Thursday 28 November 2002

By Clare Jerrom, Nicola Barry and Alex
Dobson.

Lords warning on illegal immigration

Illegal immigration will not be bought under control without a
radical rethink of asylum policy, David Blunkett will be warned
today.

A key parliamentary committee report will say that the home
secretary’s approach has simply created an ethnic underclass
of tens of thousands of illegal workers.

The government must consider opening a legal migration channel
whereby skilled workers are allowed to enter Britain without
censure, the House of Lords European Union committee will say.

The current rate of removals of only 12,000 of the 80,000
illegal immigrants a year is unacceptable, it concludes.

Source:- The Times Thursday 28 November page 1

Asylum legal bill hits £138m

The legal aid bill for asylum seekers more than doubled to
£138 million last year, according to the National Audit
Office.

This year, the estimated bill is expected to rise to £150
million.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 28 November page 6

Pre-budget report

Youth targeted to raise level of skills

The government yesterday set an ambitious target of raising the
number of young people to have enjoyed full time education or
training by the age of 22 to 90 per cent by 2010 in a bid to cut
the eight million low-skilled workers in Britain.

The target would bring Britain into line with European
counterparts. The Chancellor said an employer-led taskforce, to be
headed by Sir Roy Gardner who chaired a New Deal scheme to recruit
the long term unemployed to the energy industry, would promote the
expansion of the modern apprenticeship scheme.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 28 November page 16

Helping with the kids at home and work

Gordon Brown promised a boost to workplace nurseries and
crèches yesterday by using tax and national insurance
incentives to encourage employers to expand the number of
schemes.

Currently there are only 600 workplace nurseries across Britain,
but as part of its national childcare strategy and focus on
balancing work and family life, the government hopes to encourage
more employers to sponsor workplace nurseries.

Fathers will also be given new rights to parental time off,
including the right to attend antenatal care appointments with
their partners.

Campaigning groups said tax incentives to employers should help
break the stalemate in employer nursery provision.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 28 November page 17

Abuse as woman of 79 faces eviction

A 79-year-old woman who vilified her neighbours in a sheltered
housing complex gave a tirade of abuse on the steps of the court
after she was evicted from her home yesterday.

Mary Urry was immediately apprehended by court officers and
taken back before the judge, who warned her that she would be sent
to prison for contempt if she did it again.

Medina Housing Association, which runs the housing at East
Cowes, applied for eviction citing unreasonable and abusive
behaviour, such as playing Chas and Dave records loudly and
attacking a resident with a walking stick.

Source:- Daily Telegraph Thursday 28 November page
3

Damilola killer hunt goes on

Scotland Yard insisted that it was still investigating the
murder of Damilola Taylor on the second anniversary of the
schoolboy’s death.

The 10-year-old Nigerian boy was stabbed to death on the north
Peckham estate in south London on 27 November 2000.

Four youths were acquitted at the Old Bailey of his murder.

The government plans to abolish the 800-year-old double jeopardy
trial rule, and this would open the way for anyone acquitted in the
Damilola case to be re-tried if significant new evidence came to
light.

Source:- Daily Telegraph Thursday 28 November page
8

A good turn in the Office

The comedian behind the manager from the television series,
David Brent, is to adapt a new character for a new advertisement to
highlight the plight of disabled people in the workplace.

Ricky Gervais has created a new campaign for charity Leonard
Cheshire aimed at challenging employers’ perceptions of
disabled workers.

Source:- Daily Telegraph Thursday 28 November page
8

Scottish newspapers

First national childcare strategy

The Chancellor’s pre-budget report contained a number of
policies intended to be family-friendly, with new reforms including
tax and national insurance incentives to expand employer
childcare.

Source:- The Herald Thursday 28 November page 11

Quarriers faces more abuse allegations

One of Scotland’s largest childcare charities is facing
more court cases involving suspected paedophiles.

Reports have been lodged with the procurator fiscal by the
special police unit investigating allegations of abuse by staff on
children at Quarriers village, near Glasgow, dating back as far as
the 1960s.

Source:- The Herald Thursday 28 November page 2

Anti-smacking policy ditched

A last minute attempt to outlaw smacking children in Scotland
was defeated yesterday as the Scottish executive’s flagship
policy was finally ditched.

MSPs from the Justice 2 committee decided the proposal,
contained in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, was
“unworkable”.

Source:- The Scotsman Thursday 28 November page 9

Teachers’ stress at violence cover-up

Headteachers are covering up the growing problem of violence in
the classroom to meet ministers’ targets on reducing
expulsions, it was claimed yesterday.

Stress levels among teachers are soaring as a result of the
controversial social inclusion policy.

Source: Daily Mail Thursday 28 November page 41

Welsh newspapers

Vicar on more sex charges

A Cardiff vicar has been charged with more sex assaults against
children.

Canon Lawrence Davies of St Paul’s in the Grangetown area
of the city, was arrested earlier this week and charged with rape,
gross indecency and indecent assault on a child under 16. He also
faces a further charge of indecent assault on another child under
the age of 16.

The 62-year-old clergyman was suspended from clerical duties by
the Church in Wales last month following earlier allegations of
rape, indecent assault and gross indecency for which he has already
appeared in court.

A spokesperson for the Church in Wales said that they were
co-operating fully with the police and social services in the
conduct of the inquiry.

Source:- South Wales Echo Wednesday 27 November page
9

‘I shall not be moved’

A woman evacuated from her home for safety reasons has vowed to
return despite advice from social services that they cannot provide
care for her.

Muriel Phillips, aged 77, was forced to leave her home two years
ago when a landslide threatened to destroy the property. Now the
area has been made safe and Phillips wants to return home, but
Cardiff social services say that they cannot provide care if she
goes ahead.

In a letter, the council says it cannot provide regular or
reliable services because it has been advised that there are
identifiable risks and that they cannot put staff at risk.

Source:- South Wales Echo Wednesday 27 November page
5

Get my boy out of adult prison

A south Wales mother has appealed for her
‘child-like’ son to be released from an adult
prison.

Pat Cattle claims her 21-year-old son Gareth who has an IQ of
only 64 may not survive his five-year sentence in Cardiff prison.
She says that a psychologist’s report found that Gareth had
the mental ability of an eight- year-old and she added that he
needed 24-hour care.

Gareth was sentenced in August having been convicted of
conspiring to commit arson.

A spokesperson for HM Prison Service said each case was
considered on its merits and that if a prisoner had specific
requirements they would be taken into account.

Source:- South Wales Echo Wednesday 27 November page
9

My vow to fight Welsh disgrace

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Peter Clarke, will
tell the Welsh assembly in his first annual report that child
poverty is a disgrace.

Clarke’s warning comes just one month after a damning Save
the Children report, which revealed that Welsh children are the
poorest in Britain.

He is calling on the Assembly to adopt an anti-poverty strategy
that will directly involve young people.

Source:- Western Mail Thursday 27 November page 1