Only work ends poverty, says minister

Only work ends poverty, says minister
Welfare reform minister Jim Murphy has said that only work, not welfare, can end poverty, to the consternation of anti-poverty campaigners.
Following the comments, Kate Green, of the Child Poverty Action Group, said it was a “remarkable statement” in implying that welfare should not lift people genuinely incapable of work out of poverty.
Source:- The Financial Times, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 2

Alzheimer’s drug ban challenged
The first legal challenge to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been given clearance in the High Court. Two pharmaceutical companies have been told that they can seek judicial review of a decision by Nice not to recommend NHS treatment with the Alzheimer’s drug Aricept. The Alzheimer’s Society, which backs the challenge, will be an interested party in the review.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 27

Bullying: calls for national inquiry
A national inquiry into the scale of bullying should be undertaken by ministers because of fears that the problem is being downplayed by schools seeking to protect their reputations, a report from the Commons education select committee demands today.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 1

Inquiry finds ‘catalogue of failures’ over paroled child killer
The probation service failed to manage a dangerous psychopath and child killer who was released after 38 years in prison without a proper assessment of his risk to the public, an official inquiry has found.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 3

Friends fear for ‘fragile’ apprentice
Television show The Apprentice was criticised for letting a vulnerable former mental health patient become a contestant. ental health charity Mind called for Jadine Johnson, who was sectioned four years ago after experiencing serious depression, to undergo proper psychiatric assessments before going on the show.
A spokesperson for the show said all contestants had been seen by a psychologist to assess their suitability.
Source:- The Sun, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 13

Judge says new law on rape and alcohol is unnecessary
Ministers are reconsidering proposals to clarify the law on consent and alcohol in rape cases after an appeal court judgment yesterday which said the change was unnecessary.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 6

Cameron says that all adults have a duty to tackle unruly children
Parents who fail to curb their children’s misbehaviour or overeating in order to have a quiet life are “grossly selfish and irresponsible”, according to David Cameron.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 26

Anorexia symptoms found in under-13s
Children as young as six have suffered signs of eating disorders, according to a study of the under-13s.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 29

Council wants to separate us after 60 years
A woman with dementia faces being separated from her husband because of a local authority ruling in Norwich.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 19

Health reformer calls for change of direction
A former government health adviser has called for a shift away from the purchaser/provider split in the health service through the creation of organisations which integrated GP practices and hospitals.
Chris Ham, former head of the Department of Heatlh’s strategy unit, said current arrangements, in which GPs and primary care trusts commission services from hospitals was based on the false assumption that commissioners can negotiate on equal terms with powerful acute trusts.
Source:- The Financial Times, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 4

Labour U-turn on sentencing as jails reach bursting point
The government will initiate a change in direction on penal policy today by saying that fewer offenders should go to jail and more people with mental illness should receive community sentences.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 27 March, page 4

Common gene mutation is linked to risk of suffering stroke
People with a common form of genetic defect are two to three times more likely to have a stroke than those without, according to a study of more than 9,000 people in Denmark.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 17

‘Let teenagers grow up sooner and take responsibility for themselves’
The legal ages for voting and driving should be revised on the basis of scientific evidence, researchers say.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 27 March 2007, page 29


Welsh news

Memorial tributes for Peter Clarke
A memorial service took place yesterday for Wales’ first children’s commissioner, the late Peter Clarke. Clarke died of cancer in January. He held the children’s commissioner’s post for almost six years.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday 27 March 2007