In the news
News Archive
February 2008
Gang get life for '£5 bet' murder
February 2008
A man and two youths who kicked a disabled man to death over a £5 bet have been jailed for life.
BBC News Online, Friday February 29th 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/7270808.stm
Social Care bill must put needs of users at the heart of regulation
February 2008
Recent debates about the state of health and social care may have missed a vital piece of the jigsaw. By virtue of a little noticed bill, which has its third reading in the House of Commons today, the entire regulatory system affecting all health and social care services will soon be radically altered.
The Guardian, Monday February 18th 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/feb/18/3
How attitudes to boys with ADD are changing
February 2008
In this second extract from her controversial new book this psychologist looks at how attitudes to boys with ADD are changing.
No doubt: The MMR vaccine does not cause autism
February 2008
The notion that the MMR vaccine can trigger autism should have ceased to be news long before this week’s widely reported study that shows it to be unfounded. From a scientific point of view, the hypothesis has never had much going for it.
Top judges ruling on Sharia marriage
February 2008
Three senior judges are to rule on the legality of an arranged marriage conducted in the UK under Sharia law, a judgement that could have profound consequences for British Muslims . . . The court of appeal was told how a 26 year old British Muslim with learning difficulties was married over the telephone to a woman in Bangladesh.
Mark Townsend, The Observer, Sunday February 10th 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/10/religion.law2
Will care become a commodity?
February 2008
Personal budgets have been widely welcomed but some service providers feel the strategy has not been thought through and, in a competitive market, the user will lose out.
Andrew Cole, The Guardian, Wednesday February 6th 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/06/11
We must be wary of cost-cutting
February 2008
How local authorities allocate cash under the personal budget model raises alarm bells with the ex-council chief Brian Collinge. He sees savings at the heart of the agenda - and that puts the most needy at risk.
David Brindle, The Guardian, Wednesday February 6th 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/06/19
Glaring gaps in autism services
February 2008
It says a lot about the status, or lack of status, of people with autism that two thirds of local authorities don’t know how many adults with autism there are in their area or how many adults with autism they actually support.
Mark Gould, The Guardian, Wednesday February 6th 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/06/socialcare
MMR links to autism dismissed by huge study
February 2008
There is no evidence to link the MMR vaccination to autism in children, according to a substantial new study today. In the biggest review conducted to date, scientists from Guy’s Hospital in London, Manchester University and the Health Protection Agency, analysed the blood from 200 children and concluded that the vaccine could not be responsible.
Sarah Bozeley, Health Editor, The Guardian, Tuesday February 5th 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/05/health.children
Bombs strapped to Down's Syndrome women kill scores in Baghdad market
February 2008
Remote-controlled explosives were strapped to two women with Down’s Syndrome and detonated in coordinated attacks on two Friday morning markets in central Baghdad yesterday.
