Call for change to education
Britain is falling down the league table of industrialised nations in the effort to increase the number of young people entering university, a study reported yesterday (Alexandra Blair writes).
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says that the high numbers of young people leaving school without five good GCSEs is a serious block to further progress, and that an improvement would come only with an overhaul of the education system.
Education at a Glance 2006, which was published yesterday, shows that although more teenagers have obtained good GCSEs recently, and taken university courses, the equivalent numbers have risen faster in other countries.
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Yard promotion
Cressida Dick, the Scotland Yard commander who supervised the firearms operation that led to the Stockwell shooting, has been chosen for promotion (Stewart Tendler writes).
The Metropolitan Police Authority announced that Ms Dick, 46, is one of four officers selected to become a deputy assistant commissioner when posts are available.
She was in charge when police shot dead the Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell station, South London, last year. No officers face criminal charges but the force has been charged with breaching health and safety law.
Last night a spokesman for the Jean Charles de Menezes campaign said the family were very upset at the news which was insulting. He said the promotion was “absolutely outrageous and makes a mockery of justice and the judicial process. It sends a terrible message to the family.”
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The family have never seen the report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into the shooting. The process has not finished and the promotion was premature.
Data to be shared
Information about drug and alcohol abusers will be shared by the police, health and social services under new proposals to fight crime and help those most at risk, ministers will announce today (Jill Sherman writes).
Under the plan, all agencies will be encouraged to pool information about vulnerable people to ensure that they get the best treatment and support.
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The announcement, which is to be made jointly by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, is part of the Government’s action plan to fight social exclusion.
Hospital complaint
A war veteran turned into “skin and bones” and died after weeks of hospital neglect, his grieving daughter claims (Michael Horsnell writes).
Norma Scott, 59, is referring Airedale Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire, to the Healthcare Commission saying that it failed to feed or care properly for her father. John Farrow, 84, a former seaman, was admitted to hospital suffering from dehydration and joint pain. He died in March.
The Healthcare Commission will decide if it can investigate or if the complaint should be referred back to the hospital trust for resolution.