Prescott to lose job as PM tries to stem crisis

Prescott to lose job as PM tries to stem crisis
Tony Blair will strip John Prescott of his departmental brief in a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle designed to reassert his grip on government. Charles Clarke may lose the Home Office, Ruth Kelly is expected to be replaced at education by Alan Johnson but Patricia Hewitt will stay as health secretary.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 5 May 2006, page 1

Taxpayer faces extra £70 million bill for GPs’ out-of-hours work
Reform of GPs’ out-of-hours services will cost the taxpayer £70 million more than anticipated this year but there is no evidence patients are receiving better treatment, a National Audit Office report says.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 5 May 2006, page 15

Couple to create saviour sibling
A couple have become the first to be given permission to create a “saviour sibling” in Britain in an attempt to help their desperately ill 20-month-old daughter. They will aim to ensure that a new baby would be a genetic match to their daughter, who suffers from a rare blood condition.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 5 May 2006, page 1

Row over £15 million set aside for NHS spin doctors
The Department of Health was accused of focusing on “spin doctors, not real doctors” after emerged that it has set aside up to £15 million for public relations. Hospital trusts across the country are already estimated to be shedding at least 12,000 jobs to save money.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 5 May 2006, page 2

Teacher escapes jai over indecent image
Head of care at a special school for boys has escaped jail for possessing an indecent image of a pupil, despite the judge wanting to lock him up.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Friday 5 May 2006, page 11

The net closes
Report on the new Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Friday 5 May 2006, page 24

Scottish news

Council puts six of its care homes out to private tender
Highland Council is to put six of its 20 care homes out to private tender amid protests from opponents of the move.
It says it is having to sell because it cannot afford to refurbish or rebuild the properties and care can be provided more efficiently by the private sector.
A crowd of more than 100 protesters urged the authority not to go down the privatisation route and warned members that the decision could impact on next year’s elections.
Source:- The Herald, Friday 5 May 2006
 
Penniless Poles seek shelter in hostels for homeless people
Almost half the people forced to use a homeless shelter in Edinburgh are Polish economic immigrants unable to find work.
Up to 20 Poles a night are turning to the Cowgate Centre in Holyrood Road, after spending their limited savings. The plight of the new arrivals has prompted the city council to commission a £40,000 report to explore what support services are needed to cope with the influx.
Nearly 1,200 Poles found work in Edinburgh last year, according to council research, making them the fastest-growing ethnic minority in the city.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 5 May 2006
 
Iraq veterans suffer huge toll of mental health disorders
More than 1,500 British soldiers have been diagnosed with mental health disorders after serving in Iraq, according to the Scotsman.
Psychiatric conditions suffered by service personnel include post-traumatic stress disorder, manic depression and a range of neurotic conditions.
Some soldiers are clinically addicted to psychoactive drugs. At least seven have committed suicide since leaving Iraq.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 5 May 2006
 
Domestic abuse is horrific for the victim but children feel pain too
One in five women in Scotland experience domestic abuse during their lives and in more than 90 per cent of the cases children are in the same or next room.
A £6 million investment to improve services and fund extra children’s workers in refuges is going some way to making sure these children do not become the forgotten victims.
In a survey of more than 1400 Scots, aged between 14 and 18, the vast majority had heard of the term domestic abuse, but less than half realised how common it is.
Source:- The Record, Friday 5 May 2006
 
Welsh news

Schoolboys ‘slashed’ teenagers in rivals’ feud
A gang of teenage boys slashed two schoolboys with a knife and bottle due to rivalry between two villages Cardiff crown court heard yesterday. The five boys are alleged to have left their homes in Cefn Fforest, near Caerphilly to attend a party in the rival village of Machen where they attacked the 16 and 17 year olds. One of the victims received a cut to his mouth and a wound to his eye while the other was stabbed in the chin.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday May 5 2006