By Clare Jerrom, Shona Main and Alex Dobson.
Blair sets out tactics for law reform battle
The prime minister prepared his cabinet yesterday for root and branch reform of the criminal justice system.
At a three-hour meeting Tony Blair and home secretary David Blunkett laid out their strategy to garner public support for their plans.
Three bills on reforming the criminal justice system will form the centrepiece of the Queen’s speech on Wednesday, and take up much of the next parliamentary session. They will cover court reform, sentencing and reform of sexual offences legislation.
Source:- The Times Saturday 9 November page 15
GP faces inquiry over banning asylum seekers
A GP who refused to take on more asylum seekers because they were a drain on his resources is to be investigated by the General Medical Council.
Dr Vijayaker Abrol could face a disciplinary hearing and the possibility of a reprimand, suspension, or being struck off.
The doctor put a sign in the window of his surgery in Birmingham that claimed asylum seekers were rude, impatient and cost too much money.
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Dr Evan Harris said he would be contacting the GMC to see if there was an ethical case for the GP to answer.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Saturday 9 November page 12
Sangatte refugees take over sports hall
A group of asylum seekers occupied a sports hall in Calais yesterday after they were refused entry to the Sangatte refugee camp.
More refugees were prevented from entering the hall last night when the mayor Jacky Henin said it could become an "explosive" situation.
Human rights activists helped the 50 migrants enter the sports hall in retaliation for Tuesday’s closure of the Red Cross camp to new entrants.
The camp is due to close permanently at the end of Aril.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 9 November page 12
Threat to cut child benefit for truants
The government is to warn parents that they face losing child benefit if their children play truant.
The department for work and pensions has drafted a letter to send to seven million families who receive the benefit, reminding them of their legal obligations to ensure their children attend school.
Source:- The Sunday Times 10 November page 2
Immigrant ‘racket smashed’
A people smuggling ring has been smashed by immigration officers at Heathrow airport following eight arrests, the officers believe.
The gang is suspected of helping asylum seekers gain illegal entry to the United States from Britain by providing them with airline boarding cards, and helping them pass through security, a spokesperson for the National Crime Squad said.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 10 November page 4
At 22-months-old, toddlers already know their place
By the time children can walk, their entire educational future may already be set in stone
Source:- The Observer Sunday 10 November page 5
Girls are now bigger bullies than boys
The future generation of young women is being blighted by bullying, which is now far more prevalent in girls, than boys.
A huge rise in ‘girl to girl cruelty’ has been uncovered by the Young Women’s Christian Association, leading to a high level of women leaving school with few or no qualifications and going on to lead disaffected lives.
The YWCA is calling on the government to set up a working party to look at ways of tackling the effect of school, girl bullying.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 10 November page 7
NHS brings in ‘cheats’ to run care for elderly
An American firm hired by health secretary Alan Milburn to transform the way older people are treated in the NHS has been fined more than $7 million in the past two years for allegedly cheating the US government, doctors and patients.
United Healthcare claims that its ‘Evercare’ programme in the US has halved the number of older people being admitted to hospital by treating them at home or elsewhere in the community.
Milburn announced last month that he was signing a contract with United Healthcare for consultancy advice on how to cut costs in the NHS by keeping older patients out of hospital.
However, The Observer has discovered that United Healthcare has been forced to pay millions of dollars in fines to settle charges that it had defrauded from the US government, doctors and patients.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 10 November page 7
Bid to halt abuse in UK’s brutal youth jails
The government will be challenged this week to give young offenders the same protection from abuse as other children in a landmark court case.
The use of segregation and physical restraint on young prisoners will be questioned, and the legal move will argue that the negligent regime in Britain’s youth prison has contributed to the high number of suicides and self-harm.
The Howard League for Penal Reform will argue in the high court that the Children Act 1989 should be amended to include children in prison.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 10 November page 13
Disabled face insurance bills as motor wheelchair accidents rise
The government’s plans to address the growing number of accidents caused by reckless motorised wheelchair users could see the introduction of third party insurance for disabled users.
Ministers say they are planning to make insurance compulsory for the 145,000 people who currently drive electric wheelchairs or similar vehicles.
No statistics are available on the number of accidents caused by electric wheelchairs, but in recent years there have been growing reports of incidents involving users.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 10 November page 1
Call for changes in child abuse inquiries
A former police chief called for changes in child abuse investigations to protect those wrongly accused.
The retired deputy chief constable of Nottinghamshire, Tom Williamson, told the annual conference of the United Campaign Against False Allegations of Abuse that interviews with those making the allegations should be tape recorded.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 10 November page 2
Mental health bill ‘is a threat to rights’, MPs say
Thousands of people with mental health problems will have their "dignity and autonomy" violated and their civil rights breached by the government’s controversial mental health bill.
