School to stage classical music concert for homeless pupils

The Evening Standard reports:

Pupils at a London school are staging a classical musical concert to help raise the £1.5 million needed for a shelter for its most deprived students.

Quintin Kynaston school in St John's Wood is opening a house for sixth formers who would otherwise be sleeping rough or in accommodation for the homeless.

Eight pupils at the secondary school are currently without a permanent address, and headteacher Jo Shuter wants to provide a "family home" for them.

Pupils and staff are now drumming up support for their main fundraising event, a concert at Cadogan Hall, by visiting classical music venues to promote it. They are hoping to raise enough to buy a house with a garden within a 20-minute walk from the school, which is known as QK...

The concert will be held on Saturday March 4 at 7pm at Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace London SW1X 9DQ.

Nearest tube is Sloane Square.

Ring 0207 730 4500 or click here to book tickets.

John Bird made a real difference when he founded the Big Issue. But this does not make him right on the benefit cap and workfare.

Tuesday’s Times has an article from John Bird, the founder and editor in chief of the Big Issue, praising the unpaid work placement scheme.

Bird hits out at those who oppose it as “middle class liberals” who have never had “a spell of unemployment”.

This is naive. The Twittersphere has been full of people tweeting about how while they oppose workfare; they have had plenty of low-paid jobs.

From following them, many are working class and some are currently unemployed.

I’ve also spoken to people who are not middle class or liberal and are opposed to workfare.

I am middle class, and some of my political views could be considered liberal. Some would not. But I have known the harsh reality of unemployment.

I know all about how it hurts to spend eight hours a day surfing for jobs, writing lengthy applications forms and setting up interviews, only to read that research has found that “most jobseekers only spent eight minutes a week looking for work.”

I’ve put a suit on and travelled all over London to job interviews.

While I was unemployed (which was not more than a few months) I volunteered at a local MIND service, and even though I cannot work at the moment I am volunteering for two days a week, and enjoying it.

So I know what it is like to be unemployed.

I know how work can often be fulfilling, and I agree with John Bird that you should take any paid job to get off benefits.

However, Bird does not consider how getting people on workfare to stack shelves – something you do not need eight weeks’ training for – may mean supermarkets do not take on paid staff.

He also does not consider that work experience – paid and unpaid (the latter for a much shorter duration than eight weeks) is taking place outside of the workfare scheme. This experience, however, is not mandatory and there is no penalty for leaving, unlike workfare

Why get Cat Reily to work for free in Poundland when she already has extensive retail experience and wants to broaden her CV so she can find a job?

If someone is working for five days a week for a corporation, they should be paid the national minimum wage, not £67.50 a week.

Indeed, paid work experience could save the taxpayer money, as we would not need to pay JSA for the time the person was taking part in work experience.

The company would pay them instead. And, if as they say some of these placements lead to jobs, why would the company not want to invest in them?

Bird is also wrong on the benefit cap.

He does not consider that people who rented in expensive areas while they were working are unable to move to a cheaper house once they are on benefits as landlords/landladies and letting agencies will usually not take on tenants on benefits.

He also does not consider that people on ESA, a benefit paid to those who are currently not able to work, are not excluded from the cap.

John Bird’s Big Issue has made a difference to the lives of many homeless people.

I see the pride in their eyes when they sell me a copy, from St Aldates to Seven Sisters. But John Bird is wrong on the benefits cap and workfare.

Weybourne care home in South London recives two warning notices from watchdog

The News Shopper reports:

A HEALTHCARE watchdog has demanded urgent improvement from a care home in Abbey Wood which is "failing to protect the safety and welfare" of its residents.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued two warning notices to Avante Partnership about Weybourne in Finchdale Road, which caters mainly for dementia sufferers.

It published a report last week following an inspection in December.

The CQC had major concerns in care and welfare, management of medicines, the support of staff and record keeping.

The report said residents’ weight, food and fluid intake were not monitored, proper action was not taken when residents refused essential medication or when they missed drugs because they were asleep when the night round arrived.

One diabetic patient’s blood sugar was not monitored.

The report noted: "We observed one person in their room calling out for help repeatedly for approximately five minutes.

"No staff were available to attend the person. The inspectors were required to intervene."

On another occasion 11 residents were left unattended in a lounge for 10 minutes while two people had to help another with mobility problems to walk and sit down.

Inspectors witnessed staff carrying a resident with mobility problems and a home manager had to intervene to tell them to use a wheelchair.

Orders were not placed when two medicines ran out, the report said, and not all staff had been properly trained in dementia care.

There was no record of whether a patient gave consent for bars to be placed on the side of their bed, which could have been a ‘restriction of liberty’.

The CQC said it will carry out another announced inspection and has the power to suspend or cancel the service, fine or prosecute.

New London Underground campaign warning that litter can cause delays

A new advertising campaign by London Underground is encouraging customers to take their newspapers and litter with them or put their rubbish in a bin so it can be recycled.

In 2011, 97 newspapers, 76 drinks cans and bottles, 20 fast food items and 61 other objects were caught in train doors causing delays to services.

In total there were 327 litter related incidents which caused disruption on the network last year.

Passengers often do not see newspapers as litter and leave them on trains or platforms for other people to read.

These items can sometimes blow onto the track and cause signal failures or create an obstruction by getting jammed in track and signalling equipment.

Rubbish left on stairs, lifts and at the top of escalators can cause slip hazards or become lodged in machinery under the escalator.

Of course, newspapers or other litter left on the floor of trains, buses, or the DLR can cause people to slip over and injure themselves.

They could also lead to death if someone slipped on litter and fell into the path of a train or bus.

Sun ignores fluctuating conditons, attacks disabled woman on rollercoaster

Nicky Clark comments:

The Sun have played a blinder. The day after they launch their new Sunday paper they are accused of paying for information on an industrial scale and the following days frontpage predictably ignores the story everyone else is covering.

They splash with the story of a woman on disability benefits living her life, or as they prefer to represent it, cheating tax payers of their hard earned cash because she has according to her a fluctuating disability and is pictured on a rollercoaster.

The front page seems to have her beginning to explain what it means to have a fluctuating condition which will be ignored as the paper plays to the gallery of hate baying for blame in these days of austerity.

She’s been branded a liar and a cheat with the finest example of disability ignorance I’ve ever seen “She’s disabled? Well them how can she ride a roller coaster?”

My children are disabled. They ride roller coasters. They walk and talk and everything.

The dirty little cheats.

The scummy little benefits thieves I’m harbouring in my home do many things without the aid of a wheelchair or cane or leg braces.

They are prevented from doing many more because of their hidden disability, they are prevented not just by their condition but by the fact that society has always been uncomfortable with difference. Now it’s being actively whipped up to spout hatred...

Who needs facts when you are the gang leader? Who needs truth that fraud accounts for a tiny percentage of money lost by the DWP. The bullying Sun has a story to spin and and policy to bring.


Welfare won’t reform itself and if the majority ground isn’t well prepared then too many people will oppose the Bill.

You only have to see the way the Health and Social Care Bill is taking a beating to know that. People love the NHS they are vocal in their concern and distrust and their voices are being added to everyday by Doctors and Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors.

Everyone apparently “knows” a benefit cheat. Really? Do they? Or have they simply read about them in the filthy rags, which peddle the myth of disability cheat as the norm- not the exception.

The propaganda myth is being deployed so effectively, so thoroughly that people are not stopping to question any of the rhetoric being peddled. The Sun is the champion of the “report a benefit cheat” hotline.

The urban myth of the disability scrounger, liar and cheat is the most shameful propaganda peddled since Nazi Germany rose to power. This is bullying on a massive unprecedented scale and yet another day brings another headline.


But something truly frightening has evoleved from all this nonsense. People have become so brainwashed so desensitized by the same tales churned and rechurned as news that they have stopped looking for people faking it.


A threshold has been reached and surpassed but people seem to have developed a taste for hatred and the scapegoats are “perfect” for bullies.


Because so many have a vulnerability, a fragility present since birth or acquired in life this doesn’t give anyone the right to vent their anger at the actions of bankers on Wall Street.

A global financial meltdown has caused a trickledown of blame, which shamefully has caused disabled people to become the “perfect” target for the predators we are all becoming. Seemingly without even a pause fingers are being pointed.

Sickening though it is genuinely disabled people are being routinely targeted by people on the streets with verbal and physical abuse. According to Scope this has risen by 75% in the last year.

So if you see this story and you will thanks to the 24 hour news cycle, don’t be quick to applaud the outing of a liar.

