The government is to abolish the requirement for fertility clinics to consider the need for a father when deciding whether to offer treatment. It means clinics will no longer be able to deny treatment to lesbians and single mothers out of hand. A white paper outlining plans for a major overhaul of the law on assisted human reproduction and embryo research is being published.

Tony Blair has said the NHS is the “pride of the country” amid criticism of mismanagement and a huge deficit. Tory leader David Cameron said an MPs’ report said many financial problems were due to constantly changing priorities and poor central management.
{mosimage}He said the prime minister was a “lame duck” and the government could not address the problems until he resigned. But Mr Blair replied that after years of cutbacks under the Tories the NHS was getting better under Labour.

The Commons health select committee reported on Wednesday that mismanagement at all levels of the NHS in England had led to a deficit last year of £547m. The committee said local financial mismanagement was a factor – but found existing deficits were made worse by the cost of new staff pay deals and the expense of meeting NHS targets.

Mr Cameron told MPs: “The prime minister stands here week after week saying that local cuts are the fault of local health staff, but this report shows it is poor central management.”

More people are receiving help to live independently in their own homes, with fewer admitted to local authority-funded residential care, according to statistics released last month by the Information Centre for health and social care (IC).

A leading charity has welcomed a Parliamentary report warning ‘soft targets’ such as mental health services should not suffer as a consequence of the financial crisis within the NHS. The Health Select Committee study, published today, said mental health services should not be targeted for disproportionate cuts.

Current guidelines used to determine whether people can train and practise as teachers, nurses and social workers are likely to fall foul of anti-discrimination laws, an independent legal review. The review forms part of the Disability Rights Commission’s (DRC’s) investigation into the legal framework governing entry and progress in nursing, teaching and social work.

The troubled Child Support Agency will not be fully phased out until 2013, the work and pensions secretary admitted yesterday, to the disappointment of campaigners. John Hutton unveiled long-awaited plans to replace the agency with a slimline body, as recommended by an independent review.

Government plans to scrap the Child Support Agency in its current form are to be set out in a White Paper. Although the measures are being presented by Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton as a reform of the CSA, the agency which emerges from the process is thought unlikely to bear much resemblance to the much-criticised body created 13 years ago.
{mosimage}Reports suggest that ministers are preparing to write off as much as £1.2 billion of the £3.5 billion in unpaid child maintenance payments which the CSA has failed to recover from absent parents.

The Queen’s Speech in November confirmed that the Government was planning a bill during the current parliamentary session to “improve the system of child support”. The paper – to be unveiled in a statement to the House of Commons by Mr Hutton – will set out the proposed outlines of legislation, which is expected to bring down the curtain on the CSA.

In its place will come a new, smaller body intended to provide a simpler and more effective way of collecting child maintenance. The White Paper is expected to detail plans to end the requirement that all lone parents with care responsibilities who claim state benefits – mostly mothers – must also submit a claim to receive child maintenance.

Weight loss drugs and surgery should be used to help some people lose weight, government advisors have said. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued guidelines on treating obesity and preventing people becoming overweight. NICE says the NHS in England and Wales needs support from local authorities, schools and employers.

Mismanagement at all levels of the NHS in England has led to the current multimillion pound deficit, a committee of MPs has found. The Commons health select committee said existing deficits were made worse by the cost of new staff pay deals and the expense of meeting NHS targets. But it added local financial mismanagement was also a factor. Last year’s NHS deficit was £547m.

Cancer is costing patients their homes, a survey suggests. A Macmillan Cancer Support survey of 1,751 patients found 6% lost their home following their diagnosis. The figure rose to 11% among the self-employed. Another 18% had difficulties keeping up rent or mortgage payments, the survey found. Not only can a cancer diagnosis make it hard to work, but it can also mean extra fuel, food, drug and hospital parking bills.