A third of town halls have cut back help for the elderly

By Clare Jerrom, Simeon Brody, Gordon Carson and Derren Hayes

A third of town halls have cut back help for the elderly
Older people are being stripped of home services needed to help them live independently, according to a survey by Counsel and Care today.
The survey said a third of town halls have cut back on home help for vulnerable older people over the past year by raising the threshold of illness at which people can get services.
Source:- Daily Mail  Thursday 21 September page 12

Troubled schools will face the axe
The worst performing schools in Britain will face being closed down or taken over by the best performing establishments, it has been claimed.
A confidential government report highlights 512 underperforming schools and Sir Cyril Taylor – head of the specialist schools project – said he felt the best schools should help the worst.
Source:- The Sun  Thursday 21 September page 18

The doctor who believes that even the depressed should be allowed to die
Clinically depressed people should be given assistance to end their lives, according to the founder of a Swiss suicide clinic that has helped 54 British people to die.
Ludwig Minelli told the Liberal Democrat conference that thousands of people with depression should be offered the “marvellous possibility” of suicide.
Source:- Daily Mail  Thursday 21 September page 6

Fears raised over access to children’s database
Fears have been raised about access to the planned children’s information-sharing index after it emerged that permission to use the database has been extended to thousands of new users.
Source: The Times, Thursday 21st September, page 8

Prisoners will get drug-taking kits
Prisoners at a jail in Aberdeen will be given personal drug-taking kits under a scheme to tackle the spread of HIV and hepatitis C.
Source: The Times, Thursday 21st September, page 29

Cyber-crime cops have 200 ‘grooming’ cases a month
Up to 200 reports a month of paedophiles grooming children on the internet are being investigated by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
Source: The Times, Thursday 21st September, page 29

Children to be taught how to avoid sex predators
Children are to be given lessons in how to avoid falling prey to internet sex predators, as part of the ThinkUKnow project which aims to reach 1million secondary school pupils by March.
Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 21 September 2006, page 12
 
£15bn rethink on public spending
The Liberal Democrats want a £15 billion re-ordering of public spending to ensure there would be enough cash for their favoured schemes, including free personal care for the elderly, extra spending on mental health and an end to tuition fees.
Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 21 September 2006, page 15
 
Government accused of fiddling figures to hide scale of NHS debt
The government was accused of fiddling its finances yesterday after admitting that the ballooning debts of the NHS will be left off Gordon Brown’s balance sheet.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 21 September 2006, page 2
 
Shadow sheds light on schizophrenia
A shadow person began to haunt the mind of a woman when doctors electrically stimulated her brain in an experiment that provides new insights into schizophrenia.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 21 September 2006, page 13
 

Scottish news

Free care for elderly ‘to soar’ by 20%
The cost of free personal care for the elderly is set to soar by almost 20% a year, according to a detailed calculation carried out by a council.
South Ayrshire Council says that the £19.2 million cost of it delivering the Scottish Executive’s flagship policy this year will rise steeply to cost more than £44 million only five years from now.
Its projections confirm fears from critics of free personal care that its affordability now cannot be sustained, with the fast-rising number of elderly people in need of care, as well as rising costs of care homes and care workers.
Source: The Herald, Thursday 21 September 
 
Pressure grows over move to create human rights czar
Ministers are considering major changes to their plans for a human rights commissioner in Scotland, under back-bench pressure.
With criticism that it is expensive and unnecessary, most recently from the Finance Committee, the issue was discussed again at cabinet.
A senior Labour source said: “It’s unclear what a human rights commissioner would do, which others with an interest in human rights would not.”
Source: The Herald, Thursday 21 September

Welsh news

Euro helpline to fight abuse
Welsh children experiencing violence could soon benefit from a new helpline, under European Parliament proposals.
The Europe-wide helpline would provide guidance to women and children who are the victims of violence. Glenys Kinnock, MEP for Wales, is backing the proposal arguing that domestic violence causes the death of two women a week in the UK and that human trafficking is on the rise in Wales.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 21 September 2006