250,000 young people ‘technically homeless’

250,000 young people ‘technically homeless’
Campaigners yesterday called on the government to do more to help young people who are homeless, after it was revealed that an estimated 250,000 people aged under 25 could be classed as rough sleepers.
Source:- The  Guardian, Saturday 11 November 2006, page 12

Christmas is cancelled: 300,000 families may have lost savings in Farepak crash
Labour backbenchers believe the scale of the Farepak scandal is far more dramatic than realised, with more than 300,000 low-waged and unemployed families, and pensioners, losing their Christmas money – double the current estimates.
Source:- The  Guardian, Saturday  11 November 2006, page 17

Government ‘skimping on safe sex campaign’
The government has launched an advertising campaign to encourage safe sex — but seemingly at a fraction of the budget it initially promised.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 11 November 2006, page 29

Inadequate safety revealed in Ofsted report on nursery where baby died
The nursery where a 10-month-old girl choked to death on a piece of apple was criticised by the education standards watchdog yesterday for taking “inadequate” steps to protect children.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Saturday 11 November 2006, page 13

Killer quizzed over missing boys
A paedophile and murderer has been questioned in prison over the disappearance of two boys who vanished just after Christmas ten years ago.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 11 November 2006, page 23

I was victim, says teacher accused of sex with pupil
A woman teacher yesterday denied having an affair with a 15-year-old pupil, saying that he forced her into performing a sex act which he filmed on his mobile phone.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 11 November 2006, page 33

Social enterprises analysed
The Big Issue, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, the Co-operative Group and the Eden Project might be very different businesses, but they all have one thing in common. All four are social enterprises, or businesses with a social purpose that work with the aim of delivering social or environmental change rather than maximising profit for shareholders.
Source:- The  Guardian, Saturday  11 November 2006, page 39

Reid abandons plan to put 500 prisoners in barracks
The prison overcrowding crisis facing the home secretary, John Reid, deepened yesterday when protests by residents forced him to abandon plans to turn a former Parachute Regiment barracks in Dover into an open prison for 500 low-risk offenders.
Source:- The  Guardian, Saturday  11 November 2006, page 8

New parenting academy
Children’s minister Beverley Hughes will announce plans tomorrow for a new National Academy for Parenting Practitioners to provide useful, reliable advice to parents and children’s experts on what has been proven to work, which will start work in autumn 2007. The minister has warned about a growing lack of confidence among parents.
Source:- Observer, 12 November 2006, page 4

New centres to help homeless children
Children kicked out of their homes after rows with their parents will be able to stay in a national network of ‘cooling off centres’ planned as part of a government drive to combat youth homelessness. Ministers have been impressed with the role played by the few ‘supported lodgings schemes’ that exist and intend to establish one in each of England’s 342 local council areas.
Source:- Observer, 12 November 2006, page 11

Some sick babies must be allowed to die, says Church
Church of England leaders want doctors to be given the right to withhold treatment from seriously disabled newborn babies in exceptional circumstances. The church’s call comes in their submission to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent body that publishes guidelines on how doctors should deal with ethical issues.
Source:- Observer, 12 November 2006, page 1

Shot at 19
Expelled at 11, dealing cannabis at 14 – then Jamail Newton changed his life thanks to Kids Company. But soon he was dead, another shooting in a gang war wrecking London
Source:- Observer, 12 November 2006, page 8

Evidence from health worker said couple were incapable of child abuse
A couple whose three children were adopted were said to be “incapable” of child abuse by a health worker, an MP has revealed.
Source:- Mail on Sunday, 12 November 2006, page 15

Alcohol kills 22,000 a year
Alcohol is to blame for more than 22,000 deaths a year in Britain – nearly three times higher than government estimates, new evidence to be published this week by Alcohol Concern finds.
Source:- Independent on Sunday, 12 November 2006, page 6

Ten-year-olds charged with sex crimes
Hundreds of 10-year-old children were charged with crimes last year, including serious sexual offences, robbery, actual bodily harm and assaulting a police officer, according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act by the police.
Source:- Sunday Times, 12 November 2006, page 8

Big rise in chemical coshes for children
More than 1,000 prescriptions for powerful drugs to treat so-called behavioural disorders in children are being handed out every day. The official figures, released by the Department of Health, show a fourfold increase in the use of Ritalin and similar drugs since 1997, with GPs last year writing a record 384,000 prescriptions for them.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph, 12 November 2006, page 13

School faces court battle over restraint of girl, six
The parent of a child with special needs claims that teachers repeatedly used excessive force on her daughter.
Source:- Observer, 12 November 2006, page 21

The stars come out for 60 years of Mencap
Mencap will mark its 60th anniversary with a star-studded gathering in London, rock concerts, a BBC TV series, and the publication of a commerorative book, edited by its president Lord Rix.
Source:- Mail on Sunday, 12 November 2006, page 51

Paediatrician faces new misconduct allegations
Controversial paediatrician David Southall is to face a General Medical Council conduct hearing today into allegations of “keeping secret medical records” on children in relation to a care proceedings report he was preparing for a local authority.
Southall, who was banned from child protection work for three years after accusing Sally Clark’s husband of murdering their two children, is accused of behaving in a way that was “inappropriate and was an abuse of professional position”.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 13 November 2006, page 6

Payouts for prison drug addicts
Up to 198 prisoners and former inmates may be compensated for being forced to stop taking heroin too quickly under a prisons treatment plan which allegedly amounted to assault.
Six people are expected to settle with the Prison Service for an undisclosed fee in a test case this week which could open the way for 198 inmates and ex-prisoners to receive compensation for the “cold turkey” programme.
Source:- The Times, Monday 13 November 2006, page 11

Blunders left 210 judges waiting for jobs
A series of administrative problems have led to a delay in the appointment of 210 judges urgenly needed to tackle the backlog of asylum and immigration appeals.
Job references have been lost for candidates to join the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and the jobs had to be readvertised.
Source:- The Times, Monday 13 November 2006, page 16

Scottish news
 
£7 million drive to improve vulnerable children’s homes
£7 million is to be spent improving the homes of vulnerable children in care and on fostering, the Scottish executive has announced.
Residential units and schools across the country will share £5 million to improve decor and provide better facilities in an effort to encourage a learning environment.
Meanwhile, foster carers and kinship carers can apply for a share of £2 million to make it easier to look after the children in their care.
Source:- The Scotsman, Monday 13 November 2006

Welsh news

The 13-year-old with 21 previous convictions
A 13-year-old boy recently has appeared in court after committing his 28th offence. The teenager, who is from Cardiff and who has now turned 14, robbed a cyclist of more than £100 in cash. He pleaded guilty to the crime at Cardiff Crown Court and was put under supervision for two years.
Source:- South Wales Echo, Saturday, 11 November 2006

Internet perverts tackled
A virtual police service to deal with online paedophiles has been launched in Wales. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre’s “virtual police station” will educate children about the dangers of online sex abusers.
Source:- Wales on Sunday, 12 November 2006