Rise in poverty worse than stated

Rise in poverty worse than stated
The increase in people living in poverty is worse than official figures claimed, it emerged yesterday after the Department of Work and Pensions found its statistics had underestimated the rise by 100,000.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 11

Chancellor may miss target to halve child poverty, MPs warn
Gordon Brown will be warned today he will miss his target to halve child poverty by 2010-11 unless he spends more on poorer families by the Treasury select committee.
Source:- The Independent, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 16

‘Good cause’ losers want MPs to halt £675m Olympics raid
Organisations including the National Council for Voluntary Organisations have written to MPs calling for a parliamentary debate on the government’s decision to take an extra £675m out of the lottery to fund the 2012 Olympics.
Source:  The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 1

Charity for blind reveals pensioner’s plight
A pensioner will have to lose his sight in one eye before health chiefs will consider treating him, the Royal National Institute for the Blind claims.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 15

Church’s neglect left vicar to abuse boys
A vicar was able to continue to abuse young boys because the Church of England failed to act effectively on two separate warnings, a court was told.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 19

Ex-mental patient on novel shortlist
A womean who wrote a novel based on her experiences of 10 years as a mental health patient has been nominated for the Orange Broadband Award for new writers.
Clare Allan has been nominated for her first novel, Poppy Shakespeare.
Source:- The Independent, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 12

‘Health disaster’ fear as pupils turn to cocaine
A drugs expert has warned that the number of young people trying cocaine could trigger a dramatic rise in health problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
Professor John Henry, of Imperial College, London, made the comments as government figures showed that one in five secondary school children had been offered Class A drugs and that while overall drug use had dropped among the group, the use of cocaine and ecstasy was stable.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 11

NHS workers to ballot on strike
Unison has voted to ballot on industrial action if the government does not improve its offer to health workers, who have rejected a 2.5 per cent staged pay award, worth only 1.9 per cent in the current year. Last week, the Royal College of Nursing backed industrial action if nurses did not receive an improved offer.
Source:- The Financial Times, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 4

Lottery of death rates in hospitals
Research has revealed the large disparity in mortality rates in NHS hospitals, claiming that 7,400 lives could have been saved if all trusts with higher than average mortality rates had reduced them to expected levels. Patient groups described the findings by Dr Foster Research as “extremely worrying” and called for national standards on mortality rates.
Source:-  The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 1

Teacher whose spy camera showed class misbehaviour faces tribunal
A supply teacher who covertly filmed her pupils swearing, fighting and attempting to access pornography on the internet was misusing her professional position, a tribunal was told yesterday.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 21

The teen gang face of Britain
In till you die – honour code binds lads to street mobs.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Tuesday 24 April 2007, page 4

Scottish news
 
Care home chiefs accused of neglect in sex case claim
Management at a care home where one resident allegedly sexually assaulted another have been branded “neglectful”.
Managers and staff at Camphill Blair Drummond, a Stirlingshire home for disabled young adults, took three days to phone the police after the incident in June last year.
The Care Commission has now largely upheld a complaint about the way the situation was handled. The commission singled out the home’s manager, Hazel Brown, for criticism, saying she and her employees failed to follow their own procedures after the incident.
Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 24 April 2007

Welsh news

Child drug use falls while cocaine use rises
An increase in the number of adults taking illegal drugs has been put down to a reduction in the price of cocaine.
Official figures for England and Wales show that while drug use amongst children has fallen it has risen slightly amongst adults.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday 24 April 2007

New youth strategy launched
Plaid Cymru is launching a youth manifesto today in an attempt to gain support from youth people.
The plans include increasing compulsory school-leaving age to 18 if Plaid is successful in the assembly election next month.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday 24 April 2007