Friday 29 August 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Government on track to halve asylum applications
A decrease in the number of asylum seekers arriving in
Britain has put the government on track to reach the prime
minister’s pledge to halve the number of applications by
September.
However, accompanying the fall was an increase in the people
entering on work permits leading to calls that ministers have
massaged figures.
The figures show that 10,585 people applied for asylum between
April and June, 34 per cent less than in the previous three
months.
The prime minister’s target is to reduce applications to 4,385,
half the record high of 8,770 recorded in October of last
year.
Source:- The Independent Friday 29 August page 9
Rush to beat the ‘Britishness test’
The level of people granted British citizenship increased by a
third last year spurred on by people applying before the
introduction of controversial ‘Britishness tests’.
A record number of 120,145 people received British passports
compared to 90,000 in 2001.
The new tests being put together by David Blunkett will examine
applicants’ ability to speak English before they are granted
citizenship.
Source:- The Daily Mail Friday 29 August page 19
Council keeps loving old couple five miles apart, then
stops the husband’s visits to save taxi fare
A couple who were made to live in separate care homes
after almost sixty years of marriage have now had their visiting
arrangements ruined.
George and Mary Lipsham only agreed to being parted on the grounds
that Portsmouth Council would pay for a taxi every day for Mr
Lipsham to visit his wife, but have cancelled it due to
costs.
Mr Lipsham said that he has lost the will to live.
Source:- The Daily Mail Friday 29 August page 22
Being youngest in class is risk to mental health
Children who are among the youngest in their school year
are more likely to suffer from mental health problems than other
children, according to a new report.
The study, which was led by Robert Goodman, a professor in the
department of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Institute of
Psychiatry King’s College, London, found that the pressures of
keeping up with the workload can cause psychological problems for
some children.
It found that the younger the children were in the school year the
more likely they were to experience emotional and behavioural
problems.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 29 August page 12
Legal win for blind cricketers
A blind cricket team has won a £7,000 settlement for
disability discrimination after a guesthouse refused them entry
because they had guide dogs.
The guesthouse accepted that it had no good reason to turn away the
Eastern Vipers Cricket Club, from March, Cambridgeshire.
The payment is thought to be the highest of its kind.
The guesthouse was booked in February but the booking was cancelled
when the owners learnt that some of the team had guide dogs.
Source:- The Times Friday 29 August page 11
Why no-one can agree if figures for illegal workers are
adding up
Calculating the extent of migrant labour is proving difficult
Source:- The Financial Times Friday 29 August page 5
Scottish newspapers
Why did they die?
Ministers have pledged to investigate the escalating toll of drug
deaths in Scotland after it emerged that the number of lives lost
to drug abuse leapt by 50 last year.
Figures showed a total of 382 Scots died in 2002 and the highest
death toll was in Glasgow where 126 people died, an increase of
30.
Justice minister Henry Hughes announced the investigation and said
he wanted to shed light on “the lives behind the
statistics”.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 29 August page 6
Evil mum shows no remorse
The mother of Danielle Reid showed “no evidence of
remorse” over hiding the five year old’s murder, a
court heard.
Tracy Reid also showed no sign of any mental health problems that
would have “substantially impaired her behaviour”
claimed Gary MacPherson, psychologist at Carstairs State
Hospital.
In June, Reid admitted throwing Danielle’s body in a canal
after the girl was murdered by her boyfriend Lee Gaytor. Gaytor
admitted throwing the child down the stairs at their home last
November having beaten her.
But Lord Hardie postponed sentencing after hearing conflicting
evidence about Reid’s mental state.
Yesterday at the high court in Edinburgh, MacPherson said Reid was
not suffering from a mental disorder, but another report claims
Reid was psychologically damaged after suffering “a life of
abuse and neglect”.
The hearing continues.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 29 August page 29
Nun abuse victims tell their tales
Orphans who suffered years of abuse at the hands of nuns in
Scottish homes have told their harrowing stories on film.
Four hundred and fifty victims of abuse were interviewed by
Australian film maker Geraldine Gandolfo for her documentary called
Unholy Orders.
It also features the trial of Sister Alphonso who was found guilty
three years ago of abusing children in her care between 1965 and
1980.
Source:- Daily Record  Friday 29 August page 24
Parking cheat’s punch charge
A parking enforcer who used a disability badge to park for free has
been arrested after allegedly punching a motorist.
George Napier was arrested and charged with assault by police after
an incident in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 29 August page 17
Welsh newspapers
One-way train for disabled
Disabled passengers at Chepstow railway station have great
difficulty accessing trains on one side of the platform, according
to Huw Edwards MP for Monmouthshire.
He is angry that £35,000 is being spent on a new ticket booth
that will only be used on a part-time basis, while disabled
passengers have to be carried over a steep footbridge to access one
side of the platform. Edwards is to write to the Disability Rights
Commissioner for Wales and to local disability campaign groups to
see what can be done to bring about change at the station.
Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 28 August page 16