600 council officials earning over £100,000

600 council officials earning over £100,000
Pay for chief officers in councils rose by 6 per cent last year, while 578 were earning over £100,000 a year, according to figures compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 8 March 2007, page 12

Sex abuse victims share £2.2m payout
Victims of child sex abuse in care homes in Manchester have won £2.2 million in compensation, amounting to the largest group action of its kind in Britain.
The 168 individuals involved will get, on average, £15,000 each, but actual amounts will vary according to the amount of trauma each endured. The group action comes after a seven-year investigation by Greater Manchester Police that identified hundreds of alleged abusers and led to a number of criminal prosecutions, with 66 children’s homes scrutinised.
Police said they uncovered “abuse on a grand scale”. Among those prosecuted was Ronald Hall, the warden of Broomehouse, in Didsbury, later an assistant director of the Manchester social services department. He was jailed for 11 years for sexually abusing boys at the home.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 8 March 2007, page 9

Mental Health Bill will do nothing for public safety, reseach shows
A government-commissioned report has found no “robust evidence” for the impact of community treatment orders – a key plank of the controversial Mental Health Bill.
The study, which examines international studies of compulsory treatment in the community, throws into question the government’s argument that orders will improve compliance with medication and better protect patients and the public.
Source:- The Independent, Thursday 8 March 2007, page 14

Back all parents without making judgements, says chancellor
Chancellor Gordon Brown has rejected conservative plans to reward marriage with tax breaks, saying the government should support families without making “ideological judgements” about their value, in a speech to the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Source:- The Guardian Thursday 8 March 2007 page 15

New police squad will fight growing trade in sex slaves
Sex-slave traffickers are widening their net to Africa and South America in search of victims, police said yesterday at the inauguration of a new investigation unit.
Commander Sue Wilkinson will oversee an 11-man Scotland Yard team with a £1 million annual budget. She said that the traffickers who trapped women into prostitution and also supplied adults and children for forced labour were the modern equivalent of the slave traders of 200 years ago.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 8 March 2007, page 9

Doubts over bid to charge foreigners for NHS care
Doubts have emerged over how the latest government bid to charge foreign nationals, including illegal immigrants, for health treatment may work in practice.
Home secretary John Reid has announced pilot schemes under which doctors will be able to check patients’ eligibility against immigration records, but NHS trusts have historically been reluctant to take on responsibility for such checks.
Source:- The Financial Times, Thursday 8 March 2007, page 4

Chocolate ‘helps the old to stay sprightly’
Research, which was not funded by the chocolate industry, suggests that elderly men who ate chocolate were fitter, more optimistic and had enjoyed psychological wellbeing.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 8 March 2007, page 27

Scottish news
 
Mother put on sex offenders’ register over texts to boy
A childminder who sent obscene text messages to a 13-year-old boy she had been looking after has escaped a jail sentence.
Debbie Jane Lane, a married mother of two and former Venture Scout leader, admitted she sent the texts to the boy, whose mother was a close friend.
Lane, who blamed her behaviour on anti-depressant drugs, was sentenced to three years’ probation and 200 hours’ community service at Dunfermline Sheriff Court. Her name was put on the sex offenders’ register and she was banned from being alone with children except her own.
Source:- The Herald, Thursday 8 March 2007

Welsh news

Women yet to achieve equality in Wales
Women have still not managed to achieve equality in Wales in terms of pay and are still being discriminated against according to a new report.
The Equal Opportunities Commission in Wales annual review also showed women were punished in their careers for having children.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 8 March 2007

Judge allows convicted paedophile to spend wedding night in hotel
A judge has been slammed for allowing a paedophile to spend his wedding night in a hotel while awaiting sentencing.
Kelvin Wagstaff, 35, from Bridgend, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual offences against two girls, aged seven and ten, last year.
Before the hearing was adjourned the judge relaxed Wagstaff’s bail conditions to allow him to spend Friday night in the hotel.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 8 March 2007