By Clare Jerrom and Reg McKay.
Immigrant expulsions fall short of target
Only 5,300 out of the 30,000 asylum seekers the government said would be removed by next March, have so far been expelled by the immigration service, home office statistics show.
But David Blunkett’s plans to increase the number of removals in 2001/2 now looks unlikely as in the three months up to September, the number of applications for asylum has increased by 21 per cent from the previous quarter to 18,855.
In defence of the small number of expelled asylum seekers, a home office spokesperson said: "We’ve opened three new detention centres in recent months and 700 new immigration officers are being trained to work in this area. Substantial resources are being invested to help reach the removals target."
Of the 18,855 people who applied for asylum, 2,505 applications are from Afghanistan. The second largest number of new applicants was from Somalia 2,265 and then Iraq 1,910.
Source:- The Times Saturday 1 December page 2
Climbie inquiry chief criticises council over failure to produce vital documents
The head of social services at Haringey council has been ordered to appear before the Victoria Climbie inquiry following criticisms of the council.
Director of the department Anne Bristow has been ordered to attend the hearing on Monday after the council was accused of withholding vital documents.
Chairman of the inquiry Lord Laming said the council’s late production of important documents was "deeply disturbing".
Victoria died at the hands of her great aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her boyfriend Carl Manning.
After hearing of the late production of the documents, Laming said: "It is totally unacceptable. This is an important inquiry. It is a difficult inquiry to conduct and it is an inquiry of immense importance, not just in respect of previous practice but in learning lessons for the future."
The decision to summons Bristow was taken after Neil Garnham QC informed the chairman he had only just received vital documents, and they referred to material that had not been disclosed.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 December page 15
BBC drama will break sex and disability taboo
Two people with severe learning disabilities are to star in a BBC drama about sex and the disabled.
Dorothy Cockin and Peter Kirby have been chosen for the roles in the 90-minute film Flesh and Blood, starring alongside Christopher Eccleston.
The pair play parents to Eccleston’s character, who was adopted as a child. He tracks them down and is shocked to discover they are in a mental institution and did not know they had a child.
The script examines what happens to Joe Broughton, Eccleston’s character, as he learns about his parents’ lives and tries to come to terms with them.
The film’s producer Derek Wax said: "It’s quite a taboo subject and I think the film will hopefully help to break down some of the taboos."
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 December page 15
Social worker jailed for child rape
A social worker has been jailed for 12 years for carrying out sexual attacks on the children in his care.
Joseph Hopkins of Staffordshire, was found guilty of committing rape and nine indecent assaults on teenagers while he worked at the Riverside home in Rochester, Staffordshire. He had denied all the charges during the two-week trial.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 December page 6
Sock fibre ‘links Sarah suspect to scene of murder’
Extra evidence that links Sarah Payne to her alleged killer has been discovered by an independent forensic scientist, Lewes crown court heard on Friday.
Roger Robson said his research highlighted a match between socks found in Roy Whiting’s van, and a fibre discovered among a clump of Sarah’s hair at the spot where her body was found.
He said his findings backed up those of Raymond Chapman from the Forensic Science Service who said there was "extremely strong" evidence to suggest Sarah had been in the van.
Whiting denies kidnap and murder.
The trial continues on Monday.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 December page 16
Pensioner’s victory over care home bills
Controversial rules that force pensioners to sell their homes to pay for nursing care were battled against on Friday in the high court.
Christopher Beeson gave his house to his son and continued to live there with him. But when the pensioner had to move into a nursing home, Dorset council tried to seize the property to meet the bills.
Beeson went to court but died soon afterwards leaving his son to face the council’s demands for the care his father received.
Mr Justice Richards said on Friday the council’s decision was based on a ‘total misunderstanding of the law’.
Current rules mean that anyone with assets of more than £16,000 must use them to pay for their nursing home fees. But Beeson gave his son the house after his marriage ended and at a time when he was fit and there was no suggestion of him going into a residential home.
Mr Justice Richards said the council had failed to consider clear evidence that Beeson gave his house away to help his son long before needing care, and he had not been trying to dodge the bills.
Source:- Daily Mail Saturday 1 December page 29
The betrayal of Damilola
Great change was promised in the wake of Damilola’s murder. But in the week Tony Blair revisited Peckham, have things really got any better?
Source:- Daily Mail Saturday 1 December page 20-21
Crackdown on paedophiles who lure children through net
The government will launch guidance to crackdown on paedophiles using internet chat rooms to lure children into meeting them.
