Friday 1 October 2004

By Amy Taylor and Clare Jerrom

Please don’t condemn our sick baby to death

Doctors went to the High Court yesterday to seek permission not to
resuscitate a severely ill baby if she develops life-threatening
breathing difficulties against her parent’s wishes.

Darren and Debbie Wyatt said their 11-month-old daughter Charlotte
should be given every chance at life but doctors from Portsmouth
Hospitals NHS Trust argue that if she is survived with ventilation
and surgery she would have a terrible quality of life.

Charlotte was born three moths premature and has never left the
hospital.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 1 October page 5

Life for psychopath who killed gay rabbi

A psychopath who was jailed for life yesterday for killing a gay
rabbi claimed that he heard the voices of tennis player Tim Henman
and footballer Ryan Giggs when he committed the attack.

Thomas McDowell met Andreas Hinz in a bar in Camden north London
and took him back to his flat where he murdered him.

McDowell hated homosexuals because he was abused as a child by a
relative.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 1 October page 7

Social services are ‘failing families with disabled
children’

Almost half of families with disabled children only receive support
from other family members, according to new research.

The study, by the Centre for Policy Studies, also found that a
further 30 per cent only get less than two hours a week help.

Source:- The Independent Friday 1 October page 23

Shops miss access to deadline

Businesses in 80 per cent of Britain’s high streets will be
in breach of access laws coming into force today requiring them to
be accessible to disabled people.

The Disability Rights Commission warned that it would take legal
action to force shops, restaurants and public buildings to
comply.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 1 October page 15

Free-for-all gypsy invaders

A landmark court ruling will lead to hundreds of gypsies setting up
homes against planning laws it was warned by campaigners last
night.

Yesterday judges ruled that if gypsies buy land and set up home on
it in breach of planning regulations they should not be
moved.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 1 October page 12

Scottish newspapers

Cardinal is wrong about sex lessons, insists Kirk

The Church of Scotland dismissed a claim by the most senior Roman
Catholic yesterday that plans to revamp sex education could result
in pre-school children being shown sexually explicit
material.

Convener of the Kirk’s education committee David Alexander
refuted Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s comments and accused
him of not giving enough credit to the professionalism of
teachers.

A public consultation on the Scottish executive’s sexual
strategy closed at the end of February and ministers are finalising
plans.

Source:- The Scotsman  Friday 1 October

Affordable housing boost to beat the property crisis

Scotland is to provide twice as many new affordable homes per head
as England in a bid to head off a housing crisis.

Finance minister Andy Kerr provided an extra £100 million for
affordable housing earlier this year and communities minister
Margaret Curran said the resources would allow the executive to
raise its three-year target for affordable housing from 18,000 to
21,500.

Source:- The Scotsman  Friday 1 October

Hospitals see a sharp increase in bed-blocking

There has been a sharp increase in the number of beds blocked in
Scottish hospitals by older patients ready to leave hospital but
with nowhere to go, it emerged.

A census in July showed 1,932 patients ready for discharge, 8.2 per
cent more than in April. A total of 1130 had been waiting to leave
for more than six weeks.

Source:- Evening News  Thursday 30 September

Woman who killed mum spared jail

A woman who killed her mother with an injection of heroin has been
spared a jail sentence.

Judge Lady Paton ordered Kerry Greenhill to begin three
years’ probation yesterday after she said the woman would
have to bear the burden of knowing she was instrumental in her
mother’s death for the rest of her life.

Greenhill had pleaded guilty to culpable homicide at an earlier
hearing. The court heard how Jacqueline Greenhill was squeamish and
asked her daughter to inject the drugs. Greenhill died in
hospital.

Lady Paton ordered Greenhill to continue drug treatment and warned
that if she failed she could face imprisonment.

Source:- Evening News  Thursday 30 September

Pubs face court as disabled law comes into effect

Thousands of pubs and public buildings face fines from today as the
Disability Discrimination Act comes into force.

Businesses that have not made enough effort to ensure disabled
people can access its services face legal action.

But a survey by Disability Rights Commission in Scotland found that
four in 10 companies that had not made changes were aware more
could be done to improve accessibility while 11 per cent said it
was not important that they should be accessible to disabled
people.

Source:- The Herald  Friday 1 October

Welsh newspapers

Travellers provide a poser for authority

A Welsh national park authority is planning to review its
procedures after it experienced long delays in reclaiming its land
from a group of travellers.

The travellers have been camped on land close to a former National
Eisteddfod site owned by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Authority since mid-July.

While a similar group was dealt with by the courts within weeks
four years ago new human rights legislation has meant that it took
a long time for the authority to get back control of its
land.

Source:- The Western Mail Friday 1 October

Pay rise for low paid Welsh workers

Up to 110,000 workers in Wales will get a pay rise tomorrow when
new rates for the national minimum wage come into force.

The adult rise is from £4.50 to £4.85 – and
increase of eight per cent.

Source:- IC Wales Friday 1 October