By Clare Jerrom, Shona Main and Alex Dobson.
No pain, no gain Blair tells Labour doubters
Tony Blair told the Labour party conference that party members and unions would have to ditch more of their traditional beliefs.
The prime minister ignored the defeat the party inflicted him on Monday, and insisted that he would not only continue but expand his plans of private finance for public services.
The party had to keep faith with New Labour’s reforming instincts, he said. The alternative was self-destruction.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 2 October page 1
Racket smashed
A gang that is believed to have smuggled hundreds of illegal immigrants into Britain from India with doctored passports have been caught by the police.
Detectives from the National Crime Squad arrested seven men in Birmingham and London following a nine-month investigation.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 2 October page 4
Women, 91, sued for giving her home to son
A local authority is taking a 91-year-old woman to court to decide whether she can be forced to sell her home to pay for her nursing care.
Suffolk council claims Emily Youngman gave her home in Lowestoft to her son, John, to put it beyond the council’s reach.
The council is asking the high court to set aside Youngman’s declaration of trust giving the property to her only son.
The case could have ramifications for thousands of older people who are seeking to preserve their homes for their children to inherit rather than selling them to pay for nursing care.
Councils have a duty to assess people’s assets when they go into residential care and charge them accordingly.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 2 October page 7
Blunkett to disclose new policies on sex offences
The home secretary’s tough approach to asylum and crime is not right wing but part of a balanced approach to creating a fairer society, David Blunkett will tell Labour delegates today.
He will say that his uncompromising approach will be reserved for bogus asylum seekers or the worst offenders. It is balanced by enlightened schemes for criminals who are not a menace to society and a new programme of managed migration for those with skills the country needs.
Two new measures to tighten the law on sex offenders will be unveiled by the home secretary. Those convicted of sex offences abroad will have to register their crimes on the sex offenders’ register when they return to Britain or face up to five years in jail.
The 18,500 already on the register will have to report to the police annually rather than every five years as it currently stands, to reconfirm their details.
Home office ministers believe the changes, which will feature in sex offenders legislation early next year, are needed to plug loopholes in the way the register currently operates.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 2 October page 11
Refugee body gets Lotto grant
A £340,000 lottery grant is to be paid to a controversial group fighting the deportation of asylum seekers despite attempts by minister to have it withdrawn.
The body which allocates lottery handouts to charities and good causes, the Community Fund, admitted yesterday that it would most likely be obliged to give the money to the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns.
The group, which calls for an end to all immigration laws, had its funding frozen by the home office amid concerns that it was involved in political campaigning, making it ineligible for a grant.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 2 October page 12
Grandparents ‘juggle career and caring’
People in their 50s and 60s are facing growing pressures to stay in work, which could divert them from helping their children with childcare, according to a report today.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation found a shortage of young people in the population – confirmed by the national census on Monday – would make employers do their utmost to keep older staff.
The number of retired people would therefore be reduced, meaning a fall in the amount of people able to care for their grandchildren or frail older relatives, the researchers from the Institute of Education in London found.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 2 October page 7
Mental patients given evening meal in afternoon
Patients in a mental health hospital built in the 19th century are forced to eat their evening meals at 4:30 in the afternoon because of staff rotas, government inspectors have found.
People suffering from a range of mental disorders are given their meals on the wards and have to order their dishes up to a week in advance, according to a report which criticises the example of "institutional culture" at Fairmile hospital in Cholsey, Oxfordshire.
The hospital, which is due to be replaced next year under the government’s private finance initiative, by the Prospect hospital in Reading, Berkshire, does have a "pleasant dining room", which could be used by patients, but none was seen using it, according to inspectors, and it is labelled as a staff dining room.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 2 October page 7
Samaritans aim to cast net wider than suicide
The Samaritans have launched a new image in a bid to persuade people that it is not just for the suicidal.
The charity has dropped "the" from its title and is now known as "Samaritans" and has a new logo.
Chief executive Simon Armson said: "We need to be part of mainstream life and less of an emergency service. We are not disowning suicide, but if we are going to be really successful, we have to reach people sooner."
The charity will be sending text messages to students worried about their exams following this year’s A-level fiasco.
The messages will inform students that they can contact the 24-hour helpline and include supportive slogans.
