A summary of social care stories from the main newspapers

By Clare Jerrom and Reg McKay.

Hypocrisy row over union’s Labour cash
protest

Labour will lose out on £1 million of funding from one of
its largest union donors over the next four years, as a result of
Tony Blair’s plans to introduce private firms to help public
services.

The GMB union was immediately accused of hypocrisy after it
emerged it had an exclusive deal to represent staff in privatised
prisons.

The arrangement with Group 4 and Securicor comes as the
GMB’s general secretary John Edmonds is leading opposition to
Labour’s plans to contract out services.

The union decided yesterday to slash its affiliation fees to
Labour by more than one third.

The money will contribute to funding a campaign against the
government’s proposals.

Edmonds accused Blair of “taking on” public sector workers and
said he had no choice but to act.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 18 July page 1

Slots ban to tackle root of gambling
addiction

Years of campaigning from social welfare organisations has paid
off, as plans emerge that fruit machines could be banned from high
street cafes and fish and chip shops, in a bid to curb gambling in
children.

The move will only affect 5,000 of Britain’s estimated
250,000 fruit machines, but campaigners believe it could
significantly reduce the number of children who become addicted to
gambling from an early age.

Paul Bellringer, the founder of Gamcare a charity that monitors
the social impact of gambling, said Britain was the only western
country that permitted children to gamble.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 18 July page 8

Boy heard killer’s footsteps on
stairs

The detectives and specialist doctors who interviewed Josie
Russell, have been called in to work with eight-year-old Jay
Foster. He found his mother bludgeoned to death in bed.

At first, Jay was too traumatised to speak with police, but
detective sergeant Ian McNeill, who is leading the investigation,
said the boy heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Officers are slowly building up a relationship with Jay, in a
bid to find more clues about the attack, which happened last
Tuesday.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 18 July page 10

Calls to privatise failing youth jail

Feltham B young offenders institution should be privatised after
failing to show any improvement, the chief inspector of prisons is
to recommend.

Sir David Ramsbotham, who claimed he had been treated as the
enemy by successive home office ministers in his first annual
report yesterday, said the Prison Officers’ Association at
the youth jail had blocked any attempt at change.

The chief inspector is to publish his latest report into Feltham
next week, and it is expected to say that while Feltham A, the
service for under 18s run by the Youth Justice Board, has made
considerable improvements, Feltham B has seen no such
improvements.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 18 July page 7

Government accused on free care pledge

The government was attacked last night over its manifesto pledge
to provide free nursing care for about 35,000 older people in
nursing and residential homes. It was accused of watering the plans
down.

In a consultation paper from the department of health, it
emerged that charges will continue to be levied for the care
provided to older people by nursing assistants.

Health minister Jacqui Smith said older people paying their own
nursing fees without local authority assistance would be
£5,000 a year better off.

The Royal College of Nursing said the government was defining
nursing care too narrowly.

The National Pensioners Convention said the government would
face mounting criticism from older people unless it provided free
nursing and personal care, as recommended by the Royal Commission
on Long Term Care for the Elderly.

Smith said the scheme would receive £80 million of funding
over the first six months, and would come into force in
October.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 18 July page 8

Guardian Society

Dangerous neglect

The death of ‘Rocky’ Bennett was not just tragic, it
was avoidable. When a coroner feels the need to make public
recommendations to the NHS, questions about stereotyping and racism
inevitably arise.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page
2-3

The weaker partner

Charities warned on sacrificing independence to the state

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page 4

Flat rejection

Historic hostel conversion plan stalled

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page 4

Poll imposition

General election was trial for disabled

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page 5

Help without stigma

Family welfare scheme linked to GPs hailed a success

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page 5

Plan for giving

The launch of a campaign to revive flagging public donations to
charities

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page 12

Family business

Research that finds identification of families in need is no
longer enough – parenting is for all

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page
112-111

Entrance to a new age

Local grants to enable children in care to gain access to IT

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page
111

A family vindicated

Ombudsman censures Southwark in residential care case

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 18 July page
111

Scottish newspapers

Anti-abortion adverts slated by watchdog

Precious Life, the Scots-based anti-abortion group, has been
severely censured for distributing two misleading advertisements by
the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

One poster, headlined Abortion by Tablet, claimed wrongly that
the morning after pill worked as a form of abortion described by
Precious Life as “a silent and efficient killer of the unborn”.
Another feature, a photograph of a fox and a child claimed that
foxes had more rights than babies, but was found to imply that full
term babies could be aborted. Precious Life dismissed ASA as “a
toothless tiger” and stated its intention to run the adverts again.
ASA stated it would pressurise the publisher and publisher’s
trade association to stop the adverts being re-run, reporting them
to the Office of Fair Trading if necessary.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 18 July page 5

Private care crisis deepens

The dispute over fees for private residential and nursing care
hit a new low last night as the Scottish executive and the
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities cancelled a scheduled
negotiation summit for the second time in a fortnight.

Scottish Care, the organisation representing most of
Scotland’s private home owners, accused the executive and
Cosla of delaying tactics and threatened to escalate the action by
blocking all new council-funded placements. The Scottish executive
denied the claims saying that the date was “provisional”.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 18 July page 2

 

 

 

 

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