Army families who quit forces left homeless

Army families who quit forces left homeless
Hundreds of former soldiers and their families are being deprived of homes because they are regarded as having no connection with the place where they lived while in the army, it was claimed yesterday. They are suffering at the hands of local authorities and housing associations as a result of their itinerant life, moving from base to base.
Source:- The Guardian, Saturday 6 Jan 2007, page 6

Alzheimer’s  drug challenge
Drug companies challenged a decision by the government’s drug watchdog to restrict the use of medication for Alzheimer’s sufferers on the  NHS. Esai and Pfizer applied for a judicial review after the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence rejected the use of the drug Aricept on the NHS.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 6 Jan 2007, page 4

Campaign to educate problem gamblers
Charities that help problem gamblers are joining forces with the industry regulator to launch a public education campaign before online gaming companies receive licences to operate.
Source:- FT, Saturday 6 Jan 2007, page 4

‘Half of all young people arrested are revealed to have smoked cannabis’
Half of all crime suspects arrested by police admit to recently smoking cannabis, astonishing Government research reveals.
Source:- Daily Mail, Saturday 6 Jan 2007, page 42

Former boxing star becomes Britain’s first black prison governor
Brian Anderson has become Britain’s first black prison governor, as director of Doncaster Prison. After several brushes with the law as a teenager, he is only too aware he could have been on the other side of the bars. But a social worker’s suggestion that he take up boxing turned him away from a life of crime.
Source:- Daily Mail, Saturday 6 Jan 2007, page 57

Police fears over sex crime risks
A lack of resources is putting the public at risk of attack by paedophiles and violent offenders living anonymously in the community, Britain’s leading police spokesman on public protection has admitted.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 7 Jan 2007, page 2, page 20

Danger of the websites that promote anorexia
Websites that describe anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than a deadly disease could be killing people, a leading charity has warned.
Steve Bloomfield, from the Eating Disorders Association, said the sites, that carry slogans such as ‘thinspiration’ and ‘hunger hurts but starving works’, could be persuading sufferers to refuse treatment.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 7 Jan 2007, page 6

Revealed: Our teenagers are not revolting
A new survey reveals that Britain’s teenagers care deeply about both the environment and their local community and would rather spend a quiet night at home with their parents than loiter on corners swigging lager.
Remarkably, in an age obsessed with celebrity rather than the classroom, even teachers are seen as having a more positive influence on youngsters than pop stars, models or sporting heroes.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph, 7 Jan 2007, page 1

There’s cocaine in your wallet
Cocaine use is now so widespread that everyone in Britain is carrying around traces of the drug – on their banknotes.
A study of cash from around the country has revealed that 99.9 per cent of all banknotes now carry traces of the class A drug, a level only previously seen in cocaine hotspots such as London.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph, 7 Jan 2007, page 6

Scottish news

Charities fear £4m bill for proposed shake-up
Charities face a £4m bill under proposals by the Scottish Executive to make organisations advertise changes to their constitutions. An executive consultation on the reorganisation of charity regulations proposes that organisations with an income of more than £250,000 would have to advertise “significant” changes to their charitable aims in the national press, at a cost of up to £5000 for each advert.
Source:- Daily Herald, Saturday 6 Jan 2007

Soldiers with war trauma illness rely on charities for treatment
Scottish war veterans with psychiatric disorders are having to turn to charities for treatment or wait up to two years for help on the NHS, according to support groups.
Source:- The Scotsman, Saturday 6 Jan 2007

NHS prescribing drugs ‘when diet might help children with autism’
The NHS is failing to provide advice on nutrition which could help children with conditions such as autism and attention deficit disorder, amid a culture of prescribing powerful drugs with potential side-effects.
That is the claim made by Dave Rex, lead child health dietician with NHS Highland, who has warned that despite evidence that special diets can help some individuals, nutrition is still being treated as a “Cinderella” subject in the health service.
Source:- Sunday Herald, 7 Jan 2007

Welsh news

More funds for hospices, vow Tories
The Welsh Tories pledged to increase funding for hospices in Wales from £2m to £12m a year yesterday.
Assembly member Nick Bourne, who leads the Tory group in Cardiff, said that hospices were funded to a much higher level in England than in Wales.
Source:- Western Mail, Saturday 6 Jan 2007

Child murder ‘dads’ in crunch meeting
The ‘two dads’ of murdered toddler Aaron Gilbert are set to meet up with Swansea social services to discuss their demand for a public inquiry into the incident.
Gareth Gilbert, of Gendros, Swansea, and Phil Edmunds, of Whitland, Carmarthenshire what to know what happened in period leading up to the 13-month-old’s death.
Gilbert brought Aaron up for most of his life but Edmunds is his biological dad. Andrew Lloyd the boyfriend of Aaron’s mother, Rebecca Lewis, was recently found guilty of murdering Aaron.
Source:- Wales on Sunday, 7 Jan 2007