This woman has been given no anonymity, millions of photos of her will be appearing everywhere tomorrow. She has no defence; she has been selected and targeted and the gangs of bullies who hate her and millions like her, will cheer.

When you see her photo remember that her life has been altered and ruined, altered by disability and ruined, by propaganda.

Unlike the pampered luxury that many of our tabloid editors inhabit, disability isn’t a lifestyle choice. Disability chooses you not the other way around.

A ride on a rollercoaster isn’t a crime. When did that become the way we interact? Why is she being treated like a criminal?

We don’t have access to her medical records we don’t know the truth. We are being encouraged to arm ourselves with pitchforks and flaming torches and denounce someone we don’t know by The Sun.

Shame on Alex West, who wrote the story, and Carol Cooper, "Sun Doctor". I wonder if the "Sun Doctor" has found a heart or a brain at the paper at all.

I would say shame on Emma Boon, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, who attacks people on benefits in expensive parts of London in the same story while ignoring that most landlords/landladies and lettings agencies won't take on new tenants, preventing people from moving once they lose their job, but I wonder if the TaxPayers' Alliance have any shame.

£11.37m for eight new buses

BBC News reports:

The first new Routemaster bus will begin its service in London later, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

The launch of the new bus, which will run between Victoria Station in central London and Hackney in the east, was delayed for a week by paperwork...

In total, eight buses with an open "hop-on, hop-off" platform at the rear, costing £11.37m, will run on route 38.

The first of the new buses, complete with conductor, is expected to begin its journey at about 11:00 GMT.

In an open letter to the mayor, Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy said each new bus costs £1.4m compared with the conventional double-decker bus which costs about £190,000.

"Riding this bus is surely the most expensive bus ticket in history," he said.

"With 62 seats at a cost of £1.4m, the cost per seat is £22,580. At £22,695, you can buy a brand new 3 series BMW."

The Green Party said its London mayoral candidate Jenny Jones had questioned "how the mayor will deal with the problem of fare evasion and also, whether expenditure on the new bus is the best environmental choice".

"Jenny is concerned that London bus operators will refuse to buy these new buses for London, as their costs will be considerably higher if they are unable to re-sell them second hand to either UK operators or foreign operators," a Green Party spokesman said...

Bendy buses have been criticised for allowing fare evasion, but surely this bus' three exits make it a prime candidate for freeloaders?

Tfl say that requiring all passengers to touch in will limit the perception of fare evasion. Never mind the perception, what about actually limiting it?

We have buses with one exit in Oxford. That is what is needed in London.

Grove Park Care Home in Longsight, Manchester given formal warning

The Manchester Evening News reports:

A care home has been blasted by a health watchdog and ordered to urgently improve.

Grove Park Care Home in Longsight was hit with a formal warning after a team of inspectors from the Care Quality Commission made two unannounced visits.

They said the home – which looks after up to 20 people with mental health or substance problems – failed to meet a number of key standards.

They warned that:

Residents suffering with weight-loss were not being supported with eating and drinking.

Residents’ needs were not being thoroughly assessed.

Medication given to patients was not properly recorded and nursing staff had not received up-to-date training.

The home didn’t have proper assessment systems of its care.

The Plymouth Grove West home, which is run by Roja Limited, was told to make immediate changes or face further action.

The inspectors visited in October and then again in January.

They found that few audits or internal checks were being carried out and incidents of concern were not always documented properly.

Inspectors also observed that care staff failed to take account of people’s mental state when making assessments.

Debbie Westhead, from the CQC, said: "This warning sends a clear and public message that Roja Limited needs to address this issue as a matter of urgency or face serious consequences."

New DWP figures show low level of benefit fraud

Richard Excell comments at Liberal Conspiracy:

Friday’s DWP report on Fraud and Error in the Benefit System really ought to get more coverage.

With this publication we now have figures for the whole of the financial year 2010/11, and they show:

0.8 per cent of benefit spending is overpaid due to fraud, amounting to £1.2 billion, and
This proportion is the same as in 2009/10.

If we look at the estimates for different benefits, they are:

Retirement Pension 0.0 per cent;
Incapacity Benefit 0.3 per cent;
Disability Living Allowance 0.5 per cent;
Council Tax Benefit 1.3 per cent;
Housing Benefit 1.4 per cent;
Pension Credit 1.6 per cent;
Income Support 2.8 per cent;
Jobseeker’s Allowance 3.4 per cent;
Carer’s Allowance 3.9 per cent.

Look at the figures for disability benefits, see how low the figures are.

Remember them next time the BBC is running one of its 30 minute hate programmes, pushing the idea that every disabled person on benefits is a fraudster.

Remembering Hollie: Much more than “just a guinea pig”

This weekend, we lost a much loved companion and friend, Hollie the guinea pig.

For just over six years, she was at the centre of everything.

She was more than “just a guinea pig.” She always knew how we felt and would make us laugh if we felt down. A hug from Hollie would make everything seem alright.

Hollie was a cultured animal. She loved Sunday Half Hour, jazz music; Front Row and Just a Minute.

After her sister Maisie (also much loved) died a few years ago, we put Radio 2 on quietly while we were out to keep her company.

Soon, she became a huge fan of Chris Evans, Alan Carr, Graham Norton, Paul O’Grady and Tony Blackburn.

She was no pushover. If her food was even slightly late in the morning, she would let us know the delay was not good enough with a loud “shriek.”

Her palette expanded from fruit and vegetables to include a tiny bit of cake and Rich Tea biscuit every so often.

Hollie also had her cheeky side.

She enjoyed stretching up to try to grab a piece of cake that we were eating, and enjoyed letting our two gerbils know that only she had permission to walk along the floor.

Whether sitting in her cage lying on her home made little pillows, on our laps or in her tent under a small table, she kept an amused and contented eye on everything.

It seems strange in the evenings, not having her on our laps munching cucumber or clucking away while we stroked her.

However, we know she had a long and happy life.

She will be much missed.

Iran to hang Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, continues to arrest other Christians

Archbishop Cranmer reports:

Sources in Iran are reporting that the execution order for Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani may have been issued.

An Iranian Court has convicted him of apostasy (despite never having been a Muslim: background here, here and here), and the execution is thought to be imminent.

The present heightened tensions with Iran lend credence to this development: a high-profile execution becomes retaliation as the country endures crippling sanctions and international pressure in response to its nuclear agenda and fundamentalist rhetoric.

If the execution proceeds, it will be the first Iranian execution of a Christian for many years, and the fear is that it may (re-)establish the precedent for the execution of other Christians and religious minorities, of which there are many languishing in prison.

According to Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ, Pastor Youcef's execution 'could be the catalyst for the extinction of Christianity in Iran'.

The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith.
It is likely that the Pastor's life has been extended thus far only because of international pressure from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 89 members of the US Congress, along with the governments of the UK, France , Germany and Mexico.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide are asking people to email the Iranian Chief Judge and to pray.

WE must continue to keep up the pressure: pass the word along vis blogs, Facebook, Twitter, whatever, using links, 'likes' and hashtags.

The greatest fear is that Iran is simply waiting for pressure to die down before quietly executing Pastor Youcef.

The best chance for keeping him (and, indeed, the Christian faith) alive in Iran is to protest very loudly and forcefully about this. And pray.

Assist News reports that a 78 year old woman has been arrested in Iran this week for being a Christian:

Ms. Hakimpour, who is 78-years-old, is a member and minister of St. Luke’s Anglican church in Esfahan. She was living on her own in an apartment and witnesses saw both police and private cars parking down below her flat from around 6:00 AM,” said a spokesperson for Mohabat News.

Knowledgeable sources told Mohabat News that the intelligence officers initially interrogated her in her flat and then arrested her, and then went on to thoroughly search her apartment and confiscated some of her personal belongings.

Eyewitnesses said the officers were there for three hours until 9:00 AM, and then they took Ms. Hakimpour with them.

“No information is available concerning her whereabouts and health condition at this time,” the spokesperson told the ASSIST News Service. “She has no relatives inside Iran; however, the news of her arrest has caused a wave of anxiety among her relatives living outside Iran.

“The Iranian Christian community calls on Iranian authorities to release her and take measures to exonerate her of any charges.”

He added, “It has been reported that Ms. Hakimpour had not been in a good health the night before her arrest and was using some medicines because of knee replacement surgery she had undergone. Also her doctor had ordered that she should not be stressed and that she needs to be under special care.

“So, holding her in custody without basic facilities could cause her difficulties. The responsibility of life and any possible health problems for this elderly lady rest directly on Iranian authorities.”

