Monday 7 February 2005

By Clare Jerrom, Sally Gillen, Mithran Samuel, Derren
Hayes and Amy Taylor

Unmarried families are more likely to fall apart

Three quarters of all family breakdowns now involve unmarried
parents, according to research by the Bristol Community Family
Trust.

In 2003, an estimated 88,000 children aged under 5 were affected by
the separation of their unmarried parents compared with around
31,000 children under 5 whose married parents divorced.

Source:- The Times  Saturday 5 February page 1

Points system and higher charges to cut immigration

Home secretary Charles Clarke is set to unveil a package of
measures next week to clamp down on immigration and asylum
seekers.

The government’s five-year strategy is likely to include a
new points system.

Source:- The Times  Saturday 5 February page 8

Prison suicide

A man from Greater Manchester has been found hanged at Wymott
prison in Preston.

David Strike was serving six years for grievous bodily harm.

Source:- The Times  Saturday 5 February page 35

Immigrants face fees to curb asylum abuses

Immigrants who appeal against a refusal to allow their families to
join them in Britain could face financial penalties under
Labour’s plans for asylum issues.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Saturday 5 February page 6

Truants found at racecourse

Seventy nine children from around the country were found playing
truant at a race course by a team from Surrey Council.

Many of the children were with their parents.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Saturday 5 February page
10

Mental health problems for 700 troops in Iraq

Almost 700 British service men and women have returned from Iraq
with mental health problems.

Nineteen service personnel have had to be discharged due to
psychiatric problems.

Source:- Independent  Saturday 5 February page 10

Jowell tells police to close ‘rogue’ bars

Culture secretary Tessa Jowell urged police chiefs to use drinking
laws which come into effect on Monday to close down
“rogue” pubs and clubs.

She said binge drinking particularly by girls had to be
tackled.

Source:- Independent  Saturday 5 February page 20

Whitehall ‘abusing spirit’ of disclosure
law

The government was yesterday accused of abusing “the
spirit” of the Freedom of Information Act by people whose
questions have been blocked.

They blamed the government for “going out of their way to
avoid giving out material”.

Source:- Independent  Saturday 5 February page 22

Depressed? Take one cup of coffee four times a day

Giving up tea or coffee can give you mental health problems, it was
claimed yesterday.

Professor Roland Griffiths says the effects of caffeine withdrawal
can cause a genuine psychological disorder requiring professional
treatment.

Source:- Daily Mail  Saturday 5 February page 32

Yard faces £1m bill for ethnic rethink

Scotland Yard is preparing to spend around £1 million by
replacing the phrase ‘visible ethnic minority’ with the
words ‘minority groups’.

The money will be spent updating the existing IT databases which
will cost £50,000 a time and changing the Met’s training
procedures, stationary and publicity material.

Source:- Daily Mail  Saturday 5 February page 50

Clarke to expel child refugees

The government is planning to make it easier to deport
unaccompanied children by removing rules requiring immigration
officials to trace their parents before removing them.

The changes, which are expected to be included in the Home
Office’s five-year plan for asylum and immigration, would
mean that children could be deported if was established they would
be returned into the safe care of an agency.

Source:- The Sunday Times Sunday 6 February 2005 page
1

National hotline set up to deal with neighbours from
hell

A phone line for reporting anti-social behaviour is to be
extended to the whole country despite being dismissed as a
“gimmick” by critics.

The scheme, which has been piloted in the north-east, involves a
national phone line, through which people can be put through to a
team in their own area.

Source:- The Sunday Times 6 February 2005 page 7

Labour fuels war on asylum

The head of the Commission for Racial Equality has said that
people complaining about the immigration are “afraid of a
shadow”, warning the government not to respond to their
concerns.

 Trevor Phillips called on minister to address the exploitation
of migrants through trafficking and slave labour.

 Source:- The Observer 6 February 2005 page 1

GMC knew of fears over baby expert

Serious concerns about pathologist Roy Meadow had been raised
with the General Medical Council before his disputed evidence led
to the wrongful conviction of Angela Cannings for the murder of her
two children.

A leaked email revealed that complains about Meadow were
considered by the GMC in February 2000, two years before Cannings
was jailed for murder.

Source:- The Observer 6 February 2005 page 2

Too posh for the voters?

Children’s minister Margaret Hodge is among a group of
leading female ministers who are “too posh” to appeal
to working-class voters, according to a senior Labour campaign
strategist.

The anonymous outburst has been dismissed as an attack on
feminists by trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Source:- The Observer 6 February 2005 page 7

How the courts still let down our most vulnerable
children

Child victims of sexual abuse are still being failed by the
criminal justice system, according to an NSPCC study.

The research, drawn from interviews with child witnesses, reveal
a lack of pre-trial support, long periods waiting for cases to come
to court and bullying by defence lawyers.

Source:- The Observer 6 February 2005 page 13

GPs rapped over eating disorders

Just 17% of people with eating disorders are treated
appropriately, according to a damning report published this
week.

The Eating Disorders Association study finds that one-third of
health communities have no specialist treatment services and GPs
are stereotyping people with eating disorders as attention
seekers.

