The proportion of black and Asian judges recommended for appointment last year under a new system was just 5%, it has been revealed. The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) said three lawyers from a list of the 58 names put forward to the Lord Chancellor for appointment to the bench were from ethnic minorities.

A new Council report, Challenging behaviour: a unified approach, is the result of a joint working group of learning disability faculties of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society, in consultation with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

NHS Direct has recorded its best ever performance, exceeding all the stringent targets set by the Department of Health. The targets cover access, response times, and clinical sorting (appropriate advice and signposting). The performance figures for June also incorporate those set for GP out of hours services.

The Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists wholeheartedly supports the report of the National Audit Office which calls for dementia to be treated as a national health priority, the need to develop a co-ordinated case managed process and the conclusion that dementia presents an urgent challenge to health and social care.

New Statistics obtained from DCFS (erstwhile DfES) and released by John Hemming MP, Chairman of Justice for Families show that 60% of the numbers of children under 5 taken into care are now adopted. “The system”, he said, “is supposed to try to reunite families rather than simply drive towards adoption.

In response to the publication of Medical Research Council research into self-harm among young people, Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation said:

Capacitybuilders has launched Destination 2014 at its inaugural annual conference in Birmingham. The strategy is the result of a consultation programme which ran from December 2006 to March 2007.

New Health Secretary Alan Johnson has sought to soothe anger over health service reforms by announcing a “once in a generation review” of the NHS. Mr Johnson has asked Health Minister Sir Ara Darzi, a practising surgeon, to consult with patients and staff amid much frustration with change.

Local safeguarding children boards across England are playing an operational rather than strategic role, according to a Government report. The Department for Education and Skills’ report Local Safeguarding Children Boards: A Review of Progress, examines how the boards progressed between September and December 2006.

The Government has missed an historic opportunity to achieve a modern and humane new Mental Health Act, but has made important concessions to protect patients and their families from abuse and neglect, the Mental Health Alliance has said.