THURSDAY 2 MARCH 2006

Jailed for hiring people barred from working with children
Employers will face jail terms of up to five years for hiring people barred from working with children or vulnerable adults, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill.There will also be £5,000 fines for hiring people who have not been properly vetted.
Source:- Daily Mail, Thursday 2 March 2006 page 24

Sex offender risk to children
The education authority which unwittingly employed Ian Huntley, the Soham killer, has said it fears staff who pose a danger to children are still free to work in schools. Cambridgeshire Council said it had asked the government to ban nine people from working with children in recent years, but officials had imposed a ban on only three.
Source-: The Times, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 2

Kelly told to ban three offenders
The government has been advised to bar three sex offenders from teaching, after previously clearing them to work.
This follows a review of 13 cases of offenders cleared to teach, conducted by Sir Roger Singleton, former chief executive of Barnardo’s.
Education secretary Ruth Kelly said she would act on the advice.
Source:- Daily Mail, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 24

Black pupils make big advances
Black pupils’ exam results have improved at a faster rate than any other group in the past two years. Figures published yesterday showed that black Caribbean pupils posted a six percentage point rise in the numbers getting at least five A* to C grade GCSE passes.
Source:- The Independent, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 19

Council tax rise of 4.5% predicted
Council tax is predicted to rise by 4.4 per cent in 2006-7, well above inflation but the second lowest increase in the past decade, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
Source:- Financial Times, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 4

Psychiatric shortfall puts children at severe risk
Children with mental health problems are being put at severe risk by long waiting lists to see a psychiatrist and the closures of specialist units to treat them, doctors have warned. A survey of GPs by the medical magazine Pulse found that an average wait for a child psychiatrist was 188 days.
Source:- The Independent, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 4

Tories told to adopt positive attitude on public services
The Conservative Party has been urged by Stephen Dorrell which is co-chairing a review of Tory policies on public services, to stop regarding them as a burden that must be paid for and instead to hail them as a force for good.
Source:- The Independent, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 17

Benefit fraud drops
Prosecutions for benefit fraud have fallen steadily over the past five years, figures showed yesterday.
Source-: The Times, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 2

Council to challenge ruling on Meadow
The General Medical Council is to seek permission to appeal against a High Court ruling over the case of Professor Sir Roy Meadow.
Source-: The Times, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 9

TV films on Moors trial anniversary prolong agony
A relative of a Moors murder victim has expressed outrage after Channel 4 and ITV announced all-star dramas based on the lives of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Winnie Johnston, whose son Keith Bennett was murdered in 1964 at the age of 12, described the idea of the production as “disgusting.” Her son’s body has never been found.
Source-: The Times, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 31

Freed: boy who shot his cousin after video game
A boy who shot his cousin after playing a notoriously violent video game was spared custody yesterday by a magistrate who complained his sentencing powers were “totally hamstrung”.
Although the boy, who was 13 at the time of the incident, deserved a “lengthy detention and training order” the magistrate said the court was powerless to give him one.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 13

Don’t be dopey
Claims that cannabis use leads to harder drugs were yesterday dismissed as nonsense by a report to the Commons science committee.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Thursday 2 March 2006, page 15

Scottish news

Care fees refunds cost councils
Millions of pounds may be spent by Scottish councils on refunding elderly people illegally charged for personal care. Dumfries and Galloway Council is deciding whether to pay back about £500,000 to people it billed for food preparation that should have been free.
The Community Care (Scotland) Act introduced in 2002 said elderly people should not pay for the service, but Scottish executive guidance mistakenly said they should.
Source:- The Scotsman, Thursday 2 March 2006

Welsh news

Outbreak fear after MMR scare
Public health experts have warned that outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella in Wales are inevitable due to the low levels of children being given the MMR vaccine.
Despite an upturn in take up of the vaccine experts said that this is still not enough to prevent outbreaks of the diseases.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 2 March 2006