By Clare Jerrom, Reg McKay and Alex Dobson.
‘Series of errors’ behind child abuse death
Lauren Wright’s local health authority has been criticised for failing to safeguard her from years of violent physical abuse at home, in an independent report into the death of the six-year-old.
The health professionals made a series of errors in their treatment and diagnosis of Lauren. A consultant paediatrician has been ordered to undergo extra training in child protection.
Lauren, from Welney, Norfolk, died in May 2000 after a blow to her stomach caused her digestive system to collapse. A post mortem found the girl weighed slightly over two stone and had more than 60 bruises on her body.
Her stepmother Tracey Wright and father Craig, were jailed in October last year after being convicted of manslaughter and wilful neglect.
The inquiry, commissioned by Norfolk health authority, detailed a catalogue of errors by NHS staff and social workers.
The heads of social services, education and health authorities have already accepted Lauren’s death exposed serious professional shortcomings.
Source:- The Guardian Thursday 28 March page 11
Blunkett pleads poverty case
David Blunkett has stepped up his campaign to get more cash to tackle poverty by claiming Gordon Brown’s Treasury team have none of his own experiences of growing up on a poor estate.
"Very few, if any, Treasury officials know anything about areas of disadvantage. Certainly they have never lived on estates like the one on which I was brought up," the home secretary said.
Speaking this week at a Whitehall seminar, Blunkett urged local and central government to start transferring assets like parks and community centres to local communities to help them build "social capital". He also reaffirmed the case for the child trust fund, which is intended to give "baby bond" cash to newborns.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 28 March page 2
Court refuses public inquiry into prison death
The court of appeal overturned a ruling from a lower court ordering the home secretary to hold a public inquiry into the "systematic failures" which led to the murder of an Asian youth in his cell.
Zahid Mubarek was battered to death at Feltham young offenders’ institution in March 2000 by cellmate Robert Stewart, a violent racist.
Mr Justice Hooper had found that the right to life under the European convention on human rights required the home office to carry out an independent investigation into the death of the 19-year-old who was serving a three-month sentence for petty theft. He said the inquiry must be carried out in public.
But yesterday Lord Woolf, Lord Justice Laws and Lord Justice Dyson ruled that a public inquiry was not necessary.
The appeal judges said it had been established that the prison service was at fault, an inquiry into this had been held and the family were invited to be involved, the cause of death had been established by Stewart’s conviction for murder, and there was no basis for prosecuting any member of the prison service.
Source:- The Guardian Thursday 28 March page 13
‘£50 an hour’ beggars
On the streets of Cambridge, beggars are "earning" more than £50 per hour, police said yesterday.
Most of the money was spent on drink and drugs, the police said, who have just carried out an operation targeting aggressive begging in the city.
Inspector Jarman who headed the operation said: "Anyone who gives to people on the street has got to realise that it’s to support drink and drug habits."
Source:- Daily Telegraph Thursday 28 March page 10
Psychopath puts jail staff at risk
A psychopath has been watched round the clock by three prison officers for the past seven months because no place can be found for him in a top security psychiatric hospital.
Yesterday Judge Richard Gibbs said that the lack of beds in secure hospitals for patients with mental health problems was "verging on a scandal".
Speaking at Bristol crown court, he said: "It is outrageous that the system cannot deal with a case of this nature. After seven months we are no further forward in dealing with a person who has committed such an appalling crime. It is a situation which is frankly intolerable."
Daniel House was convicted of attempted murder last year and has been held in Bristol prison since the conviction. But he is considered a danger to staff and other inmates, and has told prison doctors he dreams of committing murder.
Source:- The Times Thursday 28 March page 7
Boy, 11, in court
An 11-year-old boy, who is tagged and under a night curfew, appeared in Cardiff crown court to admit stealing a car, after being blamed for stealing hundreds of cars.
The prosecution said little could be done until the boy reached age 12 in May, the age of criminality.
Source:- The Times Thursday 28 March page 10
Court threat to France as tunnel still blocked
If France continues to block the Channel Tunnel for British goods trains, the European Commission will take it to the European court of Justice.
France could be forced to compensate the 22 British companies that have lost more than £15 million since the French partially closed the tunnel in November because of invasions by asylum seekers.
Single Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein has written to the French government to say it is infringing the Treaty of Rome, which guarantees free movement of people and goods within the EU.
He set a deadline of June for the tunnel to be reopened, if not, the commission would begin legal action, which would result in France being taken to the European court in Luxembourg.
But the inadequacy of security measures was exposed yesterday when more than 150 asylum seekers raided a goods yard near Calais. They evaded the handful of police on duty, and climbed through holes in the fence before occupying a train carrying cars bound for Britain.
Source:- The Times Thursday 28 March page 10
Parents of unruly schoolchildren face £1,000 fine
Parents of unruly children will face fines of up to £1,000 under laws announced by the education secretary yesterday.
Parenting orders will be extended to cover children who have been suspended or excluded from school. The orders, currently only available when pupils commit a criminal offence, compel parents of unruly children to attend classes on "child rearing" skills; fines are imposed if they refuse to do so.
Estelle Morris said action was needed to stem a rise of indiscipline in schools.
Source:- The Times Thursday 28 March page 12
Scottish newspapers
Mixed reaction to smacking ban
The Scottish executive’s plan to proceed with a total ban on smacking any child under three or any child of any age with an implement, has met with mixed reactions from child care organisations and opposition groups.
The proposals were released yesterday as part of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. Other planks of the bill include lifelong restriction orders to control serious violent and sex offenders; increased use of electronic tagging; longer sentences for child pornography offences; increased protection for the victims of stalking; and improved criminal records checks for those working with children and vulnerable adults.
Source:- The Herald Thursday 28 March page 1
Fourfold rise in methadone in Grampian
The number of drug addicts using methadone in Grampian has almost quadrupled in the past four years according to the Scottish executive.
The number of dispensed items of methadone rose from approximately 70,000 in 1996/97 to more than 270,000 in 2000/01 – twice the national increase.
Source:- The Herald Thursday 28 March page 8
Welsh newspapers
Whistle Blower's £20,000 Overtime
The social worker whose dismissal sparked strike action in Cardiff paid himself more than £20,000 in overtime in one year.
Cardiff council says that Charles Faber, who led the emergency duty team in the city, failed to follow 'appropriate procedures' when authorising his own overtime claims.
The council denies allegations by Faber's union, Unison, that he was sacked because he blew the whistle on shortcomings in children's services. His dismissal led to a one-day strike, held yesterday, that disrupted council services across the city.
Unison maintain that Faber was not involved in 'corruption and fraud', and that the decision to sack him for inadequate management systems was far too extreme.
Source:- South Wales Echo Wednesday March 27 page 1 and 4
Respite centre to stay open and be run by charity
A respite centre that provides a service for physically disabled people across South Wales has been taken over by national disability charity, John Grooms.
The centre, Danycraig in Bridgend, will provide places for around 30 disabled people aged between 18 and 75.
Reverend Michael Shaw, executive director of the charity, said that respite care was a crucial component in the range of services provided for disabled people who live in the community. He added that the service provided a safety net for social services and health authorities when personal circumstances suddenly change.
Source:- Western Mail Thursday March 28 page 8