Wednesday 1 October 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex
Dobson.

Oldham warned of potential for more
conflict
More racial disturbances could take place in Oldham if it does not
take action to stop its economic decline and restore its civic
pride, according to new working paper.
The document, which has been commissioned as a part of an
initiative to plan for Oldham’s future, describes the town’s 2001
race riots, as “a huge step backwards” and says that many people
now see it as the ‘problem’ town of Greater Manchester.
The group of experts which produced the paper is set to produce a
strategy for the town by 2004.
Source:- The Financial Times Wednesday 1 October page 3
Support for ID cards may inflame liberties
groups
Tony Blair expressed support for compulsory ID cards yesterday
upping the stakes in the battle currently raging between ministers
for and against the initiative.
The prime minister went on to controversially imply that civil
liberties groups should support the move.
Highlighting the issues of mass migration with cheaper air travel,
Blair said it made “sense to ask whether now, in the 21st century, 
identity cards are no longer an affront to civil liberties but may
be a way of protecting them”.
Source:- The Financial Times Wednesday 1 October page 4
Danielle officer won’t face porn charges
A policeman who worked on the Danielle Jones murder inquiry will
not face charges, and can return to work after being arrested on
suspicion of downloading child pornography from the internet.
Detective constable Chris Lacey, who worked for Essex police, was
arrested after his credit card details were on a list of suspected
paedophiles.
His arrest was a part of Operation Ore, the investigation launched
after the list of details was given to police in the UK by American
law enforcement agencies.
Source:- The Daily Mail Wednesday 1 October page 29
Chatrooms ‘being used to seal suicide pacts’
A coroner warned that internet chatrooms were being used by
depressed people to arrange suicide pacts yesterday.
Michael Gooden died after making a suicide pact with Louis Gillies
who he met on a website about suicide holidays.
The pair made a suicide pact, but only Gooden went through with it.
Gillies was then charged with assisting in his suicide, but was
found hanged on the day he was due to appear in court.
Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of suicide on Gooden and
described how the internet was now being used to aid and abet the
suicide of others.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 1 October page 12
Irish may face 1bn (euros) sex abuse bill
Compensation payouts to victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic
clerics could cost the Irish government up to 1 billion euros
(£700 million), it was revealed yesterday.
It had previously been thought that the bill would come to around
260 million euros (£180 million), but a report from Ireland’s
auditor general states that there may be up to 10,800 claims with
average payouts of 96,000 euros.
The government made a deal with the Catholic church to compensate
thousands of victims of sexual and physical abuse that they
suffered while living in religious order run children’s
homes.
The church agreed to contribute 128 million euros to the bill,
which was thought to be around half of the compensation bill when
the deal was struck last year. It is now unclear as to whether the
church will offer to pay more.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 4
Boiling point
Board members of Britain’s largest and most powerful housing
association are up in arms over allegations of management
dictatorship. Matt Weaver on the implications
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 4
Fund banks on surprise choice
The BBC’s social affairs editor Niall Dickson has been appointed as
chief executive of the King’s Fund.
There has been mixed reactions to the decision with Dickson’s main
rival Chris Ham, director of the Department of Health’s strategy
unit, as being “odds-on favourite at Ladbrokes” according to one
King’s Fund insider.
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 4
Sympathy, not stigma
Despite their anger over The Sun’s “Bonkers Bruno” cover headline
mental health campaigners have praised other media coverage of
former champion boxer Frank Bruno’s mental health problems.
They believe that overall the coverage has helped slightly to beat
the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 4
A very civic servant
He is known as Tony Blair’s community renewal guru. But what does
US academic Robert Putnam think of New Labour?
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 7
The American way
A US model adopted by the NHS cares for elderly people at home and
prevents hospital admissions
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 7
Degree of confidence
Raekha Prasad reports on how the new BA in social work
aims to uplift the profession
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 10
Power behind the throne
A prolonged vacancy in the top job need not be disastrous for
councils – as long as there is someone to fill the gap.
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 14
What else can I do?
James has left university with a degree in social work. Now, at 25,
he is looking for his first job in the profession.
Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 1 October page 123
Scottish newspapers
Bed blocking rises 8% in three months
Delayed discharge in Scottish hospitals has increased because
managers adopted short-term fixes in order to meet Scottish
executive targets. Despite an annual injection of £30 million
to curb bed blocking, the number of patients waiting to be
discharged from hospital rose by more than 8 per cent in just 3
months.
Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 1 October
Kirk saves seven care homes
Seven of the 10 Church of Scotland run care homes threatened with
closure
have been saved, Kirk leaders announced yesterday.
The fate of the other three homes in Argyll and Bute will not be
known until later this week.
But the Board of Social Responsibility, which pledged to spend
£2 million on more beds, said it was hopeful that the
remaining three would stay open.
Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 1 October
Ten years jail for man who killed friend, 63
A man who killed his friend after an argument about how paedophiles
should be dealt with was given a 10-year jail sentence
yesterday.
A member of Alan Kelso’s family had been the victim of a sex
offender, the high court in Glasgow heard.
But when Edward May expressed an opinion that Kelso did not agree
with, Kelso picked up the old man’s walking stick and began beating
him with it. May died days later.
Kelso has pleaded guilty to culpable homicide which was accepted by
the crown.
He was remanded in custody for reports.
Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 1 October
Children find place to post their troubles
A pilot scheme that encourages children to use a school post box to
tell counsellors about any problems they are experiencing has
proved so successful it could eventually be used in every school in
Scotland. The Place 2 Talk postbox provides children with a
professional mental health service, and counsellors offer advice on
issues from bullying to bereavement.
The scheme is currently running in 84 schools and after securing
£200,000 funding, Edinburgh Council is planning to run the
service in another eight schools.
Source:- The Herald Wednesday 1 October
Kid crime scheme
Victims of child crime are to be told for the first time whether
their tormentors were punished.
The Scottish executive has given £400,000 to a pilot project
in Stirling which will allow victims or their parents to hear the
results of children’s panel hearings.
Source:- Daily Record Wednesday 1 October
Welsh newspapers
Foster mum warns others
A foster mother has warned parents of the danger of children using
internet chatrooms.
Lynne Freeman’s teenage foster son Darren, went missing for
six days and it is believed that during his disappearance he was
with a 21-year-old man and a 17-year-old youth he had met on the
internet.
Police believe that 15-year-old Darren put personal details online,
and then arranged to meet the people he had made contact with,
without telling his parents.
Source:- South Wales Argus Tuesday 30 September page 4
Bed-blocking: Shock figures
Bed blocking is so serious in Gwent in south Wales that some
community hospitals are full of older patients who should no longer
be there and the situation could get worse, according to new
figures.
Figures for August, the latest available, show that 248 patients
were blocking a bed, with almost half in hospital 57 days or more
longer than necessary.
Source:- South Wales Argus Tuesday 30 September page 11
Mum gets official warning to put away children’s
toys
A mother in Swansea has been advised by the council to
tidy up her children’s toys.
The council said that a climbing frame, slide, see-saw and
inflatable swimming pool belonging to the three children between
the ages of eight and eighteen months are an eyesore.
Sarah Smith, the children’s mother has received an official
letter asking her to tidy up the front garden of her home, but has
vowed to continue to let her children play on the equipment, even
if it means that she could face eviction.
Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 1 October page 5