Source:- The Observer 6 February 2005 page 14

Nurses from abroad to sit English test

The Nursing and Midwifery Council is to force overseas recruits
to sit English tests in their home countries before taking up
positions in Britain.

They will then work under supervision for six months under
proposals due to be announced this week.

Source:- The Mail on Sunday  6 February 2005 page 5

Doctors said they could do no more and sent me home to
die – I’m still waiting

The government’s Mental Capacity Bill continues through
the House of Lords this week, where it will meet staunch opposition
from Baroness Chapman of Leeds.

Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 6 February, page 12

NHS accused on eating disorders

Young lives are being put at risk because doctors are failing to
diagnose eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia quickly
enough, according to a campaign group.

The Eating Disorders Association says that access to specialist
services for the 1.1 million people who suffer are
“patchy,” despite guidelines to improve care.

Chief executive Susan Ringwood said: “Hardly a week goes by
without EDA hearing from a family whose story includes the fact
their GP either didn’t pick up on the problem or did not act
quickly enough.”

The campaign group interviewed 1,700 patients for its research,
which comes a year after the National Institute for Clinical
Excellence published new guidelines for professionals.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 7 February 2005 page
5

Church charity backs paedophile amnesty

Christian leaders have called for an amnesty of internet
paedophiles.

The Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Centre says offenders
should be “spared the humiliation of a court appearance and a
formal prosecution” if they agree to see a
psychiatrist.

Director of CPPA David Pearson said: “It would be like a gun
amnesty”. He added that the scale of internet child
pornography was beyond the resources of the police.

Source:- Daily Mail Monday 7 February 2005 page 13

Police hunting Soham killer were ‘inept and
indecisive’

Senior police officers leading the Soham murder inquiry were
indecisive and inept, according to a secret report.

t reveals that Ian Huntley was eliminated as a suspect six days
into the manhunt for the girls. Officers accepted a false alibi
given by his girlfriend Maxine Carr but when suspicion fell on
Huntley again detectives who asked for him to be placed under
surveillance were told there were “other
commitments”.

The report was written by a senior detective involved in the search
in August 2002.

Source:- Daily Mail  Monday 7 February page 19

New controls to stem flow of migrants

Migrant workers will be involved in computer finger-printing and
an Australian-style points system, under plans announced
today.

Home secretary Charles Clarke will tell MPs that migrants must
prove their economic benefit before they are allowed into the
country.

Source:- The Times Monday 7 February 2005 page 1

Intimidation of child witnesses

Research carried out by the NSPCC has found nearly half of
children who give evidence in court are intimidated and accused of
lying.

The study has revealed almost half of children aged between seven
and 17 did not understand phrases or words used in
proceedings.

NSPCC lawyer Barbara Essam said: “Suffering child abuse and
then having to speak publicly about the experience is an ordeal for
a young witness.”

Source:- The Times Monday 7 February 2005 page 2

Scottish papers

Parents snapping up ten-minute test to tell if children use
drugs

Parents worried that their children are taking drugs are turning to
£12 do-it-yourself testing kits to check up on them.

The 10-minute test can detect cannabis up to 14 days after it is
taken, but only three to five days after cocaine, amphetamines or
opiates are used.

Up to 370 of the urine tests have been bought in Scotland in the
past eight months.

Source:- Scotland on Sunday Sunday 6th February

Paedophiles must face jail sentences, police chiefs
urge

Scotland’s leading police officers believe child sex
offenders should face mandatory jail sentences. The Association of
Chief Police

Officers in Scotland is concerned that a number of paedophiles have
been dealt with too leniently by the courts.

Bob Ovens, ACPOS spokesperson on child protection, said it was time
for a tougher approach to be adopted.

Source:- The Scotsman Monday 7th February

Fire hazards at 75% of care homes

Safety inspectors found “potential fire hazards” at more than
three-quarters of care homes for older people in Scotland.

The national investigation was launched following the Rosepark Care
Home fire in North Lanarkshire fire last January which killed 14
residents.

The Scottish executive said the risks identified were all minor,
and stressed that there was no cause for alarm.

Source:- The Scotsman Monday 7th February

Outrage over plan to award councillors 250% wage rise

Scottish councillors are set for a 250 per cent pay rise at the
same time they are expected to impose tax rises of up to treble the
rate of inflation.

A report on local authority salaries will recommend that wages for
councillors should rise to as high as £25,000 – up from their
current basic wage of just £7,000.

If accepted, the £30 million a year wage bill will have to be
met by taxpayers.

Source:- The Scotsman Monday 7th February

Welsh newspapers

Mother of dead baby found

The 15-year-old mother of a baby found dead in a garden in Cardiff
has been traced.

The girl, who is from Splott where the baby was found, is in
hospital being examined by medical staff.

She will only face police questioning once she has completed her
treatment.

Source:- Western Mail Saturday 5 February

Police chief warns of over-protective parents

A Welsh expert in paedophiles has told teachers not to listen to
parents who refuse to allow their children to stay in detention
after school because they are afraid of them being attacked on the
way home.

Chief constable Terrence Grange of Dyfed Powys Police said that the
argument was part of the “load of baloney” used by
parents to try to manipulate the system.

Source:- Western Mail Saturday 5 February