Wednesday 6 August 2003

By Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.

Stress blamed for public sector’s lead in lost
days

Council and health staff take one day off sick for every four
working weeks, according to a survey which highlights the public
sector’s efforts to deal with stress, ill-health and
absenteeism.

Public sector workers are far more likely to take time off than
private sector staff. Health and local government workers top the
public sector list with 5 per cent of working time and 11 days lost
per worker every year, according to the survey from the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development.

Source:- Financial Times Wednesday 6 August page 5

Prisons crisis as foreign inmates soar

Foreign prisoners outnumber UK citizens in a British jail for
the first time in modern penal history following an increase in the
number of people jailed for drug smuggling.

News that Morton Hall in Lincolnshire is the first jail in
England and Wales to have more foreign than British prisoners comes
as the prison service faces record levels of overcrowding.

One in seven of the record 74,000 jail population is now a
foreign citizen and one south London jail has 400 inmates from
Jamaica.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 6 August page 1

Killjoy adults stop children’s outdoor
play

Adults are banning children from playing outside because they
regard them as a nuisance and are restricted by a plethora of
bylaws against ball-games, cycles and skate-boards.

A Children’s Society survey has found that 80 per cent of
children aged between seven and 16 have been told off for playing
on the streets, on estates and even in parks.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 6 August page 5

Cocaine scanners target Caribbean mules in
transit

All “suspicious” passengers flying from eight Caribbean islands
are to be scanned for cocaine in an attempt to tackle the problem
of drug mules.

Equipment is being sent to Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad,
Tobago, Grand Cayman, Barbados and Grand Turk to prevent them from
becoming new drug transit zones.

The move follows a successful initiative in Jamaica where
scanners were installed at airports resulting in a doubling of the
number of drug mules caught before boarding flights while arrests
in Britain fell by 75 per cent.

Source:-The Times Wednesday 6 August page 4

C4 focuses on under-age sex

Channel 4 has announced that a season of programmes focusing on
under-age sex is to be broadcast culminating with a proposal for
the age of consent to be lowered.

The programmes will include ‘Porn to be Young’ which
will reveal young people’s attitudes to pornography and
‘My Turkish Waiter’ which focuses on 14-year-old Rachel
Lloyd who ran off to Turkey to be with her Turkish boyfriend.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 6 August page 6

Cockle picker gang held as illegal
immigrants

Thirty seven suspected illegal immigrants have been arrested by
Lancashire police after they were found picking cockles on a
northern beach.

The group, all believed to be Chinese, were picked up in
Morecombe, Lancashire after working on the sands at Morecombe
Bay.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 6 August page 9

‘Racist’ shock jock censured

A leading radio disc jockey has been criticised by the
broadcasting standards commission for encouraging racism against
asylum seekers.

A complaint against Nick Ferrari has been upheld after a
listener complained that he encouraged listeners who made racist
comments.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 6 August page 10

Kurdish family loses asylum battle

A family of Kurdish asylum seekers was deported from the UK
yesterday after losing a four-year legal battle to stay in the
country.

Supporters of Yurdugal Ay from Turkey and her four children say
the family must have been forced on to the charter plane from
Stansted airport to Germany yesterday.

The Ays, who lost their final appeal against deportation last
week, were warned they would be handcuffed if they resisted.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 6 August page 10

PC on child porn charges

A police officer accused of having pornographic images of
children was remanded on unconditional bail at Bow magistrates
court yesterday.

PC Kevin Dunks is due to appear at Southwark crown court in
September.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 6 August page 10

Samaritans’ silent calls for help

Almost 50 per cent of all calls to the Samaritans helpline
involve the caller remaining silent, according to the
charity’s report.

Five million people made contact with a Samaritans volunteer
last year.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 6 August page
2

Court ban on Soham murder case pest

A man has been banned from contacting the families of Jessica
Chapman and Holly Wells after bombarding them with phone calls.

David Westgate also admitted writing to the grieving parents in
a bizarre attempt to peddle a conspiracy theory about the
girls’ disappearance.

Westgate who lives in Plymouth has been served with an interim
anti-social behaviour order by magistrates, banning him from
contacting the girl’s families by phone, letter or any other
means.

Source:- Daily Mail Wednesday 6 August page 29

Target practice

Controversy over children’s services and foundation
hospitals has dominated the headlines so how much progress has the
government made in meeting promised improvements across public
services.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 6 August page
2-3

Relative ease

John Cunningham on a multi-agency model devised to aid
authorities helping families affected by drugs and alcohol

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 6 August page
76-75

Banking on success

Scheme to help children in foster care manage their finances

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 6 August page
75

Scottish news

Care home staff ‘abused and
stressed’

Staff at a residential care home for troubled children claimed
they have been assaulted and are suffering intolerable levels of
stress at the home, hailed as a model unit when it was opened by
the Princess Royal five years ago.

Employees at Glenview care home in Galashiels, which is run by
Scottish Borders Council’s social work department, told
inspectors from the Care Commission that they were subjected to
frequent physical and verbal abuse.

During 2002, a total of 117 incidents were recorded, the
inspection report revealed.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 6 August

Childminding tumbles towards trouble

Scottish childminders are poorly trained, under-paid and leaving
the profession in droves, according to a government report
yesterday.

The number of registered childminders has dropped by 22 per cent
over the last five years while the number of places available to
children has fallen roughly the same proportion to 26,570.

The survey by the Scottish Executive National Statistics
department shows that of those working, 78 per cent have no
relevant qualifications.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 6 August

Welsh news

Girl power holds sway

A Welsh NHS trust is urging women to have their say on health
services.

The “What Women Want” review has been launched by the Cardiff
and Vale NHS Trust and the wide-ranging inquiry will seek the views
of all women, whatever their age range. The trust will liaise with
schools and colleges to find out what teenagers want from the
service.

Source:- South Wales Echo Tuesday 5 August page 6

Heroin doctor is struck off

A Cardiff GP has been struck off after admitting forging
prescriptions to get heroin for himself.

Dr John Rogers, 53, became depressed after the suicide of two
friends and began writing false prescriptions for Class A drugs. He
had been found guilty by a court of the offences but until the
General Medical Council (GMC) hearing, was still free to see
patients and prescribe drugs.

The GMC ruled that it was not in the public interest to allow
him to continue to practice.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 6 August page 5

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