Ms. Giti Hakimpour was born into a family who converted to Christianity from a Jewish background. She is a relative of Bishop Iraj Mottahedeh, former bishop of St. Luke’s church in Esfahan. She retired from a hospital of an oil industry company in Masjed-Soleiman and where she was a matron. She trained many nurses, some of whom are currently serving in the hospitals of Iran.

“It needs to be remembered that the security authorities of the Iranian Intelligence Office attacked the home of Pastor Hekmat Salimi in Fooladshahr, a district of Esfahan at 7:00 AM, also on February 22, 2012. They also arrested and transferred him to an unknown location without providing any kind of explanation. There are still no updates available concerning his situation,” added the spokesperson.

“No doubt, these anti-Christian actions are being taken in order to intimidate and terrorize Christians, especially Christian converts. These are being done after when some while ago, Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, who is known as the theoretician of the Islamic regime, said in a meeting with the President and Vice President of the Office of Islamic Propaganda in the Islamic Seminary of Qom that, ‘some work has been done and monies have been spent to counter the growth of Christianity in some provinces but the outcome is not satisfactory because no one is supervising these efforts.”

According to the reports published by Mohabat News, during these first two months of 2012, the security authorities of the Intelligence Ministry have arrested Christian citizens individually or in groups in cities of Ahwaz, Shiraz, Tehran and Esfahan.

Via Harry's Place.

Chingford scout troop appeals for donations for hall repairs

The Waltham Forest Guardian reports:

A SCOUTS troop has endured a freezing temperatures, dodgy electrics and a leaking roof in a hall which is described as being in a “terrible state”.

Now the 10th Chingford Scouts, along with cubs and beavers who use St Francis Church Hall, must find £13,000 to carry out vital repairs.

The children have been forced to put up with water cascading from the patchy roof, blown electrics and cold evenings due to broken heating at the venue in Hawkwood Crescent.

Now the scouts hope the community will help out at a series of planned fund-raising events...

The group has applied for the Chingford Green ward’s £10,000 funding for local projects, but believes its eventual share of the grant will only go some way to meeting costs.

to make a donation email bernie@10thchingford.org.uk.

Homophobic attack on 16 year old in #Nelson, #Lancashire

Pink News reports:

Lancashire police are appealing after a teenage boy was the victim of a homophobic assault in the town of Nelson earlier this month which left him with a broken jaw.

At around 9:30pm on Saturday the 11th February, the 16-year-old boy was walking through Nelson town centre along Netherfield Road with his sister when three men shouted homophobic abuse at him.

An argument then broke out between the group before the three men began assaulting the teenager, punching and kicking him in the face.

The offenders were disturbed when a man who was passing intervened. They fled the scene.

The victim was left needing surgery for a broken jaw and police are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward.

Detective Constable Julie Leigh, investigating, said: “This was a vicious and nasty assault and I am very keen to trace the people responsible.

“In particular, I would like to speak to the man who intervened and was able to stop the assault and would urge him, if he sees or hears this appeal to contact us.

“I would also appeal to anyone else that may have been in the area at the time who may have witnessed anything or to anyone that recognises the descriptions of the offenders to contact us.”

The three men are described as Asian, between 16 and 19 years of age. One of them in particular was described as being of medium build, around five feet eight and five feet ten inches tall and clean shaven with short, dark cropped, hair. He was wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police by calling 101 or alternatively, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

Office of Fair Trading to investigate payday lenders

BBC News reports:

Payday lenders will be investigated by a regulator amid concerns that they have been pushing loans to people who cannot afford to repay them.

The review by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will involve visits to 50 lenders and could lead to enforcement.

It is concerned that firms may have been giving out loans to borrowers before checking they can pay them back.

The OFT is also worried that lenders may be allowing customers' debts to spiral by rolling them over...

Help find gang who set dogs onto sheep near Rottingdean, Sussex

The Argus reports:

A girl aged around seven years old was among a gang that set dogs on a flock of sheep, it is claimed.

The savage attack happened on Sunday (February 19) afternoon at Balsdean Farm near Rottingdean.

One pregnant ewe was so badly mauled that farmer Martin Carr had to shoot it to end its suffering...

According to the two walkers who called police, the men were accompanied by two teenage boys and a dark-haired young girl.

One dog was described as black and white with a scarred face while the other was white...

The first man is described as white, age around 29, 6ft, average build, wearing a grey hoodie and dark joggers.

The second man is described as wearing dark clothing.

The men were reported to have been accompanied by three teenagers and two young children.

One of the teenage boys is described as age 13 to 14, with shoulder-length wavy hair, dark rimmed glasses, wearing a grey and black zip-up jacket.

The other teenage boy is described as age 14, with short dark hair, lean, wearing dark sportswear. The girl is described as being aged around 7 with dark hair.

Police are asking these men to contact them as soon as possible. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting serial 1130.

Visually impaired man abused and assualted on train between #LondonVictoria and #Shortlands

Police have isolated CCTV images of two men they believe could help with the investigation into the assualt of a visually impaired man who was attacked on a train between London Victoria and Shortlands.

The attack took place around 5.45pm on Monday, 30 January. The man was travelling with his guide dog and a blind friend.

Detective Sergeant Daren Bates from BTP’s Crime Action Team would like to hear from anyone recognises the men pictured or who may have witnessed the incident:

“The 28-year-old victim, from Bromley and who is visually impaired, boarded the service at London Victoria with his guide dog and a friend, who is registered blind.

“A few stops later, at Brixton, one of two men travelling on board the train trod on the dog’s tail and the victim politely asked them to be mindful of his dog.

“Later the pair approached the victim and began verbally abusing him, mocking his partial-sightedness and his need for an assistance dog.

“Suddenly, the man felt a blow to his back and to his arm. No medical treatment was required, but the victim was left extremely shaken.”

The two men were described as speaking with eastern European accents and smelled strongly of alcohol.

They can be seen below:

DS Bates added: “My team of detectives have launched an investigation into this incident and we are now asking for the public’s help to identify the men pictured...

“This took place on a rush hour train which would have been fairly busy. The victim and his friend have done their best to describe the suspects for us, but we need witnesses to come forward to help us piece the events together.

“If you saw or know anything about this appalling attack, we want to hear from you.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact BTP on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting background reference B6/LSA of 31/01/2012.

Information can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

New travel support card launched by Transport for London

Transport for London has launched a new Travel Support Card for people with hidden disabilities, such as learning and communication difficulties, to help them use public transport more easily.

Showing the credit card-sized card will alert members of staff that the passenger may need support, and will help people with invisible disabilities have more confidence in asking for help.

TfL worked with disability charities in developing and launching the new card, which can be downloaded and printed from the TfL website.

It includes space to write anything that could help transport staff to give the right support, and for passengers to include their names and a number to call in times of an emergency.

You can order a travel support card online or by contacting London Travel Information on 0843 222 1234.

A guide on how to use the Travel Support Card is here.

It's a shame Tfl buried the link towards the bottom of a page linked towards the bottom of a main page. It wasn't in the press release either.

One thing Tfl needs to do is make sure all its bus drivers take the time to lower the wheelchair ramp for disabled passengers.

Cabinet Office spent over £10k on away days since May 2010

The Evening Standard reports:

The department in charge of cutting Whitehall waste has spent more than £10,000 on staff away days, it emerged today.

The spending at Francis Maude's Cabinet Office was branded "outrageous" at a time when thousands of civil servants are losing their jobs.

Details have emerged of 17 away days held since the Coalition came to power in May 2010, costing a total of £10,020. They include events at Somerset House and Kenwood House.

The most expensive was at Rich Mix, a charity and social enterprise organisation in an old Shoreditch clothing factory, costing £2,584 for 70 people.

The department also spent £2,500 for a trip to the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster, just minutes from the Cabinet Office's Whitehall HQ.

And an away day at Wallacespace in Covent Garden - described on its website as "comfortable and relaxed; an environment designed to create"- cost £1,252 for 12 people.

Eight events were held on the Cabinet Office estate but cost £1,766, which Labour MP Luciana Berger, who uncovered the spending through parliamentary questions, said was "bizarre"...

Mr Maude, who last week pledged the Government would save £5 billion this year, said staff were encouraged to use Cabinet Office facilities "wherever possible" but added: "In some cases it is more beneficial to hold events offsite and away from office distractions."

Food donation event in Walthamstow town centre on Saturday February 25

The Waltham Forest Guardian reports:

FOOD for Waltham Forest’s poor can be donated at an event this weekend.

The Eat or Heat campaign, which is organised by the Sybourn Children’s Centre in Perth Road, Leyton, aims to help residents who have no benefit of public funds, are homeless or who are on a low income...

