FRIDAY 3 MARCH 2006

Low-income elderly face misery
A third of pensioners are so poor that they cannot afford a day out or treat themselves to a meal in a pub, according to a report by Age Concern that paints a stark picture of retirement on a low income.
Source:- The Times, Friday 3 March 2006, page 34

How I believe we can harness the idealism of youth
Today Gordon Brown launches a £150 million scheme to create an army of young volunteers who will work in their communities.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Friday 3 March 2006, page 10

Classes for parents in disputes
Parents involved in dispute over access to their children may be ordered by courts to attend parenting classes and domestic violence treatment programmes, the government said yesterday.
Source:- The Times, Friday 3 March 2006, page 34

Alcohol linked to child deaths
A rising number of children under the influence of alcohol and drugs are being knocked down and killed on the roads, according to a study commissioned by the government.
Source:- The Times, Friday 3 March 2006, page 34

Court to rule on allowing severely disabled boy to die
The parents of a severely disabled 17-month-old boy will hear today if the High Court has decided to allow doctors to let him die. Lawyers for the hospital trust treating the boy have argued his quality of life is so poor they should be allowed to take him off the ventilator that is keeping him alive.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 3 March 2006, page 18

Ban from September for school junk food
A ban on confectionary, crisps and fizzy drinks being provided in schools looks certain to begin in September following the publication of advice to ministers by the School Food Trust.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 3 March 2006, page 6

More 7/7 victims
More than 1,000 people caught up in the London bombings on July 7 are likely to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the NHS trauma response team. It is trying to track down people who need help, many of whom may not have developed full symptoms.
Source:- The Times, Friday 3 March 2006, page 4

Priest rape charged
A Roman Catholic priest was charged at Liverpool crown court with indecently assaulting and facilitating the rape of a 12-year-old girl. Father Jeremiah McGrath, a 62-year-old priest in Rosslea, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, allegedly committed the offences in England last year. The case was adjourned.
Source:- The Times, Friday 3 March 2006, page 5

Pupil, 14, is held as body of missing boy is uncovered
A schoolboy was arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow pupil yesterday after the body of an 11-year-old boy was discovered partially covered by undergrowth in a park. Joe Geeling, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, disappeared while walking from school on Bury, Lancashire, on Wednesday afternoon.
Source:- The Times, Friday 3 March 2006, page 9

Cannabis is behind every one of the 100 heroin deaths I’ve dealt with, says coroner
A coroner told yesterday how in all the heroin deaths he had investigated, the victims had also used cannabis. Alan Crickmore called into question the government’s durg laws when he said he had presided over more than 100 heroin-related cases and cannabis had been a feature in all of them.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Friday 3 March 2006, page 5

Tots age 5 to decide class rules
Tots as young as five will help draw up school rules under Tony Blair’s flagship education shake-up. Shadow education secretary David Willetts branded the move “daft.”
Source:- The Daily Mail, Friday 3 March 2006, page 2

VAT to be slashed on morning-after pill
VAT on condoms and the morning-after pill is to be slashed in an attempt to reduce teenage pregnancies and sexual diseases. The plan will cut the cost of the pill bought off prescription by £4 and a packet of three condoms by 30p to 50p.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 3 March 2006, page 1

School reforms fly in face of evidence
Sir Michael Bichard, a former senior official at the Department for Education has warned that the government’s school reform will do more harm than good, saying more young people could drop out of education as a result.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 3 March 2006, page 2

Scottish news

Cosla and executive bid to resolve free care for elderly cash row
Local government representatives will meet the Scottish Executive to resolve problems of free care for older people.
The meeting between Cosla and central government is an attempt to head off a crisis which has seen one local authority, Western Isles, pay back money wrongly charged to elderly people for food preparation costs.
Dumfries and Galloway is now facing a similar problem, which councils claim is a result of poorly worded advice from the executive.
Source:- The Herald, Friday 3 March 2006

Drive to beat alcohol and drug abuse
Services for alcoholics and drug abusers in Edinburgh have been restructured as part of a wide-ranging review.
In particular, the Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh team wants to improve communication between groups offering support to people.
The council-affiliated umbrella group is also set to announce organisations that will benefit from a three-year funding plan in the near future.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 3 March 2006

Top cop warns of Trainspotting generation
Scottish children are at risk from their Trainspotting generation parents, a senior policeman has warned. Former Lothian and Borders assistant chief constable Tom Wood said: “The Trainspotting generation is now the parenting generation. These people lack the general parenting skills needed. It is a huge challenge and one which social services are struggling to get a grip on.”
Wood told the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland meeting in Ayrshire, that more deaths would follow those of two children in Leith, Edinburgh.
Source:- The Record, Friday 3 March 2006

Welsh news

Missing child may be in Portugal
A missing child may have been taken to Portugal or France from Wales the authorities said last night.
Jo o Immanuel Kidd, six months, is the subject of a court order and Ceredigion county court is trying to trace him and his mother Anna Howard Kidd.
The council has warned that there are concerns about both Jo o and Anna’s health.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday 3 March 2006