Calls grow for reform of laws on prostitution

Calls grow for reform of laws on prostitution
Plans to get prostitutes off the streets by allowing two or three to work in “mini-brothels” are still being considered by ministers almost a year after they were first floated by the government.
Source:- The Independent, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 9

New child support agency will take 7 years to set up
Single mothers seeking child maintenance from absent fathers will have to wait seven years before a successor to the Child Support Agency takes on their cases.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 28

Health minister to step down
Lord Warner, the health minister, is to retire at the end of the  year.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 2

Circumcision cuts by half the risk of Aids
Circumcising adult men may cut by half their risk of getting the HIV-Aids virus through heterosexual intercourse, he US government announced yesterday as it concluded two studies in Africa testing the link.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 15

Yeah, but no, but . . . teens losing verbal skills
Teenagers need lessons in how to speak properly because so many youngsters now sound like Vicky Pollard, an academic claimed yesterday.
A study by Professor Tony McEnery’s warned that the Little Britain stereotype was becoming increasingly accurate as schools fail to teach verbal communication skills.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 19

£100m translation bill for migrants who can’t or won’t speak English
Public spending on interpreters and translation for immigrants is to be reviewed after figures revealed the yearly bill is more than £100 million.
Police forces, councils and hospitals are each spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money on translating services that include recycling and anti-smoking advice, it emerged yesterday.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 14

Pastor held on child kidnap charges
A controversial evangelist who claims he can help infertile couples have “miracle babies” through the power of prayer was arrested yesterday.
Pastor Gilbert Deya, 54, faces extradition to Kenya to be tried on six allegations of child kidnap.
Source:- The Independent, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 10

Nursery nurse sacked over child porn
A nursery nurse has been sacked and put on the sex offender register for showing workmates child pornography on her mobile phone.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Thursday 14 December 2006, page 23

Scottish news

Concern child protection ‘driving people away’
Child protection risks leaving young people exposed to neglect as much as danger, Scotland’s children’s commissioner has warned.
Professor Kathleen Marshall told MSPs that the concerns about risk to children were driving many people away from engaging with young people by running activities for them, and having an “absolutely ridiculous” effect, paralysing people’s willingness to contribute.
She said part of the problem was people had a perception that rules on child protection could be much tougher than they really were.
Source:- The Herald, Thursday 14 December 2006

Police could be given more powers over paedophiles
Police could be given the power to search known sex offenders’ homes without a warrant if a child goes missing, under proposals expected to be announced in a parliamentary report tomorrow.
Currently, officers can visit the home of a paedophile, but it can take hours to get a search warrant.
The idea is one of a number which have been investigated by the Scottish Parliament’s Justice 2 sub-committee on sex offending. The group has taken expert evidence from police, social work, ministers, and risk assessors.
Source:- The Herald, Thursday 14 December 2006

Welsh news

Swansea celebrates drop in teen pregnancy
Swansea has managed to reduce its teenage pregnancy rate by more than any other area in Wales according to new official figures.
The data, from the National Statistics Office, shows a 25 per cent fall in the number of girls falling pregnant aged between 15 and 17 since 1999 in Swansea.
Swansea’s teenage pregnancy rate of 41.5 per cent per 1, 000 for 2002-2004, the latest figures available, is lower than the Welsh average of 45.1 per cent.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 14 December 2006

Welsh young offenders held in England
Over four fifths of Welsh young offenders are being held in England according to new research by the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
The study found that 84 per cent of Welsh young offenders were held in English establishments with this figure rising to 92 per cent for offenders from Mid-Wales.
Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on youth, said that the Youth Justice Board had a target for young offenders to be held within 50 miles of their homes but this was only happening for half of Welsh juveniles.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 14 December 2006