State supernannies to help struggling parents

State supernannies to help struggling parents
Families struggling to manage their children’s behaviour are to get extra advice and support including one-to-one help and parenting classes as the government targets parents in its assault on antisocial behaviour.
Amid survey findings showing that parents are widely seen as responsible for youngsters’ bad behaviour, ministers yesterday unveiled moves to appoint a network of “parenting experts” in 77 local authority areas across England.
These specialists, likely to be predominantly clinical psychologists, will boost local efforts to tackle antisocial behaviour by offering parents advice ranging from discipline strategies to the need to praise children and make time for “special time” away from mobile phones and the television.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 22 November 2006, page 4

Child database ‘will ruin family privacy’
The government’s plans to set up a database containing details of all children will ruin family privacy, a report commissioned by Parliament’s Information Commissioner. The research also states that the £224m database will waste millions of pounds.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, 22 November 2006, page 1

Failed asylum seekers’ expulsions down 25%
The number of failed asylum seekers deported from Britain has plummeted by more than 25% in the last three months as immigration staff were switched to finding and repatriating 1,000 foreign prisoners, the Home Office admitted yesterday.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 22 November 2006, page 11

Schizophrenia much more likely in children of single parents
Children born into families which split up before they are 16 are two and a half times more likely to develop schizophrenia in later life than those brought up by parents who stay together, psychiatrists leading the largest UK study into why people develop psychosis revealed yesterday.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 22 November 2006, page 14

Therapy ‘confusion’
People suffering from dementia have been left with a confusing mess of treatment options by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the government’s health watchdog, the Alzheimer’s Society said today.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 22 November 2006, page 2

Negative image of housing estates challenged
The negative image of housing estates as being dangerous, dirty and poverty stricken is challenged in a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 November 2006, page 3

Scottish news

Parents told to warn children about sex
A new report revealed government-led sex education is doing little to bring down the rate of sexually transmitted diseases or underage pregnancies.
More than a year after the Scottish executive launched a multi-million-pound sexual health strategy, sexually transmitted infectionsare up 7 per cent to more than 20,000, while teenage pregnancy rates remain high.
The first report on the Respect and Responsibility drive revealed how sexual health clinics have been updated and a number of schemes are raising awareness about underage sex, such as a DVD made by young parents about their experiences.
Source:- The Scotsman, Wednesday 22 November 2006

Alzheimer’s drug ban ‘to hit free home care’
The decision to deny Alzheimer’s patients some drugs will affect Scotland’s ability to provide free personal care, campaigners have warned.
Medical watchdogs in Scotland and England are expected to decide against allowing people with early or late-stage Alzheimer’s disease access to a new range of drugs.
Jim Jackson, chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, said the decision would deny more than 10,000 patients in Scotland a chance to recover from dementia, making it difficult to provide care at home.
Source:- The Scotsman, Wednesday 22 November 2006

Welsh news

Re-think mental health policy call from Tories
The Tories will call on the Assembly government to set down targets to improve mental health services today. A Welsh Conservative motion, due to be discussed by AMs today, states that welsh mental health services are dire.
Source:- icWales, Wednesday 22 November 2006

‘People first’ in new service standards
A set of basic standards for public services in Wales will be introduced by the Assembly government today. The standards are part of the assembly’s response to a major review published by central government this summer and called for the public sector to make its resources go further.
Source:- icWales, Wednesday 22 November 2006