Thursday 13 October 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Amy Taylor and Derren Hayes

Ryanair is attacked for ejecting blind passengers
Ryanair, the no-frills airline, is under fire from disability campaigners for ejecting nine blind passengers from a plane just minutes before take-off.
Source:- The Independent Thursday 13 October 2005 page 5

Give community groups right to buy derelict land, says minister
Community groups should be given the right to buy derelict or disused council land to help establish respect in communities, David Miliband, the local government minister said yesterday.
Miliband said that there the use of such land would help to create trust among residents and subsequently improve behaviour.
Source:- The Guardian Thursday 13 October  page 15

Tax credits computer system remains fragile, says Revenue chief
The computer system that deals with the tax credits system remains is still fragile, MPs were told yesterday.
David Varney, chair of Revenue and Customs, told the Commons Treasury sub-committee that his department was still in negotiations with EDS, the supplier of the computer system, over compensation for its poor performance.
Source:- Financial Times Thursday 13 October page 2

More help urged for disabled people
The government needs to support more disabled people to help them get back to work, according to a new report from the National Audit Office.
The public spending watchdog said that government programmes only supported a small number of people that could benefit.
Source:- Financial Times Thursday13 October page 4

Court reviews right-to-life
The case of Charlotte Wyatt, whose parents are fighting to overturn a court order allowing doctors not to ventilate her artificially, is to be reviewed by the High Court today.
Source:- The Independent Thursday 13 October 2005 page 12
School discipline supreme warns Blair against ‘demonising’ pupils
Sir Alan Steer, the head-teacher appointed by Tony Blair to lead an inquiry into school discipline will warn ministers today against “an obsession with being tough”.
Source:- The Independent Thursday 13 October 2005 page 13

Charities launch VAT campaign
Charities are launching a campaign today to persuade Gordon Brown to exempt them from VAT bills worth up to £400 million a year.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 13 October 2005 page 2

Time in jail to be slashed for prisoners
Thousands of prisoners will be released early in an attempt to ease prison overcrowding, under plans approved by Charles Clarke.
Criminals sentenced to four years in prison could be freed after just 18 months. A two year sentence would mean spending only six months in jail.
Source:- The Times Thursday 13 October 2005 page 1

Jail for 80-year-old
Arthur Burgess, 80, was given a 13-week jail sentence and an antisocial behaviour order for assaulting police, harassment and criminal damage,
Magistrates at Ipswich were told that Burgess, of Trimley St Martin, Suffolk, had become embroiled in an argument about a fence and a tree hanging over his garden.
Source:- The Times Thursday 13 October 2005 page 11

Rapist detained
A 19-year-old who raped and killed Marjorie Davis, 93, his great-grandmother, then set fire to her house in Newent, Gloucestershire, in September 2003, will be detained indefinitely in a secure hospital.
Jamie Limbrick had pleaded guilty at Gloucester Crown Court to the charges.
Source:- The Times Thursday 13 October 2005 page 23

Scottish news

Middle class drug users off the radar
Middle-class teenagers who develop serious drug problems are escaping the attention of welfare agencies, who focus instead on children from socially deprived or unstable backgrounds, new research suggests.
Despite frequently using drugs such as as heroin, ecstacy and amphetamines, children as young as 15 are being missed because they are from stable, affluent backgrounds, according to a report by Edinburgh University’s Centre for Law and Society.
It found reports to the children’s hearing system were most likely to be triggered if a child came from a single parent family, a socially deprived background or had been in trouble at school or with police for disruptive behaviour.
Source:- The Herald Thursday 13 October

Anger over Orkney abuse centre delay
Despite recommendations, ministers did not set up a national centre to help combat child abuse after the Orkney case 13 years ago.
Alasdair Morrison, Labour MSP for the Western Isles, said the lack of such a resource was especially damning after last week’s publication of the Social Work Inspection Agency’s investigation into abuse in the Western Isles.
The agency recommended the Scottish executive sets up a central resource, which closely resembles a call made in the report from Lord Clyde’s Inquiry into Orkney, published in 1992.
Source:- The Herald Thursday 13 October

Plan to name ASBO under-16s criticised
A senior education official has hit out at plans to name and shame youngsters who are served with anti-social behaviour orders.
Councillor the Rev Ewan Aitken, education spokesperson for the local authority umbrella group COSLA, said any attempts to replicate such moves in Scotland would “demonise” young people and do nothing to improve the behaviour of those who break the law.
Jack McConnell, the first minister, has given his backing to the naming and shaming of under-16s served with ASBOs after seeing the strategy in action during a recent visit to Manchester.
Source:- The Scotsman Thursday 13 October

Welsh news

Hain calls for WDA to be saved
Welsh secretary Peter Hain called for the Welsh Development Agency brand to be maintained last night arguing that it was known across the world.
It was revealed that the name is going to be dropped as the organisation is merged with the Assembly Government.
The regeneration body is set to be merged with the government’s economic development and transport division.
Source:- Western Mail Thursday 13 October