TUESDAY 25 APRIL 2006

Families face hardship again as tax credit is clawed back
Hundreds of thousands of families were plunged into penury after “gigantic” overpayments uncovered in the first year of Gordon Brown’s tax credit scheme were repeated in the second, according to a report from the public accounts committee.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 14

Paedophiles who disappear may be pictured online
Picture of convicted paedophiles who disappear while under supervision could be placed on the internet to warn children and parents that they have absconded, according to a proposal by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Team, a new unit inaugurated yesterday to tackle child abuse.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 9

Police target customers of trafficked prostitutes
Men who knowingly have sex with trafficked prostitutes will be prosecuted for rape as part of a police crackdown. A drive to cut the demand for trafficked prostitutes will target punters by urging them to report any contacts with trafficked women.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 5

Coach abused pupils for 50 years
Roy Clarke, 79, a swimming teacher who prowled leisure centres and pools in search of children as young as five was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Leicester crown court.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 9

Flagship academies are risky venture, donors warned
The government’s controversial academy programme is a risky investment for potential donors with little evidence that the independent state schools improve educational standards, according to a study by New Philanthropy Capital.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 11

Hewitt heckled and jeered by health workers
Patricia Hewitt was heckled, booed and jeered yesterday by health workers at the Unison conference angered by job cuts.
Source:- The Independent, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 6

Nurses ready to consider withdrawal of unpaid overtime
The government risks losing the support of nurses across the UK, the head of the Royal College of Nursing said yesterday.  Beverly Malone warned ministers they must stop treating nurses “like overheads to be cut and start treating us like valued professionals.”
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 4

Blair signals further NHS job losses
Further job losses and ward closures might be the inevitable price of reforms that would ultimately transform the health care system, Tony Blair suggested yesterday, admitting the NHS faced a “very challenging” 12 months.
Source:- Financial Times, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 4

Drugs sting caught psychiatrist
A British child psychiatrist who organised a crack-cocaine fuelled sex session with a prostitute and her female friend was arrested when the “friend” turned out to be an undercover police officer, the General Medical Council was told yesterday. Philip Barker, 76, told the GMC hearing his behaviour was “unprofessional.” The hearing continues.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 25 April 2006, page 23

Scottish news

Outcry over lack of cash in 10-year plan for carers
The blueprint for how the government will support unpaid carers over the next 10 years has been unveiled.
But charities and support groups say they are disappointed the Scottish executive has not yet put any money behind its vision for supporting the country’s 660,000 unpaid carers and have shunned calls for giving carers a statutory minimum entitlement to respite breaks.
nstead, the executive set out four priority areas for action: a task group on helping Scotland’s 115,000 young carers, a task group on respite breaks, work to improve the health of carers themselves, and to train carers.
Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 25 April 2006

Charities change opens door to top schools for poor children
More children from deprived backgrounds could win places at some of Scotland’s most prestigious private schools as a result of a shake-up in charities law.
Jane Ryder, chief executive of the new Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, said independent schools will need to prove they are providing sufficient numbers of scholarships and bursaries in order to retain their charitable status.
Ryder said this could lead to an increase in the number of places being provided to poorer children as schools seek to retain their charitable status and its financial benefits.
Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 25 April 2006

Missing paedophiles face net warning
Scottish paedophiles who abscond from supervision in the community face having their faces posted on the internet to warn children and parents.
A new government organisation – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre plans to press ahead with the controversial tactic.
Launched yesterday with an annual £5 million budget, the unit brings police and experts from the private and voluntary sectors under the same roof for the first time.
Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 25 April 2006

Welsh news

Truth behind Labour’s broken home care pledge
The reasons behind the assembly government’s decision to scrap its pledge to provide free home care for disabled people have been revealed by a series of internal documents released to the Western Mail. Now it has emerged the decision followed an unexpectedly high increase in the amount of money collected from disabled people by councils after the introduction of a new UK Department of Health charging initiative.
The higher revenue enjoyed by councils meant the assembly government would have had to spend more to introduce a free home care scheme.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday April 25 2006