29 August 2008
Former Local Government Association chair Lord Bruce-Lockhart has died of cancer at the age of 66. A former leader of Kent County Council, Sandy Bruce-Lockhart was LGA chair from 2004 to 2007, where he led the drive to persuade government to devolve more powers to a local level. He left to become chair of English Heritage. Kent MP Ann Widdecombe described him as an 'old-style Tory patrician with a social conscience'.
Elderly people in hospital are going hungry because staff are not making sure that they are fed, according to a report from the charity Age Concern. The report surveyed 110 English and Welsh NHS trusts and found that 43% did not run protected mealtimes, when non-urgent work stops to ensure that patients eat. Age Concern's head of public affairs, Patrick South, said: 'Tackling malnutrition should be a top priority for all NHS trusts. Our evidence shows unacceptable inconsistencies across the country. It's shocking that many older people still find themselves trapped within a “postcode lottery of commitment” to improve nutritional standards on hospital wards.' A Department of Health spokeswoman said: 'We recognise that protected mealtimes are an issue.'
Former Youth Justice Board chair Rod Morgan has claimed that the government is unnecessarily criminalising young people with cautions and on-the-spot fines where informal punishments could be more effective. In a report for King's College London's centre for crime and justice studies, published on August 25, Morgan said: 'The trend towards pre-court summary justice should more incisively be scrutinised to ensure that justice is being meted out fairly and effectively.' A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'The law-abiding majority want to see crimes dealt with effectively, and fixed-penalty notices and cautions are part of this process.'
Children from the poorest homes are being systematically failed in their education because their schools do not receive sufficient funding to support them, according to a report last week from the End Child Poverty Campaign. The campaign's director, Hilary Fisher, said: 'It is unacceptable that children have the odds stacked against them simply by default of having poorer parents. The government must put its money where its mouth is so that all children, no matter their background, have equal chances to achieve a decent education.'
The Healthcare Commission is to visit 48 specialist inpatient learning disability services to examine progress made since its national audit in 2007. The visits are part of a concerted push by the commission and other regulatory bodies to raise the standard of care given to people with learning disabilities. In its 2007 audit, the commission found that there were unacceptable variations in the quality of specialist inpatient services and that in many, the safety and standard of care was not at the level expected of modern services. Services will be given 24 hours' notice of a visit, and the programme includes revisits at ten services to check on progress since the audit.
Three new non-executive board members have been appointed to the Government Equalities Office, a new self-standing department responsible for the government's overall strategy on equality. They are Peter Bungard, chief executive of Gloucestershire County Council, who has fronted initiatives on disability matters, racial equality and zero tolerance of bullying; Janet Soo-Chung, chief executive of North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust; and Judy McKnight, the former general secretary of Napo, the professional association for family court and probation staff.
PFaug2008
