In Today's Papers

By Mithran Samuel and Derren Hayes

Hain pledge to disabled workers

Work and pensions secretary Peter Hain is expected to pledge that Remploy factories will be able to have greater access to public sector contracts and that decisions on any redundancies at its factories will be taken by ministers, not the government-funded company.

The expected pledges, in his speech to the Labour Party conference, are designed to stave off a rebellion over Remploy’s plans to close 43 factories, led by the GMB union, which represents many of the company’s disabled staff.

Source:- The Financial Times Tuesday 25 September 2007 page 2

The ‘sandwich generation’ who fill the caring gap

A generation of men and women are struggling to care for children, grandchildren and ailing parents and hold down a job at the same time, according to a new report.

The study by financial services company LV= found that adult children would provide £21bn in unpaid care to older parents this year.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 25 September 2007 page 14

Scottish news

Girls are more likely to self harm than boys

Teenage girls in Scottish secondary schools are more than three times more likely than boys to deliberately harm themselves, says a new study.

Research by Stirling University found that one in five females had self-harmed at some time, compared to just 7% of boys. Overall, 14% of the sample of more than 2000 pupils from West and Central Scotland aged 15 and 16 had self-harmed.

They also had a higher rating of so-called "social perfectionism" - the feeling they have to live up to the unrealistic expectations of others.

Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 25 September

Licensing boards told to tackle antisocial drinking

Scotland's licensing boards have been urged to use new legislation to crack down on underage and antisocial drinking.

Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Minister, made the appeal during his first meeting with licensing board conveners since taking office in May.

Senior police officers from the Strathclyde, Lothian and Borders and Fife forces also attended the meeting in Edinburgh, which was called to discuss the enforcement of current laws on the sale of alcohol as well as the incoming legislation, the Licensing Scotland Act.

Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 25 September

400 assaults a week on healthcare workers 'just the tip of the iceberg'

More than 20,000 attacks against NHS staff are reported each year in Scotland, new figures reveal9.

The figures, revealed under Freedom of Information laws, show an average of 400 staff a week in Scotland report being the victims of violence and aggression.

The actual figure is likely to be much higher since information from health boards does not include attacks on GPs and their staff and ambulance workers.

Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 25 September

Army mental health policy under fire after murder

Army leaders were accused of failing to take mental health seriously, after an inquest heard that a soldier with a history of self-harm murdered a fellow squaddy with whom he had been placed in shared accommodation.

Private Anthony Stewart of Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, is serving a life sentence for strangling Private Andrew Dobson from Dumfries. Angry relatives of both soldiers have asked why Pte Stewart was allowed to stay in the army despite a history of self-harm.

In statements read at the inquest into Pte Dobson's death, both families accused the army of letting them down by delaying a decision to discharge Pte Stewart on medical grounds.

Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 25 September