Care merger plan falls off the agenda

Care merger plan falls off the agenda
The government looks set to drop plans to merge the Commission for Social Care Inspection and Healthcare Commission from this month’s Queen’s Speech, it has emerged.
This looks likely to put the plan, originally designed to be implemented in 2008, back to at least 2009.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 2

Heavy drinking kills twice as many people as in 1991
The number of people dying from alcoholism has more than doubled in 15 years and continues to rise, government statistics have revealed.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 11

Mental health charities warning on service choice
Mental health charities have warned that government plans to increase service choice, outlined this week, will fail due to the cuts currently afflicting mental health trusts. Rethink welcomed the policy in principle but also said it was ironic to talk about choice at a time when the government was still planning to bring in legislation that would place further restrictions on people with mental health problems.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 2

Reality of poverty
Save the Children head Jasmine Whitbread is promising to make real the lives of families in poverty in a campaign launched later this month.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 5

Childcare cost ‘extortionate’
Parents are ‘paying through the nose’ for childcare even though standards are often poor, a Daycare Trust report reveals today. And minimum qualifications introduced for childcare workers will actually lower the calibre of the workforce, it says.
Source:- Daily Mail, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 17

Blair summit to rescue drifting government
Cabinet ministers were given a presentation on the challenges facing Britain in 2017 including a projected 2.4m rise in the number of people over 65 and the need to further personalise public services.
The presentation comes ahead of a policy review which will consider issues including the devolution of welfare services to cities to tackle child poverty.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 1

Reid unveils plan to give private sector a bigger role in probation service
Six probation areas – London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Thames Valley, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire – have been placed on special measures because of their poor performance, the home secretary said yesterday.
John Reid also said he wanted the private and voluntary sectors given the chance to bid for 30 per cent of probation work by 2008.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 8 November 2006, page 17
 
Scottish news
Revolt over disclosure rules on vulnerable adults
Members of the Holyrood Finance Committee are unimpressed with plans to background check up to one million volunteers under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill, brought in after the Bichard inquiry findings into the Soham murders.
They made clear they were unconvinced a huge new bureaucratic system that would force up to one in four Scots to submit themselves to costly checks was the right way to proceed, particularly given evidence about the likely impact on the numbers volunteering.
Source:- The Herald, Wednesday 8 November 2006

Ten-year-olds to get parenting lessons as part of £4m scheme
Pupils as young as ten are to be given parenting lessons as part of a multi-million-pound scheme aimed at reducing the number of young people who become teenage parents.
Details of the scheme emerged as it was announced that nearly £4 million is being spent by the Scottish executive to help East Ayrshire and Edinburgh City councils reduce the number of school-leavers in their areas who are not in education, employment or training, the so-called NEET group.
The money will be directed at five secondary schools in deprived areas, which traditionally produce higher than average numbers of NEET youngsters.
Source:- The Scotsman, Wednesday 8 November 2006

Disabled fan beaten up by teenage rivals
A disabled football fan who was beaten up by a gang of rival supporters has vowed to go back to the terraces.
Michael Stirling, who has learning difficulties and problems walking, was attacked by teenage Cowdenbeath supporters after travelling to Raith’ Rover’s second division match in the Fife town on Saturday.
A disabled friend who was with him managed to flee, but Michael – who wears leg braces – was unable to escape.
Source:- The Record, Wednesday 8 November 2006

Welsh news

Bed blocking, the number one problem facing Welsh NHS as hospitals become gridlocked
The effects of bedblocking are the number one problem facing the health service in Wales. The number of patients who are ready to leave hospital but are unable to do so due to care in community not being arranged is increasing month on month in Wales.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday 8 November 2006

‘False hopes’ on council house funds
Rhodri Morgan said that he had failed to persuade the treasury to provide more money for council houses in Wales yesterday. Welsh councils are currently working how they are going to fund the necessary repairs needed bring homes up to social housing standards by 2012.
Source:- icWales, Wednesday 8 November 2006