The group will be accepting donations of tinned and other long-life food outside BhS at The Selborne Walk Mall shopping centre in Walthamstow between 11.30am and 2.30pm on Saturday (February 25).

All phone, email and internet browsing records to be stored for a year for the security services

The Daily Telegraph reports:

Landline and mobile phone companies and broadband providers will be ordered to store the data for a year and make it available to the security services under the scheme.

The databases would not record the contents of calls, texts or emails but the numbers or email addresses of who they are sent and received by.

For the first time, the security services will have widespread access to information about who has been communicating with each other on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Direct messages between subscribers to websites such as Twitter would also be stored, as well as communications between players in online video games.

The Home Office is understood to have begun negotiations with internet companies in the last two months over the plan, which could be officially announced as early as May.

It is certain to cause controversy over civil liberties - but also raise concerns over the security of the records.

Access to such information would be highly prized by hackers and could be exploited to send spam email and texts. Details of which websites people visit could also be exploited for commercial gain*.

The plan has been drawn up on the advice of MI5, the home security service, MI6, which operates abroad, and GCHQ, the Government’s “listening post” responsible for monitoring communications.

Rather than the Government holding the information centrally, companies including BT, Sky, Virgin Media, Vodafone and O2 would have to keep the records themselves.

Under the scheme the security services would be granted “real time” access to phone and internet records of people they want to put under surveillance, as well as the ability to reconstruct their movements through the information stored in the databases.

The system would track “who, when and where” of each message, allowing extremely close surveillance.

Mobile phone records of calls and texts show within yards where a call was made or a message was sent, while emails and internet browsing histories can be matched to a computer’s “IP address”, which can be used to locate where it was sent...

*or for blackmail purposes "Do you want your wife to see you visited six porn sites and four gambling sites today, Mr Top Banker?"

Ambulances can only use Olympic lanes during emergencies

The Guardian reports:

Games organisers have been accused of risking people's health by banning the routine use by ambulances of the "Games lanes" introduced to ensure that VIPs can travel quickly to events.

The decision to reject a request for access from NHS London, the capital's strategic health authority, has led to a storm of anger.

Medical Services, an independent business that transports patients for the health service, and whose clients include the hospitals closest to the Olympic stadium, says it fears that the ill, including those on dialysis, will be trapped in vehicles as London suffers unprecedented congestion, with traffic on key routes expected to slow to a crawl.

...Following consultation with the NHS, ambulances will be allowed to use the lanes when they have their blue lights on, but critics say there are many urgent journeys that cannot justify the use of blue lights. They can only be employed in a genuine emergency and those entitled to use them generally require special training.

Leah Bevington, head of communication at Medical Services, expressed astonishment that even appeals for bus lanes to be opened up to ambulances and vehicles transporting patients had been rejected by Transport for London (TfL) and the London Olympic Organising Committee so that public transport was not held up at peak times.

Bevington said: "This means that sick people, often elderly and frail, urgent blood supplies, oxygen, will all be made to wait in traffic with the rest of us.

Congestion can be bad enough around London on a regular day so you can imagine that we are concerned that patients will be on a vehicle for much longer periods of time." She added: "As much as the NHS and everyone else is trying to run business as usual, without some help it won't happen."

Medical Services is also concerned about a potential increase in cardiac arrests and breathing difficulties and about the lack of toilet facilities on its vehicles. "

...There are also fears that mobile phones crucial to the work of healthcare workers will suffer because of an increase in usage in east London. Routine deliveries of blood and oxygen to hospitals are being moved to the night in order to avoid congestion.

A report from NHS Blood and Transport warns of an impact on its ability to transport potential organ donors to hospitals.

Chris Grayling calls critics of mandotary work placements "job snobs"

Writing for the Sunday Telegraph, greedy Chris Grayling calls people who expect those working for eight weeks to be paid at least the minium wage "job snobs".

He also claims the Guardian and the BBC are hypocrites for opposing the scheme.

Sunny Hundall comments on Liberal Conspiracy:

Grayling has a long history of being dishonest, so this attempt at comparison isn’t surprising. In 2010 he was slammed by the UK Statistics Authority and even Iain Duncan Smith for “misleading” people about crime statistics.

And don’t forget the time he misled on benefits cuts.

Anyway, comparison with the Guardian and BBC schemes is fatuous for several reasons.

1. The Guardian and BBC schemes are voluntary – these are not. People lose their JSA if they don’t sign on.

2. Both WE schemes are for only two weeks, in line with HMRC best practice. The Tesco job ad stated ‘permanent’ and most placements are longer than two weeks – giving the company plenty of free labour.

3. The Guardian is a relatively smaller company, working in an industry where it’s relatively hard to get experience. The same is not true of working in supermarkets...

Isle of Wight Council fined over scalding in respite residential care facility

Publicservice.co.uk reports:

The Isle of Wight Council has been fined £12,000 plus costs of £5,133 after a man staying at a respite residential care facility was scalded while in the shower.

In 2009, very hot water from the shower hit the man's lower back, resulting in 13 per cent burns and preventing him from returning home – he now lives in a care home.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the shower fitting wasn't suitable for use in a healthcare facility and was not equipped with a thermostatic mixing valve which limits shower temperatures to 41°C. Two other resource centres had the same units fitted. The HSE also found that the council had no means of maintaining the equipment or checking water temperatures...

Ministers warned over fueling hatred and hostility towards disabled people

DisabledGo News Blog reports:

...On the same day that six national disability charities warned that the government’s focus on “fakers and scroungers” was causing disability hate crime, a coalition minister was told his colleagues’ approach risked creating an atmosphere similar to 1930s Nazi Germany.

The Liberal Democrat care services minister Paul Burstow had been addressing a joint meeting of 10 all-party parliamentary groups on the government’s plans for reforming the social care system.

The disabled crossbench peer the Countess of Mar told him that disabled people were facing public hostility, with strangers accosting them in the street and accusing them of faking their impairments.

She said: “I don’t need to remind you what happened in 1930s Germany when disabled people and older people were regarded as a burden on the state. We do not want to sleepwalk into that situation.”

Burstow said he found it “completely abhorrent” that anyone would take the government’s “legitimate discussion about how our welfare systems work” and “translate that to an entitlement to abuse and degrade a person who lives with a disability”.

He added: “I do not accept that we are in conditions that [could repeat] the history of the German state in the 30s and 40s.”

But the disabled Labour peer Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins said the “vilification that people are getting on the streets” was “causing such damage to people’s lives”, and said Burstow should ask fellow ministers to “make positive statements that disabled people are not scroungers”.

Burstow agreed to put the request to Maria Miller, the minister for disabled people, and her fellow Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ministers...

Waltham Forest Council could be investigated by police due to missing election expenses detail

The Waltham Forest Guardian reports:

DETAILS of councillors’ election expenses have probably been destroyed, paving the way for a police investigation, it has emerged.

Last week questions were raised about whether forms filled out by members to register their interests were being maintained properly when dozens were found to be incomplete or out of date.

The Guardian has now learned that forms containing councillors’ 2010 election expenses, which must be retained for two years by law, cannot be found.

The council’s monitoring officer, Daniel Fenwick, who is responsible for ensuring rules are followed, has admitted that the forms are likely to have been destroyed when a town hall filing cabinet was emptied during an office move.

In a letter to Nick Tiratsoo, whose research uncovered the problems, Mr Fenwick said the mistake “is likely to be the result of human error”.

He added that the documents may be “in the basement” which cannot be accessed due to maintenance work.

The police would handle any investigation into the matter if a complaint was made that the legal requirement had not been met.

Councillors have now begun to update their declarations of interests forms.

The council declined to comment further...

Flintshire Council travel cut prevents wheelchair user from working

The Leader reports:

A WHEELCHAIR user has been forced to give up his two beloved jobs because his free transport was axed.

Flintshire Council revoked the free transport concession for Michael Evans, 37, who has Down syndrome, following a review of his benefit entitlement.

His concerned parents Sue, and Norman, both 67, who live with their son on Wrexham Road, Mold, lodged an appeal against the decision but have since learned they were unsuccessful.

Michael, who travelled by taxi to work placement schemes at Abbey Metal, Flint, and at the County Hall canteen, Mold, has now had to give up his jobs.

Sue said: “Michael is really sad about it.

“He absolutely loved his jobs but now he spends his days watching DVDs.

“The other day he brought me his £6 wages and asked whether that would pay for his taxi.”

Council bosses revoked Michael’s free transport following an assessment of his Disability Living Allowance.

Of this allowance, Michael receives £51.40 per week to cover the cost of his transport needs. But the cost of taxis to and from work totalled £82 per week.

