Thursday 20 January 2005

by Maria Ahmed, Clare Jerrom and Derren
Hayes

Brussels warns on junk food

The food industry has been given a year to stop advertising junk
food to children and improve product labelling. The European Union
will resort to regulation if no progress is made over this
period.

Source:- The Financial Times, Thursday 20 January, page
1

Clarke plans rite of citizenship for teens

Youngsters celebrating their 18th birthdays could be asked to
participate in citizenship ceremonies as part of a government plan
to foster race equality and community cohesion.

Home secretary Charles Clarke said the government would trial
the scheme – based on ceremonies in Australia and some parts
of the US – to recognise young people gaining the right to
vote and greater independence from their parents.

Source:- The Financial Times, Thursday 20 January, page
2

HR chiefs act on childcare vouchers

Ninety-eight per cent of human resources directors who have not
already implemented a childcare voucher scheme for their staff plan
to do so by April, according to a survey by the Daycare Trust and
Sodexho Pass, a specialist in vouchers and service cards.

Source:- The Financial Times, Thursday 20 January, page
2

Fury of 12-year-old sex attack victim’s
father

A teenager on drugs who raped a 12-year-old girl the day after
he walked free from court on bail for burglary was sent to a young
offenders’ institution for five years at a hearing at Warwick
Crown Court this week..

The girl’s parents said the 16-year-old’s sentence
was too short, adding that Robert Bailey would be free before their
daughter even left school.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 20 January, page
19

Prison officer who went sick for a year…in New
Zealand

A prison officer who went on sick leave for more than a year
carried on claiming sick pay after secretly emigrating to New
Zealand. The woman simply sent notes from a GP to her bosses at
Holloway Prison in north London.

The case was one of several examples of a sicknote culture in
Britain’s jails, highlighted in a report from the Commons
Public Accounts Committee.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 20 January, page
43

Children would be better off watching TV than attending
youth clubs, says Hodge

Many teenagers would be better off spending their evenings in
front of the television than going to local youth clubs,
children’s minister Margaret Hodge said yesterday. She was
commenting on government research, commissioned from London
University’s Institute of Education, that found teenagers who
spent time in “unfocused” youth provision were more
likely to suffer poor exam results and be lured into a life of
crime and drugs.

The full research will be published within weeks alongside the
government’s youth green paper.

Source:- The Independent, Thursday 20 January, page
23

Home with high death rate was checked 17
times

Health officials conducted 17 inspections of a former nursing
home under scrutiny following the deaths of 16 elderly residents,
it emerged yesterday. As discussions continue between a coroner,
police and representatives of Birmingham’s strategic health
authority about a string of deaths at the Maypole nursing home,
experts are questioning whether deficiencies at the home should
have been detected earlier.

Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 20 January, page 2

Welsh newspapers

Young film-makers bid for asylum film
funding

A group of students are seeking financial and practical help to
complete a film they are making about asylum seekers.

The final year project being made by students at the
International Film School Wales will be entered in film festivals.
The students hope local businesses will be interested in supporting
their venture in return for a screen credit and the opportunity to
help promote good relations in the community.

Source:- IC Wales, Thursday 20 January

Terror boy, 17, banned from using own front
door

A 17-year-old boy has been banned from going through the front
door of his own home by Cwmbran magistrates in what is though to be
the first case of its kind.

The antisocial behaviour order placed on Luke Davies imposes a
strict exclusion zone around his street, which includes the front
of his house.

Source:- IC Wales, Wednesday 19 January

Scottish newspapers

Legal change blamed for higher cannabis use

The use and cultivation of cannabis the past year has risen
sharply in Scotland, causing some legal experts to suggest it is
linked to the down-grading of the drug from category B to C.

Source:- The Herald, Thursday 20 January

Church rallies for Dungavel family

Church leaders are to hold a protest at Dungavel detention
centre to highlight the plight of a family detained there for
several months while waiting for their asylum claim to be
processed.

Source:- The Herald, Thursday 20 January

Abuse expert to face court over Munchausen’s
case

One of Scotland’s leading child abuse experts is to be
challenged in court over a diagnosis of Munchausen’s Syndrome
By Proxy in an abuse case.

Source:- The Scotsman, Thursday 20 January