By Clare Jerrom.
Asylum seekers will be given ID cards
A £350 million overhaul of the government’s asylum policy will include identity cards to be issued to all asylum seekers, David Blunkett announced yesterday.
Ministers are also considering paying cash to applicants via electronic money transfers which will replace the voucher scheme.
The home secretary is to build four accommodation centres to hold 3,000 asylum applicants while their cases are heard. If they prove successful, further centres will be built nationally to hold an estimated 30,000 asylum seekers.
New immigrants will be held in induction centres for several days, and all asylum seekers are to report in regularly to a network of centres around the country.
To tackle the backlog of 50,000 appeal cases, a further 70 courts will be provided plus an extra 114 immigration adjudicators.
In a statement to the Commons, Blunkett said: "The message at home and abroad must be crystal clear, but tough – sending a signal to people throughout the world that the United Kingdom is not a soft touch."
Source:- The Times Tuesday 30 October page 1
Scepticism greets new policies on asylum
The government’s changes in asylum policy were met with scepticism from refugee groups yesterday, which said it was too early to tell whether the plans would solve all the problems.
There was general backing for the decision to scrap the voucher scheme.
Nick Hardwick, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: "It’s excellent news that these humiliating and demeaning vouchers are going. However, we have concerns with the proposed smart card system."
"We would be concerned if they become cards which asylum seekers have to show to prove they are entitled to services – it would be very unwelcome if school secretaries and doctors’ receptionists suddenly start deciding who does and doesn’t get access to their services," he added.
Alistair Mackenzie of Asylum Aid said he welcomed the abolition of the voucher scheme but wanted to see the details of plans for accommodation centres before deciding if they would improve the system.
David Blunkett plans to publish a white paper within weeks, followed by legislation in this session of parliament.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 30 October page 2
Police action curbs refugee pickpockets
Pick pocketing offences on the London Underground have halved as a result of a police operation against three families of asylum seekers
The number of commuters pickpocketed on the tube was 5,035 up to September, compared with 10,626 in 1999-2000.
British Transport police said the number of offences rose after an influx of asylum seekers in 1999, including many children from eastern Europe.
The 'pickpocketing squad' appointed a further 40 officers to concentrate on a small number of individuals thought to be behind organised pickpocketing.
Three families in particular were found to be responsible. The child pickpockets were taken into care.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 30 October page 10
JPs back overhaul of prostitution law
Magistrates backed an overhaul of laws on prostitution yesterday.
The annual meeting of their association called on the government to conduct a review of how to tackle soliciting after hearing of the waste of time and police resources caused by prostitutes.
London magistrate Roger Farrington said: "Because soliciting is not imprisonable, JPs have little choice but to fine a prostitute who appears before them, and don’t have the option of community service."
Courts may impose a fine of £50, but when the women can earn several hundreds of pounds a week it does not act as a deterrent.
Farrington said one option was to be more punitive, and another was to move towards licensed brothels.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 30 October page 12
Jail threat for illegal adoptions
Couples who adopt abroad without clearance from a British adoption agency first, will face up to a year in prison, under tougher laws, ministers said yesterday.
Adopted parents must be vetted in the UK before bringing a child back from countries that have adoption procedures that are recognised here, the Commons was told.
The law changes follow the case of Judith and Alan Kilshaw, who failed in an attempt to adopt American twin girls over the internet for £8,200.
Stiffer penalties will be introduced under the Adoption and Children Bill for those who flout adoption laws at home and abroad.
Health secretary Alan Milburn said: "Adoption is a service for children, not for profit."
"It should happen in the interests of the child, not as a commercial transaction," he added.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 30 October page 12
Fathers picket judges over child access
Bands of unhappy divorced and separated fathers are picketing the homes of a number of judges, demanding equal rights for both parents.
President of the high court’s family division Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, senior judge at Cardiff county court Philip Price and leading appeal court judge Sir Matthew Thorpe are among those being targeted.
The picketers are predominantly divorced and separated parents who accuse family courts of failing to deliver on a main principle of the Children Act – that both parents should continue to play a part in their children’s lives when the adult’s relationship has broken down.
Proposals going to the lord chancellor next year are expected to recommend community service orders for mother who unreasonably refuse contact and parenting classes for couples unable to co-operate.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 30 October page 13
Jail all men who beat women, says top judge
Men who hit women should be given immediate custodial sentences, according to one of the country’s most senior female judges yesterday.
Valerie Pearlman said the time had arrived to stop making excuses for crimes of domestic violence.
She told the annual conference of magistrates in London: "The best way of dealing with it is an immediate custodial sentence. It may have an impact on the family, but it seems to me this is the only way to bring home to the defendants what they have done."
Magistrates were told that 25 per cent of violent crime was domestic violence, but only one in three attacks resulting in injury was reported.
Home office statistics reveal that on average victims are assaulted 35 times before they find help.
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 30 October page 1
Best councils to get new powers as ‘public-service entrepreneurs’
Britain’s best performing councils will have the powers to take over their poorly performing counterparts under plans announced by the government yesterday.
Stephen Byers, secretary of state for transport, local government and the regions, confirmed the moves as he announced a wide-ranging review of the ‘best-value’ regime for local authorities.
The review would refer to plans to allow high performing councils to take on new work from fellow councils and private firms. Present legislation prevents councils from undertaking any work other than their own, but ministers feel it is imperative to reward best practice.
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 30 October page 2
Nearly half of London’s children in poverty
Half of the capital’s youngsters are excluded from benefits, according to a report.
Forty-three per cent of children in London live in poverty, a higher proportion than in any other part of the country, says The State of London’s Children report published yesterday.
London’s children suffer higher rates of ill health, accidents and infant deaths as a result of poverty. School exclusions are more common and academic performance is lower in London, with child abuse more frequent.
The report from the Office of Children’s Rights Commissioner for London says: "London remains a capital divided, with huge variations in wealth which impact directly on its 1.65 million children."
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 30 October page 11
Scottish newspapers
New group to fight child abuse in sport
A new unit to tackle the problem of children being abused in sport, has been launched in England copying a similar scheme in Scotland.
The UK Child Protection in Sport Unit will offer advice to sports clubs on how best to protect children who play sports. The new unit will be based at the NSPCC's national training centre in Leicester, and is part of the charity's Full Stop campaign.
In Scotland, Children 1st worked with sportscotland and other agencies in producing the Safe and Secure Action Plan to address the problem of abuse in sport after several high profile cases.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 30 October 2001