A summary of social care stories from the main newspapers

By David Callaghan and Reg McKay.

Chancellor has to delay homes aid to the
poorest

A move to scrap stamp duty on property sales in deprived areas
has been frustrated by a delay in gathering the necessary
statistics.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has announced that it will not be
able to complete ‘mapping’ of its poor areas until
June. All other areas have completed their maps, but the measure
estimated to be worth £100 million to inner city areas, will
be postponed until after a likely general election on June 7.

Buyers are now expected to wait until the duty is abolished
before making a purchase.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 5 April page 11

Crime linked to absent fathers

A new study claims that boys who live with their biological
fathers are less likely to become criminals.

Jenny Taylor, a clinical psychologist, compared two groups of
teenage boys and found that teenagers who have committed offences
often had no contact with their natural fathers.

Nearly half of the “bad boys” said they had no father figure, a
third had a stepfather, and a fifth did not live with their
biological father.

She presented her findings to the British Psychological Society
forensic psychology division conference yesterday.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 5 April page 9

Tenfold increase in cases of autism alarms
doctors

A leading academic has called for new research to establish the
cause of autism after the number of cases increased tenfold during
the past decade.

Dr Paul Shattock, who is director of the autism research unit at
the University of Sunderland, said environmental factors were
important and not just genetic predisposition.

He said pesticides and pollution, which have both become more
prevalent in the environment in recent years, could play a part in
the rise in cases.

There was no evidence either way on whether the MMR vaccine was
the cause of the increase. The disorder affects 500,000 families in
Britain.

Source:- The Independent Thursday 5 April page 10

Scottish newspapers

Adoption review announced

The adoption law in Scotland is to be reviewed for the first
time since 1995 in a bid to halt the dramatic drop in placements
following an announcement by Jack McConnell, education minister.
Adoptions in Scotland have fallen from 900 per year to 450 per year
since 1990. McConnell announced a review group to be headed by
Graham Cox, a former sheriff principal. The group will include
parents and young people who have gone through the adoption
process.

Source: The Herald 5/4/01 page 2