Tuesday 15 March 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Derren Hayes and Amy Taylor

NHS staff win ‘biggest’ equal pay deal

Women workers at an NHS trust have won what has been described as
the biggest equal pay award in British history.

The award could provoke billions of pounds of claims from tens of
thousands of other health workers.

Unison said yesterday a settlement had been reached between 1,500
of its women members and North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust.

Unison said the women stood to gain back-pay of between
£35,000 and £200,000 each.

Source:- The Financial Times Tuesday 15 March 2005 page
2

Warning on drug arbiter’s status

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence will be seriously
undermined if ministers overrule it and order the NHS to continue
to treat Alzheimer’s disease, according to leading health
economist Alan Maynard.

Nice has produced interim guidance based on new evidence that would
stop the routine prescription of four drugs to treat
Alzheimer’s disease.

Source:- The Financial Times Tuesday 15 March 2005 page
2

Experts predict pensioners and parents will get
sweeteners

Parents and pensioners are likely to take centre stage tomorrow
when Gordon Brown unveils a handful of pre-election sweeteners in
the Budget.

Accountants are predicting the chancellor could raise income tax
thresholds to benefit low and middle income earners, implement
changes to property stamp duty to aid first-time buyers and help
for pensioners.

Source:- The Financial Times Tuesday 15 March 2005 page
3

Working parents’ childcare dilemma

Two-thirds of working parents rely on family members to look after
their children because of a lack of convenient, affordable, high
quality childcare, government research has found.

But the same proportion would prefer to use nurseries staffed by
professionally qualified child carers.

Source:- The Financial Times Tuesday 15 March 2005 page
4

Salt poisoning manslaughter disputed

A pathologist who did a post-mortem examination on a boy who died
of sodium poisoning has said there was not enough evidence to
convict the couple who were planning to adopt him of his
manslaughter.

Ian and Angela Gay were jailed for five years for the death of
three-year-old Christian Blewitt, but Dr Peter Ackland disputed the
evidence in a BBC interview.

Source:- The Independent Tuesday 15 March 2005 page
6

Government to sacrifice bills

Ministers say the drugs bill is among those likely to be abandoned
in the run-up to the general election.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 15 March 2005 page 2

Youth accused of rape in court

A boy thought to be the youngest person in Britain to be accused of
rape appeared yesterday at Bromley youth court, south-east London.
The youth, now 14, from West Wickham, south London, is alleged to
have attacked a girl when he was 10-years-old. He will next appear
in court on March 21.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 15 March 2005 page 6

Care home children criticise inspections

Inspection visits to children’s homes and boarding schools do
not lead to any improvements, according to most young residents. A
report on young resident’s views by Roger Morgan, who is
based within the Social Care Institute for Inspection, found that
most children said nothing had changed after inspections and
demanded more unannounced inspections.

Source: – The Guardian Tuesday 15 March 2005 page 10

Scottish news

Information on sex offenders to be shared

Law enforcement, welfare and prosecution bodies in Scotland have
signed an agreement to improve information-sharing on sex
offenders.

The new “national concordat” aims to better judge the risk
offenders pose to communities.

Source:- The Scotsman Tuesday 15 March

Welsh newspapers

Third of workers fear dismissal if struck with disability

One in three workers in Wales think that they could be dismissed if
they become disabled, according to new research from the Disability
Rights Commission.

The survey found that 34 per cent of non-disabled workers in Wales
did not think that their employers would make adjustments for them
to stay in work if they became disabled.

Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 15 March

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