Tuesday 7 October 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Wife denied care home visits by her husband dies
A woman has died just weeks after Portsmouth council stopped her
husband making his daily taxi visit to her care home in order to
cut costs.
The social services department promised Mary and George Lipsham,
both 84, that they would pay for Mr Lipsham to make the visits when
they made the couple live in separate care homes two years ago.
However, the money to pay for the visits was withdrawn in
July.
Mrs Lipsham died on Friday evening after suffering from a suspected
fit at the Edinburgh House care home.
The couples son and daughter are now threatening legal action
against the council.
Source:- The Daily Mail Tuesday 7 October page 35
Pensioners march in protest at new means-tested
credit
More than a thousand pensioners took part in marches throughout the
country in protest against the new means-tested pension
credit.
First payments of the new credit were received yesterday, but many
critics believe millions of pensioners won’t bother to apply for
the credit because it is means-tested.
Under the new benefit scheme all pensioners will be guaranteed a
minimum pension of around £102 a week, but for those who have
saved only moderate amounts this could increase to an extra
£14.79.
Under the previous scheme people who saved were penalised because
their savings were taken away from any top ups they were eligible
for.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 7 October page 2
Gay sex ‘offenders’ to be taken off the
register
More than 300 people convicted of sex crimes concerning homosexual
activity that are no longer seen as illegal following the
relaxation of attitudes towards sexuality, are to be removed from
the sexual offenders register, it was announced yesterday.
The move will come after the repeal of the Victorian crimes of
buggery and indecency between men when the Sexual Offences Bill,
currently going through parliament, becomes law.
It will be the first time a group of convicted offenders have their
names removed from the register since it began five years
ago.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 7 October page 12
Scottish newspapers
Woman of 75 on perv rap
Seven people accused of committing child sexual abuse on the island
of Lewis in the Western Isles in Scotland have been remanded in
custody following a year-long inquiry into an alleged paedophile
ring.
The group, made up from six men and one woman aged 75, appeared in
private at Stornoway sheriff court.
The charges against the men include rape while the woman faces sex
charges involving three girls.
The case will be heard at Inverness sheriff court next
Tuesday.
Source:- The Daily Record Tuesday 7 October page 5
Special court for addicts to have powers
extended
A Glasgow drugs court set up to deal with drug addicts who commit
crimes to feed their habits will have its powers extended to hear
more serious cases, it was announced yesterday.
The move will enable the court, which was previously only able to
hear summary cases, to deal with more people.
Other changes will mean that cases can be referred to the court at
all stages in the legal process and not just in custody
cases.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 7 October
Care agencies have lessons to learn from girl’s
murder
A 13-month-old girl who was murdered by her mother’s boyfriend,
slipped through the net because her case continued to “bubble
under” the threshold for deciding to put her on the child
protection register, Aberdeen councillors heard yesterday.
Speaking at a special meeting of  the authority’s community
services committee, Alisdair Dawson, the head of the council’s
health and care services, said that the various agencies dealing
with Carla-Nicole Bone, had never sat down to a structured meeting
to discuss any concerns they might have had about her
welfare.
Dawson said: “There is quite a rigorous system there once a child
is on the child protection register. But clearly this case does
tell us that those that are just bubbling below need a higher level
of attention and a concentrated focus.”
Source:- The Scotsman Tuesday 7 October
Welsh newspapers
Be Sure To Apply
The charity Help the Aged is encouraging older people in Wales to
apply for the new pension credit despite having concerns about the
way it will work.
The government’s means tested credit, came into effect
yesterday with the aim of targeting extra cash at older
people.
Llio Penri, spokesperson for Help the Aged in Wales, said that the
stigma attached to means-testing would put a lot of people off, but
she added that the credit was a step in the right direction and
encouraged as many older people as possible to apply for it.
Source:- South Wales Echo Monday 6 October page 6
A new voice for the elderly
Older people in Newport have a new champion to raise issues on
their behalf at the city council.
Councillor Harry Williams has been named as the Elderly
People’s Champion to tackle a range of issues affecting
people over 64. Williams said that he wanted to make sure that
older people were treated fairly and knew what their rights
were.
Source:- South Wales Argus Monday October 6 page 11
Boarding school housemaster jailed for abusing
boys
A housemaster at a home for boys was yesterday jailed for seven
years for abusing children in his care.
Graham Carter, a care worker at Castell Newydd School in Bridgend
in the 1970s, admitted a number of indecent assaults against young
boys.
He was arrested as part of south Wales’s police’s
‘Operation Goldfinch’, which is investigating sexual
abuse at children’s homes.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday October 7 page 3
Teens think cannabis ban has gone up in
smoke
Young people in Wales are openly smoking cannabis because they
believe the drug has already been downgraded or even
legalised.
The government intends to classify cannabis as a class C drug early
next year, but publicity about the change has led to many people,
especially teenagers believing that possessing and using the drug
will not get them into trouble.
But Welsh police are warning that it is still illegal to supply or
use the drug.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 7 October page 9