‘Toni-Ann should still be alive’

‘Toni-Ann should still be alive’
The mother of Toni-Ann Byfield said her daughter would still be alive if Birmingham social services had allowed her to go to Jamaica with her after she was taken into care in 2002.
The reason her request was rejected was that Roselyn Richards, who is poor, unemployed, and lives with two other children in a one-bedroom house, was judged not to have the means for proper care.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 5 August 2006, page 10

Reid to seek new powers after Afghan hijackers win appeal
The government will seek new powers to restrict the rights of asylum seekers after a humiliating appeal court judgment upheld the right of nine Afghan plane hijackers to remain, work and enjoy other freedoms in the UK.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 5 August 2006, page 6

No smokers please as Brussels refuses to stub out job prejudice
European employers are free to refuse a job to smokers, clinching tobacco users’ status as the continent’s last pariahs.
The European Commission, which has presided over a vast array of anti-discrimination legislation in the past six years, says its laws did not cover tobacco users.
Source:- Financial Times Saturday 5 August 2006, page 1

Only 680 more prison places left
Britain’s overcrowded prisons were in crisis last night with room left for only 680 more criminals.
Source:-Daily Mail, Saturday 5 August 2006, page 2

One third of population in London is non-white
More than a third of the population in London is now non-white, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. 10.6 per cent of England’s population is non-white, says the study.
Source:- Daily Mail, Saturday 5 August 2006, page 7

Health chiefs sent home
The joint chief executives of the National Patient Safety Agency have been sent home on gardening leave. Sue Osborn and Susan Williams are believed to be facing an inquiry into their managerial record.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 5 August 2006, page 11

Man jailed for giving HIV to gay partner
The first gay man to knowingly infect his partner with HIV was jailed for more than three years in his absence yesterday.
Mark James, 47, is on the run after admitting grievous bodily harm by “recklessly” infecting his partner.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Saturday 5 August 2006, page 6

A third of new nurses fail simple English and maths test
A third of nurses expecting to graduate next month have failed a basic English and maths test set by a hospital as part of a new selection process.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Saturday 5 August 2006, page 6

Sex attacker on parole killed pensioner
The government has ordered an immediate review of how sex offenders are managed in Northern Ireland after one of the most closely monitored former convicts in the province was jailed for life for abducting and murdering a pensioner while on parole.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 5 August 2006, page 6

NHS staff want assault protection after kidney patient jailed
Health staff are stepping up pressure for additional protection against violent patients after a convicted rapist was jailed for assaulting a nurse during a regular visit for life-saving kidney dialysis.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 5 August 2006, page 6

Problem of personal debt spiralling out of control, say insolvency experts
Insolvency experts warned last night that the problem of personal indebtedness was “spiralling out of control” after official figures showed record numbers of borrowers are losing the battle to keep up their payments on loans, overdrafts and credit cards.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 5 August 2006, page 24

Catholic priest abuse investigated
The Roman Catholic Church covered up the criminal past of a priest and gave him a job in a school for deaf children where he went on to sexually abuse young boys, according to an investigation by The Observer.
Source:- The Observer  Sunday 6 August 2006, page 6

Parents battle for special needs help
Increasing numbers of parents are having to appeal against councils’ refusal to assess their children from special educational needs, a charity has warned.
Beth Coxon, of the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice, said some parents were having to wait up to three years to get the help their children needed.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph 6 August 2006, page 8

800 British troops treated at the Priory
More than 1,541 soldiers who served in Iraq are suffering from psychiatric illnesses – with 800 personnel admitted to the Priory clinics in the past three years.
Source:- Independent on Sunday Sunday 6 August 2006, page 16

Mental health campaign
As a teenager with schizophrenia he saw the mental health system brutalise patients. He became a doctor to change things from within. Now he is pushing a bed from London to Brighton.Dr Rufus May and a group of fellow campaigners are raising awareness of the forced use of drugs and ECT in psychiatric hospitals.
Source:-  Independent on Sunday 6 August 2006, page 25

Legal aid for asylum seekers tops £1 billion
More than £1 billion has been spent on legal aid for asylum cases over the past decade, government figures show.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph Sunday 6 August 2006, page 5

Failure to close loophole lets child abductors escape sexual offenders’ register
The government has failed to bring child abductors under the sex offenders’ register despite officials raising the issue five years ago.
A 2001 Home Office paper said the courts should have the option of deciding whether a case of abduction was sexually motivated, but nothing has been done to change the law since.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph 6 August 2006, page 5

