By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson
'We had no right to keep Toni-Ann from father'
Social services officials in charge of the care of a seven-year-old girl shot while staying in west London with her father, a convicted drug dealer, said they were legally obliged to let her stay with her dad.
A Birmingham Council spokesperson said that a court had granted Toni-Ann Byfield contact with her father, Bertram, because it was what she wanted.
The child and her father were shot dead at a flat in Kensal Green last Sunday in what police believe to be an attack related to Byfield's past.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 20 September page 9
Alcohol abuse 'costing Britain £55m a day'
Alcohol abuse costs Britain £55m a day and binge drinking is on the rise, according to a new government report.
Criminal behaviour, lost working days and the drain on the health service caused by alcohol abuse leave the state with a large bill, the study claims.
It highlights that alcohol consumption has risen by 121 per cent in the last 50 years and that, if the trend continues, Britain would lead the world drinking league.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 20 September page 8
50,000 children taking antidepressants
An antidepressant being prescribed to at least 3,000 children in Britain, despite it not being recommended for their use, can provoke suicidal tendencies, the government's regulatory agency warned yesterday.
Guidance to doctors states that Efexor, made by the drug company Wyeth, should not be given to under 18s.
There are around 50,000 children on antidepressants in the UK, aged from six years upwards.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 20 September page 1
Free asylum children, says film director
Ken Loach, one of Britain's most respected film directors, has taken part in the launch of a fund to secure the release of asylum seekers and their children detained at Dungavel detention centre in Scotland.
Actor and director Peter Mullan is also backing the bail fund.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday Sunday 21 September page 5
New wave of migrants is gathering at Calais
The levels of illegal migrants coming into Britain past official check points in France is rising once again after dropping following the closure of Sangatte refugee camp.
Ferry operators have warned that the number of illegal migrants are increasing back to levels seen before the Red Cross centre was closed almost a year ago.
Source:- The Sunday Times 21 September page 14
500 paedophiles to be tracked by satellite tags
Paedophiles are to be electronically tagged in the UK for the first time under new plans being considered by the government.
British company, Sky Guardian, is set to hold talks with ministers about launching a trial involving between 100 and 500 child sex offenders.
It is set to launch its device at this month's Labour Party conference and to test it on a volunteer MP this week.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 21 September page 1
New law will curb asylum appeal rights
Asylum seekers will only be allowed one appeal against decisions to deport them under government plans to be published .
The Prime Minister has said that he is aware that the plans are controversial.
The proposals are to be included in the Queen's speech in November and are part of the government's aim to bring asylum under control before the next general election.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 21 September page 5
Mentally ill face crisis of bed cuts
A number of mental health trusts are looking at cutting beds as the cost of agency nurses and locum doctors is causing them to run over budget.
Mental health campaigners warn that the crisis is particularly worrying due to the increasing numbers of young adults requiring treatment and the lack of expansion of services to meet their needs.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 21 September page 13
Vigilantes name 'paedophiles' on the internet
Four Britons and one British resident who have been "outed" by members of a vigilante group on an American-based website are to be investigated by Scotland Yard.
The vigilante group, Peverted Justice, pose as young children in internet chatrooms to entrap paedophiles and then name them on their website.
Source:- The Times Monday 22 September page 11
ID cards must be compulsory, says Blunkett
The home secretary said that he still hopes to see legislation introducing a national identity card scheme in the Queen's speech this autumn, despite strong opposition from other ministers, including Charles Clarke and Peter Hain.
David Blunkett confirmed for the first time that he wants to see a compulsory scheme but admitted that there was a "vigorous debate" in the cabinet on compulsion, the cost of the scheme, the technology required and the timing of the legislation.
Speaking on BBC TV's Breakfast with Frost he also said that he did not know how many unregistered migrants there were in the country.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 22 September page 4
Scottish news
Drink culture costing UK £20bn a year
Scotland’s binge drinking culture, which costs the nation up to £1bn every year, has placed Britain at the top of a European list for binge drinking, according to a new report.
The economic, health and social consequences of a “culture of intoxification” was costing the UK £20bn, according to a government study.
Scotland’s share includes £100m spent by the National Health Service dealing with health problems caused by excessive drinking.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 20 September
Drug warning for Highland pupils
Seventy per cent of 15-year-olds have been offered drugs, according to a lifestyle survey conducted among Highland teenagers.
This compares to a national average of 65 per cent, although the prevalence of drug taking in the Highlands was not significantly different from the national picture.
