Wednesday 24 September 2003

 By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson

Asylum aid policy backed by
judges

The government’s policy of depriving asylum
seekers of food and shelter unless they claim refugee status as
soon as they arrive, was backed by the Court of Appeal
yesterday.

A previous judgement ruled that the failure to
help refugees when they are homeless went against human rights
legislation.

But in a test case yesterday, three senior
appeal judges supported the home secretary David Blunkett’s policy.
They also refused to set down minimal conditions at which help
should be offered.

Human rights lawyers are planning to take the
case to the House of Lords.

Source:- The Times Wednesday
24 September page 2

NHS is failing mentally ill,
inspectors say

Older people with mental health problems are
being failed by the National Health Service, according to the
Commission for Health Improvement.

CHI said it was worried that conditions it
uncovered during an investigation of Rowan Ward at Manchester’s
mental health care trust were present across the country.

The investigation followed allegations that
patients in the ward were physically and verbally abused by
staff.

CHI’s acting chief executive, Jocelyn
Cornwall, said that the organisation received “continual requests
for investigations in this area”.

Source:- The Financial Times
Wednesday 24 September page 3

NSPCC in teacher training
call

The majority of new teachers have not been
trained to deal with child protection cases despite the fact that
many are likely to come across a case within 18 months of beginning
work.

A report by children’s charity NSPCC
states that a quarter of newly trained teachers have not attended
child protection sessions during their training.

The charity today launched a teacher training
pack entitled ‘Learning to Protect’, in a bid to tackle
the problem. It calls for more time to be devoted to child
protection in training programmes.

Source:- The Financial Times
Wednesday 24 September page 4

Voluntary bodies seek PFI-style
deal

Voluntary organisation bosses yesterday called
for a “private finance initiative” equivalent to be introduced to
give them a bigger role in delivering public services.

The government wants the sector to provide
more services in health, education, housing and social
services.

Stephen Bubb, chief executive of the
Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, said
that in order for this to happen the government needed to enable
the sector to compete. Too much time was currently being spent on
negotiating short-term contracts with central and local government
and public service organisations, he explained.

Source:- The Financial Times
Wednesday 24 September page 6

Paedophile fears close Microsoft
chatrooms

Microsoft announced the closure of all of its
internet chat rooms yesterday in a bid to protect users from
paedophiles and pornographic spam-emails.

The move will see the closure of more than
10,000 chatrooms on October 14. Gillian Kent, a director of MSN UK,
Microsoft’s online service, said it was necessary to shut down the
discussion forums because they were increasingly misused for spam
and “inappropriate communication”.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday 24 September page 3

Readers join attack on Sun over
coverage of Bruno breakdown

The Sun newspaper was criticised by mental
health organisations yesterday after it described the former boxer
Frank Bruno on its front page as “bonkers” and as being a “nut” who
had been “locked up”.

The paper was also criticised by its readers
for its description of Bruno’s removal to a psychiatric unit after
he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Later editions of the paper changed the
headline to “Sad Bruno in mental home”.

Source:- The Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 5

Worth a packet?

Public sector chiefs can earn £200,000.
Will the boom last?

Source:- Society Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 2

Reluctant charity staff strike over
changes affecting family life

Staff from the Child Poverty Action Group
(CPAG) reluctantly went on strike last week over unequal
contracts.

The action is thought to be the first by a
national charity and was over reduced sick pay, compassionate leave
and annual holidays for new starters.

Source:- Society Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 4

Reality TV gets real

Two television documentaries about social
workers are planned.

One is a Channel 4 film that will feature a
range of social workers talking about what their careers entail.
The other, which has started to be filmed, is a six-part series on
all aspects of childcare, focusing on social workers in
Bristol.

Source:- Society Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 4

Internal outsider

As head of the new body tackling complaints
against the police, Nick Hardwick believes he is well placed for a
crucial battle – to win public confidence.

Source:- Society Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 6

When the wild world’s roots are in the
home

‘If a man is a victim of an attempted murder,
that’s hardly a reason to deny him access to his child,’ says an
expert. How do social services assess risk?

Source:- Society Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 10

What else can I do?

After six years at a children’s charity, Emily
still loves working with young people. But, approaching 30, she
wants a fresh challenge.

Source:- Society Guardian
Wednesday 24 September page 124

Scottish news

One fifth of working age Glaswegians
on sick benefits

A fifth of the working age population in
Glasgow are on sickness benefits, it emerged yesterday.

According to council figures, 69,000 of the
90,000 inhabitants deemed economically inactive are on sickness
benefits.

Greater Glasgow NHS and Glasgow Employers
Coalition have launched a joint pilot project to coax the long term
sick back into work.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 24
September page 10

Kids learn of drug danger

More schools than ever are teaching children
the dangers of drug abuse, according to the Scottish executive.

In the last 12 months, 99 per cent of schools
provided drug education compared to 98 per cent in the previous
year, according to a report by the executive’s education
department.

All local authority schools taught youngsters
about the dangers of drugs, but some special and private schools
did not.

Source:- Daily Record Wednesday 24
September page 4

Court aid for kids

The Scottish executive is to spend £1m on
protecting vulnerable witnesses in court –particularly
children.

A service of “vulnerable witness
officers” will be created to ensure everyone in the justice
system knows how to meet any special requirements.

Hugh Henry, deputy justice minister, yesterday
launched two documents with guidelines for dealing with children in
the courts system.

Source:- Daily Record Wednesday 24
September page 7

You’re not alone
Frank

Around one in four Scots will suffer from some
form of mental illness this year.

Around eight out of 10 people diagnosed with
mental health problems, will make a full recovery.

Former boxer Frank Bruno has been diagnosed
with mental health problems, it emerged this week.

Source:- Daily Record Wednesday 24
September pages 16- 17

Welsh news

£3m aid for Valley
jobs

A south Wales council has been awarded more
than £3m of European funding to help fund a jobs project that
is the first of its kind in the Principality.

The project called ‘JobMatch’,
will be launched by Blaenau Gwent Council in January and is aimed
at lifting people off benefits and into employment.

The scheme, which will cost £5.18m and
will run for three years, is expected to help around 1,000 people
in the area into employment or further education.

Source:- South Wales Argus Tuesday 23
September page 4

My relief after court
ordeal

A two-page feature looking at the ordeal of a
disabled man who had drug charges hanging over him after he used
cannabis to help ease his pain.

Darren Pritchard, who is paralysed from the
neck down, faced the ordeal of a court appearance after police
seized seven cannabis plants and 1kg of dried cannabis plants from
his home in south Wales.

His ordeal came to an end when a verdict of
not guilty on charges of producing and possessing the drug was
recorded at Cardiff Crown Court, after the Crown Prosecution
Service failed to offer any evidence.

Source:- South Wales Argus Tuesday 23
September pages 4-5

Free and Easy

A four-year programme to create a
“healthier and wealthier” Wales has been launched by
Rhodri Morgan, first minister of the Welsh assembly.

By 2007, no-one in Wales will have to pay for
prescriptions and the first free school breakfasts will be
available in Communities First areas in autumn of next year, Morgan
pledged.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 24
September page 1

Patient’s death: Nurse
suspended

A nurse at a psychiatric hospital in Cardiff
has been suspended following the death of a patient.

Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, which manages
Whitchurch psychiatric hospital in Cardiff, has launched an
investigation after a female patient apparently lay dead for almost
10 hours before her death was discovered.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 24
September page 7