Fewer 16 and 17-year-olds are being housed in bed and breakfast accommodation, government figures reveal. The number living alone in B&Bs in England and Wales fell by 40%, from 550 to 330, during 2008. It is more than two years since the government set a target of ending the use of B&Bs for people of this age by 2010. Homelessness minister Iain Wright said the reduction was partly due to a supported lodgings scheme set up in 2006, as well as better advice and mediation services. Homelessness figures published on March 12 showed that 67,480 families were living in temporary accommodation at the end of December — the thirteenth consecutive quarter that this figure has fallen.
A Ministry of Defence programme to introduce a new generation of destroyers is two years late and £1bn over budget. This is due to poor project management and inappropriate commercial arrangements, according to the National Audit Office. The NAO also condemned the MoD’s ‘overoptimism about what could be achieved’ in the initial stages of the Type 45 destroyer project. The ship is expected to replace the Type 42, which dates back to the 1960s, in late 2010. But the destroyer, designed to defend aircraft carriers from aerial attack, will not reach full capability until 2014 because systems — including communications equipment and anti-air missiles — will be rolled out incrementally.
The government has asked the Advisory Committee on Cervical Screening to carry out a review on tests for women under 25. Health minister Ann Keen wants the ACCS to consider evidence of the potential benefits of screening for women aged 20 to 24, and to examine the mortality rates for cervical cancer in young women. Screening currently starts at 25, in line with World Health Organisation guidelines and existing ACCS advice. ACCS has been asked to look into awareness levels of cervical cancer among women aged 25 to 34, and to consider measures to increase uptake of screening in this age group.
Welsh schools inspectorate Estyn is to carry out a comprehensive two-week survey of Denbighshire’s education system following a severely critical report last year. Denbighshire Council said that since the report — which led to the departure of former council leader Rhiannon Hughes — it had embarked on modernisation policies that would focus on a ‘range of issues’, including head teacher vacancies.
Cohesion minister Sadiq Khan has announced details of 32 projects to share £5.1m from the Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund. The fund aims to support Muslim communities in combating radicalism. The Department for Communities and Local Government said it had received bids from a wide range of organisations and different faith groups. Khan said: ‘We have seen the number of applications double… showing clearly that Muslim communities are fully committed to doing all they can to tackle violent extremism.’
An agency aimed at ensuring real improvements for patients and carers will start work on April 1, Care Services Minister Phil Hope announced on March 17. The National Mental Health Development Unit is to replace the current National Institute for Mental Health in England, whose head, Dr Ian McPherson, will also lead the new body. The ten strategic health authorities will oversee new mental health policies, with support from the new unit. Hope said: ‘We must actively promote public mental health and well-being, as well as spreading best practice and maintaining world-class mental health services everywhere.’
