More than 250 mental health nurses have gone on strike in Manchester over plans to change the way patients are treated in the community. Staff at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust are staging the one-day action on Wednesday.

Treating people with acute psychiatric problems can mean sparse, unappealing wards – but what if stimulation is the key?

Police officers are being encouraged to “adopt” criminals in an attempt to cut down on drug-related crime, it has been revealed. The project, thought to be one of the first in the country, is being trialed in Worksop by Nottinghamshire Police, who were inspired by their counterparts in Holland.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is due to deliver the Prison Reform Trust’s annual lecture as the debate continues over the crisis surrounding the UK’s prison system.

Police and prosecutors are failing to effectively implement a wide range of measures designed to boost the rape conviction rate, watchdogs have said. Inspectors found police wrongly recorded rape allegations as “no crimes” in nearly a third of cases when the claims should have been investigated further.

{mosimage}The findings by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) concluded that although many of the correct policies were in place, the moves were not always put into practice on the ground. The report will prove embarrassing for ministers, who have been attempting for years to increase the extremely low conviction rate for the crime, which now stands at just 5.31%.

It said police and prosecutors need to make better use of evidence which shows a defendant’s previous “bad character”, which can now be used in court against them. Some police look only for previous convictions rather than carrying out a wider search, it found.

Other concerns and shortcomings included the Crown Prosecution Service having no criteria for its specialist rape prosecutors, including minimum levels of competence; little consistency in the way forensic doctors are employed to examine victims; and high levels of variation in the detection rate in different police forces, from 22% to 93%.

The inspectors reviewed 752 reported rapes in 2005, and of those 179 were recorded by police as “no crimes”. But investigations by the watchdogs found 57 of these cases (32%) did not comply with Home Office guidance and should have remained as recorded crimes.

GPs were so stunned by the terms offered to them when negotiating their new contract that they thought it was a “bit of a laugh”, a doctor has said. Dr Simon Fradd, who was one of British Medical Association’s GP negotiators, said they were shocked by the approach taken by the government.

The controversy over the government’s decision to award a series of licences to casino operators raged on as church leaders spoke out. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said he was “concerned” about the message gambling sent out.

Ministers should introduce reforms which will encourage people to pay court fines on the spot in a bid to improve existing “ridiculous” arrangements, MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee said millions of pounds in fines are not collected each year.

Lone parents could have their benefits cut under Government proposals to force them to start looking for work when their youngest child reaches the age of 12. John Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary said change was vital because Britain had the lowest lone parent employment rate of any major European country.

Eight people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in Birmingham after a “significant” operation involving police and security service MI5. A number of addresses in the city have been sealed off after morning raids.

{mosimage}Security sources have told the BBC the alleged plot would not have involved mass casualties but marked “a different approach to terrorism in the UK”.

The six-month operation involved the Midlands counter terrorism unit, West Midlands Police and the Met Police. At least four addresses in Birmingham were targeted as part of the 0400 GMT raids.

Two residential houses and a general store in the Alum Rock area were raided as well as a book store in the Sparkhill area. Police have cordoned off roads around Jackson Road and Foxton Road, in Alum Rock, and Poplar Road and Stratford Road, in Sparkhill. Police have not confirmed any of the raided addresses. The eight are suspected of “the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

The Home Office said Home Secretary John Reid had been fully briefed. “This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat we face,” a spokeswoman said.