MPs and peers will warn that mental health professionals will be forced to become "the guardians of morality" determining the mental state of individuals on the basis of their own social and moral viewpoint, in a report to be published tomorrow.
Members of the parliamentary human rights committee will call on health minister Jacqui Smith to rewrite sections of the Mental Health Bill claiming that it breaches existing human rights laws.
Source:- Independent on Sunday 10 November page 6
Government to close consent loophole in child rape cases
Legislation to be introduced this week will prevent men accused of child rape from escaping punishment by arguing that the act was consensual.
The plans, to be announced in the Queen’s speech, will make the rape of a child a specific statutory offence, carrying up to life imprisonment.
Under a loophole in the present law, rape suspects can claim that the child, who can be as young as seven, "led them on".
Source:- The Times Monday 11 November page 2
New bill to target antisocial actions
A new anti-social behaviour bill is to be at the centre of the Queen’s speech this week.
Not only will it include measures to dock social security benefit from parents of truanting children and nuisance tenants, it will also include measures which will put nuisance tenants on "probationary tenancies" and parenting orders for those who fail to tackle their children’s truancy.
Downing Street has also instructed the home office to set up an antisocial behaviour unit to coordinate activity across Whitehall.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 11 November page 1
Scottish newspapers
Charity allowed paedophile suspects to live at children's care home
The chief executive Quarriers has resigned following an investigation by the Sunday Herald, which revealed that the children’s charity knowingly rented accommodation within its community for disabled children to suspected paedophiles.
The resignation of Phil Robinson has outraged the families of the children and has caused the Scottish Executive ‘serious concern’.
One of Quarriers' tenants, John Porteous, was jailed last week for eight years for sexually abusing two boys. Robinson knew Strathclyde Police was investigating Porteous yet allowed him to continue staying in his rented flat. Another unnamed man is involved in criminal proceedings for sexual offences. Robinson also had knowledge of these allegations.
Source:- The Sunday Herald 11 November page 1
Aged nun escapes abuse prosecution
Prosecutors have rendered a nun accused of sexual and physical abuse at a Scottish children’s home is too infirm to stand trial.
Her alleged victim, Helen Holland is shocked by the Crown Office decision. She claims that she was sexually assaulted by Sister Kevin from the age of eight to 11 whilst under her care in Nazareth House Thirty witnesses were preparing to give evidence in the trial against Sister Kevin which followed a three-year investigation by Strathclyde Police.
In 2000, Sister Alphonso of Nazareth House in Aberdeen was found guilty of cruelty to children. Both institutions are run by the Order of the Poor Sisters of Nazareth.
Source:- The Scotsman on Sunday 11 November page 3
Welsh newspapers
Parents may be forced to drop damages case
A family wrongly accused of abusing their children may be forced to scrap their claim for compensation.
The twin seven-month-old boys from South Lanarkshire were removed from their parents’ care in January 1999. However, they were returned following a ruling by Sheriff John Stewart that found the fractures suffered by the twins had been caused by temporary brittle bone disease. Doctors at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow were singled out for not having "the courage of their convictions".
The Scottish Legal Aid Board has advised the parents that they must hire and pay for an expert witness who can support their claims before their application for legal aid can proceed.
The parents have resolved to continue their fight to clear their names. Paul Reid, the mother's lawyer, said: "I will be reviewing matters raised in pursuit of the claims for the loss and suffering endured and the effects on the children."
Source:- The Herald Monday 12 November page 4
Hi-tech package to give carers extra training
Care staff in Scotland will be able to gain SVQ’s in care without leaving their home or workplace, thanks a new computerised training package.
At present, many care staff working in the public and voluntary sector are denied the opportunity to improve their skills and qualifications because of night and weekend working. However, a new CD-Rom, developed by Voluntary Service Aberdeen and Aberdeen council, will allow them to study either at home or in their workplace.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 12 November page 9
Welsh newspapers
Plaid tackles poll with NHS pledges
The Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, will launch a massive recruitment drive in the NHS if it wins next year’s Welsh Assembly elections.
The party plans to fill 1,747 full-time vacancies in the NHS in Wales as a first step, and to enter talks with health professionals on measures to recruit and retain staff.
Health is poised to become a major battlefield in the forthcoming election, and the party has pledged to implement a four-year plan concentrating on the recruitment and retention of doctors, nurses and other key health professionals.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 11 November page 1 and 2
NHS delays spell new anxieties for allergy sufferers
People with food allergies are being forced to turn to unqualified experts because they have to wait up to three years to be seen under the NHS.
There is still only one clinical immunologist in the whole of Wales who tests for allergies despite a continuing rise in the number of people suffering with the problem.
The waiting list is now so long that many sufferers are turning to help from non-NHS practitioners who claim they can diagnose allergies using methods other than proven skin and blood tests.
The recommendations from some of these practitioners can result in allergy sufferers following unhealthy, unbalanced diets and even suffering psychological damage.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 11 November page 6