The 2002 Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey found that 24 per cent of 15-year-olds had used drugs in the month prior to questioning.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 20 September
Report criticises continued focus on ‘Miss X’ case
Politicians and the media are perpetuating the emotions and trauma of a Borders abuse victim known as ‘Miss X’ by constantly referring to the case in public, a former director of social work has claimed.
In a report, Peter Bates said that the actions taken by Scottish Borders Council in the wake of the case were inadequate.
The report expresses strong views about continuing coverage of the case, and Bates, who is now chairperson of NHS Tayside, highlights that Miss X has a right to expect privacy, dignity and support.
His report will be considered at a special council meeting on Tuesday.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 20 September
Teenage runaways found in Paris after week-long hunt
Two British teenagers have been found in Paris following a week-long international search.
Amanda McDonnell and Steven Laing left her home in Spain last week after taking a car, money and credit cards belonging to her step-father.
Source:- Scotland on Sunday Sunday 21 September
Asylum HQ plan
The Home Office has admitted that it is considering plans to extend the controversial Dungavel immigration detention centre in Scotland.
A new £3m wing to house 44 immigrants at the centre for families of asylum seekers in Strathaven, Lanarkshire is being considered by the government
Campaigners have been calling for the former prison to be closed down.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 22 September
Mums and Dads learn to tell tales
Parents are set to return to the classroom to learn how to read stories to children in a bid to stem illiteracy in Scotland.
Storysack seminars across the country are teaching adults how to make stories and rhymes more stimulating for children.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 22 September
Don’t come home son
The mother of a teenage runaway is refusing to let her son come home after he was found safe and well in France.
Scottish-born Steven Laing, who ran away with his girlfriend Amanda McDonnell, begged to return home to his mother in Spain after French authorities found him with the 14-year-old.
But Susan Laing told her son to return to Scotland to answer two warrants for his arrest over unpaid fines. Steven was believed to be returning to Spain with Amanda and her mother Carol.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 22 September
Glasgow has the most one-parent families in UK
Glasgow households have the highest number of single parent families, the poorest heating and worst overcrowding in the UK, according to figures from the 2001 census.
Almost a quarter of homes in the city are overcrowded, which is double the Scottish average. Around 18 per cent lack central heating and almost half of all city families are headed by a single parent, compared with a quarter nationally.
Source:- The Herald Monday 22 September
Unit for disturbed teenagers likely to be approved
Glasgow Council is likely to approve controversial plans to build a unit for disturbed teenagers next to a nursery and primary school.
Around 400 people have written letters of objection against the £200,000 proposal for Montrose Avenue in Carmyle, fearing the home will become a focus for gang wars.
However council planners have recommended granting planning permission for the block, which will house youngsters aged between 13 and 19.
Source:- The Herald Monday 22 September
Child sex victims ‘betrayed by system’
The victims of child sex abuse are being betrayed by Scotland’s legal system because tough new measures to protect them in courts have not been implemented – four years after they were agreed.
Legal researcher Joyce Plotnikoff and her partner Richard Woolfson were commissioned by Lord Rodger the lord advocate in 1995 to research methods into how to bring a sea change in the way child witnesses were dealt with by the legal system.
Their report took four years to complete and was presented to the lord advocate Lord Hardie in 1999. His working group on child witnesses made 44 recommendations, and all but one were accepted by the Crown Office.
However, four years on, campaigners are demanding to know why the bulk of reforms have not been implemented.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 22 September
Qualified refugee teachers step closer to working in Scottish schools
Public bodies have joined forces in a bid to overcome the obstacles preventing refugees who are qualified teachers from entering the profession.
The General Teaching Council of Scotland, which controls access to the profession, is hosting a meeting today for delegates including representatives from the Scottish Refugee Council, local authorities and academic institutions.
GTCS chief executive Matt McIver is expected to say that the profession in Scotland is essentially “white, middle class and female” and needs to be developed to reflect society.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 22 September
Welsh news
Heal the children, urges Rowan
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has drawn attention to the suffering of thousands of British children.
In a speech he gave as President of the Children’s Society, Williams criticised both child protection and youth systems for failing to tackle the unique needs and vulnerabilities of many children.
He told the congregation at Canterbury Cathedral that in spite of corporate sentimentality about childhood and for all the well meant protocols about the protection of children, thousands of children within the UK still remained invisible and their suffering unnoticed.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 22 September page 2
