Friday 24 October 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Serious doubts raised on accuracy of census
An independent watchdog has called for a repeat of the 2001 census
population count in Westminster in 2006, four years before it is
officially meant to be repeated.
The Statistics Commission said that a recount as necessary as
census officials might have failed to count a high number of people
living in the London borough.
They added that the Office for National Statistics “failed to cope
adequately” with the issues thrown up by the transient nature of
inner London populations.
Source:- Financial Times Friday 24 October page 6
Appeal court jails two paedophiles
Judges at the court of appeal jailed a retired headmaster and a
former church minister for sex offences against children yesterday,
after ruling that their original non-custodial sentences were too
lenient.
Jeffrey Carney, aged 66, a former church school head, had his
three-year community rehabilitation order, originally given out at
Reading crown court last June when he admitted to three offences of
indecent assault against two boys, increased to 15 months in
jail.
The judges went on to overturn a two-year suspended sentence, given
at the same court in July, received by Emyr Evans, aged 82, a
former church minister, and jailed him for 12 months for sexually
abusing two boys over 25 years ago.
Sex offenders in nine other cases have also had their  sentences
increased.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 24 October page 6
Child protection scheme in disarray
Inaccuracies in local records and legal concerns about data
protection are hampering ministers’ plans to set up a database on
every child in England to improve child protection services.
A survey, published by Headstar, an electronic data provider, found
major differences between the details on children and families held
by the NHS and the council.
It goes on to say that most councils are unlikely to meet the
two-year deadline, set in January by the Victoria Climbie inquiry,
for an IT system that can monitor children’s contact with welfare
services.
Meanwhile, an identification, referral and tracking project in
Bolton has been put on hold after legal advice said that it may be
illegal for a primary care trust to share data with a local
authority.
The advice concerns the legality of the PCT passing information on
every child in the area to Bolton council.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 24 October page 13
Asylum children reach Britain in their
thousands
A massive strain is being put on schools, hospitals and social
services by the high number of unaccompanied children arriving in
Britain and seeking asylum.
It is estimated to cost the taxpayer £150 million a year to
care for the children, with this having most impact on channel port
areas such as Kent.
A record 6,200 unaccompanied children reached the country last
year.
Source: The Daily Mail Friday 24 October page 2
Scottish newspapers
Louisa murdered by man she called dad
A former soldier who stabbed a baby girl to death was jailed for
life yesterday.
Harry Caldwell, whom Louisa McDaid called ‘dad’, picked
the toddler up by her ankles and smashed her head against a wall
before plunging a bread knife into her heart.
Lord Bracadale said the violence had been extreme and “almost
unimaginable in character”, and said that Caldwell must serve
at least 20 years in prison.
Caldwell denied the murder, but accepted killing the child,
claiming he was suffering from “an abnormality of the mind”
at the time.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 24 October page 15
Flood of prisoners sinks jail reform
Scotland’s prisons are unable to rehabilitate
offenders successfully because of the problems of overcrowding, the
Scottish chief inspector of prisons said yesterday.
Dr Andrew McLellan said attempts to deal with overcrowding had been
ruined by the fact that the number of prisoners held on remand had
increased by almost 40 per cent in the last two years.
Source:- The Herald  Friday 24 October
Move to challenge growth of sex trade
A new organisation to campaign against the growth of the sex
industry in Scotland was launched yesterday.
The Scottish Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation said it aimed to
challenge “the growing acceptability” of premises such
as sex shops, and called for debates about the sexual exploitation
of women to involve a Scottish-wide response.
Source:- The Herald Friday 24 October
Groups baulk at tagging plan
Many of the Scottish executive’s plans to tackle
antisocial behaviour are backed by the public, but  some major
public organisations have serious concerns, according to a study
yesterday.
Most local residents backed Jack McConnell’s plans including
the electronic tagging of children under 16, the Glasgow University
study found. But a majority of voluntary organisations, faith
groups and charities were opposed to such hard-line measures.
Source:- The Scotsman Friday 24 October page 6
Welsh newspapers
Our Champions
A two-page feature on an award ceremony that celebrated the
achievements of children who overcome adversity.
Hugh Battrick, aged 11, was one of eight winners at the ceremony,
hosted by the ‘South Wales Echo’. He overcame a life
threatening brain haemorrhage and has managed to return to school
after undergoing an intensive rehabilitation programme.
Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 23 October pages 4-5
Porn Shock Church ‘So Very
Sorry’
The Presbyterian Church of Wales has spoken of its sadness after a
former mission worker admitted downloading pornographic images of
children from the internet.
In a statement the church said that they were satisfied that the
interview process for Dewi Lloyd Howell, who regularly came into
contact with children as part of his work, was thorough. The church
also said that it took the safety and well-being of children
seriously, and had recently appointed a child protection panel
alongside other denominations.
Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 23 October page 17
Race Group boss back on the payroll
The head of a south Wales race equality group has been
reinstated after winning an employment tribunal.
Dr Mashiq Ally lost his job as director of the South East Wales
Racial Equality Council (SEWREC), in July following allegations of
an improper personal relationship with an employee. There were also
claims that he bullied and harassed another staff member.
But a hearing in Cardiff ruled that Dr Ally should be reinstated as
director.
Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 23 October page 6
Care in cancelled
Parents of autistic children in Torfaen are threatening action
after the council cut a respite service.
Torfaen social services is facing an overspend of  £2.2
million for the current year and around 30 families have been
affected by the cut to the babysitting service that provides care
for autistic children.
The Gwent Autistic Society has passed a motion condemning the
action and chairperson Tim Davies said that they believed the
council had contravened both the Carers Act and the Children
Act.
Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 23 October page 10
Councils given £3.2bn support
Councils in Wales will receive almost £3.2 billion in revenue
support from the Welsh assembly next year, to support frontline
services.
Announcing the award, minister for finance and local government,
Sue Essex said that the 5 per cent increase in the general support
grant was almost double the rate of inflation. She added that it
was a fair deal that reflected her view that local authorities
should be adequately resourced.
Source:- Western Mail Thursday 24 October page 8