Visa rule changes put care homes on alert

Visa rule changes put care homes on alert

The introduction of a points-based immigration system next year could lead to a mass exodus of skilled care workers from outside the European Union, including from the Philippines.

The English Community Care Association, which represents care homes, and the Tory chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the Philippines warned that the government had not considered the impact of the new system on the care sector.

ECCA and others have warned that the government is already refusing work permits and permit renewals to overseas care workers in preparation for the new system.

Source:- The Guardian, Monday 20 August 2007, page 11

Anorexia may be inherited – and linked to autism

An expert on anorexia has suggested that it may be partially inherited through a mental disorder shared by people with autism.

Janet Treasure, head of the eating disorders unit at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and a professor of psychiatry at King’s College London, said both groups shared an inability to change rules they had set themselves and perfectionism.

This could be related to inherited problems with mental processing, she added.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Monday 20 August 2007, page 9

Care failure traps elderly

Thousands of pensioners are being left housebound and becoming increasingly disabled because of a lack of help with foot care, according to an Age Concern report.

The charity cited cuts in NHS chiropody clinics and a postcode lottery in services and said some older people were taking desperate measures, such as cutting their nails with gardening shears, to overcome the lack of care.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Monday 20 August 2007, page 14

Black army officers recruited to help stop gang violence

Commission for Equality and Human Rights chair Trevor Phillips is enlisting high-ranking black officers in the forces and the police to identify juniors who can act as mentors to young people involved in gang violence.

The initiative comes in the wake of a government-commissioned report which called for the promotion of role models to help extricate young black people from gangs and crime.

Source:- The Guardian, Monday 20 August 2007, page 1

Police chief’s plea on antisocial behaviour

The chief constable of Cheshire has said the emphasis on centrally-set police targets is wrapping forces up in bureaucracy and preventing them from tackling antisocial behaviour effectively.

Peter Fahy, who last week criticised the availability of cheap alcohol for youth crime and antisocial behaviour, also called for a much greater focus on rehabilitation and tackling the causes of crime, rather than punishment.

Source:- The Guardian, Monday 20 August 2007, page 6

Two found hanged in cells on same night

Two prisoners were found hanged in their cells at a jail within an hour of each other, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.

Saeed Adeli Gholi and Gary Franey were both found dead at Birmingham Prison in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Source:- The Guardian, Monday 20 August 2007, page 12

Too scared to leave our homes

A disturbing 42 per cent of people are too scared of yobs to leave home at night, a Mirror poll reveals today.

Source:- Daily Mirror, Monday 20 August 2007, page 1, 4-5

A convicted paedophile accused of raping a five-year-old boy a month after being freed from jail said that he had been prescribed Viagra by a prison doctor.

Source:- The Times, Monday 20 August 2007, page 13

Watchdogs criticise use of court cells

Concerns about housing prisoners in court cells during the height of the jail overcrowding crisis this summer were raised by watchdogs yesterday.

Chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers and inspector of courts administration Eddie Bloomfield criticised the practice, saying facilities were inadequate and some prisoners had to appear in court wearing the clothes they had slept in.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Monday 20 August 2007, page 13

Welsh news

£5m station refit leaves disability chief unhappy

Wales’ disability rights commissioner has branded the lack of a lift at a station’s new £5.5m platform “disappointing”.
A lift is set to be added to the platform at Newport station by 2010 but Kevin Fitzpatrick said that this was unacceptable.

Source:- Western Mail, Monday 20 August 2007

Prisons face strike vote

Prison officers throughout Wales are considering strike action over low pay.
In a ballot conducted by the Prison Officers Association around 900 Welsh prison officers voted to strike.

Source:- Wales on Sunday, 19 August 2007