Thursday 10 November 2005

By Simeon Brody, Derren Hayes and Amy Taylor

Town hall savings
Town halls in England could save £140 million a year if they collected council tax and paid benefits more efficiently, according to the Audit Commission, which says London authorities could save £70 million by moving their administrative staff outside the capital.
Source: The Times Thursday 10 November 2005 page 2

Nursery teachers fear curriculum will kill creativity
A leading provider of nursery care, the Westminster Children’s Society, condemned the proposed national curriculum for babies and toddlers as “death by worksheet”.
Source: The Times Thursday 10 November 2005 page 23

Toddlers face noise nuisance ban
Children at a Hampshire nursery have been forced indoors after neighbours complained that they were too noisy.
They have been told to limit their time in the garden to two half-hour periods a day and soundproof a Wendy House.
Source: The Times Thursday 10 November 2005 page 23

Private schools found “guilty” over fee cartel
Fifty independent boarding schools were found “provisionally” guilty of belonging to a fee-fixing cartel by the Office of Fair Trading.
Source: The Daily Telegraph Thursday 10 November 2005 page 1

More power for nurses
Specially trained nurses will be given wider powers to prescribe medicines for more types of conditions without the involvement of doctors, the health secretary will announce today.
Source: The Daily Telegraph Thursday 10 November 2005 page 14

Bullied boy not guilty of murder
A bulled teenager who beat his friend to death with a pool cue was found not guilty of murder at Truro Crown Court.
Tommy Kimpton, 19, admitted the manslaughter of Ben Williams, 17, at Kimpton’s house in Penryn, Cornwall.
Source: The Independent Thursday 10 November 2005 page 10

Budget cuts leave new nurses without NHS jobs
Newly qualified nurses are being forced to take bar and supermarket jobs because health trusts are too debt-ridden to pay them, according to the Royal College of Nursing.
Source: The Independent Thursday 10 November 2005 page 13

For the under-16 drug dealers and thieves, a licence to carry on
Children under 16 should rarely be prosecuted, the government-backed Commission on Families study said yesterday.
Children under 12 should never be held responsible for their crimes, the inquiry added.
Source: Daily Mail Thursday 10 November 2005 page 4

Scottish news

Missed targets as youth crime rise 5% despite pledge
Persistent youth offending has increased by 5% in the past year despite ministerial pledges to reduce it by 10% before 2006.
The annual report of the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), published yesterday, revealed there were 1,260 young people who offended five times or more in six months, compared with a target of 1081.
These teenagers were responsible for 30% of the offence-based referrals.
It follows a Scottish Executive pilot scheme to “fast-track” young offenders, which was dropped after initial assessments indicated it had not reduced re-offending rates.
Source:- The Herald Thursday 10 November

Highland care homes to be sold off
Seven care homes for the elderly in the Highlands are to be sold off because the local authority cannot afford to refurbish them.
Highland Council’s housing and social work committee agreed yesterday to seek bids from the private sector for the homes, which have a total of 160 residents.
Successful bidders for the homes will be chosen in June next year and contracts to run the homes awarded in August.
Source:- The Scotsman Thursday 10 November

Council faces overspend of £1.1m to fund special needs
Angus Council is facing a £1.1 million overspend because of the spiralling cost of providing residential school placements for children with special needs.
Council officials are warning that the rising costs of caring for young people with behavioural problems and disabilities are no longer sustainable.
A report reveals that, despite council action to stabilise the number of young people requiring residential school placements, the cost of the service has more than doubled in six years.
Source:- The Scotsman  Thursday 10 November

Welsh news

Paedophile sentenced for contempt
A paedophile who fled to Germany before he could be jailed for raping a nine-year-old girl was sent to prison for contempt of court yesterday.
Benjamin Griffths, 63, formerly of Aberystwyth, was given an extra nine months on the 10 year sentence for rape and indecent assault he received at Chester Crown Court last December.
Source:- Western Mail Thursday 10 November

DRC takes aim at bullying
Disabled pupils are still being bullied at school due to their conditions, the Disability Rights Commission Wales said this week.
The DRC has launched a resource pack on citizenship and disability aimed at secondary school pupils to combat the problem.
The pack contains a series of lessons and videos to help teachers to get children to discuss disability as a part of their personal and social education lessons.
Source:- Western Mail Thursday 10 November

Welsh pupils taking extra time away from school
Welsh secondary school pupils are missing an average of three weeks school a year through authorised or unauthorised absence in 2004-05, according to the latest Welsh Assembly figures. Girls had a higher rate of absenteeism overall than boys but boys had a higher rate of unauthorised absenteeism.
Source:- Western Mail Thursday 10 November