Hutton to unveil plan to help carers qualify for full pension

Hutton to unveil plan to help carers qualify for full pension
A new carer’s credit o help people who look after elderly and infirm relatives obtain a full state pension will be offered as part of reforms to be announced by the government next week.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 19 May 2006, page 8

Children better behaved today than 20 years ago
The youth of today are actually better behaved than their parents were 20 years ago but when it comes to drugs, drink and sex, girls have overtaken boys for bad behaviour, according to research by Bournemouth University.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 19 May 2006, page 5

Government enlists public service spies
Neighbourhood wardens, community support officers, park keepers, housing officers and other frontline council staff should be given regular access to local police intelligence in an attempt to clamp down on antisocial behaviour.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 19 May 2006, page 1

Britain’s human rights record attacked in EU report
Britain’s human rights record, particularly its failure to fall into line with international commitments to curb human trafficking and protect migrant workers, has been heavily criticised in an EU report.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 19 May 2006, page 6

Boy, 15, stabbed to death outside school
A 15-year-old boy has been stabbed to death outside the gates of the London Academy in Edgware, London, after being involved in an altercation with another boy.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 19 May 2006, page 9

Illegal immigrants employed by Home Office
The Home Office faces embarrassment after five illegal workers were arrested as they arrived to clean the offices of the immigration service.
Source:- The Independent, Friday 19 May 2006, page 19

Why should I pay council tax when my street has been turned into crack alley?
A Derby pensioner is facing jail for protesting against her council’s “refusal” to help residents in her once picturesque street which has been overrun by drug dealers and prostitutes.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 19 May 2006, page 4

Judge halts one-woman campaign of ‘pure hatred’
A retired businesswoman accused of turning a rural community into a “hamlet of horrors” has been given an antisocial behaviour order.
Source:- The Times, Friday 19 May 2006, page 23

Action for million in poverty
Tony Blair has ordered action to turn around the lives of a million people in Britain’s underclass. A government source said: “We want pioneering schemes in communities and voluntary groups to reach out and start turning their lives around.” Social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong minister is drawing up an action plan in summer.
Source:- The Mirror, Friday 19 May 2006, page 7

Future of school heads in doubt
Schools will not need their own headteachers in future as groups of schools could be overseen by a single person or team of deputies, the National College of School Leadership said.
Source:- Financial Times, Friday 19 May 2006, page 4

More rebels ready to challenge schools bill
The government is heading for an increased backbench rebellion on its controversial schools bill, Labour whips have warned the government.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 19 May 2006, page 16

Safe sex setback
Safe sex messages in school rarely work, a study in the British Medical Journal claims.
Source:- The Sun, Friday 19 May 2006, page 17

Scottish news
 
Youth drug problems increase four-fold since 1997
The number of children with drug problems has gone up by 400 per cent over the past 10 years, new figures have revealed.
In 2004-5 418 under-16 year-olds were referred to the Scottish drug misuse database compared with 106 in 1996-97.
Experts said there is a growing problem among children and called for more specialised services. However, the executive claims the figures are due to improved reporting.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 19 May 2006
 
Police ‘ticking off’ young offenders to cut paperwork
Young offenders are being given a “ticking off” by police instead of a criminal record in a bid to ease pressure on Scotland’s over-stretched youth justice system.
A pilot project launched by Tayside police has led to a one-third fall in the number of children who commit crimes being referred to the children’s reporter.
Instead, police are issuing three different forms of warning to youngsters and their parents, depending on the severity of the offence.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 19 May 2006
 
Anger as disabled are forced to pay for parking at hospital
A decision to introduce parking charges for disabled drivers at Dundee’s Ninewells hospital has been condemned.
NHS Tayside is bringing in the charges as part of a controversial review that will result in visitors and staff having to pay to park at Ninewells.
Disabled drivers will have to pay a £1.50 charge for parking for up to four hours, and they could also be subject to excess tariffs.
Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 19 May 2006
 
Special needs kid robbed
A teenager with learning disabilities was robbed at knifepoint as he made his way home from school in Glasgow.
One of the two muggers threatened the school boy with a knife and stole his mobile phone before fleeing.
Police said the boy, who attends a nearby special needs school, was “badly shaken”.
Source:- The Record, Friday 19 May 2006

Welsh news

Most of Wales now poorest area in UK
The majority of Wales has become the poorest region in the UK, new official figures show.
West Wales and the Valleys have dropped below Cornwall for the first time in the latest regional gross domestic product figures which relate to 2003.
The region is also worse off than Slovenia and Cyprus.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday 19 May 2006

Police investigate after baby boy dies
Police launched an investigation yesterday into the death of a baby in Bangor.
The baby was pronounced dead at Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital after being rushed from his home in Llanllyfni, Gwynedd, by ambulance.
North Wales police said that investigation would establish the circumstances surrounding his death.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday 19 May 2006