By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson
Care homes given leeway on vetting
Care homes will still be allowed some leeway over employing staff who have not completed criminal records checks when the checks become compulsory at the end of this month.
The National Care Standards Commission said it would "exercise discretion" on a case-by-case basis.
Source:- The Financial Times Tuesday 23 September page 4
Talking tough on crime replaces softly, softly
Young offenders and petty thieves doing community service could be made to undertake much tougher activities under the Liberal Democrats.
Speaking at the party's annual conference in Brighton, Simon Hughes, the social affairs spokesperson, said he wanted people carrying out community service to do manual labour and, where possible, repair the damage they had done.
Hughes said that the measures were part of a policy entitled ‘Payback Not Layback’, and would require criminals to pay back those they have wronged rather than "laying around in prison".
Source:- The Times Tuesday 23 September page 14
Scottish news
Discipline on the syllabus
New teachers will be trained in how to discipline children as part of their teacher training course.
Peter Peacock, education minister, said that better instruction on how to deal with classroom disorder was a priority.
Source:- The Scotsman Tuesday 23 September page 2
Alcohol policy ‘not enough’
Alcohol related deaths will continue to rise unless drink promotions are banned and alcohol is subjected to increased taxation, according to a leading expert yesterday.
More than 1,900 people died in Scotland last year as a result of alcohol. But as new guidelines were issued to doctors on treating alcohol dependency, Dr Jonathan Chick, who chaired the development group, warned that the guidance would make little impact unless more wide ranging measures were introduced.
Source:- The Scotsman Tuesday 23 September page 8
MSP seeks delay in closing care home
The MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine has called for urgent talks with the head of the RAF’s benevolent fund over plans to close a care home for veteran servicemen and women.
The planned closure of Alastrean House at Tarland would have a “devastating” effect on the local economy and on the 40 residents at the home, Mike Rumbles said.
Rumbles, who is also the Scottish Liberal Democrats health spokesperson, urged the benevolent fund to puts its plans on hold until the Scottish executive’s review of fees for care homes in Scotland was published later this year.
Source:- The Scotsman Tuesday 23 September page 10
Cut in care home beds ‘threatens places for elderly’
Targets to reduce delayed discharge in the Lothians is being threatened by a reduction in care home beds, according to a new report.
The report to be presented to a meeting of Lothian NHS tomorrow says the extent of the bed closures is “a significant risk factor” in meeting the proposed bed blocking targets by next April.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 23 September
Teenage runaway returns to mum
The teenager who ran away from her home in Spain with her older boyfriend was reunited with her mother at home last night.
Amanda McDonnell finally returned to Spain yesterday with mum Carol Beech, 10 days after running away with her 17-year-old boyfriend Steven Laing. He was forced to stay behind and wait for his family.
Source:- Daily Record Tuesday 23 September page 1
Welsh news
Children mostly in danger of neglect
Children in Wales are more at risk from neglect than any other form of abuse, according to new figures from the Welsh Assembly.
At the end of March last year there were 1,971 children on local authority child protection registers, a 7 per cent decrease from the previous year, the figures show.
But younger children were more likely to be on the register and neglect was the most frequent abuse category.
Source:- South Wales Argus Monday 22 September page 7
Schoolboy hanged with dog chain
A schoolboy has been found hanged from a banister at his home, just days before his 18th birthday.
Police say that Jamie Sell’s death was a complete mystery.
Sell’s death follows two recent suicides by schoolgirls in Swansea. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Peter Clarke, has called for more attention to be paid to the emotional welfare of young people in the Principality.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 23 September page 1
Focus on helping learning skills of children
The importance of early support in developing children’s learning will be the subject of a conference in Cardiff today.
Jane Hutt, the health and social services minister will speak at the basic skills agency conference on early language development.
The conference will look at successful programmes that have helped parents learn how to play and communicate with their children.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 23 September page 5
