A daily summary of social care stories from the main newspapers

By Clare Jerrom and Reg McKay.

‘Stop refugee dispersal’ plea

Refugee groups’ demands to halt the forced dispersal of
asylum seekers, following the murder of a 22-year-old Kurdish
refugee in Glasgow, were refused by ministers yesterday.

Voluntary groups warned that more violence could follow if the
scheme, that has dispersed nearly 30,000 asylum seekers to the
north of England in the past 18 months, continued.

Lord Rooker said the policy had been “by and large very
successful”, and his officials said another 25,000 will be
moved.

The Scotland Office said that no more refugees would be sent to
Glasgow’ Sighthill estate.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 8 August page 1

Kent protests to Blunkett on child asylum
seekers

Unaccompanied minors arriving in Kent for asylum claims will
reach an unmanageable level, council leaders warned last night.

The council has taken more than 1,200 child asylum seekers into
care in the last two years, and at least 100 new children are
arriving each month.

Peter Gilroy, Kent’s director of social services, has
warned that the council cannot cope with the influx of children
indefinitely.

The council wants to join up with five or six other local
authorities, which are able to take responsibility for a handful of
the children each month. This would avoid the controversial
dispersal scheme currently in place for adult asylum seekers.

More unaccompanied minors seek asylum in Britain than in any
other European country.

Source:- The Independent Wednesday 8 August
page 5

Killer boy’s sentence is cut

A young man who took part in kicking and stamping a man to death
had his minimum jail term cut by three years by the Lord Chief
Justice yesterday.

Two other teenager killers had their minimum terms retained.

The tariff reviews by Lord Woolf follow a judgement from the
European Court of Human Rights that it was wrong for the home
secretary to intervene in setting minimum terms for offenders
under-18.

Darren Dermody was convicted at the age of 17 of murdering a man
who had intervened to stop a fight. His sentence was cut from 12
years to nine.

Lord Woolf said Dermody’s responsibility was less than two
older men involved in the attack, who were convicted of murder and
jailed for life.

Tahir Malik, who was 16 when he battered and strangled a
nine-year-old boy, had his minimum term held.

Lord Woolf’s ruling said he was suffering from autistic
disorder Asperger’s syndrome, and was now in a top security
mental hospital Rampton.

The 12-year minimum term imposed on Bernard Coddington was
retained. He was found guilty of stabbing a man to death, who was
the father of a child of the woman he was planning to marry.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 8 August page 2

Register to cut adoption delays

The length of time it takes for a child to be adopted, should be
cut in half thanks to a scheme launched by the government
yesterday.
The national adoption register will contain details of all children
awaiting adoption in England and Wales in a bid to increase the
rate of adoption by 40 per cent in the next four years. Currently,
social services departments maintain their own lists, limiting the
number of homes available.

Local authorities will now be expected to place children with
families within six months as opposed to the period of almost two
years that it takes at present.

Health minister Jacqui Smith said: “We are determined that
children are adopted as quickly as possible. We want to give them
what they deserve – a fresh start and a loving family for
life.”

Source:- The Times Wednesday 8 August page 5

£5m effort to keep youths out of
trouble

Young people in riot-torn areas will be encouraged to take up
sailing, mountain biking and other activities in a £5 million
government scheme.

Funds are being provided to projects in towns and cities
including Stoke-on-Trent, Oldham and Burnley, as well as other
deprived areas, in a bid to prevent further rioting.

A home office spokesperson said: “This is designed to enhance
their interests and provide somewhere for them to go during the
evenings. This gives them a sense of achievement, and also a sense
of pride in where they come from.”

Source:- The Independent Wednesday 8 August
page 7

Guardian Society

Books of life

Why the housing sector is getting involved in helping adults to
nurture their children in language and literacy

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 8 August page 4

Too hot to handle

How charities are being priced out of premises in areas where
the local economy is booming

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 8 August page 8

Back in the fold

For people with mental health problems who have had a taste of
prison, help is at hand.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 8 August page
68-67

Obsolete attitude

Ombudsman rules on Walsall’s treatment of gay couple

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 8 August page
67

It’s an honour, Ma’am

New award recognises excellence in the care of older people

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 8 August page
67

Scottish newspapers

Woman ‘political pawn’ in care homes
dispute

An 89-year-old woman suffering from dementia has become “a pawn
in a political game” in the dispute between councils and care home
owners, according to Argus Care, a private care company.

Helen Duncan, currently a patient in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary,
wants to move from hospital to Torry Nursing Home in Aberdeen close
to her brother’s home. Southwark Council in London is
responsible for her support, and has agreed to meet Argus
Care’s £400 per week bills.

Aberdeen Council claims that Southwark Council cannot contract
directly with a Scottish home, that the English council would have
to pay them directly and, in turn, they would pay the home.
However, Aberdeen Council says it cannot pay the rate agreed by
Southwark because it is in excess of the rate it currently pays.
Argus describes Aberdeen Council’s stance as a “spurious
excuse”, and has decided to pursue legal action.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 8 August page 5

Older people kept in hospital

Many frail older people are left to fret on their own for up to
a year in substandard conditions in hospitals in central Edinburgh
and south Lothian, according to a report by the Scottish Health
Advisory Service (SHAS).

Poor discharge planning is the cause according to SHAS. In other
ways, the health services were complimented. The assessment unit at
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, which is preventing older people being
admitted to hospital unnecessarily was proposed as a model for the
rest of Scotland in the report.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 8 August page 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

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