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Leeds residents are urged to get their winter vaccinations, especially the elderly. National Handwashing Day promotes healthy handwashing. An inquiry calls for regulations to protect the dignity of the dead. Rough sleeping in the UK has increased by 14%. The mother of Novichok victim Dawn Sturgis speaks at the Salisbury poisonings inquiry. Leeds has seen a 20% increase in driving test waiting times. A sculpture honoring 383 women has been unveiled in Leeds. Zero Waste Leeds and Cardigan Community Centre collaborate for a winter clothing drive. From the Leeds Hacks Radio Newsroom, this is Great Radio News. Good afternoon, it's 12.30, I'm Oliver Bolton and this is Leeds Hacks Radio News. Leeds residents have been urged to get their winter vaccinations as flu season approaches. Anyone vulnerable, especially the elderly, are high priority to get in line for the vaccines. Leeds City Councillor Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health has stated Immunisation is the most effective public health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health. In other related news, today is National Handwashing Day. It is a day to promote healthy handwashing to prevent infections and illnesses. Nurse lecturer Zahra Rahim teaches handwashing to nurse students. The most important areas are between the fingers, the nail beds, that's where we tend to pick up most of the germs. In the university we do assess students on how they wash their hands. We make them put this gel on their hands and pop it under an LED light to see where the germs of this lotion are lingering the most. We ask them to go wash their hands with the training that we teach them and then look again and see where they've missed. An inquiry is calling for the government to introduce proper regulations for funeral directors in England to protect the dignity of the dead. The probe was launched after convicted killer David Fuller was found to have abused the bodies of women in mortuaries. Sir Jonathan Michael, chair of the David Fuller inquiry, says the public would be shocked by the lack of an independent statutory regulatory regime for funeral directors in England. The number of people rough sleeping in the UK has increased by 14% in the last year. Leeds-based charity Simon on the Streets hosts a yearly big sleepout where volunteers sleep outside to shine a light on the trauma and challenges homelessness brings. Team leader Tracy speaks on what the big sleepout meant to the charity. The sleepout this year was so humbling because we just see all the support from everybody and it just really makes it worthwhile seeing how many people want to help us and support us because we are so maxed out with the amount of people that we're working with, we do need more outreach workers. The mother of Dawn Sturgis, the woman who died after being exposed to Novichok in 2018, has spoken at the inquiry into the Salisbury poisonings. Caroline Sturgis says it's a miracle no one else was hurt after the nerve agent was left in a perfume bottle. Leeds has seen a record high increase of 20% in driving test waiting times. With the stress on driving instructors and a lack of tests, the DVSA are looking for solutions to the problem. In a statement provided to us they said, We continue to recruit new examiners, offer overtime and have some managers still carrying out tests. A sculpture dedicated to nearly 400 women has been unveiled in Leeds. The sculpture, titled Ribbons, champions 383 women who have made contributions to the city. One woman included in the art was Dr Romy Smith, an award winning poet and author. She said the sculpture honours all women. It's a sculpture that honours the 400 women whose names appear but it also speaks to the women who do the work that we do also. Another woman involved was Lindsay Medica, founder of a support network for children with a disability. She said the sculpture was lovely. Quite shocked and humbled I think more than anything. It seems very surreal but it's a really lovely thing. Zero Waste Leeds and Cardigan Community Centre are coming together for this year's winter clothing drive. Louise, a volunteer at Cardigan Community Centre, explains what she thinks will change through working alongside Zero Waste Leeds this winter. Through working with Zero Waste Leeds this year, our ability to offer a consistent flow of warm clothes to residents will be greatly improved. Leeds Tax Radio News. It's 33 minutes past 12.