I got it wrong on problem families, admits Blair

I got it wrong on problem families, admits Blair
Tony Blair makes a startling admission today that his approach to dealing with the most unruly in society has been “misguided” throughout his 10 years in Downing Street. As he prepares to mark a decade as prime minister, he concedes that he got it wrong by presuming that public investment in poor neighbourhoods would rid society of dysfunctional families and their “out of control kids” who “leech into drugs and gangs”.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Saturday 28 April 2007, page 1

‘Sorrow’ over abuse
The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed “deep sorrow” for the suffering of children abused by Church of England staff. Speaking after Peter Halliday, 61, a choirmaster, was jailed for abusing three boys between 1985 and 1990, Dr Rowan Williams said the church had since developed far more stringent procedures.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 28 April 2007, page 11

‘Don’t ban children from drinking at home’
An alcohol charity’s proposal that parents should be prosecuted for giving their children alcohol in the home has been dismissed as unworkable by the government.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 28 April 2007, page 27

Little star from the streets whose mother didn’t live to see him shine
Two years ago Thomas Turgoose rarely went to school and was living with his mother in a run-down part of Grimsby on a diet of Coca-Cola and chips.By next week he will be famous: his screen debut in This is England is being compared to some of the most iconic child performances in British cinema.
Source:- The Times, Saturday 28 April 2007, page 31

The Asbo boys
Every time a kid goes off the rails it seems the answer is: Give him an Asbo. But do they really work? We find out from six lads who got them.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Saturday 28 April 2007, page 8

Respect! Good manners to be taught in schools
Children in secondary schools are to be taught “emotional intelligence” as part of the national curriculum in an attempt to combat a growing tide of rudeness, violence and lack of respect.
Source:- Independent on Sunday, 29 April 2007, page 1

Officials ‘failed’ suicide teenager
Staff overseeing the welfare of the youngest person to die in custody in the UK had failed to protect the 14-year-old, even though they knew he was a suicide risk, an inquest will be told this week. Adam Rickwood, who had emotional problems, hanged himself at the privately run Hassockfield Centre near Consett, Co Durham, while being held on a wounding charge.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 29 April 2007, page 7

Brown squeeze threatens to drive up drugs crime
A flagship scheme to cut crime by getting addicts off drugs is to have its funding slashed. The Drug Interventions Programme, launched in 2003, has been described by ministers as “a critical part of the government’s strategy for tackling drugs.” The funding cut  is part of a freeze on Home Office budgets ordered by Gordon Brown.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph, 29 April 2007, page 2

Bad births lead to depression
Women who undergo a traumatic labour run a high risk of suffering post-natal depression, according to new research. Two in five mothers who have a “bad or  very bad” experience of giving birth then go on to develop the debilitating mental condition, according to a survey for the Royal College of Midwives.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 29 April 2007, page 7

Immigration figures ‘are false’
Councils are so concerned that official figures are failing to record the true number of migrants entering their area that they are to start their own polling to gauge the scale of the influx.
Source:- The Observer, Sunday 29 April 2007, page 5

He’s a little angel, insists father of Asbo boy
The father of a 10-year-old boy made subject of an anti-social behaviour order claims that his son’s notoriety will encourage other young tearaways to get their own Asbos so they can “be on the telly”.
Nigel Bird, 44, said that his son Anthony’s schoolfriends had laughed at the furore. The married father of five reacted angrily to remarks by Tony Blair which appeared to imply that he was the head of “a failing family”. Anthony, of Teesville, Middlesbrough, last week became one of the youngest children in Britain to receive an Asbo.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph, 29 April 2007, page 6

Young carers: ‘My daughter’s childhood is being stolen, and I feel I am the thief’
Jessica is just 11 but she has to cook, clean and care for her paralysed mother. And she’s not alone. There are more than 175,000 children who act as chief carers for their ill or disabled parents. Demands are growing for a public inquiry into why they get so little support.
Source:- Sunday Telegraph, 29 April 2007, page 19

Cannabis harms mental health, scientists warn
New evidence showing how cannabis disrupts brain function will be presented at an international conference in London this week.
Source:- Independent on Sunday, 29 April 2007, page 5

Susan begged for help, instead she was sent to prison
Social services documented the teenager’s deteriorating mental state, but left her without any support.
Source:- Independent on Sunday, 29 April 2007, page 35

Lords to rule on care home eviction
A company trying to evict an 83-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer from a private care home it runs is facing a legal battle in a historic case that could affect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 30 April 2007, page 4

Blacks and Asians twice as likely to live in poverty
Four in 10 black and Asian people in Britain live in poverty, twice the rate among white people, research has revealed.
Source:- The Independent, Monday 30 April 2007, page 14

Private van guards to assess whether young are tough enough for adult jails
Private security staff who operate prison vans will decide from today whether young adults awaiting trial in London are mentally strong enough to survive in the toughest prisons.
Source:- The Guardian, Monday 30 April 2007, page 4

Carer in £7k theft
A home help stole £7,500 from a wheelchair-bound pensioner she was supported to be caring for.
Source:- The Sun, Monday 30 April 2007, page 13

Councillors’ ‘pay’ up by twice inflation rate
Local councillors’ allowances rose by 6% from 2005 to 2006, double the rate of inflation, according to figures from campaign groups the Taxpayers’ Alliance and Is It Fair?
Source:- Daily Mail, Monday 30 April 2007, page 30

Mental exercise and drugs could revive memories lost to dementia
Memories destroyed by dementia could be revived by therapy, research on mice by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has suggested.
Source:- The Times, Monday 30 April 2007, page 14

Scottish news
 
Sex offender tagged for 10 years
A sex offender released into the community in Scotland is to wear an electronic tag for the next 10 years in what are thought to be the longest tagging conditions ever placed in the UK.
The man was serving a sentence of more than four years before release last year, but his risk of reoffending is deemed so high he must remain at home next to the electronic monitoring box for at least 12 hours overnight.
For the remaining half of the day he is receiving supervision from Sacro, a charity that works with offenders in the community.
Source:- The Herald, Monday 30 April 2007

Welsh news

Railway stations a bridge too far for disabled
Only six of Wales 236 railway stations are accessible to disabled people new research has revealed. The study, carried out by the Association of Train Operating Companies, said that only 2.5 per cent of the Welsh network was staffed all day and that as a result trips involving other stations were not possible without major planning taking place.
Source:- Wales on Sunday, 29 April 2007

Jenkins sued for leaving Billie-Jo alone
Former deputy headmaster Sion Jenkins is being sued by the aunt of his murdered foster daughter Billie-Jo. Jenkins, who is originally from Aberystwyth, was wrongly jailed for murdering 13-year-old Billie-Jo but was cleared in February last year.An aunt of Billie-Jo is now suing him on the charge that he “breached his duty of care” by leaving her alone at home when she was killed.
Source:- Western Mail, Monday 30 April 2007