Shamed the ‘selfless’ foster couple who used girls as slaves

Shamed the ‘selfless’ foster couple who used girls as slaves

A couple who were seen as model foster carers both face up to ten years in jail for mistreating girls they looked after.

Elizabeth Roe was found guilty of cruelty to six girls and her husband Walter admitted indecently assaulting two girls aged between 12 and 14.

Source:- Daily Mail, Thursday 18 January 2007, page 25

Under threat, the sanctuary for Heathrow’s migrant children

Hillingdon Council went head-to-head with the government at the High Court yesterday over claims that it is being underfunded over the care of unaccompanied asylum seekers aged 18 to 23.

The council is challenging a cut in government funding last year from £140 to £100 per week for each young person. However, the government argued that the grant funding was not meant to cover the entirety of the cost.

Source:- The Independent, Thursday 18 January 2007, page 20

Murder inquiry blames police muddle and lack of openness

Lincolnshire safeguarding children board has found that authorities failed to identify and act on the increasingly risky behaviour of a teenager, who later murdered a 10-year-old girl.

The report on Paul Smith, now 21, who murdered Rosie May Storrie in 2003, revealed he had escaped charges previously for allegedly tying up a teenage girl and forcing her into the boot of his father’s car.

If Smith, who has Asperger’s syndrome and was bullied at school, was prosecuted for the kidnap, he would have received pre-sentence and possibly psychiatric reports, the inquiry found.

Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 18 January 2007, page 13

Legal aid reforms

The Law Society voted to reject the government’s legal aid reforms at a meeting in which solicitors claimed they would force many offices to close.

Source:- The Times, Thursday 18 January 2007, page 29

Hostile media reports ‘affect asylum rulings’

The government’s asylum watchdog has called for an independent element to be introduced into asylum decisions in her 2005 annual report, which has just been published.

Mary Coussey, the independent race monitor for the immigration service, said hostile media coverage of asylum seekers affected immigration officers’ decisions on their cases.

Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 18 January 2007, page 12

Jails crisis forces prisoners to sleep in court cells

Prisoners were forced to sleep in basement court cells on Monday because emergency overspill accommodation in London was full, in an apparently unprecedented move caused by rising prison numbers and the refurbishment of existing capacity.

The cells are not designed to hold prisoners for more than a short period and the move was criticised by penal campaigners.

Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 18 January 2007, page 12

Scottish news

Cameron prioritises drugs projects

David Cameron is to pledge £100m for a new drug rehabilitation programme in Scotland, claiming it to be the most significant step ever taken in Scotland to combat drugs.

Annabel Goldie, the leader of the Scottish Tories, has fought vigorously to prioritise the fight against drugs in Scotland and has campaigned internally for any money to be spent on that fight rather than cutting taxes.

The Conservative leader – and his entire shadow cabinet – are in Scotland today, preparing their Scottish parliamentary election campaign.

Source:- The Herald, Thursday 18 January 2007

Kerb-crawlers face driving ban

Persistent kerb-crawlers could be disqualified from driving or have their cars confiscated, under plans being considered by the Scottish executive.

By floating the ideas, ministers tried to put a brave face on what would otherwise have been a humiliating day at Holyrood as they were forced to rewrite a deeply flawed bill on prostitution.

The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill was savaged by MSPs after it emerged it would not criminalise kerb-crawling.

Source:- The Herald, Thursday 18 January

McConnell angry after MSPs force through changes to child protection bill

Jack McConnell, the first minister, was reported to be “pretty angry” after a Holyrood committee forced the executive to change a key piece of legislation on child protection.

The Protection of Vulnerable Groups Bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle, but only after some measures were watered down and scrapped. .

Mr McConnell was furious and pledged to reintroduce the measure if he is re-elected in May. “He was pretty angry that the committee refused to support this part of the bill, despite accepting that it could have stopped children from being harmed in the past, and certainly would do in the future,” a spokesman said.

Source:- The Scotsman, Thursday 18 January 2007

Nightmare of Scots children living in poverty

Nearly half the children in some areas of Scotland are living in poverty, according to a report.

Three constituencies in Glasgow are among the worst 20 in the UK, research for Save the Children found.

And there are more than 80 council wards where the number of children in families living on benefits is twice to three times the national average.

Source:- The Record, Thursday 18 January 2007

Welsh news

No social care stories today.