FRIDAY 7 APRIL 2006

Ministers back down over plan to report underage sex
New government guidance states that a healthworker dealing with a sexually active child under 13 must contact a child protection specialist who will decide whether to contact the police. In the case of a sexually active child over 13, the healthworker can decide on a case by case basis whether to contact a child protection specialist.
Children’s minister Beverley Hughes said the new guidance “strikes the right balance between respecting confidentiality and empowering professionals to act where there is a significant risk of harm.”
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 7 April 2006, page 8

Court rules mother must give children to lesbian ex-partner
Two young sisters must be taken away from their biological mother and handed over to her former lesbian partner, the court of appeal ordered yesterday. The decision shows that family courts have moved significantly in their treatment of same-sex couples with children.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 7 April 2006, page 7

Antidepression drugs may raise risk of stillborn baby
Women who take Prozac or other similar antidepressants may increase the likelihood that their baby will be stillborn, premature or of low birthweight, according to a new US study.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 7 April 2006, page 11
 
Judge: schoolboy racism trial mad
A judge criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecuting a 10-year-old boy over alleged racist remarks in the playground. He said the decision to prosecute the child was “political correctness gone mad”.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 7 April 2006, page 21

Teachers want end to faith schools
Teachers’ leaders are to demand the abolition of the country’s 7,000 state funded faith schools, warning that their growth is leading to “segregated schooling”. The National Union of Teachers conference will hear they are fostering religious divisions and creating a fertile ground for ethnic division and even terrorism.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 7 April 2006, page 25

Secret NHS plan to ration patient care
Patients are being denied appointments with consultants in a systematic attempt to ration care and save the NHS money. Leaked documents show a series of barriers are being erected limiting GPs’ rights to refer people to consultants.
Source:- The Times, Friday 7 April 2006, page 1

Migrant housing
Jobless immigrants who come to Britain from the European Union are entitled to claim free council housing, the Court of Appeal ruled. The government is likely to seek to reverse the effect of the ruling.
Source:- The Times, Friday 7 April 2006, page 2

Girl, 12, in scar rap
A schoolgirl aged 12 appeared in court yesterday accused of attacking a classmate at a Sheffield school and leaving her needing 30 stitches in the face.
Source:- The Sun, Friday 7 April 2006, page 6

The morning-after pill over the counter at 12
Primary care trusts will be able to allow girls under 16 to receive the morning-after pill over the counter in chemists under new a new contract with pharmacists.
Source:- Daily Mail, Friday 7 April 2006, page 20

Diabetes danger of second-hand smoke
Second-hand smoke could increase the risk of developing diabetes, a US study in the British Medical Journal has claimed.
Source:- Daily Mail, Friday 7 April 2006, page 31

Granny groomers
Older people are at increasing risk of being cheated by people who groom them over long periods of time, portraying themselves as friends.
Source:- Daily Mail, Friday 7 April 2006, page 36

Scottish news

Dead girl: heroin fear
A 15-year-old schoolgirl has died of a suspected heroin overdose. Grampian Police said they were called to a house in Torry, Aberdeen.
The death follows the case of the 11-year-old girl earlier this year who admitted having been taking heroin for two months and collapsed at school in the Pollok area of Glasgow.
At that time Gaille McCann, a Glasgow city councillor, said that it was not an isolated incident.
Source:- The Herald, Friday 7 April 2006

Councillor banned from council office
A senior member of Falkirk Council has been banned from a housing and social work office. Bob Spears has been told to stay away from the council’s one stop shop in Grangemouth’s York Square by the head of the service, Janet Birks. It is understood she acted after complaints about his behaviour towards staff.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 7 April 2006

Welsh news

Paedophile now jailed in Ireland
A paedophile extradited from Wales last year, after being caught with a mass of child pornography, has been jailed again in Ireland. Anthony Luckwill, was previously jailed in Swansea in December 2004 for 15 counts of possessing indecent images of children.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday 7 April 2006