Police arrest 150 in purge on sex trade

Police arrest 150 in purge on sex trade
Nearly 50 young women have been rescued by police from brothels where they were allegedly being forced to work in the sex trade after being trafficked into Britain. More than 150 men suspected of involvement in the trade have been arrested in Operation Pentameter.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 9 May 2006, page 12

Assisted death bill attacked by doctors
Senior doctors have joined the opposition to Lord Joffe’s bill that would allow them to help terminally ill patients to die. Twenty four consultants who specialise in palliative care say that the attempt to legalise assisted suicide is a “bad solution to a difficult problem”.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 9 May 2006, page 1

Axe killer sent to psychiatric hospital
A schizophrenic man who killed a pensioner by axing him over the head was committed indefinitely to a psychiatric hospital. The man, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, had long had paranoid delusions about the victim, including the belief he was trying to kill him.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 9 May 2006, page 15

Pupil who assaulted girl stays at same school
A 14-year-old boy from Hampshire who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl has been allowed to attend the same school as his victim, after receiving a supervision order. Hampshire Council children’s services director John Coughlan said a risk assessment was being carried out in the case, but the decision was described as “utterly stupid” by charity Kidscape.
Source:- The Sun, Tuesday 9 May 2006, page 9

Kelly fails to pass equality test, say gay campaigners
Ruth Kelly’s voting record on gay rights and her membership of conservative Catholic body Opus Dei has been criticised by activists, after she was given responsibility for equalities in the government reshuffle.She has missed a number of crucial votes on gay rights since 1997 and voted for an amendment to the Adoption and Children Bill 2002 which would have excluded same-sex couples from adopting.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 9 May 2006 page 12


Scottish digest
 
Protect children of addicts, says McConnell
Ministers have laid out plans to ensure no child with a drug-abusing parent is overlooked by the state, with even unborn children at risk identified and given protection.
Jack McConnell said the safety of children must be paramount, and that police, social work, councils and GPs needed to communicate better. Wherever there was a child in danger, they should ignore the confidentiality rules which had previously left them in the dark about each other’s work.
He also warned children may be removed from parents whose drug addiction had made their lives “chaotic”.
Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 9 May 2006
 
Scottish carers face a limit on foster children
Foster parents in Scotland should only be allowed to take in three children at a time to ensure vulnerable youngsters get the care and attention they need, according to child care campaigners.
The Fostering Network Scotland claims overcrowding causes placements to break down, bringing further instability to children whose lives have already been disrupted.
Campaigners are now calling on the Scottish executive to impose an upper limit of three children in line with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Exceptions would be made for larger sibling groups to keep families together.
Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 9 May
 
Council house sales stop
Fife Council has been allowed to suspend tenants’ right to buy their council home.
The move, intended to help with local housing pressures, will apply in St Andrews and the East Neuk of Fife, and will last for five years.
About 560 tenancies will be affected by the ban. It applies only to tenancies which began after 30 September 2002.
Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 9 May 2006
 
Autism in kids rises
There has been an eight-fold rise in the number of Scottish children with autism, figures show.
SNP MSP Christine Grahame said figures showed an increase from 114 pupils with autism in publicly-funded secondary schools in 1999 to 825 last year.
In primary schools, the number had increased from 415 to 1736 over the same period. Grahame, SNP spokeswoman for social justice, called for “greater focus” in supporting the growing numbers.
Source:- The Record, Tuesday 9 May 2006

Welsh news

Wigley’s ‘sorrow’ over £500,000 special school appeal
The former Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Wigley has expressed disappointment over the lack of funding for equipment for special schools.
Wigley, who was speaking at the All-Wales Federation of Special Education Head Teachers in Caernarfon, said that despite funding being provided for a new special school nearby a £500, 000 fundraising appeal had to be organised in order to pay for its equipment.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday 9 May 2006

Autism centre wins reprieve
The only testing centre for children with undiagnosed autism in Wales has had its closure delayed by three months.
Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan local health boards have agreed to pay for the service, which is based at St David’s hospital in Cardiff, for the next three months.
The service was earmarked for closure in March due to a lack of funding.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday  9 May 2006

 

 

 

 

 

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