By Clare Jerrom, Alex Dobson and Nicola Barry.
New blow to rural dispersal scheme
The government’s plans for a national network of rural asylum accommodation centres suffered further setbacks yesterday when the home office announced it was abandoning three sites.
Plans for potential sites in South Glamorgan, Lincolnshire and one near Edinburgh were dismissed and instead the home office is to open a smaller centre on an old naval base site at HMS Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire.
Around 400 male asylum seekers are to be housed at the new site on the edge of an urban area.
Two rural sites are still planned on earmarked sites at Bicester, Oxfordshire and RAF Newton, Nottinghamshire.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 12 February page 9
Afghan man beaten to death after night out
A young asylum seeker from Afghanistan has died after being beaten up, police said yesterday.
The murder in Southampton could be racially motivated, according to detectives and they are investigating possible links with assaults on other asylum seekers. Four Afghans have been attacked in the past two months.
It is believed the man was attacked by a gang as he took a short cut across a series of parks on his way home after a night out in the city centre.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 12 February page 9
New rules ‘do not breach rights’ of destitute refugee
Asylum seekers stripped of benefits are not having their human rights breached, the high court was told yesterday.
The rules that were introduced last month were tough, according to Neil Garnham QC for the home office, but just because a person was homeless or destitute does not necessarily mean the rules breach their rights.
Mr Justice Collins was told that would-be refugees, many of them "cold, hungry, scared and sick", had already been forced to sleep rough on the streets.
But Garnham said none of the six asylum seekers bringing the test case had suffered harm because within days members of the public, often from the same ethnic origin, had offered them help before court orders were made securing them food and shelter pending the outcome of the high court challenge.
Under the new rules only asylum seekers who apply for asylum at the port of entry are guaranteed support.
The judge has indicated he will give his judgement next week, and the court of appeal is prepared for any subsequent appeal.
In the meantime, Mr Justice Collins urged the government to adopt a more liberal approach, and stop stripping late asylum claimants of their benefits until he makes his ruling.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 12 February page 4
Britons seek limit on number of asylum seekers
Nearly nine out of 10 people believe that the number of asylum seekers in Britain is a serious problem, according to a poll carried out for The Times.
Thirty nine per cent of the public regard the number of asylum seekers as "the most serious problem in Britain at present", while 49 per cent believe it is "a serious problem but other issues are more important".
Only 11 per cent believe the number of asylum seekers is not a problem.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 12 February page 4
Muddle blocks hospital beds
Over 4,000 older people remain in hospital beds after doctors have declared them fit to leave, according to parliament’s spending watchdog yesterday.
At least 1,300 patients over 75 had been waiting over a month for hospital discharge, causing huge expense to the NHS and danger to individuals who became institutionalised by unnecessary hospitalisation, said the National Audit Office.
The reasons for delayed discharge included poor procedures in hospital, inadequate cooperation with social services and a lack of capacity in appropriate post-hospital care, said controller and auditor general, Sir John Bourn.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 12 February page 10
Court orders treatment to ensure killer is sane enough to be executed
A death row prisoner can be forcibly treated for psychosis, a US court of appeal has ruled, which would make him sane enough to be executed.
A series of court rulings has left convicted murderer Charles Singleton with an agonising choice either to take medication voluntarily and be condemned to death, or refuse it and be condemned to a life of psychosis. In the US it is illegal to execute an "insane" prisoner.
The court of appeal in St Louis, Missouri, has ruled that Singleton should be forced to take the treatment, which will make him fit for execution.
Singleton has decided to take medication until an execution date is set, and then he will stop taking it in the hope of influencing further appeals.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 12 February page 1
Low Pay Unit out of cash
The Low Pay Unit, which campaigns on behalf of workers with low incomes, is being wound up after 30 years of service due to a lack of funds.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 12 February page 8
Guardiab Society
Home hazards
Falls kill eight older people a day
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 12 February page 4
Status quo challenged
Survey supports coalition’s push for charity law reform
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 12 February page 4
Picture perfect
Mencap names competition winners
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 12 February page 5
Waiting game
Christine Barton was told that her vulnerable sister’s care home failed to meet regulations. Four years on she’s still there.
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 12 February page 128-127
Warning signs
Widespread experience of mental health issues among young
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 12 February page 127
First among equals
Children’s charity appoints profoundly deaf manager
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 12 February page 127
Scottish newspapers
Social work chief is dismissed after £1.4m overspend
The £55,000-a-year head of social work and joint services at East Dunbartonshire council, Pam Fenton, has been sacked following a £1.4 million overspend.
Her suspension on full pay last June followed a disciplinary investigation, which found there had been a breakdown of managerial control.
Source:- The Herald Wednesday 12 February page 7
Carer who killed sick father jailed for 18 months
A devoted son who killed his cancer-stricken father in a moment of frustration was jailed for 18 months yesterday.
Terence Moss, aged 82, died after being slapped and shaken in the family home in East Lothian.
Philip Moss originally faced a charge of murder, but his guilty plea of culpable homicide was later accepted.
Source:- The Herald Wednesday 12 February page 10
Fairweather sues executive
The former chief inspector of prisons is suing the Scottish executive for unfair dismissal.
Clive Fairweather, a former SAS commander, was removed form his £43,000-a-year post amid accusations of political interference aimed at his superiors.
Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 12 February page 1
Welsh newspapers
We failed children, ex-director tells abuse inquiry
A former director of education told the Clywch inquiry into child abuse that he and members of his department failed the young people who made complaints about alleged paedophile, John Owen, through ‘a catalogue of negligence’.
Eddie Roberts, director of education for mid Glamorgan, said that alleged victims were treated as second class, compared with supporters of Owen, who was a drama teacher at a Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen, near Pontypridd.
The inquiry was set up by the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Peter Clarke to investigate allegations of abuse made against Owen.
Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 12 February page 1
Elderly betrayed in care crisis
A feature looking at the current crisis in care for older people in Wales which focuses on the plight of 92-year-old, Clementina Elsworth, who must move from her residential home in Cardiff because it is about to close down.
Wales has lost more than 1,000 residential and nursing home beds in the last year as homes are forced to close in the face of financial pressure and the requirements of the Care Standards Act.
Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 12 February page 5
One in 20 pregnant women suffer abuse
Shock figures show that up to one in 20 pregnant women will suffer violence from fathers-to-be.
The disturbing figures emerged at a conference organised by the NSPCC and University of Wales College of Medicine to examine the link between domestic violence and child abuse.
Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 12 February page 7
