WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2006

Muslim leaders fear children are abused at madrassas
Thousands of Muslim schoolchildren are being abused by their religious teachers every year, according to a report into the Islamic education system. Today the Muslim parliament of Great Britain will urge the government to establish a national registration scheme for madrasssas.
Source:- The Independent, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 9

Couple ‘unfairly convicted’ after boy killed by salt
A couple jailed for five years for the salt poisoning of Christian Blewitt, who they planned to adopt, were unfairly convicted because the jury did not consider the possibility he died from natural causes, the Court of Appeal.
Source:- The Independent, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 8

Charity chiefs ‘are strangers to hardship’
They work with some of the most wretched and vulnerable people from the most diverse and disadvantaged background. Yet the chief executives of the biggest charities in Britain know little of such hardship and come largely from privileged homes, research suggests.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 28

Self-harm studied
Patients who are intent on cutting themselves are being allowed to do so in hospital as part of a groundbreaking study on the treatment of self-harm. The scheme is being piloted at St George’s psychiatric hospital in Stafford.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 28

Parents who let sons burn to death are jailed
Lindsay Miller, 33, was sentenced to two years and her husband Scott, 29, to 12 months for child cruelty. Their sons were burnt to death after the couple locked them in their bedroom, Northampton crown court heard.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 33

Media ‘influence’ adolescent sex
Children and teenagers who are exposed to sex through the media are more likely to engage in sexual activity that those who are not, according to new research.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 8

Mayor’s ex-aide accused of theft
Ken Livingstone’s former regeneration adviser stole thousands of pounds meant for children in one of Britain’s poorest areas, a court heard yesterday. Kumar Murshid, 50, a Labour councillor for the London borough of Tower Hamlets, wrote cheques to himself, a jury at Southwark crown court was told. Mr Murshid denies the charges.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 12

Left to die
The death of Joan Irish, after contract carers failed to visit her, raises big questions about how we can enable vulnerable people to remain in their own homes.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 1

Baring boost for voluntary sector
The Baring Foundation, a grant-making trust, has launched what it claims is the first grant programme with the specific purpose of strengthening the independence of the voluntary sector.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 2

Forward thinking
Years of media scorn, financial cuts and suffocation bureaucracy have left social workers demoralised and degraded, says this radical new manifesto. It is time, it argues, to reclaim the profession’s essential values.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 3

Mary Ann gang ‘not considered high risk’
The gang members who tortured and killed Mary Ann Leneghan while on probation were not considered high risk, the chief executive of the Probation Boards Association said yesterday.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 2

Boozy Britain warning
Leading liver expert Professor Ian Gilmore says the around the clock availablility of cheap alcohol could cause a health crisis. “I remain concerned that the likelihood is that consumption will continue to increase,” he said.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 6

Jobs boost plan for refugees
An initiative to help refugees to gain employment will be announced today by Margaret Hodge, the employment minister.
Hodge is expected to unveil a scheme that would give Jobcentres extra performance points for meeting targets for putting refugees in jobs.
Source:- The Financial Times, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 4

Health and efficiency
Social business may be policy flavour of the month, but the hype is more than justified, says one of Britain’s leading social entrepreneurs, because of its fresh approach to public service provision
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 5

Home truths
With the number of single person households on the increase, the question is not just how many more homes should be built but what kind?
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 6

Thanks for the memoirs
An archive of the disability rights struggle aims to highlight past successes while serving as a reminder of what is still to be done
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 7

Skills for life
Children with complex behaviour such as autism are learning techniques to help them cope with everyday social situations.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 22 March 2006, page 7

Scottish news

No social care news today

Welsh news

‘Internet twins’ mum could gain visiting rights
An American mother could get visitation rights to her twin daughters she was once accused of selling online to a Welsh couple a court heard yesterday.
Tranda Conley’s daughters are now living with foster parents in Missouri.
Conley was told that she may get visitation rights at St Louis circuit court but only after a therapist tells the twins about their mother’s existence.
Conley hit the headlines in 2003 when the British media reported that she had sold her twins to Alan and Judith Kilshaw, a couple from Wales. She always denied taking the money for the girls and the Missouri supreme court found that there was nothing to support the stories in 2004.
Source:- icWales, Wednesday 22 March 2006