Wednesday 26 March 2003

By David Callaghan, Shona Main and Alex
Dobson.

What possessed Bhs to sell ‘provocative’ underwear for
girls as young as seven?

Retalier British Home Stores has withdrawn a range of underwear
for children which carries ‘Little Miss Naughty’ logos from the ‘Mr
Men’ range.

The move follows complaints from charities Kidscape and
Childline that the clothes were sexually provocative and they were
being sold for children aged seven to 11. Michelle Elliott,
director of Kidscape, said: “It is worrying to find a push-up bra
with Little Miss Naughty written on it.

“We know kids like the cartoon, but it shouldn’t be put on
underwear because it obviously has a very sexual connotation,” she
said.

Source:- Daily Mail Wednesday 26 March 2003  page
21

Democratic era awaits the NHS

Health secretary Alan Milburn has said primary care trusts could
be elected in a few years’ time. He also said he wanted every
hospital to achieve foundation status within five years and for
PCTs to become involved in the running of the new trusts.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
14

Falling shares put charities at risk

The fall in share prices and poor accounting policies have
caused problems for one third of charities in England and Wales,
the Charities Commission said.

A new report, ‘Charity Reserves’, found that of 3,600 charities
surveyed a third had no policy for handling reserves, which could
jeopardise the future of the charities concerned.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 26 March 2003 page 16

Policeman jailed over child porn

A police officer was jailed for three months after admitting
that he downloaded child porn from the internet.

Peter Hibbit, from Bromley in Kent, who worked for Hampshire
police, was identified as part of Operation Ore, after the FBI
passed his credit card details to the British force.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 26 March 2003 page 17

Council racism

Doncaster council has apolgised to an Asian education welfare
officer, who worked for 14 years without a pay rise, and was
regarded as little more than a teaboy.

The authority has agreed to pay Amit Bhadhuri £15,000 in
compensation after an employment tribunal found that he had been
racially discriminated against.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 26 March 2003 page 15

One pupil in two says bullying remains a problem,
despite efforts to stamp it out

A survey by charity Childline has found that 51 per cent of
primary school pupils and 54 per cent of secondary school children
said bullying was a a problem in their school.

A third of primary school pupils said they had been bullied
themselves during the past term.

A separate report by Ofsted found that bullying was a widespread
problem in schools. The government has responded by announcing a
campaign of ‘zero tolerance’ against bullying.

Ivan lewis, the education minister for young people, told a
Childline conference he was forced to endure nearly three years of
bullying at an independent school in Manchester, and that he was
determined to address the problem.

Source:- The Independent  Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
14

Guardian Society

Building hopes

The government’s flagship in the quest for a fairer society is
five years old. David Walker assesses the New Deal and Raekha
Prasad sifts the success stories and anomalies.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
2-3

In better company

New social businesses set to revolutionise public services

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
2-3

Guilty as charged

Long-term care costs refunded in ‘wrong guidance’ case

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
2-3

Shared aims

Children’s charities unite to save cash

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
2-3

Unfinished business

The stock market slump is slashing millions from charities’
portfolios, meaning routine work is put on ice as cash reserves
dwindle.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
10

Realistic rehabilitator

Profile: Mike Ainsworth, building bridges for ex-offenders

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
11

A telling tale

Rebecca Smithers on why the government is planning to step up
efforts to tackle the blight of bullying in schools

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
128

Calls for concern

Sheltered housing project denies lack of care over fall
victim

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
127

Society facts: Council tax and the poor

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 26 March 2003 page
10

Scottish newspapers

One in five schoolchildren admits to carrying
weapon

A police and council backed poll has revealed that one in five
Glasgow schoolchildren carry a knife, blade or bat when they go
out.
Mori interviewed 1,551 children from 23 secondary schools and nine
primary schools.
A total of 61 per cent said they carried a weapon to protect
themselves if attacked in the street, with 68 per cent scared of
gangs and 60 per cent frightened of drug users.
Source:- The Herald  Wednesday 26 March page 8

Welsh newspapers

Woman dies after 7- hour ambulance wait

An 86-year-old woman died in her home just five minutes before
an ambulance arrived – seven hours after it was first called.

An investigation has now been launched into why it took so long
for help to arrive for Nellie Males, who was suffering from
pneumonia. An ambulance service worker has been suspended.

A doctor first called an ambulance at lunchtime on Friday of
last week, but it did not arrive until 8.40pm that evening.

Source:- South Wales Echo Tuesday March 25 pages 1 and
7

£40 a week offered to lure people off incapacity
benefit

People who claim they are too ill to work will be offered
£40 a week payment to get them back into employment.

Work and pensions secretary Andrew Smith is to announce details
of a pilot project in Bridgend to pay people claiming incapacity
benefit £40 if they return to work.

But the scheme, one of three pilot projects taking place across
the UK, has already been branded “hair brained” by opposition MPs
who say that payments are pointless for people who are genuinely
too ill to work.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 26 March page 7

Website’s words of wisdom for stressed mums and
dads

Parents who find bringing up their children stressful and
challenging can turn to a website that aims to talk about family
life in an honest way.

Called ‘For Parents by Parents’, the site is written
by people with first hand experience, and presents a much less
sanitised version of what being a parent means than is often
presented in the media.

Two mothers, Pat Moore and Janet Kingston, set up the site in
2001 after becoming tired of the unrealistic way that family life
was portrayed in glossy magazines.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday March 26 page 10