The couple had originally planned to drive Michael, a wheelchair user who can’t walk very far, to work but Sue, who suffers arthritis, and Norman, who has undergone heart surgery, decided they could not risk their health.

“Perhaps if it was for the short term we may have been able to take him but we just can’t face it,” said Sue.

“We’re at retirement age now. We should be winding down not racing round.

“The council want to teach Michael how to use public transport but I think that’s a stupid idea.

“To expect someone as vulnerable as Michael to use public transport, when he does not have the mental capacity to even cross a road, is beyond belief.”

A spokesman for Flintshire Council said: “Flintshire Council have fully considered Michael Evans’ situation and have no further comment to make.”

The couple have now written to Delyn MP David Hanson seeking his support.

Blind Londoner to swim 150m non-stop to raise money for local libraries

Save Kensal Rise Library reports:

Visually impaired Brent resident, Marcos Sanjurjo, 29, will be taking the plunge to raise money and awareness for his local libraries which have recently been closed.

Marcos, from the College Road area of Kensal Green, will take to the hydrotherapy pool at the Anne Wall day centre, run by the deafblind charity Sense , and will swim 20 lengths (150m) non-stop to make a splash for the Save Brent Libraries Campaign.

Marcos has sight impairment and reduced mobility due to cerebral palsy. Marcos spends weekends volunteering at the pop-up library outside the closed Kensal Rise library, helping local people borrow and return books and talking to members of the community about the Save Kensal Library campaign. Marcos said:

“The library is important to my community. It is somewhere quiet for people to sit, relax, read books, newspapers and use the computers. The vulnerable people in the community need the library, they sometimes can’t afford to buy books, CDs and DVDs so they can borrow them thanks to the library. Some people need the library so they see others and are not alone; other libraries are too far to travel. We need our library!!! It will be difficult to swim 20 lengths of the pool but I’m looking forward to making a splash for a cause I believe in!”

Natasha Koritsas, Marcos’s Key Worker at the Sense centre, will be on hand during the swim. She will support Marcos as he is hoisted out of his wheelchair into the water and will help guide him through the water as he completes the lengths:

“This is a cause very close to Marcos’s heart. Marcos began volunteering his time at the library as soon as he heard about the closures. Marcos is very keen to do the sponsored swim to raise money. We are all very proud of him. GO MARCOS!”

The national deafblind charity Sense runs the Anne Wall Centre in Barnet to provide support to deafblind people from across the area.

To sponsor Marcos, call the Anne Wall Centre on: 020 8449 0964 and register a donation.

Protest in Southend-on-Sea over shared spaces danger

DisabledGo News Blog reports:

Campaigners have highlighted the dangers of controversial “shared space” street developments by blocking buses outside a railway station, as part of an international day of action.

The protest in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, was led by blind and partially-sighted people, but included other disabled people, older people and families with prams, all protesting at the town’s two new shared space developments.

More than 50 people held up buses outside Southend Victoria station, before marching along the high street to the second of the town’s shared spaces at City Beach, on the seafront.

The protest came just days before the government published new guidance aimed at helping local authorities “design high-quality shared space schemes”. The guidance points out that such designs “can be problematic for some, particularly blind and partially-sighted people”.

Shared space designs usually remove kerbs and crossings so motorists and pedestrians can share the street space, but pedestrians and motorists and cyclists have to make eye contact to establish right of way.

Campaigners say the need for eye contact and the absence of kerbs, which people with guide dogs and long canes use to navigate, puts blind and partially-sighted people at risk, as well as some people with learning difficulties and children.

Visitors to Southend Victoria station now come out of the main entrance straight into an area shared with buses, cars, taxis, bicycles and other pedestrians.

The protest was organised by Jill Allen-King, who chairs the European Blind Union’s commission on mobility and transport and has warned the council that she believes its developments breach the parts of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on accessibility and consulting properly with disabled people.

She said the two developments had become “no-go areas” for blind and partially-sighted people.

She said: “I have lived here for 71 years and for the first time in my life there are two areas that I cannot go.

“We keep being told that these shared streets work well in Europe but, as chairperson of the European Blind Union’s commission on mobility and transport for the past 14 years, I know that they don’t.”...

British athletes could be banned from the Olympics for criticising team-mates or sponsors

The Evening Standard reports:

British athletes risk being banned from the Olympics if they criticise team-mates or sponsors under rules that cover tattoos, contact lenses and even the commercial use of their footprints and nicknames.

Competitors could also face a 2012 ban if they sell their official adidas kit before or even after the Games, according to a code of conduct drawn up by team chiefs.

The strict rules are set out in the 34-page book Team Member's Agreement.

Athletes who flout the rules will be punished with fines or could even be axed from Team GB.

Members of the 560-strong team will be told by the British Olympic Association not to "make adverse comments on the performance or prospects of team members".

They are also forbidden from using tattoos, haircuts, piercings or contact lenses as ways of issuing "commercial" or "political" messages. Existing tattoos which make political statements must be covered.

Athletes will be obliged to keep their kit in "good condition", not just for the duration of the Olympics but "in perpetuity".

Even after the Games, the kit cannot be sold although athletes can donate items to "non-political" charities...

In London, competitors must wear official kit in all media appearances; attend the British Olympic Association's post-Games party and agree to joining an Olympic "Hall of Fame" which the BOA plans to form.

They will be reminded of the Olympic ban on betting on any Games event and must report any suspicions over betting and event-fixing.

West Sussex County Council to ignore call for pay transparency

The Argus reports:

West Sussex County Council is set to ignore Government calls for more transparency over the appointment of highly paid staff.

The council has insisted there is no need for councillors to discuss appointments of staff on more than £100,000 a year.

This is despite guidance from the Department for Communities and Local Government which says the full council is entitled to vote before large salary packages are offered.

The authority is also refusing to name officers earning high salaries in its public accounts.

The move, which will be discussed at a full council meeting on Friday, February 17 has been criticised by opposition councillors.

According to the authority’s latest statement of accounts 19 employees took home more than £100,000 in 2010/11, once pension contributions and other remuneration were taken into consideration.

The highest payment was just under £400,000 to outgoing chief executive Mark Hammond.

His replacement, Kieran Stigant, was paid a total sum of £207,000 last year...

MP's spent almost £400k of taxpayers' money on a dozen trees

The Mirror reports:

A dozen fig trees rented to shade MPs as they linger over coffee and lunch have cost taxpayers almost £400,000, it was revealed yesterday.

The staggering extravagance as the Tory-led Coalition inflicts savage cuts on the poor has sparked cross-party fury.

Labour’s Thomas Docherty said: “I don’t think MPs will be aware of this arrangement and I will be asking questions about it.”

The weeping fig trees – ficus benjamina – were planted in the glass-roofed courtyard of Portcullis House 11 years ago.

The block, which is joined to the Commons by an underground tunnel, is already the subject of an inquiry after building costs soared from £165million to £235million.

The original five-year contract for the trees – evergreens with glossy leaves and a smooth light-grey bark – was worth £150,000, but Freedom of Information requests have revealed they are still being rented from Plantcare UK for £32,500 a year, or almost £90 a day...

Rob Wilson, Conservative MP for Reading East, blames the previous Government in the Telegraph, but whichever side was responsible for the trees, they are a shocking waste of taxpayers' money.

Ugandan cabinet minister accused of raiding gay rights workshop

Pink News reports:

Amnesty International has called on Uganda to end its “outrageous harassment” of activists after a cabinet minister reportedly raided a workshop being held by gay and trans rights advocates.

Uganda’s Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, was accompanied by police to the hotel where the event was being held, the organisation said.

Announcing that the workshop was illegal, rights activists were expelled from the hotel and threatened with force.

Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said: “This is an outrageous attempt to prevent lawful and peaceful activities of human rights defenders in Uganda"...

Chris Grayling the scrounger

Employment Minister Chris Grayling's support for the austerity programme is undoubtable.

However, he hasn't always been so keen on cutting public spending.

In 2009, the Telegraph reported:

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary claimed thousands of pounds to renovate a flat in central London – bought with a mortgage funded at taxpayers’ expense, even though his constituency home is less than 17 miles from the House of Commons.

Mr Grayling, who represents Epsom and Ewell, lives in a large house in Ashtead, Surrey, but also claims expenses for a flat in Pimlico, near the House of Commons. Mr Grayling also owns other buy-to-let flats and now has four properties within the M25...

Over the summer of 2005, Mr Grayling undertook a complete refurbishment of the flat. Shortly after the general election in May, Mr Grayling claimed £4,250 for redecorating and £1,561 for a new bathroom.

