A daily summary of social care stories from the main newspapers

By Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.

Damilola ‘gashed himself playing with broken
glass’

Damilola Taylor was injured by playing with glass, and not
stabbed to death by teenagers, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

A man and woman had seen a small boy playing with glass on the
street where the 10-year-old boy was injured shortly before he was
found dying, Courtenay Griffiths QC said, opening the case for Boy
A, one of two 16-year-old brothers accused of Damilola’s
murder.

The crown claims Damilola was stabbed in the leg by a gang of
teenagers. Four teenagers were originally charged with his murder
but two have been cleared on the order of the trial judge.

The trial continues.

Source:- The Times Thursday 4 April page 4

£97m claimed from police for asylum
riot

Insurers for the company that runs Yarl’s Wood detention
centre for asylum seekers, Group 4, have claimed £97 million
for February’s riot and fire at the centre.

A Lloyd’s of London syndicate has lodged a claim double
the sum it originally said it would be seeking, with Bedfordshire
police authority. It refers to the Riot Damages Act 1886 where
police can be sued for compensation if they fail to prevent
“riotous or tumultuous” behaviour.

Much of the damage could have been avoided had sprinklers been
fitted at a cost of £350,000.

Up to 25 asylum seekers are still missing, and the 84 remaining
detainees have been transferred to alternative accommodation until
adequate insurance is found.

Source:- The Times Thursday 4 April page 6

BMA identifies pool of refugee doctors living in
Britain

More than 500 refugee doctors living in Britain would like to
resume their medical career if they could overcome barriers to
retraining and registration, the British Medical Association said
yesterday.

As the government pursues an expensive campaign to recruit
doctors from the EU, the BMA and the Refugee Council set up a
voluntary register for asylum seeking doctors resident in Britain.
Most of the 545 who put their names down were from Iraq,
Afghanistan and Iran.

The first university training course to help them integrate to
the UK medical system was announced yesterday by the institute of
community health sciences at Queen Mary Hospital, University of
London.

It will prepare 30 refugee doctors for language tests needed
before they gain registration with the General Medical Council.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 4 April page 8

Police stand by five-year trawl for child
abuse

Police denied they have wrecked the lives innocent teachers, and
care workers by “trawling” for evidence of child abuse in
children’s homes.

Complaints were lodged by professionals and MPs against the
five-year Operation Rose, that saw nearly 200 people investigated
and just six convicted.

The £5 million inquiry led to 558 claims of assault, rape
and other sexual abuse from 277 residents or former residents of 61
care homes.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 4 April page 12

New care home rules ‘the final
straw’

New rules for care homes were attacked yesterday as “the
psychological final straw” for an industry already suffering from
high costs and low morale.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for older people Paul Bustow
said the National Care Standards Commission which started work on
Monday, could also lead to widespread confusion in the care
industry.

“The NCSC starts life with great expectations placed on it, but
without the resources to do the job. There is confusion about the
powers it has and what standards it can enforce.”

Source:- Daily Telegraph Thursday 4 April page 11

Boot camps for young offenders ‘were a
failure’

Military style camps aimed at deterring young people from
reoffending have been condemned as a failure in an official
report.

Young men who attended an army run detention camp in Essex
committed more serious crimes on their release than those who had
attended a normal institution.

A similar regime at a Prison Service-run unit in Cheshire
reduced reoffending, but only because work placements were
found.

The report concluded: “These regimes (Colchester and Thorn
Cross) certainly did not deter offending by tough “boot camp”
treatment.”

Source:- The Independent Thursday 4 April page
2

Welsh newspapers

Refusal to fund legal representation for key witnesses
could jeopardise inquiry

Alleged victims of sexual abuse who are due to give evidence in
the first inquiry launched by Welsh children’s commissioner Peter
Clarke will learn today or tomorrow if their plea for legal
representation has been successful.

The Clywch inquiry will look into the activities of alleged
paedophile, John Owen, who taught at a school in South Wales where
the abuse was said to have taken place. He faced criminal charges
of serious sexual offences against four former pupils from the
school, Rhydfelen Comprehensive in Pontypridd, but killed himself
last year just before the trial went ahead.

His alleged victims are withholding evidence from the inquiry
until they get assurances that they will be given legal
representation and that it will be paid for by the commissioner’s
office. Without the eight alleged victims’ input, the inquiry could
collapse.

Source:- Western Mail Thursday 4 April page 5

We’ll crack it

Police chiefs in South Wales are declaring war on gangland drug
barons. Six major drug gangs are making huge profits in the region
by selling heroin and crack cocaine to children as young as nine,
and they are offering the cheapest drugs in Britain, according to
the police.

The police have announced a zero tolerance campaign against the
dealers in an effort to try to rid communities of the menace of
drug abuse, and drug related crime which they say is gaining a
stranglehold.

Source: The Welsh Mirror Thursday April 4 page 2

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