Monday 21 November 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Simeon Brody, Josephine Hocking and Amy Taylor

Benefits system ‘too complex’
The benefits system is too complicated and is vulnerable to high levels of fraud and error costing the Treasury £2.6 billion a year, a National Audit Office report has said.
Source:- The Times Saturday 19 November 2005 page 30

Catholic school faces series of lawsuits over sexual abuse
Ampleforth College, the country’s most celebrated Roman Catholic public school, is facing a series of lawsuits after it emerged that dozens of boys were sexually abused there over a 30-year period.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 19 November 2005 page 8

Prince and football clubs offer aid to young jobless
The Prince of Wales joined forced with Chelsea football club yesterday in a £2 million scheme to help disadvantaged young people get jobs.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 19 November 2005 page 10

Finding au pair on the net ‘puts children at risk’
Parents are putting themselves and their children at risk by recruiting au pairs from unregulated internet sites so they can save on agency fees, recruitment agencies have warned.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 19 November 2005, page 11

Paedophile suspect slips school net
A suspected paedophile indecently assaulted an 11-year-old girl while working in a school as part of a community sentence.
Yesterday an inquiry started into how 23-year-old Ian Missing slipped through vetting procedures.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 19 November 2005, page 13

‘Inappropriate’ Asbos risk harming children for life, says top adviser
Anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) could prove “catastrophic” to children’s prospects if they are not properly applied, the government’s new children’s commissioner has warned.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 19 November 2005 page 18

Flirts ‘have themselves to blame for rape’
A third of people in Britain believe that a woman is partially or completely to blame for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner, says research published today by Amnesty International.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 19 November 2005 page 10

Why nurseries can help cut the stress in children’s lives
Mothers who find more satisfaction in their jobs than staying at home looking after toddlers should not feel guilty about leaving their children in a nursery, research published today says.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 19 November 2005 page 11

Late licenses to fuel £500m alcohol binge
Late-night drinking laws will fuel an estimated £500 million increase in sales of beer, wine and spirits, according to a report by Goldman Sachs, undermining attempts to end Britain’s binge culture.
Source:- The Sunday Times Sunday 20 November 2005 page 1

Twitches that indicate alcohol may hurt babies
New research suggests even moderate alcohol consumption by pregnant mothers makes a baby three and a half times more likely to suffer from abnormal spasms in the womb.
The findings, by Belfast University, appear to back the view that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
Source:- The Sunday Times Sunday 20 November 2005 page 4

Wealthy fathers face credit probes by CSA
The Child Support Agency will win new powers to trawl through tax records and snoop on finances under plans to turn around the agency.
Wealthy men who deliberately conceal their income will be targeted.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 20 November 2005 page 2

Britain faces nursing exodus
Nurses who came from overseas several years ago to help out the NHS are now being lured to other countries where wages are much higher.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 20 November 2005 page 7

Therapy for those seeking sick notes
People seeking sickness benefits will be sent for therapy under plans to tackle the stress and mental burnout fuelling Britain’s sick-note culture. Welfare minister Margaret Hodge wants to use cognitive behaviour therapy to encourage people to return to work but people judged capable of working could have their benefits docked unless they take steps towards employment.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 20 November 2005 page 11

Two out of three teenage girls admit to bullying
Two out of three girls admit abusing others and more than 90 per cent say they have been bullied themselves, according to a survey by NSPCC and Sugar magazine.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 20 November 2005 page 17

Teachers will not be suspended for alleged abuse
Teachers accused of abusing pupils will be spared from automatic suspension while the police carry out four-week fast track investigations, according to government guidance to be published tomorrow.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph Sunday 20 November 2005 page 15

Teachers to get legal right to crack down on classroom bullies
Teachers are to get the legal right to discipline unruly students, including ordering them to attend detention. An anti-bullying charter, which will include new measures to force parents to take action to improve their children’s behaviour, will be unveiled by ministers this week.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday Sunday 20 November 2005 page 2

Youth rights plea
The government is breaching the human rights of children and must begin a review of child law and policy, according to a report by the Children’s Rights Alliance.
Source:- The Times Monday 21 November 2005 page 14

‘Choose your own carer’ scheme
Older and disabled people are to be given direct control of their own care budgets in 13 pilot areas, care services minister Liam Byrne has announced.
Source:- The Times Monday 21 November 2005 page 14

Baby’s body found in remote pub
A man has been arrested over the discovery of a newborn girl found dead in a country pub. Staff at the Woolpack Inn, near Eskdale in Cumbria, discovered the baby, who police say had been hidden on the premises.
Source:- The Times Monday 21 November 2005 page 14

Parents of school bullies could be fined £1,000 says minister
Parents whose children attack or threaten classmates could face fines of up to £1,000, Jacqui Smith, the schools minister said yesterday.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Monday 6 November 2005 page 11

Gary Glitter arrested in Vietnam
Former pop star Gary Glitter was questioned by police yesterday about his alleged relationship with two 14-year-old girls.
He could face a five-year prison sentence if found guilty of “obscene” acts with a child. In 1999 he went to prison for possessing child porn.
Source:- Daily Mirror Monday 21 November 2005 page 10

More prisoners released with electronic tags re-offend
Numbers of crimes committed by prisoners released early wearing electronic tags are rising, figures show.
Last year one in 16 reoffended. But reoffending rates among tagged criminals are still much lower than for the general prison population.
Source:- Daily Mail Monday 21 November 2005 page 20

New benefits for vulnerable people
Elderly and disabled people will be offered allowances to pay for help at home under a new government scheme, health minister Liam Byrne has announced.
He will today name 13 pilot areas. The scheme is an extension of direct payments, and will cover health as well as social care.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 21 November page 6

Charities attack government on children’s rights
The government is not protecting vulnerable children, including young offenders and asylum seekers, says the Children’s Rights Alliance for England. The coalition of charities says the government is defying the UN treaty on children’s rights and condemns restraint techniques used on children in custody.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 21 November page 11

Welsh news

Search for missing pensioner
Police officers have asked people to search sheds and garages for a missing pensioner. Dyfed-Powys Police are trying to find 61-year-old Glenys Dorothy Williams from Pennar, Pembrokshire who was last seen on Tuesday.
Williams was known to be depressed.
Source:- Western Mail Saturday 19 November

Gang steal mobile from man’s wheelchair
A mum has spoken out against a gang who stole her disabled son’s phone.
Sandra O’Sullivan said that she was furious after the group of six youths attacked her son Kevin, 31, who suffers from cerebral palsy, outside Blockbuster video shop in Ely, Cardiff.
She added that the gang had taken the phone from the tray of Kevin’s wheelchair and that she had only brought it for him two weeks ago as an early Christmas present.
Source:- South Wales Echo Saturday 19 November