Taxpayers charged for Chris Grayling's food:

In 2005/6, we paid £100 for food for Chris Grayling, as well as £56 towards his council tax, £46 towards utility bills and £36 towards "repairs"

In 2006/7, we paid £100 for food for Chris Grayling, £59 towards his council tax, £9 for "repairs" and £36 for maintaince.

In 2007/8, we paid £50 for food for Chris Grayling, £72 towards his utilities, £63 towards his council tax, £25 towards his cleaning and £205 towards repairs.

In 2008/9, we paid £75 for food, £76.15 for utilities, £580.09 for maintainace and £62.22

In each of the above years, we also contributed towards his mortgage payments.

Imagine if someone on benefits spent £4,250 of public money on redecorating their flat. The tabloids would have a field day, complete with a quote from Mr Grayling saying that is why reform is needed.

Unlike the wealthy Chris Grayling, people on benefits don't get their utility bills paid either.

What a shitty little man Chris Grayling is.

Sue Marsh speaking about welfare reform on BBC News yesterday

Disabled people protest the stopping of the Independent Living Fund

More at Liberal Conspiracy

Judge Dredd - The Bod TV special

Brilliant.

Stop mugging the disabled! -letter in the Leicester Mercury

Via This is Leicestershire

I would like to respond to the letters you have published recently about those of us who receive benefits.

Since my early teens, I have been managing a medical condition I ended up with as a result of a brain tumour. I worked until in my 30s. I was retired through ill health.

Since then, I am one of those scroungers, who lives on benefits.

To get those benefits was not easy. I did not just qualify for them, I had to justify needing them. I went through numerous medicals and question sessions with benefit staff, not to mention the forms I needed to complete.

It involved my general practitioner, my specialists and care workers.

I found the process humiliating and demeaning. The Benefit Agency know all about me. I mean all about me.

I have always tried to keep up my self-esteem. I have done many volunteering jobs, as well as caring for both my parents until they died.

Yes, I have been depressed, fed up, frustrated and angry.

I did not choose to live like this. I was brought up to work and to give something back, in any way possible.

In recent years, my health has got worse. My benefits have not gone up. I live on or about £120 per week. That money has to cover all eventualities. I have no-one to go to for a handout.

I am, however, grateful to the taxpayers who have contributed to the fund that I benefit from.

I feel, it is time that governments and various statutory bodies stop abusing those who are disabled and through no fault of their own cannot work at all.

If I was attacked in my own home, mugged and robbed, my neighbours, friends, councillors and MPs would be appalled.

But let the Government mug disabled people, with bureaucracy, law changes, means-testing and phone calls from the DWP, telling us your benefits have been stopped – well, that seems to be all right.

Disabled does not mean useless, but it does mean we cannot work at a full-time job – this is backed by medical evidence.

From my own experience, many employers will not take on a disabled person as they may be a liability or a hazard in the work place, despite legislation saying that they must employ someone who is disabled.

Most employers have no time, let alone compassion for someone disabled. They want to make money. That is all.

In my case, I volunteer. I give the best I have to give, to those in need, by the way I talk to them and by the help I may be able to offer them.

This gives me a sense of purpose and something to get out of bed for.

What I ask is: Please leave the easy targets, disabled people, out of your equation of cuts.

It is cruel and unfair. Please respect us.

Not everyone is a leach, a faker or trying to get something they are not entitled to.

It is high time, governments picked on those who commit the real benefit fraud. Look at other ways of saving benefit money.

Name and address supplied.

Iran further limits internet access

Medianetwork reports:

Access to the Internet’s most-used sites and tools is being choked in Iran at a politically charged period, blocking communication channels for local businesses, bank clients, scientists and foreign media.

Attempts to get on Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo and foreign news pages were either met with an Iranian page saying in Farsi that “Access to this page is a violation of computer crime laws” or the connection was slowed to such an extent to make it nearly impossible.

The restrictions add to the online censorship that authorities have long imposed in the Islamic republic.

Until now, sophisticated Internet users had been able to get around the blocks by using software known as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) - the sale of which is illegal in Iran.

Since last week, though, even most VPNs offered no solution. Internet service providers (ISPs), under the control of the state, seemed to be targeting the Internet’s most popular social networks and communication sites...

Manchester FA referee appointments secretary suspended for anti-semitic comment

The Manchester Evening News reports:

A referees' boss has been suspended after being found guilty by an FA panel of making a sick jibe about the Holocaust before a Jewish league match.

Phil Morris, referee appointments secretary at the Manchester FA, was disciplined over comments he was said to have made in a dressing room at Manchester United’s Carrington complex.

He reportedly told a ref who was due to oversee the Jewish league game: “Tell them to remember the concentration camps if they give you any ****."

The alleged remark was overheard by a teenage Jewish official, who was left deeply distressed and told his parents.

A formal complaint was made to the Manchester FA. They passed it to the association’s top brass in London who sent a four-man delegation to investigate.

A hearing was held in Manchester on Friday. Morris, from Levenshulme, was found guilty of using ‘abusive and/or insulting words, aggravated by race’...

Morris, himself a former referee, is himself involved in disciplinary hearings when amateur players from various Greater Manchester leagues appeal against red-card offences.

What a disgusting man.

Croydon and Norfolk County councils fined for child security failures

Publiceservice.co.uk reports:

Croydon Council and Norfolk County Council have both been slammed with significant monetary penalties after failing to secure sensitive information on children's welfare, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has said.

The regulator handed a £100,000 fine to Croydon Council after a social worker's unlocked bag containing papers on the care of a child sex abuse victim was stolen from pub in London.

The bag and its contents were never recovered and the council was found to have failed to monitor employees' understanding of data protection guidance.

Stephen Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement said: "This highly personal information needn't have been compromised at all if Croydon Council had appropriate security measures in place."

Norfolk County Council faced an £80,000 penalty for its breach, which saw a social worker hand deliver confidential and highly sensitive information on a child's emotional and physical wellbeing to a next-door neighbour after writing the wrong address on a report.

Information related to allegations against a parent and the welfare of their child. In this case, the ICO said the social worker had not completed mandatory data protection training and found that council processes were lacking.

"One of the most basic rules when disclosing highly sensitive information is to check and then double check that it is going to the right recipient," said Eckersley. "Norfolk County Council failed to have a system for this and also did not monitor whether staff had completed data protection training."

He added that both authorities had acted "swiftly" to inform people involved, and that remedial action had since been taken to ensure effective data protection measures were put in place.

But Eckersley said this did not "excuse the fact that vulnerable children and their families should never have been put in this situation."...

Care home worker Malcolm Cramp jailed for just one year for abusing vulnerable patients

The Daily Mail reports:

The husband of a care home manager was today branded 'cruel and almost sadistic' by a judge after he physically and mentally abused four dementia patients.

Vicious Malcolm Cramp dragged an 81-year-old woman out of her chair and tied down a 97-year-old woman with a blanket during the year he worked at Brockshill Woodlands home in Oadby, Leicester.

He 'punished' the same patient by trapping her in a room with no light on, despite knowing she was afraid of the dark.

Cramp, 52, then tucked the terrified Alzheimer's sufferer into her bed so tightly she screamed out in distress.

He has now been jailed for 12 months for his aggression towards the four women, all in their 80s and 90s.

The abuse took place between February 2009 and January 2010, when he was working at the home run by then-wife Michelle.

He was convicted at Leicester Crown Court on seven counts of ill-treating four people 'who lacked capacity'.

Foul-mouthed Cramp - who is now divorced - regularly swore at patients, ordering them to be in bed by 8pm before his shift started.

Jailing him last Friday, Judge Simon Hammond blasted him for failing to treat his patients with 'dignity, respect and understanding'.

He said: 'It became apparent to members of staff, but not his then-wife, he
was unsuitable for such work...

His wife was cleared of wrongdoing, but it seems rather shocking that she was unaware of the abuse her husband was giving to vulnerable people.

Malcolm Cramp should have got twelve years, not twelve months. What a laughable sentence.

MP's expenses and salaries bill to rise by £47m

Are we all in this together?

The Mirror reports:

MPs’ claims for expenses are set to soar by almost ­£47million this year.

Shock figures have revealed that the bill for 650 MPs’ salaries and ­expenses, plus the cost of their staff, is set to hit an eye-watering ­£164.7million.

The revelation shatters David Cameron’s pledge to cut the cost of politics and follows the ­expenses furore in 2009 when MPs claimed for everything from duck houses to ­lavish furnishings for second homes.

The rise comes after the rules were relaxed on expenses’ claims for travel, hotels and spending on staff.

