Pupils are more likely to take cannabis than any other drug, new figures have revealed. Twelve per cent of pupils aged 11-15 took cannabis last year, while four per cent took class A drugs. The 2005 survey by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care gives an insight into behaviours of secondary school children across the country between the ages of 11 and 15. In general drinking, smoking and drug use increased with age. Of the 15-year-olds who took part in the survey, 46 per cent said they had had a drink in the last week, 20 per cent had smoked regularly and 34 per cent had tried illegal drugs in the last year.

Drinking fruit and vegetable juices frequently may significantly cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a study suggests. US researchers followed almost 2,000 people for up to 10 years – providing a powerful set of results. They found the risk was 76% lower for those who drank juice more than three times a week, compared with those who drank it less than once a week. The study appears in the American Journal of Medicine. Alzheimer’s is linked to the accumulation of clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. There is some evidence to suggest that this process may be controlled by the chemical hydrogen peroxide.

The bereaved mother whose two-year campaign inspired the forthcoming ban on viewing violent pornography said yesterday that the measure would be a memorial to her daughter. Liz Longhurst began her battle to change the law after her daughter Jane was killed in 2003 by a man said to be obsessed with violent internet pornography. More than 50,000 people signed a petition supporting her.

Many NHS trusts have significant flaws in the service they provide for children, a report finds. The Healthcare Commission found that overall the quality of child services in NHS hospitals in England was good. But day care and emergency care were both found lacking in 28% of trusts, and outpatient care was rated as weak in 46% of trusts. The commission was assessing progress towards implementing national standards in 157 hospitals across England.

The FSNBF – the UK fire charity – has seen its new Devon Therapy Centre open for some six months and this week revealed that it has enabled an incredible 91% of injured firefighters who have used the centre to get back to saving lives! Harcombe House Therapy Centre offers physical and emotional therapy, and is the most unique of its kind in the world. Since February 2006 the centre has delivered its pioneering therapy treatment to over 500 injured fire service beneficiaries, with a staggering 9 out of 10 surveyed treated so effectively that they were back to full operational duty up to a year less than if not attending the centre.

Almost £10m is to be cut from mental health services in Gloucestershire. NHS day care for mentally ill adults is to be scrapped and in-patient services will be centralised in Gloucester and Cheltenham to make the £9.6m savings. Unions have not ruled out strike action in protest against the announcement by Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust. The cuts to mental health provision are in addition to £40m of health savings proposed for a range of services across the county. During the discussion around 30 clinicians and staff walked out saying they had not been listened to.

{mosimage} Failing local authority childcare homes may be taken over by the voluntary sector under plans considered by Tony Blair at a Chequers seminar yesterday. Mr Blair and his social exclusion minister, Hilary Armstrong, have also been looking at German approaches to helping children in care, including giving them one care worker to take them through education and act as their champion. The ideas are part of a government plan designed to help the bottom 2% in society, termed in Whitehall “high-risk, high-harm and high-cost families”. The focus on the Labour heartlands issue of social exclusion may do something to shore up the prime minister’s political position inside the party before what is likely to be a turbulent party conference. In a speech next week Mr Blair will concentrate on children in care, teenage mothers and mentally ill people on benefit – people who have been “difficult to reach” in previous government programmes.

A pilot scheme to educate some children in local authority care at state and private boarding schools is being considered by the government. Schools Minister Lord Adonis said it would be “money well spent” if exam results improved but only a small number of children would be affected. The charity Barnardos has suggested eight out of 10 children in care leave school without qualifications. The charity’s head, Martin Narey, said this idea could help some children.

Health bosses are meeting on Friday to agree the closure of the six remaining in-patient beds at Bracken House, Chard’s mental health unit. Somerset Partnership NHS and Social Care Trust, which operates the county’s mental health services, says the move is needed to avoid an overspend of £1m by the end of the financial year. The trust wants to close the beds by October but the move has been greeted with anger by town leaders. Chard Mayor John Malcolm said: “Every time they close a bed it means people have to go to Taunton or Yeovil. I recently took somebody who was having a nervous breakdown to Yeovil and the wait to actually see a doctor was from 2pm to 9.30pm.”

Residents of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead who have care provided through social services are being encouraged to take advantage of a scheme that will give them greater freedom to choose who comes into their home to help them, and when. Direct payments gives people more power over the purse strings for their care, enabling them to arrange for their own care at times best suited to them and with services tailored to suit their way of life. From September 1 direct payments will be looked after by a dedicated borough team who will be available to all care users to discuss how the scheme could make their lives easier and give them control over the way their assessed packages of care can be delivered for their particular needs.