independent group of hotels for the past nine years. He was living with his partner and dog in Norwich. “My life was on track. I felt everything was in my hands, but that flipped on its head,” he says.

Just as he started his new job, Covid-19 swept across the country. As the country went into lockdown – almost exactly four years ago – and the hospitality industry shut down, Edwards’ new employer sent everyone home. Most people in this situation were able to claim furlough, but Edwards was one of 300,000 “ new starters ” – workers who had started a job in February or March 2020, but weren’t on their company’s payroll in time to make the furlough scheme’s cut-off date. He ended up being out of work for a whole year, with a mortgage to pay and only six months of jobseeker’s allowance available. He spent £25,000 trying to support his household and keep up with mortgage payments. “It changed everything,” he says. “My entire life plan changed … I’ve recovered in terms of jobs but not recovered from losing 25k. I’ve not got it back.”

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When it comes to studies, work or social abilities, some fared better than others. But the pandemic left its mark on all of us, whether we realise it or not

I recently came across a folder on my laptop labelled “Covid”. Inside I found screenshots I had taken of the government website, showing daily cases, ICU admissions and deaths from Covid-19. These reports were released every weekday during the first lockdown, and each afternoon I would collect them in this folder and study them, trying to understand what was happening in the wider world – before I began a busy evening of Zoom birthday quizzes, Netflix Party and WhatsApp.

I was shocked – both that I had ever been so macabre in the first place, and also that, four years later, I had forgotten doing it. I don’t remember being anxious or depressed during lockdown, but I have 60 image files suggesting otherwise.

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