A convicted sex offender who admitted attacking a 15-year-old girl after being allowed to end therapy early has been jailed indefinitely.

A nationwide search is under way to find two convicted sex offenders who pose a danger to children. Joseph Taylor, 27, and William Bailey, 58, were recently released from prison and are known to have links with North Yorkshire and Essex.

Vulnerable elderly people are being subjected to neglect, abuse, discrimination and ill-treatment in the hospitals and care homes that should be looking after them, according to a report published today by a parliamentary committee.

{mosimage}The study by the joint committee on human rights warns that many older people are facing maltreatment ranging from physical neglect so severe they are left lying in their own faeces or urine to malnutrition and dehydration through lack of help with eating.

Lack of dignity, especially for personal care needs, inappropriate medication designed more to subdue patients than treat them, and over-hasty discharge from hospital are also causing suffering for many older people, the MPs and peers conclude.

The report, the most high-level to date to highlight disturbing levels of neglect and abuse of the elderly in Britain, argues that the law should be strengthened to compel hospitals and care homes to protect the human rights of older people in their care.

The committee says that “an entire culture change” is needed to ensure that patients and staff who work with them are aware of their basic human rights. While there have been some recent signs of progress in policy and guidance, the rhetoric has not translated into practice on the ground, the report concludes.

Private nurseries are being forced out of business due to an oversupply of places created by state-funded nurseries and day care centres, it was claimed yesterday.

A disturbing picture of the abuse and neglect suffered by elderly people in care homes and hospitals is revealed today in a parliamentary report.

A senior police officer yesterday issued a devastating critique of the way towns were being blighted by violent, drunken youths who had made people afraid to walk the streets.
 

BBC Children in Need is distributing nearly £17million worth of grants this week which will help make a positive difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people around the UK.

Two 16-year-olds have been recruited as community support officers, it has been confirmed. The teenagers are undergoing training after passing their assessments, said a Thames Valley Police spokesman.

Commenting on the UK Inquiry into Mental Health in Later Life Shadow Health Minister Stephen O’Brien said: “Many of the issues discussed in this report result from this Government’s continued failure to bring together health and social care, to sort out funding, prioritise dignity or support carers.
 

An urgent investigation has been launched after The Northern Echo obtained evidence showing abuse of elderly people in a North-East care home.