By Clare Jerrom, Reg McKay and Alex Dobson.
Prescott council ‘going bust’
A rescue team should be sent to Hull council to prevent it going bust from its own incompetence, a watchdog said yesterday.
Investigators from the Audit Commission found the local authority was beset by bullying and quarrelsome politicians who were ‘not seen to be above suspicion’.
The report focused on a £263 million shares windfall, which was wasted in a spending spree.
Money was poured into council houses, but thousands are being demolished because nobody wants them.
The report will be handed to the deputy prime minister’s office for action.
Source:- Daily Mail Tuesday 30 July page 6
Damilola centre ‘fails to lower risk’
A youth centre opened in memory of Damilola Taylor was criticised yesterday as residents claimed some community amenities would be forced to close.
Damilola’s father, Richard, said the new centre would enable other children from Peckham, south London, to "be the best they can". But residents said the centre would not help the under-11 age group, and would result in the closure of other amenities that would place other children at risk.
Damilola was 10-years-old when he was murdered on his way home from school in November 2000.
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 30 July page 7
Asylum appeals plans attacked
Two opposition parties in the Lords yesterday criticised David Blunkett’s plans to streamline the asylum seekers appeal process.
The Tories and the Liberal Democrats complained that asylum seekers may not receive a fair hearing under the plans set out in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill.
The bill aims to develop a "one-stop" appeal system where asylum seekers present all their grounds for appeal at the same time, and immigration officers will be given the powers to decide whether or not an appeal is justified.
For the Conservative party, Lady Anelay of St Johns said the bill would allow "a junior case worker" to be both judge and jury. Lord Goodhart for the Liberal Democrats said the government’s plans were "dangerous" and "contrary to natural justice".
Source:- Daily Telegraph Tuesday 30 July page 6
Ecstasy related deaths double
The number of ecstasy related deaths has doubled in the past year, according to a study.
There were at least 40 deaths linked to the drug in the last year – twice the total reported in 2000 and four times as many as in 1998.
Researchers from the centre for addiction studies based at St George’s Hospital, south London, said there were younger users and a dramatic reduction in the price of ecstasy.
"The rise comes at the same time as ecstasy becomes cheaper and is used more recreationally in the dance culture by people who wouldn’t normally take it," a hospital spokesperson said.
The figures were released just two weeks after the death of Jade Slack, aged 10, from Lancaster, who died after accidentally taking the drug.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 30 July page 5
HIV mother gets milk tokens
A high court judge ordered the home office to supply a HIV positive asylum seeker with milk tokens for her baby, to prevent transmission of the virus through breast feeding.
But the judge refused to order the health department to supply free milk and vitamins to all asylum seekers.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 30 July page 7
Challenge over child prison 'abuse' delayed
A high court challenge to the home secretary over the way teenagers are treated in prison has been delayed to enable social services departments to be represented.
The Howard League for Penal Reform claims prison and young offenders institutions are wrongly exempted from laws protecting children under 18, and had expected to begin its case yesterday.
But Mr Justice Crane adjourned the hearing after expressing concern that social services, whose procedures and resources would be profoundly affected if the league won the case, were unrepresented in court.
No date was set for the hearing, but it is unlikely to take place before October. The Howard League says child inmates who want to commit suicide or self harm are not protected, and that bullying and assault are common.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 30 July page 2
Scottish newspapers
MSPs and councillors attack council on free personal care
East Dunbartonshire council has been severely criticised by MSPs and councillors over its failure to implement free personal care at the same time as all other Scottish local authorities.
The council has issued a letter to older people saying it was "not considering free personal care and nursing care at the moment", and omitted to say when the package would be introduced. John Morrison, deputy leader of East Dunbartonshire, said that while the council had boosted funding on services to older people it had calculated that the funding provided by the Scottish executive did not cover the costs of free personal care.
A spokesperson for the executive said that East Dunbartonshire had received £2.5 million which should be adequate, and that no other authority had indicated there were difficulties in introducing free personal care.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 30 July page 6
First ‘redcoats’ patrol the streets
The first of Scottish executive-funded neighbourhood patrols were introduced to areas of Renfrewshire last night.
Dubbed the ‘redcoats’ because of their brightly coloured uniforms, the wardens have been introduced to the Ferguslie, West Johnstone, Foxbar and Shortroods areas as the first national pilot of the scheme.
While not having the power of arrest, the wardens’ role in the £1.3 million scheme is to tackle crime by communicating with the police and endeavouring to defuse difficulties before they escalate. Other schemes are expected to follow.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 30 July page 7
Welsh newspapers
Head 'had policy not to resuscitate'
A head teacher gave instructions not to resuscitate a terminally ill child at a special school because she felt it was 'immoral', an employment tribunal heard yesterday.
Whistleblower Bunny Pinnington worked at a school for children with severe learning and physical disabilities and says that the head teacher, Elizabeth Jones, adopted a 'do not resuscitate policy' for some pupils without consulting parents.
Pinnington who worked as a school nurse at Ysgol Crug Glas in Swansea, finally blew the whistle in 1999 as she says she was becoming increasing concerned for children's safety at the school.
She claims that she was unfairly dismissed from the school after making disclosures in the public interest. The tribunal continues.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 30 July page 1 and 7
Council tells developers: Hands off town site
A local authority is bidding to buy an unwanted hospital to stop it being sold on the open market.
Speculation has been mounting that the former St David's psychiatric hospital at Carmarthen could be used to house asylum seekers, although the home office has denied this.
But Carmarthenshire council yesterday agreed to buy the 53-acre site that is owned by the Welsh assembly and valued at around £1.6 million for the benefit of the local community.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 30 July page 1