Tuesday 13 September 2005

By Simeon Brody, Maria Ahmed, Clare Jerrom and Amy
Taylor

Welcome to poverty Britain

Problem kids to care for, bare floors, cast-off cooker, begged-for
bunks and mum’s on Prozac

Source:- The Daily Mirror Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
28-29

Doubts over the value of £3bn Sure Start

The first major evaluation of the government’s flagship
£3 billion Sure Start programme for deprived pre-school
children and their families has revealed no overall improvement in
the areas targeted by the initiative.

An independent study to be published next month by the Birkbeck
College, London, revealed that Sure Start as a whole failed to
boost youngsters’ development, language and behaviour.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
1

Two teenage boys found dead in wood

Detectives were investigating a suspected double murder yesterday
after the bodies of two teenagers were found in a wooded lane in
Wokingham, Surrey, where witnesses said they had been
playing.

A tip-off to Thames Valley police led to the discovery of the boys,
aged 14 and 16, but no details about how they died have been
disclosed.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
1

Trial over deaths of cockle pickers adjourned

The trial of five people over the drowning of 21 Chinese cockle
pickers in Morecambe Bay on February 5 last year was adjourned
yesterday until Thursday for legal reasons.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
6

Broadcast ban on Make Poverty History ad
campaign

Make Poverty History, the wide-ranging charity coalition that
signed up a host of celebrities to star in a high-profile campaign
before the G8 summit in Gleneagles, has been banned from
advertising on television and radio.

Media regulator Ofcom ruled the ads constituted a political message
and therefore fell foul of the 2003 Communications Act.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
8

Give councils back their power, urges Rifkind

The Conservatives should champion the return of power to councils
and scrap Labour’s plans for regional government, Sir Malcolm
Rifkind, a candidate for the Tory leadership said yesterday.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 13 September 2005
page 6

Camilla heads five more charities

The Duchess of Cornwall has become the new patron of the London
Chamber Orchestra, the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists,
Youth Action Wiltshire, the Cornwall Community Foundation and the
Animal Care Trust.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 13 September 2005
page 6

Fewer people sleep rough

The number of people sleeping rough in England has fallen to a
record low, the government has reported.

Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, said that the figures for
rough sleeping reflect a 75 per cent decrease since 1998, from
1,850 to 459, thanks to effective local authorities and volunteer
agencies.

Source:- The Times Tuesday 13 September 2005 page 2

Blunkett rules out “wholesale” privatisation of
Jobcentre network

There are no plans for “wholesale” privatisation of the
Jobcentre Plus network, according to David Blunkett.

But the government is still thought likely to contract out
face-to-face advisory work as part of moves to reduce the numbers
on incapacity benefits.

Source:- Financial Times Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
4

Schools still failing the poor says Blair

Children from all but the wealthiest families are being failed by
state education in many areas, Tony Blair admitted.

While better off parents had “choice and power over the
system” and could pay for good education if their local
school was failing, those on lower incomes could do nothing but
“take what they are given”.

Source:- Daily Mail Tuesday 13 September 2005 page 6

Strike threat over pension reforms

Unions are threatening strike action over the government’s
plans to rein in public sector pensions.

Schools, hospitals and town halls could all be hit after Whitehall
insiders insisted the prime minister was determined to push ahead
with reforms designed to raise the retirement age of millions of
public sector workers.

Source:- Daily Mail Tuesday 13 September 2005 page
19

Workshy will risk £25 cut in benefits

More than 1.8million incapacity benefit claimants who could get a
job are to have their payments slashed.

Under new proposals those who should be working will be paid
£90 a week if they accept training but £55 a week if they
don’t.

Source:- Daily Mail Tuesday 13 September 2005 page 19

Scottish news

Heroin must be legalised, says former judge

Heroin should be legalised according to former Hugh Court judge
Lord McCluskey.

He branded the current drugs policy a “massive failure”
and said if addicts were given heroin in a medically controlled
setting there would be no criminal market.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 13 September 2005

Life for sex attacker who left threats on computer

A sex offender who left a message on his computer threatening to
rape and murder was jailed yesterday at the High Court in
Edinburgh.

David Wolstencroft was on 24-hour supervision in the community
under a probation order imposed following an indecent attack on a
female psychologist when he wrote the message.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 13 September 2005

30 pupils caught in one day in truancy sweep

Thirty children were caught playing truant from school in one day
during a new truancy crackdown, it emerged yesterday.

The pupils were picked up by Strathclyde police in Glasgow on
Friday and returned to their schools.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 13 September 2005

Mum who shook baby walks free from court

A mother convicted of shaking a crying baby has walked
free from court.

Liane Gordon was admonished a year after admitting culpable and
reckless conduct resulting in severe injury to a child.

Source:- Evening News  Monday 12 September 2005

Welsh news

No complacency as schools take on truants

Swansea Council’s measures to stop pupils truanting have paid
off and been praised by councillors.

Cabinet member for education Mike Day dismissed claims that
truanting was getting worse arguing that figures showed 99 per cent
of primary school children in Swansea were either in school every
day or had valid reasons for not attending.

Source:- thisissouthwales Tuesday 13 September