Round-up of the week

Round up of the week

Week beginning 7 March 2005

Monday 7 March

The government urged local authorities to identify more and
appropriate land for authorised sites for Gypsies and Travellers as
Temporary Stop Notice regulations came into force to allow councils
to act immediately to stop unauthorised sites being developed in
problem locations.

Tuesday 8 March

Funding of £5 million for young people with mental health
problems was announced by health minister Rosie Winterton. She also
revealed that £1.5 million of that funding would be given to
projects aimed at black and ethnic minority young people with
mental health problems.

Home Office minister Hazel Blears also defended the Home Office
plan to “name and shame” individuals issued with
antisocial behaviour orders to the home affairs select
committee’s inquiry into antisocial behaviour. She said the
measure was “was not about stigmatising” young
people.

Wednesday 9 March

A poll of 1,450 professionals carried out exclusively for
Community Care found that nine out of 10 social care
professionals working with older people thought they are being
discharged from hospital too early. The survey, part of
Community Care’s Election 2005 campaign, was
complemented by a report from Gillian Crosby and Angela Clark at
the Centre for Policy on Ageing, which calls for a strategic
approach to addressing the needs of older people and an NOP poll of
the general public. For more information on our campaign go to www.communitycare.co.uk/election

Thursday 10 March

Stephen Ladyman

Community care minister Stephen Ladyman promised faster diagnosis
and more rapid treatment was to the 10 million people in the

UK with long-term neurological conditions in the National Service
Framework for long-term conditions.

Friday 11 March

Four of the five public sector unions pressing for a strike over
government changes to their pension scheme voted between 73 per
cent and 87 per cent in favour of action. The ballot results from
Amicus, T & G, Ucatt and UNISON could lead to an initial
one-day strike in councils across the UK on March 23 unless an
agreement with the government can be reached. Ballots for GMB, the
fifth union involved, are still being collected.

News from the Mubarek inquiry

The first race equality adviser to the Prison Service  told the
Zahid Mubarek inquiry that she heard “disturbing”
allegations of serious

Zahid Mubarek

violence against black and ethnic minority prisoners. Judy
Clements, who advised the Prison Service between 1999 and 2003,
told the public inquiry into Mubarek’s death that prison
staff and management were in “complete denial” of
issues relating to racism in a number of institutions.

The inquiry heard later this week that an Asian prisoner was
brutally assaulted by two white inmates at Feltham Young Offender
Institution but staff did not refer him to hospital until 24 hours
later. The victim suffered “serious” injuries including
a broken jaw and was kept in hospital for 19 days following the
attack, which occurred just two months before Mubarek was murdered
by his racist cellmate Robert Stewart at Feltham in 2000.