News round-up: Ed Balls promotes strategy for children in care

Ed Balls: the government has a coherent strategy for children in care
Children in care often start out disadvantaged but the government says it now has a coherent strategy to improve their life chances
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Women warned not to drink alcohol in first 3 months of pregnancy
The NHS standards watchdog will today warn women not to drink any alcohol during the first three months of pregnancy, abandoning its own draft guidelines that were published last year.
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Over 60 and heading for rehab
It is not just the young who are binge drinking. Increasing numbers of older people are becoming alcoholic.
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Remploy bosses opt for top-end company cars
The management of the state-owned company which is asking 2,000 disabled people to take voluntary redundancy to cut costs is allowing its top brass to drive Mercedes sports cars, people carriers, off-roaders and sporty versions of Audis and Saabs at the taxpayer’s expense.
Read more on this story in The Guardian today.

Charities go online to stay in the running and reach the next generation of givers
Charities hit by falling donations over the past year yesterday welcomed figures showing online fundraiser justgiving.com had channelled more than £250m to the sector since its launch in 2001.
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Brown launches election campaign with policing pledge
Gordon Brown today launched his party’s local election campaign with a commitment to community policing “where you know the face of the person that can help you”.
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Complementary medicine
A volunteer befriending scheme for people with mental health issues is making a lasting impression
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Auditors are unsung heroes
The public auditors have lived up to the exacting demands made of them since 1983, says Duncan Campbell-Smith
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Grave concerns
Glasgow’s Muslims say they are running out of space to bury their dead, but fierce opposition means a timely solution looks unlikely.
Read more on this story in The Guardian today

Successful visa appeals mean courts give green light to forced marriages
British courts are overturning decisions taken by immigration officers that would have protected men and women from being forced into marriage.
Read more on this story in The Times today

Gordon Brown urges courts to use full powers against gun criminals
The Prime Minister urged the courts yesterday to make more use of tough sentencing powers available for gun crimes.
Read more on this story in The Times today

Prisoners were paid £730,000 in university grants loophole
Prisoners have been paid student grants and loans totalling £730,000 while taking university courses in jail, the Government admitted yesterday.
Read more on this story in The Times today

Tighten controls on bail in murder and serious offences, ministers told

Tighter curbs on the granting of bail to suspects in murder cases and other crimes is called for in a report being considered by ministers, The Times has learnt.
Read more on this story in The Times today

Cyberbullies targeted

A government taskforce on “cyberbullying” is to be set up to investigate how to protect teachers from their pupils, the Schools’ Secretary will say today.
Read more on this story in The Times today

Skilled migrants come to UK in record numbers

The number of migrant workers entering Britain annually to find skilled employment will reach a record 212,000 this year, business experts have predicted.
Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph today

Muslim leader says police are ‘too cautious’ over Asian pimp gangs

A Muslim leader has accused the police of being “over cautious” when investigating Asian gangs suspected of prostituting young white girls for fear of stirring up race riots.
Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph today