Pupils ‘should be shown how to revive classmates who overdose on drugs’

Pupils ‘should be shown how to revive classmates who overdose on drugs’
Teenagers should be taught at school how to resuscitate friends who have overdosed on drugs, according to government guidance.
Source:- Daily Mail, Saturday 13 May 2006, pages 6-7

Gap between rich and poor cut as Gordon’s tax grab hurts earners
The gap between the rich and poor has shrunk to its narrowest for two decades as hard-working families pay record tax bills, official figures revealed yesterday.
Source:- Daily Mail, Saturday 13 May 2006, page 11 

“Like the mother of any handicapped child, I worry about my daughter’s future – but at least she has a future. Those who want embryo screening would change all that…”
Essay by mother of disabled child
Source:- Daily Mail, Saturday 13 May 2006, pages 14-15 

Judge praises ‘clip round the ear’
A policeman who gave two teenage yobs a clip round the ear has had his assault convictions overturned after a judge decided he had acted “in the best interests of the police.” Pc Sean Mullaney, 38, of Hindley, near Wigan, tackled the boys after they repeatedly kicked a football against his hedge.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 13 May 2006, page 1 

Peers split as assisted dying bill is delayed
Proposals to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives were derailed last night by the House of Lords. Peers voted by 148 votes to 100 to delay the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill bill for six months, wrecking any chance of it becoming law in the current parliamentary session.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 13 May 2006, page 10 

Antidepressant linked to suicide risk in adults
Britain’s bestselling antidepressant, Seroxat, can cause adults as well as children to become suicidal, according to the manufacturer GlaxosmithKline. The revelation came as the government launched a programme to promote talking therapies.
Source:- The Guardian, Saturday 13 May 2006, page 5 

Mental health crisis hits UK troops
Thousands of British troops have experienced serious mental health problems following service in Iraq, according to a government study. Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder among service personnel in Iraq has increased dramatically since the war was declared.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 14 May 2006, page 8 

Revealed: the horror of the 5,000 children under 16 raped every year
Nearly 5,000 children under 16 raped each year yet only 7 per cent of attackers are convicted, according to Home Office figures.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 14 May 2006, page 13

Deaf school pupils sue over abuse
Deaf children who were sexually abused at a specialist school by the head teacher’s husband are suing the Department for Education and Skills after winning a landmark appeal for legal aid.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 14 May 2006, page 13

Church of England damns Labour on asylum and poverty
The Church of England is to accuse the government of forcing asylum seekers into destitution and setting the minimum wage too low to relieve poverty.
Source:- The Sunday Times, Sunday 14 May 2006, page 2

Offenders on probation carry out 10,000 crimes a month
Ten thousand crimes are being committed every month by offenders still under the supervision of the Probation Service. The crimes include theft, assault, rape and murder.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday 14 May 2006, page 1

Mummy state
Pregnant women are to be advised to give birth at home as part of a revolution in childbirth policy that will reverse decades of medical convention. Doctors will be told to offer all pregnant women the chance to deliver their baby at home with the help of a midwife and their own choice of pain relief.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday, Sunday 14 May 2006, page 1

Prisoner is found hanged
Mark Farrar, 30, was discovered hanged in his cell at HMP Lincoln last week.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Monday 15 May 2006, page 20

Children to be taught ‘traditional values’
Schoolchildren should be taught “traditional British values” as part of an attempt to challenge extremism and promote a more cohesive society, the higher education minister, Bill Rammell, will say today.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 15 May 2006, page 1

Blair’s new bid to ‘rescue’ public services
Tony Blair will today attempt to re-establish control over the domestic political agenda by calling for an overhaul of the criminal justice system, which he believes is in worse shape that any other public service.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 15 May 2006, page 1

Health services failing depressed mothers
New mothers are being failed by mental health services, according to research which claims that doctors lack knowledge of how to treat postnatal depression, and woman are made to wait months to receive basic services.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 15 May 2006, page 10

Muslim deprivation
Muslims are more likely than other religious minorities to be unemployed and live in poor housing, government-backed research has found.
Source:- The Times, Monday 15 May 2006, page 2

Worried paedophiles make most calls to child abuse line
A campaign aimed at preventing child sexual abuse has found that nearly half of all calls to its telephone helpline are from adults seeking help for their own behaviour. The helpline Stop It Now! found that 45 per cent of calls over the past three years were from abusers or potential abusers concerned about their sexual feelings or behaviour towards children.
Source:- The Times, Monday 15 May 2006, page 16

Half of ChildLine calls report rape
More than half of all calls made to ChildLine alleging sexual abuse were claims about being raped, a survey revealed. Nearly 4,500 calls were made by children saying they had been raped – mostly by someone they knew.
Source:- The Independent, Monday 15 May 2006, page 14

Scottish digest 

Charity to focus on long-term illness
Ministers are to unveil the first charity set up to deal with the two million people in Scotland with long-term medical problems. Called the Long-Term Conditions Alliance Scotland, the charity has grown from a blueprint for the future of the Scottish health service which was produced by Professor David Kerr and a panel of experts almost a year ago.
Source: The Herald, Monday 15 May 2006

£63m for huge new housing project in most deprived area
One of Scotland’s most deprived areas is to be transformed under a multi-million pound regeneration drive set to usher in swathes of new housing. Dumfries and Stranraer will be the focus of the £63m initiative to build more than 600 homes by 2011.
Source: The Herald, Monday 15 May 2006

Halfway home plans spark mass protest
A village has launched a mass protest against plans to build a home for three troubled teenagers. Residents in Torrance, East Dunbartonshire, want to stop embryonic plans to build a halfway house for young men from the Church of Scotland Ballikinrain residential school which houses boys aged between eight and 14 but has nowhere to put older children.
Source: The Herald, Monday 15 May 2006

12-year-old mum fears baby will be taken away
The schoolgirl who became pregnant at just 11 fears the child will be taken into care after its birth. The West Lothian girl, now 12, is due to give birth next month. She said she was set for a meeting with social work staff this month to discuss the child’s future.
Source: The Scotsman, Saturday 13 May 2006