Ministers will launch a guide on Monday on safe internet use to help parents protect their children.
The £1.5 million national advertising campaign comes as a survey for the Sunday Times internet section, reveals that two thirds of child internet users chat to strangers online. The survey by 'Doors' also found 10 per cent discuss meeting strangers.
About 5 million of Britain’s children are thought to be online and able to chat to strangers.
Source:- The Sunday Times Sunday 2 December page 23
New HIV cases are mostly non-gay
More than half of all HIV infections in Britain come from heterosexual contact, according to the latest figures.
More than 33,000 Britons aged between 15 and 59 are believed to be infected. But infection through heterosexual contact is believed to be increasing at a faster rate, according to research by Taylor Nelson Sofres Healthcare, which states that around 54 per cent of new infections in 2000 was a result of heterosexual contact.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday 2 December page 6
They risked jail and spent £40,000. But they saved their son from heroin
Julie and Ian Gell had to break the law, pay the dealers and undertake DIY rehab for their addicted son. Tracy McVeigh reports on the plight of the families who must fend for themselves.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 2 December page 13
‘Stop child benefit at 16 for well-off pupils’
An influential think tank will propose today that child benefit should be scrapped at 16, and the funds put into maintenance allowances for students from poorer families.
The Institute for Public Policy Research will urge the government to focus on the number of pupils staying on beyond school leaving age.
The IPPR report, Opportunity for Whom? claims that reaching the government’s target of enabling 50 per cent of under 30s to go to higher education by 2010 will not guarantee a substantial rise in the number of poor students.
Source:- The Times Monday 3 December page 6
Special schools fear closure
Head teachers of special schools are claiming that parents of children with special educational needs are not being allowed to send their children to schools that can cater for them.
The government’s policy on inclusion by educating children with special needs in mainstream schools has caused controversy among head teachers. Almost a fifth feared their schools would close within a decade, according to a report for the Conservative Party.
The proportion of children with special needs has risen steadily as a result of ministers' support for inclusion. More than 95 per cent of head teachers said the policy did not take into account the parents' wishes.
A spokesperson for the department for education said inclusion would not lead to widespread closures.
Source:- The Times Monday 3 December page 8
Blair backtracks on NHS spending
The prime minister retreated on a commitment to raise health spending in Britain to match the European average within four years.
Tony Blair also ruled out a ring fenced NHS tax and said the government would raise increased NHS spending from higher "general taxation".
Downing Street said that a target date of 2005/6 to reach European level of spending first made 18 months ago and repeated last Wednesday in the Commons, was a "broad aim".
Source:- The Guardian Monday 3 December page 1
Women who deny access to children face court
Mothers who deny their absent partners access to their children could face community sentences under plans being drawn up by the government.
The Lord Chancellor’s department plans to introduce legal sanctions against parents with custody of the children, who refuse to let the absent parent have contact.
Ministers are concerned that in the past the law discriminated against absent parents, usually the fathers.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Monday 3 December page 9
Scottish newspapers
The invisible child prostitutes
A two-page investigative feature into the incidence of child prostitution in Scotland. Looking forward to the launch this week of a Barnardo’s led multi-agency inquiry into the numbers of child prostitutes. The writers estimate that there at least 300 child prostitutes in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Source:- The Sunday Herald 2 December
£2.5 million shortfall in free bus plan
The Scottish executive has seriously under funded their own plans to introduce free public transport to older and disabled people, according to Charles Gordon, leader of Glasgow Council.
The executive’s plans, announced last month, will create a £2.5 million deficit for the 12 west of Scotland councils and cause serious under investment in essential public transport services according to the council leaders.
Source The Herald Monday 3 December page 4
Social work managers stole from residents
Two social work managers have been found guilty of stealing money from people in their care over a two-year period.
Samuel Keen and John Gallacher worked at the Auldhouse residential complex for people with mental illnesses and severe disabilities, owned and run by the Roman Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of Glasgow in the south side of Glasgow. The sheriff court in Glasgow found that the two men had stolen from residents as well as from the unit’s funds. As first time offenders, social enquiry reports were ordered on Keen and Gallacher before they will be sentenced later this month.
Source The Herald Monday 3 December
Munchausen syndrome by proxy
A page-length feature examining the question whether Munchausen syndrome by proxy is too often the label attached when unexplained illnesses in children persist.
Source:- The Herald Monday 3 December page 13
