News round up: Family courts reach breaking point

By Mithran Samuel on March 6, 2009 in Adults, Children, Family justice, Older people, Self harm/suicide, Substance misuse

Family courts reach breaking point

The family courts system is at “breaking point” and thousands of vulnerable women and children at risk of abuse are going without legal help, according to a report.

The first research into the likely effect of proposed £6.5 million cuts in family legal aid suggests that they will have a “severe impact” on women and children in the courts.

Read more on this story in The Times

British compulsory retirement age can stay at 65, says European court

British businesses can continue to force employees to retire at age 65 without breaking EU rules, the European court of justice ruled today. However, the case will now return to the high court, and the charity behind it, Age Concern, said the UK government now had to “overcome a high hurdle” to justify forced retirement.

Man awarded £90,000 after suicide attempt

A man who tried to kill himself has successfully sued the hospital which saved his life for £90,000 damages.

Michael Dexter, from the town of Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, has received an out-of-court payout following a six-year legal fight with East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Couple die together in Swiss clinic suicide pact

A wealthy British couple who both had terminal cancer have committed suicide together at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

Peter and Penny Duff, from Bath, are the first Britons to die at the controversial clinic since the Lord Chief Justice signalled that anyone helping a terminally ill person to organise an assisted suicide abroad would not be prosecuted.
Read more on this story in The Times

Alcohol abuse is putting more middle-class pensioners in hospital

Soaring numbers of middle-class pensioners are being admitted to hospital because of alcohol abuse, figures showed.
Bereavement, isolation and ill-health are driving more and more elderly people to the bottle, with the numbers ending up in A&E or surgical wards leaping by two-thirds in just four years.
Read more on this story in The Daily Mail