Watchdogs at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority have asked for the extra cash to cover the bill, the Sunday Mirror has learned.

The cost of MPs and their staff in the 11 months from the General Election in May 2010 to April 2011 was £118million.

It included “golden goodbyes” worth up to £64,766 each for departing MPs and money spent on winding up their offices.

But despite their £65,738 salaries being frozen this year, the revised total for 2012 is £46.7million higher than last year...

So MPs are happy to vote through benefit caps and a cut of point for those on certain disability benefits while the taxpayer has to pay even more money towards their expenses.

Revolting. We should be demonstrating in the streets.

And all those who shout "There's no money left" should join us as well.

Man jailed for eight weeks for homophobic graffiti

Pink News reports:

A man who daubed a housing block in London’s Shadwell with homophobic graffiti has been jailed for eight weeks.

Mashudur Rahman, 22, had sprayed anti-gay and racist graffiti around the site seventy times last year before being arrested on 28 September.

The council for Tower Hamlets, which is one of the most deprived boroughs in the country, said it worked in partnership with housing managers EastendHomes and the police to identify Rahman.

He has been given an eight week custodial sentence for nine counts of criminal damage in a sentencing at Thames Magistrates Court.

The council said he had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges in a hearing at Stratford Magistrates Court on 3 February, and was fined £2,000 in costs.

The court also heard a number of witness statements which described the alarm and distress caused by the graffiti, which contained numerous homophobic references...

Jack Gilbert, Co-chair of Rainbow Hamlets, the LGBT Forum for Tower Hamlets, said: “We welcome this conviction. In particular we are pleased that the Court recognised that these were offences motivated by hatred of LGBT people and reflected that in its sentence. This sends a clear message: Homophobic crime in Tower Hamlets will not be tolerated.

“Offences like these cause considerable worry and distress to LGBT people and could well encourage others if not addressed swiftly. We are obviously concerned that the incidents took place so frequently and over so long a period. We will be inviting East End Homes, the police and the council to participate in a review of the case to ensure better practices are put in place for the future.”

Shame the sentence was not longer.

Conference for parents of children with special needs in South London on March 15

This is Local London reports:

PARENTS of children with special needs are being invited to a conference offering support and advice.

Voluntary group Bexley Voice will be putting on free workshops and stalls at Hall Place in Bourne Road, Bexley on March 15.

They will be offering advice on a variety of topics, including school support, benefits, behaviour or eating problems, social activities and transport.

A spokeswoman said: “Having to care for a child with a disability, special or additional need can be quite daunting at times and occasionally everyone needs a helping hand.

“Come along to our parent conference and gain valuable advice, information and support from our experts.”

For more information, call 07512409936 or email bexleyvoice@hotmail.co.uk.

Raise some dough for amazing charities with the Oxfordshire Bakeoff

A bake-off will take place on Saturday 24th March 2012 in Oxford Town Hall to raise money for Oxfam, Coppa Feel, Oxford Rape Crisis and Cecily’s Fund.

As well as a baking competition, there will be stalls, workshops for adults and kids, a tea shop sponsored by Jeeves and Jericho, and an enormous bake sale.

All you need to do is pick your categories, then apply by downloading the application form and sending it in.

Anyone can enter – all you need is a passion for baking.

Closing date for entry is Tuesday March 20th 2012, and the entry fee is £5.

Entries should be brought along on the day to the venue between 9:30am and 10:30am.

It should be noted that this event is not affiliated with the BBC Great British Bake Off.

Slap on wrist for Bampton arsonist

Damen Lewis, 22, of Chandler Close, Bampton, has committed multiple offences, according to the Oxford Times:

[Lewis] admitted driving without due care and attention and without insurance; failing to stop after a road-traffic crash and arson of a hedge row, grass verge and field on October 28 in New Yatt Road, North Leigh.

I think someone like that needs a serious punishment, including a lengthy driving ban, a large fine and extensive community service.

Instead

[Damen Lewis] was told to pay £800 compensation and given a three-month curfew. Banned from driving for six months.

Sigh. When will we have a decent criminal justice system in this country?

The lodger

The lodger was wrapped in thin nylon sheets, lying on a battered old double bed. His alarm clock had gone off a couple of hours ago, but he was too nervous to get up.

His landlady was coming round later to inspect the house. The lodger hated his landlady.

She had grown to be such a concern that she filled all his spare thoughts, never allowing him to relax. Whenever she came, she always turned the heating down so she would pay less. Why she had included the gas and electric bills in the rent, he did not know.

He sank into despair. Three hours to go. Three hours until she would point out some filth that one of the other tenants had left and make him clean it up.

He really wanted to move out. Since he had lost his job, however, there was nowhere to go.

The benefit cap had forced him out of his last house, which he had rented while he was working, and most landlords and landladies would not let to someone on benefits. “An insurance risk” one letting agent murmured when he asked her why. “They’re harder to evict than tenants in work” another told him.

He was getting desperate when he found this house. The landlady, a shark of a lawyer, took DSS tenants and treated them like her regular ones. That is, very badly. The stress was getting to him, stopping him looking for work. Every week she came round, always on a Wednesday.

The contract had one more month before it needed to be renewed. Getting to his feet, and brushing a half-eaten packet of mints into the bin, he decided not to renew it. Even a B&B would be better than this.

Essex concert to raise money for mental health charity

The Chelmsford Weekly News reports:

...A concert by Martin Dobson’s Midnight Oil Jazz Quartet will be performed on Wednesday, April 11, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, at the Elim Christian Centre, in Hall Street, Chelmsford.

The concert is supported by the North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and will raise money for mental health charity, Mind.

Katie Marsh will introduce the event by talking about her experiences as a sufferer of paranoid schizophrenia and will also perform a movement from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Tickets cost £6, (£4 concessions) and are available from Allegro Music, in High Street, Chelmsford, Daces, in Moulsham Street, or by emailing Mike Waddington at mike.waddington@ nepft.nhs.uk

They will also be available on the door on the night.

Lansley "friend": Gay marriage not a "serious issue"

Guido reports that friends of Andrew Lansley have hit back at Tim Montgomerie over his attack on the controversial and ludicrous Health Bill.

The attack does seem rather unfortunate and probably strenghtens Montgomerie's hand:

“Tim’s sole achievement in politics was to be chief of staff to the most unpopular leader in Conservative history, so forgive us if we don’t take any lessons from him. He clearly wants to take the party back to the bad old days of constant infighting and no policy. He should stick to talking about gay marriage and leave serious issues like the NHS to the grown ups.”

1. It reminds people how unpopular the vile Work and Pensions secretary was when he was leader. How happy will IDS be about this?

2. It implies that gay marriage is not a serious issue. Many in the Tory party would disagree.

Given that Tories have been trying to claim that Ken Livingstone is a homophobe, they do not want to look like they are dismissive of equality issues like this.

With friends like these...

Independent on Sunday buys into IDS' myths

Disappointing to see that an article in by the so-called progressive Independent on Sunday buys into the idea of those on benefits as passive.

The paper claims that "Employment support allowance, for many, is a disincentive to work."

I can only speak for myself. I am volunteering two days a week and have referred myself to a charity that helps people with mental health conditions work towards a job.

I miss working, and feel I have gained socially and intellectually from the work I have done.

I am determined to get back to work and do not need the Independent on Sunday's Jane Merrick, Matt Chorley and Brian Brady, Iain Duncan Smith or anyone else making me feel like a scrounger when I am not.

The idea that people are "trapped" by benefits implies people are only motivated by money.

This is insulting and the Independent on Sunday should be ashamed of itself for agreeing with Iain Duncan Smith on this.

The case studies in the article are well worth a read:

Helen Searle, 37, from Buckinghamshire, has cerebral palsy and experiences seizures

She stopped part-time work as a cashier eight years ago suffering from exhaustion and bad pain in her legs and back.

She receives employment and support allowance as well as just over £400 in disability living allowance.

She will have to undergo a medical reassessment under plans to move her on to personal independence payments. She worries her entitlements will be reduced under the new system.

"I think I will lose out; I have heard the three rates of the care component in DLA will be cut down under personal independence payment. I'm on the middle rate, so where am I going to go?

For me, disability doesn't fit into a tick box system. Disabled people are going to have to undergo regular assessment.

But as my condition is not going to go away, they're just creating more paperwork. My DLA pays for fuel to and from the hospital, prescription charges and extra heating costs. If there is any left over, it goes on wheelchair maintenance. None of it is being used on lavish holidays."