Suicide accounts for more than a fifth of all deaths of young people, and 80 per cent of them are by young men.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Wednesday 2 October page 8
‘Neighbours from hell’ could lose their benefits
Housing benefit claimants risk losing their money for anti-social behaviour under plans to reform the £12 billion system, Tony Blair announced yesterday.
Proposals would target "anti social tenants and their anti-social landlords who make money out of abusing housing benefit, while making life hell for the community", the prime minister said.
The new approach will be spelt out in a statement in the House of Commons in the next few weeks.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Wednesday 2 October page 11
Guardian Society
Whiley’s crie de Coeur
Personal plea to increase funds for learning difficulty sector
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 2 October page 4
Facts friction
How relevant and impartial is government-funded research that is intended to enhance our knowledge of social conditions in Britain?
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 2 October page 10
Trust or bust
Alison Benjamin on a charity law shake-up that aims to reassure the public by promising tough regulation on fundraising
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 2 October page 12-13
Conditions alert
A liaison service that shares information with the police on people’s mental health has won respect
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 2 October page 120-119
Secretive shame
Cardiff pledges reform after critical review of social services
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 2 October page 119
An appealing carrot
Bursaries aim to attract applicants on social work courses
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 2 October page 119
Scottish newspapers
Weekend drink binge concern for Highlanders
Fewer Highlanders are reaching for a cigarette, but there is a marked increase in binge drinking.
These are the results of a NHS Highland Board lifestyle survey that reveals that whilst the message about smoking is beginning to get through, many, particularly young adults are unaware of the health implications of binge drinking.
Smoking causes 13,000 deaths each year, costing the NHS £1.4 - £1.7 billion a year and the Highlands about £5.3 million annually.
Source: - The Scotsman Wednesday 2 October page 5
Concerns over checks on child group leaders
New proposals to stop unsuitable people working with children have been given a cautious welcome by volunteer groups.
Concerns were raised as Cathy Jamieson, the minister for children and young people, launched a Parent Checklist for Youth Activities, a list of 15 questions a parent should ask when their child is joining any group or club.
This follows publication of the Protection of Children Bill by the executive which bans those sacked or moved as a result of their behaviour towards children - even if they have not been convicted of a criminal offence - from working with children again.
Youthlink Scotland and Volunteer Development Scotland both seek "further clarification" as to which groups will be covered by the new law.
Source: - The Herald Wednesday 2 October page 8
Wanted: immigrants to tackle racism
Scotland needs to attract more immigrants to become economically viable.
That was the message from Professor Robert Wright at the University of Stirling.
With the older people population fast outnumbering the young, Scotland's skilled workforce also appears to be in decline.
He said: "If we are losing our skilled Scottish workforce, then perhaps it is time to replace it with immigrants. It is not the size of the population which matters, it is that Scotland's population is getting progressively older and these people are expensive to take care of."
Professor Wright warned that tackle racism must be seen as an economic priority for Scotland.
Source: - The Herald Wednesday 2 October page 4
Welsh newspapers
Fears for children in council's care
A Welsh charity has expressed fears about the safety of children in Cardiff.
Voices from Care (Cymru), that represents young people in the care system, has spoken of its concerns following the highly critical joint review of social services in the city from the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales.
The report which is said to be one of the worst ever in the UK, revealed that children in Cardiff had been exposed to "unacceptable risks" because of inadequate staffing and delays in dealing with their cases.
Source:- South Wales Echo Tuesday 1 October page 4
Campaigner calls for 'child abduction' signs
Electronic motorway signs should be used to publicise child abductions as soon as they happen so that members of the public can join the search.
This is one of the proposals that Ian Heffron, of the Campaign for the Protection of Children, hopes to put forward to the Welsh Assembly.
Mr Heffron was the uncle of one of the children killed in the 'Babes in the Wood' case, and he now campaigns to bring back the death penalty for child murderers.
Road signs are used in parts of America to alert motorists when a child goes missing, and Heffron believes that a similar scheme could work well in Wales.
Source:- South Wales Echo Tuesday 1 October page 10
Kilshaws get another theatre date after sell-out show in Chester
The couple at the centre of the internet adoption controversy, Alan and Judith Kilshaw, could be on the verge of carving out a new career in the theatre.
They have won another booking at a theatre in Chester for their question and answer show, 'Meet the Kilshaws'.
The couple adopted twin girls in the United States in December 2000 and brought them back to their home in north Wales. The children were later removed by Flintshire social services, and the couple failed in their legal bid to win back custody of the children.
Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 2 October page 9