British children among Europe’s most deprived
British ranks 21st out of 25 among European Union countries for child wellbeing, research for a Unicef report has found.
The report included indicators on health, substance misuse and relationships with parents and friends.
Source:- Sunday Times  6 August 2006, page 5

Child benefit level may be raised as part of anti-poverty measures
The Treasury is looking at stepping up the fight against child poverty by giving families the same level of child benefit for all their children.
The move follows research published by the Department for Work and Pensions showing fathers in large families have to work nearly 67 hours a week to escape the government definition of poverty.
The proposal is also urged on ministers today by the Child Poverty Action Group in a report designed to coincide with 60 years of support for children.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 7 August 2006, page 8

Public sector consultants to cost £20 billion
The bill for management consultancy within government is set to top £20 billion over the lifetime of three parliaments, according to a survey of public spending on external advice.
Source:- Financial Times Monday 7 August 2006, page 8

Homeless suffering mental illness rises
The number of homeless people suffering from mental illness has more than doubled in the past 15 years, Department for Communities and Local Government figures show.
Source:- Financial Times, Monday 7 August 2006, page 3

Employers face ethnic quotas for public work
Companies that bid for multimillion-pound government contracts will be rejected if they do not employ enough black and Asian workers, under new proposals.
Source:- The Times Monday 7 August 2006, page 1

Poor areas hardest hit by NHS cuts in London
Some of the poorest areas of London with the worst health problems are to bear the brunt of a fresh round of spending cuts imposed by the new NHS chief executive, David Nicholson, to try to drag the service out of the red.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 7 August 2006, page 9

Anti-terror laws alienate Muslims, says top policeman
One of Britain’s top police officers will today warn that anti-terrorism laws are discriminating against Muslims and law enforcement agencies are running a “real risk” of criminalising ethnic minorities.
Tarique Ghaffur, assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan police, will also call for “an independent judicial review” of why some young British Muslims turn to extremism.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 7 August 2006, page 7

Home secretary wants to set ‘optimum’ level of immigration
The home secretary, John Reid, yesterday said that he wanted to see “an optimum level of immigration” set for Britain in an attempt to prevent migrant numbers being used as a party political football.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 7 August 2006, page 8

Unhappy and unfit
British children are among the unhappiest and unhealthiest in Europe, a study by York University has found.
Source:- Daily Mail Monday 7 August 2006, page 27

Child porn offender fights deportation
A paedophile who amassed more than 10,000 child porn images has been bailed while he fights deportation.
Source:-  The Sun Monday 7 August 2006, page 11

Cross-country runs criticised
A citizenship guide for schools claims cross-country runs are a form of “emotional and physical abuse”.
Source: The Sun Monday 7 August, 2006, page 19

Councils bribed to fuel housing sprawl
The government intends to reward councils with cash if they give planning permission for hundreds of thousands of new homes to be built in attractive parts of England where property prices are high.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Monday 7 August 2006, page 1

No 10 fears cannabis link to hard drugs
The government has defended its policy of downgrading cannabis after a leaked study suggested users were being sold hard drugs by dealers as well.
Source:-  Daily Telegraph Monday 7 August 2006, page 8

Scottish news

Patients at high-security psychiatric hospital moved
The number of beds at Carstairs is to be cut by a third as dozens of patients are moved to lower-security institutions.
The plans follow new legislation which gives patients, including those detained for murder, the right to be moved to a lower-security facility when their condition improves.
Women will also no longer be sent to Carstairs, after experts concluded that high-security psychiatric care for female criminals was not required in Scotland.
Source:- The Herald 6 August 2006

Welsh news

Pupil shame forces teacher to quit
A games teacher has resigned after being accused of an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a pupil.
Mike Neale left Tonypandy Community College, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, after a school investigation. No complaint has been made to South Wales Police.
Source:- South Wales Echo 5 August 2006

Fourth inmate goes missing from prison
A fourth prisoner has escaped from an open prison in South Wales in the space of a week.
Philip Parfitt, 44, who is serving a four and a half year sentence for grievous bodily harm, failed to return to HM Prison Prescoed after going on home leave for a short period.
His escape comes after child sex offenders John Elms, 34, and Martin Aspinall, 46 went missing last Friday before being caught.
Source:- South Wales Echo, 5 August 2006