Radical plans to speed the sectioning of mental health patients who refuse to take medicine or accept care ran into a hail of protest this week. Ministers published a new Mental Health Bill designed to update 23-year-old laws after a series of cases in which people were killed by mentally-ill patients. The proposals aim to end the so-called “revolving door” patients released from hospital only to end up being re-sectioned after refusing to further help or medication.

More than 70 “super nannies” are to try to improve parenting in areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour, Tony Blair is expected to announce. The prime minister is expected to announce £4m for parenting experts in 77 areas of the country.

{mosimage}Mr Blair will warn that poor parenting is bad for society and is also catastrophic for children. This comes after a Mori poll suggested 53% of people think poor parenting is the main cause of bad behaviour.

In the poll for the Home Office, 85% of respondents blamed parents for allowing children to become out of control. The child psychologists will be funded by the prime minister’s Respect Task Force to work in deprived areas.

Treating children in adult psychiatric wards is a “national scandal”, says the Children’s Commissioner for England. Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green told the BBC he fears children leave in a poorer condition than when they went in.

A report to be published next week by the charity Young Minds warns there are not enough emergency beds for children with mental health problems.

{mosimage}Almost 1,000 under-18s spend time on an adult ward in a year, with more than half of those admissions inappropriate.

Young Minds’ report, prepared for the Children’s Commissioner, details the experiences of sixteen young people, aged between 13 and 19, who have been treated on adult wards for their mental health problems.

Some were held in police cells or accident and emergency units whilst a search was made for a place which could take them.

Almost 100,000 complaints were received by frontline NHS trusts in England during 2005/06. Statistics released by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care reveal that in 2005/06 a total of 95,047 complaints were made. This compares with 90,413 complaints made during the previous 12 months.

A mother from Witney in Oxfordshire is distressed that her mentally ill 18-year-old daughter is to be cared for more than 60 miles away in Southampton. Lesley Sykes, of Blakes Avenue, is upset that her daughter Victoria Plowman who, she says, has a mental age of five, cannot be cared for in Oxfordshire. Victoria, who has learning and behaviour difficulties and delayed speech, went into care in March and was taken to a home in Colchester, Essex.

A scheme aimed at tackling harassment of people with a learning disability has been launched in Colburn. Funding from Richmondshire Community Safety Partnership (RCSP) led to the creation of a ‘Keeping Safe’ pack, designed to make it easier for people to inform the relevant authorities of incidents where they have been bullied or the victim of hate crime.

{mosimage}The number of people in the UK addicted to the ‘celebrity’ drug cocaine is out of control and has reached shocking levels, a new report has shown.

Britons consume more cocaine than almost any other country in Europe, a new report on international drug abuse is set to confirm.

Official UK figures show the government has failed to stem the tide of drug addiction, with more people dying from abuse, more drugs in circulation and more being seized.

The sorry picture of a nation of addicts follows a United Nations report in September which put Britain as having the highest levels of serious drug abuse in Europe.

The latest situation in 29 countries across the continent will be revealed on Thursday by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drugs Addiction.

Leaked UK evidence to the EMCDDA shows that although most class A drug abuse has increased by relatively small amounts, the number of people taking cocaine – including crack cocaine – continues to soar and its use has risen more than any other drug.

Some families are so poor that their children will go without basics such as food, clothes and heating this winter, according to a survey.

The Home Office is launching a drive to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the UK. Measures aimed at increasing the number of deportations from the country will include giving immigration officers greater powers of arrest.

Disabled and terminally-ill children are going without vital equipment as the NHS and councils are not providing enough funding, research shows. BDF Newlife, formerly the Birth Defects Foundation, found the bodies spent just £60 a year per child – leaving 250,000 children waiting for equipment.