James Crombie, 41, lives with wife Jenny, 34, in Liverpool. Has four children, Samantha, 20, Jade, 19, Faye, nine, and Alfie, five

James acts as a full-time carer for Faye, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, while his wife, who has a muscular disability, does not work.

Receiving an estimated £27,000 in benefits, the family would lose £1,000 of their income under the benefit cap.

Because they will also have at least one spare room while their older children are at university, they also face losing more than £11 a week in housing benefit under the proposed bedroom tax. James feels he "is being hit from all sides".

"People imagine we sit around not doing anything and, generally, I understand what they are saying.

There is high unemployment in the North, but I would love to go and get a job and do a full day's work; I never get a day off. I help Faye with everything: toilet needs, washing and dressing.

If I lose £11 or more a week on housing cuts, I couldn't move out – the house is all fitted up for Faye.

I would have to find cuts from one of the other benefits. It might come down to me literally not eating for a night."

Julian Rutter

The former water engineer, 44, from Crystal Palace had rare cancer of the jejunum (part of the small intestine) and was treated with surgery but refused chemotherapy

He has received employment and support allowance since April last year, and is in the Work-Related Activity Group so is at risk of losing the payment from April this year.

"It is quite difficult to get hold of employment and support allowance. I have had it since April 2011. Why should cancer patients feel like they are being persecuted? There shouldn't be time limits on cancer.

I spend £100-a-week on organic fruit and vegetables for my diet. There is additional washing, hot water requirements, larger utility bills. I have gone from a good standard of living down to being terrified of being unable to pay the bills. The press sensationalise a couple of incidents but there are many people out there who genuinely need this benefit.

Hopefully I will be able to go back to work and I can put money back into the exchequer. I have paid my taxes all my life, but when I ask for a bit of assistance I am made to feel ashamed.

It is all very well for the Government to sit in their ivory tower but not everyone is so fortunate. When you are worried about your health, the last thing you need is to have the financial rug pulled from under you."

Marie Eadie

The 24-year-old, from Glasgow, is a single full-time mother to Andrew, five, and Dionne, four

Marie has two months to go until her youngest turns five and she is moved off income support and on to jobseeker's allowance.

The money she receives, approximately £100 a fortnight, will not be affected by the change, but she will be required actively to seek work or risk a benefit cut. Having been out of work for seven years, Maria says she feels daunted by the prospect of job-hunting when both her children are so young.

"I don't disagree with the idea that there should be a cut-off point and a moment when people are pushed into work, but I haven't had to sign on for a long time, so it's a bit scary to have to start looking for a job instantly.

Before, when you had until your youngest was seven, you had time to gather information, find jobs and childcare – because they'd been in school for two years. Now, I'm looking for jobs – cleaning or at Asda – but most don't fit around my children's hours. It's hard for me to leave them; it is a big step for a mother and we should have plenty of time to prepare."

Nicky Robson

Single parent, 43, from Norfolk, has two children, Tilly, six, and Scarlett, four

Working part-time, 18 hours a week, as a self-employed dance teacher, Nicky receives £740 a month in working and child tax credits to boost the estimated £7,000 profit her teaching brings in.

Using her tax credits to cover childcare costs, £400 a month and other expenses, she says it would be hard to cope without them.

Unsure how she will be affected under plans to roll all work-related benefits into one universal credit, she says the uncertainty is making her nervous.

"The current system is not complicated in the slightest; it all comes to me in one single payment.

The uncertainty of the changes does worry me, because I do need that money; I haven't even got used to the [l]ast changes in the system yet. I would like to work more hours, but it's not practical at the moment, as I have to be home to pick the kids up and put them to bed every night.

I believe there should be a cap on benefits, but they are focusing on the wrong people – I want to work, but if my credits go down, it won't be worthwhile."

The leader is also a half-hearted attack on Duncan Smith's plans which agrees with him "that the welfare system is "broken, trapping in 'idleness' the very people it was designed to help."

If you would like to reply to any of the issues raised in the article, email sundayletters@independent.co.uk with your views and full address (no attachments).

Confidential salary documents sent out with tax form

The Manchester Evening News reports:

Confidential details of dozens of people were sent to a house in Greater Manchester after a blunder by tax officials.

The data included the names, addresses, jobs, national insurance numbers, bank transactions and even salaries of workers.

Doctors and pharmacy employees, accountants and shop workers were among those affected. They included workers from Manchester and Cheshire.

Bosses at the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who sent out the information accidentally, have apologised for the gaffe.

The documents – relating to 38 people – were accidentally sent to business consultant Mark Bolger with his tax form.

Mr Bolger, 39, from Stalybridge, rang HMRC to explain what had happened – butwas told to just send them back in the post.

The rhinocerous and the bank loan

“You can’t have the bank loan” the rhinoceros was told.

He trumpeted in rage. “Why?” he bellowed.

“You are regarded as being a financial risk. When was the last time you had a good credit rating? 1987, before you borrowed money for a new home.”

“And I paid it back in full” the rhinoceros yelled, scattering people with a flick of his tail. “You don’t like rhinoceroses, that’s the problem! Well, I’ve got a nose for people like you. The rhinos of Basildon can sniff out your prejudice. We’ll sneeze out your bigotry…and…wipe of the bogeys of hate.”

In a nasal whine, the bank manager told the rhino to leave. “Who knows what might happen if I don’t get him out of here” she thought. She slapped her thighs and rang her boss.

“I have a rhino in my bank. I can’t give him a loan as he is a credit risk.”

“Do what the American banks did” her boss suggested. “Read your Economy and Risk leaflet. We’ll repackage his loan and sell it on. The City will never know.”

Outside, the rhino’s feet were being used to boot a hole in the counter. The bank was now empty aside from staff and the rhino.

The manger went up to the rhino. “Ah, Mr Saurus, there seems to have been a mistake. I can give you a loan. Just sign here. Don’t worry with the small print. £10k was it?”

Man sought in connection with indecent behaviour on East London trains

The British Transport Police are appealing for the public’s help to identify a man wanted in connection with two incidents of indecent behaviour on trains between Stratford and Goodmayes in East London.

Detectives have released CCTV images of a man they would like to trace following the incidents on Monday 16 and Monday, 23 January 2012.

Detective Constable Graeme Knox, the investigating officer from BTP Stratford CID, said: “The first of the two incidents occurred on Monday, 16 January on the 17:34 National Express Liverpool Street to Shenfield service.

“The 23-year-old victim was travelling alone on the busy service when she noticed a man standing very close behind her, who began to touch her inappropriately.

“Unable to move due to the crowdedness of the carriage the victim waited until a seat became available to move away from the man, who continued to stare at her until he left the train at Goodmayes.”

The victim remained on the service and reported the incident to police later that evening.

A week later on Monday, 23 January, on the 08:57 Stratford to Goodmayes service, a 15-year-old girl was travelling alone to school when she was approached by the same man who took a seat opposite her.

DC Knox added: “The man sat opposite the victim and she noticed him staring at her, even continuing to do so when she met his gaze. He then began touching himself indecently.

“The victim left the service at Goodmayes and the man followed her from the train to the barriers. Intimidated by his behaviour she decided to board another train to Seven Kings where he followed her again.”

At Seven Kings the victim quickly left the train and exited the station. She reported the incident to police when she arrived at school.

The man sought can be seen below:

Anyone with information can call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B3/LNA of 09/02/2012. Or call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

How the Welfare Reform Bill could force your family into a B&B

Got several kids? Both you and your partner in work?

Live in a nice part of London, been working for years, still renting though?

Say you and your partner both lose their jobs. It takes months to find work due to the state of the economy. Nothing out there.

Then you are told that the 4 bedroom end terrace house you rent for £400 a week pushes you over the cap, due to the other benefits you recieve (JSA and Child Benefit).

So you have to try and find a cheaper home. You, your partner and your four kids look at three bed houses in Hillingdon and Croydon. Even three bedrooms for six people is a huge squeeze.

No one will rent to you as you are on housing benefits. Even the few Gumtree adverts that say "DSS accepted" have hundreds of people on benefits competing for the houses.

So you end up in a B&B in Hounslow, with your names on a council waiting list of thousands. The whole palarva of looking for housing has taken up time that could be used to look for a job.

You have to eat breakfast with thirty others, and your dinner is a sparse salad that you six all eat in two tiny rooms. Each day, you have to be out between ten and one so they can clean the room.

Private Eye's PFI number crunching

From issue 1307, on sale now at £1.50

£1.5bn Bailout fund announced by government last week for hospitals having difficulty paying for their PFI deals.

£750m Bill for new PFI hospital deals which the government has gone ahead with anyway in Liverpool and Hartlepool.