By Amy Taylor, Nicola Barry and Alex Dobson.

Asylum crackdown will target illegal workers

Businesses employing illegal workers are to be targeted after Tony Blair gave immigration officials 10 weeks to show that new laws to cull the numbers of asylum seekers entering the country are having an effect.

The prime minister is receiving weekly updates on the amounts of people claiming asylum, determined to stop the ever increasing number.

Source:- The Times Friday 31 January page 1

State turns blind eye to workers in the shadows

Tom Baldwin on the clues to Britain's illegal immigrants

Source:- The Times Friday 31 January page 4

Discipline is not a dirty word, says youth minister

Ivan Lewis, the minister for young people and adult skills, gave a strong speech yesterday admitting that the government had not provided enough support to teaching staff, and calling on parents to take responsibility for their children.

He said that too many parents were not backing teachers to try and improve discipline in the classroom.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 31 January page 9

Schools' fury at rise of the new middle class truants

Rising truancy rates at high achieving schools are due to middle class parents taking their children ski-ing in term-time.

Peak times for ski-ing trips and cheap sunshine holiday deals are causing rows of empty seats in some classrooms, prompting fears that parents could be damaging their children's education.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 31 January page 41

Scottish newspapers

Custody question over Fraser Children

Social workers in Elgin are preparing to intervene in the future of Arlene Fraser’s two children.

The move comes after police broke the news to Jamie, aged 15 and Natalie, aged 10, that their father Nat was given life for murdering their mother in 1998.

Moray social workers are undertaking a social inquiry report to determine the suitability of the children’s paternal grandmother as their full-time guardian.

Source:- The Herald Friday 31 January page 4

Psychiatrist named as MSPs standards watchdog

The Scottish parliament yesterday appointed its first permanent standards commissioner.

Dr James Dyer, a former consultant psychiatrist, will be responsible for investigating complaints against MSPs.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 31 January page 11

Failure of teenage pregnancy campaign

The Scottish executive’s strategy to reduce teenage pregnancies has failed.

Official figures revealed yesterday that the rate had remained exactly the same over the course of the year, despite the executive spending £4 million on campaigns.

In fact, the number of teenage pregnancies in areas targeted by the executive has risen.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 31 January page 2

Welsh newspapers

Child manifesto drawn up

Children’s rights will be pushed to the top of the agenda today when five leading charities unite in a coalition of concern.

Leaders of the largest charities in Wales will meet for the first time since the decision to launch a children’s manifesto, ‘Wales’ Children – Our Future’.

The manifesto calls on the hundreds of candidates standing in Welsh Assembly elections in May to sign up to 20 priorities all aimed at helping needy children in the principality. It includes a call for more cash for local authorities to fight child poverty.
Source:- Western Mail Friday 31 January page 2

NSPCC calls for cash investment in care to follow new sex laws

NSPCC Cymru is demanding an urgent injection of cash to help the government’s biggest every crackdown on sex offenders to get results.

The charity also wants more funding for a national strategy for young people who display sexually harmful behaviour, including national standards for care arrangements and treatment

Source:- Western Mail Friday 31 January page 2

Ex-pupils tell inquiry of indecent approaches by Owen

A woman told a child abuse inquiry how she walked into a drama rehearsal to find the teacher pulling down the shorts of another pupil.

During a hearing of the Clywch inquiry being held by children’s commissioner, Peter Clarke, she also described her distress at being asked to act out a rape scene. The inquiry into the handling of allegations of abuse against the late teacher and TV scriptwriter, John Owen, also heard from another ex-pupil about how he had been made to perform an indecent act during a role-play rehearsal. Owen was facing charges of abusing teenage boys when he killed himself 18 months ago.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 31 January page 8