Johnathon Oliver
Times / 11-05-2008
Children will be banned from starting school until they receive the MMR jab, under new Labour party proposals.
Parents will have to provide proof their offspring have had a full range of vaccinations when they put in applications for primary schools.
The plan, designed to increase the take-up of the measles, mumps and rubella triple jab, has been drawn up by Mary Creagh, the Labour MP in charge of the party’s health manifesto for the next general election.
“Parents need to protect their children and science gives them a way to do that,” said Creagh. “We need to get that message across.”
However, doctors’ leaders warned that the idea was “morally dubious”.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, said: “A Stalinist approach like this would be likely to backfire.”
Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, accused Labour of “playing politics” with children’s lives.
Take-up of the MMR jab fell dramatically after research – now discredited – appeared to show a link between the triple vaccination and autism.
John Carvel
London
Guardian
Friday, February 15, 2008
A ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone who does not pay for a government smoking permit has been proposed by Health England, a ministerial advisory board.
The idea is the brainchild of the board's chairman, Julian Le Grand, who is a professor at the London School of Economics and was Tony Blair's senior health adviser. In a paper being studied by Lord Darzi, the health minister appointed to oversee NHS reform, he says many smokers would be helped to break the habit if they had to make a decision whether to "opt in".
The permit might cost as little as £10, but acquiring it could be made difficult if the forms were sufficiently complex, Le Grand said last night.
The fast-food giant, airline FlyBe and Network Rail are the first three firms to be approved to offer courses equal to units of the new diplomas.
It means students could combine units from in-house courses with others to obtain the government's flagship new vocational and academic qualification.
Ministers are keen to involve business in attempts to boost workforce skills.
Fears of bias as BBC gets £141m in EU loans
The Sunday Times
Sunday January 27, 2008
CCTV camera microphones to be axed
Patrick Hennessy
London
Telegraph
Sunday January 27, 2008
Hidden microphones mounted on CCTV cameras which can eavesdrop on private conversations in the street are set to be outlawed, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, believes that the cameras are a serious breach of civil liberties.
Britain has 4.5million CCTV cameras which capture the average person around 300 times a day.
This week Mr Thomas will launch a new code of practice and declare that no organisation should be able to monitor or store private conversations, claiming that such activities are "highly intrusive".
Whitehall sources said last night that he has the strong backing of ministers. The ruling is also likely to be hailed by civil liberties campaigners.
Couple banned for life from shopping centre and branded 'terrorists' - for taking photos of their grandchildren
A couple were banned for life from a shopping centre - because they were taking photos of their beloved grandchildren.
Kim and Trevor Sparshott were ordered to stop taking photos because they were causing a security threat.
They were thrown out of the centre after they took out a camera to snap the look on the youngsters' faces when they